Must Wine Bar - Margaret River

First time I've bought the Entertainment Book and it is such a great buy! There are so many nice restaurants and cafes that I did not know about under I found them in the book. It is quite worthwhile for foodies who dine out often, I've saved quite a bit. It is always fun and good to surprise people that you have a 'buy one get one free' mains or 25% off the total meal.

Anyway, Must Wine Bar was a restaurant introduced by my friend, but also happens to be in the Entertainment book. I've heard really good reviews about it, the steak was really good (supposed to be famous too). I also tried their angel hair blue manna crab pasta which had a generous serving of fresh crab. The taste was light and refreshing.

Totally worth the long drive from Bunker Bar to Margaret River just to get dinner (due to bad planning)

They also have a branch in Highgate which is just 10 minutes from Perth.

Time for some photos

Bought my partner's birthday cake from Jean Pierre Sancho which is located in Shafto Lane Perth CBD. I ordered the Luxury Strawberry Cake, and it was indeed really luxurious! creamy but light strawberry mousse, with fluffy sponge and fresh strawberries. 

(ignore the writing, it is actually a very affectionate nickname that i call him :p)

Must wine bar

Service was very prompt, once we were seated the fresh bread came shortly after.

had a glass of champagne for the night 

Blue Manna Crab Angel Hair Pasta

Angus Rib-eye

I think this was the Creme Brulee with Coconut, it was so delicious

we really enjoyed our evening, it was a nice dinner.

website: www.must.com.au

reservations are strongly recommended, it was so packed that night, and I heard it is a very popular restaurant.

Voyager Estate Margaret River

I am back! After such a long delay with me starting school and having a new job, my life is so chaotic. I am glad I can find a few extra minute to just sit down in front of my computer and write a blog entry!

It was my boyfriend's birthday last weekend so I booked him a two night stay at Bunker Bay Resort (awesome!). Some photos that I have taken in Voyager Estate.

The food was good, although their winery did not have an extensive list of wines that they produce, it was still worthwhile to go give it a visit. The estate itself was huge, and the service was really good too! I am just going to let the photos do the talking

Western Australia - Margaret River Food Adventure Part III

Have you read Part I and Part II yet?

 This is a continuation of Day 2. After Margaret Chocolate Factory, Cape Lavender and some sight seeing, we went to the Gold Plate award-winning Leeuwin Estate Winery for lunch. They were also awarded "Best Restaurant Within a Winery".

Leeuwin Estate Winery

Like many places we visited at Margaret River, the scenery and restaurant were really impressive!

The famous restaurant has a large indoor and alfresco area. As the restaurant is on the second storey, diners will feel like that are dining right at the same level of all the tall and giant trees. Even if you sit inside, you can still get to enjoy the scenery through the big glass windows.

The weather was perfect, it was cool but the sun shining on us kept us warm. It was so romantic and enjoyable to dine here, gave us a feeling of dining in a forest. 

We started off with some yummy bread which was warm and moist.

Then we skipped to the mains as we were still full from the chocolate factory and cape lavender.

Fish of the Day - Bass Snapper, braised leeks, beurre noisette, white anchovy, herb salad - Market Price

The person who ordered this dish was very happy with the dish.

This was my order: Split Blue Ridge marron, tarragon, endive - $32 for entree

As Marrons are very tasty just by itself, you really dont need too much seasoning on it if not it will cover the natural taste of these yummy things. These were cooked to perfection as the flavours were not too overpowering so the taste of the marrons could stand out. The sour salad at the side complimented the seafood very well and enhanced the marron's taste! It was heavenly!

French fries, smoked paprika aioli - $8

The french fries looked a bit messy as I was busy eating them before realising i have forgotten to take a photo! These were no ordinary fries. They had a 'natural' taste, tasted like real potatoes cut up into fries. It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I happen to be a fan of fresh soggy (not easy to achieve) fries lol. Everyone said there was something different about the fries and we all agreed that it was REALLY good. The smoked paprika aioli was tasty and went very well with the fries.

T Bone, smoked tomato, olives, Jerusalem artichoke, Ortiz anchovy butter - $55

This was so delicious, it was the winner of the day. The person who ordered this gave it full marks (even i agreed on this). The meat was so tender and soft. It was flavoursome and cooked just right. I have never tasted such tender steak before, i think Leeuwin Estate is really good with their steak so i would recommend that you order their steak if you ever visit this restaurant.

Rangers Valley Black Angus 300 day grain fed scotch fillet, gruyere croquettes, brussels sprouts leaves - $43

The person who ordered this sat really far away from me, so I didn't get to try the steak. He gave the steak full marks and said it was so delicious.

The food was impeccable. The service was so good (unlike Flutes Restaurant), the good-looking waitress/waiter made us feel so welcomed. They came over to our table a couple of times just to make sure we were alright, and they even offered to take photos of us twice! I was so impressed by the service and that was a major factor! The food was not only fantastic (definitely best restaurant that I've ever been to and best restaurant throughout our whole journey), you also get to enjoy the amazing food in the middle of the greenery. There is nothing more I could ask for. If I ever have a wedding, this place would be it! ( i am never going to get married, just stating what im thinking)

I want to go back to Margaret River just so I can dine here again!

**Visitors to Margaret River SHOULD VISIT Leeuwin Estate Winery and dine in the alfresco area if the weather is good.  They also have very famous, award-winning wines that you can taste in their cellar door.

Visit their website for more information: http://leeuwinestate.com.au/

Overall Rating: 5 /5 (why not full marks?)

Location: Stevens Rd

Margaret River, 6285

Western Australia

Ph: 9759 0000 , please reserve a table before you go as they fill up very fast and they are one of the most popular restaurants in Margaret River.

After lunch we went to more attractions (there were endless activities!) We went to Vasse Felix which was a beautiful winery to try some wine (they have a nice restaurant too).

I bought the dessert wine and white wine that the friendly lady below poured for me to try. :) We LOVED the dessert wine as we finished it up that night! (more on that later) Their cellar door was big and it was crowded which liven up the atmosphere.

Our next stop was Olio Bello which specialises in Olive Oil and products.

We could sample their wide variety of olive oil by dipping the small bread pieces. In Margaret River you could sample most of their stuff for free! I always felt that i needed to buy something from them since I ate their free samples. LOL Bought bread, Chilli and garlic olive oil and some Dukkah (a very fragrant herbs mix where you dip your bread in).

Creative labels for their toilet.

 
The Margaret River Food Adventure is ending. Stay tuned for Part IV (last post!) where i will write about our dinner.
 
Click to read PartI and PartII.
 
to be continued...

Western Australia - Margaret River Food Adventure - Part II

You can see Part I here.

Try clicking the pictures to have a better view

Had a night of table tennis (which i improved dramatically in one night, at least i could hit the ball and bounce it off the table now). Woke up to the awesome view of the vast ocean and forest. I am ready to start the day full of activities!

First stop of the day: Margaret River Chocolate Company

The Chocolate Factory has so many interesting chocolate products. They have  award winning truffles, a wall full of different chocolates (i bought yummy chocolate coated honeycomb), chocolate massage oil, chocolate sauce (bought one too!), souveniers and dipping sauces.

Free Chocolate samples. I look a spoonful of white, milk and dark and they were velvety smooth.

 

I wanna be that age when you are considered 'cute' for doing stuff like this. If i do this now, it will be frowned upon. Not fair!

Went to their cafe for their famous "Real Hot Chocolate" ($4.50). You can choose what chocolate you want (milk or dark). I had my mocha with the mini dark chocolate buttons instead of the hot chocolate cos i am a coffee addict. It was the best mocha i've ever had! We had an enjoyable time sipping our hot beverages in the chilly morning.

Everyone's rating: 4.5/5

If you are there, you have to try their hot chocolate!

We were chilling at the alfresco part of the cafe in the midst of all the greenery. Then we spotted a very scary look tree, i wonder if it's natural or someone made it to look like the freak in Scary Movie.

Margaret River Chocolate Factory has won a lot of awards. Those are just some of the awards they've won. I bought some of the award-winning (2009) Fresh Blueberry Truffles and they were awesome! Sorry I forgot to take a picture of it.

Location: Cnr Harman's Mill Road and Harman's South Road

Metricup WA 6280

Website: http://www.chocolatefactory.com.au/

Opening Hours - 9am - 4.30pm

Our Second Stop: Cape Lavender

It should be quite obvious what Cape Lavender is famous for. They specialise in Lavender products and the scenery of the place is so beautiful! They also made the world's first lavender wine.

They have won a lot of awards too. Seems like Margaret River is saturated with award-winning companies!

You can have a taste of their lavender wine in their cellar.

Our photographer caught a bee in action. Another thing that Cape Lavender is famous for is their scones, this is my first time trying them.

We ordered their specialty: Lavender tea (great way to start the day if you are not sleepy enough), lavender scones and plain scones.

The scones were so delicious. They were moist (unlike most scones these were not dry at all) and freshly out of the oven (we were the first customers there that morning). The lavender scones had a subtle lavender fragrance and it was yummy! I cut the scones into halves and generously spread jam and cream on top. The whole combination was splendid!

Not only did we enjoy the moist-warm-lavender scones, we also enjoyed being surrounded by an abundance of purple lavender around the lake that was just in front of the cafe. The enchanting vineyard and fields of lavender gave us a sense of tranquility. It was a wonderful experience, and visitors should visit Cape Lavender.

Overall Rating : 4.75/5

Location: Caves Rd (off Metricup Rd), Wilyabrup, margaret River

Website: www.capelavender.com.au

Stayed tuned for Part III where we had our lunch at this place which has won the award of Best Restaurant in a Winery. If i ever get married this will be the place to hold it! (re lax, it is not going to happen anytime soon but it's just a thought)

To be continued...