Day 134, Swan Valley, (Sandalwood Winery), WA

The rain fell steadily on the roof of the van last night but with no wind and certainly not cold, I fell into a very blissful sleep.  It was still raining steadily this morning but not enough to stop us meeting up with a lovely friend for lunch today. Mikki and her husband are both full time Qantas pilots and with two young girls to see off to school each day, their life is very hectic. Quite honestly I am in awe of this young family who juggle so much and with apparent ease.  When I think back to what it was like for Philip and I and our young boys, we had it so easy in comparison.

Mikki picked us up around midday and first stop was to her home to drop off groceries and a warming cup of tea.  Mikki hadn't told us where we were having lunch but when she said that she had made lunch reservations at Sandalwood Winery, I was excited.  This is a well known restaurant in the Swan Valley that has a well deserved reputation for fine dining excellence.

The entry to the winery is a joy.  There are grape vines on both sides of the road as far as the eye can see and arriving to the cellar door/restaurant there is not doubt in your mind that you are in for a wonderful experience.  The gardens and vineyards are immaculate and I particularly loved the tree lined avenue with masses of jonquils at the base of each tree.  The grape vines are dormant at this time of the year but once spring comes around they will burst into life.  

Once inside the warmth of the building we are shown quickly to our table where our very attentive waiter explains the menu to us and also todays "specials".  We are given the drinks menu but we let Mikki chose our drinks as we make no bones about not being connoisseurs of wine.  I had a glass of the Sandalwood bubbles, Philip decided on a Rosé and Mikki a white wine.  It was very difficult to chose what we were going to eat from the extensive menu but once again we fell on our friends knowledge to make suggestions.

 

I ended up choosing the Wagu Rotolo and it was a mighty fine choice.  To try and explain my dish, Rotolo is an Italian dish that means "rolls" or "coils".  Very large pasta sheets are layered with filling that are then rolled into a roulade and sliced thickly.  They are then baked so that the pasta forms crispy edges.  My Rotola was filled with Wagu pulled beef.  It was quite honestly one of the best dishes I have ever eaten and also beautifully presented.  

Philip ordered the Mushroom Pappardelle with shavings of Truffle that he said was also very tasty.  I would normally have a taste of Philip's  dish and vice versa but we both got so carried away with eating and talking that we forgot to share!

Of course we then had to look at the dessert menu.  How do you look without ordering particularly when everything sounds so divine?  I ordered the pear dessert and Philip the cheesecake.  I won't go into detail about these desserts and just let you feast your eyes on them. Lord they were good.(

(The bottom dome on this plate was a hard Jaffa flavoured shell filled with a rich chocolate ganache)

It was a long lunch and apart from the wonderful food, we never stopped talking!  Mikki dropped us back to our van around 3.00 and we have been invited to her place for dinner tonight where we will be able to catch up with Mikki's dad who we haven't seen for more than ten years.  It will undoubtably be another talkfest.