Cuisine Undercover - Christmas special

Left your Christmas function planning to the last minute, or just looking for an easy place to catch up with friends pre-Christmas?

Let Docklands News take the hard work out of at least one of those tasks on your To Do list, by suggesting a few spots bound to raise the Christmas spirit.

All places below spoken to in late November said they could still accommodate bookings of groups of 30, in the weeks of December  7 to 18, although some were already booked solid on the Fridays. Worth a crack I reckon.

Gold Leaf:

There’s no doubt about it – Yum Cha is fun. Difficult sometimes, for people like me who prefer to have total control over their food, but sometimes – and what better time than Christmas – you’ve just got to let it go, and let it come! Worth it for those little coconutty chicken pies alone.

After losing track of courses, beers and Rieslings that all seemed to keep on coming – I still can’t believe how cheap the end result was. Also specialises in seafood and vegetarian dishes. See if you can get the guys from accounts to eat Chicken Feet.

Of course, I’d also recommend any of the places I’ve reviewed this year as extremely worthy contenders, although availability may be limited. Check out docklands.news.com for previous reviews if still stuck for choice!

Harbour Town Hotel:

You’ve probably spent all year meaning to go, but with Christmas approaching, isn’t it time you finally checked out Harbour Town? Did you even know that there was a hotel right down the back – just head towards the giant…oh, well, never mind.
Harbour Town Hotel is a classic “pub” pub. It does a decent parma and also has a $15 lunch special. Be warned – if you’re still there at five, happy hour kicks in.

Please note – you are not advised to drink and shop, although given the year Harbour Town’s had, maybe you could afford to spread a little of that Christmas cheer around …

James Squire Brewhouse:

Nothing says “It’s holiday time!” more than blazing sunshine sparkling off the water and views of it abound from Squire’s Brewhouse. The casual but substantial pub grub and extensive beer list provides a fun, low-key place to wind down with work mates. A touch of Australiana is scattered throughout the menu, with a Ploughman’s Lunch, Lemon Myrtle Squid Salad and a Macadamia Encrusted Ocean Trout vying for space alongside your parmas and fish and chips. Located right at the western tip of Waterfront City’s promenade, you can also walk it all off on the long walk back to the office.

Man Mo:

For something a little different and slightly upmarket yet with minimum fuss, convince the office to share one of the banquets at Man Mo. Normally, I hate to share, but each and every morsel of this Chinese / Malayasian spread surprises and satisfies.

A Tasmanian eye fillet in black peppercorn sauce even makes an appearance in the Christmas banquet, which also sees Green Crayfish Tails, Prawns in a Spicy Creamy Pumpkin Sauce and Peking Duck Pancakes on offer. Somehow, it all seems a quintessentially and delightfully Australian experience …