After my parents sold their place in Brisbane and permanently moved to Burrum Heads in Queensland (3 hours north of Brisbane), we had our first Christmas at their new place.Whilst up their i was keen to try the only Hat Restaurant in about 100km and my parents had planned for a lunch on the 29th December which i secretly hoped would be at Coast.
After keeping it a secret on the drive into Hervey Bay, we finally arrived at a beach side restaurant that was open with views out to the beach and two sections, one of fine dining and a more casual area. They both were serving the same menu so we decided given the heat, lunch time dining and the warm weather outside that we would sit in the more casual area of Coast.
With a shared menu, we went for a few dishes to share for entree, some larger dishes and individual deserts. After much discussion we settled on one from the "straight up" section (small bites), 3 dishes from the "In Between" dishes (entrees) and 2 dishes from the "Meat" section (mains) with 2 sides to accompany the meats.
The first item our was the Steamed Pork buns. Excellent moist meat stuffed into a spongy but excellent bun with a slice of cucumber and some excellent hoisin sauce. Nearly as good as the ones i tried at Golden Fields and an excellent start to the meal.
The entrees all arrived at the same time and there was debate and decision to be made over which one to go for first. I went with the half serve (Meat course that we had as a half serve for entree) of bourbon glazed beef short ribs. Fall apart meat that was superbly cooked but was lacking a little in the bourbon glaze to give it a big flavour hit and wow factor.
The next dish i went for was the crisp fried chicken served on a bed of pickled cucumber, radish and srirachi mayo. Crisp pieces of deep fried chicken contrasted with pickled vegetables and a slightly spicy sauce. Excellent balance of flavour and spice and excellently cooked and even better presentation.
The final dish was surprisingly my favourite dish of the day. A sweetcorn tart with an avocado creme fraiche and red pepper relish. Beautiful to look at with vivid and contrasting colours, the taste did not disappoint either. Delicate, perfectly balanced and the pastry was superb. Exquisite combo and a knockout dish.
We now moved on to the Meats sections of the lunch. Whereas the entrees were mostly beautifully presented and stylish dishes, the Meats section clearly catered to a different audience (although the skill was no less modern).
The first was a slow roasted lam shoulder, a big chunk of fall apart meat that was superbly cooked and had big robust flavours and taste. The tomato relish was a decent accompaniment but a interesting choice for a hearty chunk of meat but the red wine jus was perfectly in tune with the dish.
The Other Meat was a roasted pork collar with excellent crackling throughout the dish and again cooked perfectly. This dish had more of an Asian feel to it and was accomanpanied by rice, lettuce, kimchi, red chili sauce and spring onion. The matching of the Asian themed dish with the pork collar was an interesting choice but it definitely worked (although both meats worked equally well the next day without the extras).
As sides we had some crushed chat potatoes with parsley and chives and a dish of green beans, lemon oil and toasted almonds. Both solid dishes with the lemon oil and almonds adding some extra flavour to the green beans being the better of the sides.
After completing the main courses to the best of our abilities (taking home some of the Meat for the next day), we moved onto the deserts. I went with a dish of dark chocolate brownie, peppermint mascarpone, Oreo crumble, mint coulis and a milk chocolate granache. Where the mains had been been robust and old school, the deserts were masterpieces of modern cooking and techniques. However where they aligned with the meats was in the boldest of flavours used and quality of ingredients. A truly amazing desert with excellent balance between the mint and rich chocolate with the peppermint mascarpone being an amazing element.
Overall a triumph of quality cooking, ingredients and flavours. A limited menu but each dish we tried was great with a few being a level above and a real gem in coastal Queensland. Quality value (even if i didn't pay) and decent portions made the experience even better with friendly wait staff even if they definitely were of the more casual slower pace of Queensland. Well worth a visit if you are near Hervey bay.
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