Home for Christmas

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To start

Grilled Hervey Bay scallops with soy and ginger Mooloolaba prawn ceviche

2017 Domaine Billaud-Simon Petit Chablis

2018 Journey Wines Heathcote Fiano

Mains and sides

Grandma’s Fijian mud crab curry Snake beans with pork Fried rice of shiitake, salted radish and peas Cucumber and snow pea salad

2018 Murdoch Hill Pinot Noir

2017 Nittnaus Anita und Hans Blaufränkisch Kalk und Schiefer

Dessert

Mango pudding with lime tapioca and coconut ice-cream

2016 Henschke Noble Rot Semillon

For five years Louis Tikaram has been dreaming of an Australian Christmas – a laidback day that plays out in the fresh air. “That’s what I missed most being in the US – Christmas not being in the summer,” says the former executive chef of the Los Angeles Asian-fusion hotspot, E.P. & L.P.

Tikaram returned to Australia in July, with wife Jorja and daughter Maëlle, in time to welcome daughter number two, Colette. And if the demands of a transcontinental move and newborn weren’t enough, on 1 November, he opened Stanley, a striking, two-storey Cantonese restaurant bordering the Brisbane River. Now, he’s hanging out for festive downtime and the chance to give Maëlle and Colette a taste of what Christmas is really about.

Describing Stanley as modern Cantonese-Asian, he says diners can expect Cantonese-style dishes full of old-school flavour, but created with a contemporary sensibility. Housed in heritage digs at Brisbane’s Howard Smith Wharves, Stanley has a wide alfresco deck