Harrisons

Thanks to the recommendations of other bloggers, we paid a visit to Harrison's during our stay in Port Douglas. My partner and I have a habit of window-shopping every restaurant’s menus so we had a pretty good idea what we were going to have ahead of time. 

The maître d was very lovely and seated us even though we didn't have a booking. He kindly informed us that there was a booking for our table and that we were needed to vacate at 8.30.  We had plenty of time and we were grateful that we were still accommodated.

The restaurant had a relaxing, beachy vibe and although we weren't siting in the "ideal" spot that everyone raved about, it suited us on such a windy evening.  Our corner thankfully missed a lot of the elements' attacks. 

The table setting was simple and clean. The plate was a nice muted grey with ripples to match the water view. 

Coconut bread and Burnt butter 

This was one of the best butter and bread combinations I've had as of yet. The caramalized salty sweet butter with the dense bread made for a great start and the flavour overall was complex yet remained balanced. My partner and I could simply not get enough of it. 

Amuse BoucheI 

I can't quite remember what our French accented waitress said this was, but it was a smooth delicious concoction of sweet and salty flavours. The creme was quite sweet - reminiscent of sweet corn whereas the nuts added crunch and saltiness to the dish.

Another lovely opener.

Crispy Pigs Ears, Spiced apple

For something small to pick at we got a order of crispy pigs ears. It's not something I've tried before but it definitely caught my eye as soon as we saw it. They were crunchy and thankfully not at all chewy or hardened. The crispiness made them quick and easy to eat with generous servings of the spiced apple sauce to balance out the salt.

The best way to describe them would be as if pork crackling came as fries. Big thumbs up from two pork fans.

Prawn & Sugarcane pops, Water chestnut, housemade kimchi, dashi 

The prawn and sugar pops had a nice strong flavour of dashi to balance out the pickled kimchi taste. Although I pre-emptively braced myself for a kick of chilli, it never came. The pickle was tangy but not spicy which was a nice change.

The prawns were delicious and were fried to a crispy handful, the sugarcane had infused the prawn evident in every bite. I wasn't sure if I was meant to eat the sugarcane or not, so I chewed at it and left it... I was really unsure. 

After ordering, the maître d gave us his recommendations for wines to match our meals to which we happily obliged. 

I wish I paid more attention to the names of the wines because they were both fantastic choices and suited our dishes perfectly. 

Hiramasa Yellowtail Kingfish, Jeruselam artichokes raw and cooked, Sorrel, Clam, succulents, funghi

The flavours in this dish were complex and riddled with a range of textures. Everything was a delicate balance that should be enjoyed together as each flavour battled for dominance in the dish. Often the raw artichoke can be dominating but at the same time grounded the flavour in the dish. The plate was surprisingly filling for such a small plate. 

Smoked Duck breast, Date and black tea puree, pickled pear, buckwheat, honey beets, kale

This dish was our favourite of the night. It was texturally appealing and intense in flavour. Balancing a sweet and salty combination with the smokey duck and the pear was a flavour combination I didn't know I needed in my life. I was even a bit disdainful of the kale when I first read the menu due to the over hype of the spinach-like vegetable. but it was crispy and light and melted away in your mouth.

I would definitely recommend this dish.

Pineapple and Szechuan Special

I'm a sucker for dessert specials and this night’s special was a pineapple with szechuan . It was quite strange and I'm not a hundred per cent sure if I really liked the combination of the two flavours. They were very different to find any unity.

Overall, Harrison's was a great experience from the ambience and staff to the dishes. The food was definitely the highlight. I wasn't expecting such intensity of flavours and textures. I would definitely recommend coming here for a nice lunch or an evening out. 



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