Dullsville has its appeal

I have always complained that Perth is a city that is fantastic for bringing up children or retiring but, regrettably, lousy for all the years in between. Perth does not have the hustle and bustle hum of inner city living that Sydney boasts, nor the cultural (and often colourful) centres that Melbourne promulgates. Although our CBD has developed (quite considerably) in the last 3-5 years we are still a miles behind our eastern states cousins when it comes to active inner city living and cultural variety in the form of performing and (for want of a better word) static arts. 

On multiple occasions I have been tempted to move to Victoria, New South Wales or, heaven forbid, even Queensland. A number of factors have prevented me from jumping ship, chief among them have been: family, friends, money and the wonderful outdoor Perth lifestyle. Given my complaints, it is both surprising and somewhat ironic that I often long to exchange life in suburbia for the peace and quiet of Margaret River. I usually manage to make the three hour drive to my parents holiday house (situated just out of Margs) between two and three times a year and I always return (whether the sojourn has been a fleeting 3 days or a more extended break) feeling reluctant to leave this little slice of heaven but rejuvenated and ready to get back to work. 

So it was that last month I called my BF (Amber) and asked whether she would care to join me on an long weekend in MR. No hubby on her part and no other friends on mine, just a girly weekend involving as much wine, food and art as we could both handle. She enthusiastically agreed and we set a date for the second weekend in September. 

In order to maximise our time down south (and capitalise on the chance to eat an extra meal away) we set off mid morning on the Friday. The traffic was good to us and we gossiped contentedly about work, family and friends as city and suburbia gradually morphed into farmland. As planned we made good time and decided that lunch at Wills Domain (situated just off Caves Rd near Yallingup) would be our reward. Wills Domain has always been a bit of a steady favourite with me and my friends, originally it was a small cellar door with approximately ten tables but as we approached the winery it became apparent that it had expanded. The original cellar door building remains but a glassed atrium, of sorts, connects the cellar door to a gift shop and gallery. The addition of the atrium and the extension of the roofed verandah, bordering the cellar door building, has resulted in a much larger restaurant with at least double the amount of tables. 

What had always appealed to us previously about Wills was the wonderful tasting plates. From memory, you could choose from vegetarian, meat or seafood and the plates were a combination of both warm and cold confections big enough to be shared between four people for entree or eaten by one for main. I was a little disappointed that the tasting plates were no longer on the menu but thought that the menu read well despite this. 

View from Wills Domain

Amber wanted the charcuterie plate, a mixture of antipasti, dips, bread and cheese, and since that sounded like enough for both of us I suggested that we order a salad to go with it. Here I felt the menu was a little lacking but in the end we settled with the entree of duck confit, pear and rocket salad. The charcuterie plate was everything that one would expect and the serves were very generous. I was a little surprised when my duck salad arrived and I discovered it was more of a duck confit with a salad garnish than an actual salad. All the same, the serve of duck was both generous and succulent and the salad (although way too small for my liking) was fresh and nicely dressed with a slightly zesty salad dressing. After demolishing both plates we decided that it was only fitting to celebrate our little holiday with dessert. Amber ordered the pannacotta with raspberry fool and honeycomb 'soil' and I had the chocolate donuts with chocolate sauce and creme caramel ice cream.

It quickly became apparent that desserts were not the chef's forte. Amber's pannacotta had a lovely flavour and creamy texture, but the raspberry fool was gluggy and overpoweringly rich when combined with the pannacotta. My chocolate donuts were filled with eclair like chocolate mousse however, both the donuts and the mousse lacked a chocolatey flavour (Amber remarked that they tasted savoury not sweet). The donuts had been drizzled with chocolate sauce but also honey which led to a sickly sweet rather than chocolate flavour. The one saving grace of the dish was the creme caramel ice cream which was utterly divine. Overall, I couldn't help but be disappointed in the changes that Wills Domain has made to its menu.

Style: relaxed, upper market fare 

Service: 3/5

Food: 2.5/5

Wine: 3/5

Ambience: 3/5

We arrived at the house mid afternoon and after a quick trip to Margaret River proper to stock up on groceries, we got the pot belly fire going and, glass of cider in hand, settled on the couches with our fashion mags. Rising early the next morning, we headed to the MR farmers' market. With fresh produce, baked goods and delicious preserves on offer, we returned to the car with a full bag and light wallets. Next it was off to the galleries, first to Yallingup Gallery and then on to Gunyulgup. I admired a colourful little watercolour and ink work by Cate Edwards at Yallingup, unfortunately (for me) her prices have increased somewhat in the last 18months and the price tag simply put it out of my budget. We both had better luck at Gunyulgup where Amber introduced me to the laser cut art work of Sue Codee. An Albany native, Sue creates laser cut silhouettes out of black paper. Whilst her larger framed works had an asking price of $550, I indulged in two of her much more affordable, smaller, unframed works at $55 each and Amber bought a second piece to complement one she had bought previously at the Fremantle Arts Centre. 

Leafy - my Sue Codee works

Old growth - the second of my Sue Codee works

Having had our fair share of retail therapy, and ravenous as a result, we headed to the Berry Farm for some delicious homestyle fare. We both ordered the special snapper with risotto and 'avocado cream' and I indulged in a glass of nashi pear sparkling wine. I have never been disappointed at the Berry Farm and I was not that day, the snapper was perfectly cooked, the risotto had a wonderful creamy texture and the avocado cream was a wonderful complement to both the fish and the risotto. To finish off the plate the side salad was generously sized and dressed with a slightly picante dressing. It was a delicious meal! The nashi pear sparkling wine was every so slightly sweet but not enough so to detract from the meal. We had planned to have dessert but the generous sizing was our undoing and we settled for watching the New Holland Honeyeaters and Green Eyes flit about the foliage of the cottage garden that surrounds the restaurant.

New Holland Honeyeater at Berry Farm

When we had finally digested our meal enough to move, it was off to the Berry Farm shop and cellar door for more goodies. Full to bursting we headed home to collapse in a heap on the couch.

Style: casual, farm fresh food with a slightly gourmet flair

Service: 3/5

Food: 4.5/5

Wine: 3.5/5

Ambience: 4/5

We got off to an early start on Sunday. Amber's folks were staying at their beach house in Dunsborough that weekend so we decided to pay them a visit on our way home. Sitting on the newly renovated deck of their beach house, it was like we had stepped into paradise. The sun was shining, the temperature mild, the ocean lapping gently within 20 meters of the house, I was extremely reluctant to get back on the road. On our way back through Dunsborough we stopped for a little browse amongst the shops and to check out Zin Zan Gallery. A rather cute Gallery with lots of natural light, there was a good range of art on the walls. Works by Carl Hanaapel, Gemma Ward, Barbara Bennet and even my famous Mum (Jane Benzie) graced the walls as well as some interesting indigenous art in the form of lacquered jewellery boxes and textile designs. Zin Zan was definitely worth the stop off. 

After a quick lunch at a local tea house, we headed back to the car with heavy hearts. Amber fell asleep shortly after we cleared Bunbury (she woke herself up snoring about 15 mins out of Perth) and I settled in with some good tunes for the drive back to the big smoke (ok, so maybe 'rather puny smoke' is a better name but you get the picture). Despite our regret that our holiday had not been longer, we both later reported that we felt much more relaxed heading to work on Monday than the week before. I wonder whether country air comes complete with endorphins?