The Gutter Edit

Riding low tides, finding new joy in taffeta frills & exploring outback drills.

Smells of Pork Fat in Haymarket

Pork Fat, 1 Hat, 2 Pax

Pork Fat

When Larb Gai’s on the menu, I’m ordering it. This is my favourite Thai dish, sweet, sour, and fiery hot. The red onion has the zing, and the toasted rice gives it a satisfying crunch. Served with crispy iceberg lettuce cups and cucumber, I’m happily eating with my hands. Add in the rich pork fat and smoky chilli, and it’s next-level delicious.

Next, the Crispy Pork Belly with Chilli Lime Nahm Jim was on every table, and for good reason. The crackling had that perfect snap, crackle, and pop. After James complimented the chef, we were treated to a surprise dessert: a rock-hard ball of coconut ice cream I’d go back for in a heartbeat. Following the rich three-flavour sauce with chilli, tamarind, and holy basil on the deep-fried whole barramundi, the ice cream was the perfect finish for our palates.

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Apples & Oysters

A famous chef phrase, “Apples & Oysters”

Playing around with ai image generator.

Something like this, it was God who created oysters and apples, and you can’t improve recipes like that. But it’s our job to try.

Apples straight from the tree, oysters straight from the sea. Chef kiss.

Apples look delicious at the moment now we’re coming into orchard season. Green for cooking, red for eating. What’s your favourite apple?

We baked apple pie last night in the air fryer. The trick with apples is not to lose their sourness, you need just a hint of sugar, then add some vanilla and cinnamon, who are best mates. Find the perfect balance of sweet & sour.

Then you just need to decide will it be warm custard or cold ice cream?

The Swim

Dodge The Surfers, Catch The Magic

South Cronulla Beach, 6:30am, .06m tide, 22.7°C water temp.

With sunrises as spectacular as this, hitting snooze isn’t an option. I know exactly where I want to be.

Swimming back from Cronulla Point on this low tide, the water is shallow enough to feel the tips of the seaweed on my skin but deep enough to keep clear of the cunjee (cunjevoi) those playful, spongy sea squirts we’d poke as kids. Fun to play with, but not so much to swim over, they can rip off some flesh.

I skip the long way around the surfers and cut inside them instead, close to the rocks. It’s a delicate dance - swimmers, surfers, waves, everyone wants the wave at the point.

We need to find the channel we call the gutter, running alongside the rocks. With a .06 low tide, there's just enough water to ride the swell all the way in. If you miss the gutter, or misjudge a wave, well, you risk slamming into the rocks or worse, getting wiped out by a surfer. They tend to aim for you rather than avoid you. My pink cap is basically a target. Why we’re safer in numbers.

PINK CAP - Image by my swimming buddy Nick Mullen

We get thrown around, tumbled about, occasionally dumped if you’re unlucky and then spat out near the shore. It’s the best ride and start to your day you’ll ever have.

This morning an eagle ray glided past me, swimming out to sea. We were so close, side-by-side, and he gently flipped his wing as we passed. A quiet, beautiful moment, I couldn’t stop, couldn’t turn, we just passed each other peacefully.

This week’s been a gift of turtles, blue gropers, eagle rays and the most magical sunrises. You’ve got to get up early to catch the colour. We’re seriously lucky.

Just be sure to duck under the surfers.

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Last meals, gelato revelations and the unexpected comeback of a beloved taffeta bolero – this week, I'm sharing the stories that shape my world. Curious to know more? Subscribe today!