A Visit to Kiama

Shoalhaven Foodies visit Kiama

Chere, Christine, Colleen, Kim and Kimella from the Shoalhaven Foodies recently visited Kiama, which is a delightful little town that glitters like a jewel on the south coast of NSW.

We were there to try some of the food on offer.  First, we had lunch at a café called Hunt & Gather in Terralong Street, which is the main street of Kiama. After lunch, we enjoyed coffee and chocolate at My Coffee Shoppe, not far from the Hunt & Gather Café.



Chere, Colleen and Kim at Hunt & Gather Café

 





Outside My Chocolate Shoppe

Hunt & Gather Café is
attached to Always Flowers




 















 

 

  



Kim and her Tagine

 KIM

At Hunt & Gather I chose the Moroccan Lamb Tagine. The presentation was very rustic and the lamb melted in my mouth. However, I found that there weren't enough spices in the dish and it was very sweet. The peach chutney was also sweet, so there wasn't a balance to the dish. For me, the portion was too large for lunch. I would have preferred a smaller portion with more flavours.

 

At My Chocolate Shoppe, I chose the Chocolate Mousse, which was not overly sweet, but had loads of chocolate on top.   It was a generous serving which was very nice, but rather rich after a big lunch.





 

 

CHRISTINE


Moroccan Lamb Tagine

 

When we arrived at Hunt & Gather we were greeted warmly by the owner.
 

Christine about to try her
Moroccan Lamb Tagine

Kim and I both chose the Moroccan Lamb Tagine. Although I had no preconceived idea of how it should be served, when it arrived it was presented the way I would do it at home. I was both pleased and disappointed at the same time! It was very homey and I made the comment that it looked like something you would like to eat in front of an open fire! It would have been nice to have it presented with a little bit more flair to make it that more enjoyable. As the saying goes “we eat with our eyes as well as our mouths”. In saying that I was amused to see that the accompanying pear chutney and yogurt was served in a jam jar lid! Perhaps the tagine could have come in its own quirky container too?

 The first mouthful was tasty but after a few more forkfuls it was a bit too sweet with only the yogurt giving it a bit of tang. The lamb was cooked well and although the Moroccan flavour was there, it was rather too subtle for my palate and I would have liked a bit more of the spice. The accompanying green salad with quinoa was moreish but the bread (gluten free) was also somewhat sweet - my preference would have been for some couscous.
 

Overall it was a very pleasant meal, served in good time by a delightful waitress.

 
After Hunt & Gather, we headed off to My Chocolate Shoppe for some naughty indulgence. Chocolate mousse was on the menu so once again both Kim and I opted for the same dish! 

 

Being a ‘retro’ kind of dessert the mousse duly arrived in a retro glass stemmed dish with lots of lovely Belgian chocolate shards on top. I found the mousse to be light and very easy to eat! Not too chocolately. I enjoyed it very much and the accompanying full flavoured coffee finished off a lovely afternoon.

  

CHERE 

 



Salmon with brown rice 

 

Chere taking one of many photographs

At Hunt & Gather, both Colleen and I chose the Dukka encrusted Salmon served with a savoury brown rice and roasted cherry tomatoes.

I was surprised to see that the salmon was broken into pieces and served mixed with the rice, and not as a whole piece of fish.I suppose the Dukka was in the rice, because it wasn't on the salmon. Unfortunately, my salmon was overcooked for me, and the entire dish was rather salty. However, Colleen's dish wasn't overcooked and except for the saltiness, she enjoyed it.

The presentation the eye. However, the baby tomatoes were delicious and I really enjoyed the ambience of the café, which was warm and friendly.

At My Chocolate Shoppe, both Colleen and I chose to have a Coffee Affogato with a little square of salted caramel chocolate. Yum! I absolutely loved the Affogato - it could be said that I was in heaven as I poured my lovely rich espresso coffee over my vanilla ice cream - two scoops, but who was counting? - definitely not me, and I'm sure Colleen wasn't either. No hesitation in recommending My Chocolate Shoppe - lovely!

Despite my reservations about my salmon at Hunt & Gather Café, I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon at Kiama.

 



Kimella at Hunt & Gather Café

 KIMELLA

Deconstructed burrito

Walking into the Hunt & Gather Café, I was impressed by the quirky ambience and the rustic, laid back feel of the room. For my lunch, I chose the deconstructed burrito which consisted of a pot of homemade beans, chorizo and caramelised onions in a tomato sauce, quinoa and rocket salad, avocado and yoghurt ‘salsa’ and a wholemeal flat bread. I was pleased with the presentation which was on a piece of old wooden barrel with the pot in the centre and the other elements surrounding it.

I found the beans and chorizo to be smokey and flavoursome, the quinoa salad was fresh and light and not overpowered by the dressing and the avocado and yoghurt worked well when all the elements were put together on the bread. Overall, I was happy that I had made that selection – bueno!

We then browsed around Kiama for a while with a cold wind blowing; it was good to get out of the chill and to enter My Chocolate Shoppe with aromas of sweet chocolate wafting in the air. I ordered a hot chocolate which was Belgian chocolate topped with cream, chocolate sauce and chocolate flakes – very decadent and it was a wonderful end to our foodies day out in Kiama. (I also just had to buy some homemade chocolates to take home to try. They look gorgeous and taste divine!)







Affogato and salted caramel chocolate





There's always a lot of photography happening at a Foodies event!