Darwin

Putty and I headed over to darwin for a few days this week as we had a union conference on friday & we figured as our airfares and a couple of nights accomodation were paid for, we may as well add a couple of days for R&R and shopping.

if you are looking for accomodation, dont stay at the Luma Luma Apartments, we had to have 2 nights there before moving across the road to the Mantra Pandanus Apartments which are hard to beat for a short stay. If you really want to know how bad Luma Luma is check out my review on Trip Advisor  – LINK

Putty won the shopping competition hands down, maybe the fact I havent got my redundancy yet was a partial reason, but I reckon he could shop for australia. my role was reduced to his PA and driver, the payment reflecting the quality and enthusiasm of my work.

i wont bore you with details of the conference, 2 people bored is enough, instead i will concentrate on the dining highlights – there are not many in darwin but there are a few gems if you hunt them out. starting with coffee and breakfast, as any day should, we discovered The Pearl, a new cafe in the arcade beside the old Vic Hotel site. they have a stunning 3 group Kees Van der Westen Mirage Idrocompresso, which pulled liovely syrupy shots.

the breakfast menu is small, unusual and shows the advantage of fresh produce and preparing and cooking a few simple, interesting dishes to a high standard. we tried most things on the menu, croque madame was perfect, the baked eggs with creamed corn and panchetta was my favourite, also available was a house cured trout dish and Arabic Rice pudding on almond milk yogurt with poached pears.

for lunch you cant go past the Sumatra Cafe, its at the end of a little arcade off the Smith St Mall, on the left hand side walking up from Knuckey St, just past the playground equipment. Its round the corner to the left so you cant see it until you get to the end of the arcade. It must be one of the best kept secrets in darwin, its fantastically authentic Indo food, the only difference is better tables and chairs and air con! its crazy cheap too, a huge plate of rice or noodles with a choice of 3 curries and plenty of veges is just $13. there is also a yummy chilli sauce in a tub which is a perfect accompaniment. just remember, its only open for lunch.

dinner i highly recommend Warung Ibu Amye otherwise known as Laksa House, opposite the car yards on Stuart Hwy, the Laksa is just perfect and sitting outside at the plastic tables on plastic chairs in the balmy tropical night air of darwin adds an extra level of authenticity! go early, Amye only cooks the fresh produce she buys for that night so once its gone thats it! friday and saturday night Amye does her famous charcoal chook and thats a highlight that should not be missed!

thanks to don whyte for the tip about the sumatra cafe – only guy to do your framing in darwin FRAMING

thanks to darwin’s man for all seasons, musician, author and cook, phil o’brien, for the tip about Warung Ibu Amye, LINK