So, what do you do when the owner of the pub invites you and your wife to try meals hand-picked by the chefs? You book a table! Not only were we fortunate enough to sit with the owner of the establishment and enjoy a meal, the chefs prepared each dish individually and brought them to the table themselves. Yes, we certainly felt privileged to receive special treatment on this occasion.
Each dish that was brought to the table was shared amongst three people, to be enjoyed and discussed. So let’s rip into it.
ENTREES
Bruschetta - Fresh, zesty and moreish and the kick of lemon definitely took it up a notch.
Trio of Dips -Normally a trio of dips is good, but these were sensational. The pumpkin dip was the stand-out for me. It was sweet and delicious, with a secret ingredient we’ve been sworn to secrecy over. The Hommus had a wonderful smokey flavour that I couldn’t put my finger on and the third dip, made from cherry tomatoes was very good too. Each of the three dips was outstanding on its’ own and were hand-made by the chefs who like to change things up, so the dips are not always the same (which is awesome because I can’t wait to taste any other creations).
Chicken Wings - As for the chicken wings, they were bourbon bbq wings and were juicy and sticky – just like we like them.
MAINS - SEASONAL
Lamb Shanks - Let’s talk about those lamb shanks. If you are expecting a lamb shank sitting upon a pile of mash potato with peas and gravy – forget about it. How’s this for a winter warmer? Lamb shanks braised in-house, in a red wine and tomato sauce, served with mashed potato and a variety of root vegetables. This was just superb. The flavour of the sauce managed to find its’ way into the vegetables, the meat just fell off the bone and with rich red wine flavours, just melted in your mouth. Fortunately I was cheeky enough to keep a little bit of bread from the entrees, just to make sure that the plate was nice and clean before we sent it back to the kitchen.
Pork Belly - The star of the mains for me however, was the pork belly. Whilst, for me, you can’t go wrong with pork belly, this dish was a little different to the usual. There was a generous portion of pork accompanied by Asian vegetables and the orange infused, Asian inspired sauce tied those crispy Asian vegetables together perfectly. (Not that I’m suggesting that you take away my pork belly, but, I could have snacked on those vegetables all on their own).
Snapper – Normally, if I feel like snapper, I would head around to my mate Sam who would batter, appropriately season and fry me a piece. But, on this occasion, if you have a couple of chefs who would like to serve you up a nice piece of snapper, who am I to resist (especially if it is served on a bed of mussels). Oh, and did I mention the broth? The chilli and tomato broth was all flavour with just a little bit of a bite and it complemented that fish perfectly. A really enjoyable winter seafood dish.
Seafood Fettuccine/Spaghetti – Fresh seafood beautifully cooked (Sharon even at the baby octopus). My only complaint, though very minor, would be that it would be nice to have a fresh piece of bread to soak up the beautiful creamy rosé sauce on this dish.
As you can imagine, with all of that, even divided between three people, there was absolutely no room for dessert. Who knows what the chefs had in mind for that, but I’m sure it would have been awesome. Next time!
In conclusion, you have two young chefs out at the Brisbane Valley Tavern - Fernvale, definitely looking to make an impression and, on this occasion, they have taken pub food to the next level. I understand there is a new menu coming soon too. I highly recommend that you book a table and try it out for yourself. Oh, and be sure to tell them that I sent you.
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