At the Heads, Barwon Heads: seaside dining

 

On the weekend I had one of the wonderful summer moments when I joined my family to celebrate my mum's birthday at a restaurant called At the Heads in Barwon Heads.  It literally was on stilts over the sea.  I had such a nice time I wanted to share some photos.  However when I got home, I found I had very little photos of the food.  So I will have to make up for that with photos of the beach. 

Barwon Heads, where the Barwon River meets the Bass Strait, is best known for being the town where the Aussie television series SeaChange was filmed 25 years ago.  At the Heads blue weatherboard shed was the exterior for Diver Dan's boatshed cafe.  I think I might have gone there years ago but maybe I just went past it.  Driving over the iconic wooden bridge, I could have seen At the Heads if I had not been too busy checking the GPS as I know I was already running late.  

Barwon Heads was busy on that beautiful summer's day.  By the time I arrived at the restaurant late, I was met with sympathy and we all exchanged our stories of the difficulties in finding a parking spot and how far we had to walk.  It was worth the effort to walk into the gorgeous restaurant with high rafters, wooden tables and chairs and plenty of space.  Most impressive are the views of the sea through the huge glass windows that surround the diners.

Once I had taken in the view, I discovered that our group was big enough that there was a table for nephews and nieces with their partners and a table for my parents and siblings and aunt.  I was out of my seat catching up with everyone when the starters came out.  Everyone shared plates of octopus; prosciutto with cheese and sourdough bread; and croquettes.  I arrived back at my seat in time to grab a potato, corn, miso, cheese and chives croquette with a creamy sauce.  It was really crispy and delicious but my attention was on more catching up.

Then the mains arrived.  I had ordered the one vegetarian main, which also seemed to gluten free and vegan.  I took a hurried photo of the menu but it was too blurred to read and it was not updated on the website.  The sprouting cauliflower was the feature with roasted parsnip, served on a bed of freekah, creamy sauce and salsa verde, topped with thin discs of apple and what I think were parsnip crisps.  Everything was cooked beautifully, the flavours were superb and it was an absolute joy.
 

 

Many in my family had the fish and chips which was huge and filling.  Susie had the grilled gluten free fish and chips.  Andy had the prawn linguine.  Dave was late and his fish and chips were ordered before he arrived.  Fran enjoyed her meal and mocktail but mentioned that it was a shame that the mains had no vegetables or salad.  Side dishes had to be ordered separately.  This is not a cheap place to eat.  My main cost $38 and was one of the cheaper mains.  But at least I felt good about all the vegies in my dish.  I would have also liked to have tried the tomatoes with sesame cream and nori or the broccoli with miso and saltbush.  

At my mum's end of the table was a bottle of champagne.  Not all of the family were able to be there.  My sister in Dublin had thoughtfully arranged for the restaurant to surprise mum with the bottle when she arrived.

My meal wasn't too filling so I had a hot chocolate afterwards.  The service was great and the most memorable moment was the waiter impressing us with memorising the 8 or 9 different drinks: the skinny latte, the soy latte, the regular latte, the cappucino, the flat white and on and on.  My hot chocolate wasn't hot enough for my liking but it was wonderfully rich with lots of cocoa flavour.   

I checked back on my blog and found that my last mention of Barwon Heads was April 2012 (in the same month that I went to Monsalvat which I also visited last weekend!).   I have fond memories of fun with the family on the beach building sandcastles and swimming by the 1927 timber bridge across the estuary of the Barwon River.  Over almost 100 years the bridge has seen many changes including consultations and protests in the decade after SeaChange when the state government considered a new bridge, mirroring some of the storylines of the tv show that revolved around closing the bridge.  I am glad they upgraded the bridge and were able to maintain the historical integrity and spectacle.

It was such a lovely time at the restaurant that we were all a little reluctant to leave the blue skies and blue waters of the seaside town.  I had time to take photos as I took off my sandals and paddled through thw water's edge on the way back to the car.  Blogging works so much better when I am not socialising and can focus on photos.  Hence there are more photos of then food.  But food is only ever part of the story.  Although I don't have too much to say about the meal, I would definitely be back for more, even without the magnificent surroundings..

 
At the Heads
1A Jetty Road, Barwon Heads, VIC 3227
Open: Mon-Sun 12pm-late
https://attheheads.com.au/

Festive Roast Potato Salad: Christmas leftovers

We had a lot of leftover roast potatoes after Christmas.  They are always excellent when reheated as a side dish but are also halfway to lots more great meals.  In the Twixmas days between Christmas and New Years Day, leftovers are great when energy is low as the life morphs from crazy to lazy.  I had just about enough energy on one of these days to put together a roast potato salad with whatever was in the kitchen.  It was so good it is worth sharing!

One of the joys of Christmas are the crisp golden roast potatoes on the plate of a festive roast dinner.  We always have heaps and there are often leftovers.  Potatoes are so versatile because they can be enjoyed so many ways but there are times their texture is not always so soft and pillowy - one is when it is cooked, frozen and thawed, and another is when they are chilled after roasting.  A cold roast potato can be sad but is also easily resurrected by returning to the oven or, in many kitchens these days, the airfryer.

This was my first time air frying leftover roast potatoes and I was delighted with the result.  While they were heating, I burrowed about the fridge for bits of pieces that were in the fridge after Christmas - celery, pecans, dried cranberries and some pickled red onion.  I also heated some peas from the freezer because I love peas and they are always so good with a roast dinner.

I wanted a creamy salad which is easier to start with a mayonnaise but tastes better when mixed with some yoghurt, mustard and lemon juice.  

By the time I made the salad there were not many Christmas dinner leftovers in the fridge.  If I had had any nut roast left I would have chopped up some to add.  I would love to have chopped up some of the lovely spiced roasted carrots or pigs in blankets that Sylvia made or even, if we were in the Northern Hemisphere, I would add some seasonal brussels sprouts.  

I have written out a recipe below based on what I did but it is not a recipe that will adapt to your kitchen.  You could use whatever is about.  It is the sort of salad you can whip up quickly and then return to reading your book in a peaceful house.  Leftovers are great in salads.  They are such a wonderful way to get through Twixmas in an Aussie summer without needing much energy at all.

More recipes to use up leftover roast potatoes on Green Gourmet Giraffe:

• Cabbage and potato with parmesan (gf) 
• Fontina onion and potato tart  
• Patatas bravas (gf, v)
• Roast potato and rosemary bread (v)  
• Roasted potato salad with black olives and greens (gf, v) 
• Tortilla de patatas (Spanish potato omelette) (gf, v)  
• Vegan bubble and squeak frittata (gf, v) 
  
  

Festive Roast Potato Salad
An original recipe by Green Gourmet Giraffe
Serves 2 as a lunch

Roast potatoes (about 16 pieces or from 4 medium potatoes)
2 chunks roast pumpkins diced (optional)
1/2 to 1 cup peas, cooked
1-2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1-2 tbsp pickled red onions, sliced
1-2 tbsp pecans, chopped
1-2 tbsp dried cranberries
1 tsp capers
handful rocket

Dressing:

2-4 tbsp yoghurt
1-2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp mayo
1 tsp seeded mustard
seasoning

If you are using leftover roast potatoes, first heat them either in the oven or airfryer until hot and crisp - about 15-20 minutes on a medium high heat.  (Include any leftover roast pumpkin in this reheating if you are using it.)

Make the dressing by stirring the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.  Season to taste.

Place salad ingredients, except the rocket, in a medium to large bowl.  Pour in dressing and mix together until everything is well coated.  Add rocket and toss a couple of times.  Serve while potatoes are warm. 

On the stereo:
The Milk-Eyed Mender: Joanna Newsome 

My Monthly Chronicles: December 2025

Is there anything more glorious than an outdoor pool on a summer day once the festivities are behind us!  December brought many joys with a swim at the local pool, festive markets and lights, the effusive farewells after catching up with friends for the last time before Christmas, helping clean the history society's Bluestone Cottage before it was closed til the start of February, summer, reading a P D James novel, a Christmas Day that was cool enough for me to wear an reindeer sweater.  I have written posts on Christmas eating and outings but today am just catching up on some of the less festive outings that reminded us that life goes on beyond Christmas.

To read more about my Christmas, check out these posts:

• Christmas day, food and presents 2025
• Christmas sights and lights in Melbourne 2025
• Festive Art on Windows, Sydney Road Brunswick 2025
• Coburg Night Market 2025
• In My Kitchen: December 2025 (including New Year's Eve) 
   

Lucky Little Dumplings (Coburg) and Wicked: for good

After an appointment for Sylvia, we went to Lucky Little Dumplings (T101/1 Champ St, Pentridge) for our favourite dishes: fried rice, pan fried vegetable buns, edamame and crispy eggplant bites in sweet and sour chilli sauce.  Once full of delicious food, we went next door to the Pentridge Palace Cinemas to see Wicked: for good (part 2).  It was very enjoyable with lots of beautiful views and plot twists but not quite as amazing as the part 1 Wicked movie.

Tylers Milkbar, Preston (So fresh and so green)

We had a lunch at Tylers Milkbar (656 Plenty Road, near the corner of Tyler Road).  My lunch was a variation on an open sandwich.  Named "So fresh and so green", it was a splendid green vision described as a "whipped cream cheese, asparagus, smoked almond dukkah, radish, spinach topped upon an English muffin - dressed with our magical green sauce".  I also had a couple of slabs of their wonderful tofu bacon on the side.  A lovely addition to their summer menu.

Tylers Milkbar, Preston (salad sandwich)

While at Tylers, Sylvia had the Sally's Right Ham Sanga. She swapped the ham for tofu bacon to add to the fillings of kraut, herb butter, dijon mustard, lettuce, cucumber, tomato and cheese.  She told me it was a good basic salad sandwich but better!

Coburg Night Market

We love going to the Coburg Night Market every year.  It is great for Christmas shopping but also a great place for food trucks and the ambience of community gathering on a summer evening.  You can read more about it at  this post on the Coburg Night Market 2025.

Childhood memories

I saw this vinyl copy of Patsy Biscoe's 50 nursery rhymes in Zikkies Community Store in Coburg and had to resist buying it for sentimental purposes. We had that album when I was a kid and loved it so much.  I still remember loving hearing the clip clop of the horse and Patsy's serenely talking to us about seeing the milkman's horse before singing about it at a time when such delivery horses were clearly remembered by my parents' generation.  I used to have a copy of the album, that probably was the one from my childhood, but it got so tattered that it went put out some years ago.  There is so much temptation and nostalgia in an op shop.  
 

Pet store kittens

While buying our Christmas tree, we dropped in at the pet store for some turkey treats for Shadow.  It was the time of year for cute kittens to be on sale to those who I hope know that a kitten is not just for Christmas.  Sylvia would have loved one in her stocking but, even though Shadow is enough for us, he unfortunately would not fit in a stocking.  

Festival Art on Windows, Brunswick

I enjoyed checking out the Festive Art on Windows in Sydney Road.  The above photo is of fun festive fruit on the window of La Manna Fresh fruit and veg shop.  They remind me of Kevin the Carrot and friends in the Aldi Christmas commercials in the UK.  You can see more photos at my post: Festive Art on Windows, Sydney Road Brunswick 2025 

Mokum, Brunswick

I had a fantastic lunch at Mokum (359 Sydney Road), a Dutch cafe with swirling Van Gough inspired artwork and a Dutch proverb chalked on the wall that translated to English read "it's like angels pissing on your tongue".  A tempeh sandwich had tempted me and I took along my friend Kerin for our last catch up before Christmas.  I chose the "Weed Prtezel" ($19) from the Broodjes | In-Bread section of the menu.  The waitress had to check if there was a pretzel roll left.  I was very glad that it had. While I loved the wakame and hemp crusted tempeh with the satesaus, vegan mayo, crunchy slaw and roquette, the hero of the meal as the pretzel.  It was wonderfully soft and chewy at the same time as great pretzels are.  Kudos also to the satesaus (sate sauce) that give richness and flavour to the sandwich.  I also paid $7 for a side salad which was the perfect accompaniment with lovely chopped vegies on lettuce leaves.  And my ruby peach and camomile iced tea ($7) was pleasing and unusual.  Kerin had a charcuterie board that looked attractive but was too much flesh for me. 
 

Coburg Farmers Market

We went to Coburg Farmers Market just before Christmas and admired many more stalls such as this one by Cooking with Koji, which I had not seen before.  It was beautifully displayed and although I avoided temptation, I hope to have opportunities in the future to buy from her.

 

Lunch in Geelong

After the market, we drove to Geelong to have lunch with my parents.  My mum had bought some great salads from Pollo Patisserie in Packington Street: a pumpkin and couscous salad, a Persian rice salad with greens, and our favourite was a green salad of peas, broccolin and asparagus.  I took down an amazing pumpkin sourdough loaf from the Inner West Swedish Baker at the Coburg Farmers Market.  We also enjoyed mince pies made by my mum and cinnamon and cardamom buns from the Swedish baker.  Sylvia went to check out a new Salvos op shop with my dad while I had a chat to my mum.

Hotel Lincoln, Carlton

On my last day in the office before my Christmas holidays I had a lovely lunch with a large group at the Hotel Lincoln  (91 Cardigan Street, corner of Queensberry Street).  It is a long time since I have been to that pub but was still stylish with an interesting menu.  I had the Stracciatella, roasted beetroot, sweet potato crisps, walnuts and honey with toasted sourdough ($24).  It was unsual and very good, albeit I wished there had been less creamy cheese and more toppings.  At first sight it looked small but was very satisfying with the generous chunks of bread.

 

Yoway Frozen Yoghurt, Highpoint Shopping Centre

On 27 December, when I was not keen to go out ever again, Sylvia dragged me out to the horrors of finding a carpark at Highpoint Shopping Centre, Maribyrnong.   I was somewhat mollified when we found some great bargains in the sales and I finally got to replace my spare car key.  We stopped for lunch followed by a visit to Yoway.  All these frozen yoghurt places look alike but I was tempted because this one had a Dubai chocolate option for topping my yoghurt.  I was most pleased with my chocolate yoghurt, dubai chocolate paste, oreo crumbs, strawberries, nutella, pistachio sauce and a wafer stick.  It was the best self serve fro-yo I have ever had.

Brunswick Swimming Baths

The rest of the days of Twixmas were mercifully quiet and relaxing with reading, bike rides, tv and a swim at the .  A photo of the inviting blue pool is at the top but I also took some photos of the faded artwork on the brick walls (above and below).  I wish I had seen this mural when it was new.  These days it has faded and is partly covered by trees but I always find it intriguing.

Listening and watching

• Podcast: The Making of Nazeem Hussain, Conversations on ABC Radio National
• Cinema: Gremlins at the Village Drive In
• Streaming: Love Hard - for the politically correct version of "Baby it's cold outside"
• Christmas song: "Marshmallow World" by Dean Martin
• YouTube: Donald Duck Corn Chips 1951
  
  

In the News

One of the biggest stories before Christmas was the tragedy of the Bondi shootings and the fallout.  Otherwise it was mostly disappointing governments, fickle weather and round ups of the year.  See more of the last on my Reflection on 2025 post.  I dialed down my reading and listening to the news over December but here are a few choice articles:

Hate 2.0: The defining ideology of Trump 2.0, by Robert Reich substack, 31 December 2025.

Massacre as political theatre: our shameful national response to Bondi: Politicians and the media have seized on the Bondi tragedy to drag Australia further right by Amy Remeikis, The Point, 23 December 2025.

The welfare system isn’t just on fire, it’s burning out of control, Amy Remeikis, The Point, 11 December 2025.

The Year in Review: The paradox of Labor’s massive victory, by Eddy Jokovich and David Lewis, in New Politics, 31 December 2025.

Australia's favourite political test depends on who is at the pub, by Annabel Crabb, ABC News, 9 December 2025.

I called my recipe book Sabzi – vegetables. But the name was trademarked. And my legal ordeal began: The granting of patents and trademarks to foods and words from the global south is part of a long colonial grab, Yasmin Khan, The Guardian, 4 December 2025.

In My Kitchen: December 2025

December started with the full force of festive frenetic activities and ended with resting in the blissfully quiet period between Christmas and New Years Eve.  I am glad it is time to take down the tree and move on with a new year.  But it was a lovely albeit tiring month with lots of fun and good food and excitement.  I will soon post My Monthly Chronicles December 2025 and you can see a list of more festive posts at the end of this post.

Above are some of our 2026 calendars.  While I no longer write up our appointments and dates on the calendars I still love to hang them in the house.

One summer favourite meal is rice paper rolls.  This is a colourful layout of fillings to be stuffed in the rice paper, with the vermicelli noodles out of the photo.

The weather has been some hot days followed by cooler ones.  There were still days when a baked potato was most welcome.  This baked potato was topped by broccoli, vegan cashew tofu cheese sauce and tofu bacon.  A most excellent idea Sylvia picked up online.

This linguine with a creamy vegan ragu of sausage, tomato and kale were made by Sylvia and were delicious.  Flowers in the background from pruning the garden.

It is ice cream season - the plant based Golden Gaytimes were a hit but I was less enthused by the Weiss Original Fruits ice cream.  I really love the raspberry and coconut Weiss ice creams but could not find that one.  The Salted caramel pretzel choc bits were nice - I liked the crunch and that the pretzels made it less sweet but there wasn't lots of caramel.

We were given this striking tin of Marks and Spencer choc chip shortbreads by our friends in Brisbane.  They were really delicious with a touch of chocolate and buttery crumble.

It was exciting to hear that Marks and Spencer was selling food in Australia but the range is so limited (and expensive) that it does not quite have the joy of being in one of their stores in the UK.  These Colin Caterpillar lollies are fun and vegan.

Our old melamine ladle is faded and chipped so it was time for a new ladle, photographed on a new scarf from an op shop.

We brought home a couple of huge cookies from Oh My Crumbs at the Coburg Night Market.  They were quite sweet but very nice.  Sylvia had gingerbread and I had Dubai chocolate.

Sylvia's latest favourite chocolate is Otherly.  This block of oat milk chocolate was purchased to be chopped up and added to Vegan chocolate mince pies.  So delicious!

This smashed potato, confit garlic and saltbush focaccia and pickle, chive and dill scone from Better Now Bakes at the Coburg Farmers Market were amazing.  So soft and full of favour.

Sylvia was gifted this vegan Farmer Jo Pistachio Spread (from Aldi).  It was pretty sweet by itself but I hope it might find its way into some interesting baking.

Sylvia did some experimenting with recipes before making Christmas day lunch.  She tried a few variations of Pigs in Blankets and decided she love the vegan version of sausages wrapped in bacon with a maple cranberry glaze.  They were easy to cook in the air fryer.

Another Christmas meal Sylvia experimented with before Christmas is a vegan Mac and Cheese which she made with a roux, a cashew cream, vegan (Sheesh) shredded cheese and nooch, inspired by this mac and cheese.  We added peas because ... why not!  It was very good but she went for a really good cashew and tofu cheese sauce on the day which was even better.

I love Nupur's recipes at One Hot Stove because they are flexible and easy.  We made her vegetable dumpling soup but with our own spin: onion, carrot, cabbage, garlic, ginger, firm tofu, kale, rice vinegar (1-2 tsp), stock, salt soy sauce, 1-2 tbsp white miso, dried shitake mushrooms, dried arame seaweed, and dumplings.  It reminded me a little of the way that I like to make miso soup with lots of veg.  We had leftovers and the leftover dumplings were a bit soggy.

We took lots of nice seasonal fruit to an evening picnic in front of Carols: cherries, grapes and peaches.  It was exciting to have these because they are all fruits that we only have fresh during the warmer months when they are in season in Australia.

When we went to see the Christmas lights in the city, we missed our train and had wait 25 minutes for the next.  To kill time, we browsed in an Asian grocer near the station.  This is why I brought home this bag of soy flavoured corn twists (like Twisties).  They had so much artificial flavours that they were too moreish.

After Christmas we had a great Christmas leftovers pizza.  Mine had tomato sauce, a bit of gravy, cauliflower cheese, peas, roast potatoes, roast pumpkin and sausages (because by then we had finished the nut roast).  It was so good.  Sylvia had a similar one with some Damona brie and vegan deli meats from her Christmas morning charcuterie platter.

This Christmas it did not seem right that we only had one ceramic Christmas plate and a couple of plastic ones.  As Sylvia is no longer a little kid, it seemed about time to replace the plastic ones with more ceramics.  We bought these plates at Bed, Bath and Table at their post-Christmas sale.

On New Year's Eve we had haggis nachos with the corn chips baked with a vegan (Sheesh) grated cheese.  It was not as good as dairy cheese but perhaps a vegan cheese sauce might work better here.  However with the haggis, salsa, guacamole and yoghurt, it was wonderful.  We invited E over to share dinner so he could have some pudding.

The (vegan) Gingerbread pudding with caramel sauce had been bought from Smith and Deli for Sylvia and E to have after their Christmas dinner.  They were so full from their dinner and lacking in time that it was left in the fridge looking classy in a black cloth tied with pink ribbon.  So I heated it (in the microwave) on New Year's Eve for a special dessert.  It was served with Alpro vanilla soy custard.

I leave you with more cherries, which are already becoming unavailable in the shops as their short season dwindles.  How I love to eat them fresh for snacks and desserts.  They are one of the joys of an Australian Christmas.

More Christmas posts in December 2025:

Christmas day, food and presents 2025

Christmas sights and lights in Melbourne 2025

Festive Art on Windows, Sydney Road Brunswick 2025

Coburg Night Market 2025

 

I am sending this post to Sherry of Sherry's Pickings for the In My Kitchen event. If you would like to join in, send your post's url to Sherry by 13th of the month.  Or just head over to her blog to visit more kitchens and her gorgeous hand drawn header.  Happy New Year to Sherry and the IMK crew as this event brings together some wonderful bloggers who share glimpses into their kitchens.  And Happy New Year to all my readers.