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Starting my week-long road trip through Tropical North Queensland on a weekend was not by chance. I’ve been known to shift around itineraries on holidays purely based on when a food market will be on, and this trip is no different.
It’s 6am in Cairns and the heartbeat of the city, Rusty’s Market, is already brimming with life. The scent of bananas (around 26 varieties grow in the region), the sounds of fruit being chopped (a cup of the sweetest mango for a pre-market peruse), and the sights (mountains of herbs, an array of tropical fruits and trays of Thai marinated chicken wings being carried to a stall) are all encompassing.
I’m here to meet Nick Holloway, executive chef and co-owner of Palm Cove’s NuNu, just a short drive from the city centre. He visits the market every Friday morning to talk to local growers and buy – quite literally – a truck load of produce for the restaurant.
From cassava for the cassava chips seasoned with a citrus salt, to the betel leaves for the tiger prawns in jungle butter he serves, the market is a source of inspiration for the menu at NuNu and his passion for the local produce and growers is infectious.
He takes me to his favourite stall, and we chat over a phenomenal Khao Tom Mud parcel of banana leaf steamed sticky rice sweetened with palm sugar. I begin to get a real feel for the region.
A taste of Japan in Cairns
My second breakfast (a must when travelling) is at Japan Pan. I didn’t expect to find such an incredible Japanese artisan bakery in Cairns, but as I bite into the most light and fluffy matcha custard-filled doughnut followed by an equally amazing karepan (Japanese curry bread), I begin to realise that Cairns, known as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, should also be known as a food lover’s destination.
Having trained in Japan, France and Canada and then working as head pastry chef under renowned NZ chefs Vaughan Mabee and Josh Emmett, head baker and co-owner Rie Furukawa is baking some of the best Japanese breads in the country. I leave with a few extra baked goods (the Yuzu citrus pan and cream pan are also unmissable) and am on my way further north.
Port Douglas: local passion meets top-tier dining
My next stop is beautiful Port Douglas and specifically Jungle Fowl. As soon as I walk in the restaurant, which is situated on idyllic Wharf Street, I am swept up in the beauty of the murals hand painted on the wall by co-owner Rachel Boon.
Water is served in silver cups collected on trips to Thailand by Rachel and head chef and owner Ben Wallace, and Thai rock music plays over the speakers. I dine on a slightly limited menu due to some of the team being away in Thailand, but it is very good. The Nannygai, a reef fish so sweet and delicate, is served with green nahm jim, ginger and lime leaves and is one of the most delicious mouthfuls I have eaten all year.
The pork belly with banana flower, sweet tamarind and chilli vinegar comes close too. Sourcing local produce is paramount for Wallace and Boon, and with their own garden – Oaks Kitchen and Garden – down the road, it underpins the whole restaurant’s ethos.
Crafting mountain spirits
Everywhere I go, the pride for the local area, down to the soil, is palpable. No more so than at Mt Uncle Distillery, nestled in the Atherton Tablelands where award winning distiller Mark Watkins is located. We meet amongst a row of cane fields which neighbour the distillery and are ever present in the region.
The volcanic soil has proven to be rather important for Mt Uncle Distillery which produces internationally awarded Rum, Vodka, Gin and Agave spirits. The agave plants are harvested by hand and is an incredibly labour-intensive job. I have a go, but thankfully the cellar door is nearby as a reward. I leave with a bottle of Ooray Gin and make one last visit to Rusty’s Market – a Banh mi for breakfast on the way to Cairns airport is a fitting final meal of the trip
And so, you see, it’s rather difficult to pinpoint the exact moment I fell in love with Tropical North Queensland. Was it standing on the sparkling Kulki Beach on Kuku Yalanji Country looking out to the Great Barrier Reef? Or walking down the flower lined streets of Yungaburra eating a Mungulli Creek ice cream with local vanilla?
Harvesting a jackfruit on the regenerative Cape Trib Farm in the lush and ancient Daintree Rainforest? Or perhaps it was settling in for locals’ night at the Mena Creek Hotel? All I know is that I leave Tropical North Queensland inspired and with an insatiable desire to return.
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