Category Archives: Photos

Ashmore Seafood & Steak

Photos, Wedding

Ashmore Seafood & Steak - A Window Display of SteaksAfter racing go karts all morning, we were hungry and definitely parched – enter Ashmore Seafood & Steak. I had heard from two different people that the food was good and the servings plentiful, so it seemed like an excellent place to pull up a stump and relax for an hour or two.

I had never been to Ashmore Seafood & Steak to dine, I’ve only ever driven past, so I had no idea what to expect. When we arrived, the venue itself was huge – much larger than I had pictured from the road (shot taken outside from doors). When we arrived, the service was prompt and we were seated immediately.

After a few minutes of chatting and getting the first beer down, we all ordered. The food came out in reasonable time, considering there were a bunch of us. What none of us could have expected though, was the size of the meals – they were massive! Most of us ordered some sort of steak and they had to have been knocking on 500gm in weight, maybe more. Andrew placed his spanned hand over the top of his steak and it was bigger in every direction, if that helps to give you an idea of the size. The steaks were nice, though the meat could have been a little more tender; however I think I’m a little spoilt in that department.

We ate, drank beer, chatted and then rolled out to the cars. Below are a bunch of group shots taken by Brendan:

Next stop, RaceNutz!

Radisson Treetops Resort & Spa

Photos, Travel, Wedding

Radisson Treetops & Spa, Port DouglasTo relax after the wedding, Claire and I went up to Port Douglas in Tropical North Queensland. For something different, we stayed in a Radisson Resort, aptly named the Radisson Treetops Resort.

On arrival, our checkin was simple and fast. We were directed to our area of the resort. Soon there after, is where things started to get just a little scary. We had booked a Deluxe King room, which weighed in at about $350 per night, not including any breakfasts. When we entered our room, we were shocked it wasn’t bigger. It wasn’t that it was small, however I didn’t think it reflected the price at all. There was dust on the furniture and outside our glass doors there was construction going on; which I guess is where it was coming from. Thankfully, I received an industry rate for our stay – however, even at the discounted price I was a little disappointed.

Moving on from the room, the rest of the resort was very nice. They have two restaurants at the resort, the Outback Bar & Grill and The Wharf. The Outback Bar & Grill is a relaxed environment, overlooking the pool. The breakfasts were quite good, offering a buffet early in the morning and a late breakfast menu until 11.30am. The lunch meals were nice, however at times a little slow to come out – while the dinner meals were excellent. The Wharf was an different environment totally, offering a fine dining experience. The meal we at at the Wharf for dinner was absolutely fantastic, while dessert didn’t disappoint either. They also have a cocktail bar named the Cockatoo Bar (meet BoBo) there too, which has someone on the piano and singing most nights. I didn’t catch the blokes name but he was very good, we really enjoyed relaxing there, listening to some good music.

The staff at the resort were all very nice, offering a generally relaxed style of service. The one problem we had was with breakfasts at the Outback Bar & Grill. Claire is gluten intolerant, which basically means she can’t eat anything with wheat in it or it makes her sick. We repeatedly asked, asked and confirmed, asked checked and confirmed with the waiters that the meal was to have no breads on it. As sure as the sun rising, every single one of them came out with bread on the plate or food sitting on bread. Simple request, very frustrating to have to reiterate yourself over and over again, to the same set of staff each morning – having them stuff it time and time again.

Overall, the I would rate the whole Radisson experience in the ok-good range. There were positives and negatives along the way but we still enjoyed ourselves and had a relaxing time. If we’d have paid full price for the time we stayed there, the rating would have fallen more in the below average-good range I think.

Darlington Park Go Karts

Photos, Wedding

Darlington Park Go Karting Race Track, Gold CoastOn the weekend of the 17th September, we upheld the long standing tradition of a Bucks Party for the Groom. We decided to break the day into four main parts:

  1. Go Karting
  2. Lunch
  3. Race Simulation
  4. Drinking

We turned up to Darlington Park Raceway at about 8.30 in the morning for a package event. It included a warm up, qualifying, three races and a final. The circuit was fantastic, sitting just down from the crest of the hill. It was fast, without being too straight and very interesting to drive with all of the up and down sections; one of the most entertaining and fun circuits I’ve ever raced on in a go-kart.

I didn’t place at all, though I had a blast. The standout driver across the races was without a doubt, Danny. He was consistently faster than everyone else on the circuit, at times up to 2 seconds per lap – with times in the 62 second area.

There were plenty of thrills, I know I went in too deep into a corner and broadslided into my older brother Andrew. Meanwhile, Brendan had some sort of a break failure (which we all thought was worth a good laugh afterwards), in the fastest section of the track. Fortunately, or unfortunate, depending on how you look at it – there were no spills.

All and all, it was an excellent morning of racing and I think everyone had a great time.

Pure Blonde

General, Photos

Pure Blonde Beer, a product by Cartlon Development Group - a division of Carlton & United Beverages.After dining on a fine Thai Massaman Beef with Wayne for dinner tonight, he picked up a new beer, the Pure Blonde by Cartlon United. Carlton describe it as a lighter, crisper, aromatic lager that delivers superior taste; which has been specially brewed longer to produce a beer that is lower in carbohydrates.

I thought it was quite funny that they are advertising it as a low carbohydrate beer. That in itself, is really quite a good thing since beer is associated to beer bellies, which aren’t a pretty sight with a shirt off. What really made me chuckle was when Wayne referred to them as “a geek beer”. I instantly had mental images of a huge, overweight man, sitting on an office chair with his gut hanging out sucking back the cold ones.