Eat Like Ushi

This is far from a restaurant and more like the back section of a house that spends all day opening oysters. After being slightly disappointed with the oysters from Wheeler's (Pambula) and Zanzibar (Merimbula) and enjoying more the selection from Eat Merimbula, I hoped this would be the best of the lot saved for last.

As you enter the garage toward the oyster section, you are surrounded by awards of medals from Sydney shows. The premium (12 for $24) are supposedly the most recent winners although the website mentions supreme and extreme grade also. It seems the older they get, the large and stronger they are.

With nowhere to eat them, I placed them on the mailbox across the street. I'm sure many people have used this a table in its time. The premium oysters are a reasonable size (I'd call them medium) and have a solid strong ocean-flavour, quite a creamy core and a slight metallic aftertaste. Overall an excellent oyster. I ended up getting some gems and cocktails for the road.

They still don't quite hit the heights of Richard Haward's for me yet, but maybe I'm coloured by their clams I remember the best.

Sunday night dining in Merimbula is more limited. I actually wanted to go to Ritzy (tapas) which I walked past the night before and was impressed by the general feel and food I saw. However given it is closed on Sundays, I looked for something where I could have more local seafood exposure. I was a little hesitant about Pier One as I figured if I really liked the sound of it (and reviews) I would have penned it in. But in the end, with not many other options than the RSL and fast food, this was the choice.

I'm glad I came here.

- Gorgonzola Tart (with pear & walnut salad) $16.50 - very mild cheese (which I prefer) presented in a tart with the salad wedges on top;
- Tempura Tasting Plate $18.50 - 2 scallops (well cooked to rare in the middle), 2 king prawns (flesh had crunch) and 3 Merimbula Lake oysters (juicy and tasty) in well seasoned (slightly salty) tempura batter with Wakame seaweed;
- Swordfish served on Thai-inspired Red Coconut Curry (with jasmine rice & tempura battered soft shell crab) $31.50 - the swordfish was overcooked unfortunately. The curry is coconut based but not red. Nonetheless it is a delicious slightly sour lime and coconut concoction that I wish there was more of. The soft shell crab is the star of this dish with exceptional flavour, meaty crab and fried crispness;
- Reef & Beef Wellington (eye fillet pieces with prawns & scallops wrapped in puff pastry topped with king prawns, served with Tuscan potatoes & drizzled with creamy Chardonnay sauce) $33.50 - usually the fillet is medium (but they tried to accommodate me with as rare as possible) and ended up a tender medium-rare. The prawns and scallops were a pleasant surprise, potatoes crisp and flavoured and the sauce was excellent to cut through the flavours. A good dish overall.

The food I had this evening was great, particularly the mains. It is reasonably expensive, but given the view and general Australia seafood prices it isn't out of place.

Next time I would order either of those two mains again (or any of the mains to be honest) but I'd probably try the calamari or baby octopus as the entree.

After running out of opportunity to have fish and chips in Merimbula (apparently Cranky's might have a decent one), it seemed a great opportunity to get some from Tathra on the way out. Luckily Tathra Seafood is close to the beach and happens to have an excellent urbanspoon rating (94%) for fried greatness.

They told me they try to get as much local seafood as possible. On this occasion the flake was from Lakes Entrance, sole and cod from Queensland and scallop from Japan (usually Tasmania when available).

- Seafood basket for one (with extra piece of fish) - the crumbed sole was excellent, soft, well cooked and the crispy thin coating great. The flake was a little tougher. Together with the scallop was coated in an extremely thick batter that was a little too much. The squid was extraordinarily tender but a little over seasoned. The prawns and calamari were good and the seafood stick was fine. Chips were a quality filler. Everything is salted but not ridiculously so meaning I only had to add pepper (which I prefer) and a few lemon squeezes.

Next time I would order mostly crumbed items as I felt they were better quality overall in both texture and taste. However realistically once you sit on the beach and enjoy the smells and tastes I don't think you'll mind what you order.

The Canberra Day long weekend was a good excuse to go down the coast. Given it is just past summer, I decided venturing south would be adequate and save the northern trips for when the season is colder. What sold me on Merimbula was the lucky timing of the annual Eat Merimbula festival. Lots of stalls were created along the fishpen area with a nice view over the waters.

Unlike a lot of food festivals in Melbourne and London and around the world I've visited, this one was particularly good as it wasn't overly crowded, there were bins and people were using them, people were friendly, smiling and engaging and the entire festival was dedicated to local produce. Additionally the food was actually very good and the prices seemed quite reasonable (as compared to the recent Enlighten Noodle Market with apparently $15 noodles...)

- Locally roasted coffee with Tilba Milk by Ragino Coffee Wyndham and Pambula ($4.50) - unfortunately Tilba milk turned out to be Woolworth's Select milk in a very average coffee;
- Beef short rib on puff pastry with beetroot, green bean salad by Hardcore Carnivore ($10) - soft pulled meat on a cold but still nicely chewy pastry with a balsamic salad;
- Brioche buns with marinated mushroom, ‘’soft style’’ Ivy Farm eggs with pinenuts and fetta by Small Feasts Catering ($8) - reasonably soft cold brioche bun with a mildly flavoured omelette;
- World’s best oysters by Sapphire Coast Wilderness Oysters - natural of varying flavours $15 for 12 (Pambula was the nicest and simplest with creamy centre, Merimbula a lesser version, Wonboyn stronger and Wapengo sweeter) but all were good quality and Japanese $10 for 6 (with wakame and mayo) which I didn't like so much the combination;
- Steamed Eden Mussel’s with house-made bread by Merimbula Wharf Restaurant ($8.50) - large mussel flesh sweetly cooked in tomato and chilli. Really excellent. They also had a homemade marshmallow square ($2) which was extraordinarily soft and not as sickly sweet as the typical packet ones;
- Temaki Sushi with local purple sea urchin by Zanzibar Café ($8) - really delicious but only mildly flavoured uni (2 pieces) although the price couldn't be justified;
- Peach, marscapone and passionfruit crepe by KnR Catering @ Glasshouse Restaurant ($6) - more tangy with passionfruit seeds with limited sweetness (surprised they didn't sprinkle with castor sugar) which I don't mind.

I also hoped to finish my market with handmade ice cream using local fruit and nuts by Cobargo Homemade Ice-cream. Unfortunately after seriously considering asking them to put aside a blood orange tub at the start, by the time I got back after eating everything else, they sold out whilst I was 3rd in line. Even though it was advertised from 10am-3pm, it was unfortunate to see that by 1pm two stalls were already sold out (one was already sold out by 1130am!!). When I walked past the scene at 7pm the area was spotless.

It's a little far to go back just for that festival but I'd highly recommend it.

The dining options in Merimbula seem reasonably limited. There's a token Chinese place, a tapas one (that actually looks very good), an Italian in there and quite a few pubs and seafood places. The pick of the lot seems to be Zanzibar Cafe apparently named after a previous owner's infatuation with something African.

Interestingly enough it holds a one-chef hat rating in the Sydney Morning Herald for 2013, 2014 and 2015 and notably is the only place south of Canberra to have one. In amongst the obscurity of the other places it seemed reasonable to make a booking here for a Saturday evening. At first the 6pm slot seemed a touch early, but given it was the only time left and the degustation took 2 hours to complete, it actually worked out very well.

The locavore tasting menu utilises a list of excellent local food sources which makes you feel better overall. Additionally the 5 courses cost $90 (whereas the a la carte 3 course costs $80) which is great for a first appearance there. My meal was washed down with a Brookvale Union Ginger Beer which was my first contact with this brand.

Complimentary Wild Rye's sourdough and soft butter starts the meal off.

- Pambula Lake Rock Oysters - better oysters than at Wheeler's and served with pickled ginger mignonette (mildly sweet with ginger) or wakame & lemon (slightly odd combination with seaweed);
- Parmesan Custard (with figs, walnuts, abamelle, aged balsamic) - strong parmesan flavour in an unusual textural form that reminded me the parmesan ice-cream at Caffe E Cucina in Melbourne about 10 years ago. The contrasting elements all work together nicely including the slightly burnt caramel-type biscuit which I'm told is the abamelle (apparently honeycomb after the honey has been removed);
- Whitefish, Scallops, Carrot Bisque - the scallop half is beautifully cooked and flavoured and a I wanted more. Ling is rolled into discs that give the appearance of a large scallop but sadly not the be. The bisque is outstanding and tastes of seafood butter creamed into a sauce. I wanted a bowl of this soup for a meal with bread! The red vein sorrel added a strong flavour and great decoration;
- Black Angus Beef (with potato puree, roasted eschalot) - I found it odd they didn't ask how I wanted the beef cooked. I was informed it was served as a "well-rested medium rare" and essentially it wasn't possible to have rare which is my preference. I'd hazard a guess the meat was sirloin but wasn't as tender or seasoned as hoped for. Meanwhile the potato puree and caramelised eschalot were outstanding accompaniments but not what the dish is meant to focus on;
- Vanilla Bavarois (with blood plum, coconut mousse, honeycomb, quinoa) - this is one exceptional dessert with all elements (bar the quinoa which is more matter-of-fact). The perfectly soft vanilla, sweet slightly tangy and chewy plum, aerated rich coconut and sweet crunchy honeycomb made this one of my favourite desserts.

The meal was very good with the bisque and dessert taking top honours. The service was a good standard as expected for this kind of place, although I must admit I think the policy on cutlery should be altered - at the beginning I was set out an oyster fork, 3 dinner forks, a spoon and 2 standard knives and a steak knife all at once.

Next time I would order a 3 course menu given I know what I like there now and want it in bigger quantities. The main and dessert are obvious but the entrees are a little harder to pick - I'm tempted to say the Leek agnolotti (Eden mussels, fennel, vermouth) given the quality of Eden mussels. A side of polenta chips (with black beans, sweet corn, lime) would top off my hunger and balance the price of the degustation.

The first stop enroute to Merimbula was Wild Rye's Bakery. For some reason (not surprisingly perhaps) I had no Vodafone reception and hence I was unable to look up exactly why I had marked this place on my Google maps.

All restaurants in the area seem to specifically state they use Wild Rye's bread so given it is a bakery that probably makes sense. Upon entering I was actually surprised at how few things are sold. Maybe they have a morning peak but the cake shelves were quite empty, pies were in the oven and there were a few breads out only.

From a snack/meal point of view, the specialty seems to be pies. All their beef ones use a combination of chunky and mince (they tell me). In the end I selected the Angus Beef & Caramelised Onions. The beef was fine and the onions added a definite sweetness to the mixture. The pastry was a little too thin and flaky for my liking as I prefer thicker with some chew to it. Reading again the seafood pie seems to be popular so perhaps that one next time.

Additionally I took away a loaf of spelt sourdough which is a little drier than the usual loaf but has some good tang to it. I look forward to testing it further.

They are advertising a kingfish and scallop pie at Eat Merimbula today so let's see how that turns out.

The Sapphire Coast is meant to be known for seafood and particular oysters. All along this region, oysters from Tathra, Merimbula and Pambula are advertised as the best. Considering my favourite oysters (and clams) are far away at Richard Haward in Borough Market, I've been keen to find some others where the potency would live up to those I still dream of.

The oysters at Wheeler's are farmed across the road in the Merimbula Lake.

- Natural oysters - a mild flavour with a hint of metallic after taste which I don't mind. I'm not sure if they wash after opening these but the liquor wasn't present and it didn't have the potent ocean flavour I like;
- Hot Shanghai oysters (ginger, kaffir lime, soy, mild chilli & shallot) - quite a strong soy saltiness but left only a hint of oyster flavour at the end;
- Cold Japanese oysters (pickled ginger, cucumber, wasabi dressing) - served with a small dollop of mayonnaise, this was much better with lemon which brought out an additional sweetness;
- Cold Asian oysters (sweet & sour topped with flying fish roe) - didn't like this one. It tasted odd and had a fizzy character to it;
- Cold Thai oysters (nam jim, Spanish onion, chilli) - nice strong sauce but left only a hint of oyster flavour at the end.

Overall I found the oysters disappointing. It reinforced to me that I prefer them natural and freshly shucked with the strong liquor to drink with it.

- Tuscan Bug & Scallop Salad (Balmain bugs & scallops pan-seared in chilli, garlic & fresh herbs tossed with ciabatta croutons, goat's cheese, Kalamata olives, baby spinach & rocket) $23 - 2 bugs and a collection of small buttered scallops which were not overcooked. I prefer my scallops very rare so in these instances larger size really makes a difference;
- Seafood Chowder (creamy seafood soup with poached local fish, scallops, mussels, Morton Bay bugs & tiger prawns with garlic bread) $34 - the soup seemed more mild fish than shellfish base with potato or cauliflower to make it thicker. The scallops were quite small (6 overall), the tiger prawns (2) were mushy rather than crisp and the bug (1) was reasonable. There were no mussels unfortunately. Garlic bread was very crisp (one of the breads was slightly burnt) and it complimented well when soaked in the thick soup. The soup base was decent (underflavoured for me) but $34 for soup seemed high with those ingredients.

I couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed overall, especially at the oysters but would try again and see if the natural ones grew on me more. The fish & chips looked and smelled delicious and since it is advertised on one of their welcome signs, perhaps this is the best thing to order. I would come back here to eat as the options for good seafood seem quite limited locally, although the caveats to know about are the price.