Soup Opera

I am a soup lover from way back. Soup is nurturing, easy to make and only takes one pot. Chicken soup is a known panacea for all ailments. When I really feel like, I just need nurturing and nourishment, I like soup. I have a deep abiding love for canned tomato soup – has – to be Heinz or better (Rosella – still found on the bottom of the supermarket shelves. It has to be made with half milk and half water and served with white bread toast) It is rarely found on my pantry shelves, but a quick fix can be a tin of tomatoes with a bit of fresh garlic and basil, Campbell’s chicken consommé, simmered and blitzed with a little cream or Carnation lite.
I like soup in tins, packets or homemade. I love to make chicken pho from a free range chicken on a rainy day. Laksa is my meal of choice in any half way decent food hall. Duck noodle soup is another favourite. I also like to cook them at home.

Tonight is a hot muggy evening when a gazpacho would be my first choice. Yep I’m a soup fiend, but don’t have the ingredients.

The soup slowly simmering is a version of chicken and sweetcorn soup. Campbells consommé again with a few aromatics, fresh sweetcorn, a couple of Shanghai dumplings, left over free range roast chook, a handful of fresh noodles and lots of sprouts and herbs, fresh chilli.

It is nearly done. I shall put it in a bowl and add more herbs. Sir T left me with lots of lovely laksa herb/ rau ram/ Vietnamese mint. I have a weird chilli, dried shrimp and fried garlic thing that is pretty good. It won’t be pretty, but it will be good.

No bean sprouts…. They looked a bit manky, but I have good fresh local beans. A squeeze of lime, a bit of fish sauce and I’m eating.

Mavis Revisited

Eating good food with great friends (even if they lurk on my blog and can’t be bottomed to comment) is one of life’s pleasures. As I got to choose the venue it was a pretty easy decision to go Mavis’s. When I booked and enquired as to what would be on the menu, I was charmingly told that they would probably decide on the day. The menu is a classic table d’hote (an old fashioned, but excellent bridge between the degustabinge and a la carte. Everyone has the same number of courses, so there is none of that horrid anti-social gap time when the greedies gobble embarrassedly while the more restrained are simply fanging just to be fed. The menu was simple, unpretentious with no self love language.

For starters: soup in a mug, pate and a nicely plated stack of eggplant, tomato and boccocini which had been plated by a chef, not an engineer.
Mains were roast pork loin, seafood pie and a sound vegetarian option (sorry don’t remember as my vegetable loving carnivorous friends didn’t order it). These were accompanied by a simple well –dressed green salad and new season chats which tasted like the soil they came from. These were seriously fine spuds. Desserts included a gorgeous pavlova with fresh seasonal fruit, chocolate brownie (deliriously fudgy) and a well made lemon tart.
We drank a WA rose which was perfect for the meal. I was able to have a cocktail, because Sir Tuesday Knight was driving. I’m partial to a well made cocktail without umbrellas and pink giraffes. There was plenty of good water throughout the meal.

The restaurant has received some good press in the SMH and Jetstar mag and the whole place was buzzy with only one empty table. Service was unhurried and professional. Our plates went back to the kitchen empty. Peter kindly lent/ gave me some camera batteries as mine were flat after the first photo. Guess I’ll have to go back sooner rather than later to return them. Darn!! I love this place. It seems so simple, but is quite rare in restaurant land to eat good, honest, well cooked food at such reasonable prices. ($34.50 pp). I’d advise booking because this place will soon be difficult to get into at short notice. Read the website for details.

http://www.maviseskitchen.com.au

We left feeling quite satiated (unlike leaving a Bangalow restaurant with that verb used as the name, where we had spent 4-5 times as much money. It was good but I could have detoured to Milk and Honey for a couple of slices of pizza for afters.
Thanks for a great night Blog Lurkers!! Be afraid…be very afraid as I have now unflattering photos of us all and have no hesitation about using them if you don’t comment at least occasionally! Oh b….. mine will be the most unflattering of all.

Divinge

The divine binge at divinge.
A joint next to a service station in a little country town. A service station, where they actually pump the gas for you. We hadn’t booked, but were welcomed anyway. It was only midday, but it was busy.
I was enchanted from the first moment. Loved the décor and simple elegance of the room.. I wouldn’t have minded anything from the menu. Shirley and I decided to share, but Peter provided us with lovely shared plates. I’m a potato lover. After convincing Shirley that you could eat Nicholas sans butter or cream, Peter sang the praises of them as great carriers of the just that.
So we had a beautiful roasted mushroom on top of this lush mash and a chicken roulade with risotto of heavenly tastes. This is seriously fine food. Good honest flavour served with humour and intelligence.
As a people watcher from way back, I liked watching the reasonably rowdy table next to us. Locals having a great time. I turned around and chatted to an older guy just having coffee by himself. Turns out he was from my home town… normally ate with friends on a Friday, but still decided to have coffee by himself. He didn’t know my mum …probably a good thing… he was an ex-cop. What I loved was his enthusiasm for his local. Danie and Peter (if I have the names wrong forgive me) are passionate about providing a great, affordable place for locals not just a foodie tourist destination.
This is a very special place. I think that their prices are a little too cheap…I’ve never said that before. It is honest, friendly and the kind of place that if you lived there, you would eat often and well.

crabbysands

Feeling Crabby
I don’t like the last day of the holidays and today was the day. I also had Stuff to do eg registering the car. Hardly much to look forward to…. I was in a crabby mood.
I took a slight detour to Bird’s Bay Oyster Farm / catch a crab tours. They have made it into the Jetstar mag, but the owners haven’t read it yet. Follow the map on the website. http://www.catchacrab.com.au/ and you will find at the end of a very lovely lane, a clean, pretty functional shop and food area. I was late…so unusual… and saw that they closed earlier, but it was QLD time. There was no-one there, but good clear signposting led me to the restaurant area.

They are just starting out from a popular tourist thing and an exciting, but little known oyster farm with a lease sale door (not sure what the equivalent to cellar door is..) I was yet again dining with my book (Mungo this week) Usually if I see totally empty tables I leave, but the cook was so sweet, I couldn’t. The oysters were good, but after Tassie…. I ordered a mixture. Found out later they were from Port Stephens. The spawning thing again. Nonetheless they were still just fine. I also order a crab soup. It was excellent! A delicate broth and lots of crab served with enough weapons to make the extraction of the meat do-able. Personally I would have loved much more chilli and Thai flavours, but that it is me. The flavour and texture of the crab was fresh and fabulous. It was simple and good.

Had a chat with them after the meal. They want to start slow, are very interested in promoting the region and its produce. Take a drive and have a lovely lunch. It is a very short drive from Tweed/ Coolangatta and the much lauded Tweed Coast. If they are closed, there are some good fish and chip shops on the way along Kennedy Drive (or follow the signs to Seagull’s pokie palace but don’t eat there)

I love people who are having a go!
For the jetstar article read hear and pay attention to Mavis. http://jetstarmag.com/2008/01/01/flydrive-8/

On the Marque

There are times when the universe smiles upon you. The whole Toast to Tassie trip was like that. If a detour was forced upon me, it was usually pretty blessed.

I was excited to learn that Delicious magazine was doing a degustation menu at Marque IV in Hobart during the re-scheduled Tassie trip. Thought that I would try to go, but both dates were fully booked. I noted with interest that Rita had planned a bloggers’ meal, so I begged to be allowed to join in. The dates did not coincide, but Rita was kind enough to suggest going anyway and we did.

Approaching the restaurant which has a stunning location on the north side of Elizabeth Pier, I did not feel at all comfortable. I’m not good with new social situations or even old ones for that matter. Nonetheless, I’m a real sucker for a great meal, so essentially greed won over shyness. I spotted Rita and Shirley quite easily…..they were virtually the only guests…. It was early.

The restaurant is a great space. Plenty of space and great views. We all decided to head towards the degustation menu. Nine courses no less, but do-able, I thought. What followed was one of the best dining experiences ever. I have, in my head a few top ten lists and it’s a pretty fine list. This one is now, number one…. Any great meal consumed recently often goes up high, but not to pole position. Every course was magic, provided contrasts to, and complemented the course before and after. There was not a dud amongst them. Shirley handed me the wine list and asked me to choose. I was slightly intimidated …. An expletive deleted test, I think to myself. I know zilch about Tassie wines, but proceeded to call it anyway. The wine list was interesting and priced from about the high $20s to possibly the stratospheric. The wine I chose was a pinot gris or Grigio (still not sure what the difference is yet … I thought one was Italian and the other French names for the grape. Wrong! Apparently one is drier and one fruitier. )It was one or the other, but didn’t write it down so not much use there. It was extremely good. In fact every Tasmanian wine that I had the privilege of tasting was excellent. Wine and seafood do extremely well in colder climates. (and maybe people too, but that’s a much longer story).
To the food ….
We started off the meal with two complimentary courses. I have tragically forgotten the first. I have tried to remember it for the last 7 days, but it isn’t coming (I’m hoping that it is one of the Delicious dinner courses, so that I can rectify this appalling error.) But for now I’m using the excuse that the next course was so brilliant, that it just blew it out of the water… not true both were great. It was the famed Jamon de Iberico (Microsoft and I are not sure about the spelling.) This is the ham made from pigs who dine exclusively on acorns in Spain. The ham is cured and aged in a unique process. I had read about it and thought that it was probably a bit of a wanker product, which everyone wants because it is fiercely expensive. Wrong again! It was simply dressed with some good olive oil and possibly some other great ingredients and some amazing tiny salad herbs. At this stage I could have called it quits and still would have gone home a happy woman. But wait there is more....
I’m happy to recount the white wine met with Shirley’s approval and I loved it. Pinot G is my fave this summer after a few very happy summers flirting with Sauvignon blanc. I will still go nuts for a clare valley riesling though, if only I can find one.
The real first course was a demi tasse of porcini mushroom, white bean, truffle oil and chives. This was simply gorgeous … sex on the pine forest floor … (I admit, I ripped off that description from something that I have read in the last week, but it describes it perfectly.) It was lush!
The next course provided a sea change. Sashimi of ocean trout, squid ink risotto, ginger and blood orange vinaigrette. This dish really worked for me. I have never made squid ink spaghetti, but may well do after this experience if I ever get to buy some decent squid again. I love good sashimi and I love ocean trout. The dressing just brought it all together in an delicious explosion of flavour and texture. Oh the ocean trout came from Macquarie Harbour according to the menu.
The Spring Bay baby abalone cerviche, zucchini flower, almond oil dish was possibly the best abalone dish that I have tried… my brother loves abalone and doesn’t mind diving for them with the sharks. I remain unconvinced. It was a lovely delicate flavour and the other ingredients were delicious, but maybe abalone is too subtle and elegant for me. In another meal, this would be amazing, but it was the David Beckham of last Saturday’s final Parky show. Good, but outshone…. Sorry if you didn’t see the show, you won’t get that analogy. He also had Billy Connelly, Judi Dench, David Attenborough and Dame Edna on the same show. On its own it would have been surprising and enlightening, but in the context of this particular meal was not the star.
By this time I’m no longer hungry, just plain greedy! Seared Spring Bay Scallops and red-cooked brisket, Vietnamese salad with lemongrass and lime foam was to die for. I can still taste it a week and two hours later. I am/was a foam skeptic. This was the Foam (deliberate capitals) that changed my way of thinking. The two main players were both stunning, but the foam gave it a chutzpah that lifted it to a whole new level. This was the dish that nearly made me go back to Marque yesterday evening after staggering off a vessel called Wild Thing. (yep that’s another story as well). I was looking so insanely windswept, I figured that they wouldn’t let me in….
Now for those of you, who are not into over indulgence do not read on. The caramelized pork belly, granny smith apple tapioca and candied walnuts was perfect. I have a profound love all things porcine. Cheong Lieuw made me eat pork belly many moons ago as part of his crazy Monday eat-what-I -cook dinners. You do have to eat the fat!!! V.bad for me so it is a Christmas thing and as this was quite close to Christmas, and I was seriously thinking of only eating fruit for the remainder of my trip.

There is a brief pause here to go back to the winelist. Tragically the pinot g had run out. We had plenty of water (Tasmanian water out of the tap is better than any other city’s that I have ever been to). Rita does not drink alcohol, but is such a good dining companion. She is - like she writes, which of course is why I kept reading her blogs. She is a very warm compassionate person, highly intelligent and kind. Her commitment to the Hobart food scene is admirable. Shirley and I are also getting along fine I think. It is time to move on to red. In my experience there is no great meal that doesn’t have a red wine included in it somewhere.
The service…not mentioned until now has been perfect. Our waiter was one of the best that I ever had the delight of dining with. A consummate professional! He was friendly without over familiarity. Great sense of when to advise, great timing and very knowledgeable. When I misused the cutlery he was gracious (I’m blaming single dining – often use cutlery to prop up books) I, of course wanted Shiraz, I love that grape. He advised that it was probably too heavy for the next courses and advised a pinot noir. Time for another paradigm shift. Not a huge fan of pinot noir. Shirley suggested that it was a wine that was pretty girly. Would love to use the exact words but won’t, but must say I agreed with her. The waiter offered us a taste. How unusual is that? I loved it, but wouldn’t order it, without knowing how much it would cost. It was one of the cheaper wines on the list and so good, I had to buy a bottle the next day. So naturally, we ordered a full bottle. The wine was a Derwent Estate Pinot Noir. This was seriously great. I’m still learning the words to describe pinot noir from Tasmania. Maybe sex on the forest floor with a gentle sea breeze somewhere nearby will have to do for now. (so happy to have used that description twice)
The next course was a sorbet. I like the sorbet revival. This was one that was truly beautiful. Elderflower from Ashbolt, with Lark gin and lime foam. The palate is fired up and ready to go. Ridiculously happy with the wine choice, Carpaccio of cured King Island beef, calamata (sic) olive mousse, sweet and sour courgettes and salsa verde was next. Simply could not do it justice, but it was a great dish. I’m at the playing with my food and just tasting it stage. I am feeling extremely fortunate to be sharing this stunning meal in such fine company. These total strangers are sharing this fabulous experience. We are laughing a lot and being a bit silly. Rita has no excuse apart from being fantastic… Shirley and I can blame it on the pinot.
I can no longer eat, but I do .. sashimi of mango, ashbolt elderflower sorbet, lychee and pickled ginger syrup just does it and when dessert is offered, I really can’t say no. You can’t drink red with chocolate in my book, so Shirley and I trusted the waiter’s advice again. He suggested a Muscat… got to love anyone who likes Muscat… I’m guessing that it was from Rutherglen, but wouldn’t care if it came out of Sir Tuesday’s boot. It worked with the soufflé of lindt milk chocolate, mint soil (tad wankery, but who gives a ….) warm marmalade sauce and cocoa nib tuile.
I make a valiant attempt to eat it all and fail, but it is fabulous. Shirl decided to order coffee and Grand Marnier – I can not remember the last time I drank coffee at night, but joined in. It certainly did not keep me from sleeping that night.

It is kind of a must do for Hobart if you are anyway at all interested in food. We were there for five fabulous hours. It was extremely good value. I was completely uninterested in eating for quite some time.
It was truly one of the best degustation experiences ever and I’ve been fortunate to have more than a few. I was completely satiated.
Thanks Rita and Shirley!

Jesus Edward Prepare to meet Your Doom

Let's just say that right on the top of my list of favourite foods is Jesus Edward aka Jasus edwardsii... or what I used to know as crayfish, then spiny lobster, southern rock lobster and after a week in tassie am now calling it cray again. Growing up in SA and eating them not very often; it is an occasional, but regular craving....
QLD painted crays do not do the trick...Asian crays live and then barbequed on the beach are pretty good, but not the same, live lobster bought from a wonderfully snow swept coastal village in New Jersey came a little closer to good old Jesus Edward Kept my hosts and I fairly well fed during the great blizzard of 96.
Everytime I went back to SA I would find some excuse to buy one as long as it was in season. Last time I went missed by about a week. Cut to Christmas/new year 2008. A special trip to the only place I thought that I might find one.... price around about $70 per kilo and they still didn't look right. BUT I was still going to buy. It was busy ...the service was not happening and I left. Bad call. About a week later in a crazed moment I bought not one but two frozen crays from WA. I do know better... it was flooding and craymania had taken a grip. Lacking the opportunity to take it back and rant... or possibly more fun buried under some slow moving so-called fresh food….OK Supermarket Terrorist is no more, but a girl can dream. I threw them in the bin....It was a major flood incident and the SES, maybe, would not have put a high priority on craymaniac returning product that makes seafood extender taste not so bad
So in a fit of madness, I booked a flight to Tassie. I had already found the Lobster direct website website, was going to risk it and order it, but hell the Coles experience was fresh in my memory....I decided that I was going to meet that cray, before we become more closely acquainted. During my research of tassie foodie sites I came across rita's blog. We blogged a bit and then emailed and she was passionate about how good LD’s product was. I did not order cray (already cooked at Mures to be reheated with garlic butter – way too dangerous) and got back too late from Port Arthur on Thursday to buy a fresh one. Today, one of Rita's friends was kind enough to be my guide to the Huon valley and the channel country. I had the kind of day that you remember forever.
We lunched at the divine Divinge..... and had cheese at Pecora... I was having such a good time I had forgotten the mission...to look smug in in Snug with my holy grail. Got to SD just on 5pm. One of the customers was a woman after my own heart. She was telling me how completely brilliant the joint was. I took a photo of the sign about imported seafood, which I will share with my very fine fishmonger...they are honest about where things come from, but still sell some imported product.
Well there were no crays...sold out... There were no more. After such a good day I was disappointed, but really saw the funny side. Also thought that I would definitely risk ordering online. The young guy in the shop explained the process, which worked for me.
Jessica Shopgirl (her words not mine as I’m sure that’s not her real name) told me that they were going to cook half a dozen more before going home and that she would drop one in to my hotel on her way home. No expletive deleted way! She assured me that she was quite happy to do it, wasn't any trouble etc. And she did!! She was looking quite glamorous on her way out to a great night out. As an occasional GOW (Grumpy Old Woman) who sometimes despairs of teen attitudes to service especially with anything remotely to do with technology, I was truly impressed.

As I was not remotely hungry, I asked the lovely people at the Old Woolstore, that the late departed JE have a final night to allow for mourning and on a more pragmatic note to see how he fared for 24hrs or so after dispatch and hopefully to get an appetite.
A trip to Peppermint Bay, lots of sea air and restraint from over indulgence in the lush raspberry icecream served on board may well have done the trick.

As I paused to pour the glass of 9th Island Pinot Grigio, I really hoped that he had a good life, but it turns out not much of a sex life anyway. I know that Sir Tuesday Knight aka Garden Genius who is possibly the only reader of this blog would be really upset by that. http://www.cuisinenet.com/cafe/on_the_table/1997/00006-1.html

Toast to Tassie

Tasmania Adventure Part 1
I’ve been in Tassie for about 6 hours. I sat in a window seat coming over Bass Strait and then I think that we flew over Devonport nad over the eastern coast. The one thing that knocked me out was the amazing amount of water. We passed over this landscape that looked like the moon except wet.. lakes and rivers everywhere. No one that I have talked to yet knows what this is called, but there seemed to be roads leading into it.
So to the first Tassie meal.
A classic room service meal, because I had to watch the Elizabeth David drama on the ABC. A steak, veggies and bread. It was good enough to make me ring up the room service people and say thankyou.
Hobart seems to be very spread out. I checked in to the hotel and then went looking for the nearest super market to buy water. Call me strange, but I don’t normally drink water out of taps in strange towns. Well, I have to report, there was v. little water on the shelves. 500mls or 20L were the choice and not much shelf space at all. After about the third lap of the water aisle I noticed a guy picking up a couple of 20L containers. I asked him about what the water was like in Hobart. He said that it was great, but he was going bush, so needed water. The water is good to drink in Hobart. Wow! Not a bad start!
Woolworths in Hobart tries to sell white peaches and nectarines as best when crisp and crunchy, just as it does on the mainland. Supermarket Terrorist had to be restrained.

To tell you the truth …sometimes I do find it hard to travel by myself. I hate not knowing how to turn off the hazard lights and not being able to look at the view because I don’t know where I am. But I’m still glad to be here.

New year resolution

This is a hard one. I'm going to only go to the supermarket once a week. I will stop my supermarket terriorism. I shall not buy any fresh produce, that I can source locally. I will find an independent service station that maybe costs 4c a litre more, but I will save a great deal on not shopping at the supermarket. I will only go down the aisles of cleaning products, olive oils and bath stuff. I will not buy anything so-called fresh. I will not buy meat or chicken unless the producer knows where it came from. I promise not to buy anything not in season.

I will not drink cheap wine!

Gunshop Cafe Brisbane

Eating alone is is not my preferred option, but sometimes necessary if you are a stranger in town. My hotel was very close to the Gunshop Cafe and I made an impulsive decision to eat there, despite the five or so restaurants between my hotel room and it. (it was at least 100m)
Despite a storm brewing, I chose to eat outside as the light was bright enough to read by. I was only going to order a main, eat and go, but the menu tempted me with white asparagus with olive truffle butter.
Choosing a main was difficult as they all sounded good. I chose the steak, because the potatoes were cooked in duck fat....sad, but true. There was broccolini listed as part of the dish. Quite a welcome inclusion in these days of anything green being a substantial extra charge.
The wine list was excellent and not priced beyond the range of normal working stiffs such as myself. It was short, but interesting. Better still most wines were available by the glass (150mls as stated on the list)I chose a clare riesling to go with asparagus. It worked a treat.
It was delicious. Gentler in taste than the green, but turned into something great by the subtle flavour of the butter. A little woody on the ends, but I did have a knife and fork. It also worked well with the Momo Savvy blanc.
By now the rain had really started bucketing down, so I moved a little closer in, but was still outside, so I was able to indulge in the singular passion of watching other diners. Everyone seemed to be having a great time and service was casual, friendly but efficient. My steak arrived when I was around the corner perving on handbags. The obliging waitress had kept it warm, which probably explains why it was more medium than medium rare. Fortunately it was so good and still pink, that it was still extremely good. The potatoes were excellent (that is such a rare thing to say) and the brocolini perfectly cooked. The jus was absolutely superb.... lush. A 2004 Langhorne Creek Cab Sauv was a great accompaniment. By now the rain was fairly tropical and dampening the pages of my book. So I moved inside. It was pretty noisy, but I still felt quite welcome and comfortable.
The wait staff were really obliging, friendly without fawning. So I looked at the dessert menu. Hmm... I'm not really a dessert person, just like to have tastes of everyone else's. It was raining very heavily, so what else could I do? Order that lovely chocolate pot topped with persian fairy floss and an old spanish sherry to go with it. Well, that marriage was better than 95% of the human couplings I have seen! Sadly I couldn't finish, but I felt replete. Quite blissful really. The rain had eased to a gentle drizzle, so I ordered the bill.
I truly had a great night. That is so rare as a single diner. I wasn't invisible. I was not treated as a pariah, because I was on my own. I had read at least 70 pages of my book and enjoyed the rain. I had some good wines with some better food. All for less than $100. The previous week, I had eaten with friends at quite a legendary restaurant, had one course and a side dish, and spent about the same amount of money. I don't make a habit of spending that much each time I go to eat, but walking back to my hotel, wouldn't have called the queen my aunty!

Milk and Honey

An Italian woman shared with me her ideas of milk and honey men. They are men that cherish, nurture and encourage you to to be the best you can possibly be. This was over stirring the biggest pot of sauce, that I have ever seen. It was in a basement underneath a school. As the women stirred, they gossiped and shared stories of men. I was removing the green bits from the worst strawberries, that I have ever met.
I digress this is a restaurant review after all.
Well Milk and Honey at Mullumbimby is like the milk and honey men. It is for me, as a paid up carnivore, inspires me to eat better and be nicer. The food is so fresh, mainly vegie...there are meat options, but quite frankly i don't give a damn. It is a cheap eat usually less than $20 per head for greedy people. Service is Mullum laid back and I have never been there when it it is not busy. The desserts are up with Phillip Searle's... I'm not a dessert eater, but despite my pleadings..you do have to order your own, otherwise no-one else will share.

If I was going to have last one meal before I left this earth, i would go to milk and honey. I would take a fine bottle of wine from around the corner bottle shop...sit out side amidst the passing traffic, order a salad, a couple of pizza and pretend that I would not order dessert.
I would love the friendly service and admire the maniac who sweats the wood oven and makes the best pizza ever. I would be amazed at the freshness and perfection of the salad, tremble at amazing taste of the whatever I ordered..they are all good. I would ask for chilli... and lots of anchovies...it is after all my last meal. But I would leave my last tastes for the dessert. I would still be amazed at the perfection of it all.

Mavis's Kitchen

Everyone should have a kitchen like Mavis.
I confess! I went to Mavis’s Kitchen somewhat reluctantly. On Friday nights I don’t like to travel too far from home, but it was an invitation that I dare not have refused. The website directions were clear even for the terminally direction challenged and whereis.com.au promised that it would take just 32 minutes from Kingscliff.

I’m not sure what I was expecting…. Let’s just say my expectations were not high.

I was completely blown away by the sheer beauty of the beautifully restored Queenslander set in an amazing garden, nestled under the majestic Mt Warning. The restoration has been done with love, intelligence and elegance. This restaurant really is one of the most lovely that I have had the opportunity to dine in.

The menu is simple, but every dish was excellent. The website says that is homestyle cooking using good organic ingredients. The dishes that I tasted were exactly that (everyone’s home should have this style… sigh!) No rubbish menu language; just a brief description of what you could expect to eat. I find this refreshing. I had the pate, which was rich and fresh tasting. I thought that Jen’s bruschetta was worthy of menu envy with its fat white anchovy draped over roast capsicum and maybe goats’ cheese. Ann’s soup served in an enamel mug disappeared quickly. The mains were equally as good. Again no-one shared …… Grrr! My excuse was that I was enjoying mine so much I forgot to offer. The choices included filo baked salmon with a roast capsicum sauce, chermoula dusted chicken with the best couscous ever and a perfectly prepared risotto. The desserts were served after an intelligently offered wait and were all devoured with enthusiasm. The menu will be changed according to what is in the garden.

There is no BYO. You really wouldn’t want to with extremely reasonable prices and interesting wines. Wines are priced at mid $20s and $30s with some fine choices by the glass. Once again it is an intelligent and elegant list. Great non-alcoholic choices plus good water (no charge) continually refilled. There are also organic wine choices. I had a cocktail; Lychee and mint something that I can’t pronounce. I asked for it to be light on alcohol as I was driving. The request was met and the cocktail was great.

The service was excellent. Friendly, knowledgeable and well –timed.

This restaurant is fantastic. The people operating it have got passion and integrity. Oh! I forgot to mention, three courses were $34.50!!! You can also stay there and enjoy the wine list. They have elegant looking cabins and you could even climb Mt Warning in the morning. ……or have breakfast and then lunch and maybe stay for dinner again.

Virgin Post

Well this is my first blog post, so for all of you looking for virgins, you have come to the wrong place. I plan that this will be a blogging site for foodies on the far north coast of NSW. I will be hunting down good food and restaurants in northern NSW. Markets and great food providers are also what I want to write about. I think the name is pretty ordinary, but given the proliferation of breakfast restaurants in my hometown maybe not. I apologise in advance for my initial mistakes...well and the future errors. I have really enjoyed reading some great blogs from Tasmania. So here it goes....