Saffron, Arrowtown

I had an exquisite evening out with friends at Saffron restaurant in Arrowtown. I had heard that this was a good restaurant and my expectations were exceeded.

The restaurant prides itself on South Island food done well and it achieves this in a restaurant that has a nice warmly feel that feels a little bit like a modern version of a farm cottage.

Two of us started with a Spicy Lentil, Tomato & Coconut Soup with chargrilled Flatbread & Yoghurt Riata and the other with the Confit of Canterbury Duck Leg on Maple & Date mash, with slow cooked Rhubarb. The soup had the consistency of a tomato soup and a light flavour of star anise. It was very nice. The duck was apparently beautifully cooked and falling off the bone. Both dishes were beautifully presented.

For my main I had the Cassoulet which consisted of a variety of Meats slowly cooked with Tomato & Haricot Beans. This had a light paprika flavour and very comparable with the first Cassoulet I ever had in Carcassonne in the south of France. The others had lamb and bendigo rabbit, both of which were thoroughly enjoyed.

For dessert I had to give the strange sounding Tagine of caramelised Apple & Figs with Truffle Ice Cream & Rose petal Cous Cous a go and wow, this was a great dish. The truffle ice cream was magnificent and a nice balance of sweet and savoury. The rose petal in the cous cous was very delicate and complemented the dish nicely, and the apples & figs were nicely caramelised without being too sweet. This was accompanied by a very light pastry.

We would all very happily return.

Arrowtown and the Arrow River Trail

It was another non-skiing day today, so I headed out to historic gold mining town of Arrowtown. I arrived at Arrowtown around 11am and was surprised how quiet it was, which was still the same when I left around 2pm. It had been a couple of years since I had been in Arrowtown and it is still a lovely village that is beautifully maintained.

After a hot chocolate at Patagonia Chocolates (really good!) and a bite to eat at Cafe Mondo I headed out for a walk along one of the many trails in this area, the Arrow River trail.

This trail starts just over the river from the town (start at Butler Green and walk across the small bridge to get over the river and follow the signs to the right). The trail heads up and over the Arrow Irrigation pipeline, which it follows for a large chunk of the walk.

It is a reasonably easy walk, although good shoes are recommended since it can be a little muddy and narrow at times.

There was even a little snow to the side of trail and several small waterfalls along the way.

It is a very scenic walk that looks down onto the Arrow River. After about 25mins you end up at the Norman Smith foot bridge.

At this point I then turned around and followed the trail back.

It is not a busy track, and in the 50mins (or so) of walking there and back I passed two other people walking their dogs.