T'Gallant

T'Gallant
1385 Mornington Flinders Road
Main Ridge 3928


My birthday falls in early January and if things work out the way I like I spend it on the Mornington Peninsula.  This year I was lucky to have all my family join me for a week in Mt Martha and on my actual birthday we had a big family lunch at the beautiful T'Gallant winery in Main Ridge.

As we numbered 18 we had the $40 set menu in the Spuntino Bar.  The staff were very helpful in accommodating dietary requirements - one of my nieces is coeliac and the other follows a vegan diet. When I booked I chose to be inside and this worked well as it was a very windy day.

Our lunch began with wine tasting at the Cellar Door.  The wines we tasted were beautiful and again the staff were great, advising my vegan niece which wines she could taste. I had no idea that some wines use eggs in their production!  From the cellar door we moved into lunch.

 Our set menu began with an antipasto platter.

Antipasto - bread/dip/cheese/olives

I loved the cheese but I am not sure what type it was. The waitress wasn't sure either and despite her attempts to find out it remains a mystery. 

T'Gallant is known as the home of Pinot Gris and as that is one of my favourites I was pretty happy. This 'Imogen' Pinot Gris is their original Pinot Gris from 20 years ago and it was lovely. I can see why it lasted the distance!  Some of our group enjoyed the 'Romeo' (see first photo) which is a really interesting blend of Pinot Noir, Sangiovese and Shiraz with a touch of Rutherglen Muscat!

 

 

Our main course was pizza, salad and roasted potatoes. The menu describes the pizza as "Roman style fragrant 'pizza rustica' on a board from our wood-fired oven".

Margherita -tomato/mozzarella/basil and Funghi - mushroom/gorgonzola/parsley

Kitchen garden salad and Italian style roasted potatoes/garlic/aromatic herbs

Salsiccia - salami/tomato pesto/pecorino and Vegetarian with fresh rocket leaves

All the pizzas were delicious but the vegetarian pizza with the fresh rocket was my favourite. There was no danger of going home hungry.  We could (and did) order more pizza and salad.

A chocolate brownie and coffees finished off our meal. The brownies were fudgy and decadent, just as brownies should be.

Classic chocolate ganache brownie

To close I thought I'd share this photo taken by my niece.  I love the way the beautiful vineyard and outside diners are framed by the window.

   

Mornington Peninsula

As I have mentioned before it doesn't feel like summer if I don't spend some time on the Mornington Peninsula.  This year a relaxing break included lots of time sitting on the deck doing this..

and watching this..

and gazing at this..

We visited some wineries for tastings but as the designated driver I was more interested in the gorgeous vineyard surrounds.

At Paringa Estate these cute guys completely captivated my attention as I watched them waddle around.

The magnificent view from Tuck's Ridge

 

And lastly the view from Red Hill Estate winery.  It was a very hot day so I was standing in the cool shade.  Love the glimpse of the ocean in the distance.


So, lots of clear blue skies, endless ocean, gorgeous views and sunsets.  And, of course, some yummy food!

 

Cafe Jett
197 Point Nepean Road
Dromana 3936


Cafe Jett is opposite the beach at Dromana not far from Pier Street.  Offering the usual cafe fare of burgers, wraps and all day breakfast we all enjoyed our meals however I think my Dukkah toast was the pick of the bunch.  Delicious!

 

That's beetroot on (and in) the ciabatta ;)

L'Aqua
173 Point Nepean Road
Dromana 3936

A little bit further down the road is L'Aqua.  There was a large group of us lunching at L'Aqua and so we got to try a wide selection of the menu.  Everyone enjoyed their meals, though I found my Thai prawn salad to be a bit bland and boring.  I didn't write down what everyone had but the pictures are pretty self explanitory.

 

One of our group got the "Stonegrill".  The super hot stone is delivered to the table with your choice of salmon or meat and then you cook it yourself. One way of making sure your meat or fish is cooked to your liking!





So, that concludes my 2013 Mornington Peninsula post.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed reliving my summer holiday :)

Happy Australia Day!

And happy New Year!  After a lovely, relaxing holiday on the Mornington Peninsula, 
(post coming), I returned to a very hectic work schedule completing an ongoing 
project.  Unfortunately this didn't leave a lot of time for my little blog but things should 
improve now :)

So, to celebrate Australia Day I thought I would share some of the gorgeous sunsets I had the pleasure of experiencing whilst on holiday.  I feel very lucky to live in such a beautiful country.  Happy Australia Day!

Mt Martha

I love the Mornington Peninsula and try to spend some time there every summer.  This year it was just a short break in Mt Martha.  Normally a trip to this region would be full of delicious food, (and wine), highlights but alas, not this time.  The exception being the delicious vanilla slices in Sorrento.  Here are a few shots highlighting the beauty of the area. 

Iconic Mt Martha beach boxes

Flinders

A secret hideaway

Vanilla Slice from ..

London Bridge, Portsea

Beautiful