Day 4 of our food and wine tour of Swan Valley near Perth in Western Australia. It's the last day of our tour of Perth's "Valley of Taste" and seriously, the beauty and flavours of the place just whetted my appetite for many more return visits.
For a change, breakfast was meatless at Swan Valley Vegetarian Café.
We fuelled up for the day with organic and locally grown fruits, vegetables and grains.
We enjoyed and were energised by a hearty and delicious breakfast that was also healthful. Even the carnivores in our group agreed that this was a great breakfast.
The orange tree at the back of Swan Valley Vegetarian Café was heavy with fruit. This was my first time seeing an orange tree with fruit and flowers.
Well filled and charged up for the day, we proceeded for cheese making class at The Cheese Barrel. We learnt how to make Halloumi cheese with Tanya Baretto. Thanks to Tanya, it wasn’t hard to make our own delicious cheese – just follow her simple instructions :-D
My first attempt at cheese making. Three slabs of freshly made Halloumi cheese. I am pretty pleased with myself with this result :-D
The tender Halloumi cheese slab was sliced into strips and lightly sauteed in a pan of olive oil. Served on a bed of fresh greens and garnished with parsley and cut chilli peppers.
Yums!
We visited Olive Farm Winery for wine tasting. OFW founded in 1829 by British botanist Thomas Waters is the oldest winery in the Swan Valley.
Our next stop was Upper Reach Winery.
Lunch was at Broads Restaurant at Upper Reach Winery. We went for a variety of mixed platters known at Broads' as "Grazing Platters".
There were three options to choose from - Broad Board, Mediterranean, and Indian. We ordered all three as there were 10 of us to share them.
The Farmer's Pork Pie in the Broad Board. When in the Swan Valley, do try some free range pork dishes as they are especially delicious.
Spinach Ricotta Caramelised Onion Tart in the Mediterranean platter.
After lunch, we happily turned asparagus harvesters for the afternoon at the Mini Asparagus Master Class with Alf Edgecrombe at Edgrecrombe Brothers.
We enjoyed a true paddock to plate experience - asparagus picking, cooking and tasting with Edgecombe Brothers.
Harvesting asparagus spears that shoot skywards is fun and easy. Simply saw off the top of the fleshy green stem with a steak knife :-D But, I can imagine that it is backbreaking work for workers who have to bend over low and harvest acres of these green spears. (Be careful with the sharp knife.)
Daphne from MediaCorp 938 LIVE radio celebrating the joy of a bountiful harvest in a truly inspired moment ;-D
The crunchy and juicy sweet asparagus tastes great raw and straight from the earth. Alf Edgecombe showed us how a little boiling in water and sauteed in a pan of olive oil, added savoury dimensions to green tasting sweet asparagus.
I couldn't resist having two helpings of this lightly sauteed asparagus garnished with Parmesan cheese flakes and a light sprinkle of black pepper.
Vodka tasting at Wild Swan Distillery.
We tasted a number of different vodkas made at the little boutique distillery. We enjoyed all the vodkas and most of us were impressed with the signature Pavlova vodka. It has sophisticated aromatics and a taste profile with layers of refreshing fruity flavours.
Dinner was at Stewarts Restaurant.
We had the privilege to enjoy dinner hosted by Ms Julie Church who was recognised for her achievements in promoting Swan Valley wines by conferring her the Spirit of the Swan Award at the 2015 Singapore Airlines Swan Valley Wine Show.
Mandoon Estate Verdelho 2014.
Crisp aromas of fresh lemongrass and lime, complemented with citrus notes and a hint of passionfruit on the nose. The palate is fresh and lively with citrus, passionfruit and pineapple flavours. Sweet grapefruit and crisp acidity balance the wine leaving a lingering and fresh finish.
My order of Eye Fillet (Aud40).
The fillet was done medium rare - it was tender and juicy, and released sensuous beefy aromas and flavour with every bite. The seared and caramelised outside added texture and layers of savoury beefiness to the steak. Lovely.
We retired for the evening at the comfortable Vines Resort to pack and get ready for the next day's visit to downtown Perth, and to return to Singapore.
Follow me as I explore the fascinating Swan Valley.
Day 1 itinerary <- click
Day 2 itinerary <- click
Day 3 itinerary <- click
Acknowledgement: My thanks to our gracious host Sasha Stone, The City of Swan as well as Singapore Airlines for the fine hospitality.
Date visited: 29 Aug 2015
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Excellent review of the Swan Valley, well done. Looking forward to seeing you at Perth's only organic winery next visit.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog and for your kind comments. Yes, I hope to be able to visit the Swan Valley again and to visit you :-D
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