I was keen to go out to lunch. While waiting for Jac to get ready, I took this photo of a large lizard in the garden while standing on the balcony. Unfortunately, I snapped the shot a second too late to capture a glimpse of its head.

Seafood lunch at Mariners Seafood and Stuff
We went to Mariner’s Seafood and Stuff (yes, that’s really the restaurant’s name). It was quiet – only a few customers having lunch. We asked for a balcony seat. These are views from the table.

For her starter, Jac chose half a dozen oysters, done three ways (AU$16.00): natural, kilpatrick and mornay. They were served with lemon and two wedges of chargrilled bread.

They were pretty plump oysters. The charry flavour of the bread was delicious.

The kilpatrick oysters were saucy, loaded with bacon and looked extremely good. This is probably Jac’s favourite way to have oysters.

I liked the sound of the soup of the day (AU$9.00) – an Asian-style seafood broth with udon noodles, prawns mussels and kingfish. I gave Jac my mussels, of course. I just can’t bring myself to like them, no matter how much I like the sauce or soup or whatever else they’re served with. The broth was hearty and delicious, and tasted of sweet soy. Once I started slurping up the noodles and tasted the soup and seafood, I wanted to keep eating until it was all gone. It was so good I wanted Jac to try it too – she thought the broth was fantastic.

The prawns in the soup were chopped into slightly smaller than bite-sized pieces, but they were still satisfyingly bursty. The pieces of kingfish were chunky and meaty – like this.

For her main course, Jac ordered the chef’s pasta of the moment (AU$22.00), which was spirelli and garlic prawns with snowpeas, spinach and cherry tomatoes in a creamy sauce. There were a dozen or so prawns in the dish, and Jac urged me to have a few – I didn’t argue! :) They were plump and bursty. Coated with the rich, creamy garlicky sauce, they were simply beautiful.

I had the fresh market fish with creamy mashed potato and a rocket and pear salad (AU$33.00). The salad included a very generous sprinkling of pinenuts and shaved parmesan. I didn’t think the mashed potato was particularly creamy, but it had a good flavour. The fish was panfried snapper, with flaky and moist flesh, and buttery crispy skin that crackled under my fork and teeth. It was delicious.

To full to have a dessert each, we shared one – the hazelnut semi freddo with berry coulis (AU$12.40).

According to the menu, the semi freddo should’ve been served with pistachio wafers, but I guess they were out of those – it was served with a glistening golden caramel lattice instead. I didn’t mind – the semi freddo was very nutty, and I think pistachio would’ve pushed the dish into nut overload territory anyway. It was a delicious dessert, by the way. The nuttiness of the semi freddo made it very rich, so I was glad we shared it. I love going to restaurants that serve desserts made by the chef (as opposed to desserts at many cafes that have been bought from cake suppliers). I think chef-made desserts are more interesting, original and tasty. (The panacotta and bread and butter pudding from the night before were simply wonderful. Regular readers, remember the baked lemon and passionfruit tart served with a coconut and passionfruit gelato, and the Turkish delight creme brulee with pistachio macaroons, rose petals and double cream from a previous holiday?)

Meaty barbecue dinner
That evening, we got together at the wedding house for a barbecue dinner with family and friends. This was the big salad K put together, garnished with orange slices and topped with hard-boiled eggs and torn strips of prosciutto.

We also had B’s coleslaw, which is made using both red and white cabbage.

There was a side dish of sweet corn kernels as well.

K also made a potato bake. She wasn’t that happy with how it turned out – I think the unfamiliar oven played a significant role in it – but while I agreed it wasn’t up to her usual standard, I thought it looked and tasted pretty good – I ate a couple of helpings, after all! :)

There was a feast of meat for all! Here are the chicken ribs and sausages.

There were chicken skewers and lamb chops.

The lamb chops were delicious. I must pack us a lamb chops bento lunch again one of these days.

The marinated chicken ribs were succulent and extremely moreish. B and K’s friends from Melbourne brought the ribs over to the island. Sadly, I don’t know anywhere in Perth we can buy chicken ribs. They’re a great way to serve chicken to a crowd, and I’d love to have chicken ribs for bento lunches as well as barbecues, lunches and dinners!

B also cooked up a batch of creamy garlic prawns.

This was my plate. I did go back for more chicken, prawns and another lamb chop. It was a great feed. The only real disappointment for everyone was the corn on the cob, which was roasted in the oven and somehow ended up very overdone. But everything else was yummy! Apart from the coleslaw, potato bake and corn, nothing else on the plate required cutlery – everything else I just picked up with my fingers. :)