We decided to time our next visit to Fresh/Shinsen for Wednesday when they had their tasting plate deals.  We already had an experience of the tasting plates last year but were a little more circumspect in our selections because of the cost.  This time, we chose to have 7 tasting plates -  5 from Fresh and 2 from Shinsen.

When the tasting plates arrived, I thought that this would be polished off without any problem.  The white bait was incredibly.  The soft shell crabs were perfect.  The panko calamari were crispy and tender.  Having said that though, I think I can replicate it!

The arancini balls were amazing.  The belly pork was similar to what I had the first night and the lamb was great.

While it didn't look all that big, we were completely stuffed.  No room for dessert which was unfortunate as we have yet to sample their desserts.

I also wanted to share two interesting drinks I had.  Pictured is the Hills Cider which was available in apple or pear flavour.  I chose pear.  It was a refreshing drink.  Great for a hot summer's night.

The other drink I indulged in was the Lord Nelson's dark ale, malty with chocolate overtones.

This restaurant is highly recommended.  If you are in Coolangatta, give it a go.  It's a tad pricey but if you aim for the daily deals, you won't be disappointed.

Shop 1- 3/78 Musgrave Street, Kirra QLD.

After being thoroughly impressed last year, we could not help heading back again on our very first night in Coolangatta.  At least this year, we planned it better and decided to go on our first night with plans for a further visit later in the week.  Last year, we did the ridiculous thing of eating at this restaurant two nights in a row!!

This restaurant has a unique proposition where it's actually two restaurants in one - "Fresh" which is modern contemporary and "Shinsen" which is Japanese.  This makes it really easy to satisfy everyone's tastes, even the kids!

Fish & Chips

The kids chose to have fish & chips which looked absolutely yummy!  Even the salad was polished off, minus onions of course.

The restaurant has various deals during the week and from 5-6pm, all mains are half price, plus, as it was Friday, cocktails were $10 each.  So while we were waiting for our meal, Mi couldn't help but indulged in one - something that had passionfruit and kiwifruit in it...... my old brain can't remember the name!

I decided to give the sake (Japanese wine) a go after first being introduced to it by our friends Mike and Katie who had recently been to Japan.

Twice-cooked Belly Pork with stewed pear

Mi should have taken a picture of my expression when this arrived because I couldn't wait to get my chops into it.  (If you haven't already, click on the photo to see an enlarged version.  The thumbnail doesn't do it justice.)

My family would tell you that I CAN eat, but this was a generous serve.  Succulent, tender and the crackling was perfect.  The bits that you see on top are cranberries and pistachios.

I thought I was impressed and then Mi's meal arrived.

Sushi and Teppanyaki Platter


What can you say about this dish?  It was as good as it looks, and at half price.....

Stay tuned for Part 2.....

We decided to grow zucchinis this year with our tomatoes and have been pleasantly surprised with the harvest.  We actually planted four varieties but didn't realise that snails were so aggressive and had eaten two of the plants within two days of planting!  The two that survived were "lebanese zucchini" and "black jack".

So, I decided to make a zucchini frittata.

Recipe

2 zucchinis -  cut into chunks
1/2 red onion - diced
6 eggs
50 g shredded cheese
100g smoked salmon

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees.  Heat up pan and fry onion and zucchini but do no over-cook.  Beat eggs with salt and pepper.  Add shredded cheese and mix well.  

Pour into pan with zucchini and onion.  Turn down heat to medium and let mixture cook for a few minutes.  Add chopped smoked salmon over the top and press down.


Take off heat and put into oven for 10 minutes.

Serve with green salad.

A simple fun dinner with the kids tonight.

The beef was marinated in a Korean Bulgogi sauce, easily obtained at a Korean or Asian grocer. 

We got this BBQ for our wedding (9th anniversary coming up) and have only recently discovered how wonderful it is.  Low prep and fun - cook at the table.