Tag Archives: Forest Hill

a birthday country style

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10

A day at a country restaurant in a small village should be prescribed to every woman on a regular basis.  Daughter1 and I went to the little town of Forest Hill to meet my sister, brother-in-law and mother for lunch at what is fast becoming one of ur favourite eateries Café 4342.

The Cafe is combined with the Post Office and a small gift shop – all run by various family members I believe.

mail boxes for the locals

gift section and connecting door to the post office

what is a restaurant without a resident pig?

I am going back for the rosella jam devonshire tea - my favourite jam in this world!

Sister celebrated a birthday last week, and so it was a slightly belated birthday celebration for her. Regulars may remember that I first encountered Café 4342 with some girlfriends a few weeks ago. Since then Daughter2 has visited with a group of friends and can now recommend the salmon salad. I had a steak sandwich this time and it was so tender and delicious that I declared it the bet I have ever had. And no chips tacked on the plate and so no guilt if I ate them or waste if I didn’t! Two others at the table chose various pizzas, and two the lamb and beef stew. Most times our Mum will complain about the food not being cooked to her liking, but she had not a word to utter about the meal, so it was voted 11 out of 10 by the Flamingo Dancer Family!

a winter stew for a winter's day!

the most delicious steak sandwich

pizza!

Afterwards, we wandered through the craft shop, across the road. The lovely owner had a variety of hand made clothes, and craft items, as well as some second hand china and home accessories. I happily purchased a hand towel with a crocheted top that I love to use in the kitchen. The button top allows me to connect it the cupboard handle near the kitchen sink and in easy reach of wet hands – and it doesn’t fall on the floor or wander or for other uses!

like stepping back into the past - a mix of vintage and the 1970s!

Daughter1 found some crocheted doilies that were priced at four or five dollars each, and were not only well below city prices but were beautifully made.

grain "assisted" ?

old railway siding

Queensland style country pub - the local hotels were once the main accommodation for country travellers. Each town would boast more than one pub!

On the way back we stopped at the country butcher, Schulte’ Meat Tavern, where my Dad used to buy our weekly meat order when I was a child. Dad was friends with the original Mr Schulte. Now days it is must be into its third generation, but it is still famous for its wurst.including house-made wursts, which are famous for miles around (even my local Brisbane Woolworths sells Schulte’s wursts). Not as good as my grandmother’s wurst recipe I am told by all the family members who got to taste the original, and is now made by my Uncle and my brother, but a pretty good second! There is a selection of wines (including Ballandean Estate) and plenty of specialty German food, like gherkins and sauerkraut. So naturally, I bought some wurst and a lovely piece of silverside to cook for Sunday lunch when Daughter2 might be over. I received a “I feel a silverside coming on” email during the week.

I have never developed a taste for sauerkraut so was not tempted in that direction, but I did buy some beetroot flavoured corn chips! I love beetroot, and was over the moon tasting the beetroot relish that had been on my steak sandwich at Cafe 4342 earlier.

We were home by 4, after a lovely family day. Not long after Mother Flamingo Dancer phoned as she always does to hear that we had arrived home safely. I don’t know what she would do if we didn’t answer the phone, but it is her ritual to phone for the knowledge that we are safe and well, and I suspect to relive the day again for a few minutes. She sounded happy afterwards, so that is a good thing!

In fact, the whole day was a good thing. Happy Birthday, Sis!

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the joy of a country luncheon

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14

Saturday lunch with the ladies in the country

Saturday was a blue sky, sunshiny day and I drove to the small country town of Forest Hill to meet three of my friends for lunch. Yes, we did just lunch last month, but we enjoyed each other’s company so much and with renewed appreciation for our reconnected friendships that we threw caution to the wind, and to our husband’s amazements, decided to repeat the experience. Such wild abandonment!

Forest Hill is a little less than a hour’s drive from Brisbane and is really just a long main street, a rural fire brigade and a water tower. Time has not treated it to progress, but many would call that its’ charm.

We used to know it well, as my mother’s parents lived on a dairy farm in an area called Blenheim, and to reach them we had to drive through Forest Hill.  An extra thrill was that on most return trips we would stop at a little corner store in Forest Hill and buy ice creams. There may have only been vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream to choose from, but we didn’t notice, as to us it was high excitement.

Now the little shop is a hairdresser’s salon. The main street has a newsagent, an antique store, and two pubs (bars). One pub looked well maintained and still in operation. It brought back memories as it was a pub MR FD and I frequented in our “courting days” – I used to beat him at the pacmac table games they had, and he has never recovered from the fact I bested him, EVERYTIME!

the main street of Forest Hill, Queensland

The other pub was a poor shadow of itself.

It still represented the Australian ethos though!

However, our luncheon was across the street – at the Post Office!

post office, gift shop and cafe!

inside Cafe 4342, Forest Hill (4342 is the postcode)

an outside corner of the cafe

The food was superb, and the service friendly. The cafe is BYO and they very happily provided us with an ice bucket for our champagne and wine. The menu was extensive and so it was hard to choose.

we shared a trio of dips that were delicious

I then opted for the prawn, scallop and smoked salmon pizza

Then after a little more gossip and another drink, it was time for the dessert menu

so much to choose from!

the strawberry and chocolate cheesecake was chosen by more than just me.

Had to smile at their method for stopping customers leaving with the bathroom key!

For a lovely day in the country, I can heartily recommend Cafe 4342 at Forest Hill.

We had so much fun that we have agreed to meet in July - the third time this year!

And for regular readers of my blog : No, the “friend” who developed a head ache from the sound of another friend’s voice during our last lunch did not attend, but she was invited (two wrongs don’t make a right!) She was much pitied but not missed.