Fine food, wine and a beach view

 

WINED BY:
Baddaginnie Run of the Strathbogie Ranges in Northern Victoria
www.baddaginnierun.net.au

DINED BY:
Cerberus Beach House, Boat Shed 212, Half Moon Bay. Black Rock. Victoria
www.cerberusbeachhouse.com.au

THIRST QUENCHED BY:
White rabbit brewery
www.whiterabbitbeer.com.au
Two Brothers Brewery www.2brothers.com.au

Keeping up the tradition of fine birthday dining for the prodijee crew – this time it was the fashion editor’s turn to be treated by myself and the editor.

The selection of venue was guided by the subtle hints over the year that “I would love to go to that pretty little beach house restaurant down in Half Moon Bay sometime”. Being the gentlemen we are, we duly noted down these hints and the booking was made.

I can’t go any further without making a comment about the location and view! Wow – what a spot! The restaurant is situated in the cusp of Half Moon Bay, facing the beauty that is Port Phillip Bay and treated by the lights of Melbourne’s skyline to the north and Point Cook to the west. We were treated by nature’s splendour by arriving in time to enjoy the spectacle of an embering sunset flagged by ships and tankers going about their business, unaware of the pictorial treat they were providing us.

Okay! Mood set – lets dine.

The birthday girl started her wind down with a champagne cocktail. The pleasure sighs that accompanied it, assure me that it was delicious.

After scanning the menu and getting a feel of what everyone was going to have, I ordered a bottle of Baddaginnie Run 2012 merlot to be opened and set aside.

I watched the sunset with a White Rabbit Dark Ale, which was great, having moved away over the years from the stronger brews like stout. When I have ale now, I want it to speak more of flavour than of heavy body and that’s exactly what I got from White Rabbit. Lots of caramel flavour, but not too much to overbear all those subtle fruit nuances. The editor went back to a night we all had down at Two Brothers brewery in Moorabbin by ordering a very safe Pilsner labelled Taxi. This is a German style pilsner, soft in nature and the right light bitterness that makes for an easy drink on a hot day.

We all ordered and within a blink of an eye, the charming Canadian waitress, Kaytlin, delivered a freshly baked cob loaf with delicious infused oils and garlic butter. This was a perfect way to ease ourselves into a great dining experience.

I indulged myself with a repast that I feel blended well with the surroundings – Cerberus fish and chips. The beer battered flake (shark) was plentiful and delicious and was accompanied by crispy chips, tangy fennel coleslaw, a side of mushy green peas and a generous serve of a beautifully created country tartar sauce.

Everything was just perfect and was polished off in good time, but was of such a generous portion that, together with the cob loaf, I could not fit in dessert.

The birthday girl has a good knack for picking the right dish whenever we go out and this night was no exception – angel hair spaghetti with blue swimmer crab and tiger prawns – YUM!
Made with avocado, chilli, lime and garlic, the aroma of this dish alone made me decide that this was going to be my main at my next visit. It looked gorgeous on the plate and I admit now that I could not resist sampling some. Just irresistible, full of flavours that all complimented and none dominated, which exactly how I like my seafood.

The editor chose the Gippsland grass fed eye fillet steak with wild mushrooms, hand cut Sebago chips and truffle and chive butter. His comments between mutterings of ‘Mmm’ and ‘delicious’ described a perfectly cooked steak with a sumptuous sauce that was obviously being eagerly devoured.

The previously opened Baddaginnie Run 2012 Merlot was poured at the serving of the main courses and everyone joined in. It was the perfect choice of wine; this superb example of Merlot was to everyone’s taste and complimented every dish, including the seafood.

Boasting gorgeous cherry colours and a bouquet of fruits, berries and just the slightest touch of vanilla, this wine was sumptuous and juicy to the very last drop. This is the trap that you fall into as a wine buff – now I just want to have more of the Baddaginnie Run collection as I can remember the same style label and name on other varieties such as shiraz and I think even a rose.
Well I was not the only one stumped by the portions, so it was up the fashion editor to be the vanguard for dessert. We, of course, all had our opinion of what she should order. When the Chefs Selected Freshly Baked Soufflé hit the table, the three accompanying gasps were clearly audible.

Served with shortbread and a spectacular homemade toffee ice cream, this was a delightful fluffy treat that was a fitting finale for a great birthday dinner.

This little seaside jewel should go on everyone’s dine out shortlist. The food was great the service was impeccable and the setting is simply to die for.

Let prodijee know if you have a special place or favorite refreshment that you would like our readers to enjoy by contacting John at johnanthony@prodijee.com