By Franz Scheurer

I’m sitting at a weathered jarrah table in the gardens of Basildene Manor in Margaret River writing this review. The weather is still quite cool, there are a few lazy clouds in the sky and the noise of the frogs and birds and ducks from the dam combine for a symphony of nature that’s very invigorating. There are a couple of kangaroos grazing across the valley, close enough to observe that one of them has a perfectly white ear standing out like a beacon from its otherwise sandy coat.

The gardens at Basildene Manor are beautifully kept and what appeals to me is the fact that a great many of the wonderful plants are edible. I never realised just how beautiful artichokes are and how well onions and garlic can integrate into a world of succulents, lilies and roses. This really is a most peaceful and relaxing setting.

Basildene Manor is an old-fashioned guesthouse with great facilities. The rooms are comfortable, from the small double rooms all the way up to the suites, fully equipped with everything you might need, including a spa.

There is a television / games room adjacent to the garden and an observatory upstairs that becomes the breakfast room and doubles as a place to eat the food of Danny Angove from VAT 107 who supplies the food for Basildene Manor’s in-house menu. Breakfast is prepared in house, buffet style with a choice of excellent hot dishes, prepared to order. Top marks!

Near the reception is a reading room with a video library, books and local papers. There is ample parking and although the rooms are surprisingly expensive I think it is worth it.

For more information or bookings:

Basildene Manor

Lot 100

Wallcliffe Road

Margaret River WA 6285

Tel.: 08 9757 3140

Last night we ate at VAT 107, winner of the Western Australian Tourism Award 2001 with Danny Angove at the stoves. The restaurant is on the main road with a few outside tables and a noisy but pleasant interior. (They also offer accommodation). Tables are reasonably spaced and tableware is good.

The menu is interesting and appetising and the wine list excellent, with a bias towards local wines with enough icon wines from other Australian wine areas and a good selection of aged wines.

First we ordered the freshly shucked oysters. Albany rock oysters, obviously shucked to order, sweet and creamy and beautifully fresh. The “Szechuan duck, Vietnamese spring roll, cucumber, spring onion, Hoisin sauce and mandarin pancake”, a Peking Duck with a twist. Danny serves a crispy confit of duck, spiced with Szechuan pepper, on the bone with the other accompaniments on the side. It is then up to you to disassemble the duck and assemble the pancakes. This is fun, unless you’re a semi-vegetarian, but there is no easy way to eat this unless you use fingers. My suggestion: provide a finger bowl. Apart from the mechanics of eating this dish the flavours are excellent. The daily special: risotto, (allow 20 to 25 minutes) turns out to be a near perfect pumpkin, spinach and goat’s cheese risotto. The “Seared Esperance sea scallops on sweet potato puree, harissa, pickled cucumber, mint and red onion” is an impressive dish. Perfectly seared, sweet and succulent scallops on a bed of spicy sweet potato it looks every bit as good as it tastes.

For mains we demolish a “Char-grilled scotch fillet on mash with duck liver parfait, field mushroom and truffle oil”. A good combination of flavours, nicely presented, meat cooked to my instructions, but the quality of the meat is rather ordinary, sinewy and badly trimmed. The “Swordfish on olive mash topped with watercress” again, tasty and well presented, a good combination of flavours and textures, but let down by the slight overcooking of the swordfish. The “Grilled field mushrooms with garlic, chilli, lemon and Persian feta” probably the best main course looked appetising and tasted great.

We shared a couple of desserts, A “Panacotta with crème Anglaise and poached pears” was creamy and wobbled nicely and the “Sticky date pudding with figs, walnuts and a toffee sauce” simple, flavoursome and excellent.

All in all the food served at VAT 107 is very good, plentiful and a joy to eat. Now service needs attention. If you want anything at all you will have to hunt down the waiting staff, capture one of these elusive creatures, indoctrinate it with your request, which it will do, happily, willingly and with a smile, but will then vanish just as quickly back into the waiting staff wilderness, hiding from you, challenging you to the next big hunt. Maybe everyone has a lot more time in Margaret River but I find the pace unacceptable. This is also the reason that my final score will only be a 5/10 although the food deserves much better. Work on it, guys!

Score 5/10

For more information and bookings:

VAT 107

107 Bussell Highway

Margaret River, WA 6285

Tel.: 08 9758 8877