Koori Kulcha Cafe

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Posted 2013-02-02 by glenop ⇒ follow

Fitzroy Falls down in the Southern Highlands has long been a splendid spot to stop and soak in the marvellous views of the river valleys and escarpment of the stunning Morton National Park. Then there are the nearby charming touristy towns to visit such as Robertson, Bundanoon and Bowral.

Now there is another reason to visit. The Koori Kulcha Café . Located next to the Fitzroy Falls Visitors Centre, this indigenous run café has only been opened since November but has quickly established a reputation for their bush tucker dishes. The café also serves the more traditional burgers, quiches, pies, salads and fish and chips for the less adventurous.

It's decorated with indigenous artwork and cultural displays. On our visit, there was a fantastic band of musos playing and the café also occasionally stages aboriginal dances and didgeridoo performances.

For lunch, Ms Pam and I chose to share the bush tucker tasting platter of emu, kangaroo, crocodile, prawns, wattle seed damper and sweet potato at $25.00. The dish takes 40 minutes to prepare so after ordering, we walked down to the falls and the fabulous lookout. We kept an eye out for the local lyre birds that inhabit the park. Unfortunately, I can only report that they were keeping a low profile today.

On our return, the spectacular exquisitely served tasting dish arrived served on a long bark plate with eucalyptus leaves. Every morsel of meat is seasoned with native herbs and spices, like mountain pepper and aniseed myrtle, and was cooked to perfection. We have eaten crocodile before but have been disappointed. Not on this occasion. This was salty and seasoned with dried lemon myrtle. Each prawn is uniquely seasoned. The emu is a pleasant surprise. It is a dark meat and tasted more like lamb than poultry.

We see another larger platter served to a nearby family and we're envious that we didn't order it. We take a peek. It's served with the above meats along with baby snapper, warrigal greens and edible native flowers. It's an amazing sight.

Unfortunately, there are very few indigenous cafes or restaurants serving 'bush tucker'. All the more reason to take a day trip to the southern highlands and take advantage of the 's uniquely Australian menu.