Stewarts at Brookleigh Estate

I was so excited to hear from Stewarts and was eager to try out their new winter menu for 2015.

We chose a Sunday lunch to indulge and we did just that.

As I've mentioned before in my previous visit here not too long ago (and that's just how I think ill keep my visits to Stewarts in future- very regular) one of my favourite wines happens to be on the list - the one I'm still yet to find to purchase in Perth. I found this lovely drop when I competed in the Buy West Eat Best 2014 WA's Signature Dish Competition down in Denmark WA and it's made by Forest Hill Estate. It's a 2012 Riesling and is very easy to drink. My husband agreed and we ordered a bottle of this right away.

We decided to have an entrée each instead of sharing this time around. My husband couldn't pass up the Beef Cheek. A small portion of thinly sliced cheek, served with mash, artichoke puree, it was like a mini roast and it was very tender and delicious.

 

I ordered the Duck Liver Parfait with Orange Jelly, Cornichons and Crisp Breads. I was definitely loving the creamy rich flavor of the pate and was very happy sipping my wine and nibbling on my little platter for one.

 

 

 

Filo Wrapped Chicken Wellington, Ecrase Potatoes, Silverbeet and Mustard Cream Sauce was my hubby's main (after we almost both ordered it) and the filo was lovely and crispy. The light mustard cream sauce added a nice touch also. This was a great sounding, looking and tasting dish!

 

 

For my mains, I decided on the Caramelized Pork Belly, Boulangere Potatoes, Choucroute, Sweet Potato Puree and Apple Cider Sauce to help break my pork belly drought. I don't know why but it's been a while since I've had pork belly. A perfectly sized portion of belly with a thin crispy crackling and a meltingly tender meat underneath. I'm always mesmerized how the grains of meat alternate in different directions layer by layer in pork belly and was loving every minute.

 

Looking through the menu I noticed they've switched from doing weekend breakfasts to now serving weekend brunch. Brunch is served 10am - 3pm Saturday and Sunday and looks great! The friendly waitstaff also mentioned that the new brunch menu has been very popular due to the more relaxed serving time. You can still order the full lunch menu on the weekends too so all bases are covered!

I'm so glad Stewarts isn't far from home and now I've seen the brunch menu I'll be back here in a few weeks to check it out!

The rest of the winter menu looks great too. They have a different Fish of the day dish and a pretty decent kids menu too.

 

Thanks Brookleigh!

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Stewarts Restaurant at Brookleigh Estate - Swan Valley

I catch up with my friend Brooke of Cooking 101 regularly and so far our destination of choice seems to be the Swan valley.

Scouring through the entertainment book I notice Stewarts at Brookleigh Estate. I often share their specials on my page and have been to a friends wedding here a few years ago so we decided to hit this place up.

Located towards the back end of the valley on Great Northern Highway, its a bit further out than most of the wineries and restaurants but is an easy scenic drive.

Stewarts restaurant is nestled on the property of Brookleigh Equestrian Estate, which is very picturesque and very popular for weddings.

I was a happy girl looking at the wine list when I saw Forest Hill Estate 2012 Reisling, my most favourite wine that I first tasted when I went down to Denmark for the WA Signature Dish Competiton. After we came back from Denmark I was looking in all the small boutique wine stores around Perth for this little gem with no luck. $38 a bottle was a great price and we happily sipped on this throughout out lunch.

We both agreed to share the Scallops for entrée which were fresh from Rotto and served with saganaki haloumi and sauce vierge. The scallops were cooked perfectly and the haloumi added a nice saltyness to them. This dish was very much enjoyed on both parts.

For mains Brooke chose the Confit Duck leg. This looked amazing on the plate and definitely a filling meal with the large portion size. It came with roasted beetroot, broccolini and balsamic.

 

 

For my mains I couldn't go past the gnocchi. If there's gnocchi on the menu I find it hard to choose other things. This gnocchi was served with a generous pile of mushrooms, spinach, brown butter and parmesan.

The gnocchi was nice and the portion size again was big, I couldn't finish it all! I polished off as much as I could, though.

After lunch the waiter asked us if we could be tempted with dessert; yes we could...and we did! So glad we did too, we ordered the churros to share and eagerly awaited it's arrival. Stewarts definitely delivered with this dessert beauty.

Fresh churros with dark chocolate dipping sauce cleverly poured into egg shells. We got stuck in straight away (after photos of course) and loved every bit of it!

Stewarts had been on my 'to try' list for a while and the visit was most definitely worth the wait. I'll be back here again and know I wont be disappointed!

Stewarts are also affiliated with the Entertainment Book, we used our gold card and received the relevant discount.

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Homestead Brewery for Breakfast

A few days into the new year we decided to try out Homestead Brewery for Breakfast. We had plans for later that day to head to Outback Splash at The Maze in Bullsbrook but realised it didn't open till 10am, an hour later than we thought. So my Hubby suggested a quick breakfast at Homestead and who was I to say 'no!'.

We've been here plenty of times already for a few drinks and some lunch/nibbles and have had breakfast on my 'list' to try for a while, that along with the Mandoon Estate Degustation Lunch or Dinner.

We arrived at about 9am and was surprised to find the place almost empty, with 2 other tables dining. I put this down to everyone still being on Christmas Holidays because I've heard this place isn't this quiet for breakfast on the weekends.

We grabbed some menus and decided to sit outside seeing as though it was going to be a nice day.

The waiter gave us enough time to decide on our drinks and we ordered our usuals; a Cappuccino and a Long Macchiato topped up.

 

Browsing through the menu you will find the 'usual suspects' being Bacon and Eggs, Eggs 'Benny' (a few ways) and Pancakes. Plus a few different items.

The coffee's were nice and smooth. No complaints...except that we didn't get take-aways for the road.

I had the Crispy Bacon and Eggs which came with a grilled field mushroom, tomato half and a slice of Sourdough Toast. The bacon was definitely crispy and my poached eggs were cooked to perfection. The sourdough toast could have done with some butter, so I piled my eggs on top.

Hubby had the Eggs Benedict which presented with 2 English muffins topped with ham, perfect poached eggs and 'that' sauce. The meal also came with the Homestead's 'Hashbrowns' which reminded me of little onion bhaji's.

They taste nothing like a bhaji but are crispy on the outside and soft and flavoursome on the inside. Thank goodness I had some of these on my plate too, because they were so tasty, I didn't want to share.

Our daughter had the Kids Pancakes (no surprise there) but wished there was more maple syrup! Perhaps a scoop of ice cream or cream would complete this cracker of a kids dish!?

So glad to cross a 'Homestead Breakfast' off my list today, it really is a great new place in the Swan Valley. We are locals and we probably are embarrassed to say how often we really do come here :-)

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Homestead Brewery at Mandoon Estate

We visited Homestead Brewery on the very first weekend they opened. It was a lovely warm day and we were greeted by a friendly staff member who gave us a quick run down of the Menu.

We started by having small tastings of the 4 Beers they had on tap. I chose to drink the Thunderbird IPA which went down very nice and didn't leave that heavy feeling in my stomach that I usually find with craft beers.

We took a seat on the veranda in the beautiful sun over looking the newly sprouting green vines whilst looking over the menu.

 

 

The menu is great, you can order some tapas and cheese platters to share with friends over a few drinks. Light and main meals are also available, kids meals and a pizza menu where the wood-fired pizzas are made using house-made dough.

Out the back they have a new, fully fenced playground with soft-fall and shade sails. The grassed area is huge, it has heaps of bench tables, is shady and is a great place to bring a picnic rug and sit under the trees or in the sun. The outdoor bar serve beer and wine to the grassed area and they also have a little deli to the left where you can purchase cheese platters and add some charcuterie meats and fresh baked rolls to your platter. Pizza's are also available here and come out in a take away box so its easy to dispose of.

 

 

 

 

 

The outside also backs onto the river which would be a great spot to tie up your Kayak or boat and walk up and grab a drink and a bite to eat. Just note that the Jetty there is Private and belongs to Sandalford!

After watching our daughter play on the playground for a bit we ventured back inside and walked past the Mandoon Estate Fine Dining Restaurant which was lovely and fancy, I'll be back to try this one day soon.

For lunch my daughter chose the kids Margherita Pizza and ate it all! Love the homemade dough.

I had the Pork and Fennel Tacos which were tasty, light and filling.

Hubby ordered the Fish and Chips and A friend had the Wagyu Burger on a Brioche Bun .

The meals came out within a reasonable time frame and were presented nicely. Next time I think ill try the Mussels, they sounded so good.

There's plenty of seating around the place, tables, lounges and picnic benches and if this place is bustling you'd still be able to grab a seat somewhere and enjoy a drink or 2 without feeling crowded.

Photo credit J Staniforth

 

 

They had a live band playing outside when we finished our lunch and it was so nice enjoying a glass of red whilst listening to classic Aussie live music.



Photo credit J Staniforth

Whilst inside looking through the glass walls at the shiny new brew tanks, we spotted a Taxi Phone. How great is that! And being not that far into the Valley I can probably guarantee you wont be waiting too long for a cab too.

We also had the General Manager come over and ask us how our food and general experience of the place was. After a little chat we told him we look forward to becoming regulars.

Homestead brewery at Mandoon Estate are open 7 days a week. No more wondering through the valley thirsty on a Monday/Tuesday, head on down here!

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Sitella Winery

Seeing as though we had a child-free day and night recently we decided to head out to the Swan Valley, conveniently located a 5 min drive away.

I've dined at Sittella Winery once before with my Mothers Group and remember the food, wine and service being exceptional.

We didn't have the chance to book, arrived just before 12pm and was able to be seated outside on the lovely veranda overlooking the vines and rolling land in the distance.

We chose a bottle of white, the 2013 Silk. "A blend of Verdelho, Chenin Blanc and Chardonnay, it produces a style as 'smooth as silk'" I'm no wine expert, I'm just typing from the bottle! :-)

It was a lovely easy to drink wine though, we ended up in the Cellar Door trying a few of the reds and purchased an extra bottle of Silk to take home.

Now onto the food! Grilled Chorizo, Roasted artichoke dip, lemon and sourdough bread to share for starters. The Roasted artichoke dip was hot and creamy...almost like melted cheese!

I chose the Market Fish of the Day which was Pink Snapper, with a creamy buttery risotto like rice, steamed veggies and a couple of prawns. The fish was cooked perfectly, lovely and tender and there was so much I did not eat it all!

Hubby opted for the Slow Cooked Pork Belly with Crisp cheek croquette, Sage potato dumpling, Smoked apple and Sweet & Sour red cabbage.

Being so full from my fish and with still a glass of wine to go, I waived the dessert menu whilst Hubby opted for a Short Macchiato.

The service & staff at Sittella are very friendly and unobtrusive, and with a Wine list that's quite full of their own locally made wine, its a great place to visit.

If you don't want to dine at Sittella you can simply try some wines in their Cellar Door, with helpful staff members to help you with your selection, and enjoy it in the little courtyard set up next to the Cellar Door.

When we finished we had a quick wonder through the amazing green gardens and vines.

There was also a grooms party gathering in the gardens for a wedding! A lot of couples use this beautiful setting and restaurant to get married and why not!

Sittella Winery
100 Barrett St, Herne Hill WA 6056
Ph 08 9296 2600
http://www.sittella.com.au/

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