The Terrace Hotel

Last weekend (20th and 21st July) I attended the food photography and food styling workshops run by Billy of A Table For Two (more on that in a later post). It was an awesome experience and I met a bunch of really down-to-earth, genuine people who have inspired me to write a foodie post (and dust the cobwebs off my blog).

The workshops were held at The Terrace Hotel. The Hotel has been on my wishlist so this was a great opportunity to cross this off my list.

To start, we had the Gourmet Tastes Platter, comprising duck wontons, San Daniele prosciutto, chicken liver parfair, pork rillettes, squid cones, Turkish bread & hummus. (This may not be available to order from the standard menu.)

Gourmet Tastes Platter: Turkish bread & hummus

The hummus was tasty, but it was overshadowed by the colourful display on the board next to it.

Gourmet Tastes Platter: Polenta cubes

I have never liked polenta but I was always of the opinion that it was because I haven't had "proper" polenta yet. Turned out I was right. This polenta was fluffy, light and creamy. Nothing like the floury, tasteless stuff I'd had before.

The duck wontons were pleasantly crispy, though I must admit I couldn't tell that the filling was duck.

Gourmet Tastes Platter: Polenta cubes and duck wontons

Gourmet Tastes Platter

The chicken liver parfait and pork rillette are handmade in house I believe. They both had mild flavours which did not overpower any of the other flavours on the board. The prosciutto, too, had a nice mild flavour which went nicely with the pickles and quail eggs with runny yolks. There were also salami and cauliflower on the board (hidden by the jar). The squid in the bowl in the background was tender and just seasoned - not chewy, and not too salty.

For mains, there was a choice between the pan fried salmon, shitake mushroom broth, green tea noodles, Asian greens, cucumber & coriander salad ($40) or the slow cooked crispy Linley Valley pork belly, chorizo & broccoli salad, Spanish black pudding & butternut pumpkin ($36).

The good thing about dining out with my husband is we get to have a taste of each other's meals.

Pan fried salmon, shitake mushroom broth, green tea noodles, Asian greens, cucumber & coriander salad ($40)

The skin on the salmon was perfectly crispy while the flesh was just cooked and flaked away at the touch of my fork. The noodles were cooked perfectly - just the slight resistance, all separated, and no sogginess. The broth was sooo good - perfectly seasoned, not too salty and adds perfectly to the fish. The only issue I had with this dish was the coriander which I immediately removed after the photos. :P

Slow cooked crispy Linley Valley pork belly, chorizo & broccoli salad, Spanish black pudding & butternut pumpkin ($36)

The only thing that could top a perfectly cooked salmon and broth is a perfectly slow cooked melt-in-your-mouth pork belly with perfectly crispy crackling. Needless to say, this was the star of the day. The butternut pumpkin and nutty salad, together with the black pudding provided sweet flavours and extra texture to the soft juicy fatty pork.

Macadamia & herb crusted Amelia park lamb rack, sweet potato fondant, spinach puree, confit shoulder, white wine & rosemary jus ($40)

On the second day, the choice was between the pork and the macadamia & herb crusted Amelia park lamb rack, sweet potato fondant, spinach puree, confit shoulder, white wine & rosemary jus ($40).

The lamb rack was just a tad chewy for me, but it was full of flavour. I especially liked the spinach puree. I personally have not had spinach with lamb before, so the kick of flavour came to me as a surprise which I felt worked really well with the classic lamb flavours.

Onto desserts...

I am more of a savoury person than sweet, so I, *ahem*, don't particularly like desserts. Especially sticky date pudding which I always find too dense, too rich and too sweet. So between a choice of the sticky date pudding, toffee ice cream, vanilla ice cream, toffee sauce ($15) or the bitter chocolate & orange tart, creme fraiche and honey comb ($16), it was safer to go with the tart.

Imagine our surprise and all-round food envy when the sticky date pudding appeared in a sundae glass!

Sticky date pudding, toffee ice cream, vanilla ice cream, toffee sauce ($15)

Throw out the traditional idea of heavy, dense, sticky, date-y pudding. This cake was fluffy and light, and layered into toffee ice cream, vanilla ice cream, and toffee sauce, and then topped with chocolate shavings and a rolled wafer. The trio of ice cream and sauce layers were just the right sweetness with a very small hint of bitterness which meant there was no sick-ate-too-much-sweets feeling at the end of it. Instead, there was more of a can-I-have-some-more feeling.

Bitter chocolate & orange tart, creme fraiche and honey comb ($15)

That is not to say that the tart wasn't good. The bitterness of the chocolate and the sweetness of the orange cream and creme fraiche offset each other. The tart was beautifully smooth and creamy. The honeycomb added a nice crunch.

Trio of house made ice creams ($9)

For the second day, at special request, I had the trio of house made ice creams ($9). The flavours of the day were dark chocolate, dulce de leche, and white chocolate & blueberry sorbet. The dark chocolate was beautifully rich, and the blueberry sorbet was full of flavour and refreshing. My favourite was the dulce de leche. I had imagined that a dulce de leche flavoured ice cream would be sickeningly sweet, but this not too sweet, was just sweet enough, with a smoothness of flavour and texture. I also loved the scattering of nuts which added crunch to the ice creams.

I thoroughly enjoyed my two meals at The Terrace Hotel, not just because of the food but also because of the exceptional service that we received, particularly from the one person looking after our private dining room for both days (of course I was also amongst great company).

I would like to go back again, perhaps for high tea one weekend.