Thelma and Louise hit the road again! Ahem I mean I am hitting the road with Queen Viv to attend the Narooma Oyster Festival. When Mr NQN wasn’t able to get time off work I knew who to ask immediately-the woman who had driven for an hour to get some oysters and champagne. So on this chilly autumn day we set off for a the drive to Narooma. We pass through small towns-we can’t really stop as we need to be at Moruya for lunch and we pass location names such as Cockway Creek, Wheelbarrow road and Mount Agony road and after a 4.5 hour drive and one very ordinary, forgettable sandwich along the way, we arrive for lunch at The River restaurant where we meet Cath.
The restaurant is owned and run by three chefs originally from Melbourne called Toby, Tim and Peter. The building was built by an architect who moved here from Sydney as he wanted a venue where he could entertain his friends. The three young chefs worked here for a while and then returned to Melbourne but missed it so much that they bought it from him a few years later. The menu changes every season and on the first Friday of every month they host a producer’s dinner for $60 a head where the producers themselves come in and discuss their produce with the diners. The produce is mostly local and organic where possible and there is a slow food movement here.
The service is friendly and there is the a la carte menu as well as a set menu which is great value with 2 courses for $40. Queen Viv eyeballs the eel while I like the idea of the lambs brains-apparently this is always on the menu as diners won’t allow them to take it off!
Lambs brains $18
They assured us that they wouldn’t come out looking too brain like as Cath has never tried them and is hesitant. Instead they come out resembling croquettes with a pool of sauce gribiche which is like a tartare style sauce with pickles and boiled egg. The lambs brains are crumbed in herbs and parmesan. Cutting into them, they’re soft and spongey and rich (and incidentall a reader told me that brains are very high in cholesterol). They actually seem like the perfect filling for a croquette and I wonder why we haven’t seen this done more. Indeed the waitress tells us of a diner who comes in with his wife and he orders brains for an entree and then a main and while she has dessert, he orders another serve of brains!
Mille Feuille of smoked eel in toasted pumpernickel, cucumber and cornichon salad $19
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Winter Sunset over Darling Harbour
I am torn about going to Darling Harbour. On the one hand, it is so touristy and full of tourist traps and on the other hand, it’s right next to the water and it’s ever so fun playing tourist in your own town on occasion. As often happens, the lure for me however was not the view or an event but the lure of seafood. Helm Bar in Darling Harbour has a different special every night and on the weekends you can get 1 kilo of prawns for $25. You know me – I am anywhere there are prawns to be had.
There is the lower deck that is supposed to serve the meals, including a selection for $10 and under but it’s empty and there’s more people upstairs so we sit there. We take a look at the menu. The prawns are a given but Mr NQN is a bit of a mussel fanatic and wanted to give one of their big cast iron pots of mussels a go (on a weeknight there is a All-You-Can-Eat mussel night for $19.90). We also decide to give a $10 and under meal a go too. Looking around the patrons are typical mixed Darling Harbour crowd of tourists and locals. $15 jugs of beer are popular here tonight it seems.
Wagyu Beef Burger $9.50
Our burger comes out and it’s topped with lettuce, tomato, bacon, cheese, caramelised onions and a fat, juicy beef patty on a soft, untoasted sesame seed bun. It’s juicy and moist although I find myself adding some aioli to it to give it a bit of extra flavour. Mr NQN likes the fact that it doesn’t have a dry, toasted bun and that the patty is juicy.
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Platform 9 3/4! How I love a Harry Potter reference…
Today’s early morning visit was to Greytown, an hour away from Wellington. Greytown is noted for it’s pretty heritage buildings and is a popular weekend destination for Wellingtonians, many of which own a property there. It is said to have the longest row of Victorian wooden houses and new buildings are erected in the same style so that they look integrated. We were told that the greater area of Wairarapa was similar to the Hunter Valley with fantastic wineries although smaller and more compact .
Rainbow over Wellington
We board the train for the one hour train ride to Woodside station which is the nearest station to Greytown at five kms away. The train also features New Zealand’s second longest tunnel at 8.798 kms long (5.67 miles). We’re greeted by Karen, our friendly Zest Walking food tour guide on this cold Wellington day. Buffered by the mountain region, Greytown experiences less of the wind that other areas do but it still packs a chill.
Moïse Cerson
There are big orchard areas as the soils are so fertile. Fruit grows in abundance including raspberries and a lot of stonefruit and PYO picking can be done in one of the local orchards. But considering it is breakfast time, our first stop is to a French bakery! Moïse Cerson and his Australian wife Andrea are often written about and Stephanie Alexander has declared Moïse’s eclairs as the best she has had outside Paris so we are expectant.
Freshly baked baguettes
Pear Frangipane tarts
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I’m sure Lorraine would like it if I did it more often though I don’t cook very much at all. I used to cook every two years though I’ve been slack for the last few years. From time to time I’ve looked at cookbooks thinking about things I could possibly cook. A while back Lorraine gave me a book to read and thought I might enjoy the challenge of making something from it. I had a good look and was semi serious about making something though there was a little issue. The book was Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck Cookbook. While some of the recipes didn’t look impossible, the requirement for a fully kitted laboratory put a damper on my enthusiasm 
Fast forward to just recently when Martini invited me on my first progressive dinner. Well they invited Lorraine but she couldn’t go so I happily took her place. We started at Omerta for drinks, dinner and more drinks at A Tavola before moving along to Gelato Messina where a gelato has been specially created for us. It was a Martini flavoured Gelato. I’m not a huge fan of alcohol in desserts as more often than not the alcohol is far too overpowering, this however was nicely balanced with a distinctive Martini Rosso flavour. We finished our dinner with an espresso martini at Coluzzi Bar.
I thought that perhaps I should have another shot at some cooking though on a slightly more realistic level than trying one of Heston’s dishes. The gelato was delicious and actually realistic to create one afternoon. Read More
Smoked meats
“Who is that man?” I ask Miss America pointing at the rather eclectic decor in The Smokehouse. There are large tree branches and at the end of the branch there’s a picture of a man in an open chambray shirt in a 70s style pose and picture. In the corner there are piles of vintage Playboys and in the centre of the room there’s a step ladder with old fashioned tennis rackets. Ladders are omnipresent for some inexplicable reason. There’s also a suitcase of San Pellegrino and a vintage Singer sewing machine. We’re not quite sure what any of it has to do with the Smokehouse and when we ask the waitress, she doesn’t seem to know either.
Random 70′s era ad clipped to ladder
The menu is one page long and is comprised of smoked fish and seafood in various forms. There are four non smoked items on the next page which are beef and vegetarian options but we figure since we’re here, we may as well go smoked all the way. There is no BYO here so Queen Viv and Miss America put away their bottles.
Abalone and smoked scallops with orange, snow pea and radish salad $17.50
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