BANQUET Beauty

Nourishing us in more ways than one, Georgia Beard experiences the connection and camaraderie served up at XO’s Yum Cha Banquet.

On a hectic Friday in February, the team from IN Noosa Magazine meet at the staircase to Sunshine Beach’s sanctuary of Asian fine dining.

Our New Year’s celebrations are long overdue and we are on deadline for this edition with our Editor-in-Chief Deb taking a break from a full day’s photoshoot and Fashion Editor Carlie working her lunch break around collecting garments for the fashion shoot to be held on Monday.

The rest of the team are in full story writing or ad-creating mode and finalising the last of client contracts. With our time joyfully spent connecting the community through storytelling and enjoying and championing all that Noosa has to offer, we don’t often get to raise a glass to each other.

Nonetheless, we all recognise the importance of coming together and taking time to reconnect and regroup.

So when the Yum Cha Banquet returned to XO Sunshine Beach, we knew there would be no better way to celebrate the year that was and toast to a succesful year ahead.

We’re warmly welcomed with a long table with treetop views matched with a cooling seaside breeze providing a respite from a steamy summer’s day.

An intimate ambience arises from warm crimsons and browns, lamps dangling like Banksia seed pods overhead and the enchanting mural by artists Loretta Lizzio and Cam Scale.

As we take our seats, the team is united in our anticipation for XO’s fresh share-style feast - the soft roar of the waves drowned out by conversation and the excitement of taking some time out.

Translating to ‘drink tea’ in Cantonese, ‘yum cha’ originates from the traditional Chinese custom of late-morning or early-afternoon tea with dim sum, or light bites served in bamboo baskets.

Shared in local teahouses between families and friends or travellers along the Silk Road, yum cha became a regular occasion to meet, converse and relax with one another.

“When I was growing up, my extended family would get together every second weekend for yum cha and dim sum,” says XO’s Executive Chef James Wu.

“The experience is one that has always provided many happy memories of spending time with family and enjoying a tasty meal.”

Combining the spirit of tradition with authentic flavours and ingredients, the Yum Cha Banquet at XO recreates those memories of connection as our team share James’ tasty treats and toasts the occasion with glasses from a curated wine list.

We begin with Spring Rolls, smoky Pork Sandwiches and Duck Pancakes; with vegetarian and gluten-free alternatives also well taken care of.

Steaming side dishes of Wok Tossed Asian Vegetables (all from James’ own farm) and Fried Rice overflowing with lap cheong, pork, and scrambled egg.

As we unwind with full plates, we catch up on each other’s daily lives, toss fragments of local news back and forth and share stories of overseas travel.

Our conversations abate just a little when bamboo baskets appear on the table. Lids come away, steam erupts from within, and chopsticks reach for a spread of dim sum delights.

Commonly translated to ‘touch the heart’, these small dishes stir up our joy and tenderness with each bite. The Beef Dumpling is fragrant with full-bodied, grass-fed flavour while the Crystal Skin Prawn Dumpling offers a lighter touch of sea spray from Mooloolaba.

Bringing the palate to a new depth, the Lamb and Mushroom Dumpling and Pork

& Prawn Sui Mai seep with a rich umami flavour. We’re almost too stuffed to try the Steamed Duck Buns from Megan at The Steamed Bun Co, but as we tear through the sweet, cloud-like dough, the pulled duck falls apart on our tongues, and we can’t resist!

Those who opt for the Vegetarian dim sum experience the succulent, gardenfresh flavours of Garlic Chive Dumplings, Spiced Sweet Potato Dumplings, Zucchini Flowers, Tempura Tofu and Mushroom & Tempeh Buns - all superb dishes.

James sources most of the ingredients from local producers and suppliers such as Wolvi’s Tagigan Rd Produce and Kin Kin’s Eastwell Farms while all the wok vegetables, herbs, edible leaves and flowers are harvested from his own Joyous Farms in Cootharaba.

“The team has over four decades of experience,” he said. “This allows us to experiment with flavours and textures, resulting in the creation of many exciting dishes which are mixed with time-tested XO favourites like the Duck Bun and Pork

Sandwich. Dumplings are a specialty with all aspects of the dumplings, including the skins, made on site and hand-created by the team who are proficient with over 20 different folds.”

This steady stream of delicious cuisine and matched wine nourishes our conversation and as we head back to work, we only have one question left to answer: when can we do it again?

Visit www.embassyxo.com.au to make a reservation. Meat and Vegetarian Yum Cha menus will be reworked seasonally.

Noosa has a well-earned reputation for producing fabulous food that is adored, appreciated and passionately brought to life by the outstanding chefs and restaurateurs of the region.

Our readers like to go beyond the dining table and into the kitchens where culinary masterpieces are plated and to delve into the gifted minds of those that concoct mouthwatering menus.

There is no better way to find out mroe about what it takes for local produce to reach our plates and the people behind it than from the chefs themselves!

Since 2018, our podcast Everyone Has A Story: Conversations from the Sunshine Coast and Noosa has welcomed many of the region’s producers and chefs behind the mic - and globally has reached more than 38,000 downloads, growing daily!

They always have a riveting tale to tell, from growing up in families with rich food cultures to working in acclaimed kitchens across the globe before settling in this place they now call home.

As an extension of the power of storytelling in print, our podcast invites you to create a deeper connection with our guests, sharing the emotion, the anecdotes and the spontaneous morsels of information that enhance the relationship between people and plate.

The more stories we hear, the more our foodie icons feel like old friends. It’s a relationship we passionately cultivate in every issue of IN Noosa Magazine