Jeffrey Tan Day!

When we arrived at the airport we were greeted by a host of Rotarians with hugs and handshakes and welcomes. Then, seemingly out of nowhere walks up a boisterous and lively Malaysian man with his name tag upside down, Jeffrey Tan. Admittedly, after such a long flight I was completely out of it so it did not even register in my brain until Jeffrey asked if I knew why it was upside down. Confused and overwhelmed by the moment I had no idea. "It's upside down because you are down under!" That was my introduction to Jeffrey Tan.

So, when we were told Jeffrey Tan (yes, for some reason we all call him by his first and last name...it just flows better out of a Texan's mouth) would be hosting us for a day none of us knew what to expect. All we knew is we had to be up before 5:00 am to be at the meeting point on time in order to see a host of food related venues. Turns out he is an amazing chef! You can read about Jeffrey and his Cooking for Charity initiative to see just how amazing he is. Recently accepted to Executive Chef Member Status we could not have asked for a better person to show us around the culinary side of Melbourne.

Ann eating a purple carrot.

We started the day off at the Melbourne Wholesale Fruit & Vegetable Flower Market. We received a tour by the Melbourne Market Authority. At 6:00 am you might ask yourself why am I at the wholesale market this early? "Because that is the best time to go!" according to Jeffrey. It was a sight to behold. Rows upon rows of fresh fruits and vegetables all waiting to be bought and sent to various markets and shops around the city. You really can't get to fresher produce without picking it yourself. So, how do they move all these goods around? By forklifts and motorized carts. Watch where you are going because they will not stop for you. The entire place was buzzing and forklifts with pallets of produce zipped by you as though you weren't even there! It looked like a giant indoor forklift racetrack. You really had to keep an eye out or you might get run over.

Interesting things to note from the market:

1. Bell Peppers and called Capsicums.
2. There are purple carrots that will turn your mouth purple when you eat them. According to the seller, all carrots were originally purple and only became orange later.
3. Forklift drivers are really just men who want to be Indie car racers but are forced to work at the Melbourne Wholesale Market.

From there we headed over to Clamms Seafood Company whose motto is From the Ocean to the Plate.  This could not be a more accurate description. However, something seemed amiss when we got out of the cars and were instantly overwhelmed by the aromatic smell of fish and we had not even made it into the building yet. Ann was looking a little green at first, but she was a real trooper and made it through the entire tour. It was wild watching the workers scale, fillet and package some beautiful fish faster than anyone in my family has ever done! Beware of flying fish scales!

As we were wrapping up the tour we had the opportunity to try fresh shucked oysters. For you oyster lovers out there this would have been right up your alley. As for those of us who have lived a sheltered life devoid of raw oysters, this was not a seafood paradise. Nevertheless, Wes and I agreed to try one. These were as fresh as they come without pulling them directly from the ocean yourself. Wes took the oyster shot approach and dumped it directly down his throat without chewing. I took the bite and swallow approach only to find that there was still bits of shell and sand adding texture to my experience. Conclusion...I am not a fan of oysters, especially at 8:00 am before breakfast. I am told I have to give them another shot, but I don't think that I can bring myself to do it. Once may be enough for me.

Mental note: If you are going to be visiting a seafood processing company for a tour wear shoes with socks. I did not know this and was wearing slip on dress shoes. When we were handed our boots to put on Ann was smart and got a size too big so that she could wear her shoes inside the boots. Not Allowed! We had to slip our nice naked feet into boots filled with...well, who knows what was in them, but it was not pleasant. I should revise that statement...who wants to know what was in them? I am sure you that you do, so drum roll please...a lovely combination of fish scales, sand and gravel.


To make up for the oyster incident, Jeffrey took us for breakfast at Le Petit Gateau. All I can say is WOW!! For those of you who know my affinity for chocolate and sweets you know I am a bit particular about what I want to waste my calories on. I would live off of the foods in this bakery if I could. Will I be able to fit into my clothes when I get home? Probably not. The only thing saving me is that it is in the city and the only other time we are going to be there is over Easter weekend and the shop is closed. Head pastry chef Pierrick Boyer has a personal invite from every member of our team to come to Texas and visit, as long as he agrees to cooks some treats for us when he comes. If I were a millionaire I would totally fly him over on a regular basis.

As if we had not splurged enough, we were soon off to our next stop: Queen Victoria Market. The critical stop at this location was a small meat shop that specialized in making what Jeffrey described as a Texas hotdog. In reality, they were giant bratwursts topped with onions, cheeses, chili, and whatever else they wanted to load up on it. Thankfully, Ann and I were smart enough to split one. Thank you Ann for setting us both up with makeshift bibs to protect our fabulous uniforms.

From there we were off to the Yarra Valley for some wine tasting. Prior to coming to Melbourne, I was not a wine drinker. In fact, if I did drink wine I had to have something sweet that tasted like juice in order to force it down. My palate is becoming more fine tuned. I am a fan of the sparkling wines because they remind me of the sparkling grape juice Hampton and I drink at Thanksgiving and Christmas every year. I think I prefer a nice white to the red. That is the extent of my wine knowledge despite numerous attempts by various members of my team and Australian Rotarians to teach me about wines. If it tastes good I will drink it. If it does not taste good, well, I will drink it a little slower, but I will drink it nonetheless.

The two wineries we visited were Domaine Chandon and Yering Station. The setting at Chandon was breathtaking and was by far my favorite of the two. We were able to sit outside in the beautiful sunshine surrounded by fields of grape orchards being overlooked by the Dandenong mountains. Again, thanks to Jeffrey Tan, we had more food. Sipping wine, and eating cheese and crackers with friends, some new and some old, was a spectacular end to an exhausting and food filled day. Oh wait! That was not the end of our day. We still had another winery to visit, the RACV club of Haelseville, and dinner with our host families!

Then off to another winery and finally to Kunyit restaurant where we finished off the longest day ever with...you guessed it...more food and more wine. All in all it was one of the best days we have had here with good food and great fellowship! Thank you Jeffery Tan (and Kay Gordon) for planning such an amazing day!

For more photos of this fabulous day you can check out my album titled Melbourne Wholesale Fruit & Vegetable Market on Facebook.

The Footy (Aussie Rules Football)

Went to my first Australian Football game. Also known as Aussie rules, football, or my personal favorite...Footy. It really is nothing like American football, and dare I say, it might be better. There is a possibility that by the end of this trip I might converted. To be honest, when I first saw the setup of the field I thought of Harry Potter and Quidditch came to mind. If any of my new Aussie friends read this...the thought was fleeting and it only took a few seconds of watching a game to realize this was so much more!

Don, one of my hosts offered to take me to a game and of course I took him up on it. He is a member of the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground). Apparently, to become a member you have to go onto a waiting list for 20+ years. He has been a member for several years now; however, he is not a full member so he does not get to enjoy all of the benefits. Nonetheless, he was able to get us tickets to the Carlton vs.  Richmond game. This was both a blessing and a disadvantage since he is not a fan of either team. It would be like my dad taking me to a Redskins vs. Giants NFL game. We hate both teams so the only reason to watch is watch the two teams beat the pulp out of one another. The benefit though was that I did have an expert sitting next to me willing to teach me all about the game since he was not too busy cheering for one team or the other. Feeling the need to pick a side to cheer for I patiently watched the game, judged the players, tried to determine the better team, and finally chose my team to be the one with the least obnoxious fans. The winner on all fronts: Carlton! (Don't tell anyone, but I did not get my full cheer on because the Richmond fans were intimidating. I now know that it is really just because they are not as classy as Carlton fans [wink wink] which just reinforces that I made the correct decision.)

So, the game, is possibly better than the NFL…possibly. The game is played on a cricket field, which apparently can vary in size depending on the field it is being played on. The players do not suit up in any sort of pads, but the play is just as physical, if not more. It amazed me how players would take a hit and then bounce right back up and keep going. They have to since there are no time outs. The clock continues to run nonstop for 25 minutes for each quarter. I was confused because each quarter ran for more than 25 minutes, but it wasn’t consistent (e.g. Qtr 1 – 28.24 minutes, Qtr 2 – 29.37 minutes, etc.). Apparently, the time it takes between scoring and returning to the center of the field to put the ball into play again is added on to the 25 minutes in the quarter. The players don’t have a way to know how much time that is so they play full force until they are told to stop. It is intensely physical and the players never stop moving. As a result, they are all in amazing shape! There are no NFL lineman physiques in this game.

To score they have to kick the ball between either two tall pillars (6 points) or the outside shorter pillars (1 point).  Players cannot run the length of the field with the ball so every 5 meters they have to bounce the ball on the ground. This is actually a real skill to be able to maintain control of the ball. Players cannot throw the ball, but rather must bunt it to other players, which looks a lot like volleyball. There is nonstop action and you are on the edge of your seat the entire time. Since the clock does not stop just because the ball hits the ground there are times when it seems to bounce around with a bunch of guys stumbling over one another trying to get their hands on it.

NFL fans have some competition when it comes to Footy fans. I had the pleasure of hearing some very colorful language at the game that might have made a sailor blush. Fans might wear jumpers (something slightly similar to an NFL jersey), but are more likely to be wearing their teams colors in a hat and scarf. Feeling the pressure of our host families it seems that different teams have won the support of our team members. Ann is a Richmond fan. Matt is a Melbourne. I am Carlton. Wes and Marci are still up for grabs so the best offer may win them over.

The only regret I have about my first trip to the MCG and first Footy game is that I did not try a meat pie at the MCG. Apparently, this is the quintessential experience and I missed out. Kind of like not eating a hot dog at a Texas Rangers game. Yes, they are expensive and you could probably get one cheaper and better tasting somewhere else, but I am told you cannot really experience football without trying one. I guess I will just have to go to another game.