Slipping into Sydney and sipping wines with the Sydney Chaine

Saturday 17 April  

The road trip continues today with Flashy taking the wheel for the first leg to Leura. Lady P mentioned the fact that the car was a bit dusty and before we could say ‘canabolus fog’ Don had washed the car, topped off the windscreen washing fluid and deemed it safe to depart. It was a largely uneventful trip until Google advised us of a road accident near Katoomba. With some trepidation, we took her advice and by passed the town and avoided a 10km traffic jam. A stop at Leura and a light lunch at the Leura Garage for a salad and pulled pork roll and we headed down the Blue Mountains to Sydney and our overnight stop at the Hilton. A very different Hilton to pre-pandemic times, but a comfortable room.

Tonight is our la Chaine des Rotisseurs dinner, hosted by the NSW Bailliage. This was presented at Fix Wine Bar and restaurant, walking distance from the Hilton. Their approach is different to our Bailliage, as we had three glasses of 80ml pours of wine accompanying the meal, plus a more educative session from the food and wine masters.

The stunning tempura, saltbush and vinegar fried mussels, with the Dal Zotto Prosecco from the King Valley in Victoria was served on arrival on the footpath in Elizabeth Street, meaning it was now warm enough to stand around in the open air. Lady P again attracted the attention of two older lads from Sydney. One of the pair with a pink rooster hair, Elton glasses and one red and one black shoe and a black and white bold stiped shirt. Someone’s idea of elegant dress standard. The menu was beautifully presented by the chef and accompanied by some controversial wine pairing.

Kangaroo tartare, babaganoush and native dukka with a Yarra Valley Arneis (discussion over the choice of a white wine here). The bush tomato risotto was brilliantly cooked, with powerful flavours. The Freeman Rondo Rondinella Rose was good enough to stand up to the dish. The hero of the night was the 24 hour sous vie beef fillet with pepperberry jus and a rosti with egg emulsion, paired with Barossa Valley Montepulciano. Flashy was looking for a tad more than 80mls of this beauty, but alas, none to be had. A cute attempt at a Rosella Jam donut with a late picked Barossa Semillon was ok but not spectacular. All in all, it was an enjoyable evening, with Lady P attracting the attention of a number of the Sydney male glitterati and accepting a business card from her ‘best gay friend’ John, whose embossed business card listed an address in Italy as his principle place of residence!