[AUSTRALIA] GOLD COAST TRAVEL GUIDE – Things to do, Places to Eat and Visit (Part 1)

Home for golden beaches and blue skies, I always love the chill and laid back atmosphere from this city, it was great to be back to Gold Coast for a holiday. Right after our trip to Melbourne, AnakJajan moved to Gold Coast for a few days of holiday exploring the city. In this post, I’m gonna share with you complete list of places we visited, fun activities we did and also tasty food we tried at Gold Coast.

FLIGHT
AnakJajan took a direct flight from Melbourne to Coolangatta airport for around one and a half hour. The Coolangatta airport is located not very far from the city, it took around 30 minutes of drive to Surfers Paradise area.

CLIMATE
The weather in Gold Coast is usually fine and sunny, very suitable for outdoor activities all-year round. AnakJajan visited Gold Coast during summer period (December – February), the weather was around 25-29 celsius on Mid Feb 2016. FYI, unlike Melbourne and Sydney, Gold Coast’s GMT is GMT+10 so there’s only 3 hours difference between Gold Coast and Jakarta.

WHERE TO STAY
AnakJajan stayed at Hotel Grand Chancellor, in terms of location, this hotel is superb. It is located conveniently in Surfers Paradise area surrounded by beach, lots of shop, malls, restaurants, cafes and light rail station.

Currumbin Vikings Surf Club
Our first lunch was at Currumbin Vikings Surf Club. Located on Elephant Rock at the beach, this place offers a great view of Gold Coast like no other places, imagine having your meal overlooking Currumbin Beach and Surfers Paradise skyline in distance, it was such an eye pleasing meal for us.

AnakJajan had seafood platter with salads for lunch and let me tell you, the portion was gigantic!

Grilled Haloumi Salad AUD 18.90
sweet potato, beetroot, cherry tomato, onion, balsamic dressing, yoghurt and pine nuts

Caesar Salad AUD 16.90
crisp cos lettuce, shaved parmesan, anchovies, garlic croutons, egg, house made dressing

Seafood Platter for 4 AUD 130
prawn, natural oyster, seasonal crustacean, baby octopus, mussel, beer battered flathead, calamari, chips, panko prawn, salad and cocktail sauce

The salad was very nice, the vegetables were fresh and crunchy, my favorite was the Grilled Haloumi Salad with light and refreshing sweet tangy balsamic dressing and yoghurt. While the seafood platter was divided into two plates, fresh natural seafood and deep fried battered seafood, all of the ingredients were fresh and sweet, we were very impressed by how well they deep fried the calamari because the texture was extremely tender.

Overall, amazing view, fresh seafood, Currumbin Vikings Surf Club is such a great place to eat.

Address:
Currumbin Vikings Surf Club
741 Pacific Parade, Currumbin QLD 4223, Australia
Phone: +61 7 5534 2932
Map:

Skypoint Climb – Q1
Q1 is an iconic building in Surfers Paradise Gold Coast that also happens to be the tallest building in Australia and one of the best spots and ways to enjoy the great view of Gold Coast is by climbing to the top of the building, SkyPoint Climb.

SkyPoint Climb is one of many activities that you can do in Gold Coast, it is the highest external building climb 270 meters above the sea.

This was my second experience with SkyPoint Climb and this time together with Mr. Jajan, we had an unforgettable experience and enjoyed the breathtaking 360° views of Gold Coast. It was an awesome experience and definitely the best way to get a great view of the city. If you visit Gold Coast, SkyPoint Climb is a must try experience.

Address:
Skypoint
3/3003 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise QLD 4217, Australia
Phone: +61 7 5582 2700
Map:

Miami Marketta
On every trip, me and Mr. Jajan always love to explore local food market to get more local experience. In Gold Coast, one of the must visit market is Miami Marketta, a hip market that opens every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night from 4-10 pm.

In the market you can enjoy live music and various street cuisine from all around the world, you can even find Indonesian food there. The best day to visit Miami Marketta would be on Saturday night since you can find more complete selection of food. It is a great place to experience the local crowd and food.

Address:
Miami Marketta
23 Hillcrest Parade, Miami QLD 4221, Australia
Phone: +61 488 590 599
Map:

Kiyomi – Jupiters Hotel & Casino
For a different dining experience, you can try visiting Kiyomi at Jupiters Hotel & Casino, it is one of the three new restaurants in Jupiters Hotel & Casino.

Kiyomi specializes in modern Japanese food including wide variety of Japanese alcohol drinks, all of the menus are created by internationally recognised Executive Head Chef Chase Kojima and has received a prestigious Chef’s Hat at the 2016 Brisbane Times Good Food Guide Awards.

AnakJajan had a 7 course degustation dinner AUD 140 per person.

Miso Soup

Hiramasa Kingfish, Miso Cheviche, Crispy Potato
paired with 2014 Henschke Julius Riesling
This dish was uhhhmazing! Seasoned nicely, I enjoyed the unique combination of texture from the slick tender fish and crispy golden potato.

Ocean Trout, Pickled Wasabi, Smoked Yuzu Soy
paired with 2014 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc

Crispy Rice Spicy Tuna
paired with Tengumai Junmai Daiginjo 50
It looks like the regular nigiri sushi but instead of using sushi rice, the chef changed it with crispy rice instead. Such an innovative dish!

Cuttlefish, Amigo Powder, Tarragon Ponzu
paired with Cherry Blossom Sour Cocktail

King Brown Mushroom, Truffle Poke, Lime Chicken, Yuzu Honey, Celeriac, Yakitori Sauce, Steamed Rice
paired with Houraisen Bi Junmai Daiginjo
Mushroom was very juicy with a lovely chargrilled aroma, on the other side the chicken was nicely grilled, it was extremely juicy and tender.

Chef’s Selection Dessert Platter
paired with Yoshinogawa gensen Umeshu
The dessert was also my favorite part, the chef served a platter of dessert consists of three different desserts, some kind of mochi, doughnut with ice cream and chocolate cake with black sesame ice cream. It was very delicious and lovely, me likey.

Overall, each dish was distinctly unique, delicious and paired perfectly with the well selected wine, cocktail and sake. Our favorites were the first and last dish, we left the restaurant with happy tummies.

Address:
Kiyomi – Jupiters Hotel & Casino
Casino Drive, Broadbeach Island, Broadbeach QLD 4218, Australia
Phone: +61 7 5592 8100
Map:

Gallery Walk – Mount Tamborine
Filled with many exciting shops such as art galleries, wineries, restaurants, cafes, jewelry, clothing, etc, Gallery walk is an interesting shopping street at Mount Tamborine where you can enjoy having your meal or finding souvenirs or gifts. One of the signature sweets that you have to try is fudges, a type of confectionery which is made by mixing sugar, butter and milk available in various flavors.

Address:
Gallery Walk

Map:

Tamborine Cooking School
For more unique experience, AnakJajan had a cooking lesson and lunch at Tamborine Cooking School. It is located at the Hinterland area, around 30 minutes from Gold Coast.

We had a hands on cooking class where we learned to cook various dishes using the best and freshest local produce and then followed by lunch overlooking the scenic view of Tamborine Mountain. It was a fun and unique activity.

Address:
Tamborine Cooking School
609 Main Western Rd, Tamborine Mountain QLD 4272, Australia
Phone: +61 7 5545 4564
Map:

Cedar Creek Estate Vineyard
Still in the Gold Coast Hinterland area, Cedar Creek Estate Vineyard is one of the most charming wineries there where we can enjoy the beautiful winery scenery while tasting some of Queensland’s finest wines.

Address:
Cedar Creek Estate Vineyard
104-144 Hartley Rd, North Tamborine QLD 4272, Australia
Phone: +61 7 5545 1666
Map:

Tamborine Mountain Distillery
Tamborine Mountain Distillery is Australia’s most Internationally-awarded Distillery and Liquor brand. We visited this place for a tasting session, we must say that they have wide variety of products with amazing flavor choices. The place itself is also very photogenic.

Address:
Tamborine Mountain Distillery
89 Beacon Rd, Tamborine Mountain QLD 4272, Australia
Phone: +61 7 5545 3452
Map:

That’s it for today, for more recommended things to do, places to eat and visit at Gold Coast, please check the second part of Gold Coast Travel Guide https://anakjajan.com/2016/03/18/australia-gold-coast-travel-guide-things-to-do-places-to-eat-and-visit-part-2-end/. Stay tuned! Let’s travel!

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If you guys are interested in visiting these places but you prefer a hassle free trip, you can check Avia Tour website http://www.avia.travel/ for more offer since Avia Tour is collaborating with Tourism Australia for special trip/tour offer to Australia.