I fell in love with a fish.
I was 18, untouched by meat, fish or love.
A young man invited me to lunch in a chalet restaurant overlooking Lake Macquarie. He ordered Trout Almondine for us to share.
Skin glistening, crunchy toasted almonds capping off its beurre noisette baked flesh, the trout’s rich aromas wafted past me. A forkful revealed the perfect balance of flavour and texture.
He smiled.
I dared to dream of the exciting and extraordinary life that we might live together.
Of course I didn’t fall in love with the fish, but experiencing that meal, being carried on the back of that fish, I embarked on a new journey.
Over the years, when people have asked me about my first date, I always picture Trout Almondine.
Occasions are often marked by food. Beginnings, milestones and endings are celebrated at the communal table with those precious to us.
Food is inextricably entwined with occasions and people, so much so that the mere waft of a dish can bring back a memory of faces, circumstances and feelings.
In difficult economic times, however, we pass over the occasions, skipping the celebrations and foregoing the memories. As household budgets are squeezed, Queenslanders are cutting back on activities such as dining out, weekends away, family days out. Yet these are the very things we need to make good memories, to increase our resilience and enhance mental well-being. So, we need to find ways to make them more affordable or to save money in other areas so that we do not forego them.
Dining clubs, such as Entertainment, Australia’s longest-running savings membership (formerly the Entertainment Book), are popular for the savings they offer diners. For just $75 annual membership, Entertainment offers 2-for-1 dining, discounted attraction tickets and travel and accommodation savings.
Members get 25% off some of our best restaurants in Queensland, such as:
- Supernormal Brisbane – the Brisbane outpost of Andrew McConnell’s celebrated Melbourne pan-Asian restaurant, perched on the Brisbane River at 443 Queen Street. Since opening in 2024, it’s become one of the city’s hottest tables, known for produce-driven share plates like clay-pot sticky pork ribs, whole Northern Queensland mud crab and its famous lobster roll — all set against river views and a warm, subtropical-inspired dining room.
- Mondrian Gold Coast (Burleigh Heads) – Australia’s first Mondrian hotel, right on the Burleigh beachfront. Its dining precinct includes LiTO, an all-day Italian restaurant blending coastal Burleigh charm with wood-fired breads, lobster bucatini and tableside tiramisu, and Haven, the hotel’s signature restaurant and pool club serving refined, produce-driven coastal fare with sweeping ocean views.
Other top QLD restaurants now on the Entertainment line-up include Madame Wu, OTTO Brisbane, IPPIN Japanese Dining, Meltemi Mediterrania, Palette at HOTA, Kiyomi, and The Long Apron, giving members access to some of the state’s best-loved and most in-demand tables with substantial discounts.
These are places serving dishes made from stunning local produce. They are imaginative, some telling tales of other countries, others embarking on journeys of the imagination.
Lifestyle markers matter. How much better it is to trim unnecessary ‘invisible’ extras from the budget and save money for memory-making activities you participate in with friends and family. A little planning can go a long way. Swapping highly processed items with raw food is both a money and health saver. Shopping less or using Click & Collect are other ways that you can trim your grocery shopping of discretionary items. Then you’ll have more to spend on what matters – making memories.
Shopping well is another strategy. For just $75 a year, Entertainment increases your cost-saving options. Add it to your budgeting plan and start working out which places you will visit first.
Who knows what memories you will store from your special night out. Without a doubt, it will be a time to remember. Don’t miss the journey. Perhaps it will even feature a fish?
