RIGHT TO GO: Chef and owner of the Vue Restaurant Mikayla Kruger plates another great meal.
CANBERRA gets some bad wraps for its bleak winters and public service departments, but one thing that you can’t knock the nation’s capital for is its many quality restaurants.
I lived in Canberra for more than 15 years and during that time, when the budget could afford it, enjoyed some of the top establishments.
I don’t believe it’s unfair of me to say Ipswich isn’t spoilt for top class restaurants.
We do have many good ones, but most locals head off to Brisbane city in search of a special night out.
As a resident here for more than seven years my wife and I have found and enjoyed a few excellent local restaurants.
We have now added another one to the list and while it’s a reasonable drive away at Boonah, you will find it’s well worth the effort.
It’s the Vue Restaurant which sits just on the outskirts of the town at the Boonah Valley Motel.
The Vue had just partnered with Ipswich Local News and rather than just write a story on supplied information we decided to support the business and at the same time do a review.
Owners Mikayla and Brendan Kruger welcomed the idea and my wife, and I are glad they did.
We started our meal with the scallop entrée and a honey cured teriyaki beef.
Both were great, but the scallops, which my wife loved, will be on my wish list next time. It involved seared scallops sitting on a pumpkin puree, black caviar, roasted walnuts and prosciutto crisp.
For mains I went for the smoked cod, leek and potato chowder and the wife settled on the Pork Belly. It was slow cooked for 16 hours and served with beetroot pesto, roasted cauliflower steak and apple with a walnut and rocket salad.
Once again chef Mikayla delivered two great meals.
A nice touch at the restaurant was the home cooked bread and hand churned chorizo butter which arrived as a pre-meal starter and the lemon sorbet which came as a palate cleanser between entrée and mains.
It’s these types of small touches which can turn a meal from a great experience to a special one.
While a night drive to Boonah may be a stretch for some the good news from Mikayla is that she will now be opening the restaurant for lunches on both Saturday and Sunday. Last weekend was their first lunch weekend and both days were booked out.
