I wanted to visit Santai Retreat. Jason wanted to go to Spice Den, a restaurant that had been recommended to him. Thankfully it turned out to be one and the same! Spice Den at Santai Retreat near Kingscliff spruiks itself as ‘modern Thai fusion’ food. It seems to me more Modern Australian with an Asian twist. Whatever it was, it was one of the best meals I’ve ever had.
It was difficult to narrow it down to the three entrees and one main that our waiter recommend as he notifies us that all dishes are served banquet style in the middle of the table. This works out well for me as I always want to taste everything anyway. The choices are (voluntarily) left to me and I deliberate for a while. Eventually I settle on my selections and we start with Szechwan salted soft shell crab with green papaya salad and sweet nam jim. There isn’t really any detectable traces of Szechwan but the crab is delicious none the less. The green papaya salad has the usual Asian sweet and sour balance perfected and was fresh and crunchy. The nam jin was a slightly spicy herby sauce that complemented it perfectly. First choice gets the tick of approval.
I move on and turn my attention to the organic silken tofu with banana blossom, crunchy salad and palm sugar caramel for something different. I love the texture of the tofu with the crunch of the salad and the flavours are wonderful. My husband likes the salad but gives the tofu a miss. The tofu itself has this crunchy outer that gives way to chewy and then melt in your mouth silky. The salad is good as well although I can’t detect the banana blossoms.
The third entrée comes on a platter as four individual soft duck pancakes served with cucumber, pickled chilli, soy and crisp shallots. Two servings each of tender deliciousness.
By the time our main arrives, Byron Bay sticky pork with plum sauce, papaya salad and fresh herbs, I’m hooked. The pork is a little dry if I’m being picky but the plum sauce and stickiness along with the salad more than makes up for it and it’s another delightful dish.
I’m not overly full at this stage but I also want to ensure there is enough room for dessert so I decline to order my next choice of the prawn green curry. The answer to the dilemma of not being quite full is always dessert. After some perusal of the menu I was informed by my hasband that there would be no ‘sharing’ dessert this particular evening. I quickly chose the sweet potato doughnuts feeling far superior to the Cookie Snap Sundae selection. It is amazing. Light fluffy sweet potato doughy doughnuts covered in cinnamon sugar with a peanut butter ice cream that is ultra delicious and strangely a perfect complement, topped with crisp sweet potato chips.
The cookie snap sundae is good too. Just not as good as mine. My husband also orders a Spice Den Afforgato which is on the cocktail list but turns up looking like a third dessert. Dark couverture chocolate mousse with a shot each of espresso and Frangelico on the side. Wow! Can I fit in another dessert too?
Would I Return?
Yes. There is a lot more to try! The setting is intimate enough for a special dinner and relaxed enough for a casual meal. This is a suburban gem for the locals although I’m not sure when I’ll be fortunate enough to have another evening free in the area.