SEE YOU THERE

Here are some other fantastic regional hangouts where you can rub shoulders with Coast locals.

NightQuarter, Birtinya This casual space is a colourful blend of street food, community and culture. The shipping container urban playground has Friday and Saturday night markets with a monthly Sunday afternoon session focusing on international cuisine and a kaleidoscope of entertainment and music for all tastes including a vintage fairground wonderland.

Ocean Street Precinct, Maroochydore Day or night, head to the vibrant Ocean Street, which serves up cuisines from around the world as well as fresh local seafood, plus live music from buskers to internationally acclaimed touring bands and artists.

The Wharf, Mooloolaba The revitalised precinct overlooks the Mooloolah River and ritzy canal homes. Try a craft beer at The Savvy Squire, drink in the atmosphere of the marina at The Dock, or give your tastebuds a tour of the bustling eateries, including the family-owned Spero restaurant reminiscent of a beachside eatery in the Greek Isles with views over the yachts. Take to the water at sunset with Coastal Cruises Mooloolaba, enjoying a fresh local seafood platter – glass of wine in hand – while gliding along the Mooloolah River.

Rick’s Garage, Palmwoods Go retro for the day at this former mechanical repairs business in the hinterland, filled with vintage paraphernalia. Known for its burgers, milkshakes and ice-cold beers, Rick’s boasts an upstairs whiskey bar and cool beer garden, with local live music.

Surf clubs Sunshine Coasters love a little sun, surf and sand with their fitness regime, and they give back to the community through the volunteer lifesaving movement. The branch’s 14 affiliated surf life saving clubs, servicing 15 beaches, are only steps from the sand and most offer extensive supporter club restaurant and bar facilities with million-dollar views. Try Noosa’s veranda overlooking Laguna Bay for lunch or perhaps Met Caloundra’s floor-to-ceiling window wall to the rock pools, free public saltwater pool and Kings Beach for a twilight dinner.

The Original Eumundi Markets (Memorial Dr, Eumundi) Billed as “Australia’s premier artisan markets”, these stalls open on Saturdays (7am-2pm) and Wednesdays (8am2pm). “Make it, bake it, sew it, grow it” is the catchcry for original art, furniture, toys, homewares, skincare, fashion, jewellery, fresh fruit and veg, breads, cheeses and yogurts. Caloundra Street Fair (Bulcock St, Caloundra) Locally made art and craft, homewares, street food, gourmet sweets, fresh produce, fashion and fun are on offer, while marketgoers are surrounded by cafés, boutiques and specialty shops only two blocks from Bulcock Beach. From 8am to 1pm on Sundays.

Opposite page, clockwise from top:

Dan Jarrett; Saltwater Eco Tours; The Tamarind at Spicers Tamarind Retreat; Spicers Tamarind Cooking School.

This page, clockwise from top: Eumundi Markets; Rick’s Garage, Palmwoods; Mooloolaba Surf Club; The Dock at The Wharf.

Modern Asian cuisine on the Sunshine Coast is so much more than teppanyaki bars and neighbourhood Chinese restaurants. And Spicers Tamarind Retreat’s The Tamarind restaurant at Maleny is one of those marrying delicate Asian flavours and farm-fresh produce in innovative dishes and giving new twists to traditional styles of cooking.

The hatted restaurant considers itself Asianinfluenced, born of a Thai heart.

Executive chef Dan Jarrett opened The Tamarind with the retreat launch in 2010 and stayed for five years before branching out into his own restaurants on the coastal strip. But Jarrett answered the call to return to one of the region’s foremost Asian restaurants five years ago. “Thai suits our climate and Australians in general love Asian food,” he says. “It’s healthy and you don’t feel super-full [afterwards].”

Every February, the retreat welcomes up to 500 gastronomes for the Sunshine Coast Asian Food Festival. The ‘mini-degustation’ is a chance for Jarrett to create new dishes exclusively for the festivalgoers.

“It’s a good excuse to have a good day out and get people to see our property and see this part of the world, and explore the hinterland,” he says.

“It’s just having a bit of fun with Asian food. I make up for the event something fried, something steamed and something bulky: four savoury dishes and dessert at the end. People can graze at their own leisure and pace themselves.

“Once they find their spot (in the rainforest setting), they make it their home and are set for the day,” he adds.