Mallacoota is pretty magic
and Adobe Mud Brick Flats are quietly funky, a little whimsical, and very environmentally sound.
We were made to feel very welcome and comfortable by our amiable host, Peter Kurz, when we arrived in the damp evening.
He told us we should try Lucy's Restaurant for dinner – dumplings and noodles – he and his wife were headed there themselves, but we'd eaten Vietnamese in Melbourne the night before. I just felt like something different.
So we did that painful drive around that you do when you are hungry and not feeling inspired. I suggested we could check out the golf course which was out of the main shopping area as a last resort, thinking maybe they could do a steak there.
I was pretty reticent when I walked in… plastic chairs and tables, not many people there… but the waiter was passionate about the menu, and their list of kids' meals were not the standard chicken nugget and chip fare,
and to be honest, I have a thing where I will often support the place with less people in it. I back the (perceived) underdog.
So I went back out to the family waiting in the carpark, and said something along the lines of it looking like an RSL with hardly anyone in there, but the kids' menu has a gnocchi napoletana for ten bucks, and there is an entree of carpaccio something, so we should go there.
I'm so glad we did, because now I can tell everyone else about it.
You see, I'm a food snob, so it's rare that I find a restaurant that impresses me in a country town*.
If I do find one, I am extra impressed and I get quite excited.
Mallacoota, with it's population of just over 1000 people is a small country town with not just one, but two (we'll get to that later) great restaurants!
At Fairway to Heaven I sampled the
'Beetroot Carpaccio with Crumbed Walnuts, Pear and Blue Cheese',
the 'Szechuan Pepper Crusted Calamari with Asian Salad and Ginger Sauce',
'Lamb and Fetta Spring Rolls with Smoked Yoghurt',
a prawn and parsley pasta dish,
the very buttery kids' Gnocchi Napoli,
and the trio of house made sorbets (except our trio came as a tasting plate of six – Granny Smith, Prickly Pear, Mangosteen, Mango, Lemon/Lime, and Canteloupe!).
If that menu selection alone doesn't pull you in, the fact that it's all very, very reasonably priced should.
And it was all lip-smackingly lovely and culinarily delightful!
It's a tough battle to keep a restaurant going in the busiest of places, so it must be a lot tougher in a small town. I really hope Mallacoota's 'Fairway To Heaven' is still there next time I pass through, and if you're in the area…
Next morning I took in the view from our balcony
shared
with a few of the locals
Adobe Mud Bricks…
One big pile of wood…
Serene Mallacoota…
Before we left, had lunch at Lucy's.
Wow. Again.
Steamed Pork Dumplings, packed with veges, Chilli Prawn Salad, and (a first for me) delicious Abalone with Noodles. Herbs and vegetables grown out the back, homemade noodles, with locally caught seafood.
Fantastic!
Mallacoota, and the surrounding area, is a beautiful place to visit with lovely places to stay, and
really good food.
It's well worth the (short) side trip off the highway.
*I loved a Vietnamese restaurant, Le Lotus De Briare that we stumbled on one lunchtime in Briare, France.
And in Orange, NSW (on the premise that while there is a Chinese restaurant in every town – it seems – you pretty much know what you'll be getting, so it's a safe bet) we ate dinner at Bodhi Garden. We had no idea when we walked in that it was vegetarian, but it was the best vegetarian I have ever eaten. It was a long time ago, so I can't remember menu details, except when I ordered the kids dessert (a special event for them), but told them it was another serve of spring rolls. It was ice-cream wrapped like spring rolls, and even had a pinkish/red dipping sauce. Absolutely impressive – and who would have imagined, when we were in Orange saying we'd have to 'settle for' the local Chinese!
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