Tukka @ West End, Brisbane

Whilst Modern Australian cuisine is making a scene throughout Australia, it hasn't reached the status of representing Australian cuisine. Ask anyone what kind of food they think of in the same sentence as Australia, I am pretty sure the answer would not be fine dining, just yet.


So it was a great task when my brother in law asked what is something representative of Australia (that you can find in Brisbane) that he could not eat back in Malaysia. That was when Tukka came to mind.


Specialising in game meats, this was the place to take someone to eat meats that were rather uniquely Australian; kangaroo, crocodile, emu and so on. I must say that suggestion definitely got myself a pat on the back because the boys were kind of intrigued while the girls were squirming at the thought of eating game meats.


Anyways, back to Tukka.

An amuse bouche of barramundi cerviche was light and bright, with a hint of sweetness. A good start.





When I first googled up on Tukka, it seems like everyone had ordered the tasting platter. In a way its a good choice because there is a lot of native meats, fruits and berries that is definitely not on your everyday dinner plate. The meats ranged from kangaroo prosciutto to cured emu, while an assortment of berries and fruits made their way in the form of! candied and dried and some damper and salad to finish it all off. The damper was a very dense bread roll but what made it so delicious was the macadamia oil and dukkah you eat it with.

Next up was the crocodiletenderloin cured in Daintree vanilla bean, served with fennel remoulade and lemon aspen puree. Its been yonks since I had crocodile meat, going back to the days of studying so it was a refresher to me. Looks like chicken but tasted more like turkey, you wouldn't have thought of anything more until you been told this was crocodile meat.

Kangaroo can be a very tough meat to eat and needs to be cooked perfectly well. Anything past medium rare and it is usually quite hard to chew and swallow. Served alongsiderhubarb and watercress puree, honey glazed parsnips and a lavender jus, this was a very simple dish that focuses on the main meat.

Slow roasted whole goat with a lemon aspen glaze, roasted almonds, seasonal greens and cauliflower puree was rather gamey, eventhough it was cooked to melt in your mouth textur! e. I gue ss despite the care they took in presenting their vegetables, I wonder if presenting the meat that way was a bad idea, making it look like it came out from a tin.

Overall, it was an interesting dinner at Tukka, the dishes looked simple with the focus on the protein and I guess there is always that novelty, especially useful if you bring overseas guest with an adventurous tummy. However, not exactly my cup of tea and definitely wasn't the Wife's too so returning here is rather remote at this stage.

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Verdict: 3 stars out of 5 stars. I must admit the idea is rather interesting and definitely appeals if you got to find a place to entertain some overseas guests but apart from that, I can't see myself eating crocodile or kangaroo month in and out.