Some might condemn me for loving white wine, I do love a good red, but the general crispy and fruit notes in white just seems to settle on my palate a little bit more. Some of my favourites that...
Some might condemn me for loving white wine, I do love a good red, but the general crispy and fruit notes in white just seems to settle on my palate a little bit more.
Some of my favourites that you may have not tried – Lambloch Estate and their Flipside collection is stunning. Each white is completely different and has a more fruity taste than Audrey, Scarborough and Bimbadgen.
Verdelho is the new up and coming white that has been popping up these days so look out for it! It’s quite an acquired taste but I fell in love with it the moment it touched my lips.
There’s a couple of shops and restaurants that you MUST head to in Hunter Valley – most are open on weekend, but if you’re there weekdays, just check that it is open.
Shops: The Smelly Cheese Shop, Cacao,
Suburbs: Morpeth – the town centre is incredibly quaint and rustic. Fantastic boutique shops (for you cat lovers, there’s a cat shop that has absolutely everything cat), florists and 150 honey tastings available.
MUSE RESTAURANT
What can I say? You can’t visit Hunter without going to MUSE. Needless to say, everyone in the Hunter loves that restaurant.
Black garlic butter was smooth and roasted to perfection. I loved it, but my partner didn’t. Definitely an acquired taste!
The complimentary mushroom and ginger soup was extremely strong and definitely not for mushroom haters. Drinking out of the little vase was super fun. Just be careful, its hot!
Taro Chips were such a fun and cute idea. They were crispy and had a strong flavour of taro and saltiness (not over salted though!) Wish there were more though!
Chicken Terrine : Crispy wing, pate, parsnip, date, chestnut
Very moist chicken with a strong hearty flavour. It was a very homely dish, with warm flavours. It was quite a filling dish and felt it was extremely strong flavoured for an entree.
Milled Morpeth Sweet Corn: Mushroom, yolk, truffled sheep’s milk pecorino
I thought this would be quite a light dish but it was actually extremely rich with the egg yolk. The mushrooms were a little on the salty side but you had to mix everything together in order for the flavours to be more balanced. The corn was a puree at the bottom of the dish and was not as sweet as I liked it to be. The pecorino had a strong kick in flavour but added to the richness to the dish.
I probably preferred something less rich as an entree.
Roasted Crown of Redgate Farm Quail: confit leg, sausage, celeriac
The quail was fantastic. The meat pulled right off the bone, tender and coated with a seasoning of addictiveness quality. The celeriac puree was light in flavour but it was matched incredibly well with the chunky celeriac itself and the sausage. It gave a smooth and creamy texture to the dish.
70hr Slow cooked Wagyu: pearl barley, fenugreek and wakame, shiitake
O.M.G. I can’t even. This piece of meat was huge. HUGE. 2 MAN PORTION SIZE. IT WAS PHENOMENAL. I would eat this piece of meat with my bare hands if I wasn’t in such a classy place. Juicy, melt in your mouth and a whole bunch of proverbial shit that I can’t even type out.
But unfortunately, the pearl barley was also a little salty and didn’t add much to the dish at all. The hero was definitely the meat, but I guess that can’t just serve that slab of meat on a plate for customers. (I wouldn’t mind though)
YOU MUST HAVE THIS WAGYU. I can’t express how much grief I would feel for you if you missed it. Honestly.
Now after my spew, onto dessert!
Milk Chocolate Mousse, Black Garlic Ice cream
I adored the black garlic ice cream. I had my scepticism but I couldn’t pass up the idea of trying something interesting. The black garlic was subtle, but there was a strong roasted flavour that lingered on the palate. It wasn’t overpowering but just enough to remind you the uniqueness of the ice cream.
The brownie itself was super delicious. Moist, chocolatey and with a crunchy outside. It was definitely the best brownie ever. Now to find that recipe…..
Muse Coconut
That muse coconut. Refreshing, light and tasted like snow. Fluffy ‘snow’ that created such a theatrical element was a clear winner. The mousse was light and strong in coconut flavour. The chocolate shell was hard to crack and I was definitely scared chocolate bits would start flying everywhere.
If you ever get the chance, I really do recommend taking the hot air balloon flight. We were extremely lucky and had perfect conditions! As the hot air balloon needs to rise, the temperature in the hot air balloon will need to be more than the atmosphere. The best time to fly is definitely winter.
Happy Drinking and Cheese Eating!
