Bar & Bites: The Lodge Wadjemup’s bar and restaurant Sunsets offers ideal food for Rottnest Island life

Sunsets, yes. Beaches, no. Very good tucker, you betcha. Rottnest Island’s newest hospitality offering, The Lodge Wadjemup recently opened a fair chunk of its hotel rooms along with Pelican — a kiosk serving coffees, snacks and soft serve ice cream — and Sunsets, a sprawling bar and restaurant looking out to Garden Lake. While the menu is described as Mediterranean, Bar & Bites discovered exec chef Mat Powell’s cuisine leans more towards Spanish during a recent lunch covered by the venue. In fact, his charred Two Rocks octopus with creamy potato skordalia and paprika could have come straight out of a pinxtos bar in San Sebastian. The large tentacle was sticky, almost caramelised thanks to a veal glaze. Other signature dishes included juicy Skull Island tiger prawns in a sobrasada (spreadable cured sausage), gnoccheti pasta with prawns and peas in a seafood bisque, and crispy-skinned Rottnest swordfish with pickled mussels and sauce vierge. (The latter dish is not dissimilar to the swordfish at Gibney in Cottesloe. Both are bloody delicious.) Both the heirloom tomatoes and cucumber with ajo blanca were surprisingly fresh and refreshing small plates on a menu designed to share. The food at Sunsets seems a lot lighter than that at Isola, which does a very good job of Italian coastal dishes and has one huge advantage over The Lodge Wadjemup — a view of Thomson Bay. Designed by co-owner Peter Fogarty, the wine list boasts 25 lively drops by the glass plus an extensive — and occasionally expensive — collection of bottles. Well-heeled holiday makers can spend $1300 on a bottle of bubbles. There are beers on tap, including Gage Roads, and the cocktails match the food — the salted grapefruit paloma was an excellent grown-up drink. Sunsets seems designed for island life and even a decent lunch will leave room for a soft serve before you jump back on the bike. YEAR OF THE SNAKE The Lunar New Year slithers in on January 29, heralding the year of the snake. Shui in Subiaco celebrates with a Lunar New Year banquet starring Peking duck spring rolls, honey chilli Skull Island prawns and other treats, including traditional red envelopes and a lion dance. A vegan menu is also available. Seats are $98 a pop. Servo in Leederville serves up a Lucky 8 Banquet featuring wood-fired Cantonese classics plus an appearance from the Chung Wah Lion Dance Troupe to chase away evil spirits and usher in prosperous times. Bookings from $70. Servo also has a Chinese New Year version of their Eterno bottomless lunches on February 1 and 2. Hit the venues up for more details. FIVE HUNDRED BOTTLES SITTING ON THE WALL Rocky Ridge recently hit an impressive milestone, specifically the release of its 500th beer. Described as “big, dumb and bitter” but well-balanced, Amongst the Herd is a double IPA weighing in at 10 per cent. In keeping with the Jindong brewer’s long-held belief that more is more, the brew used 14 different hop products for a nose of tropical fruit and pine resin. The beer pours a clear light gold with a white head, while Rocky Ridge’s Hamish Coates is succinct when describing Amongst the Herd’s finish: “Bitter”.