After a good part of a lifetime bumming rides from people and trying to avoid both public transport and exorbitant cab bills I have finally become a driver myself. And the role of a driver entails, kind of like karma for all lifts gleaned, is that I pick up people. Not strangers mind you, but visitors from overseas like Catty who is visiting our sunny shores from London.

And I figured where better to head on a Sydney summer’s day than the new Adriano Zumbo shop in Manly? Unfortunately the weather didn’t quite get the memo on our intentions and cast us an overcast day. But no matter, we were heading to a beach to eat Zumbo goodies so it can’t have been all bad right?

When people have said that the store is small they weren’t kidding. You could drive straight past it without even knowing it was there. Just one little sign pokes out from the grey painted building and a dug out portion of the shop reveals boy’s toys. Not adult boy’s toys but children toy’s under glass underfoot. It is small and on the left there is a selection of pastries both savoury and sweet. In the centre are the cakes and to the right are the macarons.

Some of the cakes haven’t yet arrived for their daily delivery and I have to admit that I am really looking forward to trying the cakes that were featured on the SBS show Zumbo. There was the the wasabi eclair and the Milo chocolate milk which proved most vexing in terms of construction. But first things first, we need brunch or more specifically we need savouries. Despite the number of times I’ve been here I’ve never tried a savoury item. As Catty is Australian she tells me that she misses sausage rolls so we figure there’s no better time to reacquaint oneself with the quintessential Australian tuckshop treat? There are three varieties to choose from: pork & fennel; beef bacon and chilli and African spiced lamb.

Pork and fennel on left and beef, bacon and chilli sausage roll on right $4

We took the sausage rolls outside onto the esplanade and sat down to eat them. Not a bad view huh? We could tell that the pastry was good when we cut these in half. There were buttery shards of pastry covering both of us and whipping around in the wind. The pork and fennel has two layers-one of pork and a herby layer with fennel. We both found that a little too herbal. The beef, bacon and chilli sausage however is divine-like an old school sausage roll but butter with the right balance and combination of flavours. And you know how some foods never quite taste quite as good as when you ate them as a child? Well it helps if you have a pastry chef making said food. Then it’s as good or even better.

Cob and co $9

Savouries consumed, we head back to the cafe where they tell us that the second cake delivery will arrive shortly. The Cob and Co is described as a case of corn meringue with a centre of mango lime gel, corn cream and corn mousse and popcorn crunch. We had to eat this in the store as the shop clerk was worried about transporting this home. It has spiky meringue drops on the outside stuck into a marshmallow outer and inside was layers of mango lime gel (which weren’t particularly distinct but gave some tanginess to offset the sweet outer), corn cream and corn mousse. And despite all of this the whole cake isn’t too sweet, just nicely balanced. A jarring note is the popcorn crunch layer at the bottom which has a burnt taste to it, like caramel that has been taken just a bit too far. It isn’t really necessary for taste although we suppose it is necessary for construction.

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Hello my Dear Readers! Guess where I have landed today? In Western Australia! Yep that’s right, in Perth to be specific after a five hour flight across the country. It’s no coincidence that our first stop once we land is a winery – wine is very popular here in WA.  Having arrived around lunchtime we enter Sandalford winery which is one of Perth’s most visited wineries and the oldest family owned wineries. Here, 10 times a year they merge wine, food and music and hold outdoor concerts. Why only days ago Sting had just finished playing. Other acts include Alicia Keys, Tom Jones, Diana Krall, Michael Buble is an upcoming guest is the purple wonder Prince!

Of course we need to rehydrate after the flight so we start off with a wine tasting where we sample a few different wines and they are known for their cabernet sauvignon in the Margaret River region where their vineyards lie.

Bread with kasundi, Cooladra Extra virgin olive oil with merlot vinegarand dukkah $13.80

The Turkish bread is soft with crunchy edges and well seasoned. The kasundi (a strong mix of spices and tomato), extra virgin olive oil and dukkah is crunchy and an excellent accompaniment to the bread.

We try and oaked and unoaked chardonnay and taste the difference. Their unoaked Chardonnay is a modern one made without lactic acid and of course is much lighter in flavour with less “character” which can appeal to those that don’t like the heavy oaking. Here they use French oak and they produce 1 million bottles of wine. The French oak barrels last for 4-5 years and once they are done with them they use them for port or sell them to a furniture maker

Max gives us some tips on how wine is judged and he starts with colour which accounts for three points. Aroma counts for seven points and before you taste it, you place the hands on top of the glass and slosh the wine around. This helps to lift it up to the nose.

Our last wine is the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Prendiville which is made using hand picked grapes and each bottle is individually numbered. A bottle of this wine could last for 25 years and each bottle is $90. I have to admit that it is utterly fantastic. I should have bought some for Mr NQN who loves red wine and has fantasies of having a wine cellar.

Hunter Valley snails, burgundy butter, roasted bone marrow, brioches toast, watercress $21

Onto more filling things, after all my tummy is telling me that it is 3pm (Perth is 3 hours behind Sydney) and demanding why I have neglected to feed it. I’m sure it was practically screaming “I’m hungry-feed meeee!!”. We sit down at the Sandalford restaurant and order. The snails are said to be a signature dish and looking at it, it had two things that I like: snails and bone marrow. The snails are served in a garlic butter and rest on toasted brioches rounds, while the little pieces of bone marrow sit on the pesto like emulsion which gives the juicy, delicious bone marrow extra flavour.

Wild Mushroom Arancini, Truffled Aioli, Porcini Salt $19

My new travel companions are four very nice journalists and a PR person who don’t seem to mind that I’m taking photos of their food. Isn’t that nice!

Butter Poached Cambinata Yabbies,Squid Ink Linguini, Peas, Nantua Froth $25

Pheasant & Smoked Chorizo Terrine,Date Marmalade, Cornichons, Walnut Bread $21

Verjuice poached ocean trout, salad nicoise, quail egg, white anchovy, basil oil $38

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