frozé ($7.50) - based on frozen rosé wine - has hit our shores after being the darling of the last american summer. looking every bit the frozen pink slushie, its climate-friendly characteristics combined with the obvious instagram appeal, is likely to make it the drink our own long, hot summer. i got my first sip at the bayviewhotelin gladesville, and i can definitively see the appeal of this blend of luna rosa rosé, peach schnapps, strawberries and lemon juice. gladesville – one of the local council areas that valiantly fought against the mike baird government’s forced amalgamations in court – has lost its village appeal since my last visit. it’s currently a zone of industry, with medium density apartment blocks springing up on both sides of the over-taxed victoria road. the bayviewhotelseems well placed to offer the impending influx of new residents a home away from home, with a diverse range of crowd-pleasing dishes, well-priced wines and an airy, all-weather deck. wipe away the remains of the day with a foxy lady ($17.50) that turns hendricks gin, cinzano dry, cucumber and mint into a pleasurably sharp, unsweetened martini-style drink. the menu, which still includes pub classics, puts its own leftfield stamp onto what’s popular in contemporary pub cuisine. the taco salad of southern queensland prawns ($23.50) takes a quirky mix of jicama (a wet, white yam), radicchio, star fruit and thai nam jim and makes them into a cross-cultural, hot weather salad. as tracey, our personable vietnamese waitress explains, most folk on this side of the anzac bridge “don’t like spicy” so expect to visit the wall of sauces & spices if you do. swapping out spicy for sweet explains why there was a bit of a disconnect for me with...