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Whenever Christina and I head to the Hunter Valley, we struggle with two main questions — obviously after ‘where shall we stay?’ and ‘where do we stop for a road-trip pie?’

Question One is generally: ‘which Hunter Valley wineries should we visit this time?’ Question Two is: ‘Where do we have dinner?’

The first question comes from a place of pure overwhelm, of over-abundance. We have so many favourite wineries and there are still so many we haven’t visited yet, we don’t know where to go first.

The second question is quite the opposite.

Apart from a few delicious stalwarts – the likes of Esca at Bimbadgen, Tower Lodge’s restaurant, the hearty feasts of the Blaxland Inn – it can be a bit tricky to find a place for dinner somewhere that’s not a winery, hotel or pub.

That’s where Lucia Roche Estate not only fits perfectly, it dominates.

Right in the heart of Pokolbin, a stone’s throw from several wineries and putting distance to the excellent Aqua Golf in the Hunter Valley Gardens (and close to our hotel), Lucia takes up one of the permanent pavilion buildings at Roche Estate. 

Once the home of Tempus Two, this icon of the Hunter is now an entertainment precinct with cellar doors for McGuigan Wines and Tempus Two, with more dining and drinking options still to come.

Lucia Roche Estate, Pokolbin

We approach the impressive crescent row of angled roofs that make up the pavilions of Roche Estate and take in the views over the vast lawn lines of grapevines.

From the road, this space looks a bit like a secret bunker, its low-impact design seeming to flatten itself into the landscape. From here on the deck though, the precinct feels elevated and open. On the grass in front, a great big grey kangaroo takes his evening meal. 

We second the motion and turn to the doors of Lucia, flung open and welcoming.

We’re quickly seated by Lucia’s manager, John Samway, and he walks us through the menu, starting with a signature cocktail.

Christina’s Sicilian Sunset – a riff on a Paloma with tequila, Aperol, blood orange – is refreshing and delicious. Mine is a margarita with a clever Italian twist: tequila and fresh lime but with the addition of limoncello that gives the drink extra punch and a lot more flavour. 

Think I’ll be borrowing this one over the summer.

While we’re working our way through our cocktails, our food comes out and, thanks to John’s guidance, it’s exactly what we’re hoping for. 

To Start With

In keeping with the drinks (and Lucia’s obvious lean towards modern Mediterranean/Italian fare), entrees are billed as antipasti, which I think is much more correct. 

There are three choices of bread; the first two – focaccia and sourdough – you can ignore, but the third is the house ‘pillow bread’, which is a must for anyone coming here.

A bit like the famed puffy bread of Totti’s, Lucia’s pillow bread – cooked in the kitchen’s impressive stone wood-fired oven – puffs up with air and collapses when you cut into it. The difference to Totti’s is this bread is actually tasty and has a wonderful soft texture. 

We use it to mop up and demolish the various antipasti plates set before us: rich wagyu bresaola, tender prosciutto, delicate whipped ricotta, morish pesto Genovese and – best of all – spicy, meaty house-made nduja.

As he sets this last one down, John gives the best commentary of the situation: 

“You know what you’re getting into,” he smiles. “Get the pillow bread, the nduja, slide a bit of wine over the top of it. Beautiful.”

We follow his instructions to a tee. And speaking of wine, we’re treated to some belters.

The list – apart from a couple of French Champagnes – is completely Hunter Valley. At last! Somewhere that takes advantage of its own provenance.

We make the most of the situation, relishing the virtues of Lisa McGuigan’s Pinot Grigio (she’s sat at the table next to us with some friends by the way) and the superb Reserve Chardonnay from Silkman Wines.

From the Oven

Next, John brings us out one of the kitchen’s specialities from the wood-fired oven: a Napolitano-style pizza. Topped with roast pumpkin, goat’s cheese and crispy sage, this is a delicate sweet treat that works well after the substantial flavours of the antipasti.

But it’s the base that’s the real hero in this pizza. 

The middle is tender and thin but structurally sound while the crust is puffy, crunchy and somehow chewy at the same time. Move over Gigi’s, this is the real deal.

We mention this to John, who nods and smiles modestly. He mutters something about the dough being between 70-75% hydrated and makes a humble exit, returning with more superb Hunter wine.

From the Grill… Kind Of

Lucia also has a few share plate options for mains that deserve special attention. My attention is drawn to the pork and fennel meatballs – partly because I’m a sucker for polpette, but also because this dish is $38 for four. They’re going to be pretty good meatballs! 

I also have my eye on the beef cheek for obvious reasons.

The one dish we’re not too fussed about is the one that John presents to us and I’m so glad he did. The somewhat undersold “300g wagyu rump steak” is in fact a perfectly sous vide slab of exquisite beef cooked until all that wonderful fat has rendered then reabsorbed, and the protein structure has completely broken down. The result is a steak that cuts with a spoon and has a dense, silken texture.

The red wine reduction is so dark it’s almost molasses. The side fries stands no chance as we mop up every drop.

Hunter Valley wine, again is a hero here. We’re talking a beautiful Barbera from the Little Wine Company and Andrew Thomas’ wonderful Synergy Shiraz.

To Finish

By now, we’re full, but there’s one last hand to play. John deals the ace in his sleeve: a sticky apple and cinnamon pudding with a sambuca butterscotch sauce and vanilla gelato. 

Again, it’s a dish I would have (and probably should have) walked past, but it’s simply sensational. Rich, yet not overbearing, sweet but not immobilising and the sambuca adds spice rather than potency.

Lucia Roche Estate

It feels like the Hunter has been crying out for a place like this. If ‘homely fine-dining’ were a thing, it’s the way I’d describe Lucia. It’s unpretentious, but at the same time there’s incredible skill in the kitchen. 

Front of house is the same. And the decor, which is full of beautiful little details, completes the look. 

With samples of art deco, speakeasies and Italian trattorias everywhere, and expensive soft furnishings and drapery filling the gaps, Lucia is, simply put, a lovely place to come for dinner.

There’s something about a venue “not trying to be anything” but actually being everything in that same breath. 

We dined as media guests of Roche Estate, but our experiences and opinions remain our own.

Let Us Guide You Through The Hunter

The Hunter Valley, Australia’s oldest wine region, is full of great wineries to visit, great wines to drink stunning scenery.

And there’s plenty more besides wine and views here too. Wonderful restaurants, fun activities, great hotels… and we cover a lot of this here in our latest stories from the Hunter!

Where to Stay in The Hunter Valley

There’s so much to explore in the Hunter Valley it almost makes us sad when we hear people only visit for the day. Staying even just one night in the valley lets you do so much more.

The only problem with that is where to stay in the Hunter.

Here are our latest reviews on Hunter Valley hotels, villas, cottages and tiny houses!

Where to Stay on the Secret Side of The Hunter Valley

As Australia’s oldest wine region, the Hunter Valley is always a popular destination. But those in the know don’t just stop at Pokolbin; they carry on to Broke-Fordwich. And here’s where to stay. Sign up to our free newsletter here for more travel inspiration. You also get your own copy…

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Where To Stay In The Hunter Valley—The Lane Retreat by Bimbadgen

Hidden from all but the ducks on the dam and the roos in the vines, the Lane Retreat is perfect for a romantic getaway in the Hunter Valley, one of Australia’s best wine regions. We arrive the property just off Palmers Lane in Pokolbin keen for our long weekend of…

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How To Find The Best Place To Stay In The Hunter Valley

Looking for where to stay in the Hunter Valley—NSW’s premier wine region—can be a bit of a slog. There are plenty of options here, but knowing which one is best suited to your stay is tricky. But this site has you covered. Plus, read on for a special Weekenda booking…

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Where To Stay In The Hunter Valley – Tower Lodge and Sebastian Restaurant, Pokolbin

Staying somewhere beautiful is always going to lift your travel experience to a different dimension. And although there are plenty of luxury accommodation options in the Hunter Valley, Tower Lodge and its five suites will elevate your stay in NSW’s premier wine region. Set amongst the vines and rolling lawns…

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The post Where to Eat in The Hunter Valley, NSW — Lucia Roche Estate appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

Sign up to our free newsletter here for more travel inspiration. You also get your own copy of our travel ebook — it’s on us!

With its pristine coastline and friendly, low-key vibe, Hua Hin is a wonderful place to make the most of Thailand’s culture and beaches that are often hidden behind party crowds and tourist traps.

Perhaps Hua Hin owes it’s relaxed subtle nature to the fact that this region is a favourite summer retreat for the Thai royal family, who have been coming here for over a century. 

While you can drive down to Hua Hin from Bangkok in as little as two and half hours (weather and traffic permitting), and you can even fly into Hua Hin’s chill little airport. 

But as with much of travel, it’s the getting there that makes a destination.

Either hiring a car yourself or – even better – booking a driver to take you south, the road to Hua Hin has plenty to see and do along the way, making a utilitarian drive something much more interesting.

Where to Stop Between Bangkok and Hua Hin

You can either pack your drive full of all these ideas or just cherrypick one or two. We did some of these on the way down and some on the way back to Bangkok, which broke up the drive nicely.

Here’s a map with each location pinned for your convenience.

Mae Klong Railway Market

About an hour from Bangkok, the Mae Klong Railway Market (also known as Talat Hup Rom – Umbrella-Folding Market – and also Talat Siang Tai – the Life-Risking Market!) is famous for its unusual location.

Seven times a day, the market is disrupted by a train that passes right through the middle of it. The stallholders pull in their displays and awnings to allow the locomotive to roll through. 

Visitors also have to duck inside the stall behind the (very faded) red line that marks where the train reaches. The carriages pass so close, you can high-five the passengers as they lean out the windows of the train.

We recommend going earlier, which is perfect if you’re planning on doing this on your way out from Bangkok.

You can read more about the Mae Klong Railway ‘Knock-Down’ Market in our full story here.

Tham Khao Luang Cave Temple

About 50 minutes from Maeklong Railway Market and only another hour on to Hua Hin, Wat Tham Kao Luang is an underground temple hidden in a massive cave that cuts deep into a mountain on the outskirts of Phetchaburi town. 

Inside the cave, you can see an enormous collection of Buddha images and statues that date as far back as the mid-1300s and the Ayutthaya Period. 

But it’s the hole in the roof of the cave that creates the greatest spectacle. Allowing a beam of sunlight down onto the cave floor, this hole creates the most unbelievable sight surrounded by the gleaming gold of Buddhist icons.

The best time to see the sunlight coming into the cave is mid-morning, which works well with your itinerary – provided you don’t dillydally at the markets!

Read more about this fascinating place in our write-up here.

Pae Yuan Restaurant

One of the most unexpected delights of our Bangkok-Hua Hin road trip was finding Pae Yuan Restaurant.

From the moment you come to the long driveway to the restaurant, you can tell this isn’t your average roadside diner. 

Garages are full of vintage cars and signs, there’s an old train carriage and even a full-size vintage Ferris wheel stands outside the entrance. Guarding the restaurant is a giant statue of the Incredible Hulk.

The restaurant is in an enormous barn-like building, which houses even more eclectic oddments. Down one side is a row of stalls made up to look like shops selling all kinds of things that spark nostalgia. 

Owner Surachai Kaewmak has been collecting these things for decades, decorating his restaurant  that he’s been running since around 2003. 

The restaurant used to be a local primary school, making Pae Yuan Restaurant not only old-school but indeed an old school.

Food-wise, the very reasonably priced menu includes things specific to the area, celebrating Petchaburi’s local dishes, though everything we ate here was delicious.

If you’re here for lunch, make sure you get here reasonably early. It’s a big space, but it fills up with locals and visitors quickly.

Suan Tan Lung Thanom – Uncle Thanom’s Palm Garden

Still a fully functioning farm, Suan Tan Lung Thanom grows toddy palms, where the iconic palm sugar comes from that’s used in many Thai dishes. Petchaburi Province is known for its toddy palm sugar.

Visitors can come here and see how the crops are harvested in the traditional way, with farmers climbing up the tall trees to begin the lengthy, laborious effort of extracting the sugar.

Uncle Thanom, a village headman, started this project to preserve the traditional ways of toddy palm growing. When he sadly died, his son Amnat has continued his father’s work and leads visitors through the process.

You can also buy delicious palm sugar sweets made here on the farm.

We recommend coming to Suan Tan Lung Thanom with a guide who can speak Thai to fully appreciate the experience.

Hua Hin Night Market

Once you arrive in Hua Hin, the fun doesn’t stop there – and neither should your adventure. 

Check in to your hotel and relax, then – once the sun’s gone down – venture out into Hua Hin town. Running around 700m of Dechanuchit Road, Hua Hin Night Market houses hundreds of stalls selling all kinds of things, from food to clothes and souvenirs.

It’s well worth taking your time and perusing the stalls, picking up a snack or two and maybe finding dinner in one of the many restaurants on the street along the way.

As the market gets busier and the street fills with people, you get the chance to slow down and absorb the atmosphere; the colours and sounds of this thronging, happy marketplace.

Hua Hin Night Market’s stalls open at 5pm and close a 11pm.

Let Us Guide You Through Thailand

Thailand really is a traveller’s dream. There’s so much to see and do here. Every time we visit, Christina and I are surprised by something new.

From this page, you can explore the heady bustling streets of Bangkok, likes of Phuket and Krabi – the paradise islands south, the historic riverlands of western Thailand and their involvement in WWII, and north to the mountains of Chang Mai, where the Karon people live on the edges of the Himalayas.

We’ve got guides on hotels, food, itineraries, history and how-tos throughout this wonderful country.

Favourite Stories From Thailand

We love going to Thailand and have plenty to share with you when it comes to the Land of Smiles. It’s such a fantastic destination.

Here are some of our favourite stories and guides from the various trips we’ve had there.

The Road to Hua Hin – where to stop from the capital to the coast

Driving between Bangkok and Hua Hin can take just two and a half hours if you do it in one big hit, but where’s the fun in that? Here are our favourite stops along the way that break up the drive, but also show you a side to Thailand that…

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The Ultimate Thai Experience – 276m above Bangkok

Taking up the top three levels of the lofty OCC in Lumphini, Akara Sky Hanuman is a multi-sensory immersion into Thai history, culture, geography and food. Here’s what to expect from the world’s first and highest rooftop Thai cultural experience. Bangkok is full of surprises. Down a dingy alley, you…

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Where To Stay On Thailand’s Royal Coast

Long-time favourite of the Thai royal family, Hua Hin is now a popular beachside retreat for discerning travellers as well as Thailand’s elite. Here’s where to stay in Hua Hin to make you feel like royalty without it costing a king’s ransom. Hua Hin has a long history as a…

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Stay in this All-Suite Hotel in central Bangkok

If you’re trying to pick where to stay in Bangkok and you’re looking for a central location, incredible service and beautiful, luxurious rooms, this all-suite hotel in Lumphini ticks the boxes. Bangkok is one of the most visited cities globally and often ranks in the top three in the world…

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The post The Road to Hua Hin – where to stop from the capital to the coast appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

Christina and I talk all the time about these Flavour Of The Month stories and how much we love them.

They take probably more time and effort than most of the content we create, but they’re always worth it. There are a couple of reasons why we love them so much; partly it’s so we have the chance to think about all the stuff that’s happened over the month, but they also work as a kind of miniature google.

We can search our lives thanks to these posts.

And this month has been so full of the good stuff, if I hadn’t written this all up, there’s no way we’d be able to remember it all.

So here it is: a very busy little October!

Cheers – Jim & Christina xx

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Anyone For Tennis?

My mates Brett and Frenchie have been at me for a while to come down to their tennis club, so I’ve finally found the time this Saturday to make my way over to Marrickville District Lawn Tennis Club to see what all the fuss is about.

It turns out this is not only one of the last grass-pitch tennis courts left in Sydney, it’s also where current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hits his balls. So to speak.

It’s a charming spot with a lovely old-school bar run by club-member volunteers and is just as much about the sport as it is the social side. And just as I like it, there’s almost as much tennis played as beers sunk.

It’s not until we look outside that we discover Sydney’s being hit by one of the biggest supercell storms it’s seen in a long time!

There is a little bit of tennis happening, even though the grass surfaces are just a bit too wet to play on. Justin and Frenchie show off their serves and I get in the lineup for a sporting photo.

Frenchie kindly uses his AI skills to make me look a bit better adorned for the shot – this is about as close as I’ll come to playing though I think. My skills are better suited to the bar.

But thank you for your hospitality, gents. I can see why you love this place so much.

Time For A Barbecue

Whenever our friend Nim puts the call out for a barbecue round his place, everyone drops whatever plans they have and come running like mice to the piper. His parties are always off the charts.

Nim’s favourite thing to do at the moment is to take a whole load of rump cap steaks (picaña), skewer them on a metal spike and roast them over charcoal.

I wholly encourage his obsession.

New-Look Surry Hills Brewery

This afternoon, we’re back at Sydney Brewery’s Surry Hills campus after quite the hiatus. We came here back in July 2020 with our friend Peter Hook, who was showing us how it had been renovated… with immaculate timing to coincide with Covid.

Since then, the brewery has had another facelift and is looking better than ever.

We’re here to celebrate this new look and my goodness, what a party. There’s a sushi station where a gentleman is cutting fresh sashimi, there’s an enormous charcuterie board that must run the best part of four metres, there’s a cocktail bar, a taco counter – and of course, all the beer you can shake a stick at.

Peter also discovers the oyster table where they’re shucking fresh oysters from Merimbula, and you know how much we love rock oysters from Merimbula, Pambula and the Sapphire Coast!

While we’re filling ourselves to the point of oblivion, we have the pleasure to meet the Albion Street site’s head brewer Danielle McDonald. Smart as a whip (but much friendlier), Danielle is the brains behind the bespoke beer for this relaunch, and it’s a belter.

Sydney Brewery has many venues now – here in Surry Hills, Alexandria, the Hunter Valley and of course in Rozelle. Make sure you check them all out!

Old Friends Catch Up

This evening has been a long time in the making. This is my friend Lloyd, who I’ve been friends with longer than anyone else in Australia. I met him in 2000 – before I’d found Christina – when we worked in the same office.

It was an instant friendship and we’ve semi-stayed in touch over the years.

I bumped into him in town one afternoon (it turns out that was ten years ago almost to the day) and we promised we’d catch up for a beer. Well, today’s the day.

We spend the whole night chatting and drinking, we both forget to eat anything and we go our separate ways knowing this is just the beginning of a rekindled friendship that should’ve happened years ago.

Isn’t it nice when things like that happen?

Muay Thai Comes To Sydney

Since our last trip to Thailand a couple of months ago, when Christina and I went to our first ever live Muay Thai fight in the illustrious hallowed grounds of Rajadamnern Stadium – the home of Muay Thai, we’ve been hooked.

So when the lovely people at the Tourism Authority of Thailand reached out with an invitation to a championship fight card, we were no-holds-barred in. Even when we found out the venue was almost an hour away!

When we arrive, we’re impressed to discover the hotel – the William Inglis Hotel in Warwick Farm – has gone all out for this fight night. And even better, we’re ring-side! And even better than that: this is a dinner-and-a-show kind of deal!

The fight card is full of amazing athletes, each and every one of them leaving nothing in the ring. There’s blood, there are knock-outs, there’s music, the crowd are loud and fully into it.

The evening is called The Road to Rajadamnern 1774 – where Muay Thai was first formulated into a professional sport and recognised as a true martial art.

It’s quite surreal to be enjoying a rich, opulent slow-cooked beef cheek with creamy parmesan polenta or pan-roasted chicken breast with cavalo nero and pomme anna while, just metres away, two people are kicking and punching seven bells out of one another.

It’s a full fight card and the bouts are incessant. It’s a brilliant night and not just from a sporting or gourmand’s perspective; we get to catch up with some of our wonderful friends from Tourism Thailand.

These ladies are great, and earlier we got to chat to with Khun Pop, the head of the tourism board, the Thai Consul-General Naruchai Ninnad, and our old friend and colleague Ohm Ayutthya.

A New Dessert Recipe

So I’ve got a new pen friend. It’s been a while – I think the last one was when I was seven and he was a German boy called Hans. He was quite dull.

This new contact is a wonderful nonagenarian from Australia called Jacqui.

She’s a long-time friend of Christina’s family and has recently moved from Sydney up to Queensland, but we’ve discovered a shared passion for cooking. The difference is she’s actually good at it and has some banging recipes.

This is one of her recipes that I’ve tried and it’s not only bloody delicious, it’s despicably easy.

It’s supposed to be a raspberry cake, but I happened to have an abundance of blackberries in the freezer, so I threw them in instead. Jacqui didn’t mind at first, but now she’s hounding me to try the recipe in its original form. I fear I may have drawn her ire.

Hunter Valley Comes To Sydney

Every year, the beautiful beach and park at north Sydney’s Balmoral fills with the sounds, sights and wines of the Hunter Valley.

This is Hunter Valley Uncorked Balmoral, where some of the best wineries in the Hunter Valley come to Sydney to show off their work and allow us lazy city slickers into the wonderful world of Australia’s oldest wine region.

It’s been raining on and off all week, but today is turning out to be one of those classic early Sydney spring afternoons.

We’ve been fans of the Hunter for years now and always try to make it to these festivals – if for no other reason than supporting our friends like the Scarboroughs and the Silkmans. And to drink wine of course.

We’re excited to see the Oyster Girls here too. This is one of the best party ideas around: The Oyster Girls roam the event shucking oysters to order. The girls are stuck behind a desk today, but their shucking skills and the freshness of the oysters are still unimpeachable.

Check out more of our stories from the beautiful Hunter Valley here. You’ll find winery recommendations, itineraries, places to stay and things to do in Australia’s first wine region.

Travel Writers – Assemble!

After mooching around Balmoral and enjoying the wonderful wines of the Hunter Valley, we head back to the Inner West to the Marrickville bar Doom Juice to catch up with some of our awesome friends from the travel writing industry.

It’s rare to even get one travel writer to stay still long enough to have a drink with them and we’ve somehow managed to find three!

Jess Lockhart, who’s NZ based, is in Sydney for a hot minute, and Steve Madgwick and Kate Hennessy are home straight off a long-haul from the States. They’re all doing amazingly well and are in fine form – though we’re also coming in after spending the day at a wine festival, so maybe we’re all just on the same page!

It’s great to see these guys though. Amazing company and a fun venue too.

Unlikely Champions

You might not know this about me, but I’ve been playing futsal with the same team since 2005. We’ve won our fair share of games and championships over the years, but while we’ve got older, the other teams haven’t.

Playing 25-year-olds at five-a-side football isn’t recommended, especially when you’re in your late 40s and mid-50s. It’s been a tough season this time round; we’ve only won a couple of games. Tonight, however, is a different story.

Somehow, last week, we were in the semi-finals of the comp and we didn’t think we stood much of a chance – until the other team pulled out and we won by forfeit. We now find ourselves in the unexpected position of being in the Grand Final!

I mentioned this is a five-a-side tournament. As you can see there are only four of us. If age wasn’t enough of an issue, four old blokes against what turned out to be about seven 25-year-olds looking lean and eager.

We’re not feeling very confident.

But we warm up, kick the ball around and wait for kick off. And wait. And wait. The referee meanwhile is have a long conversation with the other team, who are becoming increasingly animated.

Eventually the ref comes to us with the news: none of the other team have any shinguards. He won’t let them play.

We win by default!

We play a friendly against them (and lose 3-0), but the trophy is ours. And what a trophy: a pair of football socks that are about 12 sizes too small. But it’s the win that matters.

And then the referee comes over to us again.

“I’ve got some more good news for you guys,” he grins. “We’ve got more teams coming into the competition for next season, so we’ve created another division and your team’s going into it. Hopefully, you’ll get a few more wins under your belt now.”

He means it affectionately, but his words still sting a little. Also (and I don’t think this has ever happened to any team in any sport or code in history before) it means that we – major premiers, the winners of the grand final – have taken home the trophy, but have also been relegated!

Go figure.

Welcome To Wine Island!

Christina and I are very excited about this afternoon’s event. We’re going on The Island – a very cool two-storey pontoon with a full kitchen and wet bar – for a wine launch party!

Our hosts, Calabria Belena Wines, have some exciting news to celebrate.

We hop on the tender at the Man O’ War Steps next to the Opera House and zip across Farm Cove to the awaiting Island, where we’re welcomed with a glass of wine. This is going to be a fun party.

Soon enough, the food starts coming round – all kinds of delicious oddments that pair beautifully with Belena’s Prosecco, Pinot Grigio, Rosé, Sangiovese and Shiraz.

There’s also a tarot reader here. We get in early and just as well; this lady is in high demand.

Christina’s reading goes well – it looks like she has a good year coming up. I, however, have a less promising future. One of the more prominent cards I pull from the pack is the Holocaust card. Not a good start, is it. It turns out I have dark forces working against me: someone close to me is trying to take me down!

It doesn’t put a dampener on the festivities, but I’m certainly looking behind me as I reach for another splendid glass of Belena!

There are all sorts of things happening on The Island this afternoon. There are talented caligraphers customising bottles of wine for people, there’s what I can only describe as a bell service wine glory hole (ring the bell and a hand emerges from a hole in the wall with a glass of rosé) and there’s also this guy.

Piping your choice of filling into freshly made cannoli and dipping it in your favourite topping, Cannoli Messina is a masterstroke.

If you’re having a Christmas party this year, I reckon this (and the Sydney Oyster Girls) is the absolute baller option.

When the party’s in full swing, the DJ hits pause on the decks so that the formalities can be addressed.

Up steps Andrew Calabria, head honcho of Calabria Family Wines who we heard from last month at Woolloomooloo. Belena Wines are part of the Calabria Family Wines group you see, and Andrew tells us more about the big announcement.

Adding to their portfolio of wines, Belena is about to release their small-format bottles. Look how cute they are!

These 200ml bottles of Rosé, Pinot Grigio and Moscato will be on the market by January ’27 right in time to set the summer alight.

You can also get a personalised full-size bottle of Belena now by buying two bottles, retaining your proof of purchase and filling in the form here. It’s a pretty cool Christmas present – just saying.

Backgammon And Wine

Talking of Calabria Belena Wine, we happen to have a bottle of their Pinot Grigio in the house, so Christina and I have taken advantage of a quiet afternoon to pop down to our garden, splash a drop in our glass and have a few games of backgammon.

It’s one of our favourite ways to while away a few hours and, I think you’ll agree, a pretty good life choice!

Birthday Golf and Chinese Food

This evening, we’re back out in Marrickville, though not with travel writers and not at an avant garde wine bar.

We’re at Scratch indoor golf centre for our brother-in-law David’s birthday. This place is amazing. You can play any of the professional golf courses around the world, there are clubs you can hire that are actually good and there’s a very reasonably priced bar too.

For members, this place is open 24 hours!

We have a hit then head out for dinner at the Bob Hawke Beer and Leisure Centre and its excellent Chinese restaurant the Lucky Prawn. Food here is all the stuff you used to enjoy from your little suburban takeaway when you were a kid, though genuinely tasty.

Also, their deep-fried ice cream is in fact a whole salted caramel viennetta.

Happy birthday, David. Hope you had a great day. We sure did!

Regatta Of Tugboats

Today is one of the biggest days in the Balmain calendar: it’s the Balmain Regatta!

Our friend Michael is the head of the Workboat Convoy, the element of the regatta where all kinds of utility vessels (and a few pleasure craft too) join in a parade through the harbour.

Michael is the owner of not one, not two, but three old-school ships. Usually, we’re on his personnel boat 401, but today we’re on his beautiful old tugboat Sydport.

We load up with wine, beer and snacks, say goodbye to Schultz the doberman and hop aboard.

It’s always a good day when you’re bobbing around Sydney Harbour, but when you’re part of a mighty armada like this, pouring around Fort Denison, past the Opera House and under the majestic Harbour Bridge, it’s a bloody great day.

The Balmain Regatta is Australia’s oldest sailing regatta, which first ran in 1849.

After last year, when a massive tanker barged its way through the convoy and halted the race back to the sailing club, Michael was granted a compete pause on all shipping through the western part of the waterway.

Pretty cool move.

We motor triumphantly through Port Jackson to the mouth of the Parramatta River, drinks flowing food a-plenty.

We finally disembark at the Balmain Sailing Club, plant ourselves in the park and get stuck into the live music and the bar. We also meet life-member and BSC stalwart Tommy Richardson at his rightful place by his bar overlooking the festivities.

It’s a cracker of a day, especially by the time Christina and Amy crack their last bottle of rosé.

Soon though, the weather finally turns its nose up at our get-together and throws some rain into the mix. We all pack up and head for the hills. Or the pub as it’s better known.

We Head To The Hunter Valley

This morning, Christina and I are hitting the road and heading north to the Hunter Valley. As you probably know, we love the Hunter. The landscape is stunning, the people are great and the wine is excellent.

For more of our stories on the Hunter Valley, click here.

A Spot Of Golf… ish

We arrive in the region right on lunchtime, so we stop in for a cheeky pie at Ben Ean Patisserie and Deli. I chuck down one of their cheeseburger pies like it’s time to go and Christina enjoys her chunky steak pie too.

We get to our hotel – the Mercure Hunter Valley Gardens – drop our bags and head to our first port of call: the Hunter Valley Aqua Golf and Putt Putt Centre. Neither of us has tried aqua golf before, but we’re so hooked, we get another bucket of balls!

Similar to a driving range accept over a lake, the idea is you hit golfballs into nets scattered across the water in the hope of winning a prize. There are things like a free ice cream or a bucket of balls to win and even a cash prize, though that’s right in the middle of the lake and target is very small!

Christina manages to land one in the ‘free drink’ net though, which is very impressive.

We then move onto crazy golf and spend a very enjoyable 45 minutes putting. Back in the day, we used to hunt out putt putt courses when we were travelling. This reminded us just how much fun we used to have. Bring back the putt putt I say!

A Spot Of Dinner

We head back to the Mercure Hunter Valley Gardens, clean up (putting is sweaty work!) and head to Harrigan’s Irish pub for a couple of happy hour beers. We’re tempted by the menu, but we’ve promised ourselves dinner at the Blaxland Inn.

The best part about staying at the Mercure here is it’s walking distance to both pubs and a host of other wineries.

We haven’t been to the Blaxland Inn for a few years, and that was for the First Fire Festival, so it’s good to be back here on a regular night to try the food. Mondays and Tuesdays have a locals’ menu, where you can have two courses for $54 or three courses for $64.

We get cracking with a plate of sticky pork belly, which is superb, then Christina hits the 250g black angus rump while I’m tempted by the sheer quantity of the 400g panko crumbed chicken schnitzel.

Dessert is a shared choc chip skillet cookie, which is surprisingly good. And for wine, we go for the outstanding Andrew Thomas Synergy Semillon.

Top marks all round, Blaxland Inn! Wonderful service and delicious, satisfying food.

A Spot Of Wine-Tasting

Today, we head out on the wine-tasting trail. Our first stop is to our old favourite Scarborough Wines. We’ve been friends with the Scarborough family for years now and their wines are all awesome. We only meant to come and pick up a bottle of their newly released Tempranillo, but they’re out of stock.

We end up doing a full tasting, which is lovely and very enjoyable. We leave with a bottle of late-harvest Semillon and order the Tempranillo for delivery.

Next is the Wine House. It’s recently changed hands and we’re keen to see how new owners Kylie and Matt White are doing. It’s a lovely venue, and there are some big plans afoot. The Whites are aiming to continue the work of the previous owners, showcasing smaller, less-known wineries and ones that aren’t big enough to have their own cellar door.

Currently, there are three set tastings you can do here (though you can make up your own as well):

• Discover the Hunter, which is the kind of entry level tasting
• Silkman Tasting, which leads you through one of the most exciting and talented wine-makers in the region
• Valley Rising Tasting, which shows off some of the young winemakers who don’t have an outlet yet

So pop in to the Wine House and try a tasting here and learn about the incredible depth that the Hunter has in its wines.

Our last stop of the day is at Roche Estate for a tasting at the now combined cellar doors of McGuigan’s and Tempus Two.

This is a wonderful space, especially the members’ lounge, which is tucked away by the bar. The indefatigable Caitlin leads us through some of the two wineries’ finest drops and teaches us so many things about the region. She’s an absolute gun and very funny too.

Lucia for A Superb Dinner

This evening is the main event: dinner at the newly opened Lucia Roche Estate. Just next door to the McGuigan and Tempus Two tasting room, this is one of the few restaurants in Pokolbin that’s not attached to a winery or hotel.

With an eye firmly on Mediterranean – and in particular Italian – cuisine, Lucia also boasts well-crafted cocktails from its beautiful bar, wood-fired dishes from its impressive stone oven and local wines from the Hunter across its brilliantly curated list.

The food is elevated but approachable, the service is relaxed yet professional and the decor is highly considered with so many details that you only start realising after you’ve been here for some time.

Manager and licensee John Samway leads us through a few of his favourite dishes and wines, all of which are simply brilliant. The Hunter has been calling out for a place like this for ages and here it is.

For entree, we’re treated to the restaurant’s pillow bread and antipasti of wagyu bresaola, prosciutto, whipped ricotta, pesto and ‘nduja. The pillow bread is like the ones they serve at Totti’s, but way better.

We move onto pizza – a beautifully balanced pumpkin, chevre and sage affair with an excellent crust. Move over Gigi’s. You’ve got no idea.

Next is a dish that neither of us thought much of on paper, but when it comes out we’re truly wowed. A 300g sous vide wagyu rump in a red wine jus that’s so reduced and intense it’s almost black. The steak has been so well-cooked it cuts with a spoon and has rendered so much that it has an almost pate texture. The chips do well to mop things up before a dessert of sticky apple and cinnamon pudding with gelato finishes us off.

As for the wines, they’re all perfectly picked by John, but the Silkman Reserve Chardonnay and the Andrew Thomas Synergy Shiraz are top of the list.

It’s a wonderful meal and a Hunter Valley venue we’ll be recommending for a long time to come.

Well, that’s it. A lot of stories for you – we hope you’ve enjoyed them all. If you have, please let us know in the comments. If you haven’t, just click to the next article.

I’m sure there’s something you’ll like here if you look hard enough!

Cheers – Jim and Christina xx

There’s Always a Bit More!

If you enjoyed this Flavour of The Month, here are the last few previous months you can catch up on!

The post Tennis To Muay Thai, Boat Parties To Regattas, and a Trip To The Hunter Valley appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

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Bangkok is full of surprises. Down a dingy alley, you might find a little museum of royal barges or incredible street art. Or high above a shopping centre, you discover a rooftop restaurant offering fine-dining Spanish food. There’s nothing normal about Bangkok – to the point where normal is surprising and surprising is normality. 

That’s what makes this city so enticing, exciting and fascinating.

But one of the more unexpected experiences to have in Bangkok is at the top of a reasonably normal looking office block in the centre of Lumphini – a district of the city better known for its embassies, high-end shopping and its historic, eponymous park.

It’s also not far from our hotel, which is great!

Here, across the top three floors and roof of One City Centre (OCC), is Akara Sky Hanuman.

Akara Sky Hanuman

Dinner and a Show. And a View. And a Geography Lesson

Akara Sky Hanuman is a roaming multi-sensory experience that showcases everything about Thailand, from its regional foods to its mythological history to traditional dance and costumes to artistic interpretational experiences of Thai festivals.

In other words, Akara Sky Hanuman is Thailand in a high-rise nutshell.

Once your ticket has been issued and you’re in the elevator going up to the 61st floor, you can take as long as you want and explore the 10 different zones in any order you want – though it makes sense to start at the rooftop bar!

Here’s how we did it.

Book your Akara Sky Hanuman tickets here.

Sky Observation Deck for Sunset (if you’re lucky)

Arriving at about 6pm, we went straight to the top floor and the rooftop bar, our fingers crossed for a clear sky.

This is the Observation Deck where you can enjoy panoramic views across Bangkok over the curves of the Chao Phraya River as it curls an oxbow around Khung Bang Kachao – the famed Lungs of Bangkok.

Sadly, the grey skies stop any chance of a decent sunset this evening, but on a clear day, this would be spectacular.

Hanuman Cinema and Dinner

This is the restaurant here and it’s quite something. Above, is the Immersive Dome where an impressive projection of the story of Hanuman – the national myth of a monkey warrior in Ramakien and part of Thailand’s cultural makeup.

At our table, we’re served a selection of canapés that represent the different food styles of the four major regions of Thailand: Northern, Isan, Central and Southern. Each ‘plate’ is a bowl in the shape of each region, so were essentially eating from a map of Thailand.

Our choice of mains is based on which region we’d like to eat from and the tableware is indicative of that region.

I chose Central Region – the old royal capital Ayutthaya. The food is comes in bowls that look like royal pagodas, gold-painted and on a gold tray. 

Reflecting the food of the region, I have tom kha, a coconut and galangal soup with mushrooms, lemongrass and makrut lime, Thai fish cakes served with sweet chilli sauce, crispy fried hard-boiled eggs in sweet tamarind, a classic green curry with chicken, coconut milk and Thai eggplant, and – my favourite – prawn choo chee curry.

Christina goes for the Isan region. With influences from Laos, the food from this northeastern region is particularly good. In her bowls, made to look like the bamboo and earthenware pots reminiscent of the area, is a feast:

Tom saeb a spicy, sour Isan pork soup with fresh herbs, gai yang charcoal-grilled marinated chicken with a spicy dipping sauce, the famous som tum green papaya salad and of course sticky rice.

Check out the other options here.

Virtual Sky Lantern Installation

After dinner, we climb stairs (no mean feat after such a meal!) to the Virtual Sky Lantern light installation. Made to represent the Yi Peng lantern festival of northern Thailand, the hundreds of glass lamps hanging from the mirrored ceiling change colour as you walk between them on mirrored floors.

It’s an ethereal experience, but as you get to the edge of the room, you realise you can see the whole city stretching out below you through the windows. It’s amazing.

Hanuman Sky Bar and Cultural Hanuman Dance

Back up on the rooftop, the bar here is now open and the DJ is hitting the beats. The city lights twinkle in the dark night while we wait for a special performance. 

Below the grinning teeth of the giant Hanuman head above the bar, dancers perform a traditional dance telling the tale of the White Monkey Warrior.

Siam Societies Bar for Dessert

Before we leave, we have unfinished business with our dinner to take care of. Dessert is served in the lavish heritage of Siam Societies. This bar, decorated to resemble the era of King Rama V, has the perfect blend of Thai royalty and colonial British decor of the 19th century.

We sit down to our dessert of the day in couches upholstered in Jim Thompson silk and relish the final act of this remarkable experience.

What – or Who – is Hanuman?

The Ramakien is Thailand’s greatest epic. It is to Thailand what Beowulf is to Britain or the Shahnameh is to Persia; it’s an ancient story that tells of great battles and victories, heroes, kings and civilisations.

Hanuman is a central figure. A white monkey warrior with supernatural powers and a keen military mind, he helps a prince rescue his abducted wife from the evil clutches of a demon king. 

As one of the epic’s most colourful characters, you can find Hanuman images all over Thailand including many of the country’s temples.

Like any experience, the telling of Akara Sky Hanuman will never be as good as experiencing it for yourself. Words indeed fall short of this immersive evening, so we highly recommend going here yourself and enjoying the journey in person.

Book your Akara Sky Hanuman tickets here.

We visited Akara Sky Hanuman as media guests of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, but our experiences and opinions remain our own.

More For You On Bangkok & Thailand

We love travelling to Thailand and have plenty of stories, travel guides and itineraries for you to enjoy.

Here are some of our favourites:

More Stories & Guides to SE Asia

The post The Ultimate Thai Experience – 276m above Bangkok appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

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Hua Hin has a long history as a seaside retreat for Thailand’s royal family, which could be the reason it doesn’t have the same frenetic feel that other beach towns have gained that dot the Thai coast.

With its easy-going seaside vibes, local markets and upscale resorts, Hua Hin has a lot to offer visitors looking for a bit of low-key luxury on the Bay of Thailand.

We’ve had a long love affair with Hua Hin. Friends have got married here, others have even moved here, and we’ve had a couple of trips here independently too. 

Being only a couple of hours’ drive southwest from Bangkok, this is an achievable beach destination that’s not the full-on party scene that jostles a lot of other places on the bay. 

Check out our video walkthrough of this beautiful resort here:

Where To Stay In Hua Hin – Veranda Resort and Villas Cha Am

As you’d expect, there are plenty of hotel and resort options in Hua Hin that run the gamut in terms of price and quality. 

But sitting in the sweet spot of the cost and luxury Venn diagram, Veranda Resort and Villas is the easiest decision you’ll have while you’re organising your Hua Hin holiday.

The resort is split into two ‘zones’; the main resort, which has the majority of rooms including beachfront options, and the Luxury Pool Villa Zone. Set back from the main resort and with its own pool and gym, this area has some of the most luxurious accommodations, each with its own private pool.

Our Pool King Suite with Private Pool

Set within the Luxury Pool Villa Zone, the moment you walk into this room, you’re struck by the luxury touches, the styling and the uniqueness of the room’s layout.

From the sleek black stripe of the tiled floor to the enormous deep-fill stone bathtub in the bathroom, which must take up at least a quarter of the 84ms of the room’s footprint by the way, this is a beautiful room.

Driftwood ornaments and coral-esque art adorn the walls, plump crocheted cushions add softness to the reading nook, and the balcony has views out to the ocean over the resort’s rooftops.

But it’s the balcony that holds the real winning card to this room.

Accessible from the balcony and also – somewhat mysteriously – through the glass sliding door/window of the bathroom is our private infinity pool.

If there’s one luxury I think I value over all others when it comes to resort living, I put a private pool right up there. 

And having a pool high up on a balcony – essentially your own private rooftop pool – is literally and figuratively next level.

Other Facilities at Veranda Resort

Across the road in the main part of the resort, there’s plenty to see and do. 

In the middle of the beautiful, open-air lobby and lounge, a fountain is the source of a stream that runs all the way through the grounds, past the breakfast area on the right, down to the main pool, which in turn looks out over the beach and the Bay of Thailand.

Veranda’s Cafe and Spa

On the left of the stream and its ponds is the The Glass Room Espresso Bar. This quiet, low-lit space is full of the rich aromas of freshly ground coffee. It’s a great spot to relax with a book and a well-made macchiato. 

Outside in the trees, squirrels scamper in the trees.

Perfect for those occasional rainy days or moments when you just want some time to yourself, this is where you can come, borrow a book and sit back.

On the far side of the cafe, through an impressive burnished bronze door, is Veranda Spa. 

Offering a full range of treatments, massages and facials, the spa also has facilities for couples massages, milk baths, body scrubs and steams.

ISEA Beach Bar & Restaurant

With perfect views from its deck leading directly to the softs sands of Cha Am Beach, ISEA Beach Bar and Restaurant offers a nice range of dining options – both western and local, but we were treated to the restaurant’s signature meal.

The Set Dinner comes as a five-tiffin tower in a fun riff on the lunchboxes locals take to work and to school.

Each tiffin has a sample of different local specialties, starting with crispy spicy squid, then red curry with crab and cha kram leaves, then stir-fried tiger prawns with chilli, below that a tiffin for steamed rice and finally mango sticky rice for dessert.

It’s a great way to experience many local flavours in one meal (without having to share!), and the food is superbly cooked and presented.

Beyond the Resort

Of course, guests are not restricted to the resort, and in fact, Veranda encourages visitors to check out the neighbouring venues. 

Nong Nat’s Beach Bar

To the left of the resort, right on the beach, is Nong Nat’s Beach Bar. This little local set up is so cute; just chairs and tables on the sand. Drop by for a sunset beer or a bite to eat. They also do massages if you’d prefer an al fresco treatment to a spa experience.

We love places like this and it’s good to see them living in harmony next to luxury resorts like Veranda.

Horse Rides on the Beach

If you want to experience riding a horse along the beach as the quiet waters of the bay lap on the sand, this is also possible here. A local operator offers 15-minute rides for about 300 baht, and the horses look well-kept and in good condition.

Visit Hua Hin Town

Veranda Resort is not in central Hua Hin, but up the road just outside another area called Cha Am. It’s about a 25-minute drive south to town and about 300 baht for a taxi, which could be why Veranda is better-priced than other resorts closer to town.

Hua Hin is well-developed, and has plenty of bars and restaurants, shopping malls and an excellent night market. Running along several streets, the night market has a lively energy, selling local food, touristy toot and interesting handicraft. Christina also picked up a lovely raffia handbag there.

Further afield, there’s so much to see around this part of Thailand. There’s even a winery or two tucked away in the hills above Hua Hin. 

But the best part of it is knowing you’re coming home to a beautiful room and the sparkling, warm waters of your own private pool.

We stayed at Veranda Resort & Villas as media guests of Tourism Authority of Thailand, but our opinions and experiences remain our own.

There’s Always a Bit More!

If you enjoyed this story, check out our Visit Thailand page here!

We have a lot more reviews of hotels in Thailand. If you’d like to see more on places to stay in Thailand, click here!

You should also take a look at our YouTube playlist on Thailand here!

The post Where To Stay On Thailand’s Royal Coast appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

September is always a busy, fun month for us, but this year might just put the rest in the shade. A lot of it has to do with the sheer number of birthdays there are in September, but it also sees the last shreds of winter fall away.

And this month, we’ve got all of that as well as wine explorations, posh dinners, relos visiting and even an overseas flop-and-drop holiday – something Christina and I rarely get to do.

Here’s to month nine!

Cheers – Jim & Christina xx

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Family in town

With the vast majority of my family living in the northern hemisphere, I always get pretty excited when I hear one of the clan is in town. 

So when I got a text from my cousin Ian saying he was in Sydney and wanted to catch up, I was thrilled. It turns out he’s here for the Sydney Marathon, which takes place every year at the end of August.

This afternoon, we’re catching up for a beer and a feed. He casually mentions that he has to see his girlfriend off at the airport first. Why isn’t he flying with her all the way back to the UK? Simple. It turns out they moved to Darwin about 18 months ago! 

I’ve had family in the country this whole time and I never knew about it!

Ian and I haven’t seen each other in almost 20 years, but it doesn’t take long to catch up on things. As it turns out, we still get on pretty well! 

By the way, he did quite well on his marathon: 3hrs 1min. He’s upset he didn’t get across the line in under three hours, but as one of my very wise friends pointed out to him, he should’ve run a bit faster!

A Fine Wine Fest at Woolloomooloo 

Today, I’m at the Ovolo in Woolloomooloo looking out over Garden Island and Sydney’s beautiful harbour. But I’m not here for the views nor for military recon. Today is a special trade tasting of the House of Fine Wines’ impressive portfolio.

Filling an entire event room, row upon row of tables are laid out with wines from all the different producers under the one banner. 

There are plenty of household names here including Bollinger Champagne House, McWilliams, Tahbilk and Villa Maria, but there are also some very interesting smaller producers too.

I’m here with my fabulous friend Amy, who’s agreed to keep me company (and out of as much trouble as possible) while Christina’s busy with other appointments. 

We try as many of the wines around the room as we can, with some real standouts at Sanguine Estate’s excellent medium-bodied reds, Chalk Hill’s crisp Chardonnay and Dreissigacker Winery’s profound range of Rieslings. 

We also really enjoy the wine and the fun company of Soul Growers, who make superb wines from grapes sourced from across the Barossa.

We also hear from Andrew Calabria, the Sales & Marketing Director of Calabria Family Wine Group, which recently brought the House of Fine Wine’s portfolio into the fold. 

Andrew shares some fascinating insights with us about the industry and about Calabria Family Wines too.

“What data is telling us right now is white wines, lighter style reds are definitely working,” Andrew tells us. “Pinot Noir is still hugely successful in terms of reds, where we can see some of the heavier, old-fashioned Australian reds are definitely coming off.”

He also has something to say about younger people and disagrees with the assumption that they’re not drinking as much as older generations:

“I think the wine world does a really poor job in the way we talk to consumers… I don’t agree with this whole ‘younger people aren’t drinking wine’. I think younger people are just intimidated by wine.”

He has a point. 20-year-olds with less wine knowledge feel uncomfortable when “a guy comes over with a little badge wearing a suite and he’s talking about soil and wine-making.”

Calabria Family Wines are aiming to break down those barriers while still bringing high-quality wine to the initiated. 

Wine And Art with Yalumba at Sydney Contemporary

This afternoon, we’re at the Carriageworks for the annual Sydney Contemporary. Known as Australia’s premier art fair, this showcase of contemporary and modern art houses stalls for over 100 galleries and more than 500 artists is the perfect place for art lovers and collectors.

It’s so interesting to see so much art of all different styles in one place from both budding and established artists. It’s also amazing people-watching here. I have to admit, some of the art is a bit over my head. ‘Orange Monochrome’ by John Nixon doesn’t make any sense to me. It’s felt on cardboard on wood and is 10.4cm x 10.2cm x 4.7cm.

I wish I could tell you more.

But it’s not just the art we’re here for; as one of the primary sponsors of Sydney Contemporary, Yalumba Wine Family is the house pour at the bar here.

The winery is supporting emerging artists through Sydney Contemporary’s Futures sector, where they have transformed the labels of Yalumba’s Signature Cabernet and Shiraz magnums. These wines are available to purchase as collector items and money goes towards supporting the artist and their work.

As we enjoy a glass or two of Yalumba, we’re guided around some of the galleries and their art by the esteemed Oliver Watts. An awarded artist himself – as well as an art historian and curator – Oliver has incredible depth of knowledge and perspective around the works that we see here today. We’re very lucky to have had his company.

Birthday Week For Jeanette

Christina’s mum’s birthday is in early September, so we’re taking her out to catch up with some friends. First off, some of her oldest friends have come to have lunch with her in St Ives. It’s been so long since I’ve seen these lovely ladies, so it’s much of a treat for me as it is Jeanette!

Ana, Jacqui – who lives in Queensland now – and Mara have been friends with Jeanette for decades. It’s great to see them all together again.

We also have lunch with one of Jeanette’s newer friends, but ironically probably the oldest. Norma is incredibly impressive, especially at the age of 103! We’ve brought round a bite to eat, but she’s already laid the table and has put out tea and biscuits for us.

We also go back to Christina’s sister’s place so she can give Jeanette a quick haircut. Mary was a hairdresser in a former life and still does her mum’s hair every now and again.

Mixed feelings about Mr Wong’s

This evening, Christina and I are out for dinner at Mr Wong’s to celebrate our 26th year of being together! Quite the milestone.

We haven’t been to Mr Wong’s in ages, but the food is still as good as ever it was. However, we end up feeling a bit rushed, which isn’t what you really want when you’re paying quite a bit of money for a meal. We’ve barely finished ordering when the dishes start arriving.

We leave feeling full, but also a bit like we’ve just hurried through a mid-week office lunch rather than the romantic meal we were hoping for.

Wine For Curry

This evening, we’re in North Strathfield at Abhi’s Indian Restaurant for a very interesting prospect; we’re checking out a new wine that’s soon to come on the market that’s been specially crafted to pair with Indian food.

This is Sari Wines and is part of the genius of Fourth Wave Wines, who are known for their clever concepts around wine understanding.

I’m usually more of a beer drinker when it comes to curry, but these wines are actually perfect with the food – carefully chosen varietals that go with different styles of curry, spice and richness.

The core Sari wines are Blanc de Noir sparkling wine, Sauvignon Blanc, Rosé, Viognier, Pinot Noir and GSM.

The menu tonight, brought to us by the amazing catering of the Modern Desi Co, works so well with the wines, which in turn work perfectly with the food.

The spread is incredible, with 10 different dishes showing the best of the wine pairings. We start with bubbles and work our way through the bottles and the menu!

Click this drop-down to see more about the wines and the food they were paired with:

The Road South

Christina and I are hitting the road today. It feels like ages since our last road trip, so we’re excited with this one; we’re driving down to the Mornington Peninsula for a wedding!

We get as far as the town of Yass before needing a stop. We find the town’s main street clad in the most beautiful cherry blossoms. If it weren’t for the classic Aussie colonial architecture, we could be amongst the sakura of Japan.

We pop into Clementine Bakery for a couple of tasty pies, but the sausage roll we also pick up is the absolute stand-out here.

How’s The Serenity

We decide not to do the drive down to the Mornington in one go and Christina finds a real gem to stop off at.

This is the town of Bonnie Doon, put on the map and into legend by the classic film The Castle. The pub here – the Bonnie Doon Hotel – is actually wonderful and we’re right on time for happy hour: $4 middies!

We stick around until it’s time for dinner then smash one of the house burgers each. Excellent food, beautiful surroundings and friendly locals – it doesn’t get much better!

The motel attached to the Bonnie Doon Hotel is just as excellent – especially for the price. Usually, the basic standard for old-school motels is it’s clean and you don’t feel like you’re about to get murdered.

These guys have done way better than that.

The place has recently been decorated, the bed is new and very comfortable, the bathroom has been very thoughtfully renovated and all in all, this is a great place to spend the night. There’s even a pool!

Since we’re in Bonnie Doon, it’d be rude not to go and check out the holiday house in The Castle. Yes, it’s real, yes, it’s here and yes, you can even rent it out! There are some amazing callbacks to the movie.

Two lances hanging in the window, a punchbag in the tree and even a kennel for Coco in the garden.

Sure enough, how’s the serenity!

From Bonnie Doon, it’s only a couple of hours further to the Mornington Peninsula. We’re too early to check into our AirBnB, so Christina finds us a lunch spot. This is the very enjoyable Moon Dog Brewery, right on the beach at Frankston.

We grab a tasting paddle each and find a spot in the sun on the deck of the brewery’s beach club veranda. The brews are very serviceable and the burgers really hit the spot.

Wedding Bells in the Mornington

Ding dong! It’s wedding time! We’re very excited to see our wonderful friend Jess say her vows and at such a beautiful venue. This is Dromana Estate winery, a stunning spot on the peninsula and the perfect place for such a celebration.

We’ve known Jess and her hilarious bridesmaids for a million years – since she was 17 in fact. It’s so good to see her so happy.

After the formalities, which hit all the targets, it’s inside for dinner. Food and wine flow freely, and speeches and dancing take up the rest of our bandwidth leaving our hearts, souls and stomachs very full indeed.

Congratulations to Jess and Pete. It was an honour to share your special day with you.

While we’re here, Christina and I decide to explore the seaside of the Mornington a bit. This really is a beautiful part of Australia.

The last time we were here was for a wedding in 2020 – just before Covid hit – and we checked out a few Mornington Peninsula wineries. Before that, Christina used to come here all the time with her family, but that was when she was little. It’s a long way to come from Sydney, but very much worth it.

One More Stop Before Home

We end up hitting the road later than we were hoping, so we decide not to push it too much and stop somewhere for the night.

The sun just about sets as we pull into our parking spot at a random motel in Albury, just over the NSW border. Funnily enough, the last time we were here was for a wedding as well, but that was just this March and we had already checked out the food options.

I had a feeling the Indian Tandoori Restaurant on the town’s main street was good. It’s pleasing to be proven right!

There’s Something About Mary (it’s her birthday)

Today is my lovely sister-in-law Mary’s 60th birthday! I still can’t quite get my head around the idea – especially considering how good she looks – but there you go.

We’re with her to celebrate this evening at the beautiful Bathers’ Pavilion at Balmoral for dinner. The food and service is just outstanding.

Christina and I share a chicken parfait to start, she goes for the slow-cooked lamb ragu pasta and I have the mussels in a creamy white wine sauce, but the food aside, it’s an evening to remember.

Happy birthday, Mary!

Birthday Fun in Fiji

Welcome to Fiji! I haven’t been back here in 25 years! And back then, I certainly wasn’t staying in digs like this.

We’re at the Waitui Beach Club – the adults-only side of Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa on Denarau Island. It takes quite a long time for us to check in – mostly because reception has to go through all the things that come with our room. Free minibar that’s restocked every day, breakfast on the beach, happy hour every hour from 11am to 5pm… it’s pretty lush.

We make it to the beach in time to enjoy the 5pm drinks and snacks just as the sun dips into the sea. What a welcome!

For this trip, there are six of us: Christina and myself, her sister and birthday girl Mary, our brother-in-law David, and their friends Leanne (who Mary has known since kindergarten) and Leanne’s husband Murray, who they’ve all known since high school!

It’s a very merry gathering and we spend most of our time here lounging by the pool, swimming in the pool or drinking.

It’s the first time Christina and I have tried this kind of holiday. I think if we were here alone, we’d be out and about every day, but because of the excellent company (and all the free drinks!), we’re happy to stick by the pool.

SUP, Spa Treatments & Fine-Dining

Of course, there’s always something to do here. Christina discovers that, as well as all the complimentary F&B package, we have access to the hotel’s standup paddle boards and kayaks.

Meanwhile, I catch up with my mate Frenchie, who happens to be on holiday here at the same time just next door in the Hilton.

You might remember Frenchie from his excellent write-up on the Three Capes in Tasmania that he did for us.

The food here at the Sofitel has been amazing. Perfect little macchiato, superb, sumptuous dinners at the many restaurants at the resort (this was my squid ink house-made linguini with flambe seafood and a lobster sauce) or fresh coconuts on demand.

In fact, the coconut here is a breakfast option – where you can have it topped up with local rum!

Christina and I also get a cheeky treatment in at the Sofitel Spa. The amazing Tropical Trio is 90 minutes of bliss starting with a half-hour top-to-tail sugar scrub, a 30-minute back massage and then a 30-minute refresher facial treatment.

This also comes with a plate of petit fours and a glass of bubbly at the end. We both leave the spa feeling like our bodies have been swapped for jelly. Thank you, Shoma and Matilda for making us feel so relaxed.

It’s definitely worth booking at the adults-only section though. No matter how much you love kids, this little corner of peace is luxury – especially if you compare it to the craziness of the general population!

The Sofitel Fiji is also in the process of expanding with the brand new Vatu Talei complex opening at the end of 2027.

Beyond the Sofitel

We do escape the wonderful confines of the resort eventually – though we miss the comfort and happy hours immediately!

Christina and Mary once lived in Fiji when their dad worked here back in the ’80s. We head to the town of Lautoka, where the family lived, to see if we can find their old house. Leanne also visited Mary, so she has memories of this place too.

Initially, we can’t find the house and give up, instead heading into town to explore the markets, which Mary and Leanne remember well. Christina was just a baby then.

Lautoka Markets are amazing. Enormous and full of all kinds of unusual fruit and veg. Everything is so fresh and enormous here – that’s ginger Christina’s holding up!

We walk around the town a bit more, and then by a stroke of good luck, we find someone who remembers the house and points us in the direction of Coral Sea Drive. Back in the van, we head over to the suburb of Simla and there it is!

We also head to Mary’s old school and have a look around. She says nothing much has changed – it must be quite the experience to trip down memory lane like that.

We also head south to Natandola and to the Intercontinental. Murray, who’s been to Fiji about a thousand times, has stayed here and knows it as the best beach in the area. The water is so clear and so blue, it’s almost hard to look at.

You can buy day passes at the Intercon for about FD$130 per person, which gives you access to the facilities and also can be used for your food and drinks bill at the end of the day.

Christina, Mary and I enjoy some time by the pool, while David, Murray and Leanne go exploring – ending up on a three-hour hike through mangroves, rocks and caves, mistake a banded sea krait for a rope and getting stung by something. It’s an epic effort, bearing in mind none of them has any shoes on, no one’s got even a T-shirt and they didn’t take any water.

Murray very impressively orders two beers as soon as he’s back, the first of which disappears like he tipped it!

All too soon, we’re having our last dinner. The staff at the Sofitel Fiji Waitui Beach Club have made this trip so much more memorable for us and deserve all the praise.

We’re back in the minivan heading for the airport amidst the busy Nadi traffic of smoky bumbling cars and trucks overloaded with sugar cane.

We come in to land just as the sun is setting not only on Sydney but on our holiday as well.

Happy birthday once again, Mary. We hope you had as good a time as we all did!

Cheers – Jim & Christina xx

There’s Always a Bit More!

If you enjoyed this Flavour of The Month, here are the last few previous months you can catch up on!

The post Wine & Art, Wine & Curry, Wine & Wine, and a Chill-Out in Fiji appeared first on Mr and Mrs Romance.

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Western Australia holds a special place in my heart. It was the first place my feet touched Aussie soil and was the beginning of a trip around this great land that changed almost everything in my life.

It was also here that I had my first wine-tasting experience.

Far from the coach-load of backpackers rumbling up the highway, my latest trip to the Swan Valley was with a small group of (fairly) discerning friends, somehow packed into a maxi-taxi with questionable driving skills.

Unfolding from the car’s confines, we ventured out into the Swan Valley’s sweeping vines.

What is the Swan Valley Wine Region Famous For?

Probably the closest wine region to a major Australian city, Swan Valley offers amazing convenience to the travelling wine-lover who’s short of time.

With its (comparatively) low latitude, Swan Valley is warmer than the other major regions like Margaret River or the enormous Great Southern, and is also further north than the Hunter Valley in NSW.

This makes ideal growing conditions for bigger-bodied, ‘juicy’ wines like Shiraz, but also wines known for their medium body and drier finish like Grenache. 

But we’re here for the Swan Valley’s real jewel in the crown: Chenin Blanc.

Often mistaken for much more expensive and exclusive iterations from Burgundy and alike, the Chenin Blancs of Swan Valley are crisp, fresh and zingy, but with lots of texture and are fruit-forward.

Chenin Blanc From 3 Swan Valley Wineries

Mandoon Estate

Low key and friendly, Mandoon‘s cellar door has a huge dining space as part of its cellar door and is also home to a great little brewery and beer garden.

Mandoon’s Wild Bunch Chenin Blanc is a Swan Valley classic with pear drops and melon on the nose, juicy lemon-lime citrus and mineral notes on the palate, and long, balanced finish. 

There’s a lovely structure and sherbet acidity to the wine suggesting good cellaring potential too. 

Sandalford Wines

Probably the most established and definitely the most commercial winery in the Swan Valley, Sandalford’s cellar door is a slick machine, and even has a full merch and interiors shop as part of the experience.

The wines are good though and the service at the tasting bar is affable and fun. Some of the vines at Sandalford are the oldest in WA. And if you don’t know why old vines are important, you should check out our story on old vines here!

Sandalford’s 1840 Chenin Blanc is an excellent food wine. Put this with a good cheese or charcuterie board — or a pile of prawns or oysters — and you’re winning.

Much better slightly warmer, this wine needs to be out of the fridge at least 20 minutes before you  open it. Do that and you’ll be rewarded with peaches and pears on the nose, and a tingly acidity, lemon curd and overripe pears on the palate. 

This wine doesn’t have quite as much texture or weight as Mandoon’s Wild Bunch, but is still very enjoyable.

Corymbia Vineyards

Full disclosure, I didn’t try this in the Swan Valley, but in the excellent Nacara Bar and Cellar in Balmain, where it’s a steal at $17 a glass.

Beautifully layered with velvety texture underlined with a firm acid minerality, Corymbia‘s Rocket’s Vineyard Chenin Blanc is pretty special. Crisp pear and light citrus backs up against a long luscious finish edged with savoury salinity.

Mitch from Nacara told us that, in a blind tasting, this wine was mistaken as one of the top Chenin Blancs from Burgundy and considered among the best in the world at a recent European wine judging.

Not bad for an unassuming family-run winery in the Upper Swan that only makes around 1,000 cases a year.

More wine of the month stories

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Beyond just wine, we also have all kinds of things like restaurant reviews, bar reviews, recipes, cocktail books… you should have a look for yourself!

Check out our latest wine stories

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Bangkok is one of the most visited cities globally and often ranks in the top three in the world for its number of luxury hotels, so why is it always a struggle to pick accommodation in Bangkok?

If ever there were a better example of the paradox of choice!

However, our recent stay in the Oriental Residence, right in the heart of Lumphini, seems to have solved this particular conundrum.

Check out our video walkthrough of the Oriental Residence here:

Located in the embassy and diplomatic district of Lumphini, a stone’s throw from Bangkok’s biggest public park and a host of shopping and restaurant options, this all-suite five-star hotel offers not only a central location, but also a wonderful level of comfort and luxury to your stay.

First Impressions

As our car pulls up to the Oriental Residence — yes, the name’s a little awkward and I’m not that comfortable with it either — we’re struck by how hidden the front of this fairly substantial building is.

As much as innocuous minivans have replaced the ostentation of stretched limos, this kind of secreted compound entrance seems to be much more the fashion these days. The idea of low-key luxury is very much in.

But once inside the confines of the main gate, the fountain, the grand stone and glass frontage and the two permanent doormen let you know you’ve arrived. In fact, it feels a little like the entrance to an embassy, which works considering the hotel’s location.

Next door is the enormous, sprawling US embassy, on the other side is the Embassy of Ireland, across the street are the NZ, South Africa, Italy, UAE and Ukraine embassies too, and tucked away behind the Oriental Residence is the Netherlands’ ambassador’s house.

Inside the hotel, the lobby is fairly simple though clearly high end. Panelled walls and lofted ceilings propped up by enormous pillars, lead you to reception. Instead of a big long imposing desk, check in happens at a low table. Intimate, friendly, personal.

The Room

The 145 residences – as in ‘rooms’ – at the Oriental Residence are spread out between junior, one-, two- and three-bedroom suites. We’re in a junior suite, which is kind of like a regular room rather than having a separate bedroom and lounge like a conventional suite, but quite a bit bigger.

Even at this entry-level room type, there’s still plenty of luxurious touches. 

Aside from the generous bed, classical fittings and lots of power outlet options at the bedside, the room also has a long sofa and ottoman coffee table, which acts as the lounge area.

There’s also a dining table big enough for two. The table’s set with some lovely dainties: a trio of petit fours and a plentiful fruit bowl.

Off to one side is the kitchen, fitted with everything you’d expect in a self-contained apartment-suite. There’s a stovetop, convection microwave, coffee machine, and Smeg brand toaster and kettle. 

There’s a well-stocked bar fridge and minibar, and lots of complimentary bottles of water.

Initially, I’m confused why the cutlery drawer only has spoons of different sizes, until Christina realises the knives and forks are part of the dining room table setting.

The bathroom is impressive. Through the cloakroom/walk-in wardrobe, clad in warm travertine, the the bathroom houses a good-sized shower and a bath deep enough to completely submerge — an issue I often have with baths.

Amenities are from luxury Bangkok wellness, skincare and fragrance brand Panpuri.

Breakfast

Served in the hotel’s restaurant Cafe Claire, breakfast at the Oriental Residence is a replete affair featuring an enormous buffet that takes up one entire side of the room and even spills out into the anteroom. 

As well as all kinds of fruit and make-your-own salad options, and Thai and European hot options, there’s also wealth of baked goods to choose from. There are several types of croissant including the curious ‘flat croissants’ that are crusted in large-crystal sugar or even dipped in chocolate.

As well as the buffet, there are a la carte options too like cooked breakfasts, eggs Benedict and a host of SE Asian choices; tom yum soup, har gaw dumplings, babimbap.

Christina tries the dumplings, but they’re sadly not the best. My beetroot salmon toast, however, is excellent. Served on one of the flat croissants (though this one’s not sweet), is beetroot-marinated salmon, spinach and house-pickled vegetables on a cream cheese base. It’s truly excellent.

Around the room are some amusing quotes about food, though one that catches our eye leaves us feeling a little bemused: “A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch.” 

Well played, James Beard. You’ve put me off my croissant!

Rooftop Pool and Bar

Up on the fourth floor rooftop (the building carries on for another 28 levels) is the pool and Play Deck Bar. This open-air bar and pool look out over the city with views down to the Dutch Ambassador’s gardens below and Lumphini Park further off.

Come up here for a dip, drink or bar-style snacks between 10am and 8pm.

Oriental Bar & Executive Lounge 

For guests staying in Prestige Club Rooms, there’s complimentary access to the Executive Lounge on level two. 

This luxurious lounge is open all day until 6.30pm and has afternoon tea between 1pm-3pm. But at 4.30, you can enjoy complimentary cocktails and a delicious selection of canapés. There are all sorts of snacks you can have here, but the best of them is easily the Chalomjai camembert-style cheese made locally by Hungry Wolf Artisan Foods So creamy! So tasty!

Up here is also the Oriental Bar, a slick evening venue with a few elevated food offerings and well-made cocktails.

We stayed at the Oriental Residence as media guests of Tourism Authority of Thailand, but our experiences and opinions remain our own.

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As the Northern Hemisphere cooks in the long tail of its endless summer, down here in Sydney it feels like the winter’s nearly over.

August can be one of those months that catches you out with surprisingly cool temps before things pick up at the start of spring. 

Thankfully, we’ve had plenty of things on – including a trip to the tropics – to keep us warm or at least distracted. 

From outstanding dinners with friends flexing their Chardonnay collections to my incredible trip to Solomon Islands to Christina starting a new pursuit in high-diving to both of us hanging out at the Thai ambassador’s house, here’s a flavour of the month of August.

Cheers – Jim & Christina xx

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Sydney Brewery in Disguise

This afternoon is the last day to see the transformation of our local brewhouse – Sydney Brewery no less – into a famous if fictitious beer hall. 

For the filming of the latest season of Colin From Accounts, Sydney Brewery’s Rozelle venue has become Echo Park Brewery with all the livery and branding, and also a very decent beer the brewers have created just for the show.

It’s amazing to see how set designers and stylists have managed to change so much of the space so it fits with the show’s aesthetic. I’m looking forward to seeing the results on screen soon.

And if you haven’t watched Colin From Accounts yet, give it a go. It’s funny, heart-warming and well-acted by a great Aussie cast including Harriet Dyer, Patrick Brammall and Helen Thomson. 

Thomson was also in the Last Anniversary, which was filmed in the beautiful Simpson Cottage in Bundeena we visited and reviewed recently.

Chardonnay avec Gourmet

This evening, we’re at our excellent friends Michael and Louise’s house for dinner. A while ago, I mentioned the new ultra-premium range that Scarborough Wine Co in the Hunter Valley have created called Keepers of the Flame (you can read more about that here). 

It turns out that the Scarboroughs make Michael and Louise’s favourite Chardonnay. In fact they’ve got a whole rack of the Yellow Label at home. This inspired a Chardonnay evening where these guys, who are tremendous chefs, matched food with some of the best Chardies we’ve had – including the bottle of Keepers of the Flame we’ve brought round.

We eat superbly and drink far too long into the night with some amazing wines from all over the world. What wonderful, generous, fun friends we’re so lucky to have.

Christina Takes A Dive

Check out Christina’s form! Born from the deep desire to be able to leap head first from the top deck of a yacht, Christina has wanted to learn to dive properly for years.

Thankfully, her friend Rex has similar ambitions and has found the one place in the whole of Sydney that does springboard diving lessons – at Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.

So now, as well as working towards her Second Dan jujitsu black belt, Christina is finding out the best way to hurl herself from great heights into a body of water. Good on ya, Chris.

Solo to the Solomons

This afternoon, I’m setting off (without Christina!) on a journey to a place that not many people have been to; to a country that, up until 100 years ago, still practised head hunting; to a nation that uses strings of shaped seashell fragments as currency.

I’m on my way to Solomon Islands to become a Solo Boy!

It’s a fun term locals use to talk about themselves when they’re having fun. I try betel nut and spit blood, I wreck dive from the beach, I learn some Pijin and I get stuck into SB, the local brewery’s high-strength beer that locals refer to as ‘Sunday Bike’. 

Drink too many SBs on a Friday and you wonder how you got home on Sunday. It must have been on the Sunday Bike!

I think I’ve earned the Solo Boy title.

Located just south of Bougainville and Papua New Guinea, and north of Vanuatu, the Solomons is only a three-hour flight from Brisbane, but even its capital city Honiara feels like a world away.

This beautiful exotic archipelago of almost 1,000 islands and six distinct provinces is so rich in culture. 

It’s a Pacific melting pot of Melanesian, Polynesian and Micronesian ethnicities that settled here around 30,000 years ago, and a history shaped by colonialism, Christian missionaries and WWII.

I’m travelling as part of a media trip by Tourism Solomons with the magnificent all-star PR Spike Parker-Brown, eminent travel writers John Borthwick and Eleanor Hughes, and the delightful Cheryl Patterson founder of diving and adventure travel company Deep Blue Adventures.

Our journey takes us around the capital, then to the Central Province where perfect beaches and majestic wrecks line the shores of tropical islands that freckle the immaculate waters. We travel to Malaita Province, the most populous region, to find sacred waterfalls, try local food and learn more about the culture here.

Solomon Islands has its own panpipe music, which is very different to the Andean style. Though if you ask a local, they’ll tell you they prefer a bit of Reggae!

Malaita is also where Solomon Islands’ shell money culture originated, and we’re here for the annual Busu Shell Money Festival. This two-day celebration is full of dances, parades and speeches – they even set up a live demonstration of how shell money is made (there are between five to eight arduous stages) for us. 

Other than our group, there’s another random travel journo, a Spanish backpacker and a Dutch anthropologist at the festival. Everyone else is local. It’s a great honour to be here, but also an incredible experience to see a festival that’s been organised for locals, not tourists.

Back in Honiara, we explore more of Guadalcanal and its involvement in WWII. There are some harrowing stories of battles between the Japanese and American armies for this isolated spot in the ocean.

We finish the trip with a look at Pagoda Hill and a tunnel system the Japanese dug.

It’s been such an interesting journey seeing ancient cultures, modern-day impacts and a place that fewer than 30,000 people a year get to see.

What a pleasure, an honour and an experience to see the Solomons – somewhere so real, so unique and so friendly, and a place where tourism hasn’t yet ruined the object of its affection.

Wines for the Win

Back in Sydney, it’s nice to be home with Christina again. To celebrate, we decide to enjoy a glass of wine or two.

We kick off with the Single Vineyard Chardonnay from Marnong Estate in Victoria. It’s a beautiful, medium-bodied wine full of citrus and a soft creamy texture. That gunflint, struck match aroma just before you drink is one of my favourite things about a well-made Chardonnay.

We also dip our toe into the Terra Pinot Noir from McWilliams Wines, which – although it’s billed as their new table wine at RRP $19.00, drinks like a much more expensive bottle.

It has all the trappings of a modern Pinot: juicy strawberries and cherries, light oak and assiduously structured tannins, and shows not all Aussie reds have to be grippy, jammy beef bombs. 

Check out our full write-up on these new ranges – the Single Vineyard and Terra from Marnong and McWilliams – here.

Thailand’s biggest Festival in Sydney

Christina and I are off a special event today at the Consul-General for Thailand’s grand house in Mosman.

We’re here to hear about the plans for the upcoming Thailand Grand Festival 2026 in Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour 19-20 September. 

It’s been four years since the last Grand Festival happened and that was in Belmore Park. You have to go back to 2019 since it’s been at Tumbalong, so this is a pretty big deal. In fact, this year is set to be the biggest Thai festival in Australia!

Check out the full festival programme here.

The event today is a taster of what’s going to be at this year’s festival, including traditional dancing, a fashion parade and a Muay Thai demonstration. There is also food of course, provided today by 2 Sisters Kitchen and Chat Thai, but there will be so many more outlets during the festival proper from the streets of Thai Town. 

By the way, Sydney is now home to the second largest Thai Town outside Thailand in the world, just behind LA.

We hear from the Consul-General Mr. Naruchai Ninnad himself, who tells us this festival is a “celebration of the relationship between Thailand and Australia” and the “75th anniversary of diplomatic relationship between the two countries.”

With the theme of ‘Creative Life, Creative Heartbeat’, Mr Ninnad also instructs us “don’t just come to the festival, get involved.”

This taster suggests there’ll be plenty of opportunities to do exactly that. Cultural performances, art and craft, wellness, tourism and family-friendly activities promise plenty of things to ‘get involved’ in. There will also be some amazing prizes, including flights to Thailand, up for grabs.

The Thailand Grand Festival 2026 runs on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th September at Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour and admission is free.

The End

What bitter-sweet celebrations today. This is the end-of-season party for my football team. We really thought we were in with a chance of winning the league this year, but sadly, with a loss in the semi-finals against our old enemies Enfield, we fell at the last hurdle before silverware.

I don’t have any photos of the party itself (probably just as well!), so here’s a shot from one of the last games of the season. The pitch is a bit of a mess, but this has to be the most amazing place to play football anywhere. This is Birchgrove Oval on the Balmain Peninsula.

So, until next March, we hang up our boots and dream of what could have been.

At least the beer’s cold.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this Flavour Of The Month of August 2026. Here’s to plenty more where that came from!

Cheers – Jim & Christina xx

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For something as ancient as wine, I’m always surprised how modern-day wineries can create new lines of their product. These wines are still distinctly their brand and style, but at the same time new, interesting, diverse and innovated. 

But far from reinventing the wheel, these iterations advance how we as consumers enjoy wine all the time; creating new notions of a known thing. 

A great example of this is how Australian reds have gone from being all guts and grunt to fresh, medium bodied, nuanced wine that’s focused on structure, layers of flavour and texture, and to be paired with more than just steak.

We’ve come across three Aussie wineries recently that have released new lines – either completely new to their portfolio or new vintages – that illustrate this advancement really well and at different price points.

McWilliams Terra Range

One of the old guard of Australian wine, McWilliams is a six-generation winery with a massive selection of wine categories and styles.

Expanding the selection still further, McWilliams’ new Terra range shows that wine doesn’t have to be expensive to be good. 

Perfect entertaining wines, the new Terra series launched in 2026 and is designed to be a more approachable, contemporary style of wine. It comes in four varietals: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Shiraz and Sauvignon Blanc.

Tasting Notes+

McWilliams Terra Chardonnay

Ripe white peach, honeydew melon and lemon characters, complemented by subtle almond notes.

Refreshing notes of white nectarine and citrus lead the palate, layered with a gentle creamy texture and a whisper of French oak. The finish is long and soft, driven by bright acidity and lingering fruit characters.

McWilliams Terra Pinot Noir

Lifted aromas of strawberry and red cherry, complemented by subtle hints of earthy notes. A medium-bodied wine showcasing vibrant fruit characters, beautifully balanced by subtle oak and crisp varietal tannins.

Lightly oaked, with a small portion matured in contact with French oak, it delivers a smooth tannin finish and generous fruit length.

I really should also mention the McWilliams’ Hanwood Estate Grand Old Tawny. McWilliams was always better known for its fortifieds than its other wines and there’s a reason. 

This 10-year-old tawny shows all the complexity and depth of having spent a minimum of 10 years in small oak casks.

Its fragrant and fresh with oak complexity displaying notes of nuts, pecan pie and raisin chocolate with a hint of chocolate. The palate shows obvious aged wood complexing flavours with raisins and toffee notes.

McWilliams Terra series wines retail at RRP $19.00 each.

Hanwood Estate Grand Old Tawny 10 Years: RRP $28.00

Marnong Estate Single Vineyard Range

Although Marnong’s history goes back to the 1840s, the land was used for grazing livestock rather than growing grapes. Wine didn’t happen here until 2016 when Sicilian property developer Dino Strano saw the potential of the land and began what he thought would be a hobby farm. 

Located in Sunbury, one of Victoria’s oldest wine regions, Marnong now has three tiers to its selection: the Estate Range, the Single Vineyard Range and the ultra-premium Reserve Range.

2026 sees the mid-range Single Vineyard series grow with wines like the debut of the Heart Pinot Noir ($43.00 RRP), made with grapes grown in the central block at Marnong. This is a deeper, richer Pinot than its counterpart the Weatherstone Pinot Noir, also taking its first bow in the Single Vineyard range.

The Single Vineyard Sangiovese ($37.00 RRP) fits into that perfect space we talked about earlier of being medium-bodied, food-driven and full of structure, texture and aromatic notes.

As for Marnong’s Single Vineyard Chardonnay ($43.00 RRP), this elite modern Aussie Chardy is bright yet full. Medium-bodied with a crisp pear and apple palate, a flinty oaty nose and a creamy texture.

Tasting Notes+

Marnong Single Vineyard Heart Pinot Noir

A rich and opulent single-vineyard Pinot Noir from the most central block of the estate – concentrated, structured and built for the cellar.

Concentrated black cherry and black plum aromas with mineral nuance and subtle spice. On the palate are dark fruits, graphite and mineral depth with an opulent, mouth-filling texture.

Marnong Single Vineyard Sangiovese

A medium-bodied and vibrant Sangiovese true to its Italian roots. Lifted aromas of bay leaf and cherry aromatics with subtle floral notes.

The palate has a cherry and red plum fruit profile with fresh acidity and fine, grippy varietal tannin with a lively, savoury finish.

Marnong Single Vineyard Chardonnay

A medium-bodied Chardonnay crafted in a modern Australian style, balancing bright citrus fruit with creamy texture and complex savoury nuance.

Complex aromas of gunflint, brine, oatmeal and spicy aromatics, and a crisp pear and apple palate.

The Single Vineyard range is available direct from Marnong’s website or their cellar door.  

And if you’re into bubbles, you should also check out Marnong’s Reserve Blanc de Blanc ($80.00 RRP), which we talked about here.

Marnong has accommodation on site too. Check out their beautiful villas and homestead, perfect for a romantic break in wine country, or for a big get-together for family or friends.

For a spot of indulgence, Marnong’s La Vètta is a Hatted restaurant offering Italian fine dining. For more relaxed family-friendly options, there are also Cucina 2064 and Caffe Vista here too.

Ross Hill’s Pinnacle Range

From our friends at Ross Hill Wines in Orange, NSW, the new release of their latest premium wine range is showing signs of something really special. 

Ross Hill’s Pinnacle series has always been worth a go – grapes are carefully selected and treated with immense care and attention, and Ross Hill’s head winemaker Chris Jessop has a long storied career in Australia and NZ – but this release is looking like one of the best.

The seven-varietal range includes a Cabernet Franc from 2024, and a Sauvignon Blanc and a Chardonnay – both from 2025. These two years were near-perfect vintages for reds and whites respectively, and it shows in these wines.

The Pinnacle range retails between $35.00 RRP to $50.00 RRP, making this one of the most affordable premium wine ranges around.

The release of the 2026 Pinnacle wines coincides with Ross Hill’s 10 year anniversary of becoming a 100% carbon neutral winery and vineyard.

You can read more about these wines and about Ross Hill Winery in full review here.

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