It Just Has To Be Delicious

Posts tagged ‘Fine dining’

Wild Swan, Mandoon Estate, Caversham

Mandoon Estate Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Mandoon has a lot going on. The estate is a winery in the heart of the Swan Valley, and they have cellar door tastings, a brewery, an art gallery, a fine dining restaurant, an outdoor area where they sell pizza, craft beer, and hot dogs, and a deli where they sell exceptional sausage rolls. They also have a hotel called The Colony, rooms which look out onto the Swan River, some with balconies and mezzanine bedrooms.

1Having sampled a glass of wine earlier, I decided to start with a cocktail and chose a cosmopolitan. This was nicely made with lovely cranberry tones.

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My partner chose a ginger apple mocktail. He said that it was a lovely blend.

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I chose the marron to start served with watermelon, lime and papaya. It wasn’t a
particularly flavoursome dish and I imagine that it had been prepared in advance and refrigerated. I couldn’t really detect the lovely marron and papaya flavours that I expected.4

My partner chose the Geraldton kingfish with young coconut, umibudo, daikon and lime. It was a good blend of flavours, bright clean and tasty.5

The starters arrived fairly quickly, followed by our bread, which I think was a bit of a mistake, but the bread was a very welcome arrival to help mop up some of the leftover sauces, and was served with whipped butter and a very moreish fennel salt.6

For main I chose the blue fin tuna with cauliflower, green raisin, pinenut and olive. This was delicious, served medium rare, good quality fish with really good accompanying flavours.7

My partner chose the Moojepin mutton with canneloni, borlotti, lettuce and raspberry. Mutton is generally tougher than lamb, and he expected it to be slow roast to make the most of the cut, but it came seared like a steak and was a bit chewier than he would have liked although it was very tasty. All of the accompaniments were rich, hearty and comforting and he enjoyed the dish.8

We also chose side dishes of broccoli, snow peas and beans, and zucchini fries. Both sides were beautifully cooked and we ate them hungrily.

We somehow found room for dessert, but before that I sampled a glass of Mandoon Estate sparkling, which put me in mind of a good prosecco.

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I chose the matcha, lychee, yuzu and caramel, a nice combination of matcha cake with lychee sorbet and dried lychees with blobs of caramel and oblong shaped yuzu cream.

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My partner chose the peach, pistachio, vanilla and sorbet, a beautifully balanced combination of textures and tastes. A vanilla panacotta with blobs of pistachio paste and peach puree.13

All in all, Wild Swan was a good experience – good modern Australian cooking with friendly unobtrusive service, and wines made on the premises. An excellent choice if you want to stay somewhere in the Swan Valley that has everything at your fingertips.

Click here to find out more about Wild Swan

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Visit Date: May 2018

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Restaurant review

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Waterside Inn, Bray, Berkshire UK

Waterside Inn Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

The Waterside Inn at Bray, Berkshire is the only restaurant in the UK to have held 3 Michelin stars since 1985. The restaurant was opened by Albert and Michel Roux in 1972 and gained its first star in 1974, its second in 1977 and the third in 1985. In 1986 Michel took over the running of the restaurant and passed the reins to his son Alain in 2002.

At the time of writing there are only 5 restaurants in the UK that hold 3 Michelin stars, so that gives you an idea of the enormity of this achievement. You know that when you dine here you are going to experience something truly special. The restaurant is in a lovely setting. Bray is a sweet little English village that could feature on a jigsaw or a chocolate box, and the Waterside Inn is right on the river Thames.1

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When you arrive at the restaurant, one of the staff valet will park your car for you, such a lovely touch, but also a sensible one because parking is limited. The staff are very friendly and welcoming, they are attentive, but not overly so, and you soon get the feeling that you are about to have a very special dinner in a friend’s dining room.

You can choose A la carte or Le Menu Exceptionnel – we chose the latter which is a tasting menu showcasing the best of Alain’s creations. I have had tasting menus before, and they are usually fairly small portions which end up with you feeling just full, but the Waterside Inn is different, the portions are relatively generous, so be careful not to fill up on bread (I saved some bread on my side plate to mop up the delicious sauces with every course).
We were served canapes consisting of a tart with mussel and lemon, a light as air cheese pastry bun and a duck terrine served on a crisp biscuit. Each mouthful was perfect, no flavour was too overpowering and every ingredient added something to the overall taste. Mmmmm what a taste of things to come.

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Apologies for the quality of some of my photographs, but I am no photographic expert, and I couldn’t seem to get the lighting right. The quality of the photos on the Waterside Inn website is much better.

Next came an amuse bouche which was a profiterole of mushrooms with a parsley sauce.
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Next was a lobster salad with citrus jelly and raspberry vinaigrette. This was one of my favourite courses – I love lobster, and I loved the fact that the serving was large enough to give you a real taste of the lobster.
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Next was an incredibly smooth chestnut and champagne veloute with partridge and fois gras dumplings.
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Following the veloute was a fish course of turbot baked in a vine leaf and served with white grapes and a verjus emulsion. I love turbot.
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There was a choice of main course – we chose the duck, which was expertly carved at the table. This was a spit-roast Challandais duck with a bubble and squeak patty, some apple, and a calvados flavoured jus.
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Then onto dessert, pre-dessert was a sable biscuit with pears and blueberries.
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Followed by a very special warm golden plum souffle.
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With very full tummies we were invited to sit in the lounge for tea and coffee, when we were presented with a tiered stand of amazing petit fours, each one expertly crafted.

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The whole experience was memorable, and each course an absolute triumph. The restaurant manager, Diego chatted with us during the meal, he was charming and entertaining, and before we left, we met Alain Roux who was interested to gain our feedback on the meal. I can honestly say that the Waterside Inn is a unique, memorable and enjoyable venue, and I am very much looking forward to returning there.

Visit Date: September 2012

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Restaurant review

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Midsummer House, Cambridge UK

Midsummer House Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Midsummer House is a 2 Michelin Star restaurant right by the river on Midsummer Common in the heart of Cambridge. I first visited in 2005 and had the most amazing meal. Ten years later I was interested to see if the standard was the same.

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The restaurant has Daniel Clifford as it’s head chef and he certainly puts his heart and soul into every dish. The staff know every aspect of every dish and they are quirky and entertaining, adding jokes and theatre to make the diner feel both relaxed and special.
We were treated to 4 canapes – each one exquisite in its own right and accompanied by a glass of bubbles from the champagne trolley. The staff also mentioned my dairy intolerance and adapted the dishes so that cream and butter were kept to a minimum.
Canapes included an ash roasted beetroot marshmallow with dried yoghurt crisps, a potato souffle (like a crisp potato shell) with a sour cream and lime jelly, a canneloni stood in a dish of cardamom seeds with a compote of duck and cardamom cream, a Bloody Mary foam with a celery sorbet and a piece of lamb shoulder in a crispy tempura batter with mint mayonnaise.

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We chose the seven course degustation and the first of the courses was smoked haddock, a crisp potato shell, pickled onion and caviar. This was a beautiful combination of smoky, sour and salty with no accent being overpowering.

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Second course was Celeriac baked on open coals which one of the chefs brought to the
table and carved open, scooping out the tender celeriac flesh and dressing the dish with two types of hollandaise – one at room temperature and one frozen with liquid nitrogen, hazelnut, celery and wood sorrel.

Item three was a roast quail with a tempura smoked quail’s egg, shallot puree, grapes,
celery and sourdough crouton.

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Then came the star of the menu. The signature sauteed scallop with Granny Smith, celeriac and truffle puree. The scallop was amazingly soft and delicately flavoured and an absolute treat.

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The fifth and final main course was a roast glazed duck breast, with canneloni, fig, dill and fennel puree. All elements of this dish worked really well and I loved every mouthful.

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The pre-dessert was aerated lychee, mango and lime. A tropical treat for the senses.

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The main dessert was a Marquise of blackberry and pear with a delicate and sublime pastis crisp. This dessert had the real wow factor.

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This was followed by beignets with cream and chocolate

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And a few chocolates from the chocolate trolley (yes they have a chocolate trolley).

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I chose a sage chocolate and a dark passion fruit chocolate.

We also chose a bottle of Meltwater Sauvignon Blanc which had a perfect gooseberry and
pineapple bouquet.

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Midsummer House is a place to book for a special occasion and every course will delight
you and awaken your senses – yes I could not fault the venue, the amazingly
knowledgeable and entertaining staff and the exquisite presentation. Three Michelin stars is on the horizon for this beautiful establishment.

Click Here for more information on Midsummer House

Visit date: November 2015

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