Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 9 is the special time of year when we celebrate our first BFF and the person we always turn to when we need advice – it is also a chance to recognise all the other wonderful women in our lives from wives to great-grandmothers.
Did you know Mother’s Day dates back to Ancient Greece? The roots of our modern celebration go as far back as the Colosseum, when Greeks held an annual Spring festival dedicated to the maternal Goddess Rhea – Mother of the Gods.
Here are five more fun facts about Mother’s Day and six places to spoil the special woman in your life:
•Mother’s Day is one of the most popular days of the year to eat out. If you’ve been caught out by this one before, make sure to book your table as soon as possible; or you’ll be throwing on your Chef’s apron and cooking up a storm at home.
•Carnations are the flowers usually associated with Mother’s Day – in Japan it is traditional to give your Mum a red carnation.
•Mother’s Day is celebrated in 46 countries around the world, but at different times of the year.
•Yerramatti Mangayamma became the world’s oldest Mum in 2019, giving birth to twins at the age of 73 in India. Sadly, she is now raising the twins on her own as her husband Raja (84) died of a heart attack.
•Mother’s Day is the biggest flower buying day of the year around the world.
Beef and Barramundi Bar & Grill’s salt and pepper squid.
Treat Mum to lunch this Sunday along with a Cosmopolitan at Beef and Barramundi Bar & Grill on Oceanview Road in Ettalong Beach. This well-loved restaurant on the Central Coast is just a block or so from the sparkling ocean and is alive with the buzz of locals and visitors enjoying succulent seafood and steak; whether alfresco on the deck, or in one of the romantic hideaways indoors.
Perhaps start with salt and pepper squid, aioli and a petite salad, or pork belly served with fennel and apple slaw and a sweet pimento glaze; before mains like grilled wild barramundi, served on carrot puree, with pancetta, peas and pearl onions. Make sure Mum finishes indulgently with desserts such as warm, rich chocolate fondant and macadamia ice cream.
Decadent chocolate truffle tart from Ortem.
Take Mum for a picnic on Sunday with a hamper from Ortem on Railway Street in Toowoomba. Pre-order for pick up on Saturday and Sunday and receive a box including mini muffins, banana bread, croissant, fresh fruit, cookies, cheese, assorted meat, baguette, housemade jam and quince, crackers and your choice of wine.
Those looking to dine indoors can head to this former ball bearing factory, where great food, coffee and service await, in sleek surrounds of rustic wood, slate grey walls and subtle lighting. Perhaps grilled chorizo and prawn linguine, with garlic, chilli, herb butter and lemon sauce takes Mum’s fancy, finishing with a decade chocolate truffle tart, strawberries and ice cream.
Artisan bread starts a Pastorale by Meccanico Mother’s Day feast.
Bring the family and friends together this Saturday over a three-course shared set menu for an early Mother’s Day celebration at Pastorale by Meccanico on Sturt Street in Wagga Wagga. There’s a welcome drink on arrival at this new restaurant on the block, nestled inside The Riverine Club, where classic elegance and modern sophistication await alongside a European-inspired menu.
Mum can expect to dine on buffalo mozzarella, prosciutto, charcoal roasted beets, marinated olives and artisan bread to start; followed by porchetta and salsa verde, coal-roasted lamb shoulder, fresh leaves, pear and walnut salad along with crispy potatoes, rosemary, olive oil and sea salt. There are also decadent desserts like raspberry and white chocolate macarons.
Spoil Mamma with lunch at Ines Wine Bar.
Spoil Mamma this Sunday with a special lunch at Ines Wine Bar on Chapel Street in Windsor. Named after owner Matteo Bruno’s 93-year-old Nonna, this refined bar rocks a vibe of Italian marble, brass and walnut timber; while booths and lounges invite lingering over a share plate menu and signature cocktails.
Those dining on Mother’s Day will receive a glass of bubbles and an Italian grazing plate to start; before choices of entrees, mains and desserts to share; think plates such as baked scallops, truffle pangrattato and porcini butter, or perfectly cooked steak with herb butter and duck fat potatoes.
Every Mum deserves high tea at Four Seasons Hotel.
Every Mum deserves a high tea experience on Mother’s Day…Sydneysiders can head to Four Seasons Hotel on George Street to indulge in a three-tiered selection on Sunday, featuring 100% handcrafted sweets, savouries and scones from onsite Mode Kitchen & Bar’s French pastry Chefs.
All Mothers receive a complimentary wrapped gift and a harpist will entertain, while you graze on plates of savoury sandwiches, leek and gruyere tart, ocean trout tartare, vol au vents with caviar; sweet tooths will salivate over raspberry and chocolate macarons, Valrhona dark chocolate delice, coconut and passionfruit mini pavlova, scones, whipped cream and orange marmalade.
It’s fiesta time for Mum at Wolfe & Molone.
Last year Mum celebrated at home…this year take her for a special fiesta inspired by the South American Cantina menu at Wolfe & Molone on Centre Road in Bentleigh. There’s a complimentary drink for all Mums on arrival plus a little gift to take home, along with plates like tacos, empanadas and nachos.
An open-air kitchen and bar, styled with potted greenery cascading from above, chocolate brown furnishings and Edison bulb lighting, make Wolfe & Molone a stylish neighbourhood locale to meet for drinks and share-style bites to eat. Grab a Margarita and settle in with a signature chorizo paella, with pickled mushrooms, seasonable vegetables and peppers, cooked in saffron stock.
For more Mother’s Day destinations near you, click here.
