Day nine - Sunday lunch at Bud's on the Bay

Bud's on the Bay or rather now it needs to be known as Bayshak to fit in with the rest of their brand, i.e. Prawnshak.  As if we didn't all already know they were part of the same thing!  That's like calling Audi, Volks Audi just because VW owns it and feels everyone needs to know that it's apart of the same brand.  If it's not hurting it or vastly increasing its chances of success then why change? Okay that's my 'branding' rant for the day over.  Onto more important things like what I ate.

So this was a very delayed birthday celebration lunch with the S and his fam dam as it seems they are all born in March, except his mum who is all lonely way down in October.  I'm also born in March so onto this bandwagon I leapt!

Starter:  Caprese salad with x4 pestos; basil, sun dried tomato, chilli garlic and beetroot served with balsamic and olive oil and a basket of fresh crunchy bread.

My method of eating: pour balsamic & Olive oil onto my plate, swish a piece of bread around to soak up the goodness, smear basil pesto onto the bread, top with a piece of tomato & mozzarella and then smooth on a final dab of the chilli garlic pesto.  Finally, eat.

How the S rolls: Soak up as much balsamic and Olive oil as possible from what has been spilt on plate, smear some of each pesto ontop, place a piece of tomato and mozzarella over this, insert optional topping of additional pesto.  Finally, eat.  Note to do this 10x faster than Faye so to eat way more than half the plate that we are sharing.

Lunch:  I chose a 'Larney Bunny' which is made up of 'Budsmade' bread muffins stuffed with prawns and an extremely mild curry. Topped with sambles and an apple chutney.  The S went with the carpacio which came on a massive platter served with slim slices of beef carpacio topped with cheese.  The fam dam had a rare, oh so very very rare steak, beef & bringal salad and a mussel platter.

My method of eating: I did Durbs proud and ate a bunny how only bunny's should be eaten, by hand.  Although I felt it could have been spicier and the chips were completely unnecessary,it was a tasty meal for a Sunday lunch.

How the S rolls:  Go for it, finish the caprese salad that Faye never got to, however now it's topped with carpacio.  Hijack extra bread off the fam dam from all sides, even from under the mussle platter. Why not?  Hang on, Faye didn't eat her chips, chips are always necessary, I'll have some of those!

Now I did get a touch of food poisoning from my meal.  I was the only one to have the bunny, so that's where it came from.  Not to put anyone off as I have eaten at Buds, sorry Bayshak loads of times before and have been dying to blog about their great meals (now coined as Roadside Cuisine) but it was hot and I guess these things happen sometimes.  I'm not in any rush to go back as the memory is obviously to fresh in my mind, but I will definitely be back for more, just perhaps not the larney bunny!

If you are looking for a relaxed, lazy Sunday afternoon lunch then Bayshak is the place to do it.  With a large menu which appeals to most and a variety of easy drinking cocktails, many of which come in jugs to share with the table, the lazy afternoon will be ensured as service is on the slow side, however, look out onto the harbour and watch the pelicans begging food from the moored yachts by the time you've snapped back to reality you will have lost sense of time and how long your soda water has or hasn't taken.  Booking is necessary to ensure a good table on the deck, even if you do it the morning of.  Have a squizz here for more information on Bayshak and it's family of restaurants which offer some great function solutions.

Day two - Sunday lunch

Today I was invited to Sunday lunch at the S parents house.  You can almost bet your life on the offerings that will be available; chicken roasted on the webber along with potatoes, salad dressed with his brother Jem's tangy and moreish homemade dressing and more than likely a third option which today was ripened avo and rosy cherry tomatoes.  So of course I went hungry.

My appetite was slightly abated on the arrival of the S ex girlfriend's parents. No of course that isn't awkward, there I was, mid sip of a particularly well made G & T while lounging back on the couch particularly unladylike and putting my feet up onto the coffee table. Only to be caught by surprise with their arrival which produced a most fantastic chocking fit on my behalf, caused of course by the particularly well made G & T.

Not. Awkward. At. All.

While I was most definitely listening to a story recounted by the clearly doting exes mother about how the 'oh so brave' S managed to save some cat from some vastly distressing fate some 6 years ago, I was quickly distracted by the delicious wafts that came wandering over from the webber to meet my nose. I secretly hi - fived myself - roast chicken it was!

We were spoiled with two perfectly roasted chooks, you could hear the knife crack through the crispy skin and then slide through the tender flesh inside.  Accompanying the star was a salad, of course dressed with Jem's perfectly sweet, sour and tangy salad dressing (note to self: I must get the recipe of that one), roasted potatoes left on the fire to be picked off the grill on your way back to the table after serving yourself up a feast and then finally to round off the perfectly ripened avo accompanied by little rosy red cherry tomatoes.

After lunch, the exes mother redeemed herself by serving up a slightly wobbling, golden disc of cheesecake encircled with sweet strawberries and freshly sour raspberries.  The cheesecake quickly stole the limelight from the main meal and was perfectly balanced by the strawberries which added sweetness and the raspberries which brought a final freshness to the whole ensemble.

Although starting out as predictable, Sunday lunch turned out to be not only surprising but still traditionally tasty with an all round perfect roast complimented by a fresh and sweetly delicious cheesecake.