Picton, NSW revisited


On a warm December day, the inland suburb of Picton, tucked away 80 kilometers from the Sydney Harbour Bridge,  in the south-west of the greater Sydney region, looks like any New South Wales regional conurbation with its rail station, main street, supermarkets, cottage produce shops, heritage buildings and surrounding farmland.  Coming from Picton Road, and approaching the unique Picton Railway Viaduct, I had to reduce my driving speed to accommodate a residential area before getting into town.  The place looks sparse initially but perhaps I was on the quiet side.



Lunchtime beckoned me to the cafe strip, with several choices in modern Australian themed food, ranging from all day breakfast to burgers to pasta.  There is a Vietnamese bakery offering pork rolls at Aud 4.50 a piece near to the IGA Supermarket, but this is away from the main food and shopping hub. Along the way to the cafe hub, an elderly lady at a furniture shop struck up a conversation with me - she had a large courtyard in various forms of timber and stone furniture for the outlet that her son operated.

The La Crema Cafe at Argyle Street  dished up a delicious sauce for the pasta I requested (picture above), replete with mushrooms, bacon strips and aromatic herbs.   The place had chatter mainly from locals, primarily retirees, tradies and young families.  Service at this cafe was with a smile. Do try the coffee, it's uplifting and aromatic.






Picton NSW  is the administrative centre of the Wollondilly Shire and is close by car to Campbelltown.
It has several buildings of interest and offers convict and ghost orientated tours to curious tourists. Otherwise, the Mowbray Farmhouse home stays and the Picton Botanical Gardens are also highlights.

Picton was established when the Great South Road was built to connect Sydney with Goulburn.  More recently, radio personalities Merrick and Rosso caused a commotion with the airing of "The Picton Song" in which local teenagers were depicted as having widespread under age sex in order to gain benefit form the Federal Labour Government's substantial baby bonus payments to parents.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Aunty Gaik Lian's - Straits Chinese, Georgetown, Penang

Image
A simple but appetising egg omelette as starters. Gulai Ikan Tumis or sour and spicy fish curry. The previous long standing branch of jewellers B.P De Silva, almost at the corner of Bishop and Beach streets in the old quarter of Georgetown, has a few months ago been transformed into a hub of Straits Chinese cuisine. Straddling two shop lots, located in an evening quiet location but near to the banking district on  business days, Aunty Gaik Lian's provides a refreshing change to the Nyonya food landscape on Penang island.  I have always found that the best Straits Chinese food is found in homes in Penang, like what my Mum dishes out, and it has been exasperating to be really satisfied with commercial outlets in this cuisine.  The Penang variation of such Peranakan food tends to be more influenced by ingredients and cooking styles from Thailand and the Malayan peninsular , when compared to the Malacca version (with more of stronger Indonesian influences and the use of the
Read more

85 Degrees Bakery Cafe Hurstville NSW

Image
There are several outlets of this bakery cafe for several years now in Australia.  Did they coem from the USA? Each franchised outlet is in a busy area, often in suburbs so-called by a diverse Asian demographic.   The one in Hurstville is rather roomy and lots of baked stuff on its shelves.   The base of Sydney operations is in Chester Hill, a suburb south-west of the Sydney city centre. Some of the cake creations would be viewed as rather leaning on the East Asian dimension  - Strawberry Angel (with chocolate base and top) and Mango Cheese ( with yoghurt).   However, to counter this perspective, there are also Death by Chocolate, US Cheesecake, Coffee Brulee and Blueberry Marble options.     The pastries are definitely filled with ingredients more suited to perhaps  Anime loving fans and non-mainstream cultures - for example, garlic, pork, tuna, green tea, red bean, shallots, pork floss, coconut, Hokkaido butter cream and Boroh or pineapple buns.    Sung
Read more

Return to Eythrope

Image
Only Yesterday Eythrope Revisited Approach to Eythrope Sunrise Over Penang Hill Penang Hill Undergrowth Pathway to Eythrope Lillies on a Pond A Moment Colonial Cannon at Penang Hill Sign Board to Eythrope Image Credits: K H 18 January 2009
Read more