Bendigo (Part 5): Sight-seeing at the Farmers' market

Because all work and no play makes Jack (and Calvin) a dull boy, the two weeks was a good break to get around, explore a new area and unwind a little before school (and reality) comes around.

Being more easily roused into enthusiasm than others, the task of planning the areas of interests fell to me. When Monash gave us a map of the area, I'm sure they meant for us to use it to take notes of all the tourist attractions in the area, right? 

I cannot locate the Monash campus on the map, but I can still remember vividly how to get to the Farmers' Market

The event I was looking forward to most of all was the Farmers' market. There was a couple coming up that weekend, and I quickly put them on our radar. Growing up in an urbanised city-state, Farmers' market were the things found in story books; and, as I grew older, in the blogs of people I follow. And here is my chance to finally experience one. With the promise of buying fresh produce directly from the folks who grew them, or talking to the bee-keepers and cheese-makers about their crafts, or merely taking in the hustle-and-bustle of the open-air market in springtime, it's easy to see why Farmer's markets remain a source of excitement to many locals. And also to a few non-locals as well.

Solar Powered... something. Speakers, perhaps?

Handcrafted soap, sold in a variety of scents

One of our first buys was Nashi juice. Nashi pears are an Asian variation of the predominantly European variety seen on the market, and are available seasonally between March and January.The stall had a large selection of beverages made from nashi, and we were immediately taken with their sparkling Nashi Juice. It was a toss-up between the Nashi Juice and the Nashi Cider, and we opted for the non-alcoholic beverage instead, because we are guai (obedient) students. And also because we already had a stash of alcohol back in our accommodation, and there is only so much alcohol one can take. Who knows what rubbish I'll start sprouting - even more than usual - when I get drunk? 

(Actually, quite a few people do. But that's a story for another time.)

Another great buy of the day was at the Locheilan cheese stall that was selling its wares just a few stores away.

Locheilan fromagerie. You are officially my favourite cheese maker in Australia.

A good thing about Farmers' market is that the stalls invariably have wedges of cheese available for sampling. Which is a good thing for customers, because I wouldn't want to end up with a dud. And it's a smart marketing strategy for the fromagerie, because well, it's kinda hard to walk away from a stall after sampling half of their cheese plate. It's a vicious cycle sometimes: I feel that I have to buy something after several samples, but I don't have something I like in mind. So I sample another, then another... and my guilt grows until I simply have to buy something, so I just pick one randomly and tell myself it's "not that bad." 

Then I go home and my sister beats me over the head. 

But luckily for me, the Locheilan cheese stall was full of winners and I have no lack of choice in picking one that I like. The Locheilan Triple cheese, for example, was one of the better triple cream I had (Though admittedly, my comparison cheeses come from supermarkets, not exactly a place to find excellent cheeses). The cheese I chose in the end was the Kaarimba Soft, which in their words, "Our softest, creamiest, most luscious cheese in the French brie style." Which it was. The cheese was so soft that it was running over the crackers. It was glorious. I bought half a wheel to split with a friend, but I soon realised that we should have gotten the whole wheel instead. 

Because I do believe buying in bulk is financial prudence, and buying twice as much cheese sounds like a solid strategy for saving money. Lesson 1 from Bendigo's Farmers' market. (The second lesson, one that I learnt when we drove 2 hours from Bendigo back home, was that soft cheeses ripens very, very fast in a hot car.) 

We contemplated heading up to the farm to get more cheese at the end of the two weeks when we were done with school, but we realised it was a little over two hours in the opposite direction. Drat! The Kaarimba Soft was awarded with four gold medals, as I found out later . But in my books, it was already a winner. 

My third buy of the day was from the friendly bee-keepers that run a stall near the entrance of the market, who graciously stood for a picture.

We chatted a little about honey (it was sort of a one-way conversation consisting of me asking questions and them telling me all about their craft.) I learnt that honey collected from different flowers do retain the taste of the flower. In particular, I remember from another farmers' market a memorable ginger honey, one collected from bees that feed on ginger flowers. Their selection of honey here were lovely too, and the Orange Blossom Honey particularly caught my attention. 

When I got home though, I kind of wished they packaged it differently. The yellow cap, the plastic container, the white paper labelling and the yellow liquid all reminded me of a different kind of bottle, one that I did not want to think about at the dinner table...

After visiting the first market, we headed over to another market, one that focuses more on selling household items. There were beautiful house decor available for purchases, from intricately crafted cake stands to vintage decanters. Because impulse control is not my strong suit, and I'm a sucka for beautiful things, I made my friend promise to stop me from buying anything. After all, it would take a stronger person than me to resist the siren call of an antique whiskey decanter. Which I almost would had ended up with, had my friend not (on several occasions), literally dragged me away from the stalls. 

But that's the hazard of being drawn to open-air markets, in hindsight. Hopefully one that gets better with more experience. Bring on the farmers markets.

Check out my trip to Bendigo: Part 1!
Check out some of my Bendigo curriculum (Part 2) here!
Check out Part 3 about our trips to Old Green Bean here
Check out Part 4 about our food trail here

Check out Part 6 about our trip to Mandurang Valley Winery
Check out the last part, Part 7 about Bendigo's other attractions