Bernhard's Places to go

Old Savoy Picture Theatre,
8-18 Katoomba Street
Katoomba NSW 2780

Tel : +61 2 4782 5532
Website: http://www.avalonkatoomba.com

24 April 2010 – Dinner

Situated at the top end of Katoomba’s main drag this quirky place to eat is trying to step into the footsteps of a restaurant, that has existed there nearly 100 years ago. The art deco interior of the restaurant and the adjacent bar offer a good basis for an enjoyable evening.

However I was disappointed by what was to come next. Even though the waiting staff did their best to be friendly and keep up, for the food we had to wait nearly an hour.

The salmon sashimi entrée – a very daring dish for a country restaurant – was a lump of salmon off cuts, which had nothing to do with the fine Japanese art of presenting raw fish. The condiments – Soya sauce, sesame seeds and something resembling a kind of wasabi – were a joke. Tasted nothing like the real thing. At $17 this dish gets both thumbs down from me.

My co-eaters, also watching their cholesterol, were steering away from the the big fries offered with nearly every dish and opted for the rosemary potatoes. Steamed potatoes with a hint of rosemary sprinkled over it one might think, but far from it. Like the big fries these potatoes were also fried, but this time in rosemary oil – the waitress explains. The only other thing available was Roesti – a pan fried potato cake. I guess the chef does not like potatoes straight. The veggies were half cooked and tasteless. The only thing barely edible was the tiny piece of lamp roast hardly able to be found in its bacon wrap. Again I found the price too high for what I got.

Disappointment all round lead us to skip desert and rather return home for a piece of cake, coffee, tea, port and hot chocolate in front of our fireplace.

Good luck to you. We won’t be back.

A short trip to (rainy) Cairns got me the pleasure to see my friend Sue Hayes’ latest stage production:

Gods of Spicy Things

This hilarious kaleidoscope of the talented writer director’s impressions and experiences from her 2 years in India wrapped into a pleasant love story, which even the meddling of the “gods of spicy things” can not keep from happening, fascinated me from beginning to end.

Hayes has succeeded in molding the deep rooted religious believes and habits of today’s traditional and modern Indians into an entertaining, bollywoodesque theatre piece, which will leave nobody wanting.

This smart and fast pace play uses a great array of multimedia, singing, dancing and witty dialogue. The ever present spirituality is put into a fresh western context not missing to highlight the culture shock one goes through experiencing India for the first time.

After a sold out season on Townsville Sue Hayes play is set to be seen in Cairns for another week until 8 March then in Darwin the week after. Further show dates are in planning at present.

I have no doubt this will go elsewhere in Australia. Make sure you catch it and get entranced when the “Gods of Spicy Things” come to a town near you.