Wild Pear Cafe, Dural

What nicer way to spend a Sunday afternoon than enjoying a dainty high tea in a beautiful garden setting? This was how I celebrated Mother's day last Sunday with all the ladies in my family!

For the past two Mother's Days, I have taken the mums out to cafes set in nurseries - all the mums love looking at plants and planning their gardens, and the cafes in these nurseries offer delicious fresh food. The cafe we (my mum, mother-in-law, grandmother-in-law, and sister-in-law) went to this year was Wild Pear Cafe in Dural. The cafe is set in a cosy cottage with a balcony that overlooks the nursery, perfect for a post-meal stroll. Inside the cafe itself was very busy - in fact it had been all booked out for Mother's Day! I was quite surprised given that it's in a quite out of the way part of Sydney, but at least it was a good sign that it would be a good cafe!

Our high tea started off with a colourful carafe of water flavoured with mint leaves, strawberries, lemon slices, and pomegranate seeds. I was really impressed with how I could taste all the different ingredients in the water, and it made for a naturally sweet and refreshing drink.

Shortly afterwards came the actual high tea, with loads of goodies beautifully presented on a three tier stand!

The bottom layer was filled to the edges with a delicious selection of sandwiches, including curried egg and cucumber; avocado, chicken, bacon and spinach; smoked salmon and cream cheese, avocado, ham, brie and lettuce, and falafel and salad. The sandwiches were very generously filled and heartier than the usual dainty finger sandwiches! I was also very intrigued and impressed by the interesting flavour combinations. The sandwiches stacked together looked so pretty and colourful, like a sandwich garden!

The second tier held the lovely sweets! The mini lemon meringue tarts were definitely the highlight for me - the tangy lemon filling merged seamlessly with the sweet, soft meringue so that it was one big creamy mouthful! There was also slices of carrot cake topped with a caramel pecan, squares of bread and butter pudding, and mini pavlovas topped with pomegranate, pashmak and pistachios. I loved the vibrant contrast of pink and green of the meringues and the moist, dense texture and spices in the carrot cake and bread and butter pudding.

The top layer held the scones - two plain and two fruit. As usual we were already too full by the time we got to the final plate! I managed to share one with my mum - the scones were served with deliciously thick clotted cream and strawberry jam, both of which I slathered on thickly onto my scone half!

The staff were able to accommodate Anita's nut allergy by providing her with a separately made up plate of sweets. However there was so much she wasn't able to finish it all! So I was able to save a lemon tart to take home to Mr Duckie, which he very much appreciated! I also saved a scone to take home for him, as I felt sad that he was missing out on the fun (this was a ladies only occasion!).

Finally, as usual with family gatherings, I have a funny story to share. We each received a glass of pink sparkling wine complimentary with our high tea. Our waitress mistakenly left the rest of the bottle on our table. Meanwhile, in the five or ten minute gap before the waitress came back, Grandma had already downed her first glass of champagne and asked for a second one to be poured for her! According to her, the alcohol "helps the food go down" and she claimed that it did not affect her, claiming that  "It's just like Coke!" It was quite a hilarious moment, and in any case dear old Grandma certainly got her money's worth on wine!

Helps the food go down!

Overall it was a lovely day out with good food in a peaceful location. Wild Pear is a very family friendly cafe, and it was nice to treat all the mum's out to a special afternoon. Make sure you book ahead though, especially on the weekend, as it certainly gets busy fast! I would definitely recommend a visit especially if you are in the area - I know I am looking forward to trying some of their lunches and other desserts! Hope you all had a happy Mother's Day too!

One final quick picture - our light Mother's Day brunch before high tea. I made sure it was nice and light so I had plenty of stomach space left for high tea!

Wild Pear Cafe

658 Old Northern Road, Dural, 2158

(02) 9651 6600

High tea at The Hydro Majestic - the Blue Mountains Life

Looking out into the Megalong Valley

Hello everyone! Sorry for the long absence. I am finally back home, having finished my first placement in the Blue Mountains! I have to say that I was somewhat apprehensive at first at having to move to a regional area, but in fact I really enjoyed living in the Mountains.  Everyone was very friendly, the lifestyle was relaxed, and of course there was always a stunningly picturesque view right around the corner. The Blue Mountains Hospital itself is a lovely hospital, and even though it was a quieter than one of the bigger hospitals, I was glad to have had the time to develop my basic nutrition assessment and education skills.

Watching the sunrise from our balcony in Leura

As usual though, Mr Duckie and I had an emergency drama to deal with which certainly kept life more than interesting! The first week back Mr Duckie and I drove back to Sydney for a wedding. Mr Duckie was best man so he went to the groom's house the night before to help with some last minute preparations. Our beloved car, Jeeves, who was Mr Duckie's first car, and who we have had for over eight years, had given us some trouble over the past year but he had managed the drive up and down to the Mountains without any trouble (about a 90km drive each way!). However, that night things took a very scary turn for the worse. On his way home, the front right wheel of Jeeves fell off! Luckily Mr Duckie was on a straight stretch and the road was very quiet. We were lucky that no one was hurt. Sadly though, I think it is now time to let go of Jeeves. He's been fixed and is sitting in the driveway of my parents-in-law's house, but I'm not sure if he will go again. We managed to quickly buy a new car that is basically a newer version of Jeeves, but we still miss him very much.

Here's a picture of our beloved Jeeves. As you can see, he's been through rather a lot in the past 8 years. He somehow lost his hubcaps (unfortunately they got stolen whilst we were out one night), he's had a few dings, and in the end the side mirror and boot door were no longer working. You can also see the front of the new car just behind him - in fact, he is a newer version of Jeeves! Once Mr Duckie finds what he likes, he sticks with it ;)

So you would think that I've gotten all the drama out of the way for a while! Not so - funnily enough, right at the start of my second placement we had another emergency! But that may be a story for another post ;)

During my stay in the Mountains, I managed to check out the local food scene (as every good dietitian does!). The one place that I really wanted to visit was the iconic and legendary Hydro Majestic Hotel, which is very famously perched on the edge of the cliff face overlooking the Megalong Valley. Much to his credit, Mr Duckie had secretly booked us in for a high tea on Valentines Day!

The view from The Wintergarden

The Hydro Majestic Afternoon High Tea is served in The Wintergarden. The hotel recently underwent a multi-million dollar renovation and re-opened last year. It has a very glamorous Art Deco inspired atmosphere. And the view truly lived up to its reputation - it was the unique point making all the difference to the afternoon tea experience! Combined with the relaxing songs being played on the grand piano, and the slightly grey and cloudy sky, I felt like I could have been in the English countryside!

I again had my breath taken away when the high tea came out. The food was served in a traditional three-tiered stand and was very generous in its proportions. I imagined that it was like the three meals of the day in one!

We started off with the sandwiches and savouries (middle tier). There were chicken and walnut sandwiches, cucumber and herb butter sandwiches, and roast beef and tomato chutney sandwiches. The other savouries were a blini with smoked salmon, and a tart filled with goats cheese, olive, and cherry tomato.

Next we went onto scones. These came out very warm and soft! And in a very generous touch we got two scones each - one plain and one fruit. They were served with thick clotted cream and a nice, runny strawberry jam. My recommendation though, as tasty as the scones are, is to only have a maximum of one scone each as they are so filling!

Last of all was the sweets layer. Unfortunately by this time we were so full we couldn't make much headway into the sweets! This layer contained honey and mango pannacottas, strawberry macarons, mini almond friands, and passionfruit and raspberry tarts (my favourite!). We tried our best to eat them but eventually we ended up taking the rest home in a takeaway box.

Afterwards we decided we should try to walk off some of our fullness and we enjoyed the  beautiful views out into the Megalong Valley. Ultimately though what we needed was a good old fashioned afternoon nap!

Next time you are looking to relax and get away from the hustle and bustle of city life, I definitely recommend a visit to the Blue Mountains and to indulge yourself at The Hydro Majestic!

Hydro Majestic Afternoon High Tea
Wintergarden Restaurant
The Hydro Majestic Hotel
Great Western Highway, Medlow Bath
NSW 2780
http://www.hydromajestic.com.au/

Weekend Getaway in Melbourne!

Last weekend I was lucky enough to have an exciting, whirlwind weekend in Melbourne! I was joined by Mr Duckie and my sister-in-law Anita. Our main reason for going was to attend an event as part of the Melbourne Fashion Festival, but of course, food also featured heavily during our stay!

We flew in on Friday night, so by the time we got to where we were staying it was nearly 10pm – unfortunately there wasn’t anywhere near us that was open, so we ended up getting pizza delivery from Dominos for dinner!

The next day fared much better on the food front. For breakfast, we headed down to Loading Dock Bar. Inside there was a light and breezy cafe feel, with arty prints and paintings hanging on the walls. There were already quite a lot of people there having breakfast, along with their dogs and babies!

Feeling a little bit greasy from the previous night’s pizza overload, I opted to have the muesli for breakfast, which was served with natural yoghurt and some very prettily sliced fresh fruit. The muesli was very tasty and actually very filling – there was lots of oats, puffed crunchy grains and seeds, macadamias and dried fruit.

G-Lux Muesli, $11.90

Mr Duckie, ever the sweet tooth, ordered the French toast with caramalised bananas. The French toast was perfect - crisp on the outside and eggy and soft on the inside. The highlight though was definitely the caramalised bananas, which were so fragrant, sweet, and melted in the mouth.

French toast with maple syrup, $9.00, and caramelised banana, $2.00

Anita went for the ricotta pancakes, which came as a humungous serve! The pancakes were lfluffy and soft, and best of all were drenched in delicious maple syrup (maple syrup makes everything tasty)!

Ricotta pancakes with maple syrup, $11.90

I also ordered an Earl Grey tea, because breakfast of course is never complete without tea!. I thought I would post a picture of how it was served up as it looked so cute – I love how the tea bag came in its own separate plate for me to add in and brew to my taste! And a cup of tea was definitely needed, as we were all so full after our huge breakfast!

Earl Grey tea

After breakfast, Anita and I went to the L’Oreal Paris Beauty Workshop, held at the Central Pier, Docklands, which we had signed up for as part of the Fashion Festival. When we got to the pier, we saw a queue leading into a room in which there appeared to be many make-up artists and guests. We were a bit confused on where to go, so we thought that joining the queue would be the best thing to do. As it turns out, we were in the wrong place!. The queue was for the L’Oreal Paris Boutique, and the make-up artists were doing colour consultations and some lipstick trials! Luckily we got in the queue early, so we managed to be seen by the make-up artists, before we hurried along around the corner to where the workshop was actually being held!

Outside the Boutique, where we mistakenly lined up!

The workshop itself was very useful and interesting. I am not really make-up proficient, so I learnt a lot of practical tips on different makeup techniques, such as flawless foundation, winged eye liner (which is apparently very trendy right now), colourful eyes, and matte lip colour.

The stage set up for the Beauty Workshop

I was quite inspired to try some of these techniques, so I bought some new products after the show at the Boutique (everything was 25% off!). I got a "Butterfly Wings" mascara, a very cool eyeliner that looks kind of like a felt-tip marker, so hopefully should be easy to use, and a nifty eyebrow pencil that has the actual pencil on one end, an eyebrow wax on the other end, and a small comb on the cap to help keep your eyebrows well groomed!

New make-up!

Best of all, we received some very generous gift bags, filled with loads of hair and skin products!

So many goodies!

Now onto lunch! Mr Duckie had been quite busy and was feeling quite tired by the time afternoon came around, so Anita and I went out in search of takeaway to bring back to eat. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of our lunch, but believe me it was very tasty and again incredibly filling! We ended up going to Hooks At The Yarra, and got a huge serve of fish and chips, served with salad, tartare sauce and aioli, as well as a seafood risotto, and an olive and rosemary focaccia. Although we only got two mains between the three of us, we were so full that we couldn't even finish all the food! I have to especially mention the chips, which we thick cut and chunky, and perfect for dipping in the sauces. This may sound a bit lame but I always have lots of fun bringing food back in to eat – sort of like having a restaurant in your own home!

Dinner was delayed somewhat that night after our huge day of eating. We went to a nearby Japanese restaurant, Zen Izakaya (previously called Kinya). The restaurant had beautiful décor and an intimate atmosphere, with very friendly and attentive service.

Despite still being full from lunch, we managed to order (and eat) heaps! We started off with takoyaki topped with bonito flakes. Mr Duckie had never seen the effect of heat on bonito flakes before, which makes them wave about in the air, and he stared mesmerised at his takoyaki before finally eating it!

Takoyaki

I also ordered a miso soup as I felt rather in need of something warm and wholesome (it had been a very cold and rainy day!). This was indeed a very rich and flavoursome miso soup, with silky chunks of tofu bobbing throughout. Mr Duckie, who had never had miso soup before, decided to try some, and liked it so much he ended up drinking half the bowl!

A rather funny incident happened with the drinks. I had ordered a green tea, and Mr Duckie had ordered a raspberry lemonade. But for some reason when the waiter brought out the drinks, he assumed I had the very pink raspberry lemonade, and gave Mr Duckie the green tea!

Miso soup and green tea

Anita ordered the tempura udon. The udon was beautifully presented in a blue stone bowl, and was topped very generously with a wide selection of tempura prawn and vegetables and some shiitake mushrooms. The broth was also very warming and was the perfect antidote to the cold weather.

Tempura udon

Mr Duckie and I shared a teriyaki salmon. The salmon also came on a very pretty blue green plate. The fish was cooked just right so that it was firm but still very moist, and was covered with a rich, sticky and flavoursome teriyaki sauce. Mr Duckie is a huge salmon lover (like a grizzly bear!) so he finished most of this in no time!

Teriyaki salmon

More food was still to come! Mr Duckie gets a bit excited with ordering, especially when there are interesting items on the menu like these king crab gyoza. Luckily, I have the appetite to match, and these gyoza were so tasty that it was not at all a problem to eat them! The gyoza were generously filled with sweet crab meat, held together with a creamy and very savoury sauce, flecked with orange tobiko. On the side was a very tangy and citrusy ponzu sauce which nicely complemented the gyoza.

King crab gyoza

We also ordered the dragon roll (without avocado, as Mr Duckie and I don't like avocado - yes, that does sound strange!). Our roll had tempura prawn in the filling, and was topped with grilled eel and tobiko. Unfortunately by the time I got round to eating this the eel had gone cold. But it was still a very tasty sushi!

Dragon roll

And yes, we did find space for dessert, which was a scoop each of green tea, black sesame and red bean ice cream. These ice cream flavours are always solid favourites! Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of these - I think we were all rather too interested in eating our dessert!

The next morning we woke up rather late, so we only had a short amount of time for breakfast before heading out to the airport. We went to the Mad Duck Cafe for breakfast - of course I immediately loved the name! The staff were very helpful - we informed them that we had to be out in half an hour, and they managed to get all our food out to us so quickly that we did manage to finish within that time!

I again started off with muesli, this time served with natural yoghurt and a deliciously sweet fruit compote. There was an extra thoughtful touch with a small jug of skim milk served on the side. The muesli had a good mix of oats, pepitas, sunflower seeds, bran, as well as almonds and macadamia nuts, and currants and dried cranberries.

Muesli, $6.90, with yoghurt and fruit compote

Mr Duckie ordered the Eggs Florentine, which was two poached eggs served on lightly sauteed spinach and toasted English muffins. The eggs were perfectly poached, with the yolks oozing out when cut into. The Hollandaise sauce was also very tasty - I normally find Hollandaise too rich but this one was quite light, and had a slight tanginess that helped to cut through the richness.

Eggs Florentine, $14.90

Anita had the pancakes with strawberries and ice cream. Again the pancakes were huge! They were soft and sweet, with lots of maple syrup drizzled on top (yay!), and the tangy strawberries and creamy vanilla ice cream made the pancakes extra special.

Pancakes with strawberries and ice cream, $13.90

And again, I had an Earl Grey tea with breakfast. The tea was served with a very thoughtful touch - an extra little jug of hot water on the side, to top up the teapot in case extra tea is needed! Unfortunately we were running out of time, so I didn't get a chance to use the extra water!

Earl Grey tea

Then it was off to the airport to catch our flight home! Overall it was a very fun (and food) filled weekend, and it was certainly nice to have a mini-getaway and explore a new city. Thanks to Mr Duckie and Anita for a fantastic weekend!

Loading Dock Bar

70 Lorimer Street, Docklands

(03) 9681 8289

loadingdockbar.com.au

Hooks At The Yarra

50 River Esplanade, Docklands

(03) 9043 4221

www.hooksattheyarra.com/

Zen Izakaya

70 Lorimer St, Docklands

(03) 9646 2400

www.zenizakaya.com.au/

Mad Duck Cafe

92 River Esplanade, Docklands

(03) 9681 8882

madduckcafe.com