Spice Monkey

In typical coastal town architecture, you’ll find Spice Monkey in an otherwise unremarkable glass box facing the water (Wallis Lake) under the Reef Apartments. While my usual dining companion and I were attracted to this restaurant by the idea of finding Japanese food in Forster, my accompanying mother-in-law wasn’t so keen. That’s where Spice Monkey’s wider pan-Asian menu is useful, keeping her content with a fillet of Grilled Snapper ($22) while we commenced our meal with sake and Japanese Pickles ($5). Head Chef Brian Rout might not be Japanese, but he has spent fifteen years in Hokkaido Japan learning how to be an Australian-Japanese chef. You’ll see the results of this cultural collision in Cured Ocean Trout ($19), which read like it might be a train wreck, what with gin and citrus infused sake cured ocean trout, crème fraîche and kiwi fruit, but ate surprisingly well. The addition of some roti quarters (Indian flat breads) combined with the lightly cured fish, ...read more