Hunter Escape: Leaves & Fishes

Leaves & Fishes came recommended to us by Dr King and Kiki after having eaten there several times when they’ve visited the Hunter Valley themselves. We stop in on our last day at the Hunter, via somewhat of a detour before heading home. It is a gorgeously sunny day which serves only to enhance the relaxed atmosphere of the covered deck dining area, decorated in country comfort accents and punctuated by bright flowers. There is only the sound of soft chatter amongst patrons and the surrounding lake to act as a backdrop. You definitely feel like you’re at someone’s house rather than at a restaurant.

We start with an entrée-sized ‘Deli plate of house made duck pâté, chicken pistachio terrine, vegetables and prosciutto’ to share. Tart caperberries and gherkins, sundried tomato segments, roasted beetroot wedges and sprigs of watercress are strewn around the cold meat elements of the plate as well as a roasted whole tomato. We are most impressed by the collection of crostini, grissini, toasted flatbread and lavosh presented alongside – the serve is so ample that we have pieces left over long after the contents of the deli plate have been consumed.

We appear to have gone a little overboard and have decided on two mains between us. The ‘Crispy whole fish with ginger, pea sprout salad and seared greens’ is a snapper in this case and rather sizeable. The fish has been dusted in a light coating of flour and chilli powder prior to being deep-fried. The salad and greens provide needed crunch and work well with the tangy, tart (tamarind?) sauce.

The ‘Malay barbecued chicken with corn fritters, pickled red cabbage and lime’ was ordered without knowing what Malay barbecued chicken was admittedly. We are presented with a tender half of a chicken, which has been flattened slightly, sitting atop three corn fritters and the lot dressed with a balanced sauce tasting of sweet chilli, saltiness, spiciness and a subtle nuttiness.

The menu is mixed in a very mod-Oz way, packing in lots of flavour influences. The tranquil, lazy atmosphere setting reminds me of sitting on a friend’s back porch and whiling away the time chatting about nothing in particular. Leaves & Fishes also has four boutique cabins around the back overlooking the lake as an accommodation option as well.

Leaves & Fishes

737 Lovedale Rd (between Majors Lane & Wilderness Rd), Lovedale NSW

Tel: (02) 4930 7400

Opening Hours:  Mon & Tues  CLOSED

Wed & Thurs  lunch only

Fri & Sat  lunch & dinner

Sun  lunch only

happy eating!

Hunter Escape: scones at Enzo

Located in a quaint little village of sandstone buildings, Enzo boasts sundrenched outdoor seating replete with shade umbrellas and a cute water fountain. Their breakfast and lunch menus both sound enticing but we are here with only one thing in mind – scones!

After hearing both Betty and Karen sing the praises of Enzo’s scones, it quickly got added to our Hunter Valley “itinerary” (food stops form part of the travel plans, okay?). I had strategically left room for scones after lunch at Firestick Café, whilst Monsieur Poisson just can’t resist another cup of coffee when we spot that familiar Campos logo emblazoned on some of Enzo’s shade umbrellas.

His cafe latte comes with a few cute teddy bear biscuits on the side but it’s Devonshire tea for me as I enjoy my scones with a cuppa. And the scones! They’re served warm dusted with icing sugar and have a thin, soft crust. They feather-light without being cakey, yet have a nice, soft crumb. Plenty of whipped cream and berry jam are served alongside and we agree that these are the best scones we’ve ever had.

We didn’t get a chance to sample any of their breakfast or lunch fare during this trip unfortunately but, um, anyone fancy a drive up to the Hunter? Perhaps for some scones as well?

Enzo

Peppers Creek Winery, corner Broke Rd & Ekerts Rd, Pokolbin NSW

Tel: (02) 4998 7233

Opening Hours:  7 days  open from 9am for breakfast and lunch

(Not sure what time they close, but we sat down for scones at around 3pm and at no stage were we rushed to leave.)

Hunter Escape: Firestick Café

When Monsieur Poisson and I have holidayed at the Hunter Valley, we don’t go out at night. Partly because we tend to visit early- to mid-week when there’s nothing open at night time, and partly because it’s incredibly dark at night and driving on both sealed and unsealed roads can be rather hazardous. Hence us never having visited Rock Restaurant, the region’s only hatted restaurant and a 2-hat status for three years running at that.

So discovering that Rock Restaurant morphed into the more relaxed Firestick Café during the day meant that we were still able to sample the kitchen’s food. Unfortunately both Rock and Firestick have since closed at the end of May 2011, although the Pooles Rock winery continues to operate, so we will not be able to drop in again on subsequent visits. The quality of the food was great and, seriously, how many cafés serve you an amuse bouche?

The little appetite-teaser of ‘Beetroot Lyonnaise with labne on sourdough’ was definitely an unexpected touch. As we were saving room for scones later in the afternoon, Monsieur Poisson and I ordered a small (most dishes were offered in two sizes) portion of ‘Grilled sirloin with wilted spinach, red wine jus, café de Paris butter and hand cut chips’ to share along with a ‘Pizza of confit pork belly, braised red cabbage and pear relish’.

The steak was cooked well and the red wine jus glossy and rich which we mopped up with the chips. The pizza had a light, crisp base with thin pork belly slices whose fat was perfectly cut by the red cabbage. Monsieur Poisson couldn’t resist ordering the ‘Apple and blueberry crumble’ when he spotted it on the menu (big apple crumble fan here), whilst I defaulted to my usual coffee/dessert combination of an affogato.

Firestick Café had decent prices although I’ve heard Rock was much more upmarket. Regardless of the reasons for which they closed, it will be interesting to see if there is a new venture down the line.

Firestick Café – CLOSED

Pooles Rock Winery, 576 Debeyers Rd (near corner McDonalds Rd), Pokolbin NSW

happy eating!

Hunter Escape: Hunter Valley Smelly Cheese Shop

What’s in a name?

The Hunter Valley Smelly Cheese Shop, situated on the grounds of the Tempus Two Winery, definitely has a distinct and whimsical name to boast about. It has a vast array of cheeses yet is so much more than a specialist cheese shop. They’re well-stocked with gourmet cooking ingredients and, apart from their cheese and deli meats display, are also in possession of a cheese room, a cured meats room, as well as a gelato bar.

Taste-testing of their cheeses is welcome and we settle on a wedge each of King Island smoked cheddar (which we later discover is available pre-packaged at our local supermarket) and the in-house Smelly Cheese Shop single brie alongside some sopressa salami and crackers for dinner. But before we leave we must, of course, sample their gelato.

Now that, my friends, is not a miniature cone sitting beneath standard scoops of ice-cream. Rather, it is a normal-sized cone being completely dwarfed by two huge/humungous/ginormous/mutant-sized scoops of gelato as large as Monsieur Poisson’s fist for the bargain price of $6.50. For the purposes of research and variety, we decide to try two flavours but never expected quite such generous scoops! Two separate groups of people walking past us said, “Look at the size of that ice-cream!” Yes, looky indeed.

Now, quantity is nothing if there isn’t equivalent quality to back it up. I’m happy to say that the coffee crunch and pistachio flavours were both exceptional. Neither possessed lurid colouring and both were delicately smooth. And, although this may sound stupid, the pistachio gelato had plenty of nutty pistachio flavour instead of that sometimes almond essence/marzipan taste. Needless to say we struggled to get through the gelato but did triumph in the end following a slow and extended battle. Following that a dinner of savoury cheeses and salami was most welcome.

Hunter Valley Smelly Cheese Shop

Tempus Two Winery, Hall 1, 2144 Broke Rd (corner McDonalds Rd), Pokolbin NSW

Tel: (02) 4998 6713

Opening Hours:  Mon-Fri  10am-5pm

Sat & Sun  10am-6pm

happy eating!

Don’t forget to enter the Le Chasseur product giveaway courtesy of Kitchenware Direct!

Leave a comment at the end of the post and remember to send an email to mademoiselledelicieuse@gmail.com as well, with the subject line of “Le Chasseur” and include your full name as well as a copy of your comment in the body of the email. (Some entries so far have yet to send me an email – I need this so I can contact you to let you know you’ve won!) Entries close Friday 15 July 2011.

Hunter Escape: Restaurant Cuvée at Peterson House

The Hunter Valley has a particular charm in winter. Or perhaps it’s just me being sentimental as it was during winter a good few years ago that Monsieur Poisson and I took our first ever trip away together, and it was a trip to the Hunter. I remember it was a particularly busy and stressful period at work and I was most grateful to be removing myself to somewhere still and quiet – literally, as we stayed at a resort in Wollombi which has almost no mobile phone reception bar one carrier and then only in a small spot at the end of the bed. The days were gloriously sunny and our little cabin had a real, wood log fireplace to provide crackly warmth during the evenings and nights. It also provided many hours of entertainment for the somewhat pyromaniacal Monsieur Poisson.

The trip was so relaxing that, fast forward a few years, we find ourselves visiting the region again and staying at the same resort at roughly the same time of year. Of course for the non-wine drinker that is Monsieur Poisson, there is still plenty of fun to be had indulging in the food of the region.

The last time we visited the Hunter Valley we only had time to stop in at Petersons House for scones at afternoon tea. And, as with a lot of places in the Hunter Valley, Petersons House is not open for dinner so we make a point of trying them out for lunch this time around. We are seated at one of tables on the covered deck overlooking the winter-bare grapevines – check out that blue, cloudless sky! Partnered with the country-quiet and only the occasional chirp of a bird, we felt so far removed from our usual daily city life.

We start the lunch with half a dozen ‘Sydney rock oysters with nuoc cham’. The oysters are small but plump, and their briny juices add some needed saltiness to the pulpy nuoc cham. Monsieur Poisson follows this with ‘Grilled kangaroo loin with steamed asparagus, parmesan polenta and baby spinach with Peterson's wine jus’. The kangaroo is tender and juicy but, surprisingly, it’s the smooth and creamy polenta (I’m so used to grilled polenta being too compressed and dry) which has my heart captured.

A side of potato chips with Maldon sea salt has a distinct aroma of chips bought from fish and chip shops as a child, and has me waxing lyrical about chips from days of yore. And in light of the amount of food we’ve ordered, I decide on an entrée dish to have as a main to achieve some semblance of “balance”. The ‘Deboned spatchcock stuffed with sourdough and pistachios on matchstick potatoes’ fits the bill nicely, arriving with the bird reclining seductively on vermicelli-thin potato threads and surrounded by a syrupy glaze.

We give dessert a miss as we’re happily full and have plans to stop for gelato later. We do, however, pop into the Petersons House cellar door afterwards to sample some sparkling wines and come away with cute piccolo bottles of their Pink Blush Rosé.

Restaurant Cuvée, Petersons House

Corner of Broke Rd & Wine Country Drive, Pokolbin NSW

Tel: (02) 4998 7881

Opening Hours:  7 days  8:30am-11am (breakfast)

            12pm-3pm (lunch)

happy eating!