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Eating adventures outside of Sydney

Winter Warmer - Rosemary & Potato bread

Having made a sweet Rosemary loaf not long ago, I still had a lot of rosemary left which was just itching to be made into something else. I found this recipe on the Taste website and I loved the punk look of the Rosemary and potato slices on the top so it was on this superficial basis that I decided to make this.

And in this case, superficiality was rewarded. My husband who always complains that bread is too dry, loved this. Indeed, the little addition of rosemary embeds the whole loaf with a sweet aroma, much more than the tiny little sprigs would indicate. Serving this bread with some soup would do it justice.

Read on for the recipe

7 comments | May 16, 2008 - 8:00 am | Not Quite Nigella

Logan Brae Orchards, Shipley Plateau, The Blue Mountains

One cherished thing that we discovered when at our last trip to the Blue Mountains in Winter (what were we thinking? It was truly bone chillingly cold) was the crushed Apple Juice by Logan Brae orchards. Its something of a local favourite apparently and if you could imagine biting into a sweet juicy apple and the juice that runs out of it, you can imagine the juice here. Its so pure, preservative free, almost clear in colour and so deliciously good, we were looking forward to buying up big.

Unfortunately, during our Christmas visit when we rang ahead, the orchard store was only open for one hour on a Sunday as the apples weren’t yet harvested and since we weren’t here for a Sunday we had to buy it from a fruit store in downtown Katoomba.

The advantage of buying from the orchard store is buying the apples themselves, along with apple jelly and the bottles are of course less expensive at $4 for a 3 litre pale hued bottle. In the store, they are $6.50 a bottle. Nevertheless the juice is such a family favourite that we bought the fruit store out of their entire supply. They were a little shocked to say the least.

Most of these photos are from our trip in July. Its not a slick operation by any means, when we drove up we thought that it was a closed run down shed with a smashed windowed car sitting outside and a white cat wandering curiously outside. But when you venture inside, its an apple scented haven.

Its also the only operating apple orchard with some trees planted as early as 100 years ago. The apple varieties range from Jonathan, Gravenstein, Lady Williams, Delicious and Bonza and harvested by third generation farmer Graham Jackson. We’re spoilt now that we’ve tasted this apple juice and I’m afraid ruined for life …

Logan Brae Orchards

139 Shipley Road Blackheath
From February to August open 6 days a week Sun-Fri: 9am-4pm (closed Saturdays)
Other times open 11am-12noon Sundays
Tel: +61 (02) 4787 8440

8 comments | January 4, 2008 - 4:00 pm | Not Quite Nigella

The Lounge, Lilianfels at Blue Mountains

There are times that only a little civility will do. Bush walking is fine and dandy (and quite frankly something that I actively avoid). BBQ’s are a much loved family get together. But sometimes a girl needs a little morning tea in a 5 star hotel. We’d popped into the Hydro Majestic on the way back from a shopping trip only to be told that as it was the Christmas period, their lounge was only open from 12-1pm (hardly long enough for a relaxing tea) so we ventured a little closer to where we were staying to Lilianfels.

The grounds are lovely, looking out towards Echo Point and their lounge has an elegant chic femininity to it. Its only 11am but they’re flexible with their start times (afternoon tea is supposed to start at 12noon) but its not a problem. Nothing is a problem here and for the harassed or the ones in need of some TLC, its the perfect place.

There’s a selection of snacks, light meals and sweets but we order from the afternoon tea menu. For the 5 of us, we order the Lilianfels High tea for 2 with 2 pots of earl grey $66, a lamington tea for one with coffee $17 and a trio of Chocolate tea for one with coffee $21 and an extra Hot Chocolate $5.50. We ask if there are any newspapers or magazines to read and they’re ceremoniously brought to us. We can’t help but be impressed by the polite, deferential service.

While we wait for our tea, we venture outside to the manicured lawn area which also has tables and chairs. Its lovely and a touch of gentility and overlooks Jamison Valley but as I am not particularly tall, I can’t see over the shrubbery.

Our drinks arrive first, Tuuliki is impressed by the pot of decaf that she gets, she only expects a cup but is pleased that she has a whole pot of coffee and that soy milk is available. Rose enjoys her hot chocolate but concedes that the Paragon hot chocolate is better. Blythe enjoys her coffee and Anneli and I enjoy the silver service earl Grey tea.

Foreground: Trio of Chocolate tea for one with coffee $21. Background: a lamington tea for one with coffee $17

Our lamington tea arrives first, its three mini lamingtons on a rectangular plate. They’re fresh and soft, probably the nicest lamingtons we’ve had. At the same time, our trio of chocolate arrives and we have a chocolate mousse, a chocolate layer cake and another lamington to choose from. The chocolate mousse is heavenly, a creamy sweet chocolaty concoction and the chocolate layer cake is accented on top by a thin gilt worded chocolate square and is devoid of any obvious “layers” but its extremely moist and rich inside with a hint of prune to moisten it further and a delicate dark chocolate ganache coating on the outside. I’m very glad that we ordered this plate.

Lilianfels High tea for 2 with 2 pots of tea $66

Our three tier afternoon tea arrives and everyone is impressed by how it looks. On top, there are two plain and two fruit scones, one the second layer are the pastries and cakes and on the bottom tier are the sandwiches and clotted cream (yes! finally a place with clotted cream!) and jam. Its a colourful and mouthwatering selection and somehow we manage to divide this into 4 as Tuuliki being a non egg eating vegetarian, partakes of the scones with cream and jam.

The sandwiches are eaten first, there is salmon on brown bread which Anneli and Blythe enjoy amongst much appreciative murmuring, Rose and I share the chicken, avocado and lettuce which is soft and pillowy good and the roast beef on fresh sourdough bun with mustard. I am not such a huge mustard fan but the mustard and beef are perfectly balanced, giving it just enough kick. I want more but restrain myself.

I try a little scone and its good, better than the Paragon but not as good as the QVB tea room scones.

I am however onto bigger and better things trying the cake tier. The mocha eclair is in a word or two fantabulous. The choux outer is not soggy at all like so many eclairs can be, the mocha creme patisserie is gorgeous and the chocolate coated coffee bean on top a lovely finishing touch. Its everyone’s favourite. The strawberry tart is rich and buttery and the finely diced strawberries and custard cream lovely but then again, I don’t think I’ve ever met a strawberry tart that I didn’t like and this is no exception. The passionfruit tart is slightly too tangy for me although those that like a bit of bite or tang to their tarts might enjoy this. We’ve tried the lamington and choclate layer cake before and the extra piece of chocolate cake is quickly divvied up. We’re pleased that the food is so good as they could’ve easily gotten away with average food given the setting.

Civility restored and persons calmed, we are ready for our trip home.

The Lounge, Lilianfels

Lilianfels Avenue
Echo Point, Katoomba, The Blue Mountains
Tel +61 (02) 4780-1200
Open: 10am-10pm
http://www.lilianfels.com.au

4 comments | January 3, 2008 - 4:00 pm | Not Quite Nigella

French toast with Faye and Jack’s Jams from Leura, The Blue Mountains

It takes me a good 2-3 hours to get through the small strip of shops on one side of Leura Mall. So that’s probably why I never made it up the stairs to the Nook. The goods on sale were more my family in law’s style but the one display that intrigued me was of course food related. When I asked, they told me that the man that makes the jams (presumably Jack of Faye and Jack) is 84 years old, jam making keeps him young and like a lot of small homemade companies, the price hasn’t changed for a long time.

From the laminated sign, I could see they were big winners in country shows and the Sydney Royal Easter show and having a look at the strawberry jam (my favourite flavour) I could see that they were very chunky and full of fruit, the way I like it (although there was some inconsistency with the level of fruit in some jars). Picking the jar most packed full of fruit, I also selected another judge’s favourite, the passionfruit butter. My husband is not a huge lemon butter fan so I thought that Passionfruit might be more to his taste. Smaller jars like the Passionfruit butter are $4 and large jams are $5. An absolute steal really.

I don’t know what is better to try these with than French Toast. On the first day our of family holiday I made 6 slices of French toast, mainly for Blythe and my husband. Everyone ended up enjoying it so much that poor Blythe only received one piece so the next day I made double that.

The passionfruit butter was the favourite, the sweet and true passionfruit flavour bursting through in every bite. It was easy to see why it was a winner with the judges.

The strawberry jam was luscious and chock full of fat strawberry chunks although it was a little less sweet than regular jams which may be to some tastes.

French toast for a hungry family

6 slices fruit bread or chocolate swirl bread
6 slices crumpet bread
4 large eggs (5 small eggs)
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar
butter and oil for frying

1. Beat eggs, milk and sugar in a bowl. Heat frying pan with butter and oil (the oil is to ensure that the butter doesn’t burn, the butter is for taste). Dip the slices of bread into mixture just before frying (don’t do this too ahead of time or the bread, if fresh, will fall apart). Repeat with remaining slices and serve with bacon or jams and preserves.

Variations: add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon orange rind and 1 tablespoon orange juice to egg and milk mixture

Faye and Jack’s Jams

Available at The Nook Craft Co-operative
133a Leura Mall Leura 2780
Tel: +61 (02) 4784-2917
http://www.thenookleura.com.au

10 comments | January 2, 2008 - 4:00 pm | Not Quite Nigella

The Paragon Cafe at Katoomba, Blue Mountains

The Paragon is a favourite cafe of mine and despite the fact that it is utterly touristy (and I suppose I am technically a tourist), I love this Art Deco cafe restaurant. The food isn’t quite as memorable as the gorgeous decor but its decent for the most part and one of the few places on Katoomba’s main street that I always must visit (I’m firmly a Leura girl). The cafe has been classified by the National Trust as being essential to Australia’s Heritage so its a real treat dining here and always draws in tourists.

Service very friendly and as its afternoon, we decide on sharing some afternoon tea type items. We order the Devonshire Tea with Irish Breakfast tea ($12), Waffles with caramel sauce ($15 full serve, two whole waffles), Belgian hot chocolate with marshmallows ($6) and a large Mugacino coffee ($6). While the waffles cook and the delicious aroma permeates the entire cafe, I go out to the back room to check out their assorted Art deco memorabilia.

Belgian Hot Chocolate with marshmallows $6

Soon after our drinks arrive. Rose is particularly impressed with the Belgian Hot Chocolate and marshmallows, she declares it the best that she’s had.

Devonshire tea $12

Our Devonshire tea with two scones arrive, with whipped cream and strawberry jam. I’m still remembering the delicious scones from the QVB tea room and unfortunately these cannot hold a candle to them. They’re warm yes, but they have no flavour at all, desperately needing a touch of salt or sugar. The whipped cream is also unsweetened and too light, I prefer a rich clotted cream. Its a disappointment and most is left behind.

Caramel waffles full serve (4 halves) with ice cream and cream $15

The waffles, dressed with caramel sauce with a scoop of ice cream and cream alongside arrive and the smell is heavenly. There are 4 waffle halves in the full size (presumably half size is two waffle halves). We take one half of the waffle each and its crispy and spongey goodness is savoured. This is heaven, we ignore the bottled supermarket type caramel sauce as the texture of the waffles themselves is perfection. Blythe finds them a bit too crispy but Rose and I enjoy ours immensely.

Appetites sated, we move onto the shop at the front which looks like a sweet toothed dreams come true where we purchase some buttered brazils-$5 for 280grams and some Paragon milk chocolate tablets with the unchanged Art deco design on the front -the chocolate is blended on the premises and there are also hand made truffles and individual chocolate, apparently hand made since 1916. Eating and shopping. Yes please.

Paragon Cafe

65 Katoomba St
Katoomba, The Blue Mountains
Ph: +61 (02) 4782-2928
Open: Tuesdays to Sundays

7 comments | January 1, 2008 - 7:56 pm | Not Quite Nigella

Cafe Bon Ton at Leura, Blue Mountains

I bet you barely knew that I was away for Christmas! I had left a whole lot of stories to publish while we were enjoying a combined family Christmas in the Blue Mountains with my family, my husband’s family with a visit from my husband’s aunt and her family. I adore the Blue Mountains,there are so many areas to see, lots of great food to eat and almost as importantly there are fabulous shops, just try and keep me out of the Leura shops.

But where oh where does one go after 5pm in Leura once the shopping is done and the arms and legs are weary? Apparently nowhere else but Cafe Bon Ton as everywhere else is shut! I was more than happy to revisit Cafe Bon Ton, having had a good meal here a few years ago and as fate would have it, its the only place open at 5.15pm. They’re setting up for dinner but coffee and cake are fine. Its cold, particularly outside considering the season, so we’re just happy to be inside.

I ask which cakes are made on the premises as I want to try something that can’t have elsewhere, the waitress is not quite sure so I choose the cake that looks vaguely homemade that I haven’t seen before, the Chocolate Cherry cake ($8.50) and a coffee ($3.30), and Blythe chooses a petite Manna from Heaven lemon polenta biscuit ($4.90) and a coffee ($3.30).

The service is a little abrupt as she is eager to get back to setting up but this means that our cakes, sliced in front of us and garnished with whipped cream and coffees come out in an instant.

Chocolate and cherry cake $8.50

The chocolate cake, not the most photogenic or alluring looking proves that substance triumphs over style. A rich gooey chocolate inner sits atop the hazelnut sponge base while a layer of sweet crunchy meringue like topping finishes it off. Its a huge slice and for $8.50 you’d really want it to be. I am not certain where the cherries come into play as I can’t taste any at all, perhaps they’re there just to provide moistness as I can vaguely see some cherry colour in the chocolate but nevertheless its good and big and rich enough to feed two.

Manna from Heaven lemon polenta cake $4.50

The Manna from Heaven lemon polenta cake is always a favourite for me. I buy these from DJ’s where I think they’re $3.50 each. Its for the lemon curd lovers who love their cakes moist, lemoney and petite which includes me. Blythe finds it too lemoney for her taste, she’s not a lemon curd lover after all. Strength returned we return to the lodge!

Cafe Bon Ton

192 The Mall, Leura, The Blue Mountains
Tel +61 (02) 4782-4377
http://www.bonton.com.au/
Breakfast and Lunch
7 Days a Week
8.30am - 4.00pm
Dinner 7 Nights
From 6.00pm

4 comments | December 29, 2007 - 4:52 pm | Not Quite Nigella

Ladurée Salon de Thé - Champs Elysées

Planning a trip to Europe next year is certainly fun and whilst I have already visited London and Paris, my husband hasn’t. One of the highlights in Paris was Ladurée, a gorgeous tea salon on the Champs Elysées and I knew that I was due for a return visit. So in order to get myself excited about it, I dug up some old pictures taken of the cakes and wrote about my first visit there a while back.

At Ladurée, they have a “no photographs” policy so whilst I would’ve loved to have shown you gorgeous photos its a policy they do enforce. Other customers tried using their mobile phones and they were asked politely but firmly to put them away. So you’ll have to take my word for it that the selection of cakes available for take away is breathtaking. The picture is from the Ladurée website and does look somewhat like it is except without the swarm of people in front of the display.

The system of ordering cakes to take away is somewhat chaotic, you stand in a line firmly pressed against the display several people deep and order with someone behind the counter and when you get to the end you pay with someone else. But it also means that choosing a cake and seeing what’s available is hard as everyone is pressed against the display and if you’re a point and babble-in-badly-accented-French kind of person like me, you may have to point to the item that you want from quite far away.

We decide based on personal preferences, my sister loves chocolate and nuts so the “Praliné” seems the perfect choice. its a dome of chocolate studded with nuts and crunchy praline inside. I choose the “Religieuse de la Rose” (€4.30) which is Choux pastry with rose petal flavoured confectioner’s custard.

Despite the fact that I have a rotten cold, both are so sumptuously rich in flavour and texture, I enjoy every bite. The Praliné is a harmonious mix of chocolate, nuts and shards of praline toffee and the perfect combination of textures. The Religieuse de la Rose choux pastry is perfection, not the soggy, leaky mess you often find here. The custard is delicately rose flavoured and explodes in the mouth against the dry choux pastry and the sweet tang of rose icing. I finally understand why people go on about eclairs, profiteroles and other choux pastry goodies. I wonder if it is named so as its a religious experience but apparently not, its shape resembles a nun thus the name!

There are also pastries (Pain au Chocolat €1.70, Pain au Chocolat Pistache €2.20, Brioche plain or sugared €2.00) as well as their famous mini macarons in a myriad of flavours (6 for €12, larger quantities of 45 are €84.50 or you can buy these per kg with 50-60 pieces per kg @ €69). Cakes are between €3 and €5 which is incredibly well priced for the amount of work put into them.

But onto the the salon upstairs, we join a queue of mostly French people (always a good sign!) and wait for a table for two. Most people in the queue want a non smoking table (as we do) so the wait is longer, about 20 minutes. We are ushered into the Salon de Paéva which is a furnished with dark chocolate and vanilla stripes with the requisite gilt and marble.

To eat in upstairs at the salon, cakes range from €4.50-€7 and there are also light meals to be had e.g. duck foie gras served with grenadine macaron and kugelhopf €22, lobster carpaccio served with raw ginger €23, Taramosalata cream puff served with rose petals €14, Truffle cream omelette €19, a range of salads from €19-€33 and a staggering array of cakes. As we’ve had lunch we order cakes. I order the Carre Chocolat €6.40, a black chocolate macaron biscuit, thin black chocolate crispy leaves, smooth black chocolate cream, smooth black chocolate biscuit and chocolate zabaglione mousse. Its an indulgent celebration of dark chocolate but it never verges into being “too much”.

My sister orders a selection of four mini macarons which include a caramel with super fine salt, pistachio, violet blackcurrant and coffee. The caramel with super fine salt is intriguing where salt brings out the flavour of the caramel but never overpowers it. The other flavours available are: violet blackcurrant, licorice, coffee, coconut, chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, raspberry, dark chocolate, rose petal, orange blossom, morello cherry and caramel with superfine salt.

There are also special flavours e.g. Seasonal flavours : Lemon, Praline, Ice mint, Coconut, Chestnut, Grenadine as well as Special & temporary creations: Java Pepper - Apricot Ginger - Muscovado - Candyfloss - Havana - White amber - Indian Rose - Aniseed - Champagne - Orange Saffron - Lily-of-the-valley - Strawberry Poppy - Gingerbread - Rosanis and new for Autumn is Macaroon “Ruby Kiss” aroma of chocolate, berries and spices (with each new season, Ladurée pays tribute to this its most famous creation by creating a new flavour).

An interesting tidbit for those that have tried to make these babies (including me), apparently once cooked and filled, the macaroons are put to one side for 2 days before going on sale, the time it takes to achieve a perfect balance between texture and flavour!

You can also partake of some champagne from the Ladurée rose or Ladurée Brut for €63, Moet et Chandon for €93.50, Dom Perignon €220 or Billecart Salmon Brut €77 as well as a range of cocktails for €11, wines, teas, coffees, spirits and soft drinks.

The English menu is here with prices and a brief description of each mouthwatering dish. Ladurée Salon de Thé - Champs Elysées menu

We can’t leave without buying a bottle of their Violet perfume called Paéva (€35 for a 100ml bottle). Its a beautiful true single note scent in a fairly simple bottle resplendently packaged in a lovely purple box with a tasseled perfume pump. Unfortunately there is a design flaw where the bottle leaks and 3/4 is gone before I even know it. It happened to both our bottles independently so sadly it doesn’t appear to be just a one off problem.

For a brief history lesson, if you are interested, “Ladurée was founded in 1862, when Louis Ernest Ladurée, a miller from France’s southwest, created a bakery at 16 rue Royale in Paris.Under the Second Empire, cafes developed and became more and more luxurious and attracted Parisian high society. Along with the chic restaurants around the Madeleine, they became the showcases of the capital. The beginning of this century found Paris wrapped up in a frenzy of distraction and going out in public. Parisians flocked to the Exposition Universal, women were also changing and they wanted to make new acquaintances. Literary salons and « les circles » were outmoded. Ernest Ladurée’s wife, Jeanne Souchard, daughter of a well-known hotelier in Rouen, had the idea of mixing styles: thus the Parisian café and pastry shop gave birth to one of the first tea salons in town. The ‘‘salon de thé’’ had a definite advantage over the cafés of the pooch: they permitted ladies to gather in freedom.”

I actually bought a Coffee version of the Religieuse de la Rose at David Joness Bondi Junction from a cranky older lady behind the pastry counter and it was the soggy, leaky kind of pastry. For starters, she hadn’t boxed it, instead they’d simply chucked it in a paper bag so that it was a choux and custard explosion a short 20 minute car trip home (I shudder to think what would happen if you caught public transport with one!). I was thoroughly annoyed and the pastry was horrible and leaky I wanted to throw it away.

Ladurée Champs Elysées

75, avenue des Champs Elysées - 75008 Paris
Tel : 01.40.75.08.75 - Fax : 01.40.75.06.75
The Restaurant is open daily from 7.30am to 12.30am - The shop is open daily from 7.30am to 11pm except on Saturday 8.30am to midnight and on Sunday 8.30am to 10.00pm
Website: http://www.laduree.com (warning, viewing this website may result in an insatiable urge to hop on a plane to Paris)

P.S. I leave you with a pic of this adorable Fish bag that was in a display cabinet in a Paris Metro station and of course the Louis Vuitton store on the Champs Élysées

4 comments | December 1, 2007 - 5:28 pm | Not Quite Nigella

Paul’s cakes (London) and Macaron Mania

Pictured at left are Paul’s macarons-coffee, praline, chocolate and pistachio. My sister got me hooked onto Macarons while visiting her in London. They’re different to coconut macaroons that you get in Australia and they’ve only really taken off within the last year or two in Australia with a couple of places selling them (Lindt cafe and Laurent). They’re crispy, chewy, cool and delicious all in one and if that sounds confusing, try one and see what I mean!

Having been lucky enough to visit Laduree Paris, I compared the two macarons and I found that Paul’s is generally superior for the ratio of filling to macaroon biscuit, hwoever Lauree has more adventuresome flavours (caramel and salt being a favourite but pistachio being my absolutely consistent favourite) whereas Paul’s generally has 4 flavours. Also if you happen to get a Paul’s macaron that doesn’t have enough filling, then its not as good.

As far as the Australian versions go, the Laurent cafe ones do not do the word macaron justice, they don’t have nearly enough filling with only a smear so the luxurious texture suffers. Lindt ones are very pretty and make a lovely gift and they are decent but just not as good as Paul’s or Laduree.

I’ve tried making these from Martha Stewart’s recipe and I wasn’t too impressed with the recipe. Only 1/3 of them survived and considering how pricey pistachios are here I was not a happy camper. Next time she should provide the tips that you need to ensure that they come out well and you don’t get a lot of wastage (maybe that’s how she remains so smug while others flounder following her recipes!). Here are some tips that I wholeheartedly agree with as I remade them with a slightly different recipe and 2/3 to 3/4 turned out well. Nigella Lawson has a recipe for Pistachio macaroons in How to be a Domestic Goddess that I will try next. After that, I may have to go to MA (Macarooners Anonymous).

Pistachio Macaroons

By Nigella Lawson from How To Be a Domestic Goddess

These are the world’s most elegant macaroons. The color alone, that waxy pale jade, perfectly matches the aromatic delicacy of their taste; and their nutty chewiness melts into the fragrant, soft paste with which they’re paired. Of all the recipes in this book, this is the one of which I think I’m most proud: biscuit bliss.

These are perfect at the end of dinner alongside some confectioner’s-sugar-dusted raspberries; or alone with coffee, gracefully piled on a plate or cake stand.

Ingredients
For the macaroons:

75 grams pistachios
125 grams icing sugar
2 large egg whites
15grams caster sugar

For the buttercream:

55 grams pistachios
250 grams confectioners’ sugar
125 grams unsalted butter, softened
2 baking sheets, lined with parchment paper

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4

Grind the pistachios in a food processor along with the icing sugar (this stops them turning into an oily mess), until as fine as dust. Whisk the egg whites until fairly stiff, but not dry, sprinkle the sugar over and whisk until very stiff. Fold the whites into the pistachio-sugar dust, and combine gently. Pipe small rounds onto your lined baking sheet, using a plain 1 cm nozzle. Let them sit for about 10 minutes to form a skin. Then put in the oven and cook for 10-12 minutes: they should be set, but not dried out.
Remove from the oven and let cool, still on their sheets, while you get on with the filling. This is simple work: grind the nuts and confectioners’ sugar in the processoor as before; then cream the butter and continue creaming as you add the nut dust. Make sure you have a well-combined soft buttercream. Then simply sandwich the macaroons together.

5 comments | September 16, 2007 - 5:56 am | Not Quite Nigella

Hunter Valley Lovedale Long Lunch

Imagine my delirious delight when I find an email in my inbox from one of my favourite food bloggers grabyourfork informing me that I’m one of the lucky winners of a Lovedale Long Lunch pack. The Lovedale Long Lunch is a progressive lunch set across 7 vineyards who pair up with 7 restaurants to offer food and wine at each vineyard and you make your way by car or shuttlebus to each vineyard to sample the goodies.

I was lucky enough to receive:

2 x Main Meal tickets that include a complimentary glass of wine $20 each
2 x Dessert/Cheese tickets $8 each
2 x Commemorative Long Lunch glasses $5 each
2x Long Lunch Caps $15 each
2x Rover Coach Shuttle Tickets for the day $25 each (for travel between vineyards)

Total Prize Value $146

Jumping up and down aside, I assembled my husband’s family for a nice little weekend trip away to the Hunter Valley staying at the Cypress Lakes resort.

When we arrived we picked up my prize pack from Allendale winery which is completely buzzing with nary a spare seat to be seen. As the vegetarians needed to be fed, we head off to Sandalyn Estate so that they can have some Homemade pan fried gnocchi with roasted duck, baby spinach and toasted pistachio. It needs a bit of flavour to it and the texture of the gnocchi is different to other gnocchi I have tried, not quite my taste. We meat eaters satisfy our peckishness with their cheese plate- a selection of gourmet cheeses accompanied with mustard fruit. This proves to be a nice selection of cheeses, crackers and fig paste, nuts and dried apricots and upon later inspection of cheese plates at other wineries, one of the more bountiful cheese plates. We can’t leave without buying some of their fabulously smooth fudge in rum & raisin and apricot & macadamia.

Now that the vegetarians are sated, we set off to Gartelmann Hunter Estate to try Chez Pok’s offering. I am so taken by the sound of their food (and admittedly hungry) that we use both of our main meal tickets here and try Honey and oregano seared chicken on a warm potato and bean mash, topped with a tomato and corn salsa and a drizzle of Gartelmann Extra Virgin olive oil and the Barbecued succulent lamb, marinated in fresh rosemary - served with wholesome paprika spiced cous cous, parsley & pumpkin salad and garlic butter ciabatta. I’m afraid there are no pics of this as you can’t stand between hungry men and ask them to stop and take pictures. My favourite was undoubtedly the chicken, soft and tender on a delicious mash accented with a tangy salsa. My sister in law tried the Baked sweet pastry tart with rum and raisin ricotta, sharp lemon curd and butterscotch caramel and she shared this with me which was an extraordinarily generous gesture given how delicious this tart was. Mental note to self: must eat at Chez Pok!

I was given a free bottle of wine voucher and although I wanted to redeem it at Gartelmann the officious and very unfriendly salesperson (also called Lorraine) would not allow me to use it as she did not consider a “sticky” as a wine. Boo, I think you’ve just lost a customer forever and I do love my dessert wine!

Moving right along and away from that unpleasantness, we head back to Allandale winery as the atmosphere seemed much more jovial and buzzy. After walking past their selection of mains, I desperately wanted to try the Infuzion lamb shank braised in Tuscan herbs of sage and rosemary - served on a bed of basil hinted mash with cabernet jus but had only a small amount of stomach room left which I had saved for dessert.

So dessert it was! We tried the Trio of citrus tart with blueberry coulis, raspberry and white chocolate mousse, and chocolate and walnut brownie. The mousse was a lovely spoonful of lightness but I think the citrus tart tasted a bit like it was filled with blueberry jam and the brownie lacked the rich gooeyness characteristic of a good brownie and felt a tad overcooked and dry.

At 4pmish I think they were rapidly running out of desserts as some of the items from the cheese plate were missing, as you can see there was only one type of cheese in the Infuzion cheese plate: the King Island camembert, fig paste, olives and lavosh with the Netherby Blue cheddar missing. Ah well Allendale were kind enough to honour the wine voucher and I got my hands on a bottle of their prized Anna 2005 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc sticky!

A lot of sun and some people watching we retired quite happily to the Cypress Lakes resort to partake in sauna and cable movies!

Add comment | May 18, 2007 - 8:17 am | Not Quite Nigella

Lunch at Iron Chef French Sakai’s restaurant La Rochelle

As you’d expect with his flair for presentation, Iron Chef French Sakai’s La Rochelle restaurant in Shibuya’s Cross Tower is a stunningly gorgeous restaurant with a killer view and extremely luxurious. Named as a homage to his time in the region of La Rochelle, its furnished with heavy linens, sweeping curtains and Hermes plates (every table has a different pattern). Around the long rectangular room, there are also Tiffany lamps and a glass fronted credenza with porcelain and fine bone china figurines and collectibles.

There were a few menus to choose from and we could have ordered a la carte but the 5 course menu that we saw looked very tempting so we opted for that. We had:

Fevrier 2007 menu

¥4725 (approximately $49AUD)
Hors d’oeuvre
Rilettes de tours au porc, trois salades imaginiatives de verdina et granite de Ume (Pork rilette on toast, pickled vegetables, three imaginative salads of verdina, choux filled with pate, Ume plum granita)

Soupe
Souple gratine d l’oignon (French onion soup)

Poisson
Yuba farci Sukesoudara Ishinomaki roti jus de dorade au gingembre et Miso Japonais (Sea bream wrapped in Yuba (Tofu skin) with Miso and ginger sauce)

Viande
Ragout de joue de boeuf au vin rouge garniture pomme de terre roti et beignet de pomme (Ragout of beef burgundy with red wine with potato and apple fritter)

Corcle de coquelet sauter ravioli de duxelles sauce gremand (chicken with foie gras and duxelle mushroom ravioli )

Dessert
Le Chariot en desserts de notre patissier (chariot of desserts from the pastrycook)

Cafe ou the (coffee or tea)

The entree plate was a lovely combination of different tastes and textures, the choux filled with pate was perfectly crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, the pork rilette on toast was so tasty and very moreish as was the salads but the surprising favourite for me was the Ume granita. I am not usually a big fan of Ume (Japanese plum) flavoured items but this was artfully refreshing.

Next we had the French Onion Soup, what the waiter himself said was a bit cliched and whilst it was nice, it seems a bit out of place in this chic setting.

Then followed the mains, we decided to try one each and although I knew that my sister was having the better dish I got to try some (but not much!). My beef burgundy was so tender and soft and redolent with red wine. The apple fritter was an interesting addition but I didn’t really go for this combination. The chicken with foie gras was definitely the choice for the main though, the textures and flavours were enough to make one not share it with anyone else.

For dessert, they wheeled by the spectacular dessert cart. I haven’t seen a dessert cart for years so it was a welcome feast for my eyes. It was hard to choose which ones to have but we tried the strawberry tart, tofu ice cream, chocolate truffle cake, pistachio roulade and mille feuille. Choosing a favourite would probably be like choosing a favourite child or pair of shoes!

Coffee and tea were served and the atmosphere was so relaxing we just sat back and soaked it all in. I confess, its probably the closest I’ve come to meditating.

Our waiter was European and trilingual and he and the staff were wonderful. When we were leaving we asked for directions to an art exhibit and they photocopied a map for us and gave us detailed directions on how to get there. A truly special afternoon! I could’ve stayed there all afternoon, in fact we did.

P.S. Interestingly, a few months later we went to the Hermes store in Sydney and were looking at the plates. The Sales Assistant was fascinated to know that Sakai had their plates, she is apparently a big fan and I’m sure its a rather cool anecdote when discussing them with learned customers.

Oh and if anyone can read the recipe on the menu I’d love to know what it says!

La Rochelle

Shibuya 2-15-11, Shibuya Cross Tower 32F.
Tel: 3400-8220.
Website: www.la-rochelle.co.jp (in Japanese)

12:00-14:30 Last order 18:00-21:00 Last order. Closed Mondays.
Lunch course: 3300Yen,4500Yen, 8500Yen (approximately).
Dinner course: 8500Yen, 12000Yen, other (approximately).
Seats 70
All Credit cards accepted
Reservations recommended