Thursday, February 3, 2011

What can you pack into three Days in Mollymook, Narrawallee & Milton?


First stop on our recent NSW South Coast Road Trip was a pretty little place called Mollymook. About 2 1/2hrs drive from Sydney, it sits on the coast nestled between the historic town of Milton and the bustling harbour of Ulladulla.
We stayed at a comfortable motel for two nights, just up the road from the beach. There is plenty of motels, apartments & holiday rentals to choose from, all a stone's throw from the beach and in peak holiday times it is a popular place to stay.
After a swim and a surf on the long board at the South end of Mollymook beach, we made the trip back inland five minutes to check out the historic town of Milton and it did not disappoint!
A main street dotted with antique stores, vintage clothing stores, a great surf wear shop, cafes and ice creamery's, plus your essentials like an IGA, ATMs, butcher and baker.
I was wrapped to find first up Merry Maidens' Veggies


a lovely little shop in town, selling local fresh produce, both organic & biodynamic and a selection of wholefoods.




Owner Louise Tucker has her own farm five minutes out of town and grows the lions share of the fresh produce herself to sell in the shop, with contributions also coming from other local farms.


It was a pleasure to meet Louise and hear some of her story. So impressed by the quality and flavour of her produce, we made three visits to her store as we travelled up and down the coast, during our two weeks away. I would have to say that her fresh produce was some of the most amazing I have ever tasted.
On our first visit we bought some incredible salad leaves, on our second visit I asked Louise "where do you get these salad leaves from?" her reply "I grow them myself, I was up early this morning picking them for the shop sales today!!!!" I was speechless and this only further inspired me to begin growing more of my own produce at home.


Her produce is grown Bio Dynamically with the Australian Demeter Method, quality produce from ecological and sustainable production methods. Some refer to it as the "Rolls Royce of Organics". For those of you who are interested in knowing more take a look at www.demeter.org
If your travelling South and you want some real "straight from the farm fresh produce" visit Merry Maidens' Veggies, thank you Louise you truly are an inspiration.
(Travel Tip: Although the address for Merry Maidens' Veggies is on the Princes Highway, Louise's shop is set back from the main road in an arcade, it was a little difficult to find the first time, but persist and if necessary ask a local!)

A lovely place to visit and take it all in, was the Milton Village Green,


a green space with chairs, tables, cafes with a view inland and an amazing Coastal Indulgence Ice Creamery & Juice Bar,



located in the Village Green Space, keeping me & the kids happy at the same time!



Another place that caught our eye as we strolled through town, was the Milton Woodfire Pizza Cafe.


It was such a popular spot to eat dinner, we had to book in for the following night to get a table. Delicious Pizzas and Salads,




friendly staff, you order and pay at the counter and its CASH ONLY, which we came to realise was quite a common thing, in the casual eateries we visited on the South Coast.
Our final eating out experience in Milton was Pilgrims Vegetarian Cafe,


which is open until 3pm for lunch, eat in or take away and then reopens at 6pm for dinner as a Mexican Restaurant.


Now before you skim this bit, because you are not interested in Vegetarian Fare...let me just say, if you were going to dip your toe into the waters of some Vegetarian nosh, this would so be the place to start.


We had lunch at Pilgrims, which for us was some amazing burgers & juices, there are also wraps and pies, salads, smoothies, shakes, coffee, brownies and slices.




They also sell the famous Berry Woodfired Sour Dough to take home. Although we did not eat at the Mexican Restaurant in the evening (this trip!!!), it was buzzing and the menu and food we saw when we wandered past looked yum! Everyone we spoke to over those two weeks away, both local and tourist said "When you went to Milton... Did you go to Pilgrims?" which possibly explains why the place was continually packed out day & night!

On our way back from Milton to Mollymook, we took a short detour to Narrawallee beach, a local friend put us onto it and it was a hidden treasure.


Molly and I enjoyed an early morning surf there on day two, whilst Paul and Jake did some fishing at the Narrawallee Creek inlet, at the end of Matron Porter Drive.

Our final foodie experience, before heading further south, was breakfast at Rick Stein's Bannisters Restaurant.


Being that the restaurant is reasonably formal



and quite expensive and we had two kids with us, we opted to have breakfast there.


It was a beautiful place to visit, with views from both indoor and outdoor seating.
Apparently it also has a Pizza Bar open from 5pm!
It would be an amazing place to stay as a couple for a special occasion and relax, with lovely coastal views and secluded accommodation and pool. Next visit to Mollymook I'll go for dinner, without the kids and let you know how it is... maybe we could even stay a night? maybe we might even spot Rick Stein!


So there's our highlights of the first three days of our road trip South, of course there is no doubt, so much more to do, see and eat in Mollymook, Narrawallee and Milton, but it was time for us to head off just a little further south and you'll be reading about our next adventures soon!!

Merry Maidens' Veggies
Shop 9, Coast Gateway Complex
65 Princes Highway, Milton NSW 2538
T (02)4455 5363
Closed Sundays

Milton Woodfire Pizza Cafe
Shop 78, 80 Princes Highway, Milton NSW 2538
T (02)44555678
BYO
Dine in or Take away
Open 7 nights School Holidays
Tues - Sunday otherwise

Pilgrims Cafe Vegetarian
Shop 8 & 9, The Settlement, Princes Highway, Milton NSW 2538
T (02)44553421
Open Lunch 10am -3pm 7 Days
Open Dinner from 6pm 7 days Mexican
BYO

Rick Stein at Bannisters
191 Mitchell Parade, Mollymook
T (02)44553044
Breakfast daily 7.30 - 10.30am
Lunch Wed, Sat & Sun 12.30-2pm
Dinner daily 6-9.30pm
www.bannisters.com.au

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not only are you a great cook and an inspiration to me for delicious food ideas, but now you have added "tour guide" to your repertoire. Now I will have to add all these beautiful places you have visited to my holiday itinerary! Only trouble is there doesn't seem enough time to fit it all in. x R

Jane Grover said...

A weekend away here, a weekend away there, before you know it, you've discovered some lovely places & some delicious local food!

Anonymous said...

Hey Jane…..great blog…..Rod and I have stayed at Bannisters…..eaten in both the restaurant and the Pizza Bar….both absolutely amazing.
N
xxxx

Jane Grover said...

Thanks Nic, great feedback! now I want to have a weekend at Bannisters even more :) xx