HUMiD: It's not just the weather!

Your Humble Correspondent was bereft, Gentle Reader. Invited to a fellow Christmas refugee's beach shack in Noosa for bubbles, we were lamenting the availability of "foodies' food" in the verdant and vibrant playground of Noosa. "Oh, the pain ... the pain" went the chorus from the Child Bride and your piteous scribe. As previously noted, the ingredients are superb and one could not want for better venues. Why can't people turn this into quality fare, instead of pap more worthy of an English grandmother's kitchen?

"Hold on, old chap!" ventured the Canuck. "You should try humid". Poor deluded soul, thought I. After all, I had grown up in this vicinity ... the humidity was remarkably pleasant at 80%, and conducive to champagne consumption in an oddly satisfying fashion. [Note: In the same way that Inuit have an extraordinary number of words for snow, Queenslanders have many (umm, 3?) words for "sticky"]. He was obviously confused. And then he rang the restaurant, and made a booking for me. Oh Happy Day!

Serendipity is a funny thing, Gentle Reader. Horace Walpole coined this remarkable word to describe the curious happenstance where a paraphrasing Correspondent makes "discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which he was not in quest of....".

HUMiD is a discovery worthy of the Three Princes of Serendip. Hidden in the back streets of Noosaville, it is an oasis of quality and friendly service in the wet desert of the Sunshine Coast. Here, at last, a chef in complete control of her kitchen. Here (Oh, felicitious day!) a floor staff that understands quiet and efficient service. Finally a "fusion" or "contemporary" restaurant that carries food service traditions forward, instead of irrevocably departing from them.

HUMiD's website describes the welcome as "arriving at an old friends's home", and I for one concur. This restaurant has all the warmth of an old favorite, yet projects so much vitality and energy that it almost leaves one breathless.

We chose the San Choi Boi and Scallops on Polenta to start - both were excellent and delightfully delicate. 'Ah, this is more like it' we ventured, and while the Child Bride sipped away on a Limoncello and Champagne with Muddled Limes cocktail, we thanked the Heavens for this little slice of Elysium. On, then, to my Assiette of Pork and some Balga Lamb for Her Highness. Oh my very, very goodness! Fine food, real food, delicious food ... Why can't we negotiate to bring this jewel to Tokyo!

My advice to Tokyo residents is to immediately drop all pretence and fly off to Noosa (having previously made a reservation at HUMiD). Take only your closest companions, those you would trust with a deep secret. Sit near the windows to take in the view, with your back to the door if at all possible. We wouldn't want the news to get out - HUMiD is hot!

HuMID: 195 Weyba Road, Noosaville, tel: +61-7-5449-9755

Rating: Food: 8; Drinks: 8; Service: 7; Ambiance: 8; Price: 8 ($$$). Total 39/50

Australian Food: Come on Aussie!

Having ventured to the Great Southern Land, Gentle Reader, I was looking forward with considerable relish (no pun intended) to a veritable feast of fine food. And I'm desperately disappointed.

In Dominic's recent post about a certain restaurant in Canberra, he lamented at the poor quality of the offering. Your Humble Correspondent would feign call him mistaken, were it at all possible.

I must say that, like the United States, Australia boasts magnificent produce. Whether shopping for my humble home or considering what was on offer at the various eating establishments I have visited with the Child Bride, I have no doubt that the ingredients are of the highest quality. Magnificent seafood, extraordinary cuts of meat and poultry, superb vegetables, and some of the best delicatessens I have ever experienced. There is a passion for the providore that thrills me to the core. So what, I wonder, is the issue?

In your Humble Correspondent's opinion, the problem happens once the produce gets to the kitchen. Too many cooks spoiling broths, and not enough chefs focused on what hits the plate. Over-cooking such as Dominic suffered, or under-cooking like I experienced recently when the filling for a steak-and-kidney pastry was barely tepid, is a solid indication that some-one at the kitchen door is not paying attention. Wait staff make the simplest mistakes, and seem driven to have the diners in and out quickly. A cross-eyed view to the top-line, rather than customer satisfaction and growing a crowd of "regulars".

Perhaps we are all a little spoiled in Tokyo, but there where livelihoods are on the line chefs go that little further to make sure customers are delighted. Here in the Antipodes, it seems that people have jobs rather than passions and the competition is for employees rather than learning opportunities. It's almost as if the roles are reversed between kitchen and floor, and between diners and eateries. For goodness' sake, food is not fuel and dining excellence is not measured with a stopwatch.

It is all a rather large pity - the venues and locations are splendid and the ingredients (as noted) real quality. Why, oh why, don't people apply that finishing touch of the entertainment inherent in food? If all the world's a stage, where are the players?

Yule be wondering ...

Regular Gentle Readers will be wondering what befell your Humble Correspondent. Unlike the effervescent Jon (Blog link here!) , travel to the wilds of Akita was not on the menu this year. Instead, I chose a much more sedate and familiar destination - Brisbane, Australia. While not yet feted as the point of origin for your Humble Correspondent, the City and I look forward to that happy day when foodies all over the world flock to its fair shores for ... um, food!

The point of my antipodean journey with the Child Bride and The Princess was of course to visit my ragged but treasured collection of parents, siblings, children, children-in-law, children-in-law-in-waiting, and grand-babies for a cacophonous convocation at Christmas. A bit of a tradition, you see, which your aging diarist both enjoys and quietly propagates.

Some say, Gentle Reader, that I sometimes tend to go over the top with regard to food and gatherings. Tee-hee to them, and pshaw! Going over the top happens to be a part of my core skill set, and in my (feeble) mind a consummation devoutly to be wished. How could people be so cruel as to suggest that importing a hand-made creche and Nativity Scene from Oberammergau by way of the blithe and generous George was over the top? My intention is to buy a new figurine every year, adding it to the display for the grand-babies to enjoy. [BTW: the figurines are 12cm high, so you can imagine how much space it takes up!]
But the food! Everything is lovingly hand-made by your Humble Correspondent each year. This year, for 20 people! Each year we add something to the mix that might be thought by ne'er-do-wells as "over the top". The Child Bride has long forsaken trying to curb these culinary passions - a good thing too, as covering my ears and poking out my tongue was lately feeling a little childish.

Here's what I prepared (and feel free to contact me for recipes):

Smoked Salmon Pate

Smoked Trout, Chive, and Chervil Terrine

Pressed Duck with Red Wine Vinegar in Aspic

Honey Mustard Glazed Ham

Slow Roasted Pork with Apple Cider Stuffing

Roast Turkey with Sage and Onion Stuffing

Forcemeat Stuffing Balls Wrapped in Pancetta

Roast Herbed Potatoes, Pumpkin, and Kumara

Steamed fresh-picked beans and Asparagus

Cherry and Macadamia Praline Cheesecake

Brandy and Citrus Peel Truffles

Over the top? Never ... just wait for next year! I'm already in planning mode.

Downtown Delight

As a country boy at heart it is not often, Gentle Reader, that I venture into the bullishly bank-littered heart of Tokyo. The contingent liability and risk profile discussions don't bear thinking about, and traffic control seems to be in the hands of a manic depressive.

But hearing only good things about Salt, I took my life into my hands and headed there with El Presidente and The Expat to enjoy the company of bon vivant Richard Cohen of the ever-reliable Village Cellars. Good choice!

Salt has been established by some brave yet insightful investors, with Australian food icon Luke Mangan as both the inspiration and overseas partner. I was first introduced to Luke's Sydney restaurant Salt by his brother, and then was proud to have Luke at the Australian Embassy for a promotional event. Luke has gone on to even greater heights, and I'm looking forward to seeing where this journey ends.

The Child Bride was to descend on the hapless Salt staff in a few days with the Chicken & Chablis coterie, so I was doing my best to maintain a low profile. That option was ruined by the arrival of Roger Moore at another table, but he accepted the glass of sparkling mineral water I had sent to his table with an urbane smile and a pleasant degree of confusion.

Richard feigns to be on doctor's orders to reduce consumption (and to be fair he looks the better for it), so he went a la carte with the Mackeral followed by the Lamb. Undaunted, we Three Amigos waded bravely into a degustation menu - theirs with the Aussie wine tasting option, and me with an eye on Salt's excellent wine list. The tasting is a elegant touch, and serves to introduce the punters to a range of high quality Australian wines without overwhelming the wonderful food.

I chose a Reserve Riesling from the Watervale region - this is how Riesling should taste, delightfully free of the cloying sweetness of its European cousins and fresh to the point of perkiness. Richard followed with a Frankland Cabernet for the latter courses, and the '98 showed all of the best features of West Australian reds and none of the faults.

The food is carefully prepared to highlight the subtle flavors of excellent ingredients (note to self: get an invitation to go to Market with Chef Binnie!), and lavishly presented with a low key explanation of the dish that our friends at Global Dining could benefit from copying.

Salt is a stunning addition to the Tokyo dining scene, and the Australian accent of Head Chef Shannon Binnie immediately fills one with confidence that here is a destination that understands food and wine, and how both subtly combine to create a stunning table experience. The food is great to excellent, and the location has been used to considerable advantage so that a visit to Salt provides both Tokyo residents and visitors with the highlight of any week.

Visit Salt with colleagues and clients, or those pangs of the heart where a full airfare to Sydney seems a slight exaggeration. And visit the bar next door for pre- or post-prandials - at last an elegant and sophisticated location with the energy and verve of New York, Sydney, or London.

The English website seems to be in need of a careful eye to keep up to date with what's happening in the restaurant, and doesn't seem to have been updated for some time. For details of the degustation menus currently on offer, see my poor effort just below the rating line.

Salt Tokyo: Shin-Marunouchi Bldg. 6F 1-5-1 MarunouchiChiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6506 Japan Tel. 03-5288-7828Fax. 03-5288-7836

Rating: Food: 8/10; Service: 7/10 ; Wine: 8/10; Ambiance: 8/10; Price: 7/10 ($$$$); Total 38/50 (4 Forks) Map

Degustations:

Terry: Mushroom Broth; sashimi of Lobster; Seared Sea Scallops; Roasted Guinea Fowl; Australian Spring Lamb Assiette; Hazelnut Parfait
Others: Shellfish Bisque with truffle; Seafood tasting; Pork Belly Confit; Roast Lobster; Australian Wagyu Beef, Chocolate Plate