Page 4 - APN1022book

Pork belly is a favourite of the author’s and this Bangalow pork was sweet as. Crispy pig ears added a nice crunch to the dish.
A close up of the pigs ears served with a Bangalow pork belly dish.
Fine dining was the order of the day, even at breakfast during the $1500 a night stay at Silky Oaks Lodge in the Daintree Rainforest north of Cairns. The author ordered crispy bacon. Alas, a mistake. No problem with the flavour, though not a fan of bacon done as crispy.
Dining out is usually a revelation of mouth- watering and tantalising tastes, and hopefully fresh interesting ingredients preferably sourced locally.
At $40, the dish was good value and well paired with a glass of Taylor Made pinot noir from the Adelaide Hills.
Now back home and quietly digesting two fabulous ‘foodie’ weeks spent wisely in far north Queensland, it’s almost time to ponder what’s next on my meandering menu.
Far out far north Queensland
HAVING promised last month that I’d sample as much pork as I could get my trotters on, while enjoying a fortnight holidaying in far north Queensland, here are a few highlights.
voury crepes, though faced with no options when we happened to chase coffee down at the very French Petit Café, I opted for breakfast of smokey pork chorizo crepe.
Cant
Comment
by BRENDON CANT
As is the case when on holidays, eating out is the norm – from breakfast to lunch to dinner.
Resembling a pizza more than a crepe, it was très délicieux – in other words, it was very tasty.
We, however – in an ef- fort to ‘keep a lid’ on our ‘bread baskets’ – often opted for only breakfast and an evening or late af- ternoon meal.
topher Skase, developer of the appropriately named Mirage Resort.
ever paid to eat them in a restaurant.
A fermented, cured and smoked pork sausage, chorizo is the versatile add-on to so many dishes, including pizzas and, as I now know, crepes!
Skipping a formal lunch – or only snacking – bal- anced the budget too.
While I commented last month that we were looking forward to the five-course degustation dinner at Nautilus – the must-do Port Douglas 65-year-old restaurant – the tab of $355 for two was about as steep as the pathway climbed to get there from the main drag.
Crispy, of course, crunchy and just plain fun.
And typically it’s fun too.
I must reveal that one of the stranger pork flavoured combos I enjoyed was in the hills at Kuranda – a laid-back relaxing moun- tain village 25km west of Cairns.
Though it can be ex- pensive, particularly in recent times when hospi- tality venues are playing COVID catch-up – while simultaneously battling staff shortages and input cost hikes as they cater to a growing number of holiday makers, many on the move for the first time in two years.
OK, the food was quality – albeit small servings for my appetite – the ambi- ence restful and the staff attentive.
Never a big fan of sa-
Until next time, bon ap- pétit.
I’m glad I have now.
Of course, bacon turned up regularly at buffet breakfasts but I always found myself hankering for my own home-cooked D’Orsogna streaky bacon rashers.
Ear, ear, I say.
Such was the case in the second half of August in far north Queensland.
Further to my earlier point, I understand kitchen staff shortages were the reason for Nautilus moving from an à la carte to de- gustation.
Which, at that time of year, is usually the case, when southerners – and westerners – rush to trade the cold of winter for a taste of tropical warmth.
One of my more inter- esting pork plates was enjoyed at Melaleuca on Wharf St in Port Douglas.
I admit to not being a fan of degustation dining.
Enough said.
Of course, it was no surprise that prices were inflated in Port Douglas – infamously put on the map and forever morphed from a humble coastal fishing village 35 years ago by the infamous ‘smoke and mir- rors’ entrepreneur Chris-
Billed as ‘Bangalow pork belly’, it matched the melt- in-the-mouth pork belly with parsnip puree, roasted baby onion, green beans, crispy pig ears and pan jus.
Yum, yum, pig’s bum... OK belly.
While I’ve often bought pig ears to feed to my blue heelers, I don’t think I’ve
Creative Kuranda, where else could you enjoy a chorizo crepe?
Buffet breakfasts typically offer bacon. Sea Temple Resort at Port Douglas was no exception.
Delivering Specialist Agribusiness Public Relations Skills that will build your business, enhance your brand, promote your products and sell your services, all backed by unsurpassed professionalism, experience and track record.
The author’s bacon and pork sausage flavoured breakfast at Sea Temple.
Message from editor on activist article
AFTER receiving a couple of calls and emails regarding the article headlined ‘Animal activists dis- rupt BaconFest’ in the September edition of Australian Pork News- paper, I felt the need to clarify a few of the is- sues and concerns that were raised.
producers and the pork industry what is being said and circulated by various activist groups.
run certain pieces.
It has also been
an alternate perspective in other articles in the same edition.
First, the piece was not a paid editorial – no money or anything of the kind was received.
Unfortunately, this was not made clear, and in hindsight we could have explained at the beginning of the article the reasons for running it.
The publication has a disclaimer on page 2 that the views expressed in the articles are not necessarily those of the publisher, and we note that the content in the activist piece is what is being spread by groups such as these – inaccu- racies and all.
While APN endeav- ours to carry accurate and current content, we do not have the work- force to check every statement and claim.
Second, the reason the article was included was not that this publication supports the activists’ view, but to highlight to
This is something we will be implementing in future, so that readers have a better under- standing as to why we
While we try to follow up with related topics in following issues, we will endeavour to ad- dress the errors or offer
That said, it was great to see people talking about this activist group and how their view is bi- ased and inaccurate. BenCollins
Editor
There is no use putting our heads in the sand and ignoring this – we as an industry need to be aware and vigilant.
stressed that there were numerous inaccuracies in this particular article.
The good news is, there are several vigi- lant people in the in- dustry who pointed the misinformation out.
ME
Page 4 – Australian Pork Newspaper, October 2022
www.porknews.com.au