So this weekend was the first weekend of the August month. And you know what that means? The Winter Harvest Market is on at the Grounds of Alexandria.
Where: The Grounds of Alexandria
Website: http://www.groundsroasters.com
Address: Building 7A, No 2 Huntley St, Alexandria NSW 2015
Lucky me, I ended up attending the market both days of the weekend and it was definitely a worthwhile experience. The first time we stepped foot into The Grounds on Saturday, my friend and I were welcomed with the upbeat music of the DJ, the combination of different smells and flavours of savoury and sweet, the buzzing energy of the lively crowd, the unfamiliar noises of farm animals and the beautiful sunshine on our faces. What topped it all off were the friendly staff offering us with free samples of food: spicy almonds, mud cake served with greek yoghurt and berries, ice blocks made with fresh fruits. We loved this feeling and we were assured that we will have a great time.
The second time I visited The Grounds on Sunday, it was no different. We were welcomed with the exact positive atmosphere and ambiance. I went with my three cousins, mother, aunt and brother. Since I went with more people than the previous day, I get to taste more food the market had to offer.
Enough of me rambling, I bet you want to dig in to some photos I took over the weekend. Below are some of the highlights of my experience. Enjoy!
Beautiful purple flowers. The flowers were really fresh and authentic.
More beautiful flowers.
Stunning flowers. Which colour is your favourite?
Sliced BBQ Lamb with pesto on a bun.
This was at one of the stalls they had in the area, the Brazilian style BBQ. The beautiful smell of the BBQ meat was a great temptation and left us to purchasing the two kinds: lamb and beef. I much preferred the lamb over the beef as I found the beef too chewy, whereas the lamb was more tender and closer to perfection.
Price: $10
Rating: 7/10
Sliced beef in a bun.
Price: $10
Rating: 6/10
Slicing the beef.
Beautiful strawberries on display.
Chocolate mousse with strawberries & lemon tart.
Price per dessert: $6
As I mentioned in my previous posts, I am not much of a sweet tooth. However, my mum is one and so she bought two pastries for us to try. I must say the strawberry mousse was amazing. That base was baked with perfection and homemade goodness. It was great. The lemon tart was also good, nice tinge of sourness of lemon and balance of cream and lemon.
It would be silly to come to The Grounds and not have what they are famous for, their coffee.
Cheese burger with bacon.
Fatty goodness. How many kilometers do I have to run to burn all these calories?
Price: $13
Rating: 7/10
More beautiful flowers.
The dessert kitchen.
Free samples of mud cake with yoghurt and berries. Yummilicious.
Smashed avocado with tomato and feta cheese on toast.
The lunch box which consisted of lamb, falafel, roasted vegetables, pita breads and quinoa with tzatziki sauce.
Price: $13
Rating: 7/10
I shared the lunch box with my friend, and it was a perfect split. It was if the lunch box was made for us two. There were two servings of the lamb skewers, falafel, and pita, as well as a generous serving of the roasted vegetables and quinoa served with tzatziki sauce. The lunch box can be customised to your preference, as they provided the choice of meat: chicken, beef or lamb and also choice of sauces. We thought the tzatziki sauce would complement well with the lamb.
I really love Mediterranean/Middle Eastern type food, so I was pretty satisfied with this dish. The closest food option from where I work is the kebab from the Myers’ food court, haha. However, it was not the best that I have had before. If you are keen on Mediterranean style food like me, please click here to read my previous post on Kepos Street Kitchen. Their falafel is like heaven in your mouth. It’s ahh-mazing!
The strawberry dessert on display.
Chocolate base strawberry tart with cream topped with a layer of jelly and a sprinkle of pistachios
My friend had the strawberry tart with cream. She was really happy with her decision. I can only comment on the presentation as I did not try it, but as you can see from the picture, the flower patterned strawberry dessert is very beautifully created. Also, I thought the chocolate base biscuit was very unique and interesting, so kudos for their creativity!
The beautifully decorated lemonade stand.
The types of lemonade on offer.
I love it, I love it, I love it. I loved how they have decorated and organised this lemonade stand so beautifully. I am really amazed by how well the markets were so organised and executed.
Rose petals lemonade.
I decided to try the rose petals lemonade. I drank half way when I realised that I forgot to take a photo, haha. 🙂
Price: $5
Rating: 6.5/10
Organic vegetables on sale.
They were selling $10 per box down from $20 per box.
Pathway leading to the florist – very cute.
Kevin Bacon the pig.
Thanks for making it this far in reading my post, I understand it was a super duper long one. But there were so many things happening in the market all at once! In conclusion, it was a very well thought out event – which brought great ambiance and energy through the combination of entertainment (music, free samples, farm animals, playground for kids), food (there were two food options outside, the takeaway menu, the seated menu at The Grounds), market like setting (there were all types of stalls available to cater everyone’s needs (from flowers, to meat, to cheese, to olives, to honey, to jewelry, to chairs) and the beautiful decorations which cannot be explained by words but was indeed value adding to the positive experience we had at The Grounds.
Until next time,
Astrid
Astrid Tj 