In one word: Picturesque
What more could you ask for on a sunny Sunday Autumn afternoon? A vanilla slice, a coffee and the Yarra River at your doorstep. Having never visited Fairfield Park before the setting for our afternoon tea was very old-worldly and picturesque. If you took away the setting and the sun I may have been a bit more harsh on my marks for their homebaked vanilla slice, with the beast setting me back $8.50. It was large and indeed baked on site and extremely fresh; similar in stature and proportions to the famous Sorrento slab.
This slice was tasty, but not mind-blowing. The pastry was thin, crisp and simple to penetrate with my cake fork. The custard was more like sweetened, lightly vanilla scented whipped cream - tasty don't get me wrong. The addition of the whipped thickened cream on the side was unnecessary and typically Aussie. If you are going to do such a thing, make sure its clotted!