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Sauce BBQ Restaurant, Cairns
The first cab off the rank with my deck of Table 52 cards was Sauce BBQ Restaurant for lunch last week. Since my overseas holiday I have dined out so much it’s ridiculous! Restaurants that I have dined at include Tosca’s, The Cairns Courthouse, Lime and Pepper, Cafe China, Tha Fish, Perotta’s, Bella Vista, Haveli and On The Inlet just to name a few. That’s not to say that I am going to review them all but I’ll certainly try. Back to Sauce… After driving around and around and around looking for a park in the city MS and I decided we might as well head to the Pier, take advantage of their free underground parking and choose a restaurant there (there is only two restaurants at the Pier to choose from in the Table 52 cards, Sauce and Tha Fish). We chose the ‘sort of new’ Sauce BBQ Restaurant, formerly Cho Gao. 
We took a seat amongst a couple of occupied tables out on the deck since Summer is over and it’s not so damn hot outside. Although the furnishings and decor at Sauce are modern and stylish I still find the place a litte sterile, just as I found Cho Gao. I can’t exactly put my finger on it but I think it’s because there seems to be a lot of empty space in what is quite a big restaurant. The interior just doesn’t seem very inviting. Still I have dined at Sauce for lunch within a couple of weeks of it opening and really enjoyed it (their sweet potato chips are awesome!) so I figured I should come back and do a post about it. As we perused the menu the friendly waiter came over and gave us a few pointers i.e. what he recommended and the serving sizes. MS ordered the Beef Ribs with BBQ Glaze served with Potato Wedges and Salad for AU$30 while I ordered the Surf and Turf Platter for AU$22. We ordered the Curried Pumpkin Soup with Sour Cream and Crusty Bread for AU$9 as an entree to share. There were three glaze options for the ribs – BBQ, Bush Plum or Smoked Paprika – but the waiter didn’t give us an option upon ordering, something we didn’t realise till after he had left so MS had to make a trip to the counter to request the BBQ glaze. We didn’t wait long for the meals to arrive, obviously the Curried Pumpkin Soup arrived first. The soup was creamy, delicious and definitely had some bite to it. MS isn’t too keen on hot food but he was still able to eat it so it can’t have been too hot. Lets just say my background has exposed me to some pretty hot food so it certainly didn’t bother me. It was a large serving size, even for two and we didn’t finish it all in the end.
Curried Pumpkin Soup, Sour Cream and Crusty Bread – AU$9.00
One of the first things I noticed about my Platter was the presentation however considering that Sauce is owned by the same couple that own Wink II I would expect as much. It seems Leon’s flair for presentation has rubbed off on the Head Chef at Sauce. The Surf and Turf Platter had a selection of… well… Surf and Turf of course! There was some Chicken Skewers, Pork Belly, Chicken Wings, and Prawns with Jamaican Coleslaw and Rice. I guess it wasn’t really what I expecting (not exactly what I would call a platter) and some of the items on the dish were cold but it was still tasty and considering I didn’t pay for it (cue Table 52 card) it was good enough. I would however suggest a dipping sauce because it was technically a meat platter and you need sauce for that sh*t! After all isn’t that what the restaurant is so aptly named after?
Surf and Turf Platter – AU$22
The serve of Beef Ribs was humungous! The waiters recommendation to have the Beef Ribs when MS said he was ‘starving’ was a pretty good steer in the right direction. They were super tender and succulent with the meat just falling off the bone. There was so much that I even managed to snavel a whole Beef Rib all to myself simply because MS couldn’t finish the meal. I find Beef Ribs, like Lamb Shanks, to be very rich probably due to the fat content so I can never eat very much of them and this was also the case for MS, still he did manage to make quite a dint in his meal and he enjoyed it.
Beef Ribs with your choice of BBQ, Bush Plum or Smoked Paprika Glaze served with Potato Wedges and Salad (AU$30.00)
I really hope that Sauce does well unlike the previous restaurant in the same position. Unfortunately everytime I walk past there doesn’t seem to be anyone there. Like I said at the beginning of this post it might be due to the sterile atmosphere but also might be because people haven’t yet realised that it’s no longer Cho Gao. I’m not going to say that Sauce is really good because it’s not but I’m also not going to say that it’s really bad because it’s not. Sauce has real potential to be a great restaurant and there are some delicious sounding dishes on the menu that I am definitely going to go back and try. Go and check it out and let me know what you think, especially if you have a pack of Table 52 cards, and if you don’t then why not huh?
Sauce Restaurant
The Pier, Pier Point Rd, Cairns QLD 4870
Ph: (07) 4041 6991
Website: www.saucerestaurant.com.au
Opening Hours: Mon – Fri 8.30am – 5.00pm, Sat – Sun 11.30am – 11pm
$15.95 Sunday BBQ Ribs @ Dunwoody’s, Cairns
If you are driving along the northern end of Sheridan St it’s a little hard to miss the large ‘$15.95 Sunday BBQ Ribs’ sign out the front of Dunwoody’s. If you love ribs as much as I do then your mouth waters every time you drive past. Well last weekend I couldn’t take it anymore so some friends and I went to The Steakhouse at Dunwoody’s for dinner. Now I have to say I’m definitely a lover of ribs (isn’t everyone) and I’m on the hunt for a rack of ribs to beat or even just come close to the ‘Best Ribs of My Life’ from a few years ago at a little restaurant called Rippy’s Smokin’ Bar and Grill in Nashville, Tennessee. These ribs were so damn good that I just had to get the t-shirt as a memento. Now there are a few little things that I judge a good rack of ribs on… Firstly, the ribs must be tender enough to literally fall off the bone. I don’t carry dental floss in my handbag so I don’t want to be gnawing the meat of my ribs and then having it stuck in my teeth for the next two hours (that’s gross I know but it’s the truth). Secondly, there must be lots of marinade on the ribs. If I’m not going to get sauce all over my hands and face then forget about it. And lastly, there must actually be meat on the ribs. No one wants a rack of ribs from an emaciated pig that has no meat on it. I want meat! (Sorry to all you vego’s but this isn’t a post for you.) This particular Sunday Dunwoody’s was also serving a twist on their usual rack of ribs… Coca Cola Ribs. Sounds a bit weird huh? I ummed and ahhed about it and finally decided to order the standard ‘House Special Ribs’ since that is what I had come to Dunwoody’s for in the first place and it would be wrong to get anything else. I was in fact the only one at the table that ordered the ribs.
It didn’t take long for our meals to arrive but we were one of only two occupied tables in the restaurant. I ordered the regular serving and I was glad that I didn’t order the large serving for $28.95 because the regular serving with the chips and salad was more than enough for me. My family and I used to dine at Dunwoody’s regularly back when it was called Matilda’s (about 6 or 7 years ago) and for pub meals the food was suberb. I mean really good meals and consistently good but that was until the head chef there was poached by another restaurant. After that Dunwoody’s was never the same so we stopped going there. Until now. I have say it’s still not the same. The ribs were ok. The sauce was pretty bland and the ribs were quite fatty but for $15.95 you can’t really complain.
Regular BBQ Ribs (AU$15.95)
Let’s just say my meal at The Steakhouse at Dunwoody’s was mediocre at best and I probably wouldn’t go back for the ribs having now satisfied my curiosity. According to the rest of the table my friends meals were also pretty average and by the look of them, I tended to agree. The regular Supreme Pizza that JC ordered looked hmmm shall we say ‘less than gourmet and more like McCains’ and I wish I had gotten a picture of it. So it seems my search for ribs to match or even come close to the ‘Best Ribs of My Life’ is ongoing and ideally I’d like to find somewhere a little closer than Tennessee.
;
The Steakhouse at Dunwoody’s
317 Sheridan St, Cairns QLD 4870
Ph: (07) 4051 6822
Website: www.ourhotels.com.au/dunwoodys
Opening Hours: Mon – Thurs from 11.30 am till 2.30 pm, 5.30 pm till 9 pm, Fri – Sun from 11.30 am – 9 pm
$16.90 Lunch Specials @ Barnacle Bill’s, Cairns
I’m loving the amount of lunch specials that are available in Cairns at the moment. There really are so many to choose from thats it’s hard to keep track of them all (check out my ‘Lunch’ page). Having dined at both Splash and The Raw Prawn I decided that after walking past many, many times I would finally give Barnacle Bill’s a go. Last Friday I dined there with a group of friends and knew that some of the people that I was dining with had well, simple tastes. I guess this is why I chose Barnacle Bill’s in the first place for our Friday lunch catch-up. Still, there is something on the menu for everyone so I think this is why Barnacle Bill’s is always so busy at lunch time. Another reason is because they split the bill, which is perfect for group and business lunches and hard to find at Cairns restaurants.
I perused the menu and went with the Barramundi and Salad (Estuary Fish in Tempura Batter Served with Salad) but I’ll be honest there wasn’t really anything on the menu that excited me. Nothing on the menu stood out to me and made me think ‘That’s what I’m ordering!’ Our meals arrived in ample time. FW and TT also ordered the same dish as I did while across from me HT ordered the Pasta of the Day, which was a Creamy Salmon number. It was quite a large serve of pasta especially considering it was only $16.90 but HT claimed it was very bland. I tasted it and it was very bland. Half a bottle of Tabasco Sauce would have made it a little more worthwhile but then again everything tastes good with Tabasco Sauce.
Pasta of the Day – Creamy Salmon Pasta with Artichokes
My meal, as the menu explained it, was just two pieces of fish on a plate with a bit of salad and a very light soy type sauce that pretty much dissolved into nothing when I poured it over the fish. A bit of an odd sauce to have with tempura fish I think. Aioli or the old favourite Tartare Sauce would have been more memorable. The barramundi was cooked well and tasted nice and fresh. The batter encasing the fish was crisp and golden. I just wasn’t feeling it I guess. It must be said that FW and TT enjoyed their Barramundi and Salad lunch more than I did.
Barramundi and Salad – Estuary Fish in Tempura Batter Served with Salad
The menu at Barnacle Bill’s is varied but boring. There is 14 different dishes to choose from for $16.90 each and with menu items like Lasagna, Beef Curry, and Tandoori Chicken Pizza it certainly caters for the non-seafood eaters. Another possible reason why Barnacle Bill’s is such a popular lunch spot. The service was very good and the waiters were very jovial and chatty which is always nice when dining out since I have encountered some super miserable retaurant staff in recent times around Cairns. I guess my beef with the place is that I don’t think it’s anything special. I don’t understand why it’s so damn busy. I know that Barnacle Bill’s has been around nearly longer than I have so they must be doing something right but in my view the two restaurants on either side that I mentioned at the beginning of this post serve better food. It’s as simple as that. Barnacle Bill’s doesn’t need my endorsement. They seem to be doing pretty well already.
Barnacle Bill’s
103 The Esplanade, Cairns QLD 4870
Ph: (07) 4051 2241
Website: www.barnaclebills.com.au
Opening Hours: Lunch from 11.30 am daily and Dinner from 5 pm till late
Haveli @ Harbour Lights $15.90 Lunch Special, Cairns *CLOSED DOWN*
My quest to try all the lunch specials in Cairns continues! The latest lunch special on offer is at Cairns’ newest Indian restaurant Haveli at Harbour Lights. Yesterday a few friends and I went to Haveli to see what was on offer for their $15.90 lunch special. Now I am going to try and make this post a short one because not much needs to be said. Haveli finds itself in competition with other Indian restaurants in town namely Tandoori Oven, Marinades and Spicy Bite. I recently tried the $10.90 lunch special at newly relocated Tandoori Oven (I didn’t blog about it). I found their lunch special to be extremely ordinary especially when accompanied with the nearly 40 minute wait for our food when we were the only people in the restaurant. I won’t be going back for a second round at Tandoori Oven. I have already written a post on the lunch special on offer at one of Cairns’ oldest and award winning Indian restaurants, Marinades. I do rate the food at Marinades, however on a more recent trip there it seems to have slipped a little. I am also a little sick of repeatedly overlooking the cold receptions from the female host. Prior to lunch yesterday at Haveli, Marinades was my pick for a top Indian lunch in Cairns but I’m going to have to jump ship because… wow… the $15.90 lunch special at Haveli is fantastic!
When my friends and I arrived at Haveli @ Harbour Lights there was three occupied tables and one waiter (I am pretty sure he was the owner). We sat inside since it was a little too hot to eat curry outside, I don’t care how fast the ceiling fans are going. The owner poured us all a glass of water and took our drink orders. Much to my surprise he returned with our six drinks in what was easily less than five minutes. Four out of six of us ordered the $15.90 lunch special, while the other two ordered items off the Main Menu. The $15.90 lunch special consists of rice, two pappadums, choice of a vegetable curry (either a Vegetable Korma or Dal Makhani), choice of a meat curry (either Rogan Josh or Butter Chicken) and a Naan Bread (either Plain or Garlic Naan). Now with this lunch special you get a LOT of food but to get two thumbs up from me quality and quantity must go hand in hand. At Haveli you get both. The curries are not just all sauce with no meat – a common occurrence at Indian restaurants and takeaways. The Butter Chicken was absolutely delicious and I really enjoyed mopping up the sauce with my Garlic Naan bread, which was equally delicious. The Vegetable Korma was rich and creamy while the pappadums were delicate and crisp. My two friends that ordered from the Main Menu ordered the Lamb Biryani, the Vindaloo and the Malai Tikka. They too really enjoyed their meals and they even managed to get in on the action with our servings of Naan Bread and Rice because there was just so much.
I don’t want to rant on too much but it really was a great feed. MS commented that it was the best meal that he had eaten in Cairns for quite a while and I think his comment definitely had some truth to it. I have read a couple of reviews that people have posted online regarding Haveli being overpriced for dinner but I think this is the case for all Indian Restaurants. This is also the reason why I only dine at Indian restaurants for lunch so I can take advantage of the specials and cheaper prices. Get down to Haveli at Harbour Lights and check out their lunch special. The service is great and at $15.90 you simply can’t go wrong! A word of warning though… Make sure you have the rest of the day off because after your lunch you will be left feeling so satisfied that lying on the couch is pretty much the extent of what you will be doing.
Haveli @ Harbour Lights
2,1 Marlin Pde (Harbour Lights Hotel), Cairns QLD 4870
Ph: (07) 4041 3502
Opening Hours: Mon – Thurs 5 pm – 10 pm, Fri – Sun 11 am – 10 pm
Website: www.haveliatharbourlights.com.au
First House Vietnamese Cuisine, Spence St *CLOSED DOWN*
For a place that was not long ago seemingly barren of Vietnamese restaurants to dine at Cairns is now teeming with them! To name just a few that I have come across in the last week or so… Lan’s Vietnamese Restaurant (don’t rate it but that’s an entirely different post), Pho Viet in Orchid Plaza (yet to try but will keep you posted) and then there is First House Vietnamese Cuisine on Spence St. First House has taken over from what once was the Hare Krishna restaurant Gaura Nitai’s. It’s a simple yet quaint little restaurant across from newly refurbished The Jack (formerly Shennanigans). I first dined at this little gem with my family nearly a year ago and found it to be well worth the visit. At the time it had only been open for just over a week and we were the only people dining there but we gave it a go and were pleasantly surprised. First House owner Vincent is the previous manager of Cafe China (or was it Golden Boat) but has since moved on to the greener pastures or shall we say the steaming pho’s of First House Vietnamese Cuisine. Recently MS and I were looking for somewhere to dine for a late lunch in the city and popped into First House for a look. There was only two other occupied tables but it was after 2.30pm. The owner is super friendly and even remembered me from when I dined there with my family. I am pretty memorable I must admit (that’s a joke – or is it?). First House is run by Vincent and his equally pleasant son who’s name escapes me at present. MS ordered the Vietnam Style Hai Nan Chicken Rice (AU$15.80) while I stuck with what I always order when I dine at a Vietnamese Restaurant – the Pho (AU$12.80). It didn’t take long for our meals to arrive and they were delicious. MS’s Chicken Rice was a good lunch size and the chicken was succulent and tender. There are condiments on each table in the restaurant including XO Sauce and Hoi Sin. Having recently discovered Hoi Sin sauce MS happily ate his chicken and rice with a little drizzled over the top while stealing mouthfuls of Pho from my side of the table.
Vietnam Style Hai Nan Chicken Rice (AU$15.80)
Now to my Pho… It was superb. A nice big bowl, they weren’t stingy! The beef stock was rich and flavoursome unlike the less than appertising Pho that I was served at a particular Cairns restaurant starting with ‘B’ and ending with ‘obby’s’. There was so much that I couldn’t finish the whole thing but MS helped me out and now it seems that he too has quite a penchant for Pho. The garnishings of bean sprouts and Thai Basil that arrived on a separate little plate for me to add myself were super fresh and fragrant. YUM!
Pho Beef Rice Noodles Soup (AU$12.80)
The food at First House is fresh and authentic, the service is friendly and personable and although the place isn’t glamourous it just seems to work! Don’t let the tacky plastic table clothes and the flashing neon sign fool you as this all adds to the character of First House and the overall dining experience. There are lunch specials available between 12pm and 2.30pm 7 days a weeks (check out my ‘Lunch’ page). Pop in for a quiet lunch or dinner. You will be glad that you did. By the way did I mention that First House Vietnamese Cuisine is BYO? Oh yeah.
First House Vietnamese Cuisine
55 Spence St, Cairns QLD 4870
Ph: (07) 4051 5153
Opening Hours: Open 7 days 11am – 3pm and 5pm – 9pm including Public Holidays
Eat in or takeaway
2-4-1 Locals Meals @ Green Ant Cantina, Bunda St
As a regular driver along Bunda St I can’t help but notice the hive of activity at the Green Ant Cantina on any given night. The Green Ant (as it is more commonly referred) is a gathering place for backpackers and locals alike. I first dined at the Green Ant Cantina a couple of years ago for a friends birthday and didn’t rate the place. I found it too noisy, the food took a very long time to come out (at least 45 minutes) and when it did it wasn’t very good. However, a few years down the track after reading a few positive Facebook status updates from friends I decided to give it another go.
Tuesday nights are 2-4-1 locals night on presentation of I.D so this seemed the perfect time for M.S and I to check it out. The whole place was seemingly overflowing with people both out the front, inside around the bar and out the back in the beer garden, still we managed to snavel ourselves a booth outside in the beer garden after ordering our meals (a grand total of AU$26 thank you 2-4-1!). My expectations weren’t very high I must admit and after seeing the amount of people that were at the Green Ant I thought we would be waiting a long time for our meals. I was wrong. We waited 15 minutes maximum and were both very surprised when the girl arrived at our table carrying our meals.
I ordered the Enchiladas, soft flour tortillas stuffed with mexi marinated chicken oven baked and topped with tasty cheese and fresh salsa served with fresh green salad and sour cream (AU$26). I tend to find Mexican food very rich and cheesy which is why I don’t eat it very often (maybe rich and cheesy is the point?) but I didn’t find this meal too rich at all, in fact I quite enjoyed it and have been looking forward to going back ever since.
Enchiladas (AU$26)
MS ordered the Chiquita Chicken Quesadilla, grilled 12″ tortilla folded and stuffed with mexi-marinated chicken, tasty cheese, spanish onion and roasted red capsicum served with sour cream, fresh salsa and homemade guacamole on the side (AU$23). I think his expectations weren’t very high (that may have been my partly fault) but MS really enjoyed his meal and when he finished it there was nothing left except for a couple of pieces of cheese and some salsa. Like me I think he is also looking forward to going back again soon.
Chiquita Chicken Quesadilla (AU$23)
The 2-4-1 locals special on Tuesday night makes for a cheap, yet tasty dinner. Having said that I probably wouldn’t dine at the Green Ant if the meals weren’t 2-4-1 because I think 26 odd dollars per meal is a little bit expensive especially considering you have to order your food at the bar and it is a backpacker hangout (aren’t those places supposed to be dirt cheap?). Still I’m happy to pay AU$26 for two very tasty meals and although the food at the Green Ant is not your true Mexican fare it is close enough and having tried the other two Mexican restaurants in town (that will remain unnamed) I think it’s by far the best in Cairns.
Green Ant Cantina
183 Bunda St, QLD 4870
Ph: (07) 4041 5061
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat 4pm till late
Website: www.greenantcantina.com
Breakfast @ Mama Coco, Westcourt
I have been a little slack lately with keeping my blog up to date and writing regular entries. I admit I have had a couple of weeks off. Not a couple of weeks off eating out, just the writing about it part. This whole dining out thing is a tough gig. Who am I kidding I love it! Moving along, its not very often that MS and I get our act together early enough to get to breakfast before 11am. Now before you judge me and think that I’m a bum and all I do is eat out and sleep in. That’s not the case at all. Let’s just say our jobs though entirely different are very accommodating of this lifestyle (no I’m not doing anything illegal). Now I’m getting off track…
Last Thursday we managed to get our act together and decide on a place for breakfast before 11am. In my last Mama Coco post I said that I wanted to try their breakfast and although I have tried it once before time got away from me and I didn’t end up writing a post about it. This time however I am putting pen to paper, so to speak and what a great breakfast it was. A few months ago I introduced MS to the world of Mama Coco (a cafe I discovered through a friend earlier this year) and he seems pretty taken with it too. In fact I have noticed that Mama Coco has quite a large local gathering. The first time I ate at Mama Coco I found myself wondering how a little cafe out of the main thoroughfare (by that I mean the city) can survive in what is tough times for Cairns but 6 months down the track I can see that this place is doing a roaring trade because of the quality food and good old fashioned service provided by Davey and his team.
The breakfast menu is reasonably priced and has a nice range of things to choose from. The avocado on toast with coriander, lime and chilli almost had me but since I’m sticking to a low carb type arrangement (well sort of) I decided to go for the Omelette of the Day which was Ricotta Cheese, Roasted Tomatoes and Asparagus for AU$13. YUM! MS went for the closest thing to a big breakfast that he could get and chose the Dexy Special: poached eggs with all the sides (roast pumpkin, mushroom, bacon, slow roasted tomato and pesto) for AU$15. When our food came out I think MS had food envy when he looked at my omelette. Not to say that his didn’t look awesome but my omelette looked better and tasted delicious. The tomatoes were sweet, the asparagus was crisp and the ricotta cheese was plentiful. I would go as far to say that this omelette was in fact the best one I have ever had (although I have probably eaten fewer than 10 omelettes in my lifetime) .
Omelette of the Day – Ricotta Cheese, Asparagus and Roasted Tomatoes (AU$13)
MS was very happy with his brekky. It had plenty of bacon (he LOVES bacon), the poached eggs were perfectly poached and not overcooked, the mushrooms were big and juicy and the roasted pumpkin gave it that little bit extra bang. He did however steal a taste of my omelette but I got some pumpkin and mushroom too so it was only fair.
Dexy Special: poached eggs with all the sides (AU$15)
I continue to go to Mama Coco because the food is good and I mean consistently good. That is hard to find in Cairns, it really is. It does get quite busy at lunchtime and you may have to wait a little bit longer for your food but that’s a given. Mama Coco is a great little place where you feel like everyone knows your name (sounds super soppy I know but its true). Janelle makes great coffee and always serves you with a smile. Davey is a fantastic cook, always smiling and damn does he work hard! I will endeavour to drag my butt out of bed and get to Mama Coco before 11am more often!
Mama Coco:
Shop 4, 196 Mulgrave Road Westcourt QLD 4870
Ph: (07) 40521227
Website: www.mamacoco.com.au
Bobby’s Vietnamese and Chinese Restaurant, Cairns
Ok so last Monday night curiosity got the better of me much to MS’s dismay and we ventured on down to Bobby’s Vietnamese and Chinese Restaurant since neither of us had the energy to cook. We had one of those 2-4-1 vouchers from The Cairns Post so I figured ‘yeah why not it can’t be all bad’. I have heard from a few other people that the food isn’t very good but this is one of those instances where I had to try it for myself. And you know what? The food isn’t very good. The service was, well, pretty good. The staff, even though a couple didn’t speak English, were attentive and served us with a smile. I ordered a Pho Tai – Vietnamese Beef Rice Noodle Soup (AU$13.90) and MS ordered the Crispy Skinned Chicken with Lemon Sauce and Fried Rice (AU$19.40). I have only had Beef Pho once before and this was at the Mindil Beach Markets in Darwin at a stall that was reputed to sell the Best Pho in Darwin or the NT or something like that. And let me tell you it was amazing (see my previous post ‘Mindil Beach Markets’). This Pho at Bobby’s, however was not quite as nice as my previous Pho. Yeah it was big, there was lots of noodles, I had fresh chilli and herbs to garnish my Pho with but the broth just tasted like beef stock. It wasn’t anything special. No delicious aroma wafting from my bowl of Pho. I couldn’t taste the yummy sweet and sour flavours in my broth. I was pretty disappointed.
Pho Tai – Vietnamese Beef Rice Noodle Soup (AU$13.90)
After MS’s initial mistake of thinking that the chicken was boneless, he spent the next 20 minutes or so (the time that it took him to eat his meal) picking bones out. I might add that it was his own fault for not reading the menu properly. Still, he said the meal was good.
Crispy Skinned Chicken with Lemon Sauce and Fried Rice (AU$19.40)
Again, nothing special or anything to write home about (definitely something to write a post about however). The restaurant itself had about 8 tables occupied with both locals and tourists in the mix. The atmosphere wasn’t very inviting and it was more like dining at the Night Markets rather than a restaurant as stated in the name. Needless to say I have satisfied my curiosity. I can make my own Beef Stock at home and call it Pho. I wouldn’t have gone there had we not had a 2-4-1 voucher and now I probably won’t be going there if I do, at least not to get noodles anyway. Sorry Bobby but your claim to having the ‘Best Noodles in Town’ just doesn’t stand with me.
Bobby’s Vietnamese and Chinese Restaurant
Ph: (07) 4051 8877
Address: 5 Aplin St, Cairns City
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm 7 days
Website: www.bobbysrestaurant.com.au
$10 Dozen Oysters @ Yorkeys Knob Boat Club
I have a huge appetite for oysters, natural and kilpatrick, they’re both amazing! Every Saturday for a limited time Driftaways Restaurant and Bar at Yorkeys Knob Boat Club are serving natural and kilpatrick South Australian oysters for just $10 a dozen from 10am. The oysters are super tasty and yeah, ok, they aren’t enormous but who cares? Are you listening to me? They are $10 a dozen! Get to Yorkey’s Knob Boat Club on a Saturday and enjoy the views and the oysters!
Yorkeys Knob Boating Club
25-29 Buckley St, Yorkeys Knob QLD 4878
Ph: (07) 4055 7711
Opening Hours: Mon – Thur 10am – midnight, Fri 9am – 2am, Sat 8am-2am, Sun 8am – midnight
Website: www.ykbc.com.au
Breakfast @ Frame Espresso, Cairns
My new haunt for a late breakfast and a divine cup of coffee is new cafe Frame Espresso located on the Upward St side of Frame Oz Images. This uber cool cafe has only been open for a couple of weeks so it still remains a little bit of a secret and although I would love for it to stay that way I understand that for a cafe to stay open I can’t just have it all to myself.
My man friend MS and I rocked into Frame Espresso on Tuesday morning for a light breakfast and a cup of coffee after a bit of morning exercise (and I do mean exercise). On arrival we met Eddie, the owner of Frame Oz Images who was most friendly as he introduced himself, Gary and Justin the Barista while happily chatting about his new business venture that is Frame Espresso. The cafe is accessible through the front door of Frame Oz Images or around the side on Upward St. Outside there is a deck area with tables and chairs complete with an awning for shade from the afternoon sun. Inside diners will find beautifully finished large wooden benches and round tables with a myriad of magazines for the homemaker at heart along with a few fresh copies of The Cairns Post to enjoy with your morning coffee. The art, wall decor and furniture on show at Frame Oz Images is most certainly incorporated into the design and layout of Frame Espresso enabling the diner to admire the art while they are enjoying their coffee.
I ordered a Cappuccino and Poached Eggs on Toast with Rocket, plus extras of Tomato Chutney and fresh slices of Avocado, which cost me less than AU$15. I was advised that the bread on that particular day was freshly baked (not by them) Pane Di Casa, however the type of bread available does change regularly. The rocket was fresh, the eggs perfectly poached and the Tomato Chutney and fresh Avocado ideal extras.
Poached Eggs on Toast with Rocket, a Side of Avocado and Tomato Chutney (AU$14.60)
MS ordered the Scrambled Eggs on Toast with Leg Ham Off the Bone, Rocket and a side of Pesto as well as a Cappuccino again for less than AU$15. He gave it two thumbs up and ate the lot along with additional large cup of coffee.
Scrambled Eggs on Toast with Rocket and a Side of Pesto (AU$9.50)
Now the breakfasts aren’t enormous, like one particularly popular breakfast establishment in town that will remain unnamed but it was the perfect size for MS and I and like I said the coffee made by both Gary and Justin was divine! (Extra thumbs up for the Cappuccino art!)
My Cappuccino (AU$4.50)
Frame Espresso also does pastries and tasty salads for lunch with a selection of cakes and slices on display in their food cabinet (I’m definitely coming back for a piece of the Baklava I spotted in there). I was most impressed not only with the food and coffee at Frame Espresso but also the funky layout, very reasonable prices and friendly service we received. Plus anywhere that has a fresh copy of the newspaper for my perusal gets another thumbs up from me! Sssshhhhh.
Frame Espresso
105 McLeod St, Cairns QLD 4870
Ph: (07) 4031 1776
Open: Mon – Sat 7am – 3pm
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