Following The Three Blue Ducks, Rosebery

Gone is the Kitchen by Mike and in its place is Three Blue Ducks in the Dunning Street complex in Rosebery. The lunch menu is a neat selection of food with a long list of beverages available with its own distinct menu from the Byron Bay and Bronte versions of Three Blue Ducks.

I'm a little early for the business lunch with Sarah on this sunny winter's Friday. I take a look around and the interior at Three Blue Ducks looks very similar to before although I'm not great with interiors so it could have been changed quite significantly. The kitchen is in the same place and there's an indoor and outdoor section. Unlike its predecessor there is table service. All of the staff are very friendly and accommodating.

I start with a watermelon and mint slushie. It sounds promising and in this warmish winter weather a cooling respite is certainly welcome. The slushie is actually not sweet at all nor is it minty. It tastes like crushed watermelon so if that happens to be your sort of thing you might like it. I like a bit more sweetness and a hit of mint.

We ask if it is possible to have an Orange wine by the glass and our waiter is very accommodating. He quickly goes through what we've ordered to see whether it will match with it and it seems like it will. They ask if we want entrees our first or everything together and we answer the latter.

The Sydney rock oysters are from Wagonga and they come with a strong ginger and shallot sauce. The oysters are fabulously fresh but I think I prefer them with just plain lemon as the sauce is quite strong.

The chicken wings come three to a serve with a pungent lemon fermented chilli sauce. They come out unseasoned but once I give them a sprinkle of salt they're juicy and crunchy. I ask for a little garlic aioli to round out the strong chilli sauce.

I love Hawaiian poke and for some reason it hasn't really made it big in Australia although we tend to eat it pretty much as sashimi a lot. Traditional poke is raw fish cubes seasoned with soy, sesame oil and green onions-simple but delicious. This version using kingfish is more like a Byron Bay sashimi plate. There is avocado, kimchi, radish, brown rice, two types of seaweed and a pink pickled beetroot egg. It's fresh and quite tasty but it's not a traditional poke.

This is my favourite main and it's a smooth cauliflower puree with florets of roasted cauliflower, roasted hazelnuts, sumac and grapes. Every time someone puts grapes in a savoury dish or a salad I always find myself thinking that I should do it too because they add just the right amount of sweetness to a dish.

I adore tarte tatin and after a bite of this, I want to make one at home immediately. The bananas are soft and baked with crispy pastry with plenty of sauce. On top is a scoop of vanilla ice cream. And yep I'd order this again and again.

In the afternoon I always like ordering a cup of tea or coffee with a sweet and we try the golden chai made with Inside Out almond milk, turmeric, ginger and chai spices. It's pretty fabulous and about half way down my tongue starts tingling. I usually don't really like almond milk but given the spices and flavour this pretty much tastes like regular milk.

So tell me Dear Reader, do you like grapes in savoury dishes? And have you tried "Golden milk" (turmeric and ginger milk) and if so, what do you think of it? And in the afternoon do you like to have a hot tea or coffee with your dessert?

This meal was independently paid for.

Three Blue Ducks

1/85 Dunning Ave, Roseberry NSW 2018 Phone: (02) 9389 0010 http://www.threeblueducks.com/rosebery-weareopen