We were looking for a short break. Not too far away but with a different weather ( Singapore is hot and humid) and a different environment: something greener with nature and a laid back pace.
So we decided to go to Perth for 5 days.
We also like Perth because it's such a kid- friendly city. Driving around in Perth is a breeze. Driving overseas is a good option as it just makes thing so much more convenient. Just leave all the bags, shopping loots etc in the car and go for your meals or tourist attractions. Our darlings can also nap in the car in between destinations.
A more comfy car with good suspension is always useful for comfort. Remember to hire the baby seat too. You can book through Hertz or Avis online and you can collect the car at the airport just outside the arrival gate, so it was really convenient.
After researching on Perth, I realised most of the places to go are within driving distance. So we picked a hotel with a nice view instead of a hotel downtown.
Beach view it is!!!
Scarborough beach is gorgeous. And it's a 15-20 mins drive away from the city center and many other places to go.
We picked Rendesvouz Hotel Scarbourough as it was newly renovated.
I booked it through agoda and it was value for money, around $170 a night if I am not mistaken.
I think it's always good to pick newer, cleaner hotels for kids. Instead of those older, artistic ones with many expensive ornaments and art work in the room. Hazard! haha And the last you wanna do is pay for broken things.
All the rooms have balconies and they all had beach views so it was grand!!
We also had a nice stroll along the pristine white beach. I loved the fact that it was quiet, not crowded at all.
They were friendly locals having some funny sports activities too so if you're one those sporty ones you can join them with just $5.
Eventhough it was nice and sunny, it was cold and windy. Temperature can drop to around 10 degrees.. Brrr .. I dont know how those Australians can take the cold winds with just their bikinis and board shorts.
A few things were on our itinerary, especially visiting their cute Koalas and Roos.
Downtown is small but worth a quick stroll just to get a feel. There are also parking on road sides, free after certain time but be warned that most shops also close by evening.
So, instead of zoo, I decided to visit the Caversham Wildlife park instead to get a closer look at the animals as the set up is less caged, like that of a zoo.
GPS was key to finding all these attractions easily. Hubby downloaded the Perth maps before flying off.
It was about 20 mins drive from Scarborough. No traffic in the late morning so it was great.
Dont forget the koalas. Eversince Oz, Sheldon has been asking me for koala bear hugs and it's wonderful:)
We also visited AQWA - the aquarium.
These places are awesome for our kids, educational and definitely entertaining.
We love the fact that all the tourist attractions in Perth had no queue unlike back home
We had kebabs. Not too bad but I must say food in Perth costs an arm and a leg.
The difference in $ between casual street food and proper dining is not that big so you mighy as well go for nicer setting diner.
Being Asians, we had to have some rice even from the first day in Perth.
You MUST MUST go for the dimsum in Perth, notoriously amazing.
There are a couple restaurants recommended but we chose Dragon Palace. It's located at Northbridge ( tiny China town), ample parking along the road if you come at odd hours ( we arrive after 930!!!) for dinner. But no more dimsum by then.
By the way, Best place to go if you want to eat super late is Chinatown as everywhere else likely has closed.
But there're some underground parking at the restaurant too if you come during busier hours.
Ok so that day we didnt get to eat the dim sum as dimsum hours ended around 3pm.
So we ordered other stuff. Including a beef dish cause hey! this is Australia right??? You have to eat the beef.
Bill was around S$40-50 per person.
A bit crazy but what to do?
We went back tummy full and happy.
Slept early as we wanted to start the day early in Perth.
Most attractions close by 5.30 or 6pm. So we better set out early every morning.
Anyway, the dim sum story didnt stop there.
We went back to Dragon palace the next day, this time to catch the dimsum. It's to die for. Really, I think it could even be better than Hongkong ( or very close fight anyway). Moreover, the produce in Oz is so fresh. If the same dish is prepared the exact same way, I am sure the one with fresher ingredients will still win.
The push cart touch gave us that "authenticity in the air". And the lau sau pau ( egg custard fried bun) is the star of the meal. Hubby didn't believe at first but after one bite. He took the rest and gobbled them down his tummy :p
The harkow fat fat and bouncy. The taro puff was crispier than any other taro puff i have ever tastes, yes the crumbs just melt at the tip of your mouth. The carrot cake very delicious, something about their mild chilli.
Almost everything is really good. Very safe to just pick at your whim and fancy.
Bill came up to be about S$55 per person but we did over order and packed some of the dim sum to the hotel.
So what else to do in Perth?
Well, besides beach, kangaroos and sharks, there's a little shopping.
There is a factory outlet at harbour town, also near downtown. But the collection really wasn't that great especially with the strong AUD and if you've been to US or Europe outlets, this one pales in comparison.
The stroller always comes in handy during shopping, we could push Shelly along, instead of constantly, frantically running after him.
Bought a bit of stuff from Cotton on, Forever new and sports shoes from Everlast. The rest wasn't very interesting.
You can check out their shop directory online though, just in case.
Some kids shops had good offers too. You may want to check it out.
What else for lunch? How about Vietnamese beef noodle? Since the beef is premium in Aussie, the pho, I reckon, would be better than back in Vietnam!
So we went searching for the most popular pho in Perth. There were a couple online, but we chose this one also near downtown. mama tran!
Beef was succulent of course. But we had to put more soy sauce to make the pho more palatable to us. It was yummy after that extra touch though. The Vietnamese baguette was even better! Order that too!! Hubby had it for second main course.
About 40 mins drive away from Perth city centre is Fremantle.
A place outside Perth that's definitely worth visiting, it's a bustling port that has a lot more character than downtown Perth itself.
It had a nice crowd in the weekend.
Best time to visit is late morning, have a stroll and look-see before your seafood lunch!
So at Fremantle, we went for the famous fish n chips by the waterfront, the dainty, quaint feel of the rows of shops, the cute cafes, a stroll by the waters.
And there's an indoor flea market that has a ramen that had a looooooong queue. So we couldnt resist but try. Even if we had to stand and eat by the road.
We went to Kaili's for the fish n chips.
Seems to be the busiest and offers the widest variety of fresh seafood.
The views of the harbour, boats and flying seabirds gave us that great "chillout by the waterfront" feel.
Fresh Seafood Galore!!! The BBQ scallops were fat, bouncy and savoury too.
The Fish N Chips is definitely a standard must. However the clam chowder was a little strong for me, I had better one in San Frans' pier 39.
I may even consider staying at Fremantle at our next visit to Perth. The vibe and buzz is just different, a little more festive and lively in a non-commercial way.
So, what else did we do? Well I have this habit of going to the local supermarkets in all the cities I go to and buy whatever the locals buy to have home meals.
In Australia, I suppose it would be great to try their fresh produce since it's deemed one of the freshest in the world... so Strawberry with white choc dip were the first to be picked up.
Since most of the honey we can get in Singapore are from Australia. Well, why not get honey too? I mixed the different flavoured honey into our greek yogurt and we had them for breakfast. Together with crepes.
Also, crisp cider for our nightly drink by the balcony. If you are a wine lover, of course you should be drinking wine by the balcony instead!
That brings me to Swan Valley, Wow this place, pretty near the airport and about 30-45 mins away from downtown, is best visited from morning til dinner time.
It's a loooong stretch of road with so many different vineyards, farms, restaurants with own produce and many other producers of other foods like honey, nougat, ice cream, chocolate,etc.
So you may want to start the Swan Valley tour with breakfast at The house of honey- perhaps waffles and honey !
Dont forget to try their homemade honey ice cream with honeycomb, it was heavenly.
Here's a map of Swan Valley:
Zoom in to see all the different stops!
My top favourites ( I am sure Sheldon's too) are :
House of honey, Mondo Nougat and Oggie's Ice cream.
Remember to bring lots and lots of honey and nougat back home. Especially Jarrah honey, a type of honey that is anti-microbial, anti oxidant, with many health benefits and i was told it's more effective than Manukah honey. Just a spoonful and sorethroats will be gone in a zap.
The bees for Jarrah honey get their nectar from the eucalyptus tree. And this honey is only available in Western Australia so it's the perfect gift to bring to your friends and families.
It is also a lot cheaper than manukah honey. So it's a good buy! In fact, the few honey shops were running out of Jarrah honey. I bought around 20+ jars and got them packed in a box for plane check-in. The shop keeper asked where I was from. When I told her I am from Singapore, she smiled. Apparently many Singaporeans would go to the shop and bring home boxes of Jarrah honey! Ahh Singaporeans always know where to shop!
Bring back some ( or loads) to your family and friends and they will be very ( or very very) happy!
We had lunch at Oggie's Ice Cream along Swan Valley and it was awesome, they have a playground outside, the place is very humble looking but the food and ice cream are not only good but also probably the most value for money along the whole stretch of Swan Valley.
We were not wine people so we didnt visit the vineyards but if you're interested, perhaps you should. There are so many different ones to choose from.
We had a short trip, only 5 days long. But if we had stayed longer, we would have driven to Margaret River too. It's 3 hours drive away. But that place is another Swan Valley and I heard it is very picturesque too, with the riverfront cafes and heaps of greeneries.
Oh well, there's always next time.
While we were in Perth, we also went to Jamie's (located downtown) where the queue was very long and we had to wait for about 2.5 hours before getting a table.
Packed to the brim, the food is just as good as the one in London, with very similar menu too.
The Ragu farfalle pasta was so good, Sheldon ate almost half of it, calling it "italian mee". The polenta fries, albeit famous, was kinda lacklustre, crispy outside but bland inside.
But now that Singapore has a Jamie's Italian too. I think we can skip this place next time.
One more dish to eat while in Perth- beef steaks. Like obviously!
I searched online for the best steak place and decided to go to Blu Grill, located in the Woodlands, along Rosewood Avenue.
It was decently packed during dinner, place is of a typical modern decor and more importantly, the steak and prawn were good!! Damage was only around $50 per person but I guess that's cause we didnt have any wine.
Hubby insisted on not drinking and drivinf in Perth. It is apparently a very serious offence so don't play play..Not even a drop of alcohol!
So, that's Perth.
Nex is Barcelona-Sevilla and that's in 1 week's time. I cant wait!!
See ya!
