Byron or Bust - Chardanae goes Far East - kind of!

Byron or Bust - Chardanae goes far East

Byron Bay has always been an enigma to me. I had visualised a Noosa-esque place minus the Bugga-boos, with a few more surfboards and baby’s in body-slings. I was actually not too far off the mark. Byron was more raw than I expected though, not so polished, and you were hard pressed finding people who thought wearing shoes was a practical idea.
Maybe this is a slight exaggeration, but I started to enjoy watching surfers changing in front of their cars, then waxing their boards before leaving their car keys under their front wheels. My thoughts turned towards pondering whether anyone has invented a pouch within wetsuits to keep keys?
Surely they have.

In Byron I found my mind wandering off pondering all sorts of practical things, but i guess that’s what you do when your head is still in the big smoke and reluctant to wind down. It didn’t take too long to let go though, and this place is the perfect location to do it.

Where we stayed :- Byron Bathers
The rooms are large, well appointed and modern, and the owner’s Paul and Sam are only too willing to make your stay fantastic.
The breakfast provided is huge, and they easily accommodated our gluten free request, plus they threw in a bottle of Grant Burge Sparkling for a romantic touch. We love Grant Burge, get it at Cellardor for only $26.09 a bottle.
We stayed here for 5 days, and although the weather was a bit touch and go, there was a lovely pool and DVD’s to pass the time if you can’t be bothered walking the 2 minutes to town!
Most importantly one must mention the great comfy King size bed! We are often dissapointed that beds away from our own are never as comfortable, there were no issues to that effect at Byron Bathers. This B & B is kids, smoke and pet free, which adds to the relaxation. There is also wireless internet.
We were new to the B & B scene, and after staying here may widen our usual narrow mided ways that always lead us down the traditional hotel scene. You will not be disappointed if you choose Byron Bathers, in fact you will be the opposite - absolutely delighted!

Where we ate :-
Pacific Dining Room at the Beach Hotel
The Van Handels latest venture, with prime positioning overlooking the main beach of Byron Town.
When we dined here we were informed that it was the first night of their new menu (3 dishes had been added), but were not informed until we had waited for our mains for an hour, that that was the reason for the wait. They happily gave us another entrée that had been made by mistake - while we were waiting hungrily, we longingly looked on as the table next to us received 3 dishes that they didn’t order. The attentive waiter must have seen our let-down-puppy faces and gave us one of them while we continued to wait for our mains with apologies.
We were however curiously charged for the entrée that was given ‘with our compliments’.

The menu here made no sense to me. There seemed to be no cohesion between all of the dishes. The menu itself read ‘to be shared’ but didn’t really translate to dishes that were presented as such. So we went against advisement and ordered the chicken broth with dumplings by 2, which was delicious. This was served in little cups on a stand, and was a rich dark brodo with morsels of chicken mince, garlic chips and ginger. Just what we needed to warm up.

Our ‘with compliments’ was a salad of boiled carrots, on sheeps yoghurt with smoked almonds and parsley. This dish actually tasted just like it sounds. Nothing really stood out in this simple dish.
For main I had the quail which was crusted with some spices and served with Lyonnaise sausage and white beans. This was tasty in a rustic, hearty way. Sash had the Pork twice cooked with spelt grains. His comment was that it was “nicely cooked but not memorable”.

The green beans were fantastic, especially if you felt a cold coming on from sitting in the window! Heaps of lemony, capery garlic smothered these fresh green beans.

What was truly memorable was the Banana Pudding. The menu stated allow 20 mins, so after the wait for our mains, we took no chances and ordered straight away. Oh, it was like a soft creamy sponge of warm delicate banana, smothered in a home made banana ice-cream. Truly Delicious, and left you feeling dizzy with satisfaction. Make sure you order 2 though. Although it is quite large, you will feel cheated if your partner has more than you!

To be fair, we were uncomfortable  from the start. They sat us in one of the front tables next to the window which would have been lovely if it was a summers day, but our night was cold and windy, and the windows were very drafty, and the little roof heater did little to accommodate our needs.

What we drank :- Gruner Veltliner. Not many wines by the glass which was disappointing.  Of course we have a great range of this fine grape variety that is very much coming into vogue. Try our range at Cellardor.

Orion Curry House - Byron
Cute little eat-in curry eatery, which had great fresh curry’s for the price, served with saffron rice. Not much of a curry eater myself, I found myself craving the flavours.  I have previously read some bad reviews but i didn’t think it a bad option if you wanted a quick bite in a cute atmosphere close to the water.
We tried vegetable Pakora, Lamb Korma, Chicken Korma, Fish Curry, Raita, Cheese Naan, Garlic Naan. Opt for the bottled water rather than tap.

Orient Express - Fletcher St Byron
Home made in Byron Yum Cha. We love our Yum Cha, and this cute little place the beach end of Fletcher St was not your traditional little dumplings, but more substantial dishes that were fresh and tasty.

The Balcony - Byron
Tapas in the cozy couches on the balcony. Very relaxed, and quite fun. Probably my favourite food this trip.

Harvest Café - 18-20 Old Pacific Hwy, Newrybar
Very Maggie-Beer-esque. Lunch in this quaint little town is a must. Wander through the antique stores all afternoon.

Forget about the shopping in Byron, head straight for Bangalow. The most divine little boutique town where you can spend a day exploring the shops and surrounds. A definite.

Where we relaxed :-
Apart from the numerous walks we chose to have a treatment at the Buddha Gardens Day Spa in the Arts District Precinct, Gordon St.
They have a plunge pool located in a gorgeous Balinese garden setting with a waterfall.
This was gloriously warm on a cold day.
We had the romance package in the Orchid room comprising of a body scrub, rose petal bath, massage, and champagne and fruit platter. It was lovely but a bit chilly. All of this open air romance is not so romantic when you are shivering.

Browse more wines at www.Cellardor.com.au