Adelaide 2021
For a time in 2021, we thought the worst was over. Things seem to be getting back to normal - masks are only mandatory in certain indoor establishments like supermarkets, interstate borders start to reopen and dining out is allowed again. We decided to take a trip to Adelaide during the good Friday weekend. Having spent most of the previous year in lockdown, the Australia’s Masterchef Back to Win series was one of the shows we watched diligently and promised ourselves we would go to Adelaide once borders reopened and visit some of the contestants’ restaurants. Noah was most excited about this idea because his favourite contestant was Poh. Why you ask? Because, as he simply puts it “she makes cakes”.
Truth be told, we nearly didn’t go on this trip. Like any couple, we have our fair share of disagreements and fights. It had been a tense few months juggling work life balance with 2 kids. All of us were not feeling 100% too - the cold change in weather meant that the kids were picking up cough & colds from childcare. On the morning of the flight there was a discussion about half the family going and the other half staying home. But in the end, we decided to just go ahead to forge ahead despite the tension.
The trip didn’t start off very well either. It was Sophie’s first time on an airplane and on the descent, her nose started to bleed profusely. We arrive in Adelaide and are immediately greeted with more temperate weather. Despite being also 21 degrees, Adelaide somehow felt almost 5 degrees warmer - we conclude because of the lack of wind chill that Melbourne has. We spend the next 2 days just lazing around the house to rest and recuperate while ordering food in - Korean at Busan Baby & the pastries at Abbots & Kinney are winners in our books. We’ve all taken kindly to the warmer weather and feel a lot better. A trip to the National Railway Museum followed, much to Noah’s delight - it’s almost sacrilegious that we do something train or tram related in every family trip. Next it’s the Adelaide Zoo, which was a pleasant surprise as we managed to see the pandas & otters up close, something we never got to witness in the various Melbourne Zoos. Noah even overcame his fear of animals and summoned the courage to pet a deer, which made us really proud.
As the weekend beckons, our friends arrive and the true holiday begins. Having more adults than children is a key recipe to a good holiday and we are ever so thankful for friends who would want to share the burden of holidaying with children with us. Lunch at Bloom is a big hit, as well as a trip to Mount Lofty Botanic Gardens to see autumn in all it’s glory. The wonderful thing about Adelaide is everything is about 20 mins away from each other - perfect for kids who don’t exactly love car rides. We spent the next day in Hahndorf and the kids have a lovely time at Hahndorf Farm Barn with the animals.
The main event of the trip was to meet the Masterchefs - we were so lucky that we got to meet both Laura & Poh. We coincidentally bumped into Laura during dinner at Shobosho and she was so lovely. We tell her we are visiting Nido Bar in the next couple of days - she apologises that she won’t be there but promises to make sure they take care of us. She takes a couple of photos with Noah followed by a warm embrace & a goodbye. The pastas at Nido Bar were truly wonderful but the most amazing whipped ricotta, black pepper, honey dish is etched in our minds forever. On Sunday, we head to Adelaide Showgrounds Market where Noah meets Poh at her market stall, Jam Face. Shy at first, he quickly warms up, dancing around her while she signed his book, much to the delight and amusement of the iconic celebrity chef. We order many treats from Jam Face, possibly way too many for the 6 of us - all equally delicious, but in particular her pies are truly extraordinary, as advertised during her stint on Masterchef Australia.
Looking back, I struggled to think about what we were fighting about in the first place that nearly derailed this holiday. And after the year 2021 turned out to be, I’m so thankful that we decided to put our differences aside and push through to make this family trip a reality.
Photographed on Contax G1 & Contax T2 on Portra 400 and Kodak Gold 200