No tags yet.
Or should I say Father's three days in Melbourne. We had booked tickets to go and see Arj Barker at the Palms Crown ages ago and I didn't really tie it up with Father's Day but when we realised we thought we should extend our stay in Melbourne from one to three nights because we hadn't visited here for a few years. We like to stay at the casino so we booked the Promenade at Crown because of the ease of access to the casino and also because they had a really good deal on that weekend. We left home at around 10.00am on the Saturday morning and drove straight to the promenade hoping to make the most of the weekend. We arrived just after 12.00 noon and left our car with the valet parking and went inside to register. We were hoping just to drop our bags and then have a walk around Southbank until we could enter our rooms but luckily our room was ready so we went straight up there and nested.
We have stayed at the Promenade before and it never disappoints us. Apart from the easy access to the casino, the rooms are always up to standard and you can often pick up a good deal. The service is first class and nothing is too much trouble, we love the way the cleaners always greet you with a happy smile when you pass and are happy to help with extra requirements. Just to top it off the beds and pillows are wonderful. Once we were set up we went in search of lunch and found Gochi a Japanese restaurant in Crown. Japanese is our favourite cuisine so we found a table and ordered our lunch. We chose dishes we like as sharing plates including gyoza and sashimi and added a Tataki Beef which we both enjoyed. We thought the dishes were generous and freshly prepared and the prices reasonable and the staff were accommodating.
Part of our weekend package included movie tickets so after lunch we went upstairs to the Village Cinemas to see what was on. We like a good action movie and timing was right to see 'Angel Has Fallen' which we both enjoyed. While we were there Daniel phoned to say they had arrived and we organised to meet them in there room after the movie. We had asked to have our rooms close together so they were just over the hall from us which was very handy. We stayed and chatted and then returned to our rooms to take advantage of our complimentary bottle of sparkling wine and get changed before meeting up with Daniel, Sue and Grace to go to dinner before the show at Lucky Chan's at 6.00pm. There were five of us and the adults chose the banquet and our granddaughter chose an entree and mains. All the dishes were fantastic, the service as always was efficient and dedicated to the dining process. Unfortunately we ran out of time and had to leave the dessert and coffee which Daniel was really looking forward to but kindly they supplied us with a bowl of ice cream in lieu. We love coming here because you can always rely on a good experience. We were running very late so we ran to the lift and up to the third floor to Palms and walked through check in to find our booth. We booked the booth so that we could have a drink while watching the show but we were so late we didn't have time to do that. Arj Barker was very entertaining as was the lead in act, the time went quickly and we really didn't even think about not having a drink, I think we all enjoyed the show. It was late when we left so we just went back to our rooms.
We had organised to go down to breakfast at Mesh at Promenade at 9.30am the next morning so we walked past Daniel and Sue's room to meet up and all walked down together. We hadn't booked breakfast but it wasn't an issue, Daniel, Sue and Grace had booked in so we were taken to a table for five and then took it in turns to go up and get our food. I was impressed with the variety on offer, particularly the breads and sweet buns. All the offerings were fresh and well cooked, even the poached eggs were perfect. Staff were very helpful and friendly and the rates were fair. Daniel, Sue and Grace were returning home so we said goodbye downstairs and then Robb and I walked out the front to order an Uber to take us to the NGV to view the Terracotta Warriors exhibition. We have missed previous exhibitions of the warriors so I was thrilled to catch this one. It was a good display and the information around the room was worth reading. The warriors themselves were very impressive and there were lots of other items to view. Entry was only $30 each, great value and you can be in and out within an hour. After the exhibition we decided to walk back to the casino and on the way we picked up an ice cream (lunch) as there are some great ice cream outlets along that walk. With the afternoon ahead of us we still had two movie tickets to use so we went back to Village to see what else was on. We chose 'The Kitchen' mainly because of the time but also because Melissa McCarthy starred in it and I like her, however, this was not her usual fair, very dramatic and she was brilliant in her role. If you get the opportunity to see this movie I would highly recommend it but it probably isn't for the light hearted. After the movie Robb went down and played poker and I played the pokies until dinner time.
We chose to go to San Antone in Crown for dinner, we had passed by this restaurant a few times and decided now was a good time to give it a try. The cuisine is American BBQ and I love this style of eating we had been to a wedding earlier this year and they had American BBQ for the meal and we really enjoyed it so we were really looking forward to trying this restaurant. We both enjoyed the food but the sugar content got to me a bit. We had a lovely young waitress guiding us with our choices and combinations and she was always on hand. The cost was what you would expect, all up I would recommend you give it a go. We ordered the smallest sharing plate but even that was too much for us, we ordered it for two but it probably would have suited three people. After dinner we were both tired so we returned to our rooms where Robb watched a movie and I quickly fell asleep.
We had decided to play the casino the next day so our first stop was Cervo at Crown for our morning coffee. We visit here every time we stay in Melbourne, sometimes for breakfast and sometimes just for their coffee, service is slow but the coffee is really good. After coffee we had a walk around the retail outlets in Crown before Robb went down to the poker tables and I had another go at the pokies. Robb didn't do too well so he came up to collect me at lunch time, I was doing very well and had won a couple of major jackpots but I get bored playing so was ready for lunch. We just went to the food court for lunch and shared a meal of duck and noodle soup and Bao. Then we returned to the tables and the machines until dinner time. We decided to have a walk around and look for somewhere different for dinner. We eventually came across the Kitchen Workshop which is a buffet style cafe but thought we would give it a go. We added the seafood to the buffet which gave Robb 6 oysters and I chose a plate of prawns which Robb helped me with. The food was surprisingly good, not a huge selection but a good variety of food, we would certainly return here again. After dinner we went back to the pokies to use up some excess funds we had but once again I won, I couldn't seem to do any wrong this weekend which is not my usual style I never ever win so I am not hoping to make a career out of it.
We weren't that late back to our room and bed and watched a movie before going to sleep. I love to leave the curtains open to look over the beautiful Melbourne night skyline it never disappoints me. Up the next morning, packed and then heading off home. One stop on the way and then home by 3.30pm. I can safely say we had a great weekend and I think Robb was very happy with his Father's Day treat.
