Take 3: Enjoy Christmas Day without the cooking

From a buffet to suit all tastebuds to a hedonistic herbivore eight-course menu, here are three options that will relieve the stress involved in cooking up a feast on Christmas Day but ensure a festive outcome.

Buffet to suit all tastebuds at Pavilion on Northbourne

For Christmas with all the traditional trimmings but none of the washing up, the Atrium Restaurant at the Pavilion on Northbourne is setting up a sumptuous buffet to suit the whole family. With the light rail out the front and parking on-site, family logistics are all taken care of as well to ensure everyone arrives on time.

The three-course Christmas Buffet Lunch and 2-hour beverage package will be set among the gorgeous light-filled tropical atrium. While taking in the relaxed vibe the meal will start with a range of antipasto and seafood on ice with tiger prawns and shucked oysters taking centre stage.

For mains, you will be spoiled for choice, with a selection of glazed ham, juicy roast loin of pork or indulgent roasted scotch fillet to choose from the carvery. Along with fresh salads and a hot selection which includes the chef’s special, beef bourguignon.

To finish, a showstopping dessert buffet and cheese board. All the sweet holiday favourites are set to feature including Christmas pudding and a summery miniature pavlova with fruit.

Christmas Day in the Atrium Restaurant costs $159 per adult, with prices ranging for children aged between 3 and 17 years from $20 – $90 per person (kids 2 years and under eat free). For bookings, visit the website.

Christmas by QT At Home

If you have already committed to hosting Christmas Day at home but the idea of the fast-approaching holiday season is causing more heart palpitations than heart-warming feelings, the newly launched Christmas by QT at Home meal kit is here to help.

Curated by QT Hotels and Resorts’ best chefs from around Australia’s, QT’s first-ever holiday box for home cooks delivers a slice of the QT experience at home, with a smack of Christmas indulgence.

The easy to follow meal kits have been expertly crafted for simple assembly and include helpful and quirky instructions for cooking. Christmas by QT at Home encourages home chefs to cook with a flourish and a pinch of holiday fanfare.

As an added garnish to the dining experience, each dish has been paired with a Christmas song to deliver· a unique sensory amuse bouche as you cook, eat and digest your Christmas meal.

The playlist builds to a crescendo with hits like Nat King Cole’s Christmas Song, best savoured slowly with honey and mustard leg ham to bring out the meal’s rich flavours and aid digestion. The sultry and sensual sounds of Eartha Kitt’s Santa Baby to tickle the tastebuds while indulging in QT’s equally delicious and decadent Gowings cheesecake. And according to QT, Sonoma’s Christmas pudding with brandy custard is best suited to We Wish You A Merry Christmas.

Christmas by QT at Home is $590 per box and is designed for four people and includes 15 dishes with options to add additional menu items such as market lobster, extra desserts and beverages. Orders must be made before 17 December 2020. Pick-up is available on 23 and 24 December. For more information, visit QT.

Hedonistic Herbivore Christmas Lunch by Monster

In October, the iconic NewActon restaurant Monster Kitchen & Bar pledged to offer a plant-based menu, ditching meat and fish after owner Ovolo Group committed to 365 days of vegetarian dining across all its hotel restaurants and bars in Australia and Hong Kong.

Local, sustainable, and seasonal is the ethos behind Monster’s vegetarian offerings. For the festive season, the team has reimagined the traditional holiday menu hosting a conscious and cutting-edge Christmas lunch for an intimate crowd.

The eight-course vegetarian menu by executive chef Paul Wilson starts with a glass of Billecart Salmon Champagne on arrival and is followed by innovative dishes to win over carnivores and herbivores alike.

Enjoy being spoiled in the surrounds of the dazzling dining room while making your way through a truffle custard filled mini brioche bun along with a crispy artichoke flower served with roasted rye mayonnaise.

Then surprise your tastebuds with watermelon ‘sashimi’, avocado wasabi, wakame cracker, garden radish and a honey-baked pumpkin brulee with pepita crumb, gruyere custard and cheddar tuile.

To finish, tuck into a Monster ‘pavlova’ with yuzu curd, seasonal berries and lemon myrtle meringue.

The Hedonistic Herbivore Christmas Lunch by Monster is $215 per guest. For children aged 6 to 14 years old, there will be a special 3-course menu for $50 per person. Email [email protected] to reserve your seat for Christmas lunch.

Original Article published by Sophia Brady on The RiotACT.