Sunday, July 13, 2014

GPO Cheese & Wine Room, Martin Place

Winter is here! The onset of the cold, cold weather means heart warming foods that give us a glow from the inside out. And what better way than to indulge in a little cheese and cured meats on a week night? Armed with a band of girlfriends to chat over a nice bottle of red before M flies out to Europe, we were lured to GPO Cheese and Wine room where the promise of cheese fondue awaited us.

Ciao Vino Sangiovese IGT Vino Rosso Toscano, $54
The staff were extremely knowledgeable about all things cheese and wine and recommended us the Sangiovese from Italy. His heavy French accent definitely made him sound like he knew exactly what he was talking about! I'm no wine connoisseur as I have only recently started appreciating wine but this was probably the first wine I have had that is savoury on the palette, not to mention my first wine from Italy. Earthy and aromatic, it paired well with our cheese feast.

Charcuterie, $35.00
The charcuterie board consisted of chicken and armagnac pate, parma prosciutto, kurobuta cantipalo salami, wagyu beef pastrami, chorizo slices and pickles for that acidic kick. We were in cured meats heaven. Not to mention that we were completely smothering the slices of bread with a thick layer of pate because it was all sorts of delicious.

Four cheese with accompaniments, $34.40
The cheese portions were quite generous at 50g each and our board also came with grapes, apple slices, lavosh, half baguette and a saffron and pear chutney to accompany our cheese selection. Soft cheeses always feel so luxurious to eat and I think we all felt like we were indulging with the triple cream Locheilan. The soft fluffy rind gave way to a rich, tangy centre. Brie is one of my favourite cheeses and this one, hailing from the French providence, had a mild smokey aroma with notes of truffles, almonds and hazelnuts. Perfect when eaten with the grapes! The hard cheeses of the day were the Cantal and Gruyere which both melted wonderfully on the palate and was really enjoyable with the chutney. The whole sweet and salty thing really works for me.

L to R: Truffle cheese fondue, $43.00 / Goats cheese fondue, $39.00
And what we were waiting for - the fondue! Is it just me or is it hard to find places that do cheese fondue in Sydney? Somehow we ended up ordering two when we had original plans to go for one so we had waaay too much food on the table. The goats cheese was smooth and had a lovely tang that I thought worked super well with the figs and cured meats - basically the items stronger in flavour. Since the truffle cheese was much stronger in flavour, I loved it with the bread.

We ordered way too much food that we couldn't finish. We did make a considerable effort though! The ambiance was very relaxing with the nice candles set up and the large artwork at the end of the room to frame it all. I think we've discovered a new place for our relaxing nights over wine.

GPO Cheese & Wine Room
GPO Sydney
Lower Ground Floor, 1 Martin Place  
Sydney, NSW, 2000

Opening Hours
Monday: 12:00pm-3:00pm
Tuesday - Friday: 12:00pm-3:00pm, 6:00pm-10:00pm
Saturday - Sunday: Closed

GPO Cheese and Wine Room on Urbanspoon

16 comments:

  1. woah fondue! i heart fondue!!! will definitely have to go now!

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    1. Nothing better than a tub of melted cheesy goodness! :D

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  2. Cheese fondue is so good in winter isn't it?!

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  3. Dear Sherrie,

    This looks like a beautiful winter indulgence!

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    1. Winter is the time to treat ourselves so we can stay warm :D

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  4. Didn't realise the GPO cheese room actually did a fondue - and to think I had to visit Switzerland just to make do. Looks like we've caught up!

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    1. Ahh the Swiss know how to do their cheese though! At least Sydney has a place to eat cheesy fondue now :D

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  5. What a great idea for a catch up with the gals! I haven't been down there for ages but I used to really like buying cheese from them :D

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    1. Oh I must remind myself to try and get all the cheeses they have on sale! :P

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  6. truffle cheese fondue sounds so awesome! would be so good for this season

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  7. cured meats, cheese and seafood. all my loves!

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  8. Truffle cheese fondue.. say no more!! This looks delicious!! :)

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