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The Rising Sun, Palm Cove
A couple of weekends ago I put up a post on my Facebook page not long ago asking for suggestions for a birthday breakfast out at the beaches – my birthday breakfast in fact. I received numerous suggestions from my followers and despite what the majority said I ended up booking a table at The Rising Sun at Palm Cove. I figured I had an Entertainment Book voucher and I enjoyed dinner there (mostly) a couple of years ago so it was worth a try right? I made a booking for 6 people and we met out at Palm Cove early one Sunday morning. When we turned up we were the only people in the restaurant bar one other occupied table – a couple of what looked like tourists. I found this a little strange considering everywhere else I passed on the way in seemed to be quite busy, especially the Chill Cafe which was almost spilling over it was that full. Couple that with the stunning weather that day and by all my calculations The Rising Sun should have had far more people dining there. I briefly considered going to the Chill Café or Vivo down the road but I figured we were here now and I’d already made a booking.
Half of my family were already there when I arrived however two were running about 10-15 minutes late. The waitress handed out some menus and walked away with absolutely no mention of ordering coffees in the meantime. She returned about 5 minutes later asking if we were ready to order yet. Umm well no because two people still hadn’t arrived. She returned on two more occasions asking if we were ready to order yet each time sounding a little more annoyed than the last. She came back again no more than a minute after the last person turned up and asked one last time. Lets for a moment consider that maybe this person hasn’t even had a chance to look at the menu yet? Alas common sense did not prevail that day.
Anyway so we ordered our breakfasts finally (heaven forbid should the waitress have to wait on others) whilst I sipped on my horrendously bad coffee which took far longer than it should have to arrive. About 15 minutes later our breakfasts arrived in dribs and drabs. First of all my mum’s breakfast, the Baked Mexican Eggs, arrived. Mum, who has recently decided she wants to be a vegetarian (although I support her in her endeavours I give her till Christmas Day), asked if there was any meat in the Mexican Eggs when she ordered. Apparently there was so she asked if there was a vegetarian alternative. The waitress got the confirmation that was ok from the chef however mum had a sneaking suspicion that they simply scooped the bits of meat out of her dish and then served it to her. Considering how our breakfast was paning out, I actually wouldn’t be at all surprised. Mum said that it lacked flavour and didn’t enjoy it very much.
Baked Mexican Eggs with Chilli Beans, Salsa and Toasted Tortilla for $19
Next up my brothers girlfriend GH had ordered the Rainforest Honey Granola with Poached Fruit and Mungalli Yogurt for AU$10. Now despite the fact that the near incompetent waitress had given her a fork to eat the damn thing it was literally a bowl of nuts with yogurt on it. Just to be sure I did a quick Google search to check that the rest of the world agrees on what I think granola is – yep just as I suspected… it’s muesli although I didn’t spy any form of grain in this so-called granola. GH said that the yogurt was very sour and had to ask the waiter for some honey to put on top to sweeten it up. Wasn’t it supposed to be Rainforest Honey Granola, I’m confused…
Rainforest Honey Granola with Poached Fruit and Mungalli Yogurt for $10
To my left my dad ordered the Benny Royale – poached eggs, smoked salmon, muffin and lime hollandaise for AU$19. He said it was pretty good although he said he didn’t like the plain old ‘straight out of a packet’ English Muffin that was underneath. I personally think the portion size was far too small for $19 – a rort if you ask me.
Benny Royale with Poached Eggs, Smoked Salmon, Muffin and Lime Hollandaise for $19
And then sitting towards the end of the table was myself, my sister and my brothers girlfriends mother KH. We all ordered various versions of the Stockman’s Free Range eggs – poached eggs on toast for AU$9 with a few sides to ‘jazz it up’. My house made beans were forgotten and then when they arrived they were still cold in the middle, the roast cherry tomatoes were also forgotten and we got two dishes of minted labne when we only ordered one. It really was the most visually lacking breakfast I think I have ever laid eyes on. I will however say that the Zucchini Pickles that I ordered on the side were quite delicious but this didn’t make up for the sheer lack of organisation that should go hand in hand with eating out.
Stockman’s Free Range Eggs – Poached, Scrambled or Fried with Toast for $9
Zucchini Pickle for $3
So there you have it – despite the awesome company my birthday breakfast turned out to be quite a disaster. It seems quite ironic that the person (me) that lives, eats and breathes dining out chose one of the worst places to go for her own birthday breakfast. I must also give a small mention to the presence of ants in the dining area. All three people sitting across from me complained on ants crawling over them while they ate (and yes although we were technically at the beach, we were sitting inside). And whilst the food left a lot to be desired, it was the service that was most lacking. Both the wait staff on hand appeared to be lacking certain ‘people skills’ that I think are mandatory when serving in a restaurant.
You may think I am being a little harsh but frankly my dear I don’t give a damn. This sort of thing sh*t’s me to tears. It’s because of restaurants like this that I started this blog in the first place – I like to call them tourist traps. These tourist traps are located in well frequented areas of Cairns with clientele that are mostly tourists who most likely won’t return. These restaurants seem to have missed the point of serving decent food or providing half decent service because it doesn’t really matter to them either way. Any Cairns local reading this knows there are plenty of restaurants that fit this description in the Cairns area and you know what? It’s not ok. It doesn’t matter if you’re a tourist or a local, if you pay the money to dine out you should reap the damn benefits! Such a shame because the last time I dined at The Rising Sun (for dinner) it was actually pretty good. It turns out I learnt a valuable lesson that day… When you ask your readers for advice on where to go for a birthday breakfast out at the beaches, majority rules and I’m still kicking myself for not listening.
P.S: For those of you wondering what the majority ruled on… It was the Lime Tree out at Trinity Beach.
Eato’s, Cairns
Like most people I am always in search of somewhere new to eat out and experience. In the past few days I’ve had two different people mention a newish café on Grafton Street that I had not yet heard of called Eato’s. True to form I did a drive by late yesterday afternoon to scope out the place and stalk their menu – MS is well used to pulling over the car so that I can look at menu’s in the windows of random restaurants and cafe’s around the city. Then, yesterday after hearing about it from my friend HH the second time we decided to stop in for lunch.
Eato’s is not just a ‘newish café on Grafton Street’ but also a non profit organisation funded by the Australian Government that employs school leavers and people that have been unemployed for 12 months or more – it’s also sponsored by Neato Employment Services and Power of Pellets (more on them at the end of this post). According to Wikipedia a non profit organisation is ‘an organisation that uses surplus revenues to achieve it’s goals rather than distributing them as profit or dividends’ and proceeds of all sales at Eato’s go to FNQ Hospital Foundation, YAPS, Harald’s House and Ruth’s Women’s Shelter. Down the southern end of Grafton Street Eato’s occupies the old space that was once the long standing, fondue serving Swiss Inn. (Possibly also a Thai place for a short time?)
Back to our lunch… HH and I were greeted at the door and shown into the dining area by the friendly waitress who provided us with menu’s and water and directed us towards the counter for when we were ready to order. HH who’d had coffee there earlier in the week gushed about the pallet furniture that is not only part of the décor at Eato’s but also up for sale, again with profits going to charity. In fact according to their menu everything is for sale, including their staff. Sadly though for HH the white three piece set that he wanted so badly for his garden had already been sold – yet to be picked up, although there is more on it’s way.
SOLD!
We had a look over the menu and although there is an All Day Breakfast Menu that sounds bloody awesome (Pulled Pork Eggs Benedict anyone?) it was nearly 2pm so I decided on something from the lunch menu. I ordered the Shredded Organic Chicken in an Ash Roll with Mixed Baby Leaf, Lime and Yuzu Mayonnaise (AU$15) while HH went with the Risotto Special for AU$21. Not long after ordering one of the lovely ladies at Eato’s who goes by the name of Shannon came out to inform me that they had run out of organic chicken and wanted to know if I would like pulled pork on it instead. Shhhh-yeah! Not exactly a bad thing in my book!
Whilst waiting for our lunch HH and I discussed important matters such as chewing gum at the table and phone etiquette. Although I am known to be on my phone and in particular social media quite a lot I do know when to put my phone down and am a strong believer in ones phone being on silent as well as no texting or checking Facebook whilst dining in the company of others. It’s just plain rude and I’m forever telling my younger brother to stop scrolling through Instagram (*insert shameless plug* follow me on food_vixen) and put his phone down whenever I have dinner with him. Low and behold it turns out HH shares my same ‘no phones allowed’ views as I am sure would much of the *ahem* older generation. But quick just let me take a photo of my lunch…
Our beautifully presented lunch dishes arrived during the course of our conversation and we dug in. The plentiful pork in place of the chicken was definitely a winner with just the right amount of mayonnaise mixed through it – although I am sure the organic chicken would be just as nice. The roll was fresh and the salad was crunchy. I also really enjoyed the little side salad topped off with some crunchy pepitas.
Shredded Organic Chicken *ahem Pork* in an Ash Roll with Mixed Baby Leave, Lime and Yuzu Mayonnaise – $15
HH’s Risotto Special was, well, forgive me but I actually have no idea because I didn’t ask however we both decided that it was Pumpkin Risotto. The portion wasn’t particularly big but with creamy, rich food like risotto smaller portions are usually better unless you want someone to roll you out the front door and back to the office after your hefty lunch. HH ate the lot and said that it was lovely.
Risotto Special – $21
Halfway through our lunch we caught sight of an epic tiered pavlova that another customer had ordered at the table right behind us. Unfortunately for us though, it was the last one left for the day and instead Shannon recommended the Frangipane Tart which she said was so good the chef was making it for her wedding on Christmas Day. Sounded pretty irresistable so HH and I ordered a Frangipane Tart to share between us. This tart was absolutely beautiful to look at so much so that I almost didn’t want to stick my fork in and mess it up. It was crunchy on the outside and soft and sweet on the inside – yum!
Frangipane Tart (a steal for only $5)
All this yummy food yet I have failed to mention one important part about Eato’s… The kitchen is run by Thala Beach Resort’s ex Head Chef Catherine Pacey. As Shannon (who is also Catherine’s cousin) explained to HH and I, Cath took up the position at Eato’s to do something a little different and give back to the community. She is using her skills from many years as an Executive Chef to create a hands on learning environment where she can teach different cooking techniques to students and those that are unemployed. It’s a unique concept that I am pretty sure is new to Cairns and even better when their focus is on using fresh local ingredients and supporting local suppliers.
This is a really great initiative and I urge you guys to get behind it however please be mindful that this is a training kitchen and things may not always go to plan but good things are happening at Eato’s I promise you that! At Eato’s the staff are lovely, the menu sounds so good it’s hard to settle on just one thing and the atmosphere is well, caring and friendly I guess are the best words to describe it. The only bad thing that I can really say about Eato’s is that because it’s a government run organisation that means government hours. ‘Monday to Friday 7am – 3pm’ translates to ‘you better get down there today to get your feed of Pulled Pork Egg’s Benedict or you will have to wait till next week’. I personally don’t think I can wait that long…
PS: The Power of Pallets is an organisation that is recycling timber pallets into useful items for local charities and organisations. Be sure to check them out on Facebook!
Eato’s
45 Grafton St, Cairns QLD 4870
Opening Hours: Mon to Fri 7am – 3pm
Paleo Cafe, Cairns
The Paleo Cafe opened on Grafton Street in October last year after much anticipation from many Cairns locals and crossfit enthusiasts. Since it opened I have dined there a few times for both breakfast and lunch. I also regularly drop in for a Cocoa, Honey, Banana, Almond Milk and Coconut Milk smoothie for AU$7 because I think it’s bloody delicious (on the other hand MS thinks it’s revolting). Most recently myself, MS and a couple of my girlfriends went to the Paleo Cafe for a catch up and a healthy breakfast after I had a look over the weekly menu that arrived in my inbox and spotted something that I simply had to try. I’m not an avid follower of the Paleo Diet, nor do I particularly care if what I am eating contains gluten, dairy or all of the above but regardless of what your intentions are there is something on the menu at the Paleo Cafe for everyone. Although it’s technically a cafe half of the shop is made up of a retail section where you can purchase a variety of paleo style goodies including pre-made meals, coconut ice cream, sauces, supplements, cookbooks and even skin care products. If you haven’t heard about the Paleo Diet yet then you must be living under a rock (or in a cave). I’m not going to go into a spiel about what the Paleo Diet is because those that care already know and those that don’t care, well they just don’t care. I’m just here to talk about the food…
Cocoa, Banana, Honey, Almond Milk and Coconut Milk Smoothie (AU$7)
MS and I arrived first and proceeded to umm and ahh over whether or not it was best to sit inside or outside. In the end inside won because it was a little cold and windy outside (for Cairns anyway). We moved a couple of tables together to accommodate our group of five (it ended up being four), collected a couple more menus from the counter and took a seat. Soon our breakfast buddies arrived and after a bit of a catch up and an explanation why the fifth person didn’t come (apparently ST’s boyfriend is a little shy and chose to stay at home) we each had a look over the menu.
Since it was MS’ turn to shout breakfast he headed up to the counter to order breakfast and coffee’s for the two of us closely followed by ST and MD. After some confusion at our table as to who was collecting the cutlery we all sat back down and waited for our coffee’s and meals to arrive. Call me a nit picker but if there are items on the breakfast menu upwards of AU$20 (that’s an expensive breakfast) then I don’t think it’s too much to expect cutlery and napkins to be brought to the table by the waitstaff rather than patrons having to collect it from the counter. A good 15 minutes later, mine and MS’ coffees arrived and then another 5 minutes later MD’s arrived and another 5 minutes after that ST’s arrived. The coffee procession was a little disjointed and certainly could have happened sooner but the coffees were good none the less.
My Long Black
About five minutes later three of our four breakfasts arrived at the table. A good five minutes after that ST’s breakfast arrived. She had ordered at pretty much the same time as the rest of us so I saw no reason why hers took that little bit longer, plus she had ordered the exact same thing as MD. Both MD and ST chose the Paleo Free Range Eggs Benedict served on Savoury Bread and Spinach with Smoked Salmon for AU$18. I ordered the Breakfast Special of Pulled Pork with Wilted Spinach, Poached Eggs and Paleo Bread for AU$16 while MS whom I had pinned for the Caveman’s Big Breakfast from the moment we walked in ordered the Bacon and Free Range Eggs served with Spinach and a Sweet Potato Rosti with two extra eggs and avocado for AU$16 + $4 for the extra eggs + $3 for the avocado. It seems there was a little bit of confusion with the extra eggs and they were included with my Pulled Pork breakfast instead of MS’ which we pointed out to the waitress when she placed our plates down in front of us. She said that she could take them back to the kitchen and switch them but we declined and just transferred them ourselves – easy done but a mix up none the less.
ST and MD both enjoyed their Eggs Benedict with the sauce zesty and creamy but not overpowering and sickly like some Hollandaise Sauces tend to be. ST said she wasn’t too sure about the paleo bread (aka she didn’t like it) but MD said that she really liked it although she tried not to think of it as bread. Baker’s Delight sourdough it certainly is not but I tended to agree with MD and really like the taste and crumbly consistency of it. You still can’t beat a couple of freshly toasted slices of ciabatta bread though that’s for sure!
Paleo Free Range Eggs Benedict served on Savoury Bread and Spinach with Smoked Salmon (AU$18)
The half an avocado that MS ordered as extra was a lovely and fresh, as you would expect since the Paleo Cafe is situated right across the road from Rusty’s Market. The sweet potato rosti was a little bit dry and undercooked while the four poached eggs were well overcooked. The wilted spinach however, was a nice addition. He was pretty happy with it, eating the lot and then eying my breakfast.
Bacon and Free Range Eggs served with Spinach and a Sweet Potato Rosti with two extra eggs and avocado (AU$16 + $4 for the extra eggs + $3 for the avocado)
The serving sizes were decent – the smoked salmon with the Eggs Benedict was generous and my plate had a huge pile of pulled pork which was delicious and tender with just the right amount of sweetness to it. Unfortunately the eggs were closer to hard-boiled than poached – no runny eggs makes me a sad panda.
Poached? More like hard boiled.
In the end I couldn’t quite finish the pulled pork so much to MS’ delight he finished it off for me. It was delicious, just too much for little old me. It’s actually a shame that this dish isn’t included on the regular menu because I think it’s a winner.
Breakfast Special of Pulled Pork with Wilted Spinach, Poached Eggs and Paleo Bread (AU$16)
We all had a very enjoyable breakfast with the food being both fresh and tasty. The service and the food was however quite disjointed we were always served with a smile. There are a couple of lunch items that definitely caught my eye like the Thai Green Papaya and Cashew Salad and the Slow Cooked Pork Belly but for the most part the lunch menu doesn’t really appeal to me – it’s just all a little too plain. I caught a glimpse of the Spinach, Pumpkin and Pine Nut Salad for AU$15 and there didn’t appear to be a whole lot to it other than spinach (barely any pumpkin or pine nuts). When I went there for lunch a few months ago I had the Curry of the Day which was a Thai Green Curry Served with Cauliflower Rice and Flat Bread for AU$16 and it was pretty ordinary, particularly the Cauliflower Rice. I’m not usually one to pay upwards of AU$15 for something that not is boring but tastes boring. Why someone would want to eat Cauliflower ‘Rice’ or Zucchini ‘Pasta’ by choice is beyond me but I guess it’s each to their own. But… then again that is what the whole concept of eating paleo is – getting back to healthy basics.
Another thing I’m not a fan of with the Paleo Cafe is the atmosphere, or lack thereof. The retail section over to one side of the shop as well as the stark polished concrete and the white plastic tables make the whole place seem a little sterile. It just doesn’t have the nice, cozy cafe feel to it that most people seek when dining out. Still, if the amount of people who were dining in there today when I walked past is anything to go by then maybe it’s just me that feels this way. There is also a number of franchises in the works around Australia and even inquiries for places as far-reaching as Canada. As I said at the beginning of this post, I’m not going to go into the details of exactly what the paleo diet entails and although it may not appeal to everyone many people consider it to be more of ‘lifestyle’ than a diet. If the current trend towards the paleo diet continues as does the global obesity epidemic then maybe a rise in restaurants that serve basic, healthy food such as the Paleo Cafe isn’t such a bad thing after all?
Paleo Cafe
Shop 15, 62 Grafton St, Cairns QLD 4870
Ph: (07) 4041 3885
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat 7am – 3pm
Website: http://www.paleo-cafe.com.au
Mother’s Day Brunch @ Bazaar, Port Douglas
As planned months in advance and after my awesome dinner at Bazaar at the QT Resort in Port Douglas my family and I (plus a few extras) headed up there again for Mother’s Day brunch last Sunday. After many a ‘cheat dinner’ for MS and I we were looking forward to a ‘cheat breakfast’ for a change. I called up about two weeks prior to make a booking for 11 people and while on the phone I asked the guy on the other end what kind of food they would be serving out of interest and so MS and I could prepare ourselves for what was to come. The guy had no idea what they were going to serve and after putting me on hold to ask around the restaurant he came back with a blank. All he knew was that it was buffet style but had no idea what kind of food they would have. He apologised that he couldn’t be of any help to me but I was still disappointed that he couldn’t tell me anything. The Mother’s Day Brunch at Bazaar was being held from 10am – 12pm and AU$28 for adult’s and AU$15 for children with a glass of bubbly for mum on arrival. Being the highly organised person that I am (the majority of the time) and not wanting to follow in my mother’s foot steps of arriving late to every goddamn thing MS and I +2 arrived 30 minutes before the start time. I think I overestimated the time it took to drive to Port just a little. (Here’s a bit of trivia for you – apparently the head breakfast chef at Bazaar is Sri Lankan and also Mohamed Al-Fayed’s personal chef for 20 years.)
The four of us grabbed a seat near the bar and waited for 10am to arrive. The rest of my family, true to form, were still driving along the range anyway so there wasn’t a whole lot we could do. I saw heaps of people coming in and out of the restaurant with plates of food and sitting at the tables and chairs near the bar so I figured I would head on over and see what was going on. I was told by the girl at the counter that the brunch didn’t start for another 16 minutes and I could come back then. She could have fooled me because it looked like the service had already begun but I assumed that the people digging into the food must be the dregs from the resort’s breakfast buffet. I thought it was a bit strange considering that we only had 16 minutes till the Mother’s Day Brunch which was to be served in the same restaurant. Anyway I went and sat back down with my party of three and while we waited we drooled over the food being eaten around us. Croissants, pancakes and kransky’s, oh my.
Eventually the rest of our group arrived and wishing the four mother’s a Happy Mother’s Day we went and joined the large queue that had formed out the front of the restaurant. After about 20 minutes we finally made it to the front. We paid our brunch money and our table was given a ticket for the lucky door prize which I hung onto for safe keeping. One of the waitresses led us over to our table which was situated directly in the sun out on the deck and might I add the ONLY table in the sun out on the deck. The feisty one of our group TT politely told them that we weren’t going to sit there and to find us another table. I really don’t understand why someone would make the ridiculous decision to have one table out in the stinking hot mid-morning sun. Anyway so they moved us out of the sun and onto a smaller table (it was really only a table for 8) where we were all crammed in and to cut a long story short we complained about that table and ended up moving to the one next to it. We weren’t being difficult but from the get go I could see that this whole she-bang (aka Mother’s Day Brunch) was very poorly thought out and not very well executed. The powers that be eventually moved another group to the table in the sun but moved in a couple of poolside umbrellas for a bit of shade (in hindsight that probably would have been a smart thing to do before diners arrived). By the time we had waited in line, paid, moved tables twice it was already 10.30am the worms were biting. One of the waitresses poured out glasses of champagne for the mum’s at our table (my dad also managed to get in on the act), which surprisingly enough was the rather expensive French Champagne Moet and Chandon. To be honest, I was expecting some el-cheapo champagne to come out and mum nearly fell off her chair when she saw the Moet label on the bottle.
The first station of the buffet (the one that is the salad station at the dinner buffet) was full of juices (apple, orange and pineapple) in small milk-type bottle with straws. These were being replenished regularly as they looked to be pretty popular. Next to that was four different types of, well I didn’t know what they were because there was no signs. I asked a waitress that just so happened to be walking past and she said the one was a passion-fruit yogurt drink, the next was bircher muesli, the third one was a mixed berry smoothie and on the end in the shot glasses was watermelon and lime shots. The watermelon in the shots had separated from the lime juice but they were still really yummy! I grabbed an orange juice and another watermelon and lime shot for myself and left them back at my table to be consumed with my breakfast. Station no. 2 was pretty much all cut up bits of fresh fruit. It looked good but I wasn’t there to eat fruit and I don’t think anyone else was either since I didn’t see anyone serving themselves fruit that morning.
Orange Juice
We all headed up to the buffet to take a look at what was on offer. There was already a large line of people hovering around the hot food station serving themselves what was on offer. I managed to snavel one of the mini Egg’s Benedict’s with poached eggs on top an English muffin with spinach and hollandaise sauce before they disappeared onto the plates of other awaiting diners. There was some sort of cold meat that I thought was a strange looking bacon but soon realised that it wasn’t when another chef brought out a plate of real bacon. I don’t know what it was. It looked like pastrami. Also at the buffet there was baked beans, a large bowl of chick peas (WTF?), fried eggs, scrambled eggs, poached eggs, hash browns, French toast, roasted tomato, some sort of creamy potato and mushroom thing that everyone was picking the mushrooms out of, baked veggies with capsicum and garlic in it and mini cheese kransky’s. And that was about it. I arrived to a large dish that had the leftovers of some sort of red sauce in it and MS informed me that it was bacon with BBQ sauce but I was obviously too late. The chef removed the dish and it was never replaced. The pancakes that we had drooled over had run out and one of the chef’s was busily trying to make some more. However, the pancakes that he did make were taken in about 3 seconds flat by a large pancake line that never seemed to subside. Let’s just say the chef never managed to get on top of that pancake line. Once the French toast had run out that was it for the French toast as well. The baked veggies with capsicum and garlic ran out quickly and were replaced by the large dish of chick peas that of course no one had eaten with a couple of pieces of zucchini tossed in with it. Pretty poor substitute if you ask me. Next to the hot buffet was a large stand with bread and toasters on it but there were no croissants to be found. If I hadn’t seen them on other peoples plates when we first arrived then I wouldn’t have even known that there was any croissants. Additionally, I have no frigin idea what other sweet selections and pastries were there before hand but when I got there at about 10.45am there was only empty wooden boards with a few measly crumbs remaining and a handful of ordinary looking muffins.
Suffice to say that in between all the pushing and shoving to get what little selection of food that was left I didn’t managed to get any photos of the breakfast except for the one photo that I took when I returned with my plate to the table. I am not going to write a whole lot more on this topic because frankly it pisses me off. I was disappointed, MS was disappointed and pretty much my whole table was a little disappointed in the lack of food. It was almost like a mad stampede for food between 10am and 11am and then everyone and everything just disappeared. I know that the Mother’s Day Brunch was only AU$28 a head but it seems to me that all they did was just tack it onto the end of the usual breakfast fare and hope for the best. By that stage a lot of the food was already gone and only half of it was replenished. Once a particular item (i.e. the BBQ Bacon, the French Toast and the croissants) was gone then that was it for that food item. I have no doubt that half of that stuff was already gone before the Mother’s Day Brunch had even started!
My selection of breakfast items (well the first plate anyway)
The waitstaff (especially the lovely female host) on the other hand did an excellent job with what they could even though by mine and MS’ calculations they were at least 3 people short as they were absolutely run off their feet the poor things. Despite the short comings with the food our table left ridiculously full since we did manage to more than fill up on the food that was actually there. I loved the little Egg’s Benedict’s with their perfectly poached eggs (a mean feat at a buffet) although the hollandaise sauce left much to be desired because it tasted like nothing. MS claimed that the coffee was some of the worst he had ever tasted. Another thing – MS and I were really enjoying the little cheese kransky’s until we saw one of the chefs pull out what had to be about a 3kg industrial sized bag of them and tip a pile into his frying pan. That sort of ruined the whole illusion for us and I guess that is one of the downfalls with having an open kitchen in that everyone can see what it is that you are doing. There is however, a mile of kitchen out the back for them to keep that big bag of kransky’s out of the gaze of buffet goers. The whole idea of the Bazaar buffet is to recreate the traditional marketplace and put an emphasis on produce and flavours. Somehow this seemed like a step back from that concept.
See that table right on the left in the sun? Yeah no thanks.
Reading over the online reviews of Bazaar‘s breakfast buffet it appears that running out of food is a regular occurrence with many diners saying that you ‘need to get in early’ to avoid disappointment. Isn’t the whole reason for holidaying/staying at a resort like QT to relax, unwind and maybe even sleep in a little? Surely no one wants to have to get up at the sparrow’s fart to make sure that they don’t miss out on the majority of the selections available at breakfast. A little more careful planning would go a long way to ensure that this wasn’t the case not just for the Mother’s Day Brunch but for their daily breakfast buffet in general. Well, lets get something straight here, the breakfast buffet and the Mother’s Day Brunch were from what I saw exactly the same thing (except we got champagne and the breakfast diners got more food).
In Bazaar‘s defense the four mums at our table were kept happy with the almost endless, but responsibly served, glasses of Moet and Chandon and they were more than a bit giggly. On the advertisement for the Mother’s Day Brunch it said a glass of bubbly on arrival – we certainly got more than that. In addition to the large amount of champagne consumed at our table we also won the lucky door prize which was a bottle of Moet. In the end I can whinge and complain as much as I like but last Sunday it was all about mum and she had a really good time even if she was half cut by midday – Love you mum x
Bazaar
87 – 109 Port Douglas Rd, Port Douglas QLD 4877
Ph: (07) 40 998900
Opening Hours: 7 days, Breakfast 6.30am – 10.30am, Dinner 6pm – 9.30pm
Website: http://www.qtportdouglas.com.au
Breakfast @ The Edge Food Store *CLOSED DOWN*
After some encouraging words from one of my readers regarding the new breakfast menu at The Edge Food Store I figured I would bury the hatchet and head there last Sunday with MS in tow. We really needed to dine out for breakfast (for our psyche) since it was something that we used to do at least twice a week before we starting eating nothing but broccoli, chicken and brown rice about 12 weeks ago. Currently my breakfast consists of two pieces of rye bread and four eggs (two whole, two whites) so I figured that they would surely have something similar that I could munch on and still get my dining out ‘kicks’. To be honest I can’t even remember why I had been holding a grudge towards The Edge but something about rude staff and waiting nearly 20 minutes for two coffees seems vaguely familiar. I am definitely one to hold a grudge and it takes quite a bit to get off my sh*t list once someone or something is on there.
We arrived just before midday and headed inside to have a look over the menu and order before we sat down. For those of you that haven’t been to The Edge you have to order food and drinks at the counter, grab a number and they bring it out to you. Inside there is a multitude of gourmet products from truffle oil to curry powders to cheeses to ready-made meals. I could spend a ridiculous amount of money in there since gourmet foods are a huge weakness of mine (along with platters and other homewares – would they just hurry up and open a Wheel and Barrow in Cairns already?!) My ex mother in law JC and I drool over the Cherry Balsamic Vinegar that they stock. Buy it, dip some fresh bread in it and eat it. It’s life changing. Anyway so after drooling over the sweet biscuits and chocolates in jars and bowls on the counter we quickly decided on what we wanted. Was there ever any doubt? MS went for the closest thing to a Big Breakfast that he could find and ordered The Edge Signature with ‘The Lot’ – Poached eggs, Byron Bay bacon, locally made cheese kransky, garlic roast field mushroom, roasted tomato, herbed sweet potato, tomato apple relish and wood fired Italian ciabatta for AU$21.50. While I, looking for the closest thing (but tastiest thing) I could find to my ‘at home’ breakfast chose the Vegetarian Brekky with poached eggs, roasted tomato, sweet potato, dukkah crusted avocado wedge, sheep’s feta and spinach on toasted rye bread with truffled hollandaise for AU$20.50. Initially I asked them if I could have the hollandaise on the side but was met with a side ways glance from MS so then I just asked the man at the counter to leave it out altogether *sad panda*.
While MS and I were being served at the counter I saw some diners seated near me receive their meals. Although all three were the same they looked really damn good. I had another look over the menu and saw that they had ordered the Olive Bread Toasty with Avocado, Fresh Tomato, Basil with a Poached Egg on top for a very reasonable price of AU$10.50. Something else that caught my attention on the breakfast menu was The Edge Omelette with Avocado, Gruyere, Spinach, Caramelised Onion, Pumpkin and Cheese Kransky for AU$19.50. Are they frigin serious? I think I just died and went to breakfast menu heaven. Not to mention the ‘Bacon Jam’ (AU$3.50) that I didn’t actually read on the menu until we were outside and seated, otherwise I would have ordered it just to see what the hell it was.
Okay so enough about the actual sound of the items of the menu I haven’t even told you if they tasted good! So we waited about 5 – 10 minutes for our flat whites to arrive and then soon after our breakfast’s arrived. The place was about 2/3 full for this Sunday morning and we were sitting outside on the pathway after initially sitting at one of the benches next to the road and decided it was too uncomfortable. Also my six-foot something love was much too big for it. When the food arrived I have to say that initially I was surprised because I didn’t expect it to look so visually pleasing or so big! Mine was enormous and far bigger than I needed as was MS’ but he is more than double my size anyway so he needs that much.
Straight away MS transferred the roasted tomato from his plate to mine (he has something against roasted tomato, strange but at least it means more for me). MS wasn’t too impressed with the tomato apple relish but I think it was because I had made the mistake of telling him about the Bacon Jam, again after we had already ordered our food. MS’ eggs were a little on the hard side but it turns out that is actually the way he prefers them not 2 seconds away from undercooked and running all over the plate like I prefer them. He practically inhaled the bacon and after eating half of the cheesy kransky and then deciding that he probably shouldn’t be eating cheesy sausages he left it on the side of his plate, only to succumb to his primal instincts and eat the rest of it about five minutes later. In the words of MS ‘Oh god it tastes so good!’
The Edge Signature with ‘The Lot’ – Poached eggs, Byron Bay bacon, locally made Cheese Kransky, garlic roast field mushroom, roasted tomato, herbed sweet potato, tomato apple relish and wood fired Italian ciabatta for AU$21.50
Me – I loved the dark rye bread which was a little dry without the buttery goodness of hollandaise sauce that it was supposed to come with although that was my own fault for not getting it. The egg yolks were a little on the hard side and not quite perfectly poached. The sweet potato was delicious and yes you guessed it, sweet. I really loved the dukkah crusted avocado which was more like half an avocado than a wedge. I shared half of my half with MS who was kind enough to share a taste of his big thick kransky with me (pardon the pun – I couldn’t help myself). The sheep’s feta that I had vowed to leave on the side of the plate (as wasteful as that is) got the better of me after I had just a tiny taste and I ended up gobbling up the entire ramekin of it along with the spinach. It was beautiful and creamy but not too salty like I tend to find most types of feta. It was a generous dish, both in taste and serving size.
Vegetarian Brekky with poached eggs, roasted tomato, sweet potato, Dukkah crusted avocado wedge, sheep’s feta and spinach on toasted rye bread with truffled hollandaise for AU$20.50
Yum, it was truly a great breakfast. I have said in the past that I think paying over AU$20 for a breakfast meal is almost a joke in Cairns and having said that anywhere really but I am leaning towards acceptable on this particular occasion since the meals were huge and the quality of the food was excellent. If the meals had been crap then I probably would have lost my sh*t but we left smiling and our bellies were full. If I can give one criticism, the coffee wasn’t too exciting. Unfortunately although this breakfast menu has only recently been refurbished these breakfasts might soon be a thing of the past since The Edge Food Store has been up for sale for a couple of months now. Hopefully if and when it does sell things will only get bigger and better for everyone involved because I would certainly like to enjoy some more breakfasts there. I can almost hear you saying ‘I’m pretty sure she said they were having the closest thing to an at home type breakfast’. Well I can assure you that feta cheese, bacon and cheese cransky is definitely not on the list of things we eat at home but I’ll live with the guilt just this once don’t you worry about me.
A special thanks goes to one of my reader’s RH for steering me in the right direction with The Edge Food Store 🙂
The Edge Food Store
1/138 Collins Ave, Edge Hill QLD 4870
Ph: (07) 4053 2977
Opening Hours: Mon – Sat 7am – 5.30pm, Sun 8am – 3pm
Website: theedgefoodstore.com
Where is the Best Eggs Benedict in Cairns now?
It has been brought to my attention that the Botanical Gardens Restaurant and Cafe no longer serves the Best Eggs Benedict in town. I have read a few really bad reviews on the place and how downhill it’s gone. What the hell happened?! I would hate to think that my previous post “Best Eggs Benedict in Cairns” is directly people to a now defunct Eggs Benedict so I am putting a call out to find the new “Best Eggs Benedict in Cairns” . Any ideas?
Breakfast in the Northern Beaches?
On my last morning in Cairns before I was due to fly out for work MS and I decided (upon advice from a foodvixen reader) to venture out to Lime Tree at Trinity Beach for breakfast. Now silly me for just assuming that it would be open on a Thursday morning. I really should have rung up and checked first before driving that far (from the city). Anyway so we drove out there and much to our dismay Lime Tree was closed for a function. And even more annoying across the road the Blue Moon Grill is not open for breakfast between Monday and Thursday. We drove down the road to Fratelli’s and alas, Fratelli’s was also closed. What is the world coming to when three out of three places are closed for breakfast? I don’t know if the Trinity Beach Tavern serves breakfast nor do I care because I have had one too many sh*thouse meals there and I will never return.
MS and I were left wondering just where the hell to go for breakfast out at the northern beaches. MS suggested Coolums at Holloways Beach. Coolums has been closed for about a year now. How he did not know that is beyond me, since he has been a resident of Holloways Beach for six years until we ‘officially’ moved in together in April. I took a stroll into Strait On The Beach, also at Holloways Beach a couple of months ago to grab something for lunch when I was helping MS pack up all his crap (*ahem* I mean belongings) and was so unimpressed by the menu and the sheer price of it all that I promptly left and went to the takeaway shop down the road. We didn’t want to drive north to Palm Cove purely for the fact that I had a flight to catch in a few hours and had already lost valuable time. One of the boys at Rehab on Lake Street told us a couple of weeks ago that apparently one of his customers told him that the ‘Best Eggs Benedict’ was at a Cafe in Smithfield but I would be darned if I knew where, since he had no idea either.
Having grown up on the Southside of Cairns (Southside for life!) I am a little out of my depth when it comes to knowing my way around the Northern Beaches area. A little disappointed with our failure to find anywhere to have breakfast out that way we ended up back in Edge Hill at the Botanical Gardens Restaurant and Cafe. They even let us ring ahead and order a Bacon Eggs Benedict (for MS) and a Salmon Eggs Benedict (for me), without any hesitation or problems. We arrived and only waited about two minutes and our Eggs Benedict’s were ready. I have already said in the past and I will say it again… The Botanical Gardens Restaurant and Cafe in Edge Hill still serves the Best Eggs Benedict in Cairns. Upon paying I asked the owner why their Eggs Bennie is just so damn good and she claims that it is because they make the sauce themselves, whereas a lot of other places don’t. Works for me. Now I am straying a little off my usual path with this post because I would really some opinions on just where people think the Best Eggs Benedict in Cairns really is (or if they agree with my claim on the Botanical Gardens) and where the hell can I get a good breakfast at the Northern Beaches? And not just on the weekends. I am intent on trying the breakfast at Lime Tree but I guess I will just have to get there another time when they’re not closed for a function. Suggestions people… Pretty please?
Best Eggs Benedict in Cairns, Botanical Garden’s Restaurant and Cafe
It’s a big call but I have consistently said that the Botanical Garden’s Restaurant and Cafe have the Best Eggs Benedict in Cairns! The eggs are perfectly poached (not too runny, not too hard), the bread is fresh, there is just the right amount of hollandaise sauce with just the right hint of lime and the Salmon Eggs Benedict has capers are sprinkled over the top. What is a salmon eggs benedict without capers huh? YUM! But seriously, it is seriously good Eggs Benedict right in the heart of the Botanical Garden’s.
Tasmanian Smoked Salmon Benedict with Baby Capers (AU$17.90)
A bonus for the coffee lovers is the so-called ‘Fish bowl’ of coffee that is also available here at the Botanical Garden’s Restaurant and Cafe. MS and I actually thought the waitress was kidding when she said fish bowl but on being bought our cappucino’s we realised that she was indeed telling the truth. The fish bowl is a bowl, not a cup as there are no handles, of pure unadulterated coffee for only $6 and finishing it is no mean feat!
Cappucino in a ‘fish bowl’ AU$6
Botanical Garden’s Restaurant and Cafe
Collins Ave, Edge Hill
Ph: 4053 7087
Open: Daily 7am – 4.30pm
Website: www.cafebotanic.com.au
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