Live in Mudgee. One Night Only.

Friday 18th October, 2013

Katoomba, Rylstone, Mudgee 

My friend Richard, formerly referred to as the gourmet historian, has been keen for some time to go for ride on the bike for an overnight stay. We finally set a date and decided that Mudgee would be an appropriate distance and an appropriate destination. About 4 hours away with some good local wine and restaurants to make the stay interesting. 

Intrepid Travellers full of joie de vivre and ready to go

 

On the Friday morning, the only doubts were the fact that there were severe bushfires burning in the Blue Mountains where we were about to head. We got away about 9.30 on a lovely sunny day and headed west. We had Bluetooth headsets in the 2 helmets so we could chat along the way. 

I had done this part of the trip only a month before so there were no surprises. The traffic wasn’t too bad, but the smoke in the air got heavier as we went up the mountains. 

We arrived at Katoomba in time for morning tea and we turned off the highway and went down to the main part of town. Parking the bike we wandered down the street and were amazed at the number of coffee shops we passed in a very short distance. We selected one and sat down ready for coffee and breakfast for Richard. Afterwards he gave it his seal of approval, and he knows about these things.

Back on the road and off to Lithgow where one of the major fires had already been burning for 2 days. The smoke was heavy over the town. We did not stop, but headed out on the Castlereagh Highway and then on to the Bylong Valley way through Kandos and Rylstone. Richard had been on the bike a couple of times before for short trips and the only issue he had was once falling asleep on the back and nearly falling off going around a corner, so we were both aware of keeping him awake. On this part of the trip at one point climbing a hill and going around a sweeping left hand corner, I made the mistake of admiring the sweeping vista to the right. When I looked back we were heading to the wrong side of the road and there was an oncoming car about 100 meters away. I quickly corrected and I wouldn’t say it was a close call, but I don’t think there was much chance of Richard going to sleep after that. 

We were both aware of a Chinese dumpling restaurant in Rylstone that had been in the Good Food Guide for a few years and we were determined to find it. Richard is reluctant to eat anywhere that is not in the Good Food Guide. While at coffee in Katoomba I had read to him from a review of 29 Nine 99 (the dumpling restaurant in Rylstone {Click here for review}) which went in to some detail of the background of Na Lan and how she came to Australia and opened a restaurant in Rylstone. 

Richard put this to good use. Na Lan came and had a chat to us at lunch and he was able to greatly impress her by asking questions pertinent to her background and mentioning her husband by name. Richard often demonstrates his interviewing skills by having asked a complete stranger 10 probing questions in the time it would take me to say “Hello, how are you”?. 

The restaurant was in a beautiful old 2 story sandstone building that had once been a bank. We sat in a courtyard between the main building and another single storey sandstone building that had been the bank manager’s residence. And the food was fantastic, including a home prepared Chinese style tea.

Dumplings in the courtyard at the 29 Nine 99 in Rylstone

 

From Rylstone it is a short hop to Mudgee through lovely green rolling hills. As you get closer to the town, vineyards stretch out on either side of the road which I think always makes for more exotic scenery. 

We got into Mudgee and checked in to our pre-booked Motel. Not Richard’s choice. He would have preferred the upmarket Cobb & Co which was booked out. He was kind enough not to complain about it too much throughout the night. 

In the Motel. Boots off.

 

After ablutions and a change from the travelling gear it was off to the Mudgee Brewing Company (Click here for website) which had 6 of it’s own regular beers on tap plus a couple of specials. The 100 year old building had been a wool and skin store and the high ceilings, timber beams and large space made it ideal for the current use. All the brewing tanks were down one side of the building and the rest was an open space where beer and food was served. Live entertainment was on several nights per week. 

We started working our way through the beers. In large glasses. Some of which were up to 8% alcohol. Needless to say after 2 ½ hours of that we were feeling pretty happy with the world. After we had tried all the beers and Richard had interviewed a few of the staff we decided it was time for dinner. 

 

The Mudgee Brewing Company. Yeee-Haa.

 

Richard had his heart set on Elton’s a restaurant nearby (click here for website). You guessed it. The Good Food Guide. We had wandered in pre-brewery and he had suggested booking and I said that it didn’t matter because there were plenty of options if they were full. So now, about 7pm we walked in and the waitress told us they were booked. I received some very dark looks from my travelling companion who had decided that this was my fault for not booking earlier.  I was far too full of Mudgee Brewery medicine to be the least bit concerned. So we were out of the restaurant and wandering up the street when said waitress came up behind us to say she had made a mistake and there was a table available. Disappointment turned to elation in a split second. We were in, seated and perusing the menu feeling all was right with the world after all.  Selecting an entrée and main course each, a suitable bottle of local red wine and we deep into the idle chit chat before the food arrived. 

Sunset in Mudgee. En route from Brewery to dinner.

We each had a different entrée, but about half way through, Richard discovered that his Duck Cannelloni and my Crisp Pork Belly and Seared scallop were both surrounded by the same brown sauce. He was able to conclusively confirm this by dipping his finger into my sauce and tasting it. The dark clouds began to appear. 

The main course arrived, lamb Cutlets for one , beef for the other both accompanied by various vegetables. After applying the finger dipping test it was determined that both main courses had the same brown sauce as both entrees. This was almost too much for Richard. The elation had turned to concern earlier and now turned to indignation. The meal (which I must say I thoroughly enjoyed) was ruined. No coffee, no dessert. Let’s get out of here. 

That's a cheeky little number. Elton's. Pre-Brown Sauce

 

So back on the street we found a beautiful old shop that had been converted to a bar/nightclub/restaurant called Sajos (click here for website). We entered, increasing the clientele from zero to 2. The 3 staff members looked unimpressed. We had coffee and dessert and a glass of wine, which probably wasn’t necessary. They had a baby grand piano turned to the wall and covered in a sheet. When I enquired about it a staff member said that they hide it because customers kept trying to play it. I had to laugh because that was precisely what was in my (tipsy) mind. By the time we had finished, two other men had come in, but the staff had put up the closed sign on the front door. Way too many customers apparently.

We staggered on back to the Motel, wisely deciding not to go into another pub we passed along the way. Within half an hour Richard was passed out on his bed and I had a quiet read.

 

Saturday 19th October, 2013

Mudgee, Blackheath, Penrith, Sydney

Richard had already selected the Market street Café (click here for review) for breakfast and this time everything went according to plan. Eggs Benedict all round with local eggs, local ham, perfect Hollandaise and fresh squeezed local oranges. Lashings of coffee for me and Tea for Richard (I don’t drink coffee early in the morning). 

Perusing the breakfast menu. Eggs Benedict I think.

 

A quick walk around the Saturday morning farmers market and it was back to the motel for some helmet modifications and then back on the road. 

We had discussed going on to Orange for a second night, but Richard had some family issues and decided that he should be getting home.

It was a beautiful morning leaving Mudgee. Sunny, blue sky, no wind, not too hot and not too cold. The sort of conditions that make you feel like staying on the bike all day.

When we came down into Lithgow, it was blanketed in Smoke. Fire had been burning for 3 days by that stage and the morning was very still so the smoke was sitting there like a heavy fog. We stopped for petrol and then headed for Blackheath.

 Mt Victoria again seemed to be the closest we got to the fires with thick smoke rising from the valley beside the highway. We found a very nice coffee shop in Blackheath where Richard had his triple shot morning heart starter. It was too early for lunch so we thought about somewhere to stop for lunch before getting home. The last major centre before hitting the metropolitan area was Penrith so we decided we would stop there. This was our one big planning mistake of the trip. 

After the tranquillity and beauty of Katoomba, Rylstone, Mudgee and Blackheath, Penrith was a nightmare. As soon as we got off the freeway we were in a traffic Jam and it was getting hot. We crawled through Penrith to the main shopping centre and went looking for somewhere to eat. Nothing at all in the Good Food Guide, so, much to Richard’s disappointment, we had to make do with a small Japanese sushi and noodle house. We survived.

We made good time after Penrith. At this stage on the M7 was my only moment of panic. Travelling at 100kmh the car in front of us threw up a very large piece of plastic into the wind right in front of us. When I say large I mean something like a double mattress cover. I hit the brakes, although we were too close to it to actually stop. Fortunately we went straight over the top of it and never missed a beat.

We decided a quick beer at the Como Hotel was good way to finish the trip. We drank it talking about where the next adventure might take us.

 

Last beer at the Como. Trophy in the background.

 

The trip