Every few weeks, I go to lunch with my friends Jan and David. We haven’t been for a while because Jan and David have been swanning around France for two months, including spending a few days with Jamie Schler from Life’s a Feast fame who now also owns a hotel in Chinon, France.
All that changed last week when we met up at Fish on Parkyn in Mooloolaba. The restaurant is just across the street from the beach where I took this photo, in the tourist spot of Mooloolaba, about 5 or 10 minutes from where we live.
Do you have special dishes at restaurants that you can’t resist ordering every time?
I’d been to Fish on Parkyn quite a while ago and I remembered a Thai Bean Sprout salad filled with bean sprouts, mint, coriander (cilantro), red chili, red onion, cucumber, cashews and Asian fried onions. The dressing is sweet and sour with a bit of heat from fresh ginger. I could live on this salad, I promise.
You know I have a problem with seafood so I had this pork belly with a fresh salad of roasted potatoes, feta and greens. The others had these oysters with chopped lychees and chili. They thought they could have been improved with a bit more red chili.
Then they had more oysters – Kilpatrick this time. Nothing left!
There were also fish and chips on the table because who doesn’t need too much food? The chips were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside and the fish was fresh off the boat.
Jan and David had the BBQ Seafood Platter. It was filled with half a Moreton bay bug (crab looking lobster type animal), Mooloolaba prawns, fresh salmon, Hervey Bay scallops and chips.
Way more than I could eat but I couldn’t resist this eye fillet steak with roasted kipfler potatoes, carrots and braised field mushrooms. The port wine sauce was so good I wanted to eat it with a spoon but I was out with friends and minded my manners.
We are not like Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella who has a separate dessert stomach. None of us had one on the day.
If you’d like to try a Thai Bean Sprout Salad, this one is very good but the dressing is not exactly the same as the one above but I’m still working on it. Every time I go I ask for the ingredients and get told something new. One day I’ll have them all.
- 1 cucumber, sliced in two and deseeded, then sliced in half-moons.
- ½ cup sliced red onion, sliced end to end
- 2 cups fresh bean sprouts
- 1 red chili pepper, deseeded and sliced finely
- ¼ cup mint leaves, leave whole if small, otherwise tear into small pieces
- ½ cup coriander (cilantro) leaves
- 1 tablespoon Asian fried onions
- ½ cup cashews (some can be chopped)
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 6 tablespoons lime juice (180 ml)
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce (or to taste)
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- black pepper to taste
- 2 red chillis seeded and finely chopped
- 2 large cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons sugar (or to taste)
- Combine all ingredients and mix well. Let sit for the flavours to combine while you make the salad.
- In a large bowl combine all ingredients together. Without dressing and cashews, salad will keep in the refrigerator 4-5 days.
Many of you have asked about Charlie who had surgery yesterday to remove bumps and lumps in several places, including under his left eye. He’s okay and feeling very sorry for himself. The bits are out for examination so fingers crossed he doesn’t have anything sinister.
He won’t pee with the cone on because he can’t sniff the right spot. He walks into everything with the cone and REALLY wants it off. He can reach where the lipoma was removed off his chest with his back feet so he’s made that bleed today and I cried.
Poor Charlie. I hope he feels much better soon. This restaurant looks and sounds absolutely brilliant. I’d happily devour everything you listed. 🙂
Hi Maureen! I am so envious of all that wonderful food and the restaurant! And that beautiful beach! WOW! I truly love where we live and never tire of looking at the view of the South face of the Cumberland Mountains from our back yard, but I surely do miss the culinary experiences of fine dining! We’re planning on going over to Nashville to see my son around Christmas and I am definitely looking forward to some dining out! 🙂
The Vietnamese Salad looks so inviting. It’s such a bright, fresh change from all the comfort food we northerners seem to make this time of year. I hope Charlie feels better soon!
Separate dessert stomach, hah! My kids have said that for years. What a delicious spread of foods!
There’s a restaurant here in Santa Cruz where I always order the wasabi salmon. It’s a gorgeous place and I love going there .
Your salad looks great . Poor Charley, I hope he feels better soon.
Poor Charlie, the cone of shame. Glad he is better. And wow on the restaurant, everything looks so good. And I want a beach (so bad) near me now! Great salad, sounds delightful.
Hi Maureen, all the food looked delicious, I could easily have ordered any one of those. Hope Charlie feels better, they all sure hate the cone of shame.
Awww…i hope Charlie feels better and get the cone removed soon…he is so cute! The recipe looks delicious…i love how fresh and colorful it looks!
Seems that you’ve had a feast :). I’m like Lorraine, there is always a room for dessert :). Poor thing keep an eye on him and I hope he will be ok soon.
This restaurant is totally up my ally! I think I’d order the BBQ Seafood Platter!!! Take me there, pleeeeze!
Great food. I wouldn’t know which one to have. 🙂
Poor Charlie and the cone of shame. Hope the biopsy results come back negative for any bad stuff.
Sending hugs to Charlie… poor little fella. Looks like a great place to dine… and how lovely of you to shout out to our wonderful friend in food, Jamie x
Oh poor Charlie, hope he’s feeling much better. And you too. I’ve missed seeing your comments lately.
Your photos are exquisite as always, & certainly titillate the taste buds :))
I could live on that salad too, it looks amazingly beautiful & fresh, fresh, fresh xx
Lordy, that seafood platter looks delicious – I’m very hungry now.
Poor Charlie, I hope he gets well soon and has no further problems. Those cones are a hazard. When our Irish wolfhound had to wear one she banged into everything and almost took plaster off corners around the house.
Big, big hugs sent to Charlie and DO hope the lipomas were just such! See those cones everywhere: what must the poor animals make of such discomfiture? Yuk!! Absolutely love the Vietnamese salad: everything I stand for in my ‘these days’ eating! Had not realized you could not tolerate seafood: to my way of thinking, what a bummer!! ‘big smile* – did not realize Oysters Kilpatrick was still being served: it seemed such a big deal on the ‘business lunch circuit’ way back when . . .
I remember oysters kilpatrick back in the 80s too!
Oops! I better not admit to late 60s and 70s 🙂 !! Natural, mornay, Kilpatrick and Bercy, if the restaurant was really ‘smart’ 🙂 ! Hmm, look at the menus now!!
Poor Charlie! He looks so unhappy. Hope things will be OK. Anyway, I find red chili improves most foods. 😉 Sounds like a wonderful lunch, and that’s a terrific salad. Thanks.
Poor Charlie! My Rosie has a lot of lumps and bumps and she’s off to the vet on Friday. She’ll have a general anaesthetic because she needs her teeth cleaned. I’ll find out if she needs her bumps cut off. I do hope that cone can come off Charlie soon – they really do hate wearing them and it’s so difficult trying to explain to them why it’s necessary. The view from the restaurant is stunning. I’m glad they offer a lot more than just seafood! xx
It’s down the river side of Mooloolaba next to where all the fishing trawlers drop off their fish. Near the yacht club too.
That salad is speaking to me too – wow! Sounds like a great restaurant and a lovely time with friends!
Charlie is so CUTE! I hope he’s doing well! I need that salad ASAP! It looks absolutely delicious!
Charlie is better today and you need this salad!! 🙂
All of those dishes look freaking awesome!!! I’m not sure which one I would have ordered but that Vietnamese Salad is certainly calling my name. Such a beautiful salad and yours looks just like the one you paid for. Gotta give this a try. Poor Charlie. 🙁 Glad he is doing o.k.
Awhhh YARM! 🙂 I could go a plate of all the dishes, far out your pictures are super, so great a couple of my colleagues leaned in for a sniff. 🙂 Nawh… Poor Charlie. Fingers crossed for a super speedy recovery. Nothing worse than our animals being crook.
First you kill me with this meal. This looks so good and so sunny and then Poor, poor Charlie. I sympathize. When my dogs are feeling down, I feel down. You should have taken him to lunch with you and bought him a steak. My brother always went to restaurants where he could sit outside with his dog, and he always ordered him an unsalted grilled chicken breast, that he would then cut up into little pieces. What can I say? Except I love this salad!
Praying that all of Charlie’s little lumps and bumps come back with no issues. Poor little guy…
I love Thai Asian salad and love how they really pile high the toppings at the restaurant. I am certain you served identical to the restaurant at home… wink wink. I hope you are doing well.
Oh, poor, poor, Charlie – but would a brilliant salad – both – will be making this sometime in the near future, when I have a kitchen again!
Glad Charlie is doing all right…Furry animal family members are precious…Okay on to the food…How lucky are you to live so close to a spot resembling paradise…The meals at Fish on Parkyn look pretty heavenly too. Ditto for living on that Vietnamese Salad. Quite an honor they divulge any of their ingredients….P.s. The fish and chips makes me want to go to the pub!!
Dang Girl, I wish your photos were quite so vivid. I want that food—any of the dishes–NOW! Wonderful post.
Hugs to Charlie. Funny about his pee situation. But actually it’s pretty logical. I can’t pee with a cone on either.
Lol.
I didn’t know you lived in Mooloolaba, what a gorgeous place! My husband lived there for awhile and I got to visit with him. So nice! Looks like lovely food, too!
Ooh you can’t beat a seafood platter by the water in my books! What a view!
I can understand you Maureen, I could live in this salade as well, it looks wonderful! Oysters are stunning!
Poor Charlie, I hope will be ok very soon! Have a nice weekend!
All the dishes looks wonderful ..really miss going to a good restaurant.. as I have two little daughters going to a restaurant can be quite an adventure.. so I rather stay home.. haha:)
That Vietnamese salad looks almost like a Christmas tree- just in time for the season coming up. As for my manners, I would just pick up the platter and lick the port wine sauce directly off the plate. I remember eating at Bob’s Bog Boy restaurant in California in the ’70s and doing just that with their hot fudge cake (and I wouldn’t put it past myself to do the same with the port wine sauce)!
Lovely salad Maureen. I’ve been craving good salads lately, despite the constant rain and cold weather here. My body must be needing it.
Fingers crossed for Charlie.
That nam jim-ish based salad looks amazing. It is also something I order whenever we dine at a restaurant close to the water .. it is always so divine and hits all the sweet sour spicy salty spots. I am excited to try your recipe! Thanks for sharing and striving to get it like the original :-). Hope Charlie feels better x
What an amazing array of food!! I love the Vietnamese salad! I would choose that every time I think! So many delicious flavours in there!!
I have dined with Lorraine and she really does have a separate dessert space… there is no way I could even have a bite of dessert after a meal like that… I’m so envious of Lorraine hahah!
Thanks for sharing
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
Lorraine and her separate dessert stomach? I snorted out loud! That’s so funny! This restaurant – oh good lord the food looks fabulous and now I am finally craving being back in Florida so I can eat big seafood platters and salads and Thai food. Delicious! And hugs to you, Jan, and Dave! I’m so happy they had a great time! When are you coming? (poor Charlie…. but it is funny about not being able to pee with the cone on…)
Aw, poor Charlie! They hate when their routines are interrupted. Fingers crossed for good lab results.
P.S. I could live off this salad, too!
I have never had such a salad, but I want now!
Looks like a awesome food place to be. I am getting hungry now.
Oh sweet Charlie I hope that he feels better really soon! This looks like an amazing place to eat and that salad looks awesome!!
Delicious ! I love all this.
Health for sweet Charlie!
I have been thinking about you all day and now I have finally landed here. I for sure have favorites at restaurants. Some places I have tried very little because I can’t move away from the first dish I had and loved. For me that first salad I could also live on but I would have to have some of the oysters too. Everything looks amazing!!
I feel guilty when I order the same thing a second time but with this salad, I can’t resist. 🙂
This salad is delicious. Not sure how it serves 4 though? I made it tonight for hubby and I and my daughter. Thankfully I didn’t think she would ‘love’ it, so I only gave her a very small portion. There was nothing left in the bowl but a whole lot of juices. Next time I would double the ingredients but keep the same portions for the dressing. Lovely flavour, but just not enough for 4 people.
I’m really sorry. We used this salad as a part of a meal and it was enough for us. Please accept my apology, I should have said that. You’re right, the salad does have juice at the bottom and it did at the restaurant too.
I love this dressing! I only had cucumber, bean sprouts and red onion on hand, only bottled lime juice, made this salad anyway. It was delicious already! Will try this recipe again one day using all the ingredients called for in the recipe. Thank you so much!