HOW TO GOLD COAST.
Finding gold on Queensland’s Gold Coast ain’t easy, but it’s there.
The last time I had such a blast on the Gold Coast, I was wearing nothing but a pink polka-dot bikini bottom. I was three.
This time, I had a little more coverage and was looking for more than sea shells and ice-creams (though they’re always good, too). Here’s a quick fly-by of some good spots to be found if you’re heading that way, whether it’s for coffee, potato chips, char-grilled prawns or sushi. Like this place:
This place is the best; they take such pride in what they do. It’s a fish shop that does sushi, which makes you wonder why all fish shops don’t do sushi.
If you have a kitchen where you’re staying, buy your fish here. If you don’t, drop by for some terrific nigiri and sashimi (or order ahead) and take it to the beach with a cold beer. There are a few tables inside and out for eating on-the-spot if those Wapengo oysters are calling your name, and you can BYO.
Whenever I travel, I always end up eating bread and ham. It’s prosciutto in Italy, and jamon in Spain, sure, but it’s still bread and ham, and I adore it. Matt Jefferson’s Social Eating House in the buzzy Oracle precinct does a very fine platter of ham – they call it something a little fancier, like house charcuterie with baguette and caramelised butter - which makes it a good stop.
It’s a super-professional place, with smart staff, a big-city bar, and a busy open kitchen lined with jugs of fresh basil that actually gets used. There are still a few dodgy places to eat on the Gold Coast, and not everywhere you want to eat is open for lunch, so this is a life-saver.
COFFEE STOPS
Everyone and their dog goes to Paddock Bakery in Burleigh, and for good reason, but I like their newer laid-back little sibling Bam Bam Bakehouse in Mermaid Beach, tucked away in a park with a car park.
The folded/scrambled eggs are so good, they must have read how to do them in my new Know How column on Good Food (joking, they may have known already). Coffee is the mighty Single O from Sydney, still kicking arse while on holidays on the Goldy, and the pastries, while a touch loaded (see Nutella Cruffin, pic supplied), are nicely made. Good spot for a casual beer and burger for lunch as well.
Also, how delicious does this look? The Palm Springs Burleigh is just as sweet inside and upstairs, with a genuinely beautiful Slayer espresso machine turning out excellent coffee (Therefore Coffee’s Paradigm blend). Built in 1949, the place was a much-loved Thai restaurant for years, and has just been born again as a Palm Springs princess. Good to know they’re open for coffee, eats and drinks, seven days; another life-saver. Tactile pottery cups add to the experience – lift the cup, and the saucer tells you it loves you.
RICK SHORES, ETC
Rick Shores has probably saved more lives in Burleigh Heads than the actual life-savers. You just HAVE to sit there, windows open to the waves, deep-breathing the oxygen, scoffing the famous fried Moreton Bay bug rolls with Sriracha mayo, and don’t even consider not doing so or I will be cross. Upstairs, the Burleigh Pavilion does a fantastic job of feeding fams and surfy boys with good-looking wood-fired pizza and surfside seafood snacks and salads, while The Tropic next door is great for dates and mates and lobster and chips.
Alex Munoz Labart opened Labart in Burleigh Heads with his partner, Karla, five years ago this July. It’s a counter-intuitive sort of place for the Gold Coast, being a couple of blocks from the beach; all Melburnian dark woods and coal-fired braziers and Burleigh Baker breads and great wines. Dinners are set menus, lunches can be a la carte (oh goody, jamon and melon), and there are fabulous things such as a Bangalow tomahawk pork chop with figs, cavolo nero and cinzano jus (cinzano jus!). The BBQ king prawns shown above come in prawn butter with capers and kombu, oofa. Their newish wine bar, Paloma, is just around the corner, and is a sweetie.
More proof that Burleigh Heads is the hottest foody spot on the Goldy. Little Flor Wine & Grocer is a sweet spot for lunchtime rolls, great wines and booze, and giant tin buckets of Spain’s finest potato chips. If you’re in town for a few days, consider investing in one for the beach.
The new and luxurious Langham is very spiffy, as it should be after costing $1.4 billion to build; with a lovely pool, great rooms, and only one or two places you need not bother with (see T’ang Court, below). I paid months ahead on an advance-purchase deal and still had to take a deep breath putting the card on it. But gee, they do a nice line in styling - look at this pretty table set for their high tea, above.
And they’re clever enough to have a beach-facing café/kiosk with the best name ever - 26 & Sunny - that anyone can rock up to. It does a decent line in egg and bacon rolls if you don’t feel like paying $59 per person for breakfast in the hotel. Here’s the view, through the sunny-yellow crockery. And yes, it was 26 degrees and sunny. How did they know?
MENTIONED IN DISPATCHES
Yamagen at the QT is fine, with terrific yuzu highballs and good robata.
Uncle Su at The Star Gold Coast is a highly enjoyable old-school Cantonese restaurant with a good roast duck service, specialty teas, oodles of noodles, dumplings and high-end seafood if you need it. Upstairs at The Darling, Nineteen does a good straight-up job of haute bistro food with top ingredients.
T’ang Court is the upscale Hong Kong-style fine diner at The Langham. It’s gratuitously expensive, and luxuriously uncomfortable. Staff are lovely, but the place feels like a missed opportunity; like a casino restaurant without the high-rollers - just normal people like me sitting there, feeling claustrophobic for lack of atmosphere.
Bar Evelyn, if you’re heading Coolangatta way, is a cool stop for pizza and booze.
There’s more, of course, but I only had three days. Next time, I’d stay further south, Coolangatta maybe, or wait until The Mondrian opens in a year or two. Could someone please open a cute seaside hotel in Burleigh Heads in the meantime?
Tip: If you’re adding Brisbane to your Gold Coast sojourn - and why wouldn’t you, the place is going crazy with good eating joints - here’s my guide to the best places in town right now, (and big thanks to the Life & Leisure team at the Financial Review for making it look so spectacular).
Thanks for dropping by! And special thanks to my right-hand man, Terry Durack, for all the driving to rockpools and waterfalls between meals.
Sorry there’s no recipe today, but it’s been nice to shake it up with one in an occasional series on where to dine. (If you do want to try those beautiful folded/scrambled eggs, knock yourselves out, technique and recipe here. Or maybe you want to know how to get the cracklingiest pork crackling ever? That’s here. Did I tell you I had a new column?)
I would also like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waters upon which I work, live, cook and play; the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. I fully support the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to be enshrined in Australia’s Constitution. It’s about time, folks.
I want to go! Any suggestions for accommodation as well?
This was very hard to read before lunch haha