January’s a funny month, isn’t it. Even more so in Australia.
It never feels like you can get that much done in January. I mean, the first week or so is a write-off with the new year still to build up its callouses. Even by week two, everyone’s still in Christmas holiday mode – or legitimately still on holiday.
Week three is chopped into by the Australia Day public holiday and the imminent threat of school zones coming back into action.
Then it’s a steep downhill slippery dip to the start of Feb. Craziness.
And let’s not forget this is pretty much the heart of summer when everyone slows down a bit.
Having said that, we’ve still managed to fit plenty in since the starter’s gun went off for 2026. Here’s the low-down.
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What a way to kick-start the year! Dinner with some excellent friends from the travel industry. It’s a pretty close-knit realm that pretty much everyone knows everyone, and we’re so glad to be part of it. Especially when our wonderful friend sets the table for such a great group of people.
This Ashes Series has been so strange, but it’s pretty cool that I’ve managed to book-end the whole thing. I was at the first (ill-fated) test in Perth and here I am again at the last test in Sydney.
Perth was over in two days and Sydney’s a dead rubber with the Aussies winning three of the first four tests.
Much like the test in WA, things start with a beer. I start with a few breakfast beers (as in 8am) in the Maddison Hotel in Surry Hills with my mates Nim and Brett before finding my seat with my other mates Anton, Paul and Woody.
They’re good seats, but right in the sun and we cook through the sessions before lunch.
Not long after the teams come out though, the clouds close over and the rain begins, followed by some pretty impressive lightning. Needless to say, Day One of the Sydney test is cut short. Probably just as well. I don’t think I could last much longer in the boiling heat.
Today, we’re down in beautiful Bundeena. This little out-of-the-way town at the edge of the Royal National Park is a real gem.
We’re lucky to have multiple groups of friends connected to Bundeena, which is pretty unusual. This afternoon, we’re visiting one of Christina’s oldest friends, who she’s known since school. She lives a fascinating life partly in London, partly in Macau, but she’s back in Aus for Christmas and her sister’s got a place here.
We spend the afternoon with our feet in the sand catching up and laughing. Very wholesome stuff. But it does remind us how much we miss these guys.
Today has been a bit of a drama, but it seems to have worked out ok.
Christina’s birthday is in December – a week before Christmas – and she’s decided to have a belated birthday party at our place in our garden. The only problem is the wind, rain and storms have been incessant.
A last-minute change of plan sees us tucked up in the Balmain Bowls Club. It’s not a bad venue (and the beer and food are cheap) but it would be lovely to have it at ours. Christina says ‘leave it with me’, which always makes me nervous!
(See below for more on how that transpired)
Thank you to everyone who made it to this party though. Absolute legends. And how about that cake from Christina’s sister?!
This afternoon, Christina and I are bumming a lift off our amazing friends Brownie and Louise. We’re heading south for the Australia Day weekend. Ordinarily – like last year – we’d stop off at a couple of pie shops along the way. Hayden’s, I’m looking at you!
But because of our late start, we decide a cheeky burger is in order.
We stop in at the iconic Paul’s Famous Hamburgers in Sylvania just the other side of the Tom Uglys Bridge.
These are classic milk bar style burgers. No messing around, no skimping on anything. And they’re delicious. And it’s cash only here by the way.
We arrive at our destination – Tuross Head – at around 8.30 in the evening and I think it’s all worked out for us. Almost everyone’s still up and about, and the Champagne soon starts flowing. Our friends even have a bit of dinner ready for us. The perfect landing.
We kick on into the night, chatting at the dinner table and preparing ourselves for the days to come!
It’s a slow start for most of us this morning. But as soon as lunchtime comes, we all leap into action.
We’re all at The River, a lovely little waterside restaurant in the nearby town of Moruya. This casual dining spot is a local favourite and one that Christina has been to already.
This afternoon, there’s enough of us to go for the set menu, which is amazing value I must say. With three options for each of the three courses, this is $90 well spent.
For entree, Christina has the prawn cocktail, which comes in scallop shells with compressed watermelon, avocado and lettuce (a far cry from the cocktail glass full of thousand island of my youth!) and I have the octopus skewer with taramasalata and salsa verde. The octopus is so incredibly tender, I could happily eat a big plate of that and nothing else!
But mains come out and we know we’ve both chosen wisely.
The beef eye fillet (cooked rare) is superb and perfectly cooked, and the crisp finger of potato gratin is more than 1:1 butter, which means delicious!
Desserts are almost too much for us to deal with.
My chocolate hazelnut tart is so wonderfully rich that I can’t finish it all. Christina’s spiced rum pudding – not something I’d expect her to order – is surprisingly light and satisfying. It comes with a coconut gelato and a dark rum, coconut and pineapple caramel sauce. Tremendous stuff!
Everyone has been assigned tasks for food for the big Australia Day weekend feast, so after the wonderful lunch at The River, Christina cracks on with the pavlova she’ll be serving tomorrow.
She has a little help making it of course, and I think you’ll agree the results are pretty impressive.
The big day arrives and Christina’s up early enough to see the sun come up over the ocean.
I am not, so I’m glad she’s here to show me what I missed. No, not what I missed, what I didn’t see. I think my move to stay in bed is exactly the right thing to do!
Soon, food prep and cooking begin in earnest. Not only are there two pork rolls crackling away on the coals (as well as some inappropriate physical contact going on), there’s a spit loaded with picana (rump cap) on the other rotisserie. Meanwhile, in the oven, there’s a whole lamb shoulder and slabs of pork belly cooking away.
Not to mention salads, veggies, cheese platters and so on.
I hope everyone’s hungry!
And of course, the drinks bucket is in a constant state of refuelling!
It’s been an amazing long weekend down in the beautiful Far South Coast, but all too soon, it’s time to head back home.
Once again, we’re scabbing a life off of Brownie and Louise, and we take it easy, first stopping at Tuross Boat Shed and Cafe for a quick coffee. This rustic little spot – popular with locals – hangs over the water and is a must if you’re ever in this part of the world.
We decide to drive inland via Goulburn to get home, hopefully avoiding most of the seaside holiday traffic.
We were hoping to hit up Bryant’s for a road pie, but the place is closed! Instead, we head to Trappers Bakery right next to the iconic Big Merino. It’s not as good as Bryant’s but it’ll do. From there it’s a pretty straightforward drive back to the city.
Another outstanding time with our friends.
One of the best ways we know that the year has officially started is when we get an invitation to our excellent friend Peter Hook’s Visit Sunshine Coast media soiree. Always a luncheon, but one we rarely leave before 4pm, Peter’s parties are not one to miss.
This year, we’re at Fix Wine Wine Bar and Restaurant on Elizabeth Street in the city. The food is outstanding – the veal schnitzel and rump steak are excellent, as are the cripsy kataifi-wrapped jumbo prawns and the immense salumi platters – and the wines on offer have inspired a new love.
If you’ve never heard of Picpoul wine before, get used to it. This French variety is perfect for growing in Australian conditions and delivers an almost savagely sharp minerality. If you like dry white wine, this is your lucky day!
But what about the Sunny Coast?
With the Olympic and Paralympic Games coming to Brisbane in 2032, everything in southern QLD is on hyperdrive. The Sunshine Coast is seeing huge developments in its infrastructure and tourism offerings, including – drum roll – the first major hotel here in almost 38 years!
Opening in April 2026, the 180-key 12-storey Avani Mooloolaba Beach Hotel will bring a host of offerings to the area, including the rooftop pool and bar. This will also be Avani’s debut property in Australia, which is exciting.
The Avani is just one of eight new hotels coming to the Sunny Coast. Highlights include the rebranding from the old Sofitel Noosa (née the Sheraton Resort and Spa) to Elysium Noosa Resort the coming of Calile Noosa. If this last one is any where near as good as the Calile in Brisbane (our review), this will be an exception property.
There are also a host new or revitalised activities and events coming the Sunny Coast. Saltwater Eco Tours, whose excellent cultural Indigenous cruise we did a while back, is bringing a new canoe tour to its inventory. This tour even has pioneering equipment to make this a fully accessible experience, which is awesome.
And of course, let’s not forget the food and drink festivals up in the Sunshine Coast. The Curated Plate is back this year (24 July – 2 August) for more Sunny Coast-focused morsels, and the Noosa Food and Wine Festival is also set to do its thing on 11-14 June, so mark these dates in your calendar!
Thank you – as always – to Peter Hook and Maddy Schilg from Visit Sunshine Coast, and Tourism Noosa’s Susan Ewington for an excellent afternoon.
This afternoon, we’re geared up for a do-over do-over party for Christina’s birthday. As I mentioned earlier, Christina’s ‘leave it with me’ echoed all the way through the very last day of January when we finally put our full trust in the mercurial Sydney weather.
Today looks like it should stay warm, dry and reasonably calm wind-wise, so Christina’s setting up the pool for the afternoon’s fun.
And fun it most certainly is!
From daring swims to multiple sabraged Champagne bottles and kids that refuse refuse to get out of the pool, it’s an excellent day.
We’re also very keen to give our new 6m long pergola a run out and it’s doing a great job.
And for a bit of extra entertainment, we even manage to organise a cruise ship to depart right in front of the party!
We hope you’ve enjoyed this Flavour of the Month of Jan ’26 and the the start of the year has treated you well.
Cheers – Jim & Christina xx
