Another restrained breakfast, a quick search in the hotel's Yellow Pages, and I had identified a suitable camera shop. It was interesting that the hotel reception desk was ever so concerned that I would steal the Yellow Pages. I found that quite entertaining in such a posh place.

I caught a tram up Elizabeth St and hung around outside waiting for the shop to open at 9 am. In the window, in the second hand section, I spotted a more up to date version of the lens that had fallen apart on me. If the worst came to the worst, that would solve my problem whilst not quite breaking the bank.

The older gentleman at the repairs counter explained that they didn't do repairs on the premises but that there was a chap in a far suburb who did. He then looked a trifle sad and said that it might well prove that a repair would cost more than the lens was worth. I resorted to Plan B and bought the lens in the window. Beggars can't be choosers or something. I then fled the shop before I had thought too hard about the cost.

Michaels Camera Shop, Elizabeth St

I boarded the tram and discovered that I was sharing it with the rest of the party. A fortunate coincidence.

Coffee was at De Clieu, a small and trendy café on Gertrude St, where they sold all manner of tea and coffee making accoutrements.

De Clieu, Gertrude St
Coffee making accoutrements	A phalanx of macho baristas

It was also gratifying to see a small box of Porirua's best on display. The baristas were all young men, sporting some interesting tattoos, and making excellent coffee. It was just a shame that we were all issued with paper cups. Coffee doesn't taste the same out of them.

A little further down the road is Books for Cooks, where we spent an hour and a half looking at books, talking about books with the proprietor (alas I have forgotten his name) and drinking fizzy wine. A very pleasant experience.

Cava and books	The proprietor
For a while we were joined by Chris Badenoch, an early star of Australian Master chef and now the proud owner of a café round the corner, specialising in beer and meat. These two are also the main subjects of his book, of which I bought an autographed copy. He was entertaining and appears to be doing well as both a writer and as a restaurateur. Right: Chris Badenoch

Charcoal Lane is a restaurant operating as part of a programme to give opportunities to aboriginal and other disadvantaged street kids. The dining room was beautifully light and airy with interesting ceiling panels.

Charcoal Lane	Tahbilk Cabernet Sauvignon from the Nagambie Lakes

Most of the staff who served us looked neither aboriginal nor disadvantaged but who knows. Whatever their background, they were very good. I hope that the quality of the training that they have obviously received enables them to prosper.   Right: The service was excellent

The Tarra Warra Chardonnay, from the Yarra Valley, was excellent. We had a choice from three entrees:

Coffin Bay oysters with apple cider dressing and finger limes	Yam fritters with bush tomato chutney and semi dried olives

French onion soup and fried saltbush (no photographs)

Red wine was also available although I didn't try it. This was Tahbilk Cabernet Sauvignon from the Nagambie Lakes.

The other main courses were Barramundi with wilted baby spinach and sauce gribiche; and Roast pumpkin risotto with watercress and feta cheese.

I chose the oysters. Whilst I have had plumper ones, they were very good. This was followed by the kangaroo, which was as tender as the one I had in Clare a few years ago. This one had been brushed with some soy, which gave it an exquisite and delicate flavour. As with all of the meals on the trip, the presentation was stunning.

One or two of the party had pudding instead of an entree. This was raspberry jelly, lemon myrtle panna cotta and passion fruit ice cream. It looked amazing but, alas, I can't report on what it tasted like.

The party started to break up and we all went in different directions to play for the afternoon.

Gertrude Street geraniums	Guarding the old post office

I pottered back into the city centre, taking a few more photos of the buildings on Gertrude St and then, following a tram ride, of the old General Post Office and some of its neighbours. I did some window shopping, collected some emails at an internet café and generally relaxed after a couple of hard days playing at being a foodie.

The sun was shining brightly so I took more photos of the river and of the park on the South Bank, where they were preparing for a festival over the Labour Day holiday weekend. At about 4pm I returned to the hotel to rest and prepare for the evening's festivities.
Back to the river again	Flowers and towers

The Festival Cocktail Party was big, crowded and very hot. The nibbles were OK but the wine was nothing special. Nigella appeared and was the centre of attention for a little while. She gave a short speech and seemed rather overwhelmed by all the attention. Modesty prevented me from producing my camera and flashing in her direction and I certainly don't feel qualified to comment on her levels of sartorial elegance.

The food appliance company, who were one of the main sponsors, had provided a display of food processors containing a wonderful mix of strawberries, red chillies, limes and various other colourful items. I did wonder what the mixture would have tasted like but it was definitely a feast for the eyes. Right: Stunning colours - but strange flavours?

The taxi ride back to Gertrude St and our evening meal was unbelievable. Had we but known a) it was the Friday of a Bank holiday weekend; b) there was a big Aussie Rules game on; c) ditto a big Rugby League game ; and d) Neil Diamond was singing, we would either have staying in bed or caught a tram. The entire city centre was completely gridlocked. My party sat in our taxi for about 40 minutes, thinking that we were hard done by. One of the other taxis took about an hour. I could easily have walked there in that time and the tram would have taken a maximum of 15 minutes.

Cutler and Co is in an old factory building on Gertrude St. It had high ceilings and bare brick walls. Inside, it was bright, brash and loud, just like any one of hundreds of other bars in the city.

Whilst awaiting the arrival of the others, we had a drink in the bar. My Virgin Mary was an intimidating brown colour, hinting that it contained more spice than tomato juice. My first taste confirmed that this was definitely the case. Not a drink for the faint hearted! It also had a hazard for the uninitiated. As I have since read, the bar maestro likes to use chop sticks as swizzle sticks. This looked at first glance to be a big straw and my attempts to suck anything through it were completely in vain. Not a dignified way to start my acquaintance with what I had been told was Australia's best restaurant.

	It looks like a typical noisy bar
A Virgin Mary - definitely hot stuff!	We found our private area

Once we had all assembled and moved to our private area at the rear of the restaurant, the atmosphere changed completely. The meal was another degustation menu, a series of exquisitely flavoured, textured and designed dishes.

Olives		Oysters - 2nd time today
And small peppers. All washed down with 2006 Yarrabank Cuvee, Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia			Cured kingfish, octopus, fresh wasabi, avocado & cucumber. 2010 Chalmers Vermentino, Mildura, Victoria, Australia

The selection of appetisers was a bowl of small but toothsome olives, some oysters and some small local peppers. I found these rather mild but others found them a little hot. The cured fish was both fresh and delicate. I don’t, however, remember it being exciting.

The soup was fascinating - the plates were presented with the scallops and vegetables in the bottom and the liquid was then poured in from jugs. It was delicate but full of flavour. The sea lettuce was something that I had never encountered before and seemed to be there for its most unusual texture.

An amuse bouche appeared, cured salmon on toast with caviar. I'm sure there is a more technical way to describe it but I will have to rely on others to tell me.

An amuse bouche		Heirloom tomatoes, house made ricotta, brik pastry & white balsamic. 2010 La Boheme ‘Act 3’ Pinot Gris blend Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia

The heirloom tomatoes were interesting rather than exciting but added to the interesting colours, flavours and textures. I had never met brik pastry before but it is similar to a wafer.

The Wagyu beef was another standout. Probably the most wonderful beef I have ever tasted. The high fat content gave it a powerful flavour whilst ensuring that it was moist throughout. If only Wagyu beef weren’t so terrifyingly expensive. One of my colleagues spotted some in a Melbourne butchers shop at AU$ 220 a kg. The Cabernet Sauvignon which accompanied it was also special. Quite remarkable for one so young.
		Wood grilled Rangers Valley short rib, parsley root, tamarind and onion. 2008 Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, WA, Australia

Finally, the pudding looked amazing and tasted just as good. The chocolate ganache was immensely smooth and rich. The violet ice cream had an amazing aroma of … violets … and was very delicate.

Violet ice cream, chocolate ganache and sour cherry. Single ‘Ambre’ 2003 Rivesaltres, France
	Chocolate fudge

Coffee and very dense chocolate fudge concluded the entertainment.

Most of the wines, when taken in isolation, were nothing special. When drunk with the dishes to which they had been matched, however, they gained in complexity and were ideally suited. Both here and at Maze, the food and wine matches were an important part of the experience.

The final course	The evening flowed quite well!

The service was exemplary. They were there when you needed something but not when you didn't. Explanations were provided for each dish although these were often difficult to hear above the background noise.

At the end of the evening, we beat a hasty retreat, had a rapid 15 minute taxi ride to the hotel and were tucked up in our respective beds before midnight. Another good day.