Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury
We are in Adelaide for a wedding on the weekend, and thought we would partake in a few touristy activities while here. We have noble plans but have managed just a few things in the 24 hours we have been here.
Checked in to the Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury – an apartment hotel that was once the South Australian treasury building. Majestic in architecture but relaxed in atmosphere, the location is perfect – we are within walking distance to everything in the 1 square mile of the city (which is ringed by gardens). We were very happy to discover that the 2ft thick walls of the original building have remained – which ensured a good nights sleep! (Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury)
After check in, we headed straight to the Central Markets – full of fresh produce stalls, bakeries, chocolatiers, butchers and fishmongers, as well as all the knick knack corners you could desire. As it was right on closing time for the markets and not all stalls remained open, we supplemented our purchases with a side trip to Coles and Vintage Cellars (no wineries had been visited at this point – we’d only been in the city 45 minutes!) and ambled back to our digs with provisions for breakfast and late night snacks all under control. It should be noted that the purchase of our trusty Lindt at the supermarket was a tad premature – upon leaving the markets via another exit we discovered a Haigh’s chocolate shop about to close its doors. They kindly waited while I promptly ordered my usual – shiraz truffles and berry chocs (plus I mixed things up a bit with some Cointreau truffles thrown in for good measure). It is FAR too easy to spend up big in that place!
After unloading our supplies we tossed a coin as to whether we would order take out or go for another walk – my tolerance for lack of food is quite slim, and I hadn’t had anything but chocolate-coated ginger for 7 hours!! (Surely, a new record…). Little did I know I would have to wait for quite a bit longer! We elected to venture out (after all, first night in a new city? Take away is a tad sad, really), and headed towards a big eat street near Chinatown – Gouger Street, where an abundance of Asian restaurants awaited. We had a hankering for Thai, and chose ‘Star of Siam’ – mainly cause it seemed a popular spot, they had some lovely outside tables (and it was still a balmy 26 degrees), and I vaguely remembered reading some nice things about it online. We sat down at 6:30pm, ordered at about 6:45pm but got our meal close to 8pm. The food was excellent, the service was pleasant and friendly, and apart from the slow delivery, was competent and professional – I do like never having to ask for my water glass to be filled. However, I do think that as there were customers who arrived after we did being served their second courses before we had our entree that something more than a sincere apology was called for – especially since we had to order an extra dish to satisfy their “minimum of $20 per person” food order (small print on the last page of the menu). Come on, ‘Star of Siam’ – an offer to waive the $15 corkage would’ve been appreciated! Having had my gripe, their daily special of barramundi with green mango sauce was truly fabulous! (Star of Siam)
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- Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury
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- Statue of John McDouall Stuart
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- Produce at the Central Markets
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- Barbara, Nic & Nara choosing breakfast items
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- Ah….Haigh’s – my old friend!
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- A glass of Sauvignon Blanc at the Star of Siam
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- Adelaide Railway Station (that houses a casino upstairs???)
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- South African War Memorial on North Terrace
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- Gouger St – the Asian ‘eat street’
It was great that you took time from the wedding functions and visited some of the historical places over there in Adelaide!