Out of Africa
Key Restaurant, Maleny

Enjoy ethnic cuisine with a twist, high in the hinterland. Taking advantage of glorious weather, a drive through the beautiful hinterland seemed like a wonderful idea. Lunch at Key Restaurant in Maleny turned it into a spectacular one.

Located at Panorama Place on the corner of Mountain View Rd and the Landsborough-Maleny road, the venue and views pretty much speak for themselves. The building is a traditional Queenslander, where breezy verandas and big open spaces make for sophisticated surroundings. Having just recently reopened, we could tell from the moment we arrived we were in for a treat.

Our charming host led us to some very comfy leather couches and handed over the wine list and menu. I had not planned on wine, but the ambience compelled me to indulge in the recommended bottle of Chrismont 2005 merlot from the beautiful King Valley ($38). It would appear I am all too easily led astray . . .

Velvety wine in hand, we perused our menus. There was not a huge selection; just enough goodies to make the choice a little tough. Essentially the meals are an eclectic combination of traditional African dishes with a Caribbean and Mediterranean twist, cooked by the delightful Simone, who helped us refine our dining choices, sharing the background of dishes from her native homeland of Ghana.

She is nutritionally conscious, using hormone and chemical-free local meat, creating gluten and sugar-free sweets and preferring healthier
cooking methods of slow cooking, grilling and steaming, as opposed to frying. We shared a few laughs when reading the menu at what appeared to be very strong warnings about the ‘‘heat’’ of dishes.

Descriptions such as ‘‘fiery hot’’, ‘‘packs a punch’’ and ‘‘keep a cool drink close at hand’’ gave me pause when it came to the West Indies goat curry. I like hot, and sometimes I like really hot, but every now and then you get really, really hot and I wanted to ensure this wasn’t
one of those occasions. It is hard to review a dish when your tastebuds have been numbed and your tears are watering down the sauce.

Simone, while reluctant to say it wasn’t hot, assured us it was not what she would call really, really hot, so with our trepidation in check we proceeded to order. I’m glad we did. The dish ($24) was absolutely sublime and I savoured every mouthful of the divinely tender goat. It was hot, but not hot enough to kill the almost perfumed flavours of the dish. Served with rice and salad, it was truly memorable.

My dining buddy chose the Moroccan lamb tagine ($24), which she savoured with equal ardour. Fresh ground herbs, chickpeas and beautifully slow-cooked lamb made this aromatic dish rapturous. While my meal was more spicy, this one was quite sweet in comparison. It was great to sample the spectrum of flavours, which were as diverse as they were delicious. The tagine was served with a mound of traditional couscous, which also had a delicate perfumed sweetness.

I don’t usually indulge in lunchtime desserts, but we were lingering and so ordered the lemon and passionfruit cheesecake ($7) to share and a cappuccino ($4) and short macchiato ($3) to rehydrate. We were also treated to a complimentary dish of frozen mango cubes scattered with mint, which created a really nice grand finale. For me, Key was pretty much the complete package and ticked every box; superb venue, fabulous food and exemplary service. The afternoon was almost flawless and I will look for excuses to visit again soon.

Petra Frieser’s visit was unannounced and she paid for her own meals and beverages.

Key Restaurant
Maleny

FOOD FACTS
Open Wednesday to Saturday noon-3pm and 6-10pm;
Sunday noon-4pm and 6-10pm
Cuisine Traditional African
Cost Starters $8-$10, mains $18.50-$24, desserts $7
Verdict Fabulous on all fronts