Page 49 - Tropic Magazine Issue 30

TROPIC • FOOD

Curry club Curry of the House

(red duck)
EXPERT CRITIQUE
The Co-Founder and Junior Vice Siam Orchid Spicy
President of Cairns Curry Club Stratford
reveals the origins of the foodie
group and gives Tropic the
lowdown on its latest culinary Cuisine: Thai
experience. None of us were deterred by the ever- Ambience: Relaxed, cosy, indoor and
worsening sunburnt shoulders, or the outdoor. Probably suits smaller groups.
Words: Greg Wilkinson
disappointed “you-didn’t-just-open- The food: All fresh, attractive, hot, bright
“We should go for a curry, make it a another-beer” looks our wives and and full of flavour. Entrée prices: $9.20
boys’ night.” girlfriends were starting to give us. each. Mains: around $24.
I don’t even know who said it. It doesn’t Sensing that the most enjoyable day was Curry club recommends:
even matter. But the suggestion planted probably coming to a close, somebody Curry of the House (red duck) – Roasted
a seed of something that, at the time, I uttered those now famous words. duck, well balanced with slices of sweet
doubt any of us thought would become I’m paraphrasing of course but that was local pineapple, tossed in their secret
what it has. the gist of it. We all piled on and it went house curry paste. Presented beautifully
It was Australia Day 2015. We were something like this: with bright colours of fresh tomato and
standing around in one of the pools “Yeah, Yeah, I’m in. When?” basil. Finished in coconut milk. A real
at The Lakes complex. At least one of “I dunno. Next Thursday?” crowd pleaser.
us lived there at the time so that was That was going to be the first Thursday
justification enough for a rowdy bunch in February so someone said, Gang Masaman Nuea (a modern
of 20-somethings (and a couple of “We should make it the first Thursday Masaman) – Rich and creamy like a good
30-somethings, including yours truly) to of EVERY month.” Masaman should be. Peanuts add texture
take up occupancy of one of their quite There was a pause as the idea sank in. and a hint of sweetness. A tamarind tang
lovely tropical BBQ areas. We’d done that You could see it on the faces around the rounds off this take on a classic mild
kind of thing enough times to know how circle. The grins, the slow nods, the warm must-have.
to outsmart the complex security guard. can cheers with the guy beside you. Cons: A little out of town –
He never stood a chance. But that’s a A regular, pre-arranged, scheduled boys’ too far to walk to McGinty’s Irish Bar
whole other story. night out. Curry Club was born. afterwards.
We were standing around waist deep Six years later, we haven’t missed a Pros: We discovered ‘The Fox Small Bar’
in tepid, January-in-Cairns, over- month and have become quite the curry for an after-dinner cocktail (beer) just a
chlorinated and for some reason now connoisseurs. It’s a privilege for us to few doors up.
quite cloudy pool water. share our objective reviews.

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Exchange

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49 • tropicnow.com.au