Barossa Valley tour, January 2011, part 2
Better late than never, right? (Apol’s for the delay) I’m excited to finally post the second (well, technically third if you count meeting Maggie Beer) article covering our trip to the Barossa Valley in January. I will be publishing a third, but may not do so for another week – I’ve got something else to tell you about in the mean time – stayed tuned. Back to this story though… So up to now, we’d landed; had a terrific lunch at the historic Lord Lyndoch hotel; celebrated Nanna G’s birthday while watching Sting perform against the backdrop of the gorgeous South Australian sunset; been on a sublime afternoon of wine tastings with John Baldwin (when we met the aforementioned Mrs Beer, superstar) and begun enjoying our time at the Barossa Shiraz Estate. We were doing a good job of having a great time! Today’s post covers the Mengler Hill lookout and sculpture park (yes, really) and one of my favourite lazy lunch experiences – at the gorgeous Charles Melton’s winery.
First up, farm stay breakfast
I’ve just gotta tell you quickly about the excellent supplies that they made available to us as part of our accommodation at Barossa Shiraz Estate. Sadly, I didn’t get a photo of all the loot in the fridge before we got into it, but can tell you there was no risk were going hungry at breakfast time – as we were provided with about 30 eggs, four or five heavy packets of bacon, loads of farm grown tomatoes, two beautiful loaves of bread; various cereals, milk, butter and spreads – as well as coffee, tea, orange and apple juice and more. Whoah! So naturally, we had a big cook up on the barbie and fuelled up for the day.
About one tenth of the breakie provisions we were given! (BYO mushies and local sausages.)
Beautiful roses growing next to our breakfast table at Barossa Shiraz Estate
Lookout! We’re off to Mengler’s Hill
During our winery tour the previous afternoon, John Baldwin had told us about a lookout which was a short drive away and allowed lovely views across the valley. We didn’t have time to visit during our tour with John, but resolved we’d head to the lookout at Mengler Hill on our own time. Fortunately for me, that meant getting to take the the RAV4 for a spin! So we all piled in, programmed the GPS and started our adventure for the day.
Mengler’s Hill is on the road between Angaston and Tanunda and provides a lovely, panoramic view of the wineries and farms in the Barossa Valley region. It also features huge sculptures which were created for the 2008 Barossa International Sculpture Symposium. Pics of some of the sculptures are shown below.
While the view was lovely, I found the sculpture park was a bit strange – in fact, I’m glad I was there with other people, it would have seemed eerie otherwise, I think… I guess if you like a good sculpture, this might be more your sort of thing?
Strange article… Pa walks through a turn-style to get to the sculpture park.
I’m not sure about why a turn-style was required in the middle of nowhere…
Sculptures viewed from Mengler’s Hill lookout
Sculptures viewed from Mengler’s Hill lookout
There were some interesting trees in the sculpture park which afforded Mr L with a photographic opportunity or two.
And other wildlife provided an photographic opportunity or two for me!
Mr L becoming one with a sculpture
I’m sure you can imagine that all the walking around the sculpture park made hungry and thirsty work, so we decided we’d best visit some wineries and head towards Charles Melton’s for lunch.
Lazy lunch at Charles Melton’s winery
I was excited about going for lunch at Charles Melton’s and returning to Krondorf Road in general – as the last time Mr L and I were in the Barossa, we stopped into the various wineries along the road and really loved our time there. Sadly, on that day we didn’t have time to stay for lunch, we’d planned better this time though and a long lunch we would have – after all, it was Nanna G’s birthday the day before and we hadn’t finished celebrating it yet!
We pulled into the driveway, parked under a big tree and none other than Charlie himself was walking in at the same time. There was a notable absence of hounds and we learnt that Axel and Major, the dalmatians we met on our last visit (see below) were having a day off that day and were at home.
So since we had no hound patting duties, we gratefully declined the wine tasting (we were hungry) and pulled up a pew on Charlie’s deck and prepared to eat and drink! First thing was first, to get the birthday girl (and supporting party) a glass of something delicious.
Nanna G with a well deserved glass of the Father in Law Shiraz
Awwww – Pa and Nanna G <3<3
Lunch at Charles Melton’s winery is simple, but effective. The boys and I both had a pie – I had the Pewsey Vale beef pie and Pa and Mr L both had the Hutton Vale Lamb Pie. They were all delicious. Nanna G chose the roast pumpkin and vegetable tart, which I sadly did not get a photo of (we were all so hungry that I took a few quick snaps and then tucked in) though I can tell you that it went down a treat.
Pewsey Vale Beef Pie served with Maggie Beer’s Cabernet sauce, local salad greens dressed
with Maggie Beer’s Vino Cotto and locally produced red capsicum
The inside of my pie (mmmmmmmmmm!) with Pa’s pie in the background
So after a longish lunch, we did succumb to wine tasting around the magnificent table at Charles Melton’s cellar door. I’m afraid our credit card has only just recovered. (Sob!)
Pa, looking at home at Charlie’s big table
Moving on – Lyndoch Bakery and running in the vines
We moved onto Rockford (just down Krondorf Road) where we continued to taste and spend before heading back into Lyndoch to get supplies for dinner. One notable stop was at the Lyndoch Bakery where we discovered a number of delicious baked items. We picked up some bread and noted their impressive pie selection.
No caption required!
The extensive pie selection
We headed back to our accommodation and spent the rest of the afternoon running through the vineyard singing “run, rabbit, run”, laughing a lot and admiring our surroundings. All in all, this was a pretty terrific day.
The little blue figure in the background is Mr L, running down between the wines
Madhur Jaffrey’s Anglo-Indian sausage patties
Around lunchtime at work on Wednesday, my mate Al and I were talking about food (not an uncommon occurrence) for we were both hungry, and Mr L had found the most recent edition of Gourmet Traveller in our mailbox that morning, which was open on my desk. The January edition of Gourmet Traveller boasts two attention grabbing articles about burgers: one about making them and the other about eating them. We were both drooling over pics of the fantastic wagyu burgers from Neil Perry’s Rockpool Bar and Grill, while I was trying to explain to Al how worth their $22 they were. Talk of burgers led him to recall a book that he’d received for Christmas (and was quite excited about) with recipes from Madhur Jaffrey. He said the book contained loads of excellent, easy curry recipes and one other recipe had caught his eye: Madhur Jaffrey’s Anglo-Indian sausage patties. Within seconds, he’d found the recipe on the Telegraph UK’s website, and I hatched a plan to make them for dinner the next night.
Making patties early Thursday morning
On Wednesday night, I went to the shops and procured all the materials I needed to make the patties. The recipe calls for them to be refrigerated overnight or for at least a couple of hours, so I decided I’d make them the next morning and went to bed, dreaming of pork and wagyu.
Next morning, I bounced out of bed into the kitchen and made the patty mix. It only took about 10-15 minutes all up, and I separated a bit of the mix and wrapped it separately to take to work for Al (who’d not yet had the chance to make them himself) so that he could cook and try the patties at home that night. I then got myself ready for work, feeling unusually prepared – all that was left for me to do was the shaping and cooking of the patties and to make a raita and other Indian-style accompaniments after work that night.
Al’s single patty – cling wrapped and ready for delivery
An unfortunate turn of events, resulting in a somewhat random dinner
A short time after, I left the house carrying a chiller bag (containing the patty and ice bricks), my handbag, keys and a one litre glass bottle, filled with chilled water. Somehow, at the top of our stairs, I lost my footing and stacked my way down ten concrete stairs to the bottom, breaking the glass bottle on the way and giving myself a dreadful shock. Stunned and in slow motion, I picked myself up from the bottom of the stairs and took in the damage: my left arm was bleeding all over the place; egg sized bruises were quickly rising on various parts of my body and broken glass and water was strewn all down the stairs. It was quite a sight to behold.
At that point, our very lovely neighbour poked his head out of his door as he’d heard the commotion. He caught sight of me, the blood, the broken glass and the strewn luggage and told me to go and clean myself up and that he would sort out the rest. I did as I was told, picked up the rest of my belongings and went back inside, still shocked, suddenly very tired and now with a thumping headache! (Thank you Rob, I’m so grateful.)
I knew that all was not right with me at this point. I cleaned and bandaged myself as best I could, got changed and then got in the car and went to work, perfectly intact patty in-hand! I saw Mr L on the way who gave me lots of hugs and made me feel better, but told me to get my computer and work from home – very good advice, for later in the day wearing my body got to be even more uncomfortable as the swelling rose and I got more tired.
I dropped Al’s patty off, picked up my laptop and went home. Of course, I hadn’t had the time to get the other bits and pieces for dinner, but figured I could make do with what we had, so we ended up with a very healthy, but slightly random dinner, with one of our favourite dinner companions, PC, who we’d booked in earlier that week.
Anyway, wrapping up, if you make these patties (and I’d recommend you do), you might like to serve them with something like this:
- Rice
- Raita (cucumber, natural yoghurt and mint)
- Carrot and sultana salad
- Papadums and
- Mango chutney
We had ours with salad and papadums, which was about the best I could muster, avoiding walking and driving in my bleary-eyed, sore muscled state. I think the patty-salad combo worked okay – nobody complained, so it can’t have been too bad! Madhur Jaffrey also suggests serving them in pita pockets with eggs for breakfast, or adding them into curries – both entirely doable ideas that I will be putting in the memory bank meals down the track.
Everyone enjoyed Madhur Jaffrey’s Anglo-Indian sausage patties, including Al, who’d texted me that night, asking how I was and confirming he’d cooked and consumed his patty with delight. If you like coriander and enjoy Indian spices, then consider this recipe for a quick and easy dinner. As no breadcrumbs are required, these patties are gluten free and since my patties were made of lean pork mince, they’re a healthy burger experience, so they get the double thumbs up from me!
By the way, I’m still a bit bruised, but am otherwise fine now – will pay more attention when descending the stairs in future!
Madhur Jaffrey’s Anglo-Indian sausage patties (from Melissa Whitworth’s article, published in Telegraph.co.uk on 2 September 2010)
Note: make these the night before you plan to cook them
Ingredients
450g minced pork, preferably a bit fatty (I used lean pork mince and it worked well)
3 tbsp shallots or red onions, peeled and finely chopped
100g fresh coriander, chopped
½-¾ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garam masala, preferably home-made but shop-bought will do
2 tsp olive or rapeseed oil
- 1. Put the pork in a bowl. Add the shallots, coriander, cayenne pepper, garam masala, a teaspoon of salt and lots of black pepper. Mix thoroughly, making sure to pick up and integrate all the shallots and coriander. Shape into a loaf, wrap in cling film and refrigerate, ideally overnight, but for one to two hours if you are rushed.
- 2. Divide into eight equal pieces and roll into balls. Flatten with the palm of your hand to make eight smooth patties about 7.5cm in diameter.
- 3. Put the oil in a non-stick frying-pan and set over a medium-high heat. Put in the patties, as many as will fit easily, and brown on both sides, turning frequently. This will take four to five minutes. Make sure that they are cooked through.
- 4. Make all the patties in this way. Remove with a slotted spatula and serve whichever way takes your fancy!
Gluten free, Friday night pork tacos
The other night in Woolworths, I was kind of loitering in the Asian food aisle, trying to absorb some dinner inspiration when I happened across Select brand’s “Authentic Mexican Corn Tortillas.” Ding! (Lightbulb moment.) I decreed (to myself and the bag of tortillas – we were the only two who cared) that Mr L and I would have soft shell tacos at some point this week! So tonight, Mr L had just returned from work drinks at the pub and was pretty hungry. Rarely does he feel like tacos, but tonight, he said they were just what he felt like and even commented that the tacos represented “good pub food”. I thought that was a pretty good endorsement from a man who’d worked up an appetite, lifting schooies at the pub. It seemed the time was right, this was to be taco night! Mmmm… delicioso!
Volunteering to assist with Queensland flood recovery
I received another update from Brisbane Lord Mayor, Campbell Newman overnight which provides some terrific info on how to go about volunteering for those wishing to assist with clean up efforts after the Queensland floods. I’ve pasted Campbell’s message below for your info – it also emphasises the importance of being safe around fire hazards – of which there are many, with all the compromised electrical circuits around the place.
Continue Reading January 19, 2011 at 8:20 am Leave a comment
Mango-orange-lime-coconut popsicles, endorsed by Morris
I’m ultra pleased to have an icy, sweet treat for you tonight – mmmm, mmmm, mmmm, mmmm, popsicles! They’re so good that Morris, our trusty messenger horse, put his hoof up to endorse them. So thanks to you Morris – here we go with the recipe for mango-orange-lime-coconut popsicles – they are a flavour sensation!
Popsicles and slurpees
Last night I mentioned that I was working on a delish mango-lime ice cream recipe and said I’d post it tonight… Sadly, that’s not happening because I just wasn’t happy with the outcome – so it’s back to the drawing board on that one, but I can tell you I’m excited about the consolation prize – fantastic mango-lime-orange popsicles – which are sitting in the freezer right now chilling out (pardon the pun!) Stay tuned for the recipe and pics tomorrow night. In the mean time… have you seen this?
Continue Reading January 17, 2011 at 10:43 am Leave a comment
Cupboard contents loaf – Friday night bake!
What a crazy week, huh? I’m so glad to know that things have calmed down in Brisbane; but sad to hear floods are gearing up in Tasmania and Victoria and other parts of Queensland. Hoping that people take care and stay safe through this hectic weather.
Tonight’s post is custom made for those of you who are stuck inside at home, with essentials in the cupboard and are bored. It’s a cheeky little sweet loaf, made using what you’ve got. If you don’t have what I’ve used, you can substitute with what you have on hand. For example, if you don’t have dried cranberries, you could use sultanas or another dried fruit. Or you could omit the dried fruit altogether and whack in some chopped up bits of apple or other fruit you need to get rid of. Instead of using walnuts, you could use almonds or any other nut you prefer. My loaf contains cranberries, sultanas and walnuts with some pantry staples. As I type this first part of this post, it’s rising and smells amazing!
Continue Reading January 14, 2011 at 8:29 am Leave a comment
Supporting people in floods, now and later
Big ups to all those people in Queensland and outside of it who have thrown their hands up to volunteer. You guys rock. It’s amazing to see communities everywhere pull together and look after one another. I’m sure that spirit will need to be kept up over the coming months while Queensland recovers from the current floods. If you can volunteer and haven’t, register online through
www.volunteeringqld.org.au.
Here’s hoping that you and your families and friends are safe. For those of us who are so lucky to have been unaffected by this horrendous flooding, get ready to support your Queensland cousins – they’re going to need a lot of support while they rebuild their lives.
Below is another update from Brisbane’s Lord Mayor, Campbell Newman. Hopefully it’s of use to you or someone you know.
BTW – I know this is a food blog.. will return to talking about food shortly.
Continue Reading January 13, 2011 at 9:42 am Leave a comment
Water, water everywhere
Man oh man. I don’t know about you, but for me, this week has become all the more surreal. Like many Australians I’ve been glued to the internet and social media coverage of the Queensland flood situation today. I hear also that Victoria is experiencing flash flooding as is New South Wales – and Tasmania is reportedly set to flood too. What the heck? So I thought I’d add information from Brisbane’s Lord Mayor, Campbell Newman that I’ve just received in case it helps you or a loved one. I’ll also share some pics taken close to my office in Brisbane. I heard around 3pm that up to level two of our building was standing in water. We’re on level three. Far out.
Continue Reading January 12, 2011 at 9:02 am Leave a comment
Trouble concentrating and thinking of Queensland
I had planned to write a post today about a healthy new year roast chicken dish, but well, my mind has been overrun by concern for friends and colleagues in Brisbane who are being affected by extraordinarily horrible floods. In my day job, I work for a company whose head office is in Brisbane and I’ve spent approximately half my life there in the past two years. Today, the office was closed due to risk of flooding and when colleagues were leaving before lunch time, the water was knee high. So this post is devoted to the floods in Queensland; how you can find information on the situation at hand and how you can assist.
Continue Reading January 11, 2011 at 7:55 am Leave a comment
Irashaimase: Sushi Samurai, Neutral Bay!
I don’t know whether you feel the same, but Mr L and I are kinda still feeling like we’re on holidays – even despite the unhappy return to work that we both experienced last week. I think the way we’re feeling has to do with the fantastic weather we’ve been blessed with in Sydney – naturally, we’ve mixed the hot, sunny days with lots of swimming and picnic food during the days, and have attended a swag of social events with friends and family during the nights. I haven’t reaaaaaally cooked anything much these past few weeks and although I’ve felt a bit lazy on that score, I’ve very much enjoyed catching up with friends and family and eating out quite a bit.
Well hello 2011!
Why hello there!
Well hello to all and happy new year to y’all from Mr L and me! We hope that the end of 2010 brought you and yours all the things you’d hoped for.
Happy New Year to you!
For me, well, the end of 2010 brought me all sorts of good things. There was one big gaping hole in my life though which would have been perfectly filled had I been able to publish many more blog posts.
So the story goes that I’d promised you that I’d upload all the posts from our o/s trips (in the mid-latter parts of the year) and well, work heated up again and I didn’t get to writing all those posts. I’ve been concerned about that (read: feeling incredibly slack) and was whinging to Mr L about it last night when he offered up a simple suggestion – why not just weave the best bits of the trip through my posts over the next little while and in the mean time, get back to blogging about things that are happening now?
Of course! A clever plan from a brilliant (and dashingly handsome husband) and one which I am absolutely going to follow.
Three little points
SO…. I wanted to firstly say hello to you and ask you to forgive me for being shy and well, tardy. From herein, I will start communicating regularly again.
Secondly, I wanted to give you a little pictorial taste of things to come through those o/s review posts. (See below)
Thirdly, I’m sending a shout out to all those well travelled peeps who may have made it to Adelaide; the Barossa Valley and Adelaide Hills during their travels – Mr L and I are taking Nanna G and Pa on a wee trip towards the end of January and will be visiting all those places. We’d be so grateful of any suggestions you may have for restaurants / wineries / cafes and the like that we should visit on our adventures. So if you do have any ideas, please add them into the comments section at the bottom of this page!
Pictorial teasery – looking back on 2010
I know Pa, teasery isn’t speaking good, but you get the gist… Below is a little collection of images that give you an idea of posts to come in 2011, looking back on 2010. Rest assured though, My Favourite Fruits will also be looking ahead and I personally am excited about the prospect of bringing you lots of restaurant reviews; recipes and product reviews during the year to come.
Let the pictorial teasery commence!
Above: it’s a piece of cake! (From Mickey and Liv’s wedding in Kefalonia, Greece)
Also in Kefalonia, great big platters of sharing food – good times!
On Mykonos, Greece, a man makes fresh pasta in the street
Fresh food and friends in Santorini
Bonjour French macarons in Paris!
And OMG an amazing degustation dinner @ L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon in St Germain, Paris
A spectacular time in cold and kooky Iceland (yes, Iceland!)
All the good things in New York: hot dawgs; excess; jazz and Donald Trump!
Clam chowder, ribs and revelling in time with favourite friends in San Francisco
10th birthday celebrations at Sushi Roku with fave friends in Los Angeles + rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous!
A lazy lunch @ IndoChine in Singapore with FIL and MIL
Um halou-mi! Dinner @ Steel Bar + Grill (Sydney)
A summary of the verjuice master class @ Maggie Beer’s farm in Barossa Valley
Got any ideas?
Bring on lots of eating, cooking, reviewing and writing in 2011!
Do you have any ideas about places, products or recipes for My Favourite Fruits to review? If so, please, please, please let us know using the Comments box below! And don’t forget to add your thoughts on the Barossa, Adelaide and Adelaide Hills!
Thanks to you!
Ciao for now 
A break in transmission between travel posts… and a sensational garlic prawn pasta
So we’re back and though I haven’t yet uploaded more blogs from our trip, I promise I’m going to. This week I’m in Brissie and away from my Mac (which is the custodian of all my food photography), but I was itching to say hello and share this garlic prawn pasta recipe with you because it surprised both Mr L and me with its brilliance! So forgive the break in transmission between travel posts, but for now, I’d urge you to give this recipe a go and then let me know what you think of it!
Continue Reading September 6, 2010 at 11:40 am Leave a comment
The wheels on the bus go round and round
26 July 2010 – part 1
Touring around the traps in London
We hopped out of bed bright and early to go on an organised bus tour. The tour travelled around all the famous sights of London: Big Ben, Westminster abbey, Houses of Parliament, the changing of the guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace and various other palaces, Trafalgar Square, a traditional English pub lunch, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London and a cruise down the Thames. We met a couple of Aussies on the bus (of course!) and had a great day out and about in old London town.
This post is made up of pics as I reckon you’re probably tired of reading all my text (and it takes a long time to write!)
All aboard! Mr L and me on the bus
Mr L – exhausted from all the touring!
The stunning Westminster Abbey
Raining in London – who’da thunkit!
Big Ben / clock tower against a grey London backdrop
People walk to work across Westminster Bridge
Nelson Mandela and Sir Robert Peel across from Houses of Parliament in London
Horse (not lion!) in Trafalgar Square
Masses of people outside Buckingham Palace – on a Monday morning!
Victoria Memorial in the Queen’s Gardens at Buckingham Palace
Guards marching into Buckingham Palace with band
Guard and Bobby on Stable Yard Road
Mr L’s meat pie, chips and peas with gravy at an English pub
My massive fish, chips and peas with Tartare
Tower of London (camera died – taken on iphone!)
Double decker with a war horse
The beautiful London Bridge
Mmmm… ice cream!
Portobello Road, Notting Hill and a tasty nut roast
25 July 2010
Portobello Road, Notting Hill, via Oxford Circus
Stretch, yawn, smile – another beautiful day in London. We decide to hook up with PC who is also here – along with her cuz’s – A & S, and A’s girlfriend D – as well as Riss and Chello, who have been living in London for years. After a proper english breakfast, we head off to Notting Hill, via a quick stop at Oxford Circus, where Mr L’s found a Mac shop. I’m not complaining – shops mean shopping, so we hop on the tube and head to Oxford Circus. Mr L’s so excited to be on the tube, and we agree just how efficient the British public transport system is. Everywhere we turn, we see buses, trains, the underground, etc and it seems pretty inexpensive to get around.
Sadly, apart from Mac accessories, our shopping time eventuates in no spoils as we’ve got to zip if we’re going to meet the other kids in time. I figure there will be time later. Mr L hopes there’s not!
Ahhhh Topshop – if only we had time…
Mr L at one with the Mac shop
Even Quicksilver is fancy!
When we arrived at Portobello Road, PC and the others were running late, so while I stopped in at a few little shops, Mr L stopped in at the Sun in Splendour – a(nother) cute little pub at the top end of the road. Turns out that was fortunate, because PC was out with Riss and Chello for a big one the night before and was in need of a cheeky burger from their “Burger Boutique” to tie her over. So we headed out the back and found the perfect table to sit at for lunch.
The menu from the Sun in Splendour, Notting Hill
PC’s cousin S mentioned that she was well and truly in love with the nut roast. This was not an experience I’d been privy to previously, so I decided to check it out. PC ordered a beef burger, Mr L went in for the lamb burger. S ordered a goats cheese salad with roasted red peppers, toasted nuts and seeds and added chicken to it. The kids all enjoyed their meals – and the burger (complete with bloody mary ketchup) seemed to assist PC with her recovery.
Mr L’s lamb burger, seasoned with Moroccan spices, with chips and tzatziki
S’s salad with chicken included
PC’s handmade British beef burger, with mature cheddar and bacon, served with chips and bloody mary ketchup
The nut roast
I’ll be listening to S again. The nut roast, simple as it was, was one of the best kinds of roast I’ve ever had! It came with all sorts of sides, including a Yorkshire Pudding, gravy and lots of veggies, which I was in dire need of after the long flight from Sydney. The nut roast was quite a thing to behold – it’s made up of nuts mixed with something that resembled stuffing in consistency, but was not as heavy. The other veggies were extremely good too and everyone ummed and ahhhed as they tried the nut roast.
I will definitely be making a nut roast when I get back to Australia as I really loved the one I had in Notting Hill. I’ve included a recipe below that I found through Googling – it’s a vegan version and you could probably use gluten free breadcrumbs, flour and stock if that’s your preference. Recipe below sourced from this link: http://www.veg-world.com/recipes/nutroast.htm and was originally one of Rose Elliot’s recipes.
Classic Nut Roast recipe
- Oil for frying
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 – 6 medium mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1¼ cups (10 fl oz, 300 ml) vegetable stock (or water)
- 1½ cups (6 oz, 175 g) finely chopped nuts
- 3 cups (6 oz, 175 g) breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp. soy sauce
- ½ tsp. dried herbs
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Flour for coating
- Oil for roasting
Oven: Pre-heat to 375F, 190C.
Stew the onion in the oil for about five minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and mushrooms. Cook for a few more minutes.
Sprinkle the flour on top. Stir well. Add the stock or water, stirring all the time. Bring the mixture to the boil, and simmer slowly for two or three minutes. Stir in the nuts, breadcrumbs, soy sauce, herbs and seasoning.
Turn the mixture on to a floured board, and form a loaf shape with your hands. Coat evenly with flour on all sides.
Heat the oil in a roasting tin. Place the loaf in the tin. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes, basting occasionally.
The inside of the nut roast
Beers @ probably the best pub in all of London!
I don’t recall what it was called, but after a stroll down thriving Portobello Road, we stopped at (another!) pub to meet Riss and Chello. By this stage, the sun was really beating down, so it was good to seek refuge inside the pub that referred to itself as “Probably the best pub in all of London”! I gotta say, Mr L and I spent a lot of time laughing at the caution that the Brits exercise with regards to their claims. At another pub close to where we were staying, there was a sign out front that said “probably the best fish and chips in all of London”! Probably? We found later that when we arrived in Greece, the Greeks had no trouble pointing out that their thing was the best. “The best moussaka”; “The best view” and simply “The best” were all signs that we saw on our travels! Putting the probably in front (we felt) was a bit of insurance – protection against false advertising perhaps?
Anyway – I don’t need to bore you with the detail of what we did for the rest of the day, but it was great to catch up with all the kids. A couple of pics below.
Mr L and me (couples dressing somehow!) at Sun in Splendour with my nut roast
Riss and Chello – at “probably the best pub in London”!
PC and Sarah at the Sun in Splendour
Tally ho chaps, it’s time to travel the old dart!
24 July 2010
We’re in London now and despite the jet lag, are extremely excited to be here! After checking into the hotel, we decide to have a shower and go exploring. The Rubens at the Palace hotel is situated directly across the road from Buckingham Palace on Buckingham Palace Road. It’s right around the corner from Victoria station, located within the city of Westminster. A very central location.
Farewell to the old guard
We step out the front door of the hotel to find bright, hot sunlight beating down. So very unlike the grey, drizzly weather that London is famous for. We have a map, but don’t really have any other clue about where we’re going. I’d been to London years before, but never stayed in this area, so this is all as new for me as it is for Mr L, who’s never visited. We head to the right, in the general direction of Buckingham Palace and are absolutely struck by the crowds of people that are flocking in the same direction as us. We’re not sure if this is normal or if something’s on, so we follow the population and end up right in front of the palace. Soon enough we see the Royal Guard marching out of the gates at Buckingham Palace – we’ve arrived right in the middle of the changing of the guard. What we’re seeing is the old guard leaving the palace as they’ve been relieved by their replacement soldiers – the new guard.
Changing of the guard – the old guard marches out of Buckingham Palace
Out goes the guard, followed by mounted police on beautiful horses
Those bear skin hats have got to be hot on a day like today!
Looking around, the other tourists are just as mesmerised as we are. There is a certain elegance that accompanies this old ceremony. Mr L tells me that the soldiers you see in the pictures above are in fact serving soldiers who, when not stationed on the Royal Guard, are stationed in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere that the British Royal Army is serving. We remark how different that must be – switching between a life steeped in tradition, routine and ceremony to one ruled by adrenaline, fear and unpredictability.
St James Park
After the old guard has marched away, we follow part of the crowd and find ourselves in St James Park. It is green and lush and beautiful and we’re lured to the lake that is located in the middle of the park. We find beautiful geese, ducks and other birds. While we’re photographing some of the cute, brown geese, a tiny squirrel comes dashing out of nowhere and surprises us!
I think this guy is a goose! He was very cute. This is his front on shot.
Same guy – profile shot.
Squirrel! Crazy nut (eater) came dashing out of nowhere!
The next day when talking to PC’s cousin Sarah, we find out that these squirrels are the naughty ones – they’re not native to London and are responsible for scaring off many of the native ones. We didn’t see any of those, so I don’t have a pic for you – sorry! We wander through the rest of the park, past all sorts of beautifully well kept areas. In one, we find three enormous pelicans sitting atop a rock within a very japanese looking setting.
We emerge on the other side of the park, over near Winston Churchill’s War Rooms and near a great big square. On a tour later in the week, we find out that this square is where official guard ceremonies are held and that it is part of one of the palaces. Again, we fall into step behind other tourists and walk through a great big archway, where we find another guard. There are hundreds of tourists flocking to him to have their photo taken. He pays them little attention and continues to stand proud. He is not wearing the bear skin hat, but has a gold coloured, metal helmet on his head.
We walk through the cool archway to the blazing sun on the other side and I feel like a dork standing there in my opaque stockings and velvet jacket! (It felt cold when we walked into the hotel!) We find ourselves around the other side of the palace and find two other guards on horses (horse guards) again, surrounded by hundreds of crazy tourists, all vying to get a picture with them. Generally they’re pretty patient, but every now and then when a tourist oversteps the mark, one shouts “STAND CLEAR OF THE GUARD!” and the tourists are scared into keeping more of a respectful distance.
Lunch on the Thames at the Tattershall Castle
The Tattershall Castle, on the Thames
We walk further on and find ourselves staring up at Big Ben, the London (Millennium) Eye, and over to Westminster Abbey. I’m thrilled because last time I was in London, I really didn’t have time to have a good look at any of these world renowned landmarks. We take a few snaps before agreeing we’re both pretty famished. There’s a boat just to our left and we walk towards it to discover it’s in fact a pub. We decide we could use a pint with lunch, so after a quick, ceremonial selfie (below), we stop in at the Tattershall Castle (above), which is opposite the London Eye on the Thames.
Mr L and me in front of the Millennium Eye, on the River Thames
First thing’s first – we bought a couple of beers. Mr L then decided that since we were in London, it would be rude not to have fish and chips (and mushy peas) with his beer. I chose a burger and both meals were delivered reasonably promptly. When the fish and chips arrived, we wondered about the purpose for the two half slices of bread sat atop the fish. Are they there so that one can make a chip butty? Perhaps Pa might know, since he was born in London.
Mr L’s fish and chips with mushy peas, bread and tartare sauce
My burger was ok, but not great. The beef was juicy and the cheese tasty enough, but it wasn’t like the big fat burger that I’m used to receiving in Aussie pubs. That said, it did the trick and owing to a lack of items such as beetroot, egg and pineapple, I didn’t end up with burger oozed down my arm! Perhaps I ought to try to stick to these sorts of burgers more often – I may cause my husband less public humiliation!
I was interested by the wee salad of pickle, lettuce, tomato and onion to the side of the burger. I wasn’t sure if it was intended as side salad, garnish or burger contents, but I whacked it on the burger and that worked pretty well.
My burger, chips and side salad, come burger contents!
Am I on drugs, or is Australia just very expensive for food and booze?
We’ve been pleasantly surprised by how cheap the food has been in London. From my last visit, I recall it being really expensive. Certainly the exchange rate has improved since my last trip, but in conjunction with that, I wonder if Australia’s become very expensive? Certainly friends and family that have lived in the USA or UK have returned home and remarked how expensive things are. Why is that? Can someone enlighten me? Perhaps the quality of our food is vastly improved on the produce in the UK?
That famous clock and tower
When in London…
After lunch we wandered around Westminster some more and enjoyed spotting extra landmarks. It sure was hot in London on that first day and after we’d had enough of walking in the heat, we headed back to the hotel in order to cool down. We’d been up for about 36 hours (except for the few we’d slept on the plane), so were getting pretty tired. Somehow, on the way into the hotel, we caught a glimpse of the cool, dark bar and got enticed in.
When in London, having a Pimms cocktail seemed to be the right choice, so I took one for the team and ordered. Mr L (I’m sure you’re surprised), felt like a crisp, clean glass of white wine, so we and our drinks sat in the very beautiful, very British bar at the Rubens sipping our drinks.
My Pimms cocktail – refreshing!
The bar at Rubens at the Palace
A second wind and a third and a fourth…
It seems the cocktail / wine combo worked to help us work up a couple of extra winds, and we trotted around the corner to a cute little pub called The Phoenix. Once we got ourselves a seat, we were happy to sit in (and shoot) the breeze outside the pub and sip a cheeky wine or two. Though the Phoenix was on a little street (Palace Street) in the back of Westminster, the people watching was good and provided just enough action to tire us out, before we retired for a good, long kip, in preparation for another big day in London!
Last day in London and lunch at Heston Blumenthal’s pub: the Hinds Head in Bray
27 July 2010
A most esteemed and exciting day – we’re off to Heston Blumenthal’s pub in Bray for lunch. To get there, we need to get a tube from London Victoria to Paddington and then catch the train. We’ve got some time to kill, so we decide to go and have a look at Harrods and Harvey Nics in the morning. The thing I love the most (I’m sure you’re surprised) is the food hall in Harrods. I’ve included some pics below – it’s amazing. Kind of like the David Jones food hall in Sydney on steroids. Phenomenal. When we come back to London, I will be stopping into Harrods for a spot of whatever I feel like at lunch time. If I feel like dumplings, I’ll have those. Or maybe I’ll feel like Jamon de Bayon. Or fancy pies. Or terrine. Or caviar. Or something fabulous from the Fromagerie perhaps (BF?) In any event, I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to find something that takes my fancy in this food hall – it’s just a shame that on this occasion, Mr L and I have bigger fish to fry, so we’re conservative with our buying.
See some pics below and then read on to see and hear all about our lunch at the brilliant Hinds Head hotel in Bray.
Mmmmm… chocolates
Food hall
Dim sum anyone?
Beef wellington or lobster for lunch?
Hams and cold meat galore!
Double thumbs up says Mr L, who is pictured here in pie heaven!
Mmmm.. cheese…
The iberico ham house (if you don’t mind!)
Fromagerie (BF – we need to visit!)
Tonnes of terrine
On our way out of Harrods, we noticed the Lauduree at Harrods shop. PC tells me she’s got the same pic as the one below from the Lauduree shop in Paris. Since we’re heading there shortly, I may just seek out a twin photo (and perhaps a macaron!)
Mmmm.. macaron towers – Adriano Zumbo would be proud!
Lunch @ Heston Blumenthal’s Hinds Head pub in Bray
My ears are back and my tail is wagging – we’re off for lunch to Heston Blumenthal’s pub in the Berkshire village of Bray, a beautiful little place near Maidenhead Station. Mr L is excited because on our way through to Maidenhead station we passed Slough, which is where the English series of The Office (with Ricky Gervais) is set. Once we’re off the train, we walk through the town of Maidenhead and make our way to a pub (the sun is over the yard arm) for a cheeky pint while we wait for 2:00 to come around. We spend some time laughing at the locals who are all seated at separate tables, but talk loudly enough that they (and we and everyone else) can hear every word they’re saying – chatter about the horse racing, talk of an upcoming wedding and disagreements over the bus timetable seem to be the topics of the day!
Soon enough the time ticks round and we walk back to Maidenhead station to find a taxi to take us to the Hinds Head. Three doors down from the Hinds Head we spot the Fat Duck – the molecular gastronomy restaurant that has caused a stir in the little village and across the world. Sadly, we couldn’t get into the Fat Duck, but Jacque suggested we visit the Hinds Head instead and as we were able to get a seat, well, here we are! The Hinds Head focuses on traditional, seasonal British food – and we’re itching to get a look at some, so we head through the door to the 15th century building.
Champers – yes please!
We figured it was the right thing to do to start with a glass of champagne, and were promptly delivered a glass of the Deutz Brut Classic which Mr L declared was better than the Dom Peringnon Reserve that we’d had during our Easter visit to Quay.
Us looking stoked with our Deutz Brut Classic champagne
The menu
The menu
The very lovely waitress talks us through the options we have with respect to the menu. We could go for a two course or three course set menu, or order from the a la carte menu. We ask her what her favourite dishes are and she talks fondly of the crab toast, the mussels and the oxtail and kidney pudding. We decide to choose our own courses from the a la carte menu.
Mr L orders
Brixham mussels cooked with white wine, parsley and garlic (8.95 GBP for the entree size) and
Oxtail and kidney pudding (16.95 GBP) as main
and I order
South Coast crab on toast (9.50 GBP) as entree and (you’d better sit down in case you collapse in shock)
Pork belly with spinach and butternut squash (17.50 GBP)
Delicious bread
We nibble on some of the delicious bread and butter and look around at the other diners within the busy little dining area.
The dining area within the Hinds Head
After a short wait, our entrees arrive.
South Coast crab toast
My crab toast was really quite spectacular. A piece of white sourdough was toasted to perfection, slathered in salty butter and then topped with a mixture of mashed crab and herbs. The herbs made it really fresh and the textures all combined to create a simple, but interesting dish.
Mr L’s mussels
I was surprised that Mr L chose the mussels as although he likes them, he doesn’t usually find they rock his world. Well – I’m glad he did order them because these mussels were the best either of us had ever had. In the bottom of the large mussel vessel all the juices congregated and when Mr L made it to the bottom (and he did make it to the bottom!), he was then able to dip his bread into the juicy goodness. I’ve included a pic below so you can see how good the juice was!
Mussel juice – oh so good!
I’ve never seen this man looking this happy about a bowl of mussels before!
The wine
We knew we were doing it all in the wrong order, but we ordered a bottle of wine after our entrees. Since we’d be heading to France soon, we thought we’d stick with the French theme and ordered a bottle of the Petit Chablis Domaine Brocard from Auxerrois (31.00 GBP per bottle). It was refreshing and crisp.
Brocard Petite Chablis
The main event
You know me. I love pork belly. So if Heston Blumenthal’s kitchen was happy to prepare it, I was happy to try it!
Pork belly with spinach and butternut squash
Cut away to the spinach below
I really enjoyed the pork. When it arrived, I wondered where the spinach was – then I cut away and found it hiding below. The little seedy thing you can see sticking out of the butternut mash was a kind of cracker – I’m not sure whether it was carraway or similar. It had an interesting texture, though I didn’t like the flavour very much. I’m pretty sure the waitress said that the pork belly had been slow cooked in a water bath for hours. The crackling was only crispy around the edges – like it had been charred with an oxy torch, but I suspect that’s what was intended for it.
Mr L’s oxtail and kidney pudding
Inside the pudding
The waitress had warned us that this was one rich pudding – as you can imagine the oxtail and kidney combination would be. I’m pretty sure this was a suet pudding too – which added extra dimension and richness to the pudding. The dark gravy that the pudding is sitting in was equally rich – we were glad to have requested some refreshing green beans to break up the flavour as suggested by the waitress. Mr L loved his pudding and when we were both finished our mains, we sat for a while and contemplated whether we really needed dessert!
The green beans saved Mr L from richness overload
The dessert menu
We agreed to take a look at the dessert menu and while we had it open, a couple of glasses of dessert wine stood out, so we felt we’d better at least share a dessert to go with them! We went with the Banana Eaton Mess, which wasn’t as simple as it sounds. Lime zest was shaved onto the top and toffee brittle was scattered across it complementing the banana, meringue and cream perfectly.
Banana Eaton Mess
The Hinds Head
I ventured upstairs to stop in at the loo and took some shots of the place on my way – as well as a customary shot from the bathroom mirror. Shots below!
One of the two fireplaces – brilliant for a cold day in London
View from the area where we dined through to the bar
Board commemorating the Vicar of Bray from the 1500’s
Devils on horseback – pretty good for bar food!
Since the Hinds Head’s building is so old, the doorways and ceiling are very low!
Outside the Hinds Head in the little village of Bray
Bathroom mirror shot!
Food critic’s review on the wall in the ladies’ loo
Coffee and the bill
I was feeling a touch sleepy after all the good food and wine, so requested a coffee and the bill. We agreed that all in all it was a tremendous meal. It wasn’t the best pork belly I’ve ever had, but on balance, the whole meal was well worth the travel out to little Bray. We particularly loved our entrees and the approaches to the pudding, the crab toast and mussels. And you can be sure that the next time I make eaton mess, it will include banana and have lime zest on top!
Including an optional service charge, the whole meal came to 150.36 GBP – which we thought was a bit extravagant for normal pub food, but pretty good considering the quality of the meals that we had. We would be happy to return at those prices.
Le bill
A nod to The Fat Duck
Of course you know we went and took photos of The Fat Duck. Seems we weren’t the only ones with that idea as we heard another table commenting to the waitress “There doesn’t seem to be much to it!” to which the waitress replied “That’s what chef wants you to think. All the magic happens once you’re inside.” I’m sure that’s true and Mr L and I aim to return to see for ourselves!
Heston Blumenthal – Grand Chef’s The Fat Duck
Les Grandes Tables Du Monde
The degustation menu
Utensils – one with a webbed food – hang from the roof
The Fat Duck
The low down
The Hinds Head is located at High Street, Bray in Berkshire, SL6 2AB. Contact details are below:
Phone: 01628 626151
Fax: 01628 623394
To get there, catch the train from Paddington to Maidenhead Station and then hop in a cab for a five minute drive (about 7 GBP.) We went on a Tuesday, so it wasn’t all that busy, but it’s a good idea to book online if you want to secure a table. Apparently they do take walk ins, but tables are on a first come, first served basis for those without bookings.
