Keen to check out Peregrin Restaurant at The Beach Hotel, I popped by on a Wednesday evening to find the Merewether local surprisingly busy. By the time we left the upstairs restaurant was full.
I heard the head chef before setting eyes on him. Greg Singian. The man has a loud voice, an even louder laugh, and a passion for seafood and char-grilled cooking.
I first met him when he headed up the kitchen at Chateau Elan at The Vintage a few years back. Born and raised in the Philippines, Singian studied hotel and restaurant management as Les Roches in Switzerland before moving to London to train at the L'Ecole Le Cordon Bleu, L'Art Culinaire, and work in the bakeshop of the Dorchester Hotel. He's worked at C2 Restaurant and Bar in the Philippines, was executive chef at the Grand Millennium Hotel in Auckland, ran his own cheesecake business and was head chef at the Shoal Bay Country Club in 2022.
Singian proudly showed me around his new work space at Peregrin and was obviously in his element - as happy as a clam - and said he'd bring out some prawns, abalone, scallops, kingfish and what he described as "the wagyu of fish, Murray Cod".
Our entrees - smoked Yumbah abalone with fennel, herbs, lemon and smoked sea salt; kingfish with pickled cucumber, sake dressing, green chilli and wakame sea salt; roasted half-shell scallops with chorizo crumb; and Yamba prawns with green olive, pistachio, parsley and lemon on tarragon - were delicious. I loved the savoury rather than citrus take on the kingfish, and the soft and thinly sliced strings of abalone.
A lot of thought has gone into this menu and its flavour combinations, and front-of-house staff (especially our waiter, Anders) are friendly and helpful.
As for the mains, we had charred leeks with zucchini flowers, broccolini, macadamia, thyme and honey; charcoal-fired Murray Cod fillet with arugula and lemon; and Murranji Black Angus scotch fillet (350 gram) with potato pave and red wine jus. The cod was cooked just so and melted in the mouth.
Dessert (to share ... we were full) was equally tasty: pineapple and cream with honeycomb, thyme, macadamia and lemon balm.
Check it out. Suburban pub dining has certainly come a long way.
New head chef
The Lucky Hotel has a new head chef, Nathan Smith, and is launching a new menu on Thursday.
"I first started in the industry about 16 years ago as a young apprentice at a local seafood restaurant Anchors. This is where my love for seafood first began," he says. "I continued my apprenticeship in the Hunter Valley at Muse."
Smith has worked with The Boathouse Group and at Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley, and "also spent some time working at Shane's Seafood as a fishmonger, refreshing my seafood roots and increasing my passion to use whole products broken down from scratch with minimum waste".
The Lucky and Oz Tukka are joining forces during Newcastle Food Month to present Good Tukka on April 18 from 6pm (a four-course dinner inspired by native Australian ingredients and paired with local wines, tickets $95 at newcastlefoodmonth.com.au).
Fresh wort kits
Newcastle-based Neighbourhood Brewing Co. has gone national, and is now distributing fresh wort kits to home-brew stores across Australia through a partnership with Bevie. Four kits are available: Lager, Session, Hazy Pale Ale, and NEIPA.
Newcastle local Mark Hebblewhite started home-brewing as a hobby in 2002 and founded Neighbourhood Brewing Co. in 2021.
"I've grown from producing fresh wort in my garage to working with commercial breweries to meet demand. This next step allows us to significantly scale up production and distribution," he says.
Broke in the spotlight
Don't forget, A Little Bit of Broke is on this weekend and this year's event is extra special: it marks the festival's 20th year. From Friday to Sunday you are invited to explore all that the Broke Fordwich corner of the Hunter Valley has to offer. For more information and to book a shuttle bus or accommodation, visit brokefordwich.com.au.
St Patrick's Day fun
This Sunday, March 17, is St Patrick's Day and many venues around the region are celebrating. Here are some suggestions.
Club Macquarie, Argenton: An Irish-inspired menu for lunch and dinner, including slow-cooked corned beef, Guinness beef stew, and sausage and mixed vegetable soup.
Northern Star Hotel, Hamilton: 12 hours of live Irish music starting at 10am.
Bellbird Hotel: Breakfast at 8am, family-friendly activities, Guinness on tap, Irish food and drink specials, and live music including an Irish pipe band.
The Happy Wombat: St Patrick's Day Brunch at 10am.
The Rogue Scholar: Live music, Guinness, Kilkenny and Irish Cider on tap, baby Guinness shots.
The Kent Hotel, Hamilton: Live music, $25 Guinness pie, Guinness on tap, and a $16 leprechaun cocktail.
Royal Crown Hotel, Dudley: Irish food specials including a beef & Guinness pie, Irish spice bags and Irish sausage gyros.
Huntlee Tavern: Irish-themed cocktails.
Harrigan's Hunter Valley: Live music, Irish dancers, drink and food specials.
Valentine Bowling Club: Green on the Greens with social barefoot bowls, live music and best-dressed prizes.
St Paddy's Day at The Station
Celebrate St Patrick's Day a day early at The Station Newcastle from 1pm to 9pm on Saturday, March 16. The St Paddy's Day festival will feature Irish music, performers, Guinness, Irish coffee, a silent disco, bumper cars and more. This is an 18+ event.
Short and sweet
A new cafe, Local Customs, has opened at 513 Glebe Road in Adamstown, in the Habitat Living building.
Vincent St Kitchen + Bar in Cessnock is partnering with Parched Crow Wines for a five-course, wine-matched degustation dinner on Tuesday, April 9, at 6pm. Tickets are $99. Book by phoning 4005 6766 or emailing reception@vincentstreet.com.au.
Indian street food is on the menu at Nithin's Chennai Xpress, which has opened at 74 Maitland Road, Islington.
The rosti toasties at Door 34 on Kelton Street in Cardiff look seriously tasty. I'll be stopping by soon.
Boost Juice has launched a limited edition seaweed-infused smoothie range. Pash & Splash blends passionfruit and orange flavours with a salty seaweed undertone, while Sea & Tea combines creamy coconut, green tea and mango flavour with an umami hint. Available until March 24.
Customs House Hotel is hosting a Rosé All Day Garden Party on Saturday, April 20, noon to 4pm, featuring a Mediterranean-style tapas menu and rosés from Hunter Valley wineries Charteris, De Iuliis, First Creek, Mercer and Margan.
MasterChef Australia alumni Stephanie de Sousa, of Warners Bay, has released a book called Air Fryer Queen.
The Station Cafe has opened at TAFE NSW Belmont and is open Monday to Friday, 8am to 2pm.
CorEat Newcastle is hosting a lunch with Glandore Estate Wines on Sunday, March 24. Tickets $110.
The Stag & Hunter Hotel has a new chef, Colin Greengrass.
Head to the Multi-Arts Pavilion, mima, at Speers Point on Friday (5pm to 8pm) for Friday Night Foodies by the lake. Also on Friday is Friday Chill at Newcastle's Pacific Park (BYO picnic or buy food there).
