Lake House Restaurant @ Daylesford

Lakehouse...



That's where everyone apparently goes to when they visit Daylesford...



The Age Good Food Guide Review awarded it a whopping 2 chef's hat... read the review here...



So, as a dutiful foodie, I of course cannot pass up the opportunity to dine in this fine establishment...



Although I was tossing (the Boy and I) between Lake House and Sault, the latter which was featured in the Melbourne Entertainment Book, which would have meant a discount...



We thought we'd try our luck first with Lakehouse and if they turned us away, we'd go to Sault...



Because we were so full from Scones and Chowder, we had to take an hour's break walking around the town of Daylesford and visiting their Sunday market...



According to the Good Food Guide, Lake House closes at 3pm and Ssault at 4pm, hence why we went to Lake House first...This was at 2pm, mind you.

Not only we were greeted cordially at the doorstep, we were invited to wait in their lounge area, whilst they cleared a table for us! Talk about service...



As we were seated at our table, I promptly took in the surroundings and happily snapped all angles... AND... *JENG* *JENG* *JENG*



Unbeknownst to me at that time, I took a Papparazzi shot.. of Hamish Blake... of the popular duo, Hamish and Andy on a date!!!



Anyway, coming back to food...



We were given ample time to look through the menu...



The good thing about visiting a place like Lakehouse in a group of 4, is that we can try most of everything on offer.. which is what we did... except for the Veal (since none of us, but the Boy ate beef)



Pink sea salt!



Each of us were provided with a different plate (can be bought for $65)



The paintings on the plate are done by the Executive Chef and Managing Director, Alla Wolf Tasker herself.



How talented is she??



One more to go...



All 4 of us decided to forego the entree option and take on a main meal and a dessert instead...



I had the lamb... delicious!! Everything a lamb should wish to be upon sacrifice! It came with a rolled up crispy layer of lamb crackling and fat that literally melted in the mouth...!



Big Sis had the duck and that was very nice as well...



The Boy had Pan Seared Snapper...with scampi's and vegetables



Look, Ma! Foam!!!



Big Bro had the most exciting dish... unfortunately, the Boy had hold of the camera at that time and didn't understand my nudges under the table to catch the effect...

(This was the apple sauce that came with Big Bro's pork dish)



Big Bro had the pork with cranberries(which came shrouded in smoke in a glass casing).. and the Boy failed to capture that moment.. *sigh*



On to the desserts.... Big Bro and Big Sis decided to have the tasting platter for 2, which consisted of (my memory shall serve me here...), Marzipan, Pavlova, Chocolate Souffle, Coconut Sorbet, A vanilla panna cota, and a Grand Marnier Grape sorbet...



The Boy had the peanut butter dessert, chocolate cigar and a shot of dark chocolate and Amaretto (Which I had)



My own dessert, when it arrived was so pretty, I didn't want to eat it.. but the sight of my Rose' sorbet melting away convinced me to hurrily scoop the contents in my mouth...

Raspberries, a nectarine ... and I can't remember what the other one was.. but it was just so pretty!!!



I didn't want it to end!



I know many have said that the Lake House is pricey and over rated.. but I beg to differ.. the quality of the food (fresh) and the service that came along with it, was well worth it.. many other establishments (especially those around the CBD area) would do well to learn from this place... after all, it has been around for 30 years.. and you don't last that long in this industry if you weren't very good...!

Overall Food Rating: 9/10
Restaurant ambiance: 9/10 (Service was exceptional)
Value for money: 8/10 (They only had one choice for lunch on Sunday's... $65 for a 2 course meal, they also had an option for 3 courses but I apologies, I can't remember the price for it.. I think it was $85)

Address:
4 King Street
Daylesford
VIC 3460

Tel: 03 5348 3329
Fax: 03 5348 3995

E-mail: info@lakehouse.com.au

Website: http://lakehouse.com.au/

How to get there:

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Chowder House @ Hepburn Springs (Daylesford)

Next stop on the menu (after Lavendula) was to go to Chowder House for some good chowder...



I came here based solely on Ms Tinymouse's suggestion... and it was worth it... HOWEVER, I did have a little tiny bitty gripe with them...



You see, when Ms Tinymouse tried the food at Chowder House slightly over a year ago, the price for their Chowder was less than $13 (She can't remember exactly)... but it seems, that in recent times... after a certain food critic (Matt Preston) reviewed this place, the price has increased to $16.50 for the large bowl. (You can see the article at the bottom right of the picture above, and read the Article here.)




Because we were so full with Lavender Scones, we decided to only order 2 chowders...



However we were politely told, that if that were the case, we would be charged for using CUTLERY!!!...



The only other option was to go for "half-serves", which apparently would have worked out to be the same as the cutlery charged.... ($16.50 for a proper bowl of chowder, and $12.50 for the half serves)



Despite that slight unpleasant-ness.. the waitress who served us was fantastic.. she didn't come across as rude or anything like that at all... I just didn't like the policy introduced =(



However, all things aside... The chowder was fantastic.. and surprisingly full of goodies...

Big Bro and the Boy had Smoked Cod Fish Chowder, which was extremely rich and intense... delicious!



Big Sis and I had the Clam Chowder, a much lighter version compared to the one the two Boys had, but delicious nevertheless



Big Bro fell in love with the Ciabatta bread given and attacked all of mine and Big Sis's (I was much too full from scones)!

Overall Food Rating: 8.5/10
Restaurant ambiance: 7/10 (Very quaint and homey)
Value for money: 8/10 (Grudgingly, only because the bowls were full of clams and seafood, and not stinged upon)

Location:
97 Main Rd
Hepburn Springs
VIC 3461

Tel: 03 5348 2221


How to get there:

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Lavendula Swiss Italian Farm @ Daylesford

The reason for the lack of posts can be explained now.. Big Sis and Big Bro are down from Sydney and visiting and having a foodie trip, which I of course planned =)

One Sunday morning, after driving for 2.5 hours from Carnegie (South-East) to Daylesford, we decided to make out first stop and visit Lavendula Swiss Italian Farm.



We were surprised at how "unassuming" the entrace/driveway into the farm area was... but once we had driven through, parked and payed our dues ($3.50 for Adults), we were greeted by Flora!



Flora the farm dog... the cutest and most adorable little doggy, whose sole purpose and job is to greet visitors and roll over for a tummy rub... she also does tours...!!!



We were told that the restaurant only opens at 10.30am (and they were still cleaning up from the night before... looked like a wedding!)... so we were asked to call Flora and get her to take us on a tour... which she did!!!



Flora took us to visit the Lavender hedges and the area where the wedding was carried out, all the time running around our legs and barking at the bees to protect us! I LOVE HER!!!!!!!!!!



After such a long journey, we decided to pit stop at the ladies and gents and Big Sis was tickled by the cartoon on the signage!



Naughty but cute =)



Making our way to the little cottage like restaurant...



The seats were actual church pews (which comes in handy for any Wedding Reception they throw)



Tables and benches amongst the trees outside of the restaurant..



The inside of the Restaurant...



Big Sis trying to place our orders...



The outdoor furnace... for fresh pizza?



We chose table number 26... for no other reason, then the view was fantastic from there ^_^



Big Sis and I



The main reason of our visit... the hot and fluffy Lavender Scones.. with fresh strawberry jam and cream



Mouthwatering-ly delicious... the best scones I've ever had (even beats the one's found in Dandenong Mountains and The Windsor Hotel)



Look! You can actually see bits of the Lavender in the scones!



Lather it, bathe it, drown it...



Top it all off with beautifully brewed English Breakfast Tea... and there you have it my dearies... a jolly good English (Swiss Italian) brekkie in the country!



NOTE: Thanks to all the suggestions from Facebook's "Secret Melbourne", when I asked, "What's good in Daylesford"...


Overall Food Rating: Best Lavender Scones ever eaten!! (As we were leaving though, the crowd coming in for lunch was standing around and waiting for seats... so this rating is ONLY based on their Scones.. and nothing else!)
Farm/Restaurant ambiance: 9/10
Value for money: 9/10 ($8.50 for a set, and the pot of tea was around $6 for 2pax)

Address:
350 Hepburn-Newstead Road,
Shepherds Flat via Daylesford

Email: mail@lavandula.com.au

Phone: 03 5476 4393

Fax: 03 5476 4390

International: +61 3 5476 4393

FARM HOURS:
Lavandula is open 10.30am-5.30pm

From 1 September to 31 May we're open daily

In June/July/August we're open weekends, Queens Birthday Monday and Victorian school holidays

Café is closed for the whole of August
Farm is closed 24 & 25 December

Coaches and large groups by appointment only

Admission: Adults $3.50, school-age students $1.00, annual membership $10

Leashed dogs are welcome

Website: http://lavandula.com.au