PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAUpon entering the Caledonian Inn you have several options. The first is to settle in alongside the crackling open fire and sip on something pleasing, but if the sun happens to be shining take your tipple out to the beer garden. Should a spot of lunch appeal, remain outdoors and sup from the Beach Cafe menu. If the moon is glowing, retreat into the cosiness of the dining room where you can slide into a cushioned booth or sit at one of the tables on a decidedly less comfy wooden chair. Either way, you’ll soon find yourself relaxing in the company of a twinkling candle and tiny vase of fresh flowers.
Chef Paul Birchall’s menu presents you with the delightful conundrum of choice. The textures, aromas and flavours of the baked saffron custard with crab, salmon pearls and grissini sticks will win your heart but upon further inspection the menu reveals many more charms to woo you with. Consider the tea-smoked quail served on eggplant and coriander salad with a delicate bean paste, olive oil and lemon dressing. Korean-style tuna tartare is dressed with sesame oil and egg yolk while local oysters soar with wasabi flying fish roe. Take your tom yum soup straight up or down, as it were, in shot glasses. A steak of marinated crocodile lies on a parcel of Chinese cabbage and pearl barley with the warming liquorice sensations of a Sambuca sabayon. If you are lucky, the pasta of the day will be gnocchi with Moreton Bay bugs in a creamy sauce of local Cape Jaffa unwooded Chardonnay. I’ll raise a toast to that!