Dad, sis and I left on a five-hour drive down to Margaret River this afternoon with a box of prawn vadai, pork patties and lots of water. By the time we got a few supplies for the weekend, then finding the
Beach Barnacle (our accommodation for the next two nights), we were all ready for a good proper meal. I managed to find a few good eating spots near the Beach Barnacle and we decided to try
Gnarabar.
Gnarabar is located right next to a beach resort, but it seems that quite a few Margaret River locals have also made the effort to head there for a meal. Looking through the menu, I felt like getting the whole list of appetisers as they all seemed really interesting. In the end, we decided to share the Masterstock Braised Pork Belly and Chilli Salted Calamari. Dad went for the Porterhouse Steak, while my sis decided to have Nasi Goreng, and I chose a special which was a Bacon and Chicken Pasta.
The pork belly was a did not really look like a very impressive dish, but once I took a bite, it was absolute heaven. The pork was soft like a cloud but the little bit of skin on it was kept crisp, and paired with the caramel, the little bite sent fireworks to my head. The calamari was done simply, lightly battered and fried with a little seasoning. The impressive part was the Thai chilli jam they served with it. It might have been a Thai inspiration for the chef, but that jam was pretty close to being the perfect Nasi Lemak chilli.
My sister's Nasi Goreng was another surprise, tasting like the kind we get in Bali, and they paired it with a chilli that was close to the ones we get for the Hainanese Chicken Rice. I started to wonder who the chef is and where this person has travelled. Even the pasta from the specials board was awesome. The pasta had a cream and pesto base that was balanced so perfectly that the cream did not make it overly rich, and the pesto did not overwhelm the whole dish with a green herb flavour.
Everything was so good, and satisfying, I was sad that I did not get to try their dessert. Think I will make this a place to visit if I come back again.
Om Nom Nom....