Hunter valley weekend

I am terribly sorry it's been so long. Work has been hectic locking in three major programs nationally. In between that, I've had to shop for Christmas, plan for the Europe trip and think of outfits to brave the weather there with that I can fit into my suitcase along with all of Mr. HEA's requests for things.
It has been good finally being able to plan the trip because Mr. HEA finally got a permanent job a few weeks ago. Knowing that meant that we could finally lock in the travel and I have plans for Paris, Brussels, Scuol and The Hague for the weekends and over the hols.

But those are posts for later. I did a little travelling over the weekend. You know the scorcher of a weekend that we had? Yeah, we were at Hunter Valley rocking the vineyards and the Golden Door Spa at Elysia, Cypress Lakes resort.

This is my favorite spot in the Hunter Valley. A little vineyard that reminds me of Tuscany with its rustic decor and gorgeous yellow building, infamous for its iconic namesake Iron gate. Their wines are really lovely too, we bought a Sweet Mandala, very easy to drink for summer. Their sweet Shiraz is also highly recommended. Best served with dessert.

These were the Sculpture in the Vineyards that we got to visit. I absolutely love the pink shoes, made to symbolize how beauty can be made from discarded 'junk'. Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Beauty is in the eyes of its beholder" you must go down the Wollimbi Valley wine trail to visit the vineyards that are hosting the event and see for yourself the magnificent works as well as have a tipple or two.

We did that whilst my Rally aficionado friends were away training to be race drivers. They had fun, but I don't think they'd be quitting their day jobs just yet. Lol. For an extra $40 they got the experience of real rally car driving from the passenger seat, which they tell me was the most exhilirating ride of their lives.
We also wined and dined, but I'll write the foodie posts separately so that you can be bombarded with the pics of the gorgeous plates. Trust me they deserve their own pedestals.

Two other recommendations I make to you for a visit to Hunter Valley:

1) call ahead and book yourself in for a treatment at the Golden Door spa.

I had the Dr. Babor AHA Skin Renewal Facial done and it was a real relaxing hour getting my face cleansed and deeply exfoliated whilst being massaged into blissful oblivion. We then soaked in the Jacuzzi and detoxed in the steam room. Love how soft my skin feels after a steam session every time.

2) you must not miss out on a trip to the Ernest Hill cellar door.

They make gorgeous Chardonnays, Shiraz and light dessert wines. I went there to replenish my Luna Spark, but walked away with Moondance instead because the flavors reminded me of the wines I had at my wedding and I hadn't been able to save a bottle of that.

If you have those two things on your list of activities, all the others will very quickly fill up with tasting and shopping trips around Pokolbin and Cessnock. I had a roaring weekend and luckily didn't dehydrate from the heat and alcohol we were tasting.

Hope you get to Hunter soon!

The Efflorescence of Barossa Valley

 Barossa was in full bloom when we were there last weekend. Plum and almond blossoms greeted us everywhere and it was just gorgeous whenever the petals fell softly from the branches in the gentle wind.

 Tip for any travellers renting a hire car. Before you drive off, no matter how tired, hungry, cold, excited you are for the trip about to begin, always inspect the condition of the car you have been handed thoroughly and check it off with the rental company. Europcar rorted us big time earlier this year when we rented from them and they never ended up sending us an invoice for the damages they claimed. They only reverted us to a quote. Super dodge....

 PSA aside, Barossa was all green and blue and welcoming for us last weekend. We of course went wine tasting galore, visitng both the commercial ones (we had some novices on board) such as Jacob's Creek, Wolf Blass and Penfolds, where we consoled ourselves with trying the cellar door releases, and then the more well knowned boutique wines, such as Rockford, Torbreck, Grant Burge, Henschke and Turkey Flat.

 We of course could not miss out on the farmer's market, especially being in the state of all these famous cookshow contestants that have made it to the finals, Poh, Adam Liaw, Marion Grasby, Callum Hanh of Masterchef ilk and my favourite finals of all MKR time: Nic & Rocco vs. Jen & Leigh. Something about the produce in this place must be the secret behind why they churn out so many fine chefs.

These were our spoils from 'pillaging' the market and vineyards in the one day.



 I am certainly a wine snob and wouldn't step foot in here if it wasn't for the bright sunny restaurant and the lure of the freshly shucked oysters. Picking a light moscato to accompany our equally light lunch, we tore into the baked-on-premises mushroom and blue cheese bread, Marinara pizza, pork belly and side of potatoes after slurping up greedily our slivers of oysters resting on beds of rock salt. Absolute divinity that makes one almost forgive the commerciality of the wine label.

This meal at the end of the day however was quite the one to cheer me up. We had great accompaniments to the gourmet produce and reservedly polished off only four and a half bottles amongst seven adults (of course one musn't count the ones consumed at the vineyards throughout the day).

Our starters were paired with Turkey Flat's; Fresh Olive bread dipped in Turkey Flat Olive Oil, Spiced Salami, Udder Delights Heysen Blue cheese, Adelaide Hills musky brie and Aged Barossa Port & Duck Pate, matched perfectly with Turkey Flat's Pedro Ximenez, a mellow classice sherry that took away the savoury tinge every time it got just a bit much. A brilliant aperitif if I've ever had one.

 Our delicious Saskia Beer roasted chicken was so juicy and tender, I dreamt of it that night when in bed. The tomatoes tossed in the mustard and lettuce greens were divine and the Pewsey Vale beef so awesome when paired with the Jacob's Creek Negro Amaro, we feasted like it was Thanksgiving dinner.

My favourite wine of the trip was from Torbreck. Money well spent I declare.

My favourite vineyard was Henschke Cellars, a famous brand albeit the humble, family-run production it is. And how cute is their cellar daschund - Lotte? They offered free freight for a case, so our purchases were shipped directly to Sydney instead of us having to worry about carrying the bottles onto the plane with us. This is also why you did not see those bottles on display in our array above.
A truly wonderful region to visit if you love Reislings and full-bodied Shirazs and GSMs. Our other great find from this region was the Frontignac, a floral and fruity light wine, which I coin, Cognac for the ladies. I may not have gone crazy with wine purchases due to the new living arrangements I have currently, but oh my, I would have run and hid in the valley to never come home just so that the weekend can repeat it self all over again.

The finer side of Canberra

Much as I was campaigning for the lesser known southern highlands vineyards in the last couple of years amongst my friends, this beautiful region of great produce surrounding Northern Canberra has eluded me, until this past long weekend.

When approached by friends to plan for a surprise birthday trip there, I did mentally wrinkle up my nose, but because I knew I could trust these guys' taste (they know which foods and wine are generally to die for), I decided to throw caution to the wind and go along to see.

The weekend drive began with a massive fog which very quickly cleared up to become clear blue skies for the two days we were there:

We all drove up to Poacher's pantry as the meeting point and also to 'surprise' the birthday boy who was expecting to spend just a romantic brunch with his newly wed wife. Tip for other wives planning similar bonanzas, if your husband is really clued on then, this is no easy feat to pull off. We didn't realy surprise the Birthday boy at all, other than with how good the menu was at Poacher's.


Pictured above from left: Potato and tasty pecorino frittata with a side of bacon, hash brown and yummy green tomato relish; L.F.T -

Poachers smoked mountain pepper lamb, whipped fetta and oven roasted tomato served on rustic style toast and; walking up to the smokehouse cafe

  We stayed at the Redbrow Garden, and was lucky enough to book three of the four spacious lakeside ensuite rooms and had an allocated lounge all to ourselves.



Clockwise from top: Beautiful peony roses; The Dingy you are welcome to take out on the lake; The four guestrooms;  Lakeview from the rooms




We visited the Clonakilla Winery on Crisps Lane first and most the group (even the hard to please ones) took a liking to their reislings. Failing to find the cellar door of Capital Wines afterwards, we headed directly to Shaw Vineyard Estate instead for more wine tastings and the vibrant dishes at their restarant, Flint in the Vines. On the wines, the crowd pleaser here was the Isabel Reisling, but I was pleased to note too that they produce the Laughter series in support of Camp Quality (who I had the luxury of working with very recently and is a charity that is all heart and transparency). On the Food, oh who would have thought that nestled in Isabel Drive in Murrumbateman, nowhere near the coast would we find such delightful seafood creations cooked to perfection as these:



Marinated Prawn & Buffalo Milk Mozzarella/ cherry tomato & fresh basil

Roasted Red Snapper Fillet / roquette, cherry tomato, confit lemon, kipfler potato


 Having feasted on such divine seafood creations, we didn't have room for anymore big meals but was greedy to try more wines. Tis was the reason we were drawn to make the trip to the real cellar door for Capital Wines. This was actually located behind The Royal Hotel on Cork Street in Gundaroo. The Grazing restaurant looks really refined and if I could have a meal there I would (perhaps next time). They boast of an impressive kitchen garden out the back, and they kid you not:

On Capital Wines, one must give the tongue-in-cheek Minister series a go. I loved the easy to drink Foreign Minister which was a light sangiovese with refreshing berry flavours.

I must say that we actually parted ways after Shaw Vineyard with another team setting out to amass local produce for grazing in lieu of dinner. They remained in Murrumbateman and visited Gallagher's cheeses and Robyn Rowe's Chocolates as well as Homeleigh Grove Olives. Between them and our find of the delectable Brasserie Freshly bakes Ciabatta breads and imported Ossau Iraty sheep's milk cheese available for purchase at Capital's cellar door, we were able to assemble a rather gourmet assortment for the night:

The next morning, we woke up Bright and early and hit Helm Wines as soon as we had breakfasted, cleaned and checked out. I was really impressed with their Museum Chardonnay which was released for the Queen's Birthday long weekend and just a buttery drink that needs no accompaniment.

Trying to squeeze another few big Canberran wine labels into our last day there, we treked to Mount Majura Vineyard, but was turned away because we were too big a group of ten and we hadn't called ahead like we did with the other smallish vineyards and so they couldn't accomodate us. Shame.

That was fine though because it made a our tour and tasting at Lerida Estate just that much more delightful and welcomed. Jim showed us around and took us through the delightful wine range they had set out for us to taste. Noteworthy wines were the earthy Josephine Pinot Noir and their yummy Botrytis with hints of honeycomb.



Left to right, Top to bottom: Lerida Cafe's Specials menu, Their wine tastings setup, The East facing vineyard, Mr.HEA's Beef Onion and Tomato pie, Terrine of the Day.



  

I truly think that Lerida Cafe was the highlight of the trip. The Terrine of the day was a Guinea Fowl, Porcini Mushroom and Hazelnut one, perfect with a glass of Pinot Noir ($6.50 extra) and I paid another $4 to upgrade the toasted sourdough in the dish to their advertised Truffle Bread ( a real lux delight). I believe I finished every morsel on that plate.

Whilst I still heart the Southern Highlands, I think it's definitely worthwhile going even further and spending a weekend in the Canberra wine region.

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Adelaide Dining experience - The Marquis

Describing each row from left to right:

Row 1: Dining at the Marquis a place of contemporary Parisian food; The waiter says to us there is a list for wines they sell by the glass, but if it was a bottle we were after, feel free to explore the extensive wine shelves they have; a private room setting if you are so inclined.

Row 2: My first Escabeche but certainly not my last. A perfect appetiser that opens your palate to want more food; A Delightful tile of the finest SA seared scallops; Rack of lamb for two? Or Five?

Row 3: My Fish Main; Jenga chips with sirloin steak; Complimentary Tiffany-esque box; Inside holds a delightful hand-rolled chocolate truffle.

Other elements of the meal worthy of a mention is

1) The baby beetroot and goats cheese salad. A must-try if you are ever there.

2) The 2009 bottle of Vouvray we ordered. It was a very chalky wine to begin with on its own but took on depths of flavour with the Escabeche and scallops and really grew on us to become a yummy accompaniment to our meal

3) The desserts of a Chocolate Marquis and Bombe Alaska were really indulgent. Pity I could only watch on as my colleagues powered through it. I was pleased enough with my petit fors, but if I am ever back again, I will leave room for dessert there.

Hilton Adelaide





We traveled to Hilton Adelaide for work this time, but I sure wished we had more time for play.

 

Plump Bed, Natural lighting, inviting furnishings, what more would you need from a home away from home?



The pool was a gorgeous outdoor one, but no one was game enough to brave this cold weather to swim in it.




The view from the hotel's deck/ barbeque area




In room spa. Samples of Peter Thomas Roth products if you have been lazy in packing your own. They also had a menu of beauty items you can purchase/ borrow from the hotel if you have forgotten to bring your own. This included a GHD Hair Straightener!




In room dining. I ordered a beautiful chilled red wine which came in a little decanter. And SA grain-fed beef sans the Rosemary Chats but a large bowl of greens instead. I'd have prefered a bit of avocado or Havarti cheese in my salad, but hey it was a lot more healthy this way I suppose.




In Room Indulgence. A Pot of Haigh's Hot Chocolate. It wasn't as rich as Lindt, and not very sweet at all, but full of chocolatey goodness to be sure!




Chocolatey Goodness continues: The Hilton Haighs Chocolate Martini made with real Haighs chocolate flakes, tequila, Kahlua and 87% Mozart chocolate liquer, this drink alone is worth flying down to the hotel for.

Trustee - A night out in Perth

Friday night out in a new city and I was in the queue of a newly opened bar. How chic of me. Trustee, hosted in a lovely heritage building on 135 St George Terrace, not far away from many office buildings aspires to be the typical bankers' watering hole on weekdays. A large selection of wines and a cocktail drinking crowd made for a bustling opening. After being promised a twenty minute wait in the queue but let in after five, I gratefully sank myself onto the plush leather couch in a corner of the bar with my newfound Perth friends.

We ordered wine, because it would have been a terribly long wait for cocktails, and the Dry reisling we had was really yummy. To be honest, I don't remember enough of the night for a detailed post, and trying to remember details still brings about a dull throb from the hangover I had to endure the next morning on a 5 hour flight back to Kuala Lumpur (Not recommended btw). But, I do remember what inspired me to take the few pictures I found on my phone the next afternoon.

Clockwise from top left:

1) The expansive brass and glass wine cellar-vault that sits in the middle of the bar floor.

2) The old world charm decor of the place with the iron-wrought lamp stands and old chests for coffee tables


3) Fat chips. No, seriously fat chips almost the size of a non-smart phone.

4) More of the decor, this one we deduced is themed to match the place's name ~ the Trustee.

Alcohol-induced revelry made it impossible to believe that my visions of freaky babies popping up in our drinks wasn't a mere hallucination, but there were some tipsy cajolling and tossing around naked toy bubs and placing them in compromising positions. And I swear they found their way with me on my trip to Kuala Lumpur.

I beleive that we all had a great night, despite, the hazy memory, the waitress that kept removing our full beers, the long waits for alcohol and despite the cancelled credit card the next day because I thought I had misplaced it.

Fantabulous place to hang out and I'd go there again one day I think, just to try out some of that french food they are supposed to also serve in their bistro.



Trip to Perth, the Pan Pacific

I had the fortunate opportunity to be sent to Perth for work last week, it was my first time being here and it was certainly refreshing to be in the other half of our two-speed economy I'll tell you that. For starters, there were no talks of doom and gloom. China was the focus, not Europe. And with the wealth, the biggest issue was coping with growth and not so much the sustainability of the business.

I stayed and worked at the Pan Pacific in those two days. And whilst the rooms weren't anything much to write about (the story is there is so little supply for accommodation in Perth that hotels can't bear to miss out on the revenue they are still able to command with these nineties styled Mod rooms).

What the hotel lacked in style and room facilities, it didn't exactly make up in the in-room dining either. I ordered the most indulgent dish on the menu, a squid ink linguine cooked in a white sauce with scallops and prawns. Whilst it presented really well, and the scallops and prawns weren't overcooked, the cheesiness of the sauce masked the freshness of the seafood. Furthermore, the linguine wasn't al dente and the whole dish was really just a cheesy mess.

 The White wine poached pear that I ordered was comparatively heaven with its chopped topping of strawberries and mint. The delicacy of the refreshing favours acted as the perfect palate cleanser, ridding my buds of all that nasty cheesiness.

Where I worked however, where the conference rooms had been refurbished merely a year or two ago, it was an opulent world. Black chandeliers and luscious leather chairs dotted the halls where we were to hold our cocktail function.

 It was gorgeous. I thought of writing too about the things I got up to in Perth, but perhaps will save that for a different post.