I had a wonderful Christmas this year, going down to Perth for a few days and spending quality time with family and friends. It was the first time I had been down there during the Festive Season since Covid, exactly six years before. However, the festivities all started with an incredible dining experience at The Shady Pig on Christmas Eve and a close getaway the morning after.
A suggestion was offered and a booking was made, as I heard The Shady Pig were launching their new kitchen and menu on this night of nights of the festive period. I had to get on the 7am flight downunder the next morning, so we couldn’t dally, and it couldn’t be a late one. We arrived around 8pm and were seated in the corner right in front of the DJ booth.
For those not in the know, the new Shady Pig has become a beacon for nightlife seekers over the past year since moving from their previous and quieter address just up the road. It is packed most nights with the town’s premier DJs spinning their tunes and top shelf quality cocktails being served to a fashionable bunch of locals, expats and tourists every night of the week.
Their bar and craft mixologists are already well-known about town as a quality act, but now there plan was to go to the next level adding first class, quality dining to their quiver.
The venue had been transformed into a glowing Christmas setting — warm lighting, seasonal details, and the unmistakable Shady speakeasy style was setting the tone as guests, quite a lot of them, who were gathered to celebrate Christmas Eve. From the first course to the final dessert, the evening unfolded as a relaxed yet refined dining experience, filled with great conversation, laughter, and as it turned out, excellent food.
The specially curated Christmas menu offered a choice of two appetisers and three mains. My companion and I chose to mix them up in order to experience everything they had to offer. Always the wisest move on such an occasion. The appetizers arrived: a Tuna Carpaccio with yuzu tare and balsamic reduction, and a vibrant Beetroot Carpaccio accented with honey and chervil. Fascinating and delicious, both were exceptionally tasty. The mains were next and they were tasty, perfectly cooked and absolutely delicious. We had the Grilled Striploin with red wine pepper sauce and truffle oil, and also a Grilled Pork Chop with rosemary jus. All round excellent, quality food. The master chef out back, Aurelius Marvel obviously knows exactly what he is doing. There was also a vegetarian option, an Eggplant Parmigiana layered with parmesan, mozzarella, and basil.
These dishes were washed down with some remarkable cocktails. Each course had their own paired partner. The appetiser came with a Suntory 75—Roku gin, tomato & herb distillate, jalapeno, grapefruit, elderflower, hindashi and carbonated. Beautiful and refreshing. The mains came with something called The Jack Ash. Myer’s dark rum, jackfruit distillate, spiced burnt lemon, mulled wine, with some albumin. Another stunning cocktail and thankfully no one was making a jack ass of themselves. Damn, does it get any better? Well, it does, actually, with the dessert.
The dining came to an tantalising close with the Chocolate & Raspberry, a flourless chocolate cake paired with raspberry coulis, Turkish delight, and sorbet—a fitting finale to the Christmas feast. This was paired with a Red Bean—Fireball cinnamon whiskey, coffee liquor, strawberry cold brew, palm nectar, smoked hay cream. All the drinks were unsurprisingly excellent concoctions coming from the masterminds behind every cocktail in Shady Pig, but I must say, they outdid themselves on this cocktail list. We couldn’t resist ordering another Red Bean when the first came to an end, before moving onto Espresso Martinis to check how they were performing in this house of cocktail genius.
Adding to the warmth of the evening, a very talented live music duo, Bluesmates were performing throughout the dinner. They were set up in front of the DJ booth, and we could just about touch them. They filled the room with their distinctive and original takes on predominantly 90’s grunge and blues standards. They were good, very good. The lady’s raunchy vocals and the intelligent guitar riffs from her partner were pure rock and soul, and perfectly complemented the already excellent trajectory of the evening. Just another quality act at Shady.
So, one drink lead to another and soon the DJs had taken their positions behind the DJ decks and had begun to work their melodic techno magic on us and the ever increasing crowd. We found it hard to leave as the place began to fill with the beautiful people of Canggu. Before I knew it was 2am and I suddenly remembered I had places to go. I bid farewell and Merry Christmas to all, and wound up asleep on my sofa, forgetting to set the alarm for an appropriate hour to depart for the airport.
Next thing, light must have woken me coming from the window. I looked at my watch and it said 6.10am. Omg, I’ve missed the flight. Jumping out of bed, I was recalling what my brother had said earlier―don’t miss the flight, I’ve arranged all the extended family to come for a BBQ on Boxing Day. I was stomping around the room thinking to myself, I’ve missed it. I looked again. It was actually 5.10. Damn, I was in with a chance and called the Grab. Let’s go! Being early, the roads were clear and I arrived just in time, being the last passenger to walk onto the plane. I made it back to my homeland and to one of the most enjoyable trips to that hallowed place I can recall. It was a shakey start to begin with, but man, it was an all-round excellent festive season from start to finish!
The Shady Pig: Jl. Pantai Berawa No.168, Berawa, Canggu.
Tel: 081139811192
Kitchen open: 7am till close
www.theshadyfamily.com