Tukka

Bush tucker is food taken from Ozzie's bountiful  nature and served up in delicious ways. We went along to a small restaurant tucked away (excuse the pun) in the swinging district of West End. It is small and discreet, perhaps standing a little apart from the Ouzeri on the corner and the interestingly named Three Joints fast food outlet just across the road.

We took a table by the open french doors and chose from an eclectic menu. My husband had emu pattie and I had Kangaroo steak. Smoked Crocodile is also served, as are macadamia nuts, lilly pilly berries, greens and lots of delicious fare that doesn't ever come up on supermarkert shelves.Tukka maintains a garden and they grow over 15 varieties of native plants.

You can try Tasmanian possum - now if you are a reader of this blog and saw a picture of my resident Brisbane possum you might think twice about that choice. Or even three times when offered the "Coffin Bay" oysters. There are bush tomatoes and lemon myrtle shortbread and glace quadongs and  if you are wondering what on earth these are, keep reading because my next blog entry will tell you all about the amazing quadong tree.

The story behind this rather lovely treasure is very much the love child of Bryant Wells. The story goes that he dined at Tukka and loved it and asked the the maitre de if there was a vacancy for a chef. He started there two months later and the restaurant has been going for some 12 years and he is not only the head chef but now owns the restaurant as well. He could not be happier from being so inspired by it to being able to recreate the wonderful, innovative meals on a daily basis.

There are high teas offered every second and fourth Sunday and cooking classes throughout the year.

Its a wonderful experience and just takes you out of the traditonal and perhaps commonplace to celebrate Australia's rich and abundant natural world with some tips from the original inhabitants of this vast continent.