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Fremantle
Freo's clock tower
Sunset over the Fishing Boat Harbour
Here is a sample of some of the restaurants we visited around the Fishing Boat Harbour;
Joe's fish shack - We ordered the seafood platter and a Western Australia crayfish served chilled with a salad. The seafood platter (AUD$29.95) was value for money and it consisted of salt and pepper squid, beer battered fish and chips and stuffed tiger prawns.We did not notice that they left out the chilli mussels, which was supposed to be part of the seafood platter as we were too busy enjoying the food.
The crayfish (AUD$26.95) was the highlight of the meal. The crayfish had a lot of flesh, which was so sweet and succulent. Our meal was paired with 2 glasses of Trentham Estate Savignon Blanc at AUD $7.00 each.
Kaili's fish and chips - Co had the seafood combo, consisting of fish, squid rings and battered prawns while I had a huge bowl of chilli mussels. The mussels were very fresh and I struggled to finish the mussels all by myself as Co has an aversion to clams and mussels or any shellfish due to some traumatic experience during childhood.
Circerello's - This is another famous fish and chips joint (next to Kailis) and their fish and chips are served wrapped in newspapers. I had the seafood chowder (with mussels, squid, fish and prawns) while Co had the garlic prawns. The fish and chips at Circerello's are deep fried and taste nice when it is eaten hot, while those at Kaili's are lightly battered and tend to be less oily. Kaili's and Circerello's only accept cash, so be sure to bring enough $$ if you are ordering for a big group.
We also visited Little Creatures Brewery, which is set inside a converted boat shed on Fishing Boat Harbour. This is a cool place to hang out for freshly brewed beer and wood fire pizzas. The spicy sausage, roast pepper and feta cheese pizza was absolutely delicious with a thin crispy crust while the corn cobs with salted butter was also yummy (pity we did not have any pictures to show 'cos we were too hungry and devoured the food immediately). The ice cold beer went very well with the food.
We splurged on a dinner at Char Char Bull, a popular steakhouse at the Fishing Boat Harbour. We had caramelized leek, potato and fennel soup for starters, a mini fillet and a scotch fillet for the main dish (again no pictures to show, sigh), a glass of Hamelin Bay Shiraz, a cup of cappucino and a macchiato. Total cost of dinner AUD$106.
Of course there was also our daily fix of coffee and gelato in the many cafes dotted around Freo.
To work off the added calories from all the feasting, we took a day trip to Rottnest Island. Rottnest Island or Rotto is a favourite island getaway for the locals and is a 30 minute ferry ride from Fremantle harbour. Rotto is located 19 km of the coast of Freemantle and no vehicles are allowed on the island.
Since the best way to see Rotto is to cycle, we rented a tandem bicycle and cycled round the island for more than 3 hours. Actually, we spent quite a significant amount of time pushing the extremly heavy bicycle up slopes, huffing and puffing as we made our way up the never ending long stretches of winding street.
As I could not cycle, I had to rely on poor Co to do most of the navigating. Our knees were wobbly by the end of the day after the extreme workout! While waiting for the return ferry, we had our coffee fix at Dome Cafe overlooking the sparkling blue waters of Thomson Bay.
At least we got to see the quokkas, the rat like marsupials native to Rotto.
The visit to Rotto has satisfied our curiosity about the island but we would recommend a visit only if you have extra time to spare in Freo. There is nothing very much to see on the island apart from the many bays surrounding the island where you can swim or snorkel.
Overall, a very enjoyable trip with many gastronomical delights. Freo is a relaxing city and it was nice just to wander around the markets, browse at the many shops and enjoy a cuppa while people watching at the Cappucino Strip.
