Giant Steps
On our recent visit to the Yarra Valley we managed to explore a few other restaurants and shops-not that we were in danger of starving mind you, but because we were curious to see what the rest of the food in the Yarra Valley was like. The first stop is one that I was initially apprehensive about purely based on the name: Giant Steps. You see Mr NQN bounds ahead with his long 180 centimetre frame, as for me I’m a mere 155cms and with much shorter legs and high heeled boots. So I was expecting a bit of billy goat-like mountain climbing when I got there. Thankfully I was proved wrong. On a Saturday afternoon we arrived at Healesville just over an hour outside of Melbourne. It is just one hour out of Melbourne suddenly there are no more clusters of buildings but lush greenery.
We enter Giant Steps and there is already gaggles of people sitting down in the open plan restaurant slash cafe. There are wine tastings for the Innocent Bystander winery and a couple choosing some cheeses from the fridge and we pass tempting displays of breads and preserves. We are told that everything is made and baked on the premises and although we are after something light, my eyes linger on the sweets including canelés, Polish donuts and Turkish delight flavoured with their own moscato.
Calabrese pizza $23
We sit in a gigantic booth as the lunch crowd hasn’t quite descended and we settle on a pizza as recommended by our friendly waitress and we let her know that we need to leave quite soon to make our next stop. The Calabrese pizza arrives quickly and it is a lovely thin crust with a simple tomato, spicy salami and mozzarella on top. It was just what we wanted and we both want to claim the last slice.
Truffle fries with parmesan $11
The truffle fries are French fries sprinkled with truffle salt. I’ve seen this done with thicker chips and I think they need the thicker potato chips to sustain the seasoning as it seemed quite salty. Still, it didn’t stop us from plowing through them.
Canelé $3.50
Years ago when I first tried a canelé I wondered what all the fuss was all about as it tasted like burnt dry prettily shaped lumps (the word canele means ridged hence the shape). And certainly people do make a fuss about these little cakes. So I wasn’t hoping for too much to be honest as we are pretty far away from Paris. I sink my teeth into a slightly crunchy caramelised sugar outer and reach the rich spongey moist interior. And as we hit the jackpot my brain’s tastes and texture receptors are going off happily. Even cake snob Mr NQN eagerly wolfs down the rest when I offer it to him.
Turkish delight $5.50
What can I say, on the upside the Turkish delight comes as four large pieces, on the downside it isn’t actually much of a Turkish Delight at all without any of that lovely chewiness. It is more a icing sugar dusted square of jelly flavoured with the moscato. I didn’t finish my piece.
Polish donut $4
I could not resist the Polish donut with the jam bursting out of the top of the risen, puffy and sugary outer. It was fresh and soft and with a slightly tart plum jam which contrasted nicely with the sugar on the outside.
And yes that does seem like a lot of sweets for a light lunch! 
Yering Station
You know I do like to shop and at Yering Station there is plenty to taste and buy the next day. It is located on the same grounds as Chateau Yering but operated as an entirely separate business. We were given a voucher for a complimentary wine tasting when we checked into Chateau Yering and at 11:30am they’re already doing a brisk trade.
The site of Victoria’s first vineyard and cellar door and shop is housed in the early winery building which is airy and spacious. In the front of the shop are all sorts of Yarra Valley goodies including a slew of hand made preserves by Jam Lady Jam, Cunliffe & Waters and Yarra Valley preserves as well as Henry Langdon tea, Kennedy & Wilson chocolate and Lushies soft marshmallows which come in flaours like blood orange (flavoured using blood orange juice) and latte. I buy some goodies as gifts.
Yarra Valley Dairy
No visit to the Yarra Valley would be complete without visiting the Yarra Valley Dairy. I’m not delivering any revelatory news when I tell you how good their Persian feta is and how it is entirely possible to eat a whole 250g canister in one sitting just with just a fork or a spoon. I may or may not have done that (shhh I’m telling Mr NQN that we just “ran out”).
The dairy’s 250 cows graze on the land nearby and the milk is delivered underground to their factory alongside the shop which is housed in an old milking shed. The cows are milked twice daily and are left overnight to graze on pasture after their second milking. In the shop and cafe they hold complimentary cheese tastings of up to five cheeses.
I’ll take one of everything thanks!
They make four types of cheeses here: 1) white mold cheese 2) marinated cheese 3) fresh cheese and 4) curds. We tasted five including a fresh savourine rolled in ash which they do to keep the moisture in. When it is aged a little more it becomes their Black Savourine product which has a layer of white on the outside and a little ash layer inside as it has drawn in the flavour of the ash into the cheese. There is one harder style cheese which is their version of a gryuere which is very sweet and nutty. For a garlicky punch there is their “House Cow” fresh fromage frais which is flavoured with garlic, chives and parsley and a hotter version is their “Hot Cow” given heat with chillli.
Mr NQN and I debate which ones to buy and our stay at Chateau Yering has furnished us with a 10% off voucher. He chooses the Black Savourine and I resist buying the 1 kg bucket of the Persian Feta (I frightened myself at how quickly the 250 gram disappeared) and instead choose the Cardi goat’s milk cheese because I adore the unusual sweet taste of the shallots and cardamom.
I eye off several items that I want to use as props-every time he turned around I was holding a lovely enamel jug or a teatowel and he would just shake his head. Party pooper!
Zonzo
That afternoon we wanted to try a local’s favourite which was the pizza route again-after the pizza the day before I was only too happen to have more! Zonzo is housed in a large barn and has an accompanying vineyard called Train Trak. As soon as we walk in we wish we had booked. There is room but it’s at the end of a table which actually suits us fine as we just wanted to try a couple of pizzas.
A steel bison’s head overlooks the whole room and room dividers are made up of corks. Cured sausages are suspended from the ceiling and there’s a lively crowd of people and families. The pizza is the star of the show here but there are also some pasta dishes and some smaller antipasto platters. We are hypnotically drawn to the large pizza oven from which the chefs fetch pizza after pizza with their pizza paddles.
We decide to order two pizzas, not because we were hungry (after a big breakfast and cheese samples, hungry was the last thing we were) but because we couldn’t decide on which pizzas to order. I do love sausage on pizza whether it be fresh sausage or salamis and so the pizza alla salsiccia was calling to me. But the other part of me wanted the pizza con porcini as I was clearly nowhere near truffled or mushroomed out (and a part of me contemplated going back to the car and taking out our precious truffle and shaving it over the pizza).
Our teas arrive and my face fell a little when I saw that they were teabags in tea infusers. But the tea itself is actually rather good. We tried the ginger peach tea (more peach than ginger) and the smooth chai which was my favourite with a lovely sweetness and good balance. Sometimes chais can be a bit too bold and overpowering with clove or other strong flavours but this has just the right balance of flavours and aromas.
Pizza alla salsiccia $22
The pizza alla salsiccia was the preferred out of the two but you wouldn’t kick either out of bed. This one has tomato, mozzarella, taleggio, pork & fennel sausage, onion and rosemary. It was fragrant and full of flavour and before I knew I had eaten half. Mr NQN raised his eyebrows and pointedly lifted up his plate to swap before I hoovered down the rest.
Pizza con porcini $22
The pizza with porcinis has tomato, mozzarella, porcini, pancetta and mascarpone and I particularly liked the mascarpone which gave it just the right amount of creaminess that goes so well with mushrooms.
With our car boot full of cheese, black truffle, jams and teas, our tummies full with pizza and our minds full of memories, we slowly depart the Yarra Valley.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you try and visit places that locals go to when you visit a city or country? And do you eat food even if you’re not hungry but just curious to try it?
NQN flew to Melbourne as a guest of Pommery Wines in conjunction with Chateau Yering. All meals in this story were independently paid for.
Giant Steps
336 Maroondah Highway, Healesville, Victoria
Tel: +61 (03) 5962 6111
Yering Station
38 Melba Highway, Yering, Victoria
Tel: +61 (03) 9730 0100
Yarra Valley Dairy
70-80 McMeikans Rd, Yering, Victoria
Tel: +61 (03) 9739 0023
Zonzo
957 Healesville – Yarra Glen Rd, Yarra Glen, Victoria
Tel: + 61 (03) 9730 2500
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38 Comments | Add your own
I love to always eat food, even if im not that hungry! Admittedly, food does taste a lot nicer when you are starving!
Wow Australia seems like a foodie paradise from all your posts! Can’t wait to visit someday
Nice food! Just curious why the sourdough bagueTTE is written with big t’s. Must be a secret code?
I love the duck crossing – so cute!!
Note to self, visit the above mentioned places! The interiors and the food of the places you visited looked amazing! Love the road side stall photo. Great Post! Mel x
So much of this looks just wonderful–the sweets, the pizzas, the bread, the cheeses, but it was the Cardi goat’s cheese that grabbed me. I love anything with cardamom.
Anything! And what exactly is Persian feta? You have mentioned it several times, so of course I Googled it. Looks wonderful. Yarra Valley is the best, right?
I often try food out of curiosity when i am not hungry. I love these posts where you sample so much. Yarra Valley Persian Feta is a favourite of mine also (they sell the big buckets where I get my baking supplies but I have not been game to buy one yet I think it will disappear all too fast)
I love to try local stuff and yes, I do try things even if I am not hungry, which why I will never be thin. I love the Yarra Valley. I need to go back.
I do love the yarra valley. We got married at Stones of the yarra valley, it’s gorgeous, Greg Malouf was doing a series of amazing sunday banquets and we nabbed one of them. His banquet was just amazing for our wedding lunch
loooooooooooooove Greg’s food.
Yarra valley dairy is an old institution isn’t it! We take the kids for cheese and to watch the cows come home too
When it comes to food, I am eternally curious and will try pretty much anything. My eyes are always much bigger than my stomach, so when I see something too good to resist, I have to try it. A bit like that famous Monty Python scene (have another wafer, sir…). ;p
Thank you for another interesting Sunday morning amble
! Have my little book ready to jot down the names. Yes, I love to try anything and everything new and always attempt to follow the local crowd. Eating when not hungry: not really – if possible buy the desired item to have later . . .
Ah, the country looks pretty but i don’t think i will ever make it there.
You can tell it’s Victoria by the bright blue sunny sky (ahem) … Looks like you had a ownderful time. I bags the Polish donut!
Oh my gosh, you have just reignited my need to go back to Yarra Valley Dairy! The ashed goats cheese and the house cow are my favourites! I made the most delicious mushroom risotto with the ashed goats cheese a while back (I can assure you I didn’t go easy on the cheese, either, haha). Did you get greeted by their farm dog? He’s this short haired, almost mutt-looking dog with a fair amount of dirt and grease on his coat, but has the biggest enthusiasm for greeting the customers and loves to jump all over you with his muddy paws! N’awww
I must hang my head in shame though and say that I have not been to any of the other places, although they have been on my to-do list for a long time! I really have no excuse as most of them are only a half an hour drive from where I usually reside. Thanks for the gorgeous pictures and lovely words, you always manage to capture the places you visit so vividly!
Thank you so much for this post, Lorraine.
More things to do when we go the Yarra in November. Will be staying at C Yering too!
SSG xxx
I love this type of rustic local produce. The duck confit pies have just made me instantly hungry and the bespoke jams. I love making and tasting homemade jams and chutney’s so much better than the mass produced preservative bound offerings on supermarket shelves.
Great review of the trip.
Lorraine, I would like the “Pizza alla salsiccia” Immediately
))) Superbly Deeeelish !!!
I’m curious about the shallot and cardamon cheese, but rather more jealous of the persian feta. It must have been amazing!
the yarra valley is not that far from me..a few hours drive..i don’t go very often but when i do it’s always beautiful..i tend to take a picnic so stops at cafes and restaurants are not usually on the agenda but the ones you visited all look great..
Wow – so much pizza in the Yarra – a lil unexpected…
I’ve been to the Hunter so many times, I think it’s high time I visited the Yarra or Barossa soon
Oh, I’m still feeling sad about the Turkish Delight disappointment! Bah, humbug!
Um, I think I’m less adept at resisting sweets when not hungry than savouries…
I can’t believe all that is only an hour away. I’m booking a weekend getaway stat!
it is a mystery to me why I don’t spend more time out at yarra valley – maybe this summer I need an outing out that way – all those wonderful farm shops though I would tut tut at teabags too
Thanks for the nostalgic stroll through the Yarra Valley for me, I lived in the Dandenong Ranges and we always visit when we go south. These days I live near the Hunter Valley and we go there to eat rather than drink & sample wine ( drink/drive laws), we are systematically working our way through the restaurants; and yes I will eat even if I’m not hungry:)
It’s not always easy to determine where the locals eat, but we overnighted in Albury once and the motel restaurant was full of locals, and we woofed into the best steaks we’d ever tasted. Probably local beef.
Yes and oh yes! Not that the second one is probably something to be proud of…. The duck neck sausage in the display case sounded good, and I know what you mean with the feta- I’m glad this doesn’t just happen at my household!
the Truffle fries with parmesan def. looks more crunchier than charlie and co.. love these.. so addictive!
Oh my goodness yarra valley dairy is the home of the most amazingly moan-worth rabbit terrine I’ve ever had…I took about 10 photos of it I was so excited haha
I’m terribly guilty of eating food because I want to taste it rather than because I’m hungry. I could eat 24/7 if it wouldn’t make me fat.
Visiting the spots where the locals frequent is always my first preference.
When I visit a foreign country, it’s difficult to get off the tourist track unless you’ve got a friend who has local knowledge. I remember when my husband and I stayed in Paris, undoubtedly our best night there was when we met a friend who took us out to his favourite restaurant. Not a tourist in sight apart from us and definitely the best food.
Yes and Yes! What a glorious way to spend a weekend, almost feels like we were tagging along with you, lol.
Absolutely, go where the locals go! & try to never be too full when travelling, you always need to fit in something moore! oh and yes yes yes, I felt the same way about caneles initially. Now I loved them
Heidi xo
Wow, Lorraine, you sure do get around! The pics look amazing, particularly the food — makes me want to visit Australia!
Totally eat when I’m not hungry. When my partner asks if I’m hungry for lunch or dinner, I answer, “Always…” and he justs laughs, because it’s true. I most definitely love visiting local country eateries and love seeing where the popular cheeses, breads and the delicious food come from. It’s a perfect day out for me, especially if it’s sunny and there’s somewhere scenic to take it all in and get intoxicated by the wonderful, fresh air and surrounding flora. Persian fetta by the tub? Would love to buy it if it was stocked near my area and by the way…, I too have scoffed a whole tin of the small persian fetta – Worth every second!!
I have a bottomless pit as a stomach when its all new food haha. I always end up with a sore belly afterwards but its usually worth it
Remind me never to go for a light lunch with you and Mr NQN. You would have to roll me out of there! I definitely love to eat where the locals eat, as generally they know the best places.
You just completed our regular Saturday trawl through the Yarra Valley. We live about 40 mins from Giant Steps and have been known to pop over for a coffee and to pick up a loaf of their sour dough it’s sooo good! I feel very lucky to live so close to such treats!
Yes hunger is definitely not a prerequisite for eating in my case although I sometimes wish it was!
I definitely love to try local food, particularly somewhere foreign
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[...] ready for our filling and good thing because I am getting hungry! We fill them with smoked salmon, Yarra Valley Cardi goat’s cheese and a egg mixture with cream and these are baked for about 10 minutes until set.While these are [...]
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