Not the most exciting thing to write about, but we’re spending a week in luxurious Katherine, Northern Territories third largest city (pop ~8000). My previous job with Boeing Defence Australia (which technically is still my current job, as I’m on a twelve month leave without pay) involved work with the RAAF in Katherine (Tindal Air Base), so it was great luck that there was work available for me at the same time we were passing through. Not much for me to talk about work wise (if I told you, I’d have to kill you… kidding, I’d have to wake you up half way through the story).
Dinner is pretty much the highlight of the day (and the subject of much discussion).
Monday night was dinner at restaurant at our hotel (Paraway Motel). They specialise in hot stone dining (they bring out a super-hot slab of stone with a chunk of raw meat sizzling on it). Not bad, but sadly they didn’t have the dish I had last time, and wanted again this time, NT Rock – Kangaroo, Crocodile, Barramundi and Beef. I still think restaurants that cook your meal for you are better, as the chefs tend to do a better job of it than myself.
Tuesday night was a steak at Katherine Country Club. Good steak, but it would want to be since it was a premium price (over the RSL). It was also the night we started playing Keno. No wins, but no one would listen to my heads/tails advice…
Wednesday night was Regents Court and a banquet of tasty Chinese food. I find that I have a standard sequence of events when I eat Chinese food. Two hours after I am incredibly thirsty. Four to five hours later I’m hot/sweaty and have a racing heart beat, and in the morning I wake up with an MSG hangover. But, since the dinner was so tasty, I’d do it all again (just in a week or two). We had soft shelled crab, steamed pork buns, oysters, roast duck, tom yum, kung pao and a good assortment of other dishes – helped by the fact there were so many of us there at dinner that night.
Thursday night was RSL schnitzel night, a Boeing semi-tradition when in Katherine. $20 schnitzel (choice of beef/pork/chicken) with your choice of sauce (Parmigiana, Mexican (which I’d definitely choose next time), Aussie, Bacon and Cream). Servings were generous, but not the stuff of lore as suggested by Boeing Katherine veterans, but enough to fill my moderate appetite, and if there was still a hole to fill, the salad/vegetable bar would do the job. Risa opted for lamb shanks, which looked more like camel shanks! Super tasty with a sweet potato mash. More Keno, and this time Andrew had two $12 wins in five games! Lucky.
Friday night was a bit of a wild card – Mahogany Bar. It was recommended by a few locals and it prided itself on there being nothing over $15, except the scotch fillet (which they totally over cooked) and the $19.90 oysters (which were tiny but tasty), and Risa’s BBQ ribs. Anyway, food was average, but cheap which was good since we were paying this week.
Work was over again for another few months, but it was great to be doing it again. Fun to work with a great crew of guys, certainly the main reason I stayed in my position for as long as I did.
And that pretty much concludes our foodie guide to Katherine. (There are better places to eat, specifically Knot’s Crossing).
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