Harveys lizzy loel

1. 'L
+
+
GL
RESTAURANT
Timmy's
touch
with Lizzie Lael
NE of the first Queensland­
ers to successfully blend the
pungency of Asia with the
measured techniques of France and
Italy is Thai-born chef Timmy
Kemp.
Taught traditional recipes by her
family, she left Thailand as a young
woman to travel and pursue a life as
a chef. She spent 20 years honing
her unique style, developing a loyal
following of people who saw her
food as something almost mystical.
After Timmy's, her successful,
eponymous BYO restaurant in Clay­
field, there was Indochine, a glamor­
ous venue in the Brisbane CBD that
opened in 1995. There, as business
partner and chef, she increased her
culinary skills to include catering
and a repertoire of casual dishes.
She brought those talents to
Harveys, a chic, quintessentially
Queensland restaurant and cafe in
the centre of Fortitude Valley's
James St hub.
Her signature dish - warm duck
salad with shallot pancake - is
made in industrial-sized proportions
daily, such is its popularity. But
there are plenty of other dishes on
the menu that shine.
We dined at Harveys two nights
in a row and on the second had a
special entree of Thai sausage roll, a
description that hardly does justice
to this gorgeous creation. Wrapped
in a thin layer of bean curd is a
mixture of minced chicken and
prawn, laced with crab and heavily
scented with garlic, coriander and
chilli. Not overly hot, the added zing
came from the soy-lime glaze that
also had been endowed with a
healthy belt of red chilli; all in pro­
portion though and, with the cooling
effect of a shredded cucumber salad,
it was perfect for a summer's night.
I was with a couple of seriously
stylish blondes with to-die-for tans
who are no slouches in the kitchen,
so it was a bit of a tough audience.
The taller of the two chose a statu­
esque salad of chicken, watercress,
fine slivers of celery and avocado
piled high and tossed liberally with a
lemony aioli (garlic mayonnaise).
The other blonde was equally
decisive, claiming the herb risotto
with roasted vegetables and shav­
ings of parmesan, which she loved.
I tasted all of them, as well as our
other friend's Penang calamari
which had been marinated and
grilled in a pungent brew of soy,fish
sauce and chilli and garnished with
sliced water chestnuts and snow pea
shoot tops and, like the other dishes,
it went down very well.
The night before we had at­
tempted an assault on the mezze
platter, which is vast and a bit con­
fusing - more an antipasto than
mezze with lovely plump olives and
shaves of spicy Italian sausage. I
also loved the main course of king
prawn green curry served in a bowl
next to another of jasmine rice.
Timmy Kemp is famous for her
knock-out classic desserts and the
blondes tussled over the creme cara­
mel - a citrus twist on the original,
with Grand Marnier and orange
salad in which the wobbling cream
sat.
The trifle was wonderful but I
wouldn't recommend operating
heavy machinery after consuming it,
as someone in the kitchen had been
very generous with the liqueurs,
CHERCHER LA FEMME
goodlife 5
THAI twist . .. chicken and aioli salad, top, warm duck salad with shallot pancake; Kate Harvey, Timmy Kemp and Matt Harvey;
black sticky rice with coconut custard and mango brulee. Pictures: Mark Cranitch
which soaked through the sponge
and permeated the indulgent fruit­
laced custard. It made my layered
chocolate meringue with fresh
berries look almost a sensible choice.
Black sticky rice, perfectly cooked
and savoury was counterbalanced by
a sweet hunk of coconut custard and
a lightly bruleed mango. All good,
really good and crying out for a des­
sert wine, of which there are very few
on the wine list. Just the 2001 Wolf
Blass Noble Gold Riesling is avail­
able by the bottle or glass. Harveys is
always busy, day and night, and it's
not only because of its great location
or relaxed outdoor ambience. The
food is approachable, well-priced
and has the "Timmy-touch" and
that is a great thing.
HARVEYS
Address: 4/31 James Street,
Fortitude Valley Ph: 3852 3700
Hours: open daily for breakfast
from 7.30am, and lunch from
11am; dinner Tue-Sat from
5.30pm Liquor status: licensed,
BYO wine only Prices: entrees
$12-$18; mains $17-$28;
desserts $9-11; wine $25-$49
Owners: Matt and Kate Harvey
Chef: Timmy Kemp
Smoking: no Parking: on street
Wheelchair access: yes
Other: seats 80; all major credit
cards; airconditioned inside
The score
Food: 15
Wine: 13
Service: 15
Ambience: 15
ABOUT THE SCORE:
0-5 don't bother; 6-9 needs
serious improvement; 10-12
reasonable; 13-14 good;
15-17 very good; 18-19
exceptional; 20 perfection
From today, there'll be more claws in Pier Nine
than you'll find in any legal document. Because
February's crab month at Pier Nine. The month
when you'll be able to get your favourite kind of
crab, any way you like. Muddies, Sandies &
Spanner Crabs from Queensland, Tasmanian
King & South Australian Blue Swimmers - flown
in daily. Chilli, Souffle, Peppered, Omelette,
Natural or an Old Fashioned Crab Sandwich.
So come on in to Pier Nine during February,
and get the crabs at Australia's Best Fish'n Chip shop.
EAGLE STREET PIER RESERVATIONS 32292194
'
2 Latrobe Tee, Paddington Q Ph: 07 3368 3999
Awarded "Three Stars" for a tltird year rnnning in tire
Goumwt Traveller Restaurant of the Year Review,
Australia's nzost recognised restaurant award.
Tuesday, February 4, 2003 The Courier-Mail thecouriermail.com.au 5
I