The Port Office Hotel in Brisbane’s CBD has a sophisticated menu with a separate meat category headlined “Nose to Tail”. I was completely won over. There were ox tongue and pig’s trotters and bone marrow and pate and pork scratchings.

We sampled some of these neglected bits during an informal wine tasting. Pork scratchings are a euphemism for pigs’ ears. They were brittle and crunchy and ­delicious with chilli salt. And as we munched away we wondered why offal and game meat do not find their way onto more menus. The consensus was we had become far too squeamish and less adventurous in our meat-eating than our grandparents.

On any mainstream menu in Europe you will find wild-killed deer or brains or livers and lungs or kidneys, said our visiting English friend. So with wild game in mind I was delighted to see kangaroo on the menu at the Hilton Hotel’s Vintaged restaurant in Brisbane. I suspect the Hilton has roo on the menu as a novelty dish for visiting Brits and Japanese, who can go home and say they sampled our indigenous tucker.

I’ve devoured roo at the Hilton before and enjoyed it enormously. This time I was not so sure. It was billed as “rare Paroo kangaroo” ($23) and served with water­melon that had been marinated in gin. It didn’t work for me. (Perhaps it’s from the shire of Paroo, a chunk of outback Queensland stretching from Cunnamulla to Eulo.) In my dish, thin strips of roo were laid on top of a rectangle of watermelon on a plate also decorated with finger limes and avocado, miniature herbs and croutons, and a few onion rings. The meat flavours were so overwhelmed by the aromatic gin and sweet melon, I would not have known what it was had I not read it on the menu.

The Blonde was not convinced by her entree, either. The duck parfait with ­rhubarb jam and a torched brulee crust ($16) was under-seasoned and the accompanying toasted brioche was burnt. Nor was she enamoured with her Mooloolaba swordfish main course ($37) with charred baby cos lettuce, sweetcorn, red onions, ­capers and horseradish. The fish had a Marine Stewardship Council sustainability tick but it was dry and a tad overcooked, and came with a tepid, sweet sauce resembling a puddle of melted butter. To my mind it was devoid of horseradish, which might have given it a lift.

Thank heavens for our next course: an AAco MB9 wagyu rump. That translates as Australian Agricultural Company beef with a marble score of nine. It was a full-flavoured, grain-fed cut with a powerful visceral hit.

Our shared chocolate dessert ($18) with fresh berries and a berry whip did not light any fires. In a word: bland. A bright spot, however, were glasses of vintage wines ­preserved under argon gas and served using a Coravin pump to pierce the cork with a needle and draw the ­required amount. The Blonde enjoyed a 2015 By Farr GC Chardonnay ($19) while I had a glass of the 2014 By Farr Tout Pres Pinot Noir ($19).

Originally published on couriermail.com.au.