One Night In Dunkeld

When I first learnt that I was going to be isolated out in greater western Victoria for 10 weeks, the only positive I could perceive was that I would only be a short drive away from Dunkeld.  Situated just south of the picturesque Grampians and with a population of just over 450, this little country town can lay claim to be the home of one of Australia's finest restaurants.  I don't think anything I write could do it justice, so here's a review by The Age:

http://www.royalmail.com.au/Pages/News_and_Reviews.aspx?id=135

My friend Mali and I had been eagerly anticipating a road trip to this gastronomic destination for months, and at one point it seemed we would never make it.  Booked out on Saturday nights till September, somehow we both managed to get a Friday off work to make the trip down for an evening dinner.  The food gods were definitely smiling upon us as we drove through the Grampians on a gorgeous winter's day, a brief stop at Boroka lookout to look out over the incredible flat expanse that is country Victoria.  We arrived in Dunkeld soon after with little ceremony, and after donning ourselves in suitable fine-dining bests we embarked upon a 4 hour gustatory marathon that was a true test of our minds, our senses, and our alcohol tolerance.

A disclaimer before I begin: I am not a foodie.  If  you were expecting a wordy and eloquent review with all the embellishments worthy of Matt Preston, you will be sadly disappointed.  There will be pictures, there will be a description of the dish, there will be a clumsy attempt by me to describe what I thought about it.  If that's not good enough for you, then I'm afraid you're reading the wrong blog.

Offering both an omnivore and vegetarian menu both me and Mali opted for the protein, and, after much debate, decided to splurge on the matched wines.  Perhaps more famous than its food, the Royal Mail houses one of the most incredible wine collections in the country, and we both felt it would be a waste to have come this far and not sample a taste of the good life.  Knowing a thing or two about good wine, Mali spared no expense in choosing the international vintage wines, whereas I opted for the much more restrained local village wines.

From the Menu Omnivore, Royal Mail Hotel, July 9, 2010

Jerusalem artichoke, black truffle, triple cream

with philipponnat reserve rosee brut

A very simple looking starter, and you may be wondering, "Where's the black truffle and triple cream?"  Ingeniously stuffed inside the artichoke, both me and Mali were delighted when cream and truffle flakes oozed unctuously from the cut centre.  A delightful and surprisingly light start to the evening, paired with some lovely pink bubbles to help set mood.

Pacific oyster, snow pea, grapefruit, marine essence
with bannockburn sauvingon blanc

Perhaps Dan Hunter's homage to the Sounds of the Sea, this little dish made me think of an aquarium in a bowl, especially with its 'marine essence' broth (not that I've ever tasted the 'marine essence' of an aquarium before).  A wonderfully textured dish with little crunchy thingies added to the smooth, not-so-slimy oysters.  And another fantastic wine to boot.  A light, fruity, aromatic sauv blanc, probably the best I've ever had, which is not difficult since most of the sauv blancs I buy are from the cheapo section and Liquor Land.

Mackerel, burnt celeriac, mustard, pomegranate

with kracher 'illmitz' pinot gris

This one was a real winner for me.  Actually let me just say now, all of the seafood dishes (and there are a few of them) were all fantastic.  What I really liked about this were the mustards seeds which added just enough to the dish without being too overpowering, and pomegranate is always a nice surprise when they explode in your mouth.  This paired with what I think was the choice wine of the night for me, an Austrian pinot gris that - and I'm not even sure if I'm describing this right - had amazing body and texture.  I really couldn't get enough.

Egg yolk, toasted rye, legumes, yeast
with best's chardonnay

Mali informed me that this was one of the Royal Mail's signature dishes of the season, and at first glance it was hard to see why.  But what appeared to be an egg yolk on a mix of crumbs turned out to be a very intelligent dish that played with a lot of different textures.  Perhaps not the most flavourful dish, but enjoyable nonetheless.  And I couldn't quite put my finger on it till this morning, but the grains reminded me of Kellogg's Just Right cereal.  The wine was again incredible, and given that Best's winery is on the way back to Melbourne from Horsham, you can be sure that I'll be dropping by to pick up a few bottles.

Hapuku, brassicas, chicken skin and broth
with riddoch estate shiraz

The story is getting a bit repetitive now guys.  Great dish, even better wines, etc etc.  What I can say about this though is that I got very excited when I noted the puree tasted like cauliflower, then found out cauliflower comes for the brassica species.  Chalk one up for my tastebuds.  And what the hell is Hapuku?

Eel, beef tendon, kohl rabi, potato
with majella cabernet sauvignon

Over halfway through the menu, and I realise we haven't seen a single piece of meat yet.  But its hard to complain when you get to experience such a range of seafood.  A nice, firmly cooked eel with a very very very soft beef tendon that almost melted away.  And a few little veggie trimmings.  And another glass of wine.  By the way, Mali and I were both very happy at this point, and it's remarkable that I continued to get these still shots with no flash.

Lamb, eggplant in white miso, pine nut, chlorophyll
with best's pinot meunier

Finally we get a decent piece of meat on the plate.  And I know what you're thinking.  "Chlorophyll...that's the stuff in plants, right?"  Yes, your year 7 science teacher didn't lie.  That green smear is indeed chlorophyll, somehow extracted from some plant in some mysterious way, and uhh...it was nice.  What I really loved though was the surprising acidity in the eggplant (I have no idea how) that, when eaten together with the lamb, really gave it something extra.  Another great selection from Best's, and another one to put on the shopping list.

Rhubarb, licorice, almond, citrus

So we moved onto the desserts, and this little dish was to serve as a palate cleanser before we moved onto the good stuff, hence no matching wines.  Which was probably a smart move, since there were some heavy hitting dessert wines still to come.  I'm not a big fan of licorice, but this quite a well balanced dish with the licorice combining with the sourness of the rhubarb to really knock the flavours out of you, and the almonds just gave it all a nice crunchy texture.

Banana in szechuan pepper, coconut and cocoa ice

with crawford river 'nektar' semillon sauvignon

Szechuan pepper?!?  For dessert?!?  Yes you read it right, and to be honest it was delicious.  Wonderfully soft banana with just a hint of spice, and a cocoa ice that gave you the coolness you crave when you have dessert.  It definitely didn't make me miss ice-cream.  And that wine!  As our sommelier said, "I hate desserts, but I love dessert wines."  Actually my wine went beautifully with my dessert, whereas Mali's vintage option was an incredible stand-alone dessert wine, and I would have been happy to have just sipped on that for the rest of the night.

Pistachio, hazelnut, honeycomb, chocolate

with sanchez romate cream sherry

So the final dish was a rich, decadent, indulgent mix of hazelnut ice-cream (yum!), pistachio (yum yum!) and honeycomb and chocolate pieces (yum yum yum!).  OK, maybe not the most sophisticated dessert in the world, but definitely a table pleaser.  The cream sherry was lovely and thick and definitely left a lasting impression.

And that brings me to the end of the night!  10 dishes and 9 choice wines later Mali and I were suitably stuffed and unsuitably inebriated, and settled down with a nice cup of coffee and a few little chocies.  Looking back there were definitely some highlights for me, including the mackerel and lamb dishes.  The food, while perhaps not the most complex or the most flavoursome, was definitely very intelligent, and a lot of the night was spent thinking about all the different components of each dish and how they combined so well to create flavours and textures.

But by far the standout, well above any dish on the menu, was the matching wine selection.  I am so glad Mali convinced me to go for the matched wine option because I have never, and will probably never again, have such amazing wine.  And what added to the whole experience was our entertainingly passionate and expressive sommelier who seemed to ooze sex and sleaze every time he described each of the wines.  I found myself looking forward to his visits every time we had a new wine just so I could enjoy the theatre of his presentations.

In keeping with the whole wine theme, Mali and I ended up buying another bottle of something down the cheaper end of the scale to take back to the hotel and spent the rest of the night having a big D&M. That tends to happen a lot whenever good wine and good company are involved, and the best thing is good wine never touches me the next morning.  Hooray!

So in short, the Royal Mail is definitely worth a trip to the middle of nowheresville.  The food is an experience and the wine is to die for.  Not only that, the surrounds of the Grampians are beautiful, and the days can be spent walking the many trails that wind through this great mountain range.  Unfortunately it was raining when Mali and I were there so we didn't get to see any of it, but hey, there's always next time!