With bonus shin bruising! 
Good Sunday to you Dear Reader! So from my earlier story on Thredbo, where was I? Oh yes my shins were bleeding and bruised from my morning ski lesson and incorrectly put on boots (that would be my own fault). I have managed to slowly hobble my way onto the shuttle bus and back to The Peak where we are staying. I punch in my number and slowly remove my boots and clothing. My thermals which seem to cling tightly to my shins and ankles feel like peeling off a bandaid from a wound and I hobble around the apartment like I’m starring in the movie Misery and Kathy Bates is slowly chasing me around the house with an axe.
I hang everything wet (and it’s all pretty much wet from the rain) up in the drying cupboard which is a huge cupboard with a heater blowing in there that dries all the ski gear. High heeled boots would not do for the night and I make the quick decision to suspend my “no ugg boots out of doors” rule and wear my fluffy new fur tipped ugg boots and outfit from Birdsnest.com.au and we are going to drive down to dinner. But not before the crackle of fireworks are heard and we watch skiers with red lights shushing down the mountain to the burst of fireworks.
The skiers heading down
Fireworks display
We make our way to our dinner degustation for the evening, Segreto restaurant at The Thredbo Alpine Hotel. The restaurant itself is tiny and when I walk I to the door I have to ask if I am entering through the right entrance (I am, it just doesn’t look like the correct entrance) and I take a seat and wait for Chris from Toyota and his partner Charles. After not being able to find a park Mr NQN drives back to The Peak to park the Toyota Prado Kakadu and walks down. And this is where you rally feel sorry for me as I have the second Veuve Clicquot degustation dinner that weekend.
There are five courses including one amuse bouche so really it is more of a slightly more comprehensive dinner than a full blown degustation. Service is generally good although from one waitperson it borders on brusque and alternates between pleasant to curt within the one interaction which is just all kinds of odd. However we do notice that our champagnes are regularly topped up whereas the other night they weren’t. A Veuve Clicquot representative gets up to speak about the brand and it is a similar speech to what she told us but this time she also tells us that they invented the riddling table where the champagne rests so that the yeast settles to one end and is then extracted from the champagne. Veuve Clicquot is also a Pinot Noir dominated champagne which is a signature trait of theirs.
Raspberry juice acidule, wasabi emulsion served with Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut NV
Served in a shot glass our amuse is a raspberry juice acidule with a wasabi foam on top. The first sip of course yields much wasabi foam while the second and third are more balanced with the chilled raspberry juice sweeten with mirin. The wasabi foam is nicely balanced and not too sinus clearing.
Tuna and scampish with puffed cereals, mustard seed sorbet, miring dressing served with Veuve Clicquot Vintage 2002
This was undoubtedly a favorite with everyone at the table. A large tuna fillet seared on the outside was topped with a multitude of things. At first thought to be too many, and even though there were many components, they all did blend together nicely. There were little puffed cereal pieces, sorrel and celery leaf salad, what appeared to be crab salad (scampi was mentioned on the menu and there was no correction given but I would say that it was certainly crab), as well as the piece de resistance, mustard seed sorbet which was divine. It was sweet most certainly but there was just the right amount of mustard seed so that it wasn’t hot but had the trademark mustard taste.
Iodized asparagus, mollusc juice, roasted pork belly, celeriac mousse served with Veuve Clicquot Rose NV
Sadly this dish in contrast wasn’t a favorite. The iodized asparagus and mollusc juice ended up becoming a semi set jelly that dissolved easily and became quite watery. The pork belly as a result ended up tasting quite wet and losing all of it’s juicy unctuousness.
Roast Duck Magret, savoy cabbage purée, preserved lemon mayonnaise, cardamom crumble, chestnut beignet served with Veuve Clicquot Vintage Rose 2004
This dish also had quite a few components with the roast duck including a slice of herby, juicy duck sausage, a savoy cabbage purée, deep fried duck crackling and a sweet cardamom crumble and topping of lemon mayonnaise. I liked how the lemon lifted the dark meat of the duck and the cardamom crumble sweetened it slightly although I didn’t see the chestnut beignet which was the part I was looking forward to.
Croustillant apple and per, parfait of salted butter, vanilla espuma, caramel sauce served with a Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame, 1998
Our final course was the dessert. It was a apple and pear filled brick pastry cigar which had large chunks of roasted hazelnuts in it. I found the halved hazelnuts too large for the finely diced apple and pear and it a a little unevenly distributed. The frozen parfait of salted butter however was delicious and was made using Lescure butter and tasted almost like salted caramel but with a distinct butter flavor. And yes it was gorgeous especially when combined with the praline on top. The dish is finished with some vanilla espuma which was like a vanilla whipped cream and a thick caramel sauce. It was served with the Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame which matched it well.
Waking up the next morning I experience a completely unfamiliar sensation. I open my eyes a bit discombobulated and look around. Why are my legs hurting so much? Oh yes that’s right, I have a sporting injury! A perverse smile spreads across my face (I’ve never had a sporting injury!) before I try and walk and it’s ouches all the way down the stairs. Light snow is falling which is thankfully a nice change from the rain of yesterday and Mr NQN wakes up happy and eager to get snowboarding.
Check out at The Peak is early at 9.30am and they do require you to dispose of your rubbish and put the cups in the dishwasher and set it on, which is fine but a little odd given the $3,300 for two night tariff. Mr NQN spirngs into action, the faster we check out the faster he can get back on the snow and snowboard.
So this is what I saw when I was snowboarding…
Just kidding! That was Mr NQN. This is what I saw…Roasted corn, salsa, avocado and soft feta on Turkish bread $15.90
Back at Friday Flats I swap my transformers ski boots for some more comfortable après ski boots. As much as I wanted to ski again today my shins doth protest most vocally and so it is après ski for me this morning while everyone else skis and snowboards. Thredbo village is quite compact and I find a seat at the Altitude 1380 cafe nearby. I sit down and order a pot of tea and breakfast and take advantage of the warmth and nearby chatter. It’s full at this time and there are only a couple of tables free.
The waitress takes my order of a pot of tea and I’m blaming the cold alpine air for my slight hunger this morning. OK I probably wasn’t hungry but I always feel terrible about taking up a place in a cafe on a pot of tea so I order something to eat. The breakfast is served until 11:30am and I choose the roasted corn, salsa, avocado and soft feta on Turkish toast. It comes out as a large square of split toasted Turkish bread with whipped avocado and juicy sweet and slightly blackened corn kernels with flavour from the salsa and creamy feta which is like a Persian feta. It’s a generous sized and very tasty indeed with a nice contrast of flavours and textures.
After whiling a couple of hours away and watching the snow drift down outside I do a little spot of shopping at Michelle’s next door buying an owl (well how often do you see an owl for sale?) and I spot this faaabulous sled coffee table made from a traditional European sled at JK Gallery & Mountain Shop. Plus I wanted to buy this chair but knew Mr NQN would like it but perhaps not quite appreciate me adding a $3,900+ chair to the car load.
I walk down to the Valley terminal where light snow is falling and meet Chris, Charles and Mr NQN who have rosy cheeks from being on the slopes all morning. We board the chair lift to Merritt’s which was the first chair lift built in the area and it goes slowly but it’s nice to be on it while it is snowing rather than raining.
“The challenge here at Merritt’s is actually getting a table” Chris says to us and when we enter the alpine hut we can see why. Thredbo experts Chris and Charles quickly branch out into two directions in search for a table. Merritt’s is an institution here and clearly one of the most popular places to have lunch. The location is one reason and the food is another. Even though it is all done cafeteria style and you may end up having to share a booth with another group of people (as was our case) the food and atmosphere somehow conspires to hook you in.
Mr NQN and Charles stake a claim on our half of the booth (and apparently that there was plenty of people wanting the two free spots!) while Chris and I line up for food. It’s controlled chaos as it is cash only and the ATM seems to have run out of cash. We’re standing in the queue for about 15 minutes while it edges forward. Grabbing a tray we pass the displays of oranges and mandarins while looking at the menu.
The menu is distinctly Germanic or Austrian with a range of schnitzel, sausages, goulash etc with some laksa, nachos and burgers. And to make us feel even more hungry everything going past us looks delicious. On display there are examples of the food and we watch as they ladle up plate after plate from cast iron enameled pots and a large, segmented cast iron pot.
As we arrived at almost 2pm the main dishes were running out and our first choices of pork knuckle or lamb shank weren’t available. Just for good measure as everything including the apple strudel seems to be running out, Chris gets a plate of slices for dessert and we go through the counter to pay. The total adds up to over $100 and we carry the food back to the table. I am one of those people that hates carrying trays in crowded places as I always think that I’m going to knock something over. We gingerly make our way back to the table and unload our trays.
Belgian sausages with Czech potatoes and sauerkraut $17
This was my choice as I love sausages. There were two sausages, a weisswurst which was juicy and fat and a kransky which was also delicious. This is a generous serve and it comes with slightly spicy Czech potatoes which are like baked wedges, roast onion and carrots although the potato and carrots are slightly underdone. But overall it’s a warming dish and probably the pick from what was available.
Nachos
The beef and bean nachos are actually quite delicious with crunchy corn chips and a lightly spicy beef and bean stew. It was finished off with guacamole and sour cream although slightly more melted cheese would have been great.
Chicken burger $15
The chicken burger looks a bit strange and I was going to order Mr NQN a chicken schnitzel burger until I saw the size of the chicken burger which wasn’t anywhere near as sizeable as the other main dishes. Although it looks like they’re two bread loaf ends sandwiching the flattened chicken pieces it’s actually a split thin roll. Everything in the burger is quite unusual and the overall impression is that of flatness although I didn’t try this.
Wedges with sweet chilli sauce and sour cream
It has been a long time since I had potato wedges with sweet chilli sauce and sour cream and I’m reminded how good they are especially when there is a generous amount of sour cream. Well skiing is calorie burning work right? Ok what I did this morning doesn’t really qualify as calorie burning I admit…
Chips
The chips were well seasoned but not quite piping hot enough-things get cold quickly here!
And because you know that the snow works up an appetite, we give the three slices a try. The marshmallow slice is actually more a soft, light chocolate cake layer base at the bottom with a layer of chocolate mini marshmallows and white chocolate on top. The lamington is quite fresh but the chocolate caramel slice with a silky, thick caramel layer is the pic out of the three.
Hot Chocolates and honey tea with schnapps
Merritt’s is known for its hot chocolate and when you have it, you’ll know what the fuss is all about. It’s worth it for the chairlift ride. Said to be made with Lindt chocolate flakes there is a generous amount of melting marshmallows and a decadent head of cream sprinkled with chocolate on top. It’s sweet and rich and most importantly warming! The honey tea was supposed to be made with honey schnapps but they had run out so it was made with butterscotch schnapps (not a bad thing). Another warming hot toddy but after trying Mr NQN’s hot chocolate I found it hard to give up.
Sipping the hot chocolate and looking outside we see the snow falling and it’s a postcard of loveliness. Merritt’s has worked its charm and I’m already making mental plans to come back next year. We take the drive back and I nod off to sleep in the passenger’s seat as the Prado Kakadu gently rocks me back and forth and before we know it, we are back in Sydney. As for Mr NQN? He says with a definite smile that this year at the snow was his best birthday ever.
So tell me Dear Reader, where is the best hot chocolate you’ve ever had? And have you ever had a sporting injury?
NQN and Mr NQN visited and explored Thredbo as a guest of Toyota and Thredbo PR. Apres ski outfit provided by www.birdsnest.com.au
The Peak
8 Bobuck Lane, Thredbo NSW
Tel: +61 1300 799 130
Segreto
Thredbo Alpine Hotel
Friday Drive & Mowamba Place, Thredbo Village NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 6459 4200
Merritt’s Mountain House
Base of The Cruiser Chair Also accessible for non-skiers via Merritts Chairlift
Tel:+61 (02) 6457 6084
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45 Comments | Add your own
The best hot chocolate? Hmmm that would have to be my homemade hot cocoa made with lots of sugar, cocoa powder and condensed milk!!! So comforting on a cold winter’s night! And i’m not much of a sports-person but I have sprained my right arm and it had to be in a sling for ages!!!!
Great post! The food looks amazing and delish as usual!
Best Hot Chocolate is sitting in my pantry and it’s Whittard’s Luxury Hot Chocolate… it cannot be beaten! As for sporting injuries – I’ve had plenty on the ski slopes… blood nose,skier’s thumb, snow blindness and hurt pride! They were also the best times of my life!!
Oh you poor thing! I’m sorry you were hurt! I’m not a snow fan, and the idea of fighting a crowd for food is my personal nightmare. And I can’t believe they require you to stack the dishwasher when they’re charging $3300 for two nights!
What a lovely reminder that you are frolicking in snow in the Southern Hemisphere and I am frolicking in early fall wildflowers in the heat! Some of that food was strangely complex…interesting. I live in Mexico–the original home of hot chocolate–and the best I ever had contained cream and chiles!
You missed the Denman? Their restaurant the Terrace just got a chefs hat which is quite remarkable for a restaurant that has to make its money over 3 months… They’ve also got a cracking ‘second tier’ restaurant called The Old Pool. Check it out next year!
Chris, no I didn’t. See the other story I did on Thredbo linked in the very first paragraph.
THE BEST HOT CHOCOLATE IN THE WORLD IS IN PARIS…..Any Laduree restaurant will serve you a thick true european style hot chocolate. It is so thick and rich I sat there and licked the spoon afterwards. The beautiful aged silver coco jug helped along with Limoges china in all the varied pastle hues… of course.
I recently stayed at an amazing place in Snowmass Colorado for a summer Culinary event. I thought their in season rates during ski season pricey but oh my gosh…NOTHING compared to this place. You could fly to Colorado for that amount and stay in luxury hotel and have money to burn!
That being said…enjoyed your sharing the foods and rest assured…I would create a ski injury before hurling my body down the slopes. Just not my thing. An adult beverage and watching others is!
The best hot chocolate I’ve ever had was in a very smart cafe in Milan. It was also the most expensive at about $30! My philosophy when I’m travelling is that I might never be there again so I just go for it!
The best part of the blog was the look on your face whilst ‘injured’
! And I love all the outdoor shots! The food: well, they do have to cart everything in from ‘civilization’ and make their living in but a few months, but some $16 for breakfast basically corn? 
? Sporting injury, esp in skiing where I never got past the ‘nursery’ slopes? Nope, thank God! And chocolate is s’thing I don’t much drink – the proverbial ‘wet blanket; me 
! Actually love Thredbo in summer: as one of my husbands ‘did’ PR for the area for quite awhile, he had heaps of local friends – it was always like being in Heidiland . .
I am at the snow right now, the season is finishing up in a couple of weeks – my sporting injury has grown over this season, my 6th toe…. sooo sore, called a bunionette and it’s here to stay.
The best hot chockie… the Lindt cafe does it well, but the most memorable – I had a takeaway one from a cafe the other day, there was a travel lid on it and it got to the end and there was a huge lump, so I took off the lid and it was a marshmallow! I let the marshy slide into my mouth, it was the best thing ever because the end bottom ‘too chocolately’ bit was stuck on the marshmallow – making the experience mind blowing.
-For your next snow experience, I would highly suggest coming to Falls Creek and ordering a ‘Woman’, from The Man.
I had an old football injury. I was hit with an old football.
The best hot chocolate was actually one I made myself: Haighs chocolate, milk, cream. It’s relaly good but you don’t need too much as it is very rich.
The Mac Factory in Adelaide also do a great hot chocolte. There’s none of this milk foam happening, just chocolate:)
One of the worst/most boring hot chocolates I had was from a chocolate cafe, Cocolat here in Adelaide. For $6 or whatever it cost, I was sure it was going to be good. When I drank it, I was asking where the chocolate was!
Oh – [since this is the easiest way to 'get you'!], do look on my fb page today – dedicated a chocolate post from the US to you and you and you!
))
Awww-you poor bruised snow bunny- and all in the name of ‘work’:-) But you are’as cute as a button’!
Oh you poor thing, I hope you’re better by now! I bet the food helped make you feel better anyway, always works wonders for me when I hurt myself, lol. I thought the best hot chocolate I’d had was Flying Bird Botanicals, something I ordered off etsy, but then I tried the Valentino at Coco Cubano – It was like chocolate covered turkish delight in a cup!
—Looks Spectacular!
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You are Adorable. The food, especially the hot cocoa looks wonderfully chocolaty & marshmallowy…
btw, L. Congrats on your Sports Injury
And now we have Ugg Boots SexyPants Outfits to add to our “snap” folder. No spaying this time though, please
I definitely love the sound of the mustard and tuna dish, and you know what? I’d totally ignore my lactardation for a bite of that salted butter slab in the dessert!
It’s a tough life, but someone has to do it! The food all looks fantastic. Fave hot chocolate – Lindt hazelnut. No sporting injuries.
Oh Lorraine…thanks for sharing..I loved the Raspberry juice acidule, wasabi emulsion wow!! and the hot chocolate and caramel slice sounded beautiful…I liked your homely comfy ugh boots…how cute you looked on the couch! xo ha ha lol! I don’t like skiing last time i went I got the flu and was on antibiotics even though I’d paid out $400 for a week lift ticket..truth is I hated wasting the money but loved playing cards with my friends in the lodge!!! xo
Best hot choc ive ever had is the one my hubby makes for me
Im not the sporty type to have that type of injury
I love that owl!
And yup I admit I was feeling really sorry for you as I started to read your post…but as pic after pic of amazing food appeared (as I sit here cooking dinner tonight) my sympathy waned…veuve degustation??!!!!!! Sigh…you have the best life you gorgeous thing!!!!
Best hot chocolate I’ve had in my own hometown is at Monsieur Truffle. You’ll have to visit next time you’re in Melbourne!
I’d love to hear Kimberley’s recipe from comment #1. Condensed milk in hot choc sounds too wicked!
The best hot chocolate I ever had was in Annecy in France.It was so good we went back the next day for another. I have has some fierce ski injuries, but it the most fun you can have standing up.
A sporting injury I remember well. During a game of competitive indoor beach volleyball, I sustained an injured finger. I went to hit the ball, didn’t come off right, my finger bent all the way back and yes it hurt like nobody’s business. Bruised, like you can’t imagine and I was out of the competition for a few weeks. So I can sympathize with you, Lorraine. As for the best hot chocolate I’ve had, it would have to be at the Aria Bar at the Langham Hotel in Melbourne. So thick and hot and absolutely delicious, for me it was like drinking melted chocolate and it came with marshmallows too
Oh I *love* your boots, and that large button on your top
Your photos make me miss winter already. It’s been too long since I’ve seen snow
My favourite hot chocolate is the milk hot choc from Lindt.
The Italian Thick Hot Chocolate from Max Brenner is pretty good (but it’s so, so bad for you!).
Your boots are pretty!!! Where did you get them from?
Ouch, your injury sounds painful! I’ve had a few sports injuries but nothing serious unless you count a motorbike crash.
My fave hot choc would be from Brunetti’s in Melbourne, if only I didn’t live several hundred kms away!
Great to see you yesterday! I have to admit I don’t have much sympathy for your sporting injury when a champagne degustation was part of the recovery!
Royal Copenhagen Ice Creamery in Adelaide make a gorgeous milk hot chocolate made with melted couverture chocolate.
What are you going to do with that owl?
Hi Ann-He’s just sitting on a shelf in the lounge room looking over us
A charmed life indeed; well, maybe with the exception of the scrapes and bruises from the ski boot fiasco! We’re just heading into fall in Toronto and your photos look postcard perfect – I know I’ll be excited for our first real snowfall. However, it just doesnt seem to know when to stop! The snow here really rags on me about a week or so after Christmas! I don’t even want to think about my feelings of snow and cold rage by the time February rolls around.
That first pic really cracked me up NQN!! Yes yes, I know that feeling
Not sure about the duck and pork but the Belgian sausages are definitely my kind of ski food apart from a hearty piece of rib eye on the bone
Hi Lorraine!
I’ve never been snowboarding but have always wanted to try! Looks like so much fun… and really REALLY hard
OMG… that $3,900 chair is GORGEOUS… and the hot chocolate looks really delicious 
There is a plcace in Lima called “El Parque de La Amistad” (The Friendship Park), there is a small restaurant owned by an Italian, in that place I had the best hot chocolate ever, so cremy, so chocolate…!!!
I’m sorry to hear that you were injured
I hope the good food partially made up for the pain…
The texture of the parfait looked divine!
:>
I concur about the Hot Chocolate at Merritt’s…best part of the day
I agree with Tremaine. Laduree in Paris. I dragged my husband in there (he thought it looked girly)he had a Chocolate Chaud and I couldn’t drag him out! He loves it there and as he travels to the UK regularly for work he will always pop in to Laduree for a hot chocolate! Too funny!
It’s hard to feel sorry for you when you looked so unconvincing in that cute outfit despite – the pouty mouth!
I hate skiing, but BigJ loves it, so I’m happy making my fabulous hot chocolate with 80% Lindt and lactoste free cream, stirred with a stick of cinnamon, yumm…
My favorite hot chocolate is the frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity’s in NYC. As hot chocolate goes, it is pretty good in Italy. It is so thick you eat it with a spoon.
When I saw the words “sausages” and “Czech potatoes” and “sauerkraut” on that frying pan.. I knew that’s what I wanted.. so I was delighted to see a photo further down
Re: the white owl.. we saw one for real tonight. My girl and I had dinner out (at a place called ‘Empire Grill’)..and as we were walking back to the car.. sure enough.. a white owl perched on someone’s balcony… and it flew off within 10 seconds of us staring at it! The area was quite well lit-up with street lights..and a fire station across the road too.
Re: snow skiing.. I tried it once when I was in Year 11 at high school..and I hated the ski boots! I wanted to snow ski so much.. but it just didn’t work for me. I never had problems with water skiing.. but yeah.. I felt the ski boots came up too high..and they should have been more ‘ankle’ length
The puffed cereal on the tuna dish was quite odd to me.. but I take your word that it was all good!
What a blessed life you live Lorraine..and stunning pic’s of you too.. love what you’re wearing.. Thanks for sharing
looks like a great getaway!
hmm probably best hot chocolate is Max Brenners maybe? i worked there for a two month stint a couple of years ago.. it was a chocolatey two months.
As for sporting injuries, I actually crashed into a pole while tobogganing at Thredbo (lol) when I was fifteen. I ruptured my liver and got treated to two weeks in hospital (and two weeks off school, hurray!) haha.
That snow looks absolutely perfect
How beautiful! Best hot chocolate – Lindt 
And sporting injuries? Quite a few… bruised and cracked ribs, concussions, and torn hip cartilage from taekwondo to name a few!
The snow looks amazing – didn’t go skiing this year!! Hopefully back next year. I am not a hot chocolate fan I like making them but I need coffee! lol But my favourite hot chocolate were the ones I had at Thredbo on my first ‘grown up’ ski trip ie. without parents etc. with friends in my early 20′s. I am not sure if it was the independence or the warmth of the hot chocolate but it has never tasted better!
youch your face does look pained,hope the rest of the trip made up for it,3300 and self service?ooo kay then..
butterscotch tea or hot choc sounds tasty,but the best hot choc is at home with marshmallows
..just not the same without the mallows
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