I was staying with a friend who lived about 10 mins walk from the Magill Estate out in Rosslyn Park, and decided to check out the cellar day the day before the wedding. It was a lovely day!
The vines are lined with lavender bushes, which were all in bloom. They smelt heavenly!
The road leading up to the cellar door and restaurant. The restaurant, which was pretty empty (considering they only open for lunch on Fridays) was horribly overpriced, with entrees and desserts at $20plus and mains at $40plus. Wines were on average almost $20 a glass, which meant that a full meal there would cost around $100 per person. Give me Yering Station or De Bortoli's anytime.
Inside the cellar door, it was almost a dream come true. My one big question was whether to buy anything, and if so, what to buy, bearing in mind that neither my palate nor wallet was of Grange standard.
This Koonunga Hill shiraz cabernet was a cellar door release only. Tasting notes available at http://www.penfolds.com/library/tasting/KoonungaHill_ShirazCabernet_2007.pdf Picked up a bottle for my father's older brother.
The wedding the following day was absolutely beautiful! The wines and canapes served after the ceremony were pretty good too : )
After that, we went to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens Restaurant for lunch. There were 3 other weddings going on in the gardens the same time.
Most Australian weddings I've attended serve 3 course meals, and they usually offer 2 choices served alternately. Which means that the chaps on your left and right will eat the same thing, and you'll get something different. It's great if you have a partner whom you can share food with, but as Asians this is a really difficult concept to accept, since we're so used to having a taste of practically everything on the table. This wedding was no different, but everything on the menu sounded so good that we all had problems deciding what to wish for.
The starter of Pork Belly, Onion Puree, Caramelised Baby Red Delicious (apples) with Soy Dressing was one of these dishes that made everyone on the table very edgy. Every good Asian wanted the pork, in comparison with the relatively sterile-sounding Talegio Souffle (more on that later). I managed to get my kind neighbour to take my cheese souffle away and to give me his pork. It was HEAVENLY. The skin was crisp. The fat was warm and practically melted in my mouth, with a rich but non-oily texture. The meat was tender and juicy. And everyone knows how good Australian apples are! I licked up every single last drop on the plate.
I also had a taste of the Double-baked Talegio Souffle, Green Pear, Rocket and Almond Dressing. It was surprisingly pretty good. The cheese was nicely melted and was very flavourful without being too sharp or salty. But the pork belly was really something else.
The mains were decent too, although not quite as mind-blowing as the pork- this was the Crispy Skin Salmon, Seeded Mustard Roast Potatoes, Finger Lime, Beurre Blanc.
The Pan-Seared Chicken Breast, Sweet Potato Puree, Pesto, Spinach and Pancetta. It was a massive serve and I couldn't finish it.
Managed to get my (Asian) friend to split the desserts with me. This was the Lemon Curd Tart, Double Cream, Passionfruit and Orange Salad. Nice, but the curd was a tad too sour.
The Flourless Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Anglaise, Chocolate Toffee Chard was really good, but unfortunately we were just so stuffed from the earlier courses that we couldn't really eat very much dessert.
You can find the restaurant menu online (2 courses $49, 3 courses $65) and the pork is still on it.
The "Old" Kiosk on the pond
Adelaide Botanic Gardens
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