Autumn is a splendid time in Australia. It is the time of colours and, of course, harvest festivals. The past weekend saw two such events celebrating the 2010 vintage of the Upper Goulburn Winegrowers Association.
The first was the traditional “Day on the High” in Mansfield, High Street, which is a street festival. The second event was the “Upper Goulburn Long Lunch” which was held in the Mansfield showground pavilion. Both events are the highlight of the year for many of our winery members and the many related trades displaying their wares and produce, meeting friends, eating and drinking and being merry.
Australia’s 2010 vintage was the smallest in a decade. Instead of 1.8 million tons of grapes, only about 1.4 million tons were harvested. The wine industry is being plagued by oversupply in general. Moreover, 2010 was another drought year with poor grape prices. Many grape growers just gave up. More than 8,000 ha of vines have been pulled already and many more vineyards have been abandoned.
So therefore, this autumn was also a great time for the birds feasting on the many unharvested grapes on the vines. The wine industry crisis is hitting many family businesses, not so much the very small weekender and backyard vintners, but the full-time and medium-sized ones. Some of the investor driven schemes have also suffered. The corporates, however hard hit, are shedding “the fat”, meaning they are “selling the crap” and keeping the profitable brands and vineyards.
For many vintners 2010 was not a good year and for many more, crunch time is still to come. But on this weekend those sombre thoughts were stashed away for a few hours. Let the good times roll on (even if only for a couple of hours).
In most Asian places, street food is an essential part of everyday life. That’s also the case in Taipei. Unfortunately, I did not rise to the occasion and took only a few photos when I should have taken many many more. I promise, I will rise to the occasion next time.
It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, when my friends Chimei, Tzu-Chin and Jim were strolling with me through the streets near “Taida”, one of the famous universities in Taipei.
Various kinds of filled waffle (hong dou bian)
Red bean, chocolate and cream are the fillings
Chimei, Jim and Tzu-Chin in the street food paradise
When on vacation on the farm (Two Hills Vineyard), we hardly visit the big town, i.e. Melbourne, just about an hour and a half south of Glenburn. This time the girls needed new passports and therefore also new visa, and Margit also needed to get one. Therefore we had to collect the items but planned to combine it with meeting old friends over a pleasurable lunch in town. The Thai consulate people are the friendliest on earth and were very helpful. We were in a joyous mood. The girls took zillions of pictures from the car: when country folks visit town!
After our business was completed we made our way to North Melbourne. Libertine, the French restaurant, where I had indulged in wonderful French cuisine earlier this year, was our object of desire. It is easy to find. Just drive along Victoria Street until you reach the house number 500. If you get to Errol Street you have just passed it. Find a parking and walk.
The diners (Helen, Tony, Lucy, Charlotte, me, Margit and Joe)
We arrived ahead of time and took a stroll through the neighbourhood with its many restaurants and small local shops. Margit insisted on buying some cigars for me. Good ones are hard to find in the country side.
Our friends – Tony, Helen and Joe – had already assembled when we finally made it to Libertine. What a great reunion over an excellent meal and some good wine awaited us here.
I like the Libertine menu since it allows you to combine your preferences. It was a bit hard for the girls, though. We usually have Italian and Asian food at home, and therefore most of the dishes on offer were rather very unusual; “raffine” as the French might say, more elaborate might describe it as well.
Libertine had joined the recent campaign for the promotion of Victorian agricultural product: “Put Victoria on your table”. All the ingredients for the various dishes cam from the state of Victoria. As a person believing in free trade and global markets, this type of promotion is not my favourite one.
I find that Libertine’s two- and three course-meals are moderately priced. If you dine out in the Yarra Valley, for instance, you have to fork out much more for a comparable meal than here in the middle of town.
The great surprise was that there was no French wine coming with the meal (all ingredients Victorian of course so how could there be French wine?). Instead, the wines came from the Yarra Valley. We were delighted to see two Yering Farm Wines, the ‘2008 Run Rabbit Run Sauvignon Blanc’ and the ‘2004 Foxtrot Cabernet’ made by Alan Johns, who coincidentally also makes our Two Hills wines. Both wines were a good choice for this kind of cuisine. The SB was fruity and crisp, the Cabernet round and well balanced.
Some of us had the Port Arlington mussels…
…followed by the “Marmite Dieppoise” with Port Phillip Bay scallops.
Others choose the beef which came from Gippsland (apologies for the bad photo above).
Joe went a la carte and ordered the hare. Libertine is famous for the quality of its game.
The girls ordered a la carte as well and went for assorted fish.
For the ones of us who did not have to drive, the Yering Farm Wines, were like a dessert. But we had some sweets afterwards just that I did not take any photos. The time was running faster than usual (that’s how it is with good friends and good food). We enjoyed the atmosphere, the warm hospitality and the friendly staff at Libertine as long as we could but finally had to part company and say good bye to our friends.
Until we meet again, maybe at Libertine (very likely indeed). In a rather joyous mood we returned to the vineyard in Glenburn.
The casual visitor to Melbourne, however, should not waste time searching for a good place to eat excellent food. Just go to Libertine, and you’ll be right mate.
Address:
Libertine
500 Victoria St, North Melbourne VIC 3051, Australia – (03) 9329 5228
Rated 4.1 out of 5.0 16 reviews
We had a business lunch at a restaurant which was non-existing during my time in Jakarta. It’s right in the centre of town, and its name is “Seribu Rasa” which translates as “a thousand flavours”. The place was officially openend only on January 5, 2009.
We arrived early for lunch and the restaurant was only sparsely occupied. That, however, should change fast. The place was packed when we were having our meal.
The main entrance
Coming from the street, the place look rather odd, because the entry leads down to a parking in the basement. To the left is a little footpath which leads to the gates shown on the picture above. There is a lot of glass but also a lot of wood, pillars, window shutters, window frames as well as wooden furniture. I loved the garden, the fountains and the small walkways linking the different parts of the buildings.
The wall consist of white washed bricks. The mirror above gives it a more spacious feeling. I also loved the various colourful lamps and the lamp structures.
Unfortunately, I have only one picture of the food. The business atmosphere was not conducive to the taking of photos somehow.
Moreover, I messed up and only one of the photos I took is somehow presentable. It shows the “Kankung” ( a kind of water spinach) with seafood dish and the beef, both were very delicious. Furthermore, we had steamed fish, a dish of crabs, some chicken, squid and some lobster. The other remarkable vegetable was the Batak stype singkong leaf stew.
The “kangkung” and the beef dishs
The good news is that there are great photos of the various fusion cuisine dishes on a blog called “Daily What Not”. Please go there and admire the excellent shots.
Regarding the drinks I could not detect wine on the menu. My Indonesian friends all ordered Semilir Brastagi, a local strawberry variety from Sumatra which is served as an iced strawberry punch with pieces of fruit.
I will definitely come back another time to explore further the menu and the many Indonesian delicacies. If you are in the centre of Jakarta near the Grand Hyatt Hotel and the Deutsche Bank building you should just go around the corner and dive into the peaceful atmosphere of Seribu Rasa, an oasis in the city jungle.
Address: Seribu Rasa
Jl Haji Agus Salim 128
Menteng, Central Jakarta
Tel.: +62-21-3928892
On the 8th of March 21 years ago, I entered an Italian language class and sat next to a blonde girl from Australia. In the morning of the same day, my boss, Luciano Montesi, had send me out to buy flowers for all the women working in our service. This is how I learned about world women’s day.
It was a glorious day in Rome and I was glad that my friend Jim had taken me to his language class. What I did not know at the time was that I would marry that blonde Australian two years later.
Today, we felt like celebrating this first encounter and decided to go out for lunch. We called the Patara Restaurant which is only one Soi away from us in Thonglor, Bangkok, and they sent their tuck-tuck to pick us up at 13:20 h. All four of us like Thai food, so the choice of Patara came very natural.
Patara is located in Thonglor, Soi 19. The building used to be a private residence in a single house with a large garden, I guess. Inside you’ll find an elegant Thai restaurant, just the right place for such a celebration as ours was.
The interior of Patara
The decoration is very tasteful
We ordered two starter platters, a selection of various small Thai dishes and the three dumpling assortment. Don’t get fooled by the colours. The dumplings are most delicious.
This was the first starter platter
Three kinds of Thai dumplings
Then we ordered the main dishes, among them a tofu in red curry, a green chicken curry, an oxtail red curry, some green vegetables and some rice (which came in four colours, unfortunately my photo of the rice was blurred). All of us like spicy food, therefore we just followed our instincts when ordering.
The main dishes
Green chicken curry
The ossobucco-type dish
Green veggies
The food was so wonderful, so perfect, so delicious; our taste buds went from one sensation to the next. This is Thai food at its best, wow. I could not believe it. Margit and the kids had visited Patara earlier but for me it was the maiden visit. This was the best Thai food in ages.
What about the wine? Food and wine pairings in Asia are at times a challenge. Patara has a well assorted wine list. Since the first encounter had taken place in Italy, I choose an Italian wine. The ‘2005 Campogrande Orvieto DOC Classico Superiore’ by Antinori seemd to be just the right choice.
First, many times we had stopped in Orvieto when returning to Rome from Umbria so that a lot of happy memories are tied up with Orvieto Classico wines. Second, just a day earlier we had this wonderful ‘2005 Antinori Tignanello’, so I thought why not stay with the same producer.
Wine is expensive in Thailand. The bottle was under 2000 Bath, not bad for a restaurant offer. I know that this wine retails for about US$ 10-12 in other parts of the world. The wine has a pale straw colour. It is elegant and fresh. The wine has a good structure and a very pleasant palate of tropical fruit.
As typical for Orvieto Classico, the wine is a Trebbiano blend. Varieties include Procanico, Grechetto, Verdelho, Drupeggio, Malvasia and – surprise surprise – Chardonnay (15 %!). Antinori went up to the maximum allowed as regards Grechetto (27%). With the exception of Verdelho and Chardonnay, I have never tasted any of the individual varieties included in this blend as single wines.
Cheers
Happy children
After lunch the children entertained themselves in the garden.
These are the ingredients for Irish coffee. It’s worth to order it. It’s freshly made at the table, a spectacular show, truly amazing.
The finished product: Irish coffee
Before we got on the tuck-tuck again, we were served refreshing towels. What a wonderful celebration this family meal was, a delight for the palate, a pleasure for the eyes. The staff at Patara is incredibly professional, very friendly and extremely helpful.
Happy diners
If you want to experience something special and you have the chance to drop in a Patara Restaurant, please do so. I highly recommend it. And if you are in Bangkok, the choice is clear: visit Patara, its’ worth it.
Coming back from a wedding in the North of Thailand, we stopped at the river Mae Ping. Mr. Chai’s restaurant with a large terrace just at the riverside was an ideal place to have a lavish Thai lunch.
Mr. Chai’s lovely place
We were ravenous, and before I could take pictures of the various Thai dishes they were gone. Needless to say, that the food was super delicious. I just love Thai food.
After the battle
The drink of choice at a hot day was beer (they did not have wine anyway). The Change draft was ideal to quench our thirst.
Chang draft beer
PS: I cannot provide you with the address of the place. Sorry folks. After 6 hours in the car, we were just interested in some rest and lots of good food.
After the good news from Australia and the photos of our house and vineyard I did not know what to do with myself. Since I always wanted to buy some Malaysian batik shirts, I went to the Kuala Lumpur Craft Complex in Jalan Conlay. I was successful. The shirts are indeed very colourful, just the right outfits for me.
While strolling back to my hotel, by chance I passed by Bon Ton, one of my favourite restaurants in Kuala Lumpur. Though it was already past 2 pm, I decided to enter and see if there would be a meal for me. And so it was. I was the only guest at this hour. Only when I had finished a Malay couple would join me in the place.
The inside
I love the décor, the furniture and the arrangements, the blending of European and Asian things so to say. It makes you completely oblivious to the fact that the restaurant hull consists of a steel-shed type of structure as it is very common in Australia. The colours camouflage it perfectly and provide the illusion that you are in an old traditional dwelling.
Fettucini ai funghi porcini and salmon
I felt like pasta, after all the Asian food I had tasted over the last couple of days, I needed something Italian. So I could not resist. The ‘fettuccini with mushrooms and salmon’ was very good, though a bit rich for my taste. But the mushrooms were delicious, so was the fish in the crust. The pasta was also “al dente”, not an easy thing in Asia. I would order the dish again, though I am a purist and just forest mushrooms would have been sufficient for me. I would not need the fish in it.
An espresso after the meal
I drank two glasses of house wine, a Semillion Chardonnay from Australia, which was just the right stuff, fruity and zesty and only with a very slight hint of oak. It’s a pity that somehow I did not dare to buy a whole bottle of wine from the interesting wine list. Prices where quite reasonable.
I did not regret sitting there all by myself. The waiter was very attentive, the guys in the kitchen did not mind me being late. And after all, I had to celebrate that our vineyard and our house were not consumed by the Victorian bushfires.
Only two things I did not like. The car park in front of the restaurant looked rather destitute a place on a Saturday afternoon. The restaurant sign there would also benefit from some renovation (letters missing). The second point is the windows of the place. They would benefit from a redo (take the flower design off).
Apart from these little details, Bon Ton is just a great place, a place to relax, enjoy local and international cuisine of a high standard.
Address: Bon Ton Restaurant
8 Jalan Conlay
50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Tel: 603.2141.3848 / 2144.0289 Fax: 603.2144.9289
During the four weeks in Glenburn, Victoria I made it to the big city (= Melbourne) only once. My friend Tony Arthur had organised a lunch with Joe and Helen and myself at “Libertine”, a French restaurant in North Melbourne.
When Tony mentioned the name of the place we were supposed to meet in town over the phone, I was already enthralled. For a liberal like me, “libertine” augured well, promising freedom of French provenance.
The restaurant is tucked away between various other entrances and not easily glimpsed. I came in my pick-up truck from the countryside and had to circle the place.
The dining area downstairs is rather small but I understand they have more facilities upstairs. When I arrived at 12:30 sharp, my friends had already assembled. Most tables were still empty but that would change very quickly. The place was packed just a little later.
Tony, Helen and Joe had been travelling together in France. As a native of Trier, Mosel, just a few kilometres from France I am not exactly a stranger to French culture and cuisine and consider myself a “francophile”.
We started with aperitifs. I was introduced to a Floc de Gascogne. Based on a XVI century local recipe, this is a fortified sweet wine, a blend so to say, between fresh grape juice (2/3) and Armagnac (1/3). It is kept for about 10 months in the cellar. The aromas it displays are almond, jasmine, roses and honey. The alcohol content of the drink varies between 16 and 18%.
Also the second aperitif, a Pommeau de Normandie was a “mistelle”, in this case a mixture of apple juice with Calvados. It’s usually aged in oak barrels for about 30 months and contains 17% alcohol. The drink displays aromas of vanilla, caramel and butterscotch flavours.
The Pommeau de Normandie
The Floc de Gascogne
The next two photos introduce the diners. A happy lot they were. We had not met for more than a year. It was easy to lure me down to town from my farm upcountry in the Upper Goulburn to meet up and dwell on the happenings of the past months.
Tony and Joe
Helen and me
My steak
We all ordered the set menue were you have a couple of choices. I opted for the fresh onion soup, followed by a steak. The dessert I choose was a “tarte de pomme”, all very delicious. The service was relaxed but very attentive; the food of an excellent quality and taste for a very reasonable price.
We were also advised on the wines. We went with the house wine, all from bottles, a Roundstone Cabernet Merlot from the Yarra Valley. Helen had a Lis Neris Bianco from Italy. The blokes followed up with a glass of Tempranillo but by that time we were beyond producers and other wine information. I just did not record any of it any more because we were deep in philosophical conversation about love, life and the universe.
The dessert
We had a coffee at the end, bid each other farewell and scattered in all direction with the sincere promise to repeat this as soon as possible but latest at our next visit in Australia.
The Libertine is a great restaurant. If you visit Melbourne you should schedule a meal either lunch or dinner with your friends in this atmospheric little place.
Address: Libertine
500 Victoria Stret
North Melbourne 3051
Melbourne, Victoria
Australia
Tel.:+61-3-93295228 http://www.libertinedining.com.au
Sunday lunch is our favourite family affair. Usually the girls are doing their homework, Margit does the magic in the kitchen and I try to set the table, prepare the wines and do some of the supporting cast work.
In the morning we went to the Villa Market to buy the ingredients. Asia is great in this respect. Shops are open seven days a week and the Villa Market is just around the corner from our flat in Thong Loh, Bangkok.
“Sole with Walnuts in Parchment” from my favourite cook book –“The Philosophers’s Kitchen” by Francine Segan – was on the agenda. We could not get sole but grouper was available. Parchment paper was also on hand. The adventure could begin. And the recipe goes like this (page 110 of the above book):
Ingredients:
– 1 cup shelled walnuts (have you ever had unshelled walnuts in a dish?)
– 1 cup fresh parsley leaves
– 1 cup fresh mint leaves
– 1 garlic clove, minced
– 1 tablespoon honey
– 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
– 2 tablespoons walnut or olive oil (we had the latter)
– sea salt and freshly milled five-colour peppercorns (we took fresh green ones)
– 4 lemon sole fillets (in our case grouper), about 8 ounces each
– four 12 by 12 inches sheets of parchment paper
– 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
– lemon wedges
How to do the magic:
Well, first heat the oven to about 220 centigrades. Grind the walnuts finely, add the parsley, the mint, garlic, the cumin, the honey, the oil, the salt and the pepper. Puree this mesh until it is well blended. Divide the stuffing in four parts and spread it on the top of the four fish fillets. Then roll the fillets with the stuffing inside. Put two fillets on one sheet of parchment, dot the top of each with some butter, close the packet folding the parchment in pleads. Tuck the ends under the fish and put it into the oven. After about 15 minutes they are ready.
We had green asparagus grilled with parmesan on top, mushrooms and potatoes with it. Have a look at the dishes below. I love Francine’s recipes.
The grouper in parchment
Green asparagus with parmesan cheese
The mushrooms
The potatoes
Voila: the Sunday meal
You will ask what wine we had with this delicious meal. Well, we are still experimenting with the wines here in Bangkok. I choose a Thai wine (a rose). Unfortunately I tried the lower price end. It did not work. Nothing to report on the wine front. Sorry.
Wines are not cheap in Thailand. The lower price range starts at about 6-7 EURO/bottle, minimum prices for mass wines are 10-12 EURO. For a decent drop you have to fork out the minimum of 20 EURO. This situation is not conducive to extensive wine tastings. There is a great variety of wines from all over the world to chose from but the prices hinder you somehow.
I should have chosen a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand or a Riesling from the Mosel (but had nothing at hand).
Source:
The Philosopher’s Kitchen
Recipes from Ancient Greece and Rome for the Modern Cook
by Francine Segan
Random House, New York 2004
Madrid is a wonderful place to visit. We were very lucky and had a great time in the capital city of Spain. We used the four days we had to the utmost to explore the amazing town. Foremost, we wanted to visit the museums such as the Prado and the Reina Sofia (we did not make it to the Thyssen museum). But it’s not just art and culture. The people of Madrid are amazingly friendly. It just blows you away. It started with the guy picking us up from the airport. He did not speak a word of English, and he also did not know where to bring us to. Alas, the modern world has mobile phones on hand (what did we do before we had them?). He made a call to the apartment renting agency and the rest was smooth driving. We communicated with hands and gestures, also the Spanish phrasebook helped somehow. It was a marvellous start of our four nights in Madrid.
Needless to say, we also explored the restaurant scene. First we checked out some of the many (many many many) tapas bars. On our last evening, however, we decided to have a different type of dinner. On our endless walks we had passed La Vaca Veronica before. After some appetisers in a famous Sherry bar, we leisurely strolled towards the narrow lane where La Vaca Veronica is located.
The restaurant opened only at 21h which we did not know. We were surrounded by other, patiently waiting, guests outside. My daughters passed the time by jumping from the roadside pillars barring cars from parking on the side walk. But luck was on our side. We got a table without a reservation. The restaurant owner was around and helped us along.
The dining room
What did we order? Well, mainly Italian type cuisine as you can see from the pictures below. We somehow all lounged for a pasta. The food was delicious. The colourful interior contributes to a very friendly atmosphere. We enjoyed it thoroughly and had a jolly good time. After all, it was our last evening after some very busy and eventful days.
If I am not mistaken, we ordered the house wine. I lost my tasting notes, sorry folks. But there is so much good wine in Spain that you cannot go wrong.
The landlady behind her desk.
Here is our recommendation: 5 stars out of five.
The decisions was democratically derived at. We go with the principle: one person, one vote. If you can, visit Madrid, and if you are hungry go to La Vaca Veronica for a meal, it’s worth it.
La Vaca Veronica
Restaurante
Abrimos los Domingos
Moratin, 38
28014 Madrid
Te.: 914297827 http://www.lavacaveronica.es
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The Man from Mosel River 