Freshly caught squid off the jetty in Bussleton, Western Australia.

I had to write about this as so often there is a huge disassociation with food or perhaps even just a lack of knowledge of where 'food' really comes from. 

There is a jetty in Bussleton in Western Australia, that is 1.8km long, the longest wooden one in the Southern Hemisphere. We visited it on our way back from the Margaret River area and walked to the end and back. Half way back we got caught in a huge rain storm but that is by the by! When we go to the end we found a couple of fishermen with this bucket, I had no idea what they were until I asked and they offered up that they were squid, larger than normal! One of them was a chef or a cook, because he said that they were bigger than he was used to working with and that he was going to take these into work that night and cook them up. As we continued on the rest of the walk back to land all I could think of was where he might work and how he would cook them and how wonderful they would taste having only been caught that morning! 

Half way back, shortly before the storm broke, we came across a family who were also fishing for squid.  This was one that one of the sons had caught, they were waiting for it to squirt it's ink apparently and then the Dad was going to pull the head off. 

I asked if they were going to eat it and then how they were going to cook it, because I can't help myself! The Dad said yes and that they would pan fry it. At this point the youngest son piped up, in quite a disturbed voice, "Are we really going to eat it?". His Mum told him yes they were and that it is the same as what he gets at the Fish & Chip place only they didn't have to pay for this one! Awesome!

On an aside note, aren't they amazing creatures for the way they change their colour?! Creative as well as tasty!

Sea Garden Cafe in Prevelly, Western Australia.

This was a great little find after watching the sunset at Surfer's Point we drove literally around the corner into Prevelly and here it was. The location is perfect, you can sit outside and watch the sunset and listen to the ocean below, how good is that!? We had a lovely little wooden table with benches and a lantern with a tea light in and there are lights strung through the trees. 

The food was good. I don't want to come down hard on them and be critical because it was a nice place and the staff were good and the kitchen was obviously trying really hard to step it up a notch for such a small town. The menu is on a chalk board which the waitress brings round and props against a tree near you. Hubby had lamb cutlets with garlic mash and green beans, I had beer battered fish and chips.

The lamb was a little over done, the beans were very over done and the mash seemed to have raw garlic in it instead of roasted. However, hubby was pleased with it and I enjoyed my share of the lamb.

My meal was very good, the fish was very well done, crispy, not dripping with oil, the chips were perfectly seasoned, I didn't even ask for ketchup! I could taste the beer in the batter. It was also a nicer side salad than I was expecting too! I am not a fan of the tartare sauce over this way though, for some reason it is really sweet, I am wondering if it is made with salad cream instead of mayo? Or it is just me who is odd, who likes it really tart, with lots of lemon in it and dill!

Unfortunately they were out of ice cream so we couldn't have the affogato we were craving (ice cream with a shot of espresso over it).

The Sea Garden also serves lunch and breakfast and there was quite an extensive menu. I read some reviews and it seems that it is very popular with the locals as well as the tourists. I would definitely recommend this place, the location is half the experience and hopefully the food will please as well.

BushShack Brewery, Yallingup, Western Australia.

We are fresh back from 4 days down in the Margaret River area, which is prime wine country! Few days of heaven in a chalet by the beach with the ocean crashing below and the birds and 'roos all around us! We had been told about this tiny little place called the BushShack Brewery and headed there for a look-see. As well as teeming with wineries, Margaret River is full of breweries and art galleries, cheese farms, venison farms, olive oil, the list goes on. 

The BushShack Brewery is just that, a shack, in the middle of some forest, but it had such a feel about it! They brew all their own beer there and some other drinks, I tried the Mango Madness which was very tasty.

Hubby had a stout type of beer and was sad that he had to drive after as he could have stayed and tried more of them. They actually do a sampler which has 6 lots of beer at 100ml size for $14 which would be really fun.

The menu is modest, a few snack type items. Hubby had a toasted chicken, cheese and avocado (the Aussie's love avo!) on Turkish bread and I had some potatoes with salsa, beans, cheese, sour cream and chives with a side of jalapenos. Yum!

Fully refreshed and full we set off down the coast to visit Augusta, Margaret River, watch the sunset at Surfer's Point in Prevelly and have dinner in the Sea Garden, which is another entry on it's own.