It is a pity that I did not do much research before heading to Perth as I treat it more like a free and easy kind of holiday. Good thing is I knew some friends who has been to Perth and also some staying in Perth itself. So, apparently Swan Valley is a place to go. Actually Swan Valley is also big part of the reason why we rented a car as it is not possible or probably very difficult to go there via public transport.
One of the thing that you must get hold before heading to Swan Valley is this map or what they refer to as 'Swan Valley Food & Wine Trail'.
So, obviously we didn't have it. We just used our GPS to navigate us to Swan Valley and reach to this spot, which I later found out is called Guildford town. We are not lost but I wish I could have read about it first because Guildford town is full of history and we totally just drove by.
From Guildford town, we search for winery and the ever reliable GPS bring us to this beautiful scenic road. OMG, it is so beautiful and calm and we know we are in the right track.
So anyway, if you can see the map, we drove all along Great Northern Highway and drove back to hit the two biggest winery on that particular road. The first we went to is the Oakover Winery.
It was already past 2pm and we were thinking of having lunch there but when we walk to the entrance, we shy back because there must be at least 10 tables occupied but we can't hear much sound. They are all couples having romantic lunch and whispers their conversation. Since we have a 5 year old boy with us, we wouldn't want to spoilt their lunch for them, so we back off.
Instead we walk to the cellar and decided to try some wine and end up getting 3 bottles!
Next, we head to Houghton Winery. The sky seems pretty scary and I must say that spring weather in Perth is just so unpredictable. One moment, you have bright happy sun shining down on you and the next minute you have the scariest grey cloud overlooming you. Good thing is although it rains, it stops like few minutes later or at most 10 minutes.
So anyway, we are definitely in the right place for lunch this time. In Houghton Winery they have a cafe which is sort of semi alfresco restaurant that provides beautiful scenery and it is definitely child friendly.
I couldn't help it, I just have to take a picture of the food they served in Houghton Cafe. The fish & chips with beer batter and the beef ribs is oh so yummy!
Houghton Winery also has a mini museum that shows the machines they use to make wines dated back since 1800s. So, apart from being a wine tasting trip for us, we can educate my son on how to make wines from grapes.
OK, I didn't take much pictures of the museum apart from these big barrels that always fascinates me.
This is the main structure and reception area where you get to taste their wine. Do you call it Cellar door? Anyway, it is absolutely classy all the way compared to most of the other wineries.
Just one snapshot of the winery. Since it has just turn spring, the grape trees has just been planted. It is not ripen or anything and so the view is not so breathtaking compared to my previous trip to Mornington Peninsula during the fall season.
Something that I have just been picking up for the past one year or so is to appreciate beer. I have never really been a beer person but recently a lot of the local bars back home has been introducing us to German beers and suddenly I realised that beer can be nice and fun. So while in Swan Valley, we took the opportunity to hit one micro brewery, Mash.
This is the first time I actually get to see this up close. Ahhhh ... freshly brew beer, that's the first for me.
They serves the beer in a very beautiful bar and guess what? They have a corner for kids complete with play station. So while the daddy and mummy is tasting beer, the kids can entertain themselves. Brilliant!
Brewery can also be more fun compared to the winery because while you actually pay for the beer, there is no pressure for you to buy say like bottles of wines in the winery after you get the free tasting. So you can just order as many as you like the mini mug and 'Cheers!' away.
Finally in Swan Valley, before we head back to the city, and after we got hold of the map, we decided to visit the Margaret River Chocolate Factory. I mean I have a 5 year old boy with me after all.
OK, OK, maybe I was expecting too much or maybe I was kind of visualising the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie scene. Obviously it was nothing like that. In fact all you get to see through a window is a 2 feet wide conveyor belt of chocolate falling into a bin and maybe 3 workers packing chocolate into a plastic case. Duh! It might not be like the movie but at least it can be more interesting right?
So being Asian, who equates food with travel, we of course sit down, have a cuppa and a truffle at the restaurant.
So, Margaret River Chocolate Factory really is a HUGE chocolate shop. Since we are already there, we might as well buy some and OK ... it is so darn good. Especially the one with berries coated with chocolate. Yum!
Location : Perth, Western Australia
Next, Fremantle Part 1 - the Markets
Personally I think the main attraction of Fremantle is at the Fishing Boat Harbour. Here, from end to end, it is lined up with restaurants, eateries and brewery. So apart from enjoying a meal here, having a stroll at the jetty is just a treat on its own.
I'm sure if you are thinking of visiting Perth, you would have heard that this part of Australia serves the best fish & chips in Australia. And obviously when you're already here, you will try to search for the best fish & chips there is in Perth. So we ask around and every single person says, Oh, its Cicerello's at Fremantle.
So imagine how excited we are when we saw this banner in front of the restaurant. Its like 'We are here!'
Let me brief a little bit about the style in Cicerello. It is a 'self service' restaurant. I mean come on, can you believe it? It's the best Fish & Chips in Australia for pete's sake, why is it self service? As you placed your order and pay, they will give you a 'pager' and buzz you when your food is ready. So we walk away with a pager in hand to look for a table since the place is so crowded with what I presume to be tourists like us cause they all look equally confused and lost like us.
As I walked into the al fresco side of the restaurant looking for a table, I was awe-struck for a few seconds. I mean look at this view! It's just unbelievably beautiful and almost dream like. I don't know, I just like it so much.
The only thing that I don't like about this dream like spot is that we have a lot of company in the name of seagulls. These seagulls are fearless of human and will come to you if you don't shoo them away. It seems they like fish & chips too. Look at this signage ... get it (LOL).
About the food, let's just say luckily the view is good cause the food is not. I would rate the Fish & Chips in Houghton Winery 8/10 while Cicerello at 6/10. This is the picture of their sausage instead.So after the superb view and not so good Fish & Chips at Cicerello's, we stroll along the Fishing Boat Harbour to catch some ocean air and photo ops.
Little Creatures Brewery is apparently one of the most famous micro brewery in Western Australia.
Actually from outside, it doesn't look so micro afterall.
Once you enter the bar, you are immediately transport into a very hype and happy place with not only adults but children too, eating and drinking. One thing about brewery in Australia, they are all child friendly. They is actually a large sand pit at the patio facing the sea for kids to play in, mighty brilliant.
So in Little Creatures, you can choose a whole list of freshly brew beer and I think their most famous is probably their pale ale. I choose a bottled one called White Rabbit.
This is the view if you sit at the patio outside the restaurant facing the harbour. Sublime!
Fremantle is a harbour town and is just about 30-35 mins drives from Perth City. Since we already have a rented car, we drive all the way to Fremantle. Actually there is a better way to make your way there. According to Rose, the best way is to catch a ferry from downtown (near Bell Tower) to Fremantle and catch a train back. The reason is because, while you get to enjoy a ferry trip, you also get to view the beautiful side of this harbour town which you couldn't have catch using road. So, we missed that part but that's OK. Next time perhaps.
Since Fremantle is such a fabulous town and I don't even know how to begin, I decided to break it into 3 parts. So, Part I is about the markets. Somehow when you ask someone where to go in Fremantle, the first thing they say is go to the markets. So, here we are.
There are actually 2 markets in Fremantle. The more established one (which was established since 1897) is the Fremantle Market. They call this the Grand Dame of the heritage buildings in Fremantle since Fremantle is full of heritage buildings.
For me however, the Fremantle Market really is more like a farmer's market. So unless you are looking for fresh produce, this market doesn't really fancy tourist.
But being a shopaholic me, I still managed to find something amusing to bring home like this wheat head.
The wheat head will look like this a week after I water him everyday. So now I get to cut his hair (I mean wheat) whichever way I want and released the inner stylist in me. So, technically this can be consider a 'fresh produce' right?
The second market in Fremantle is the E-Shed market. Now this market is more applicable to tourist because they sell all the tourist stuff, you know like the t-shirts, caps, fridge magnets, koala bear huggies etc etc etc. So if you are looking for handicrafts or souvenirs to bring home so you can show off you've been to Australia, this is the place to be.
And you know you're in the right tourist market when all you see is not Australians but fellow Asian tourists with a bag pack, grabbing whatever while mooning over how cute or funny those things are. Yes, I'm one of them. I mean 10 little koala huggies only for AUD1.80! So cheap and so cute!!! 
