Eat, drink + be Kerry

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Local heroes

Posted by Eat drink and be Kerry on August 06, 2009

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Here's a story I wrote recently for Where Magazine

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Dine like a Roman at 1889 Enoteca

The top end of Logan Road at Woolloongabba never ceases to amaze me. It's cute, quirky, filled with great restaurants, interesting antique shops and one of a kind homewares. Parking is surprisingly easy to find on the street and will only cost you a few dollars for a couple of hours. I was there today for an Australian Society of Travel Writers Lunch which was hosted by Trafalgar Tours. We dined family style on one long table, serving ourselves from platters in the middle of the table. This was designed to echo Trafalgar's new Be My Guest tours. It seems the days when Trafalgar could be called just a bus tour travel company are gone. They still have the buses, but now they are taking us inside people's homes to dine, cook and meet the locals. It's all about family run properties and working farms, including dining with Beatrice de Montferrier and her daughter Alexandra in the warmth of their 17th-century farm on regional produce. Or hearing stories fr

A night of firsts at Urbane

It was a night of firsts - my first duck tongue and my first lamb sweetbreads. I've always avoided offal, scarred by an unfortunate experience as a child when my mother tried to make me eat liver, but as Ubane owner Andrew Buchanan said, best to try it first cooked by a great chef - so I did. Seated at a long table we were there to experience the new Urbane menu under Alejandro Cancino. He looks like he's just out of short pants, but this chef has a list of restaurants and awards on his resume that demand attention. Passionate about fine dining, Argentinian-born Alejandro has spent the last 10 years working with some of the best chefs in the world, naming the great chef and innovator Andoni Luis Aduriz at Mugaritz in Spain, Luca Fantin at Bulgari Tokyo and Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in England as his mentors. In Australia, he calls Dan Hunter at the Royal Mail in Victoria his local guide, having worked together at Mugaritz. Last April Alejan

Crocolicious - touring and dining at Koorana Crocodile Farm, near Yeppoon.

The water's edge is one of the most dangerous places to relax when you are in crocodile country. That's the message that came through loud and clear as I toured Koorana Crocodile Farm in Coowonga, between the city of Rockhampton and the coastal centre of Yeppoon. Established as a the first commercial crocodile farm in Queensland in 1981 by John and Lillian Lever, the farm has grown into a family business with son Adam conducting the daily tours and a restaurant offering crocodile steaks, pies and more for lunch. It's no surprise the dry dirt track that meandered through some pretty desolate country to the farm gate was callled Savages Road. What was surprising was the affection between tour guide Adam and the crocodiles. Adam talked about the crocs as if they were old friends. They all had nick names and there was one he had trained to feed from his hand. To my eye it looked as though he was going to be eaten alive but Adam was very relaxed. This is

The world's first onboard bionic bar

A robot arm walks into a bar, and the bartender says, “I’m out of a job”. No joke, on Royal Caribbean’s new Anthem of the Seas, a ship that redefines cool, the Bionic Bar breaks new ground. The two robotic bartenders can produce two drinks per minute from an endless selection of cocktails. Guests just log into the system via the ship’s iPad ordering system and their cocktail of choice goes up on the visual order list. There's also a few saucy one-liners and bar chat on the board, the sort of stuff that bartenders regularly exchange but it's usually hard to hear. The bartender robots are excellent at muddling, stirring, shaking and straining your creation. Once completed, the drink is ready for you to claim via your wristband. Your perfect cocktail just slides across the bar into your hand. There are 30 different spirits and 20 different mixers, so you are unlikely to be stuck for an option. There’s the occasional breakdown, and a bit of human error to contend

Smart, sexy and oh so French - Privé 249 at the Sofitel

It’s sleek, smart, seductive and surprisingly sexy! The Sofitel's new restaurant Privé 249 seats up to 52 guests in a room where ceiling windows frame magnificent city views, overlooking Brisbane Central Clock Tower and Anzac Square. The menu is French inspired Australian cuisine and the décor luxe with dramatic Italian chandeliers and giant candles. Black glass tabletops are set with white china and Italian titanium cutlery – a striking mix of gold and silver that costs $30 a piece, so don’t try to leave with any! The Sofitel’s French origins show strongly with Chef, Mathieu Astier and Restaurant Managers Francois Laran and Jerome Legal, all from France. “Privé 249 is inspired by one of our young, talented and very passionate Chefs, Mathieu Astier,” says General Manager Goran Aleksandrovski. Astier, (pictured) who has been cooking since he was 16, has worked with and been taught by some of the world's greatest kitchen maestros. Spending much of his life in Monte Carl

To market, to market - New Caledonia's Port Moselle Markets in Noumea

Find it all fresh and fabulously tropical at the sprawling Port Moselle Markets, Baie de la Moselle, Noumea. Shop here, eat like a local and cut your catering costs at the same time. With the array of tropical fruits, crisp baguettes, French cheese and fresh local seafood available, you'll dine like a king with buttery croissants and steaming hot coffee. Most of the market is located under covered pavillions topped with blue tiled roofs. There are butchers and bakers but no candlestick makers but you will fish seafood straight of the boat near the harbor side of the market. Locally grown fruits include papaya, pineapple, bananas and passionfruit and some of the largest avocados I have seen. Here's a few French phrases that are useful for market shopping - I'd like to buy... le voudrais achter What's in that dish? Quels sont les kel son lay ingredients? How much is it? C'est combien? This is the largest avocado I've seen. Ne

Magical food adventure at Regional Flavours, Brisbane.

It’s that time of year again: Brisbane ’s annual outdoor Regional Flavours extravaganza is back in its fifth instalment for two days this July 20 and 21. Head to the city’s South Bank area — located along the southern end of the Brisbane River and home to a beach in the centre of the city — and make your way to the event grounds where you’ll discover a whole slew of fun activities. Taste your way around food stalls from more than 100 of Queensland’s best producers, take in the main stage program complete with food demonstrations, sip a drink at the on-site bar with gourmet food and jazz at River Quay, or simply enjoy the child-friendly Food Imaginarium. Needless to say, there’s plenty to keep you occupied. Read the full story on Forbes Travel Guide more... Kerry Heaney http://blog.forbestravelguide.com/experience-a-magical-food-adventure-at-brisbanes-regional-flavours#cmpi=kheaney

Steamed, CBD

Dumpling fever has hit Brisbane's CBD with with opening of Steamed in the top end of Turbot Street. Look for it hidden under the Roma Street overpass, but best to walk there as you'll be lucky to find a street park close by. Owners David Schindler (pictured above) and Kevin Xu have borrowed Kevin's mother from her own kitchen in north China to help make up to 5000 dumplings a day for hungry hoards of office workers. They come in three types; Harbin- pork and chive, Lovabull – beef with various spices that lack English names, Zen - a vegetarian version named after Kevin's mother who is a zen Buddhist and Pork Clouds – light and fluffy pork buns. Steamed has a very Asian street food feel and that's no accident. The counter is crowded with bamboo baskets filled with delicious dumplings from which you are served. You can see the dumplings being made through cut outs into the kitchen so there's no doubt everything is extremely fresh. When I visited Dav

Why bother with a cheap steak?

Trying to save money by dining cheap and cheerful when it comes to steak is a recipe for disaster. The odds are against you when you select the random steak on the menu and expect to bite into something tender and flavoursome. Mostly you are going to be disappointed because finding the right beef and then cooking it to perfection is something that takes a lot of effort and practice. My next beef when it comes to steak (pun intended) is paying $40 to $50 for a meal when I have to stand in a line to order and then sit with a buzzer on my table so I can collect it when it ready. Yes, I’m looking at you pubs with steakhouses. Maybe you enjoy the relaxed ambience of the beer garden and live for the moment when you peel back the alfoil on that Idaho potato, but if for the same price I can dine with tablecloths and table service, I know where I would rather be. Moo Moo Restaurant Group owner, Steven Adams, and executive chef, Trent Robson One man who knows meat is Stev

Corner Store Cafe, Toowong

One of the highlights of visiting my Grandmother in Ashgrove was the close location of the corner store. We thought it a treat to walk up the hill and purchase meat at the butchers for dinner and then pop into the corner store for a few lollies in a paper bag. The Corner Store Cafe replaced a corner store in suburban Toowong but still has a few staples on the shelves, including milk, for locals to enjoy. Looking around the cafe on a busy Friday morning, I got the impression the only locals where my friends who walked down the street to with me for a coffee. The place was packed with people tucking into food and enjoying it immensely. We were only here for coffee and cake, though after reading the menu I did regret my stomach wouldn't stretch to lunch. Reef fish taco, Tiger prawn nasi goreng and Shepherds pie were just a few of the lunch items that caught my eye. I'd also like to try their Quesadilla, Colcannon potato cake and Belgian waffles on the breakfast m

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