Eling Forest Cellar Door Cafe & Winery

Curiosity after multiple trips back and forth between Sydney and Canberra led us to Eling Forest Cellar Door Café & Winery.

It was a beautiful place that captivated us from the entrance. 

Nectarines

It was only 9.30am so we only ordered the Toby’s Estate coffee. There wasn’t a breakfast menu but they sold tarts and cakes. 

The coffee was a bit disappointing because (a) there was too much milk and (b) the milk was too hot. I usually love Toby’s Estate but this particular cup was a let down. 

cards for table numbers

On the upside, The décor was lovely. The displays and tablecloths gave the place a nice warm country feel while the gardens outside had rows of peach, nectarine and plum trees. 

After the coffee, I walked over to the wine counter and had a taste of the 2005 Botrytis Semillon ($15).

It was golden in colour and rather unremarkable. It smelt sweet like honey and toffee and tasted sweet. Um.. that’s it. It didn’t leave an impression on me unfortunately and I didn’t take any photos either.

 

That’s it! I have to admit, I was more interested/distracted by the surrounds (i.e. the cute magpies, federation style cottages and hens).

 

If you need a stop over, take a walk around Eling Forest café & winery, walk in between the fruit trees, have a coffee but don’t compare it to your normal swish city cafes. 

peach tree heavy with fruit

 

Eling Forest Winery
12587 Hume Highway
Sutton Forest NSW 2577
Phone: 02 4878 9155
Fax: 02 4878 9246
Email: winery@elingforest.com.au

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Rekorderlig Premium Strawberry-Lime Cider

Rekorderlig Sweedish strawberry-lime cider. PREMIUM Cider.

I was first introduced to this drink 3 weeks ago when I went out with a bunch of friends to King O’Malleys Irish Pubdown in Canberra (“You have to try the chicken parmy at KingOs” my friend said to me. I thought that at 10.30pm it would be too big. Instead I ordered the beer battered fish n chips at $18.90 which was stupid. Coz it was a whopping giant delicious 2 fillets on a mountain of chips and salad. I should say I was stupid. Coz it tasted so good I had to finish it. I had to run 2ks and up my weights at 6.20am the morning after).

My friend was the one who ordered the Rekorderlig for approx. $10 for a bottle that came out with a glass full of ice. She filled her glass to the top, got me another schooner of ice which I filled with the cider. And once the drink filled to the top, there was still more to go around.

Unlike the average cider, this strawberry-lime cider has less head that disappears as quickly as your average fizzy drink like lemonade.

It’s pretty, it’s pink, its sweet, fizzy and smells like strawberry and kiwifruit.

On the taste buds, it tastes like strawberry jam ending on a crisp note of lime.

Yum!

At 4% Alcohol content I’m thinking it’s a good substitute for moscato for my friends who are driving. I’m also thinking that at ~$6 for 500ml (bought at Dan Murphy’s) it’s a similar price to the cheaper Moscato bottles out there.

Urban Food Store + Cafe, Canberra

 

We had just finished a 4 day long conference and needed to zone out before the drive home.  A coffee and tasty lunch was in order.

Across from our hotel was Urban Food Store+ Cafe which was just perfect because it was raining heavily outside. Ahh… it was going to be a good trip up.

Top: Mocha. Bottom: Skim Cappuccino

Coffee and mochas were $3.90 for a small. My friend ordered the mocha and I the skinny capp.

The blend was dark, smooth and rather mild. In the broad spectrum of coffees I’ve had it comes in as ‘ok -> good’; but the caffeine sure hit the spot.

 

The Hungries came and I ordered the special of the day: the Mo Burger for $15. It took 20-30 minutes to come out but when it did, I knew why. Fast food it was not.

The chips were delicious and golden – chunky potato strips tossed in rosemary and salt. Some of the best chips lots I’ve ever had.

 

The burger came with a tall stake through it because it was made so high!

It was definitely worth the wait. The bread was crusty on the outside, it was high and big oval air pockets all the way through it. It was so tasty and spread with butter that I would have been happy eating it by itself.

Next time you’re in Canberra and have over an hour or so for lunch, I recommend visiting Urban Food.

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