Flavours of Ipswich – a taste of what Ipswich’s best chefs have to offer was on April 7-24 2021 with all 2 course lunches $25 and 3 course dinners $35. We picked 4 from the 20 participating restaurants.
Crispy pork belly on creamy polenta, topped with a sherry vinegar, pea and asparagus salsa
Petit fillet steak served on a bed of creamy champ mash with house made red wine jus
WATERCRESS CREEK OLIVE FESTIVAL
In 1998 two fourth generation Pine Mountain farmers planted olives. The property now grows three different varieties of olives with over 1,200 olive trees and hosts the annual Watercress Creek Olive Festival. There were hundreds of people there this year.
We got a bottle of the Lemon Myrtle Infused Olive Oil
An Ice Cream experience like no other…. Over 18 unusual flavours crafted from locally sourced ingredients made in-store in the heart of Ipswich by Ben Ungermann, MasterChef 2017 runner-up. It isn’t a “Flavour of Ipswich” restaurant but not to be missed.
We spent a night in Ipswich staying at the beautiful heritage listed Cumquat House built in 1914 in the Spanish Mission style. This enabled us to eat at a couple more restaurants and enjoy the Ipswich parkrun.
Essence of Indya’s chef prepared special dishes for Flavours of Ipswich. For starters there’s a set of three kekabs – chicken in yoghurt, minced spiced mutton sausages and chicken with 6 spices all cooked in a clay tandoor. The main course – sweet butter chicken from North India and slow cooked Kerela beef in onion tomato sauce from the South, with naan breads.
We picked this restaurant for the unique Charcoal Kulfi desert – a sweet but smokey, smooth but gritty ice-cream that took the chef 40 attempts to perfect.
Butter Chicken, Kerala Beef Masala Curry, Naan
This restaurant moved to Brookwater Golf Course in January 2021. The chef’s offering for Flavours of Ipswich:
Entree – Toasted light sourdough with house-made maple bacon, confit garlic & aged cheddar cheese.
Main – Brisket steak slow smoked for 14h, served with pumpkin mash, garlic beanettes, sweet potato crisps & red wine jus OR Pan-fried Gnocchi with smoked eggplant puree, roasted pumpkin, candied walnuts, wilted spinach & Grana Padano cheese. We enjoyed sharing one of each.
The Prince Alfred Hotel in Booval celebrated its 175th birthday in 2017 when it was named Hotel of the Year at the Australian Hotel Awards for Excellence.
Desert: Waffle with Ungermann Brothers ice cream, berries and crunchy granola
Main: PA Classic Surf and Turf – smoked brisket and prawns