The Funky Mexican Cantina Celebrates Mexican Independence Day

We were down at Raby Bay Marina (next to Cleveland Station) for the Twilight Makers Market which is held once a month. We were hungry and decided to have something substantial to eat and I felt like Mexican so headed for The Funky Mexican Cantina. Little did we know that it was Mexican Independence Day! A fantastic vibe with music from a Mexican band floating through the cantina.
  Once we were seated we ordered a Mojito Cocktail and a Corona beer with lime wedge. We are served a complimentary salsa with corn chips which we dig into hungrily.   We are seated outside, lucky to find a table as the others were already booked out. I took some panorama photos to show the interiors. I love the interior decor. Wonderful vibrant colours reminiscent of Mexico. Our waiters are dressed up in sombrero's and ponchos giving a great vibe to the night. Our Family Platter arrives and it is a feast! It includes Chicken, Calamari, Fish, I ask the staff to pose for some photos. Unfortunately the lighting was bad so the quality isn't the best. I just love her costume! We make our way back to the Twilight Makers Market and visit our favourite stalls 'Lik-Lik Creations' which sells jewellery and handcrafted items, and 'Woodrock Turning' that feature hand made wooden items featuring mushrooms of all shapes, sizes and colours. Below is a video I created showing some of the smoke rising from the chimney of the mushroom house. So cute! View previous food blog entries from Restaurants and Cafes located a the Raby Bay Marina click here  and previous Twilight Makers Market click here The next Twilight Makers Market at Raby Bay Marina is October 24th.

Twilight Makers Markets at Raby Bay

One of the features of my calendar is the Twilight Makers Market in Raby Bay Marina, Cleveland.

It runs once a month on the fourth Saturday of the month. In March an extra Saturday was added (March 14th), to make up for the poor weather in February. 

I arrived at 4pm and the weather was lovely. There were quite a few people milling around and lots to see. I was on a mission to find something for my younger sister's baby shower and was lucky enough to find three stalls that catered to clothing for newborns. I ended up buying two lovely rompers with the same design - one in 0000 and another in 000. Each was $20. 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar romper by Lana Berry. 

I also picked up a cute dinosaur bib by Top Knots & Piggy Tails

There was live music by the sculpture which filtered through the market and made it a lovely environment. It was a lovely Autumn afternoon and many people threw money into the guitar case, thanking the duo as they enjoyed the music. 

My favourite stall at the market is Woodrock Turning - a husband and wife team that make cute little (and big!) wooden mushrooms perfect for a fairy garden or in a corner of your house.

New to the range is the mushroom fairy houses. I bought one for me (purple) and one for my aunt (red).

Aren't they cute? I feel like a little kid every time I visit their store. Such friendly people, too!
You can buy some of their products at their etsy store
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/WoodrockTurning

I then bought some earrings for a birthday girl.

And some bag charms

I was feeling hungry after visiting all the stalls and found a new stall called Culantro Street Food. The vermicelli salad caught my eye. "Delicious Vermicelli salad, topped with BBQ Marinated Pork served hot with Coriander, Chilli, Cucumber, Carrot, Parmesan Cheese, Mayo, Shallots, Finished with Asian sauce. Yumm!

It was  very tasty and filling! I shared some with my husband who loved the BBQ Pork.

Another great visit to the Twilight Makers Market located in Raby Bay Marina, Cleveland QLD.

Twilight Makers Market, Raby Bay Cleveland

Raby Bay Harbour Park, Shore Street West
Cleveland, Queensland
0450 258 700
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/twilightmakersmarket

Transylvanian Cheese Pies

One of the market staples in Cleveland is the Transylvanian Cheese Pies stall at both the Sunday Cleveland Village Produce and Craft Markets; and the Twilight Makers Market held once a month on the fourth Saturday of the month. 

As the sign above says, each Transylvanian Cheese Pie is filled with bacon, feta cheese, shallots and dill. You can get the vegetarian option which removes the bacon filling. It reminds me a bit of a the Turkish Gozleme,  

The pie is sliced into thin slices and topped with sour cream, shallots and a slice of lemon. Delicious!