A Birthday in Orange

A wonderful part of my Australian holiday was a birthday trip to see the beautiful VC in her new temporary home. A mere 3 hours drive away, Orange is blessed with a plethora of gorgeous wineries, cafes and one very fancy French restaurant. In the spirit of birthdays and being all together again we decided to indulge in them all.

TES, SS and I left Sunny Sydney with a bag full of Bourke Street Bakery goodies and an ipod full of classic tunes (let's all meet up in the year 2000!) and set off for our first destination, Mayfield Vineyard.

Mayfield Vineyard
Icely Road, Orange NSW 2800
http://www.mayfieldvineyard.com/

We trundled into Orange at dusk to our welcoming cottage the House of Pears. The cottage was stunningly beautiful and completely white set on the backdrop of endless vines and some very friendly geese. One of the many reasons I love my friends is that they always know how to put on the most delicious bounties of food. This night was no exception.

We collated our various foodie efforts, Sonoma bread bought previously from Sydney, a selection of local cheeses from Orange. Salted butter, perfectly fresh salmon and huge bitey Sicilian olives from the local deli washed down with a lot of champagne and culminating in some obligatory tipsy Magnetic Zeros dancing. A wonderful evening.

Phillip Shaw Vineyard
45 Caldwell Lane, Orange NSW
http://www.philipshaw.com.au/about.htm

Not a bad view

Our morning began at Byng Street Cafe for some top notch coffee and baked treats as we lined our stomachs for the wine tasting ahead. High on the agenda was a trip to Phillip Shaw Winery, known far and wide in these parts as one of the best vineyards in town.

What I love about wine tasting, apart from the free wine, is chatting to the makers and finding out loads of detail that you wouldn't normally get from simply ordering a bottle in a restaurant. We chatted to the owners about the psychedelic bottle design, the perfect cheese accompaniment and other local vineyards that were worth a visit.

The decor of Phillip Shaw is incredible, set in their huge kitchen with a sleepy dog lazing around we felt as though we had been invited over a friends house for an afternoon drinking session. To mark V's birthday the wine maker himself came out with a tray of homemade hot pasties and a big dollop of tomato sauce. Mmmm tasted just like home.

Lolli Redini
48 Sale Street, Orange NSW 2800
http://www.lolliredini.com.au/

With a little wobble in our step we retired back to the cottage to greet V's surprise guests and open a few special bottles of wine that we had purchased on our tour. It was now time to get ready for the pinnacle of our visit. A trip to Lolli Redini.

One of the many things I love about Australia is their multiple hatted restaurants that also happen to be pretty affordable. At $80 for their set menu this still to me represents a special treat but not one that will set you back your life savings when you compare UK places of comparable quality in London. Lolli Redini was renowned for being the best restaurant in town and also French, my favourite. I was extremely excited.

We were all seated on a lovely long table and began selecting our three courses. I just could not stay away from the house signature goats cheese souffle set off with a delicate celeriac and apple salad. Without hyperbole this was one of the most amazing mouthfuls of food I have ever had.

I would sell my soul for this souffle

For second course I selected the veal which was served medium rare with a beautiful pile of sauteed mushrooms and cabbage. How they got the mushrooms so tasty I will never know but I suspect a lot of butter was involved. My Italian friend MC indulged my suggestion to share a big scoopful of truffle mash which was like sex on a spoon (forgive my vulgarity).

Far from being taboo these days eating good quality and well sourced veal is actually encouraged, good old Jamie Oliver often suggests veal as an alternative option. Thanks to humane farming practises in good places I can sleep well at night knowing that my animal was not unfairly treated. For the vegetarians among us, my friend ordered squash with shards of salty Parmesan and a sprinkle of pine nuts. It looked and tasted delicious.

Delicious veggie option

In a rare twist my dessert was not that favourable, I selected figs three ways which included a fig mousse, fig ice cream and fresh fig with honey and toffee. It was a little rich and creamy and didn't offer enough textural difference. We chatted to the chef about it and he told us about the inclusion of truffle oil into the mousse which is not to every body's taste. I spotted my friend SS's passion fruit souffle and had food envy. We decided to drink local opting only for wine from the local vineyards. We started with a bottle of Phillip Shaw's fizz that we had sampled earlier and some beautiful mellow Merlot and crisp Chardonnay.

Souffle envy

It was the perfect end to a perfect birthday. As the sun set and I had to undo my belt 3 notches I felt warm and fuzzy and overwhelmingly lucky to be in such a beautiful location, eating such incredible food with such amazing kind people.

With a lump in my throat saying goodbye for now to a wonderful friend it was time to leave. Goodbye Orange, it was lovely to meet you.