The dining room of The Tamarind in the picturesque surrounds of Maleny’s Spicers Retreat. Photo: Glenn Barnes Source: News Limited
The beef tataki at The Tamarind features a pickled green chilli and soy dressing. Photo: Glenn Barnes Source: News Limited
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Tucked away in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, The Tamarind is the shining destination restaurant for the area.
Part of the Spicers Retreats’ portfolio, the Maleny venue has seen a few tweaks under new executive chef Rory Thorpe, who stepped up after chef Daniel Jarrett left to open eatery OS3 in Maroochydore.
The tropical property is as charming as ever with the rear dining room overlooking the lush back yard. You can dine from two set menus (degustation or shared banquet, both $95pp) or from the
a la carte menu (two courses, $65,
or three courses for $75).
Options lean heavily towards Thai cuisine, but borrow from all parts of Asia.
For entree, we ordered the Buddha’s Delight, which arrived not as the traditional mushroom stir-fry but a delicate salad of slippery wood ear mushrooms, wakame seaweed and pickled carrots, studded with whole mint, sawtooth coriander and Asian herbs – fresh, light and almost impossible to stop eating. It was perfect before the heavier mains.
Our second entree, beef tataki (pictured), was outshone by the pickled daikon that garnished it, and a little lost under its pickled green chilli and soy dressing.
Mains tended to be either fine dining style or rustic and authentic. We were drawn towards the ma po – fried and braised eggplant with silken tofu and Szechuan pepper – but settled on the sour orange fish curry, a Thai street-style dish.
The generous bowl of mussels and barramundi, swimming in a thin chilli tamarind broth, was too salty, overpowering the seafood, but brightened up with slivers of kaffir lime leaf and whole pearl onions.
Our duck main brought things back to restaurant territory, but
the pink meat and the crisp skin of the duck breast also suffered from over seasoning.
However, the plate as a whole, with little ginger and sweet potato dumplings and edamame in a honey and black bean sauce, was lovely.
For dessert, the Vietnamese iced coffee, with icy shards of coffee parfait, melting milk sherbet and sweetened condensed milk mousse (more like a thick, sticky anglaise), offset with crunchy fortune cookie shards, was delicious, but too rich for just one person.
There’s a cracker list of wines by the glass, with enough range to match most of the menu.
Service was solid, with a few small patches, but small things are easy to forgive in such a beautiful setting.
Verdict
Food 8
Service 7
Ambience 8
Value 7
The Tamarind
Address 88 Obi Lane, Maleny
Phone 1300 311 429
Website spicersretreats.com/spicers-tamarind-retreat
Opening Hours lunch, Fri-Sun, dinner seven days
Owners Spicers Retreats, owned by Graham and Jude Turner
Chef Rory Thorpe
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