Why I ate pandanus leaves before dining at one of Noosa’s best restaurants

He’s a chef with TV shows, gigs at Michelin-starred restaurants and four cookbooks to his name, but somehow remains relatively unknown. But his crackerjack menu at this southeast Queensland restaurant deserves to rectify that.

There was a fellow walking along the beachfront at Noosa during his Sunshine Coast holiday recently and he caused some amusement by stopping occasionally to munch on the leaves of a pandanus tree. That fellow was me.

As crazy as it looked, I was on a mission to unlock the secrets of one of Asia’s most elusive “bush tucker” flavours.

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The pandanus leaf, used in cooking in Sri Lanka and other Asian countries, adds a distinctive vanillin perfume with piney and citrus notes to curries, rice dishes, desserts, and even drinks. My authority for this is Peter Kuruvita, who writes about pandanus, also called rampe, in his book My Sri Lankan Kitchen (Murdoch Books).

Noosa Beach House restaurateur Peter Kuruvita.

Kuruvita is the alleged celebrity chef and restaurateur who designed the menu at Noosa Beach House in dress-circle Hastings Street. I bought a signed copy of the book at the restaurant.

Although his brag sheet lists television cooking shows, gigs at Michelin-starred restaurants in the UK and the US, and four cookbooks, no one on my tasting team had ever heard of Kuruvita.

Nevertheless, Noosa Beach House is an exceedingly pleasant room in white tones with subdued lighting and a crackerjack menu heavy on seafood. Many dishes fall under the spell of Asian spice.

Interior at Noosa Beach House on Hastings Street. Picture: Lachie Millard

There are small plates for nibblers, an a la carte menu, seafood tasting platters, (market prices), degustation banquets ($115 a head for six courses), a vegetarian degustation ($100 for seven courses), and a separate crustacean menu.

Some of the curry powders created by Kuruvita have up to 32 ingredients, including the pandanus leaf, said our waiter. And, yes, chewing the pandanus leaf does deliver a vague vanilla hit.

I confess I had misgivings about returning to the Noosa restaurant scene after hearing stories of overcrowding, slap-dash service and indifferent cooking.

And how could the new wave of cooks possibly match the superchefs of Noosa’s past, such as Leonie Palmer and Jim Berardo?

My fears were swept away as the food began to arrive.

Noosa Spanner Crab with sugar snap peas, egg yolk curry and dill, at Noosa Beach House on Hastings Street. Photo: Lachie Millard

A Noosa spanner crab entree ($26) came with sugar snap peas, an egg yolk curry and dill, and was a terrific starter. What a culinary high-wire act it was to plate the sweet, yet briny, delicacy of crab meat alongside a fiery curry.

But the gang at the Noosa Beach House kitchen was up to the challenge; the curry was served on the side of the bowl so as not to swamp the crab meat.

You could fire it up as much as you desired. A companion’s roasted ocean trout looked like a lacquered jewellery box. It came with pickled peppers and tomatillo (a kind of Mexican tomato grown here, $26), was elegantly presented, and, she said, had a deep well of flavour.

Three of us ordered the same main dish – Kuruvita’s signature Sri Lankan snapper curry ($45). It was showy, multi­-dimensional and substantial, teamed with tamarind, aloo chop (potato croquettes) and steamed rice.

Roasted Lamb Loin with tempered broccoli, cashew, and mint chutney, at Noosa Beach House on Hastings Street. Photo: Lachie Millard

The blonde chose what we expected would be a more robust dish: roasted lamb loin ($43). Two bloody rectangles of melt-in-the mouth meat arrived in an arc of jus, partly covered by a confetti of micro-herbs. It came with a knockout mint chutney and roasted broccoli with cashew nut.

Sides of Noosa red tomatoes with buffalo curd and cold pressed mustard ($12) and a Bhutanese cucumber salad with sheep’s feta and coriander ($14) were cooling treats.

We ordered one dessert and four spoons.

Queensland Pineapple with Sauternes Caramel, lemon sorbet, and chickpea shortbread, at Noosa Beach House on Hastings Street. Photo: Lachie Millard

The Queensland pineapple with sauternes caramel ($17) was another showstopper. It came with chickpea shortbread and a lemon sorbet.

NOOSA BEACH HOUSE

16 HASTINGS ST, NOOSA

BOOK: [phone]; noosabeachhousepk.com.au

OPEN: Seven days, 7am - 10pm

MUST TRY: Noosa spanner crab

VERDICT

Food 8.5

Ambience 8

Service 7

Value 7

OVERALL: 8/10