OUT & ABOUT
00 VIRGIN AUSTRALIA DECEMBER 2017
PHOTOGRAPHYGETTY IMAGES, KEN BUTTIAll this cofee needs
a counterpoint, however, and
as the Queensland sun crawls
over the yardarm, the clarion
call of crat beer makes itself
heard. Who am I to ignore it?
Tucked away in an
otherwise nondescript
Currumbin industrial estate,
the Balter Brewing Company
brewhouse (with adjoining
tasting room) makes for
possibly the least likely —
but most welcome — new
addition to the Coast’s rat
of drinking establishments.
Founded by pro-surfers
Mick Fanning, Josh Kerr
and Bede Durbidge, among
others, Balter’s beers are
at least as fresh and gnarly
as the cutbacks its owners
regularly perform on the
pro-surfing circuit (*note
to surfing readers: I know
nothing about surfing, in theunlikely event that was not
screamingly obvious). It’s
early evening on a Friday and
there’s an impressive number
of post-work drinkers settling
in for a session, their intake
of brews with names such as
Rusty Cage, Hank and Captain
Sensible complemented by
the food van parked outside.
An hour and several beers
later, I’m strolling into Rick
Shores, the latest Asian-fusion
ofering from the team behind
Brisbane’s hip Thai eatery
Longtime. The Cofin Bay
oysters are fresh and Rick’s
fried bug roll is a revelation (the
lemongrass mayo is eminently
scofable). Sadly, the crab and
prawn dumplings are a little on
the bland side (this is the Gold
Coast, people! The flavours,
like the place itself, should
be big and bold) but the long
list of house curries looks
suitably flavoursome.
Nothing can detract,
however, from the view.
Plonked atop the rocks at
the southern end of Burleigh
Heads Beach, and with waves
crashing at your feet, the
location is second to none.
In the distance, just beyond
the rim of my third glass of
rosé, the glittering lights
of the Glitter Strip beckon.of shops just of Tugun Beach.
As the latest plane-load of
sun-seeking southerners
flies overhead, en route
to the airport in nearby
Coolangatta, I chow down on
a Moreton Bay bug burger. It’s a
perfect mix of lightly fried bug,
avocado, pickled onion and
mayonnaise on a brioche bun.
(Brioche is also the new black.)
Cruising north along the
Gold Coast Highway, through
Burleigh Heads and on towards
Mermaid Beach, it strikes me
that on the modern-day
Gold Coast, there are at least
as many single-origin cafes
and hole-in-the-wall espresso
merchants as there once
were tanning salons.
It’s all a part of what Katie
Page — Harvey Norman
CEO and mastermind of the
Goldie’s annual carnival of the
hoof, the Magic Millions —
calls the “wholesale cafeine-
ification of the Coast”.
“The Gold Coast is almost
unrecognisable from even
five years ago,” she says.
“It’s now positioning itself
as the Australian gateway
for an expected influx of
tourists from China and India.
“And with that has come
massive business investment
and an explosion of what
I would call a much more
sophisticated tourist ofering,
from hotels to bars, shops and
restaurants and events such
as the Magic Millions.”
GETTING THERE TO BOOK YOUR
FLIGHT TO THE GOLD COAST, VISIT
WWW.VIRGINAUSTRALIA.COM
OR CALL 13 67 89 (IN AUSTRALIA).DETAILS
Balter Brewing Company 14
Traders Way, Currumbin; http://www.balter.
com.au. Cafe DBar 275 Boundary St,
Coolangatta; http://www.cafedbar.co.
House of Hubert 5 Toolona St,
Tugun; http://www.houseofhubert.com.
au. QT Gold Coast 7 Staghorn Ave,
Surfers Paradise; http://www.qthotelsand
resorts.com/gold-coast. Rick Shores
43 Goodwin Terrace, Burleigh
Heads; http://www.rickshores.com.au.
Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort
71 Sea World Dr, Main Beach; http://www.
sheratongrandmiragegoldcoast.com.
The Star Gold Coast Broadbeach
Island, Broadbeach; http://www.star.com
.au/goldcoast.CLOCKWISE
FROM LEFT
Coolangatta Beach
and Snapper Rocks;
urban speakeasies
are popping up on
the Gold Coast,
including Lockwood
at Burleigh Heads;
Rick Shores dishes
up delicate Asian
fare; the Pacific Fair
Magic Millions Polo.