And the birthday meal itself. We had already decided on the tasting menu and it was great. We added a little something extra to it and some drinks were thrown in as well (part of the room service 1 free drink each, each night from the bar). We had some mocktails at the suggestion of our 2 waitresses for the evening and they were lovely. Really nice combinations and not alcoholic which is what we wanted.
The meal started off with the house baked sourdough bread, served with a plant based butter (possibly oat & macadamia nut) flavoured with lemon myrtle and wattleseed. I've always been a bit 'suspect' of lemon myrtle. I don't know why and can't explain it, other than possibly the smell in natural moth repellent (?) but this surprised me and I enjoyed it. I totally forgot to photo the bread but it's sourdough and butter with sea salt to the side.
Next came the 2 starters. The idea is that you have half each to taste and I guess if one person doesn't like a particular ingredient you can not split it, but that's not an issue here.
I really liked the pumpkin arancini. The outside was lovely and crisp, the inside very tasty. The saffron aioli (vegan) was really light and delicate. The potato part of the beetroot dish was surprisingly crunchy which contrasted nicely with the smooth beetroot emulsion.
Next came the 2 mains and a salad. It was a close run thing as to which I liked best. Hubby was definite he preferred the courgette flowers which were stuffed, but I really liked the polpette. They were nicely spiced and full of flavour and texture. The mushroom added to the dish superbly.
The salad caught me off guard but worked really well to cleanse the palette and prepare you for the desert. It was light and refreshing and the macadamia ricotta was delightful.
The petit fours were a nice treat and the fruit jelly wasn't too sweet either.
I wasn't as sure about the mango & coconut desert. The mango sorbet and the mango tuille were excellent. The coconut cream was light and refreshing and not too sweet, but I found the coconut cake a little too dry for my liking. Hubby enjoyed it though.
And because of a recommendation from one of the waitresses, we ordered an extra desert and wow, it was beautiful. It was chocolatey, it was light it wasn't too sweet it was totally smooth. The cherry gel and cherry sorbet were fantastic. The vanilla and macadamia crunch compliment the smoothness of the milk chocolate mousse and the fresh cherries on the top just added to the wonderful dish. I void easily have eaten a full helping by myself.
So thank you, Hubby. You know who you are. I know you were worried about taking me to a city for a birthday meal knowing I'd rather be sitting up a mountain, but I really enjoyed that meal and it is great to be able to eat anything I want off a menu and it be so good as well.
Wishing you many Happy years ahead!
