The Cove

No pics, sorry.

Went to the new restaurant at the Casino's new resort on Monday the 7th of January.


I found the atmosphere a bit lacking - bright white lighting and angular furniture; and the french doors were closed so there was no view of the lagoon pool - just reflections.

The menu has a good variety of protein choices and an interesting vegetarian selection - including one dish with mushroom "soil". The food was either very good or a bit mediocre.

My sister had the pork cheek ravioli entree followed by the beef entree. The latter looked like a stir fry despite there being no mention of noodles on the menu and tasted of keens curry powder. 
My Mum had the prawn cocktail with mango jelly, avocado and pumpernickel & smoked salmon bites. 6 large prawns were the feature. I'd like to try it if I go again.
You can order different oysters individually, the kilpatrick were ordinary - some sort of "kilpatrick sauce" (?) was used. 
My partner ordered the chowder - or should I sat WOWder! It was lovely and creamy but felt light and fresh at the same time - delish! 

For the main we both had the "Sea & Earth", yes, you guessed it, the surf & turf option. Eye fillet, prawns and bearnaise sauce. The steak was cooked very well.

Desserts ordered and sampled were:
the "floating" pavlova with lychee jelly and white sangria sauce - boring except for the basil and lime sorbet which was FABULOUS!
the prune pudding - aka sticky date pudding-like thing, very yummy.
ginger bread brulee with rhubarb compote, rhubarb sticks and glass biscuit - quite delectable and delicious and I'd have it again. The rhubarb was so nice and tart. Not sure where the glass biscuit was unless it was the sprinkling of white sugar powder on the rhubarb "sticks"?

The wine list had some nice offerings of each variety and we had Salinger by the glass to start with; which I followed with a Temperanillo from SA. 

Atmosphere          5/10 (maybe nicer for lunch?)
Wine list               7/10
Food                     7/10 (some of it was 4/10)
Value for money    7/10
Service                  7/10
 

the rest of 2012

Ok to wrap up the last year and start fresh here goes:

Buzz cafe's Barra in beurre blanc sauce was moist and delicious :-)

Not sure about the atmosphere here these days, needs a bit of a revamp/spruce up.

The service was pretty good.

Can't remember the wine list.

Oh, any one else hate main courses with no sides? Seems to be the thing these days, I just find it fussy and annoying - as well as more expensive!

Christo's seafood is still very good. Darned hard to find the restaurant though! It's tucked away at the back of the shops at Tipperary waters. Outdoor dining on a breezy boardwalk. I had the battered jew fish and my dining buddy had the marinara. Both dishes were delicious. The batter on my fish was light and crispy and the marinara had large tender pieces of seafood in it. A nice simple wine list and excellent service - old school stuff by the young woman who is the head waiter there.

Did I ever mention my love of Cornucopia? For breakfast in particular. There have been occasions of late where the food hasn't met all of its high standards - I guess that's due to staff changes and not renewing leases etc. Anyway, the morning I went it was all good. The location is wonderful and the atmosphere's really nice. The eggs and mushrooms were cooked beautifully.

I also went to two of the Vietnamese restaurants here - Ruby and Saigon Star. At both places I had noodle salads. At Ruby (on the left) I had the beef noodle salad with lemongrass and ginger; and at the Saigon Star I had a noodle salad with crispy pork. The small bowls did contain yummy stuff to pour over the salads - I forgot to take a photo before doing that :-). Ruby is better value for money with a much larger meal for only $2 more. Oh, and the salads at Ruby are only on the lunch menu.

And of course, the Cool Spot and what it does best! The iced milk drinks and the excellent, locally made Lo Castro ice cream :-D

An extra note about the Cool Spot, I think they may have a new chef as the food has gone from being consistent but mediocre to consistently very good. Not one rotting salad leaf and the barramundi, chips and salad meal is fantastic!

I won SECOND prize for my chocolate cake at the Darwin Show in 2012 :-) 
Now for FIRST!