Manly, Jellyfish, and Escargots

Took a trip out with the family to Manly yesterday, which was super nice.

The weather was wonderful; not too hot, not too cold (though, slightly windy, which was a bit chilly at times, but it was bearable). Also took my camera out with me.

So first we went on a ferry across the Harbour to reach Manly Wharf, and I managed to take a few decent shots using both my DSLR and my GoPro.

This shot turned out a lot better than I thought it would

Taken using my GoPro.
I thought it'd be cool to take one out of the ferry window. The reflections of the water and sky on the windows were a bonus.

Also taken with my GoPro (just as a test shot)

After reaching Manly Wharf, we had to walk about 15 minutes to the other side of the beach and reach JellyFish Restaurant & Cafe where we had booked lunch.

It was a nice little cafe; packed full of people and super busy, even at 2pm.

Although the food was quite pricy, it was very, very good, and I can understand the price range. A real testament to that is the fact that it was absolutely jam-packed, even with its $30 prices for lunch.

LEFT: Mushroom something something. RIGHT: Salmon skewers something something.
I apologise because I forgot to take a picture of the menu and my detailed short-term memory is quite bad.

The salmon skewers were /amazing/ though. I'm not exaggerating. They were one of the best pieces of salmon I'd had in a long, long time.

I took other photos of the mains and such, but I'm not uploading them here because
1. Too many food photos
2. They weren't as good looking as the ones above
3. I forgot what was in them or what they were called (The main reason)

Anyway, then desert was served! Which I... can vaguely remember in sufficient detail.

Creme brulee, lime sorbet, and a fudge brownie(?)

Then, it was 3PM and it was time to head off to the beach.

The beach was so close; legitimately right opposite the cafe, so my brother and I spent an hour and a half on the beach, getting drenched by the waves, whilst my parents had a coffee back at JellyFish.

Needless to say, my brother enjoyed the beach a lot.

Look! you can see me in the reflection of his sunglasses

We also build sandcastles.
Which the waves soon attacked.

Not going to lie, beach photos are very nice. There's something about the sheer brightness of the surroundings and the yellow sand and blue sky and sea that really compliments a portrait here. It's simple but also nice-looking.

However, cons include the sea water spray and the sand getting into your camera (I cry everytime). But hey, a DSLR like mine is supposed to be sturdy and weather sealed, so...
And what's the point of a camera if it's not used to capture every moment (it can withstand a bit of battering, I'm sure...)

ANYWAY, the time had come to head off and leave Manly, so at 6PM we caught a ferry back and then made our way to Pyrmont, where we had another booking for dinner.

It was at The Little Snail.
The restaurant was filled with legitimately French-speaking individuals, which meant they must have known their stuff. You don't see many restaurants like that, anymore.

Also, the price wasn't bad at all! $60 for a full 3 course meal, with a drink as well. And let me just say, the meals were massive. I think I'd be full on just half a meal, so if you share it between two, it's really only $30 per person! Though, to be fair, I probably eat below average compared to the typical person, so I may not be an accurate gauge.

Barely enough light to take a semi-decent-ISO photo.
The thing with many restaurants is that they always have very dim lighting, forcing me to jack-up my ISO, which makes me sad.

 And yes, you can guess what was served there.

Escargots de Bourgogne -- dozen snails marinated in herb-infused court bouillon, oven baked in garlic butter. 

We had four meals, so that meant four entrees. We ended up sharing two dozen snails between us.

To be honest, the snails weren't half-bad. Once you were able to mentally accept and get-over the fact that you were eating snails (occasionally the gag-reflex began to surface), it tasted quite good and just like any other form of meat.

It helped that the shells were lighter coloured, and not like the garden snails that we find in our backyards. I don't know if I'd have been able to handle that.

But yeah! It was my first time eating snails, and I can't say that I was left unsatisfied. You should all give it a try, just for the sake of trying something new and different!

Salmon Roulade -- filled with her b cheese mousseline, served with potato nest and passion fruit dressing

Then it was time for the mains, which were not disappointing at all.

Yes, photo spam. (each meal looked so nice!)

Citrus Marinated Tasmanian Salmon -- served on crab meat risotto and roasted pepper coulis

Seafood Plate -- of grilled salmon, garlic prawns, salt and pepper squid, chilli mussels, beer battered soft shell crab and mesclun salad.

The above two meals were very good. The salmon was something I kept going for again and again, and the seafood plate, although seemingly ordinary, was a plate full of food, and so was well worth the price.

The next two were quite nice too, but not something I would order again. In saying that, they were great dishes and still worth their price; it's just that I enjoyed the above dishes more so than them. None-the-less, it was fine quality and I wouldn't mind eating it again for dinner!

Loin of lamb -- with wilted baby spinach, maple glazed pommes boulangere and thyme jus.

Fillet of beef tenderloin -- served with potato milleteuille and red wine jus.

And then finally, desert was served!

The deserts were impeccable. They were legitimately such great tasting dishes and I thank myself for saving a tiny bit of room in my stomach for them because I would have been surely upset if I wasn't able to try them all.

Special mention to the Belgian Chocolate Gateau below because it was truly incredible. Everybody loved it to bits.

Belgian Chocolate Gateau -- with pineapple and coconut candy 

Handmade profiteroles -- with creme patisserie and chocolate sauce

Classic Creme Caramel

And lastly, this one below was also very, very nice. Probably my favourite of the night, but that's likely because I just love hazelnut ice-cream, and the biscuit reminded me of Anzac cookies (which I also love)

Chef churned hazelnut and praline ice cream -- on sable breton and Grand Marnier caramel

It was truly a great restaurant and would recommend you try it, if you have time and want to try something new and exciting. It's just next to Darling Harbour, and it's quite affordable.

Their website is here [link] (wow free advertising)

Anyway, that's about it for that post! Got home late and hit the bed quite quickly, thus for the late-day-after post. And, going out /again/ today. It's going to be a very busy next week and a half, I can assure you that.

Hopefully I can keep up...

Hope life's been treating you all well.