Are Sand & Wood’s creation the best ‘hot chips’ in Queensland?
Not a chip, not a wedge, not a fry, but the fried skins of whole roasted potatoes. Whatever you call them, they’re sure to blow your mind – and your waistline.
U on Sunday
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WHAT IS it about being poolside or a trip to the beach that makes you want to eat hot chips?
As you sit in your “tummy shaping” AKA fat-sucking, organ-re-arranging swimwear, holding you in tighter than a 16th century corset, somehow all you want to do is put that reinforced elastic to the test and stuff your pina colada-bloated face with steaming, crispy-outside, fluffy-inside deep-fried spud. Or maybe that’s just me.
If you can relate though, the potato skins at Sand & Wood – Kingfisher Bay Resort’s new relaxed poolside eatery on Fraser Island – are sure to blow your mind and your waistline.
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Not a chip, not a wedge, not a fry, they are the skins of whole roasted potatoes that have blistered away in hot oil until their surface bares the golden glow of a sun-kissed Grecian goddess, and the thin layer of potato clinging to the inside of the shell is buttery and soft.
Indelible on their own, they become preternatural with drippings of cheesy bechamel and sabre-like jamon crisps.
But the new menu at the breezy, family-focused Sand & Wood offers more than just these dream-haunting desires. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, the effortless, timber-clad, indoor-outdoor space where you can watch your kids splash around in their togs while sipping brightly coloured cocktails serves a rollcall of modern and classic, holiday favourites. Think burgers, bao, salads, prawn platters, seafood towers and a signature Queensland beef and Australian meat tower – the ultimate carnivorous fantasy.
At lunch, a pulled lamb panini ($22) stacked with roasted capsicum, rocket, caramelised onion and tzatziki offers a tasty hat tip to the Mediterranean; while Asia is saluted with a Korean fried chicken burger – the battered bird glistening in sweet, sticky sauce and accompanied with coleslaw, pickles and sriracha mayo on a charcoal-hued brioche bun.
Easing some of the guilt about indulging in those potato skins is a beetroot and cous cous salad ($18) and a poke bowl ($26) of soy-dressed soba noodles, smoked salmon, radish, cucumber, charred baby corn, broad beans and pickled ginger that command the nutritionist’s tick of approval without skimping on flavour.
While at dinner, small plates like Thai curry spring rolls ($18) and chargrilled octopus and chorizo skewers ($26) make for easy, shareable entrees, before more substantial offerings like cleaving twice-cooked beef brisket redolent of Asian aromatics, or the firm char sui pork, its natural sweetness enforced by a drizzle of hoisin.
Kids are also well catered for with favourites like beef lasagne, plus proteins such as chicken and fish served with either chips, salad or veg.
Desserts include a signature of coffee creation with ice cream, chocolate soil and honeycomb, plus classics of pavlova and fruit crumble, but instead perhaps let the benevolent young staff treat you to a Wild Brumby ($18). A nostalgically joyful nod to the ’90s, the part-cocktail, part-dessert shakes together creme de cacao Baileys, vodka and cream, crowning it with a Gaytime ice cream.
Unlike many new cafes and eateries with their minimalist fit-outs and hipster attitudes, Sand and Wood is perfectly pitched to its family vacation audience, delivering a warm and approachable experience that you don’t need to get out of those belly-shrinking swimmers to enjoy.
SAND & WOOD
Where: Kingfisher Bay Resort, PMB 1 Urangan, Hervey Bay
Contact: 4120 3333, http://www.kingfisherbay.com/food-and-wine/sand-and-wood.html
Open: Breakfast 6.30am-10am, lunch 11am-4pm, Dinner 6pm-9pm
*The reviewer was a guest of Kingfisher Bay Resort
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