Socialising

Last weekend was a busy and very social weekend for us.  Friday evening we joined our forever friends Kate and Mike for a wedding anniversary dinner at Temple of Taste Restaurant at Sea Temple Resort.  We had not been back to Sea Temple since Marco and Suzi's wedding almost 10 years ago! As we wandered through the beautifully landscaped gardens to the restaurant we just knew that we were going to be in for a treat.  Friends recommended the restaurant  to us as they had dined there recently where out of their group of 6, not one single person did not enjoy their meal.

The menu is Asian inspired with almost every dish accompanied by a side salad including asian herbs. Now, my readers would know I'm not a great lover of coriander (tastes like stink beetles to me) so I had to put this aversion to one side for the night because there was a lot of coriander!  

Both Philip and I ordered the soft shell crab for starters and for my main I chose the 12 hour cooked lamb and Philip chose the Barramundi.  

My lamb was a bit on the dry side and the two sauces on the plate were slightly contradictory but I still would have given it a 6/10. Philip said his Barramundi was delicious but his accompanying sauce was very spicy.  I tasted it and had to agree with him although I don't mind a bit of spice. Would I recommend this restaurant, yes with reservations.  The meal was very pricey and the food was okay but it is the overall ambience of the restaurant that gets a 7/10.

The next day we drove to Port Douglas where we had invites to three functions. Our first function on the Saturday night was cancelled at the last minute as one of our group had a very bad fall from her bike and was taken to Cairns Base for CT scans.  We were disappointed and thankfully Angie is now recovering albeit with a lot of bruising.  As we were already dressed to go out we headed to The Tin Shed for drinks and a shared Seafood Platter.  It was a perfect choice as we sat and watched the boats sail in and out of Dicksons Inlet. It was a picture perfect evening.

On Sunday we had organised to catch up with our friends Annette and Mark from Mossman for lunch.  Philip went to school with Mark so they have been in our life for a very long time.  We always love catching up with them and all their news.  We meet at the Courthouse Hotel and all enjoyed eating the Courty's Ceasar Salad with Chicken and Smoked Salmon.  I forgot to get photos but wow it was very delicious and the perfect choice for a lunch on a hot day.  I am still a non-drinker and l'm finding that there are lots of choices now for non-drinkers thank goodness.

We sat over our meal for almost three hours until we had to excuse ourselves for our next function.  This was an informal gathering of Philips cycling friends and their partners for a bit of Christmas Cheer.  Reub and Karen have a lovely home that sits right on Four Mile Beach and there are not too many homes in Port Douglas that can claim that luxury.  Shoes were discarded as we walked into the lovely home and directed to the drinks table.  Rueb and Karen provided lots of delicious food during the afternoon including delicious  finger sandwiches.  The party was eventually broken up by a storm that moved in from the ocean.  It was a bit of scramble to move everyone undercover and it was at this point that we said our farewells. The drive home was a bit of a nightmare with torrential rain for most of the way but that is the way of the tropics the we love so much.  

Judi xx