Noods’ surprise bday trip to Hunter Valley part 3
hunter valley is the land of awesome wines and fabulous cheeses. and of course the storybook gardens!
after the mass intakes of cheese we played poker. matty lost first heh followed by me then noods and then it was down to mig and baz and in an epic battle baz was triumphant
feeling peckish noods and mig were sent to go find a branch to toast some marshmallows.
noods said he’d never toasted marshmallows before… poor boy such a sheltered childhood!
accidentally setting them on fire…
oh so very good =D
and because everyone was still full from dinner noods got his last surprise of the trip 5mins before midnight… heh happy birthday love!
a 1up mario mushroom chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting on half and white chocolate buttercream on the other
the pikers! matty dropped off to sleepland as soon as he was kicked off poker and stayed comatose on the floor
the next day boey wakes up bright and early and decides shes making us all breakfast aww so sweet thanks dude
heh my scrambled eggs are pink! leftover windsor red makes an appearance in my eggs
lol me (sans makeup sans brushing of hair) and leftover steak makes me feel like a carnivore YARM!
someone put the dessert wine in the freezer and forgot about it aw sadness no wine for breakfast!
noods playing with the hyper doggy
group shot after we checked out. because the timer on my camera is only 10seconds i ran and jumped over the bush and the doggy chased me thinking i was playing…
=D
then off to the hunter valley cheese co
where the lovely cheese lady was super generous with the cheese tastings
i seriously considered buying this cheese just because the wax was green…
baz likes cheese
after a little detour to mcguigan wines next door the boys are a little tipsy and start getting tired and choose to sit realll close to each other…
then we headed off to the blue tongue brewery cafe where noods and baz get a paddle with 6 shot glasses of different beers
and i get a girly fruit tingle
me lunch of steak sandwich plus cheese. bit of a disappointment comparing the meat with the awesome steakfest dinner
last winery for the day was at bimbagden estate where mig gleefully whispered that the spit bucket was the perfect height to pee in…
baz and noods love it here…
there be the vineyards!
we’ll be back!
the photo my dslr took of the sky as it fell because a helicopter landed nearby…
the blasted helicopter
and a last normal pic of our group
nearly time to leave we stopped off at the chocolate company near the hunter gardens
chocolates candy everywhere!
the awesome hot chocolate
Other:
noods’ surprise bday trip to hunter valley part 4
noods’ surprise bday trip to hunter valley part 1
noods’ surprise bday trip to hunter valley part 2
noods’ surprise bday trip to hunter valley part 3
Noods’ surprise bday trip to Hunter Valley Part 2
after lunch we visited pepper tree wines ooh pepper! the boys are thirsty and so […]
after lunch we visited pepper tree wines
ooh pepper!
the boys are thirsty
and so am i…
mr baz, me and matty
me and boey wait for the boys to finish tasting the manly wines before we get to the dessert wines…
da gang, several bottles of wine heavier
onto the smelly cheese shop in pokolbin!
there was so much cheese! a whole refrigerated room where racks stood crammed full of cheese wedges, wheels and slices not to mention the glass cabinets filled with even more cheese and cheerful ladies handing out samples oooh so tempting
miggie with his churros
a gelato sandwich! well really more like gelato in a bun…
cross section
why we eat gelato on the coldest day in winter is beyond me…
after the cheese buying we told noods we were going to hit one more vineyard before everything closed and then head home. not suspecting anything noods agreed and we followed behind bazs car to…
araluen mistletoe cottages! because we had 6ppl we got the loft and still noods had no idea. not even when we walked up the stairs. not even when he saw there was no wine tasting. not even when he saw the bedrooms. heh it was onli until he saw the bag of clothes id packed that he realised we were staying overnight
the awesome beds were so soft!
da kitchen that came decked out with oven, microwave, fridge plus plates and utensils and some brekkie stuff
lounge area with the hypnotic fireplace
mig and matty hard at work building the fire
baz takes a quick nap
while mig and noods start up the barbie
mmm meats
heh look at that monster of a ribeye!
boey displaying her pear…
group photo!
ah i love my tripod it means noone gets left out of photos!
baz washes up thanks baz!
the cheeses we bought from smelly cheese shop: truffle brie (tasted so salty! like vegemite hmpf), windsor red, smelly southern blue creamy mild, smelly’s triple cream brie, smelly’s camembert
i bought this cheese because it was pink…
it tasted like normal tasty cheese but with a teensy tiny hint of wine
Other:
noods’ surprise bday trip to hunter valley part 3
noods’ surprise bday trip to hunter valley part 4
noods’ surprise bday trip to hunter valley part 1
noods’ surprise bday trip to hunter valley part 2
leaving on a jet plane
thank you to all the lovely people who visited me at the new city market! […]
thank you to all the lovely people who visited me at the new city market! the weather was indeed horrid but it shant be like that all the time. i hope. and a big thank you to miss helen who marched from broadway for a 20min walk hike in the rain to visit on her lunch break. i may have rambled on a bit so thanks for listening to me rant =D
dudes im leaving the land of oz for a short holiday in malaysia aka land of the cheap clothes, cheap food and best of all the warm warm weather heh ill post the rest of the hunter valley trip while im gone but meanwhile take care of yourselves, visit zumbos new cafe when it opens next week, enjoy some mooncakes and ill be back soon!
Hawkesbury Harvest Farmers and Fine Food Market in the City of Sydney
heeey dudes! a new market is in town! The Hawkesbury Harvest Farmers and Fine Food […]
heeey dudes! a new market is in town! The Hawkesbury Harvest Farmers and Fine Food Market in the City of Sydney kicks off its first ever market 2moro!
When: Every Friday from 10am to 2.30pm
Where: The square at Cook + Phillip Park, College St, Sydney (right next to St Mary’s Cathedral)
Come visit me! Drop by during your lunch break and buy some biscuits! Or if anyone wants to come meet for coffee or something come forth humans!
edit: the markets are on rain, hail or shine! i know i know its such a dreary day bah!
Noods’ surprise bday trip to Hunter Valley part 1
the boy turned a quarter century on saturday and to celebrate i organised a surprise […]
the boy turned a quarter century on saturday and to celebrate i organised a surprise getaway to hunter valley with some high school friends. but being the super loving gf that i am (im still iffy on using the term fiance lol), i told noods that i had a market in hunter and he HAS to drive me heh =D
the sky it was preetty
heh noods giving me a pained smile. all week he was complaining ‘i dont want to drive 2 hours to go stand around selling biscuits!’
id told noods that before we went to the ‘market’ we’d stop and have lunch first. except then we got lost. so i had to ring mr baz and pretend i was talking to the restaurants reception and ask for directions…
Esca Bimbadgen (790 McDonalds Rd, Pokolbin) was fantastic with awesome food, extremely friendly service and looked so very impressive on the drive up.
i pushed noods into the restaurant towards our table and he thinks its a huge coincidence that our friends were there. with 2 empty seats. heh it took him a while to realise there was no market to go to.
i
noods and mr baz my partner in crime
boey with her trademark pose
mig ‘3rd string’ and me
matty likes his wine
and so do i
mmm matching wines for my entree, l-r: Bimbadgen Estate Semillion ’07, Bimbadgen Estate Pinot Gris ’08, Bimbadgen Estate Chardonay ’07
White Entree Tasting Plate ($32)
Gravlax of ocean trout with jerusalem artichokes, avocado, salmon roe & lemon caper dressing. bright and colourful, the thinly sliced cured ocean trout were delicious and the salmon roe fresh with briny salty goodness
Char grilled sumac calamari with couscous, preserved lemon, mint, almonds, yoghurt and harisssa. the calamari was so soft! absolutely nothing like its chewy, rubber band form that i normally associate it with.
Seared scallop with a fennel and saffron risotto. the fat, juicy scallop was cooked perfectly and he sat proudly atop a mound of tasty very moreish risotto
Sichuan spiced duck livers with a garlic chive pancake, smokey eggplant & a black vinegar dressing ($22). boey and mig shared this and i think they were glad they shared it cos it was huge and very rich!
Double baked gruyere souffle with an apple, walnut & chervil salad ($22). i wasnt feeling really hungry so i ordered an entree instead of a main and oh boy was it delicious! the souffle was soft and melty filled with cheesey goodness and went well with the refreshing apple salad
Salt & pepper barramundi with a cucumber, snake bean & lime salad ($36). noods ordered the aussie fish and while i found it a tad on the salty side he declared it tasty and cleaned off the whole plate
Quail ‘saltimbocca’ with roasted balsamic tomatoes & sage butter ($36).
Wood spit roasted duck with a braised witlof, ginger & mandarin ($36). the duck looks burnt but it was actually nicely caramelised and the skin was so delish!
Seared scallops with a fennel & saffron risotto ($36).
cheers! no dessert because we were a little pressed for time and wanted to hit some vineyards and cheese shops. we still hadnt told noods that we were staying overnight but instead told him we’d head back around dinner time to baz’s house.
because we wanted to surprise noods apparently baz did several laps around the carpark to find a space that wouldnt be in direct line of view of his distinctive numberplate and to be safe they even taped paper on the numberplate. heh the above foto was after lunch of noods pretending to be ditzy and not looking at baz as he ‘hides’.
Continued:
noods’ surprise bday trip to hunter valley part 2
noods’ surprise bday trip to hunter valley part 3
noods’ surprise bday trip to hunter valley part 4
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