Another Day, Another Winery

We enjoyed our lunch at Cullen Winery so much, we headed off in search of another winery for lunch the next day. We finally decided on Xanadu and having sampled a few of their wines prior to lunch, were glad that we had. Although outdoor seating wasn’t available on the day, the high timber ceilinged restaurant was light and breezy and looked out onto a grassy courtyard.

Once again, the food was sensational and today we washed down our choices with a bottle of Xanadu Viognier.

Having enjoyed yesterday’s scallops so much I was tempted by the Seared Abrolhos Island Scallops with red curry, lychee & coriander salad,



but as Mr Greedy Glutton had his eye on them also, I instead opted for the Duck Rillettes with fig, sheep’s fetta & walnut salad and crisp sourdough. The Rillettes was juicy and gorgeous, although I think the red curry sauce with the scallops won it for me.



For a main course, I chose the Crispy Corn-fed Pork Belly with braised tomato & eggplant, grilled cuttlefish, cress salad and capsicum oil. The pork was the perfect balance of crispy, chewy and melt-in-the-mouth, the tomato and eggplant a fantastic accompaniment, while the grilled cuttlefish was gorgeous, with a real smoky barbecue flavour.





Once again a stunning meal in a stunning setting… I could get used to life in the Margaret River…

Xanadu Winery – http://www.xanaduwines.com/

Lunch in the Vineyard

I was blown away by the Margaret River region – stunning scenery, endless cloudless blue skies, and beautiful and varied wineries. We booked ourselves on a private wine tour so that nobody was stuck with the ‘designated driver’ card and headed off sampling a few (and by a few I obviously mean a lot of) local wines.

Well all that wine-tasting is hungry work, and lucky for us most of the wineries also have first class restaurants. We had been recommended Cullen Winery, so we booked ourselves a table in their peaceful little garden overlooking the vineyard. Competition in the Margaret River for both the wines and the food is fierce and so both are subsequently of a very high standard. Luckily Cullen Winery was no exception.



I kicked off with the Seared Scallops with Spring Onion, Ginger and Soy with Soba Noodles, which were just sensational



Then went on to enjoy the Grilled King George Whiting with Quinoa, Herb and Almond, which was also fantastic.



We washed our lunch down with a very good bottle of the winery’s Sauvignon Blanc Semillon before continuing on our merry way to sample more of the region’s finest whites and reds. I can’t think of a better way to spend my day…

Cullen Winery – www.cullenwines.com.au

A Fried Feast

It was our first night in Dunsborough, so we took a short walk into the town to find somewhere for dinner and came across Bax on Dunn Bay. It’s a trendy little open-sided restaurant, displaying funky art by local artists on its walls (we were particularly taken with the painting of a blue lady with red hair, wearing sequin underpants, and sucking her own toe…)

The menu was what I think is known as Modern Australian cuisine – an observation confirmed by the abbreviation of ‘octopus’ to ‘ockie’. I didn’t go for the ockie in the end, opting instead for the Marinated Crunchy Artichokes, served with Sweet & Sour Eggplant Pickle, as the waitress promised me it would be “beautiful”. I’m not sure it was beautiful, it was a little too breaded and deep-fried to be called that. I’m a big fan of marinated artichokes, but I’m not sure about the whole breading and deep-frying thing, although having said that it was pretty good.



For the main course I chose the Polenta Crusted Whiting and Panzanella Salad with raspberry vinaigrette. This, although also fried, was definitely worthy of being called ‘beautiful’ – the fish was fresh fresh fresh and beautifully cooked, the salad and tart vinaigrette detracting from the fried-ness of it.



Then for dessert, because I clearly hadn’t crammed in enough fried food for one meal, I ordered up a portion of the Churros. This brings me back to my student days in Spain, spending afternoons in the Plaza Mayor dipping churros into thick gloopy chocolate. Unfortunately the churros were the wrong shape, and the chocolate too thick (more of a paste than a gloop) for it to be truly reminiscent of days gone by, but we managed to polish off the lot anyway…

I think perhaps my choice of dishes leaves something to be desired here – I wasn’t really expecting it to be all so fried… although perhaps the words ‘crunchy’ and ‘crusted’ should have given it away. No matter, it was still a most enjoyable meal and definitely a good choice if you happen to find yourself hungry in Dunsborough.

Bax on Dunn Bay 26 Dunn Bay Rd , Dunsborough. Tel: 9759 1720

First Taste of Down Under

It’s been a while since I wrote – we’ve been keeping our heads down and trying to a) dry out and b) save money after a particularly hectic Christmas and New Year. Having said that, we have just returned from an a) boozy and b) expensive little sojourn in the Margaret River, Western Australia – ho hum, detoxing is never easy!

We flew into Perth and hired a car to make our way down to Dunsborough, where we had ourselves a snazzy little beach house. It’s a three hour drive, so we (obviously) had to stop off en-route for a bite to eat. We had no clue where we were going, but luckily our noses are pretty good at sniffing out eating establishments and we ended up at Vat Two in Bunbury.



This funky little restaurant is right on the harbour, with decking over-looking the beach and an inspiring menu of fusion cuisine and an impressive wine list (well, I guess we were in the middle of the wine region!).

We kicked off with a plate of oysters to share amongst the four of us, to get us in the holiday mood – they come in a variety of ways, but we chose to mix up some with Thai-nam jim & crispy shallots with some Japanese chilli, ginger & rice wine vinegar:





My friend and I then shared the Salmon Fishcakes, served with buttered spinach and chive hollandaise



And the Thai Prawn Salad with rice noodles.



The food was excellent – as was the wine and the ambience (and the company, of course was second to none!). So we left feeling very pleased with ourselves to have stumbled upon such a little gem, and would definitely recommend it as a stopping-off point if you happen to be driving down to the Margaret River.

Vat Two, Bunbury, Western Australia - http://www.vat2.com.au/