It’s (still) all about the dollars

FOR some diners, it’s all about the cash right now. Discount eats, half-priced meal deals and two-for-one offers.

I can’t think of any restaurant in our local area not offering some sort of dining concession to entice us penny-conscious eaters.

The classic lunchtime special is probably the best example of how competitive venues are becoming.

A simple scroll on social media will probably yield multiple examples of eye-catching dining proposals – often at slashed-standard prices – hoping to just put bums on seats, rather than make significant profit.

So if budget eats are on your radar right now, here’s a few worth your consideration.

I’ve written about this before, but the hospitality outlet of the Gordon Institute, the Davidson Restaurant, is hard to beat when it comes to catering for a value, restaurant-quality lunch.

Sure, your dishes are prepared by local cookery students (with the oversight of their culinary mentors) and delivered to your table by the next generation of front-of-house professionals (under the watchful eye of their teachers) so if there’s a small hiccup along the way, it’s completely forgivable (albeit unlikely to happen anyway).

For $20, at lunch you get a main course and glass of beer, soft drink or wine.

And for the same deal at dinner, it’s only $25. Now that’s hard to beat!

Go on, support our students and get a great feed along the way.

 

Another seriously good cheap-eats option is a simple sushi shop I was recommended recently, which fortunately is within a short journey from my doorstep.

For me, it went to show that even franchised spots can have their better, and worse, outlets.

Hi Sushi in Newtown (Pakington Street) is the former of the two, proving you shouldn’t necessarily judge the book – or in this case, the shop-front of a chain – by its name.

Fresh, fairly portioned, good ingredients and quick: all the things I want from a local sushi and japas (Japanese-tapas) place. Oh, inexpensive too.

Finally, in the way of value dining out opportunities, here’s one a little out of the box.

Nestled amongst the greenery of our Eastern Park precinct is the recently renovated Eden Oak, right next to where our Geelong Botanical Gardens sit.

Probably unknown to many, located here is a 46 accommodation room/function facility with all the trimmings, including a small Thai restaurant called Eden Thai.

Thankfully it’s also open to the public (and has a welcoming adjacent bar area), as it’s a cost-efficient choice for anyone who enjoys this cuisine. And let’s face it, who doesn’t.

All the classic menu hits are on (eg Kapow Gai, Tom Yum, Pad Thai etc) as well as a couple of dishes I’d never heard of before, yet enjoyed. Check on Google Maps for where to access.

Staying in the gardens, here’s an event that might be of interest to pencil in the diary.

In just under a month’s time, Eclipse: In Bloom, will be an immersive experience that comes alive after sunset and tells the story of the biodiversity found in the our botanic gardens.

Visitors can expect to encounter delicate glowing habitats as well as spectacular large-scale installations, all of which celebrate the connection between nature, light and imagination.

Gates will open from 5.25pm until 9pm, so there’s plenty of time to work your way around the entire landscape.

Make sure you call past WYM (Where You Meet) as you’re passing through for a refreshment or two: they do great coffee and other warming drinks, as well as adult beverages (equally as warming).

 

Providing it’s not raining cats and dogs, what a great night out this should be.

Mead. The drink of Viking kings and Nordic villains.

Neither wine nor spirit, it’s an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting honey mixed with water and (sometimes) added ingredients such as fruits, spices, grains or hops.

Well, we have some of Australia’s examples of this ancient drink right here in our own backyard, with Geelong’s first meadery (yes, that’s a real word) Three Horn Brewing, having won a small string of awards over the past few years.

If you’re keen to sample the fruits of their labour, Little Creatures is hosting the mead-makers as a part of their Winter Solstice Takeover event on 20 June, with their range open and ready to pour for anyone interested to learn more on this more than 8,000-year-old drink. Skål! (…ol’ Viking speak for cheers, I’m told)

Next week, I’ll give readers a full rundown on all the best events featured in this year’s Tastes of Greater Geelong program, which was released just this week.

There’s some reasonably exciting dates and I intend to explain some of these in detail. Stand by.