The Tide is High (Hamilton Island)

Day one ended with a beautiful 5 course degustation dinner, with matching wines, at the Beach Club restaurant. The Malaysian curry and the beef were the standout dishes. The surprise of the night was a locally made limoncello, based on vodka. Extra smooth and seductive, it's the sort of thing you could sip all night. Although you might find it difficult walking back to your room.

Looking back at the resort from a sodden beach

Looking east

The intermittent rain continued through the night, varying from torrential to drizzle. At times it drowned out the sound of the waves. The morning dawned to reveal the same sort of day as yesterday. Rain showers of varying intensity interspersed by sunshine. It hasn't deterred people from getting out and about but I'm watching the next wave of rain quietly displacing the sun and it will have a significant impact. Looks like the early part of the day will be spent blogging and reading. 

Although we didn't get active until 7:30 the birds made their presence felt at sunrise. We have plantation shutters that allow the breeze to come into the room as well as the rhythmic lull of the waves. Bird song can not be excluded. It wasn't quite musical but it didn't force me out of bed either.

We opted to breakfast in our room. It arrived right on time and was much larger than either of us anticipated. Pastries, fresh fruit, yoghurt, granola, toast and of course, eggs for Jayne. The rain was back and we sat around being lulled by the waves crashing on the shore. There were plenty of people about on boards and kayaks. The rain eased and we decided to explore Catseye Beach. We had walked maybe 20 metres when the rain forced us to abort and seek shelter by the infinity pool.

Not a bad place to shelter from the rain

The next attempt was much more successful and we walked to the eastern end of the beach. The tide was high, hence today's title, aclassic from Blondie.  Then back to the western end where the Resort Centre and three million children are located. There are a number of shops, food outlets and a tour booking service. Most of the tours require good weather, it would appear from the weather forecast that we will be ducking in and out of the rain all week, so we probably won't be heading out to the reef or sailing at sunset.

The Resort Centre was overrun with children. It was like walking through a primary school playground. It made me shudder. Time to seek the solace of our unit and plan the next activity.

Fun fact: No swimming pool on Hamilton Island is fenced, nor are they supervised. In a curious nod to the past, parents are expected to supervise their own children closely. Who'd have thought? It would be an interesting exercise to compare the drowning statistics against an area where pools are supposed to be fenced. I have long believed that pool fences encourage a false sense of security and even an abrogation of responsibility.

Looking west

With a break in the weather we decided it was time to chance our luck and walk to the marina for lunch. Fish and chips from Popeye's we were seeking but were almost side tracked by the options at Manta Ray. Had they offered simple fish and chips they would have won because they were licensed. Under arcane licensing laws alcohol can only be served with meals on Good Friday and Popeye's is just a take-away. Bravely resisting the temptation of the demon drink we walked on. The fish and chips were well cooked, simple and cheap. Fresh reef fish, yum.

It would be spectacular in the sunshine.

Back at the resort we realised that there would be no lunch time cocktail. The bottle shop was closed. Thankfully the law didn't extend to emptying our bar fridge. We have ample supplies of champagne and wine to make it through until tomorrow.

The afternoon cleared to blue skies with the very occasional light showers as the tide receded. The tides are huge and even with 3 hours to go before low tide you are able to walk a long way across the sand flats. Afternoon exercise completed, 10K steps achieved, it was champagne time. We whiled away the hours fending off birds who wanted to share our food and watching a young wallaby tucking into the fresh green grass that separates us from the waterfront. It's a tough life.

Until tomorrow.

The best fish and chips in Sydney (part 1)

I know dear reader this is a definite departure from my usual travel tales, but it is significant and important work. Although it may well be months before the final post is published, I will endeavour to publish the reviews in pairs within a timely fashion.

Living in the inner city (Sydney) I have missed my occasional seafood take-away and certainly there is no chippery within reasonable distance to ensure a timely, non-soggy arrival on our plates.

Of course the question of the "best fish and chips in Sydney" has been answered many times over on the internet - but who to believe? So, I have set out to find my own answer. And yes, my results are subjective and reflect my own likes and dislikes. Even identifying the contenders has been contentious.

The parameters:

1. Must be in Sydney, well, in proximity to the CBD. I have no interest in catching public transport to the outer west.
2. Restaurants, as opposed to take-away establishments, were shunned. However, a take-away with limited seating was OK.
3. The ability to offer a glass of wine was a bonus. As was a view or a nearby place to enjoy the fare.
4. Aside from Fishbone and Co at Alexandria (our local), the other contenders were compiled from reading 'best of' lists on the internet. Each one was referenced by more than one 'best of' list.
5. Trip Advisor was not consulted. It's OK, my discerning reader, to do one's own research.

The search commenced on Wednesday, January 2, 2019, with a sojourn to Manly.

Fishmongers: Shop 4, 11-27 Wentworth Street, Manly.

After battling the crowds at Circular Quay to get OTB (over the bridge) to Manly I was pleased to note that Fishmongers is not on the Corso or the Steyne. That meant smaller crowds than I had anticipated. The queue to get onto the ferry saw us changing options and heading for the Fast Ferry, a pricier option that was, as the name suggests, fast, but the lack of crowd was what we were after.

I won't detail the menu, that can be found out through the hyperlink above and after all, this is about fish and chips. That said we shared a half family dinner. It contained fish, battered or grilled - battered is standard take-away, hand-cut chips, calamari, prawns, potato scallops and oysters. It is also licensed or byo. Bonus. Sort of. The wine is sold in those little plastic bottles you get on planes and no, they don't serve anything larger. You don't need to have an extensive wine list in an establishment such as this, but if you go to the trouble of getting a liquor licence I would have thought having a range of 3 or 4 decent Australian whites, by the bottle, would have been worth the effort. It would supplement the airline offerings.

The shop is situated in the Rialto arcade and there are tables and chairs outside as well as a few inside. It was quite hot the day we were there and there was precious little breeze getting to the area where we were seated. However, the beach was only a few minutes away so that is always an option if it is too uncomfortable away from the sea-breeze.

The food was great. The fish and calamari were cooked perfectly. The potato scallop, unusually for NSW, was solid potato and delightful. The on-trend hand-cut chips were, as expected, chunky. While I have no complaint about their taste or how they were cooked, I am old-school and prefer regular cut chips. As for the battered prawn, meh. We were warned that the prawn came with the head on, in case you couldn't see it, and most of it was shelled. The tempura batter was fine, but again, I prefer to eat prawns cooked otherwise.

Following lunch we went in search of a glass of wine before the ferry trip home. We selected Manly Wine because it was at the southern end of the Steyne away from the Corso. Hmmm, the reasons for the choice were sound, however, the staff were not intent on meeting our expectations. One person serving behind the bar - cocktails too, ensured a long queue for a drink. It's a good venue, but didn't add to the experience in any positive fashion.

Would we go back? Maybe, the food is seriously good, but the draw card of the sea-breeze, the beach and people-watching just a few metres away is always going to challenge good food. Sometimes mediocre wins.

Fishbone and Co: 88 McEvoy Street, Alexandria
We have been meaning to try this place for over a year and made it on Friday, January 11, 2019. It was recommended by another retailer nearby and he swears by their food. They have a few bonuses:

• they are licensed and they serve 750ml bottles of wine, they also have beer
• happy hour is a daily event
• there are daily specials

All good, but the location. Hmmm. McEvoy Street. Always congested, always loud and next to no parking. I guess that limits it to locals or those dedicated enough to find the quiet times when you can jag a car spot nearby. Me? Oh, I walked there, about 20 minutes.

The menu is quite extensive as can be viewed by the link above. I was keen to try the grilled octopus, but, this is a fish and chip challenge.

We dawdled down one humid January Sydney afternoon with thunderstorms threatening. There were a few patrons inside enjoying the produce. It is takeaway but there is ample seating of you wish to eat-in. It lacks a view and any real ambience, but they do have fans to keep the temperature down. On occasion, they have live performances in their limited space. Human Nature were there in August ... does nothing for me, but if that's what you're into ... in December, David Campbell featured - no, the other one.

This afternoon we opted for a dinner package of lightly battered fish, calamari and prawns with chips. We sat outside and watched the passing parade of traffic and people. Mid-January in the afternoon is still reasonably quiet for McEvoy Street.

The food was exactly as described. The fish was lightly battered and was cooked well. It was flaky without falling apart. The prawns were as good as I've had cooked in that style, but, for me, batter adds nothing to the taste of the prawn. At least they were peeled and had had their heads removed. The calamari was also well cooked. The chips were crinkle cut, obviously frozen from a packet - not that there is anything wrong with that but they were nothing special.

In essence there was nothing wrong with any of the food. But, this is a challenge to find the best in Sydney. Comparatively, the food here tasted slightly of the oil and tempura wins over regular batter, as light as this was. As a local takeaway it's fine and there is very little in the area to challenge the quality here, but is that enough? Probably not.