This is part 2 of my brother Jason’s trip to Western Australia’s beautiful south west region thanks to Pullman Resort. His drive to Dunsborough would have taken longer than usual as he stumbled across The Crooked Carrot and just had to stop. Jason loved The Crooked Carrot so much that he wrote a full blog post about his experience here, I tasted the mangoes he found here and they were divinely sweet.
The following blog post is about what he thought of Pullman Resort Bunker Bay’s facilities and high tea as well with his dinner at La Casina which he booked personally for a romantic night out with his fiancé & fellow Perth food blogger Little Miss Bacon.
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Another 1.5 hours down and we arrived at Pullman Resort Bunker Bay. I’ve stayed in at a few different hotels in Perth and found the quality to be very average in comparison to accommodation I’ve experienced overseas in KL, Bali and Bangkok, so I really didn’t know what to expect.
After checking in at the lobby, we made our way to our villa, one of the 150 self-contained bungalow-style villas at this massive resort. The quality of the accommodation exceeded all of my expectations in comparison to previous stays in WA. I really got that resort feel and experience that I commonly feel when staying in Bali but with a unique Australian twist. I would definitely come back again.
After we got settled in, it was time to grab dinner. Originally we wanted to go to Piara & Co which has been receiving rave reviews both on TripAdvisor and Zomato. When I called up to book, the waitress let me know Piara & Co are closed on Sundays and Mondays, sadly for us these were the only days we were in Dunsborough. However, she highly recommended we went to the local Italian restaurant La Casina and we love Italian food… so we did.
For our entree, we got the Tagliere Della Casina, a cold platter featuring a selection of italian cured meats, house marinated olives, home made ricotta and piadina, an Italian style flatbread. Hands down, this was one of the best cold platters I’ve ever eaten. Upon telling the waiter how good it was, he let us know that all of their cold cuts are imported from Italy.
I ordered the Ravioli Di Zucca, Burro, Salvia e Pancetta, a homemade Ricotta, roasted pumpkin and parmesan ravioli with crispy pancetta, baby spinach and a sage reduction. Not once in my life have I ever ordered a non-meat filled ravioli (I’m a massive carnivore), but I decide to give it try as I have been getting into my pastas in burnt butter sauce. As expected, the pasta was cooked al dente and the sauce had a subtle delicacy to it. I found it to be delicious and think anyone who loves pumpkin ravioli should give it a try, just not something I would usually eat based on preference.
My fiancé Little Miss Bacon ordered the Spaghetti al Granchio with Shark Bay blue swimmer crab, roasted cherry tomatoes, garlic, chilli in extra virgin olive oil. My god… this pasta was divine, every bite was crab and chilli olive oil flavoured explosions. I kinda wish I ordered Little Miss Bacon’s pasta, but I settled for constantly picking at her plate.
If you’ve read my other posts you would have noticed my love affair with pork. So in true fashion, we decided to try the twice baked pork belly (porchetta), truffled potato cream, caramelised sweet & sour carrots with a rosemary jus. It was absolutely amazing, crispy pork crackling, juicy tender meat and that truffled potato cream… I was in pork heaven.
We were already filled to the brim on the savoury side, so it was time to utilise the second part of our stomach that still had space, the dessert stomach.
I got the homemade flourless chocolate & almond cake and Little Miss Bacon got the home made pannacotta with raspberry coulis topped with crushed almond biscuit. The cake was moist and gooey with crunchy bits of toasted almond on top, I couldn’t ask for anything more in a chocolate cake. Little Miss Bacon also thoroughly enjoyed her Pannacotta. We waddled our way out of La Casina thoroughly satisfied with our meals and as with The Crooked Carrot, you could really taste the freshness of the ingredients of food prepared in this region.
When we woke up in the morning, we took a stroll down Pullman Resort’s boardwalk before having the high tea for breakfast.
It eventually lead us to Bunker Bay beach, pearly white sand, secluded… very soothing. We then headed back to Pullman Resort’s bistro for some high tea. It’s $37pp with a Dilmah specialty tea, barista-made coffee or hot chocolate or $45 with a glass of sparkling wine. There’s also a high tea menu for children under 12.
We sat outside and were served high tea with two glasses of sparkling white wine and the option for tea or coffee while overlooking Bunker Bay. The first layer were two types of finger sandwiches, tuna cucumber and chicken avocado. The second were scones with cream and jam and the last layer were sweet baked goods. I was hoping to see some whales, but free willy was nowhere to be found
Tier 1 – The finger sandwiches kind of tasted like the type of sandwich you’d whip up at home either with some canned tuna or roast chicken and some mayo.
Tier 2- The scones were ok, but not as buttery tasting or fluffy as other scones I’ve had before.
Tier 3 – probably the strongest tier of the bunch, the top tier consisted of macarons, mini muffins with a candied grape on top and profiteroles. My favorite was the passionfruit macaron which was full of flavor and just melts in your mouth.
Overall, I wouldn’t go to the Pullman Bunker Bay Resort just for their high tea but I would highly recommend staying at the resort or if you’re in the Dunsborough area, making a stop at the Resort’s bistro for a drink while soaking up the scenery.
If you’re heading to the south west, check out Pullman Resort’s website for more details about their facilities and rates www.pullmanbunkerbayresort.com.au
Stay tuned for the Part 3 for a wrap up of my quick weekend getaway.
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About Jason
I’m Michelle’s brother and also an IT geek that loves to eat. Together with my bacon loving partner in crime Little Miss Bacon, we are always exploring and on the search for food that gives us that flavor explosion and hits the high notes.
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Disclaimer: foodie cravings was provided a complimentary overnight stay and high tea by Pullman Resort. See foodie cravings disclosure policy for more details.
