On the Road to Happiness

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This was published 12 years ago

On the Road to Happiness

Delicious detours ... the grand entrance to Tower Lodge at Pokolbin.

Delicious detours ... the grand entrance to Tower Lodge at Pokolbin.

Penny Watson enjoys a trio of luxe pit stops on Relais & Chateaux's 'route du bonheur'.

My leathery, old overnight bag is in the boot, my thankfully not-so-leathery or old husband is in the passenger seat and Sydney's hazy, blue city skyline is fast disappearing in the rear-view mirror.

As I prepare for an indulgent long weekend of big-bed sleep-ins, fine food and often-dreamy scenery, I suspect that the often elusive state of happiness can occasionally be attained by purely hedonistic means.

The French hotel and restaurant group Relais & Chateaux has devised an itinerary called the Route du Bonheur (Road to Happiness). Before you go tapping it into your GPS, the route isn't prescribed; only the pit stops count. In this case, it's the hotels and restaurants belonging to Relais & Chateaux's trio of NSW properties. They are ideally spaced for a long weekend in and around Sydney. We'll spend a night at Tower Lodge, in the Hunter Valley, then we'll backtrack to sublime Whale Beach for a night at Jonah's. We'll finish where we began - in Sydney, with a feast at Tetsuya's. Just the thought of it makes me happy.

The route itself might not be the point of the expedition but it is gratuitously scenic all the same. Sydney's tunnelled road mass spits you out on the Newcastle Freeway, flanked by the dense eucalypt forest of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park and yawning great stretches of the Hawkesbury River. From here it's a straightforward run to the Cessnock turnoff, just short of Newcastle. A few turns later and the luminescent green of Pokolbin's shiraz and semillon vines appears by the side of the road like a viticultural welcoming party.

Tower Lodge is touted as the Hunter's only five-star boutique hotel. The shiraz-coloured building sits on expansive lawns amid towering whippet-thin gum trees that appear grey against a background of frog-green grape vines.

Getaway is filming when we arrive. The presenter, Kate Ceberano, can be overheard exclaiming what a great gig she's on. And so she is. Tower Lodge manages to be luxurious and rustic at the same time, which has much to do with its construction. The walls are rendered brick, and handmade Mexican terracotta tiles cover the floor. Recycled bridge timbers were sourced for the roof in the main building and century-old floor-to-ceiling coach-house doors from the south of France lend the place an air of history beyond its 10 years.

The floor plan is Spanish-hacienda style, with an inner courtyard surrounded by 12 individually styled rooms. Our bedroom has a cathedral ceiling that we stare into from a king-size bed with a bedhead that wouldn't be out of place in a Scottish castle. Heavy fabrics, thick rugs, antiques and a fireplace also nod to this wintry theme.

Breakfast is served in the courtyard with a fountain that tinkles serenely as we sit down to expertly benedicted eggs and a cocktail of fresh juices. The Hunter Valley is on our doorstep but there's really no need to get in the car. The lodge's swimming pool has a bar fridge that runs on an honesty system and, just a short walk o'er the paddock, Tower's cellar door has wine tastings. On a longer stroll, a couple of smaller cellar doors nearby will keep tipplers occupied.

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We save ourselves for dinner. Tower's restaurant, Nine (nine courses, nine tables, nine feet underground), was established in 2009 as part of negotiations to join the group. Given it rates highly in The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, we're disappointed to discover it opens only on Friday and Saturday evenings.

However, in the neighbouring vineyard is Roberts Restaurant, in a charming 1876 National Trust cottage. We walk there in the fading light, the grapevines gnarled silhouettes against an orange sky. My starter is zucchini flowers stuffed with prawns and basil and served with coconut, a citrus salad and zesty lime aioli. The pick of the main courses is my husband's marinated white Pyrenees lamb sitting alongside roasted garlic foam, red-onion jam, smoky eggplant and dried olives. At our request, the maitre d' pairs the dishes with Hunter wines.

Relais & Chateaux's focus on fine food and the Route du Bonheur concept has an interesting anecdotal history. In the 1950s, a road was built alongside the famed Paris-Lyon-Mediterranee (PLM) train route, which connected Parisians to the Cote d'Azur via Dijon, Lyon and Marseille. To accommodate travellers, pit stops emerged where fine French cooking flourished. In 1954, the original eight hoteliers and restaurateurs along this road merged to become Relais & Chateaux to, according to the group, "offer an enticing gastronomic itinerary and encourage travellers to explore all eight spots".

The road later became known as the Route du Bonheur and the concept has expanded with the company. Relais & Chateaux's 140 "Grands Chefs" restaurants have 340 Michelin stars between them. There are five Australia members: the three on my itinerary and two in Victoria (Jacques Reymond in Prahran, Melbourne, and Chateau Yering in the Yarra Valley).

Our next stop, in Whale Beach, about 90 minutes' drive south from the Hunter on Sydney's northern beaches, is similarly well known for its culinary acuity. Built as a roadhouse in the 1920s, Jonah's has an intriguing history as an opulent restaurant favoured by well-heeled Sydneysiders in the 1940s, a nightclub in the '60s and a crystal-and-chandeliers Italian restaurant in the '70s. Its reincarnation as a contemporary restaurant with one of the best dining views in the country began in the '90s with a multimillion-dollar overhaul. Outdoor areas were extended and floor-to-ceiling windows frame the Pacific Ocean.

To make the most of the view, we choose lunch over dinner, a ritual that begins with a drink on the deck. Whether Whale Beach is so called because of the shape of the headland or the annual humpback migration is best discussed over a menu fittingly skewed towards seafood. The burnt-avocado mousseline with seared Hervey Bay scallops, salt-and-pepper calamari and king prawns is the pick of the starters. Of the mains, the seared John Dory with blue swimmer crab, sweet-pea pikelets, melted leeks and baby herb salad is lovely. (Jonah's has a newly appointed executive chef, Alfonso Ales, and a new southern European-inspired menu.)

Jonah's 11 guest rooms (which replaced the original accommodation in 2003) fall a little short of the standard set by the lunch. We head to the beach, where Norfolk pines and burnt-orange sand are set against a hinterland of impressive houses, and walk along nearby Palm Beach. We climb the steep trail to Barrenjoey Lighthouse, then end the day with fish and chips on the estuary at Pittwater.

Sydney is just 45 minutes away, an easy drive, knowing our final pit stop is Tetsuya's. It has had repeated appearances in the S. Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants lists and, in Australia, is known for having retained, until this year, three chef's hats in the The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide since 1992.

We can't fault it. The ryokan-styled space has dining rooms cleverly segregated to maintain the intimacy associated with either famous diners or wealthy ones. Most are neither, which marks Tetsuya's as a place for everyman to savour (very) special occasions. Our 15-course menu is a synthesis of Japanese and French cuisine, the former best represented in the sashimi and seafood dishes, the latter in the exquisite styling: glistening black caviar balls balance on a mound of scampi floating in avocado soup; a fillet of white mulloway is decorated in pink "onion petals" and pil pil. Each course is a masterpiece. I'm impressed, too, by a side dish: a cushion of sourdough served with black truffle and Reggiano parmesan butter. Is it one of life's simple pleasures or a hedonistic indulgence? Whatever the answer, it makes me very happy indeed.

Penny Watson travelled courtesy of Relais & Chateaux.

FAST FACTS

Tower Lodge has 12 individually styled rooms from $710, including full breakfast, afternoon tea and a pre-dinner drink. The lodge's 12-seat Nine restaurant has a nine-course degustation menu costing $180 a person, $250 paired with wine; open Friday and Saturday night. At 6 Halls Road, Pokolbin. Phone 4998 7022, see www.towerestate .com. Pokolbin is 140 kilometres or about 90 minutes' drive from Sydney's central business district.

Jonah's Restaurant and Boutique Hotel has 11 rooms from $529, which includes breakfast, or $845 with a la carte dinner. At 69 Bynya Road, Whale Beach. Phone 9974 5599, see Jonahs.com.au. The restaurant is open daily. Whale Beach is 40 kilometres or an hour's drive from Sydney's CBD.

Tetsuya's has an 11-course degustation menu for $210 a person, with wine pairing costing from $95 a person. At 529 Kent Street, Sydney. Phone 9267 2900, see tetsuyas.com.

Roberts Restaurant has an a la carte menu and an eight-course degustation menu for $150, or $220 paired with wine. At Halls Road, Pokolbin. Phone 4998 7330, see www.robertsrestaurant.com.

For more details see relaischateaux.com.

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