Irene's choice. Present: ken, Irene, Gerry, Alex, Rod, Louanne
Overall Rating:3.3*
Total Cost per person: $80.00
Ratings scale: Excellent; Very Good; Good; Not so Good; Poor; Abysmal
Greeting and Seating:Very Good
Table Presentation:Very Good
Settling in - drinks breads etc.:Good
Menu selection, variety price etc.:Excellent
Specials presentation:Good
Wine selection, variety and price:Not so Good
Drinks Service:Not so Good
Food Service:Good
Ambiance:Very Good
Music:Not so Good
Food choices:
Breads: Two serves of the Mixed Bruschetta Platter - A mixture of all three on one plate - Caramelised Pear & Double Brie, Blue Swimmer Crab & Traditional tomato and basil. The caramelised pear and brie was my favourite.
Entree: One chose the Garlic Buttered Mushrooms
- Fresh field mushrooms sautéed with garlic butter & house made onion
jam & drizzled with basil pesto served on freshly baked Turkish loaf. he rated this a Very Good. Two opted for the night's special - the Oysters Natural - fresh plump and creamy Tasmanian oysters - rating by both - Excellent. Three opted for the Vietnamese-Indochine Oysters described as "the finest natural oysters bathed in an Asian styled Nam Jim marinade (Soy, ginger, coriander, garlic & chili). Two rated this Very Good however, one declared an oyster as "off" and decided not to eat the others. The reaction of the waitress, who argued that it could not be off, spoiled the tone of the evening for us, and it took the senior waitress to apologise and offer a replacement of natural oysters, which cheered things up a little.
Main course: One chose the night's special fish dish - rated Very Good, one the night's special chicken breast with Pomegranate jus - rated as Good, two choose Smoked Salmon & Lemon Crab - smoked salmon chards and crab meat tossed through cold pressed virgin olive oil, angel hair pasta, wild lemon & aromatic herbs - which they rated as filling and overdone on the pasta side of things. Two choose the Duck and Lychee curry served with aromatic jasmine rice, crispy poppadom & sambals curry - which both rated as Very Good.
Sweets: No sweets were ordered but two affogatos, and several teas and a frangelico finished off the meal.
Drinks: The wine menu was declared a not a strong point as selection was small and the wines on offer are at the lower end of the market. Nonetheless the Shiraz and
the Chardonnay were quaff able.
Summary: Lovely ambiance - even though situated on a roundabout the proximity to the water of the canal estate, not far from the beachfront, gives a nice feel. Tables well presented with linen tablecloths and high quality paper napkins. The menu is excellent and abundantly described in a ultra casual, friendly manner which has the effect of making you feel personally known. It is an obviously popular spot with residents in the area as many diners appeared to be regulars. The down side for our evening was the reaction of the waitress to the "off" oyster. If the diner claims something is off - then it is off and shouldn't be subjected to being questioned.
Unfortunately the situation was rescued by the serendipity of being attended to in plate collection by another waitress, not by training or evidence of a restaurant complaints mangement policy.
A pleasant enough evening but don't know if it's worth the drive from town. I would go again probably if I lived out that way.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
NuNu at Palm Cove - 7th August
Ken's choice
Present: Irene, Ken, Neil, Gerry, Alex, Louanne, Rod
Overall Rating (value for money) 2.6*
Total Cost per person: $110.00
Ratings scale: Excellent; Very Good; Good; Not so Good; Poor; Abysmal Greeting and Seating:
Greeting and Seating: Abysmal
Table Presentation: Good
Settling in - drinks breads etc.: Complimenatry lemon infused sour dough bread. Excellent.
Menu selection, variety price etc.: Expensive and not a wide selection.
Specials presentation: Good
Wine selection, variety and price: Average - extremely overpriced
Drinks Service: Very Good
Food Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Not so good
Music: n/a
Food choices:
Entree: Scallops x 3; Red emperor; Curry chickpea and pumpkin; Oysters x2
Main course: Lamb x 2; Duck x 3; Waygu steak; Red Curry.
Sweets: Pineapple tart (tinned pineapple??) Merangue; Fruit ices and icecream. Honey velvet.
Drinks: bottles of overpriced expensive red and white.
Summary: a snobby resturant (perhaps because it has won several awards) in supurb beachfront location spoiled by being check and jowl with other resturants separated by only plastic sheeting. Food mostly excellent but spoiled by price. Food rated almost 5 stars by everyone but overall rating only 2.6 as not considered value for money.
Present: Irene, Ken, Neil, Gerry, Alex, Louanne, Rod
Overall Rating (value for money) 2.6*
Total Cost per person: $110.00
Ratings scale: Excellent; Very Good; Good; Not so Good; Poor; Abysmal Greeting and Seating:
Greeting and Seating: Abysmal
Table Presentation: Good
Settling in - drinks breads etc.: Complimenatry lemon infused sour dough bread. Excellent.
Menu selection, variety price etc.: Expensive and not a wide selection.
Specials presentation: Good
Wine selection, variety and price: Average - extremely overpriced
Drinks Service: Very Good
Food Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Not so good
Music: n/a
Food choices:
Entree: Scallops x 3; Red emperor; Curry chickpea and pumpkin; Oysters x2
Main course: Lamb x 2; Duck x 3; Waygu steak; Red Curry.
Sweets: Pineapple tart (tinned pineapple??) Merangue; Fruit ices and icecream. Honey velvet.
Drinks: bottles of overpriced expensive red and white.
Summary: a snobby resturant (perhaps because it has won several awards) in supurb beachfront location spoiled by being check and jowl with other resturants separated by only plastic sheeting. Food mostly excellent but spoiled by price. Food rated almost 5 stars by everyone but overall rating only 2.6 as not considered value for money.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Bushfire Flame and Grill 19th June 2009
Alex's choice. Present: Gerry, Ken, Irene, Michael, Rosellen
Overall Rating: 2.75*
Total Cost per person: $78.00
Ratings scale: Excellent; Very Good; Good; Not so Good; Poor; Abysmal
Greeting and Seating: Excellent
Table Presentation: Good
Settling in - drinks breads etc.: Good
Menu selection, variety price etc.: Very Good
Specials presentation: All food explained fully and the share Churasio Experience was explained and demonstrated.
Wine selection, variety and price: Very Good
Drinks Service: Good
Food Service: Not so good - waiters had to be called over constantly.
Ambiance: Acoustics not good, but rest of decor suitable to type of restaurant.
Music: None - the food was the entertainment.
Food choices: The Churasio Experience choices were a combination of entrees and mains, or mains and desert.Our choices on the staff's suggestion was three with entree and three with desert.
Entree: Tapas - a plate of smoked salmon, fish in batter, chicken sticks, melon, prosciutto and feta to share - not a large serve but all very tasty and well presented.
Main course: A red cabbage salad, baked cauliflower and broccoli gratin, Chat Potatoes, Pork crackling, horseradish and other sauces were all served on the table to share whilst waiters circulated with skewers of flame grilled meat which they sliced off at the table. Diners used tongs to pull the meat off the skewer as it was served. The pork was the outstanding meat with other serves including Chicken, Chirozo sausage, Beef and flame grilled pineapple coated in Cinnamon sugar. Pots of meatballs and seafood were also placed on the table to share.
Sweets: Sweets were a delicious Belgian chocolate fondue to share with fruit, chocolate cake cubes, marshmallows and biscotti, and a generous cheese plate to share.
Drinks: Gina and Tonics, champagnes to start with and adequate red and white wines which I again forgot to write down. :-)
Summary: An interesting and reasonably priced way to dine out. This restaurant is let down by its service. We had to constantly call over the waiters and as they were serving the food this was annoying. Again, for a large international class hotel, better was expected. Wait staff were mostly ESL and the restaurant lacked character due to poor communiction skills.. Food dropped on the floor waited over long to be cleaned up, and then only after several requests. The wine service was also slow and several prompts were required.
Overall Rating: 2.75*
Total Cost per person: $78.00
Ratings scale: Excellent; Very Good; Good; Not so Good; Poor; Abysmal
Greeting and Seating: Excellent
Table Presentation: Good
Settling in - drinks breads etc.: Good
Menu selection, variety price etc.: Very Good
Specials presentation: All food explained fully and the share Churasio Experience was explained and demonstrated.
Wine selection, variety and price: Very Good
Drinks Service: Good
Food Service: Not so good - waiters had to be called over constantly.
Ambiance: Acoustics not good, but rest of decor suitable to type of restaurant.
Music: None - the food was the entertainment.
Food choices: The Churasio Experience choices were a combination of entrees and mains, or mains and desert.Our choices on the staff's suggestion was three with entree and three with desert.
Entree: Tapas - a plate of smoked salmon, fish in batter, chicken sticks, melon, prosciutto and feta to share - not a large serve but all very tasty and well presented.
Main course: A red cabbage salad, baked cauliflower and broccoli gratin, Chat Potatoes, Pork crackling, horseradish and other sauces were all served on the table to share whilst waiters circulated with skewers of flame grilled meat which they sliced off at the table. Diners used tongs to pull the meat off the skewer as it was served. The pork was the outstanding meat with other serves including Chicken, Chirozo sausage, Beef and flame grilled pineapple coated in Cinnamon sugar. Pots of meatballs and seafood were also placed on the table to share.
Sweets: Sweets were a delicious Belgian chocolate fondue to share with fruit, chocolate cake cubes, marshmallows and biscotti, and a generous cheese plate to share.
Drinks: Gina and Tonics, champagnes to start with and adequate red and white wines which I again forgot to write down. :-)
Summary: An interesting and reasonably priced way to dine out. This restaurant is let down by its service. We had to constantly call over the waiters and as they were serving the food this was annoying. Again, for a large international class hotel, better was expected. Wait staff were mostly ESL and the restaurant lacked character due to poor communiction skills.. Food dropped on the floor waited over long to be cleaned up, and then only after several requests. The wine service was also slow and several prompts were required.
Kewarra Beach Resort 22nd May 2009
Irene's choice. Present: Ken, Rosellen, Gerry, Alex, Irene
Overall Rating: 3.1 *
Total Cost per person: $100.00
Ratings scale: Excellent; Very Good; Good; Not so Good; Poor; Abysmal
Greeting and Seating: Very Good
Table Presentation: Very Good
Settling in - drinks breads etc.: Not so good
Menu selection, variety price etc.: Good
Specials presentation: N/A
Wine selection, variety and price: Good
Drinks Service: Poor
Food Service: Poor
Ambiance: Very Good
Music: N/A
Food choices:
Entree: Tomato and capsicum soup 3* 3x cajun prawns 3 * form all; Smoked Salmon 3*.
Main course: 2 Eye Fillet Steak both 4*; Moreton Bay bugs 3*; Rack of Lamb 3* Barrimundi 4*
Sweets: Cheese plate 4*; 2 x Lavender Creme Brulee 4*; Apple and Rhubarb crumble 4*.
Drinks: I was slack and didn't write this down but we had adequate bottles of red and white.
Summary: Ambiance is typical beach resort open style restaurant in beach side rain forest setting. very pleasant. Food was adequate but nothing to rave about. Service was poor - particularly given that it is an upmarket resort.
Overall Rating: 3.1 *
Total Cost per person: $100.00
Ratings scale: Excellent; Very Good; Good; Not so Good; Poor; Abysmal
Greeting and Seating: Very Good
Table Presentation: Very Good
Settling in - drinks breads etc.: Not so good
Menu selection, variety price etc.: Good
Specials presentation: N/A
Wine selection, variety and price: Good
Drinks Service: Poor
Food Service: Poor
Ambiance: Very Good
Music: N/A
Food choices:
Entree: Tomato and capsicum soup 3* 3x cajun prawns 3 * form all; Smoked Salmon 3*.
Main course: 2 Eye Fillet Steak both 4*; Moreton Bay bugs 3*; Rack of Lamb 3* Barrimundi 4*
Sweets: Cheese plate 4*; 2 x Lavender Creme Brulee 4*; Apple and Rhubarb crumble 4*.
Drinks: I was slack and didn't write this down but we had adequate bottles of red and white.
Summary: Ambiance is typical beach resort open style restaurant in beach side rain forest setting. very pleasant. Food was adequate but nothing to rave about. Service was poor - particularly given that it is an upmarket resort.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Hanuman at the Hilton 20th March 2009
Neil's choice. Present: Gerry, Ken Irene, Neil, Andrew
Overall Rating: 4.79 *
Total Cost per person: $85.00
Ratings scale: Excellent; Very Good; Good; Not so Good; Poor; Abysmal
Greeting and Seating: Good
Table Presentation: Very Good
Settling in - drinks breads etc.: N/A
Menu selection, variety price etc.: Very Good
Specials presentation: N/A
Wine selection, variety and price: Very Good
Drinks Service: Excellent
Food Service: Excellent
Ambiance: Excellent
Music: None
Food choices: Food was selected to share as per the asian theme.
Entree: Oysters, Fish, stuffed mushrooms, pork stirfry, porknonya and rice paper rolls. Entrees were inthe mid & teens prcie range.
Main course: Pork Belly, Barrimundi, Red Duck Curry, Lamb Korma, Baby Bok Choy. Mains were all in the high teens early $20s range.
Sweets: Affogatto was ordered but as there was no vanilla ice cream available they were unable to supply it.
Drinks: A bit dissapointing - coffees did not come with chocloate or any of the tid-bits expected in such an establishment.
Summary: An excellent and reasonably priced Asian menu and great ambience - full glass windows overlooking light gardens. Excellent service as one would expect a the Hilton. No vanilla ice cream was a major ovesight for a restuarant at an establishment such as the Hilton ! Our friend David (from the Donini's days) looked after us well.
Overall Rating: 4.79 *
Total Cost per person: $85.00
Ratings scale: Excellent; Very Good; Good; Not so Good; Poor; Abysmal
Greeting and Seating: Good
Table Presentation: Very Good
Settling in - drinks breads etc.: N/A
Menu selection, variety price etc.: Very Good
Specials presentation: N/A
Wine selection, variety and price: Very Good
Drinks Service: Excellent
Food Service: Excellent
Ambiance: Excellent
Music: None
Food choices: Food was selected to share as per the asian theme.
Entree: Oysters, Fish, stuffed mushrooms, pork stirfry, porknonya and rice paper rolls. Entrees were inthe mid & teens prcie range.
Main course: Pork Belly, Barrimundi, Red Duck Curry, Lamb Korma, Baby Bok Choy. Mains were all in the high teens early $20s range.
Sweets: Affogatto was ordered but as there was no vanilla ice cream available they were unable to supply it.
Drinks: A bit dissapointing - coffees did not come with chocloate or any of the tid-bits expected in such an establishment.
Summary: An excellent and reasonably priced Asian menu and great ambience - full glass windows overlooking light gardens. Excellent service as one would expect a the Hilton. No vanilla ice cream was a major ovesight for a restuarant at an establishment such as the Hilton ! Our friend David (from the Donini's days) looked after us well.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Oliver's Fine Australian Cuisine 27th Feb. 2009
Michael's choice. Present: Rod, Louanne, Neil, Michael, Rosellen, Alex, Gerry, Ken , Irene
Overall Rating: 4.9 stars - our top restaurant so far !!
Total Cost per person: $106.00
Ratings scale: Excellent; Very Good; Good; Not so Good; Poor; Abysmal
Greeting and Seating: Excellent
Table Presentation: Excellent
Settling in - drinks breads etc.: Excellent - warm crusty bread with eggplant and sundried tomato dip was supplied complimentary and rated Excellent.
Menu selection, variety price etc.: Excellent
Specials presentation: n/a
Wine selection, variety and price: Excellent
Drinks Service: Excellent
Food Service: Excellent
Ambiance: Excellent although garden type style was considered a little casual for such elegant dining. The historic black and white photos throughout the restaurant provided interesting discussion points and added a Parisian feel to the restaurant.
Music: Piped background music - unobtrusive and appropriate.
Food choices:
Entree: prices for entrees were in the high teens early $20 mark. Pumpkin soup; Smoky Oysters in lime foam; Emu and caramelised shallots; Duck proscutio; Taste plates consisting of four samples - Pumpkin soup, Crocodile, Duck proscuto and prawn with noodles. All were rated Excellent except the emu (Very Good) and the Soup rated only good as the "froth" style did not produce enough "body".
Main course: prices for main courses were in the high $20 - high $30s. Both Scallop and Prawn bisques were rated Very Good. The Barramundi was rated Excellent and "to die for". Both Pork dishes were rated as Very Good, whilst the Yellowtail King Fish was downgraded from Excellent to Very Good as it was a bit salty. Kangaroo Shabo Shabo was rated as only Good, not because of the quality of the meal maybe, but because the diner, unattracted to raw meat dishes, was not made aware that Shabo Shabo is a raw meat style, cooked in a soup at the table.
Sweets: prices for sweets were in the high teens - mid $20s. The chocolate volcanoes - hardened chocolate cake with warm runny chocolate centres were voted the hit of the night and the assortment plates of four desserts, including a smaller version of the volcano were also highly regarded. The fruit salad was accompanied by an interesting champagne coconut foam and the trio of creme Brulees - dragon fruit, mango and traditional were delectable. All desserts were rated as Excellent.
Drinks: 2 bottles of Grenache at $67.00 each and 3 bottles of Chardonnay at 30.00 each
Summary: A most impressive but little known restaurant in Cairn's tourist souvenir strip. The narrow frontage gives little indication of the quality of the restaurant within. The food was for the most part exquisite and the service impeccable. Understated professionalism is the only description. Each dish and the ingredient in each dish was special. This is without doubt one of the best restaurants in Cairns. Some of us considered it equal to Cairn's best known quality restaurant - Tamarind and many of us considered it better than Tamarind. certainly a recommendation for a special evening.
Next choice: Neil. Date Third Friday in March - 20th March
Overall Rating: 4.9 stars - our top restaurant so far !!
Total Cost per person: $106.00
Ratings scale: Excellent; Very Good; Good; Not so Good; Poor; Abysmal
Greeting and Seating: Excellent
Table Presentation: Excellent
Settling in - drinks breads etc.: Excellent - warm crusty bread with eggplant and sundried tomato dip was supplied complimentary and rated Excellent.
Menu selection, variety price etc.: Excellent
Specials presentation: n/a
Wine selection, variety and price: Excellent
Drinks Service: Excellent
Food Service: Excellent
Ambiance: Excellent although garden type style was considered a little casual for such elegant dining. The historic black and white photos throughout the restaurant provided interesting discussion points and added a Parisian feel to the restaurant.
Music: Piped background music - unobtrusive and appropriate.
Food choices:
Entree: prices for entrees were in the high teens early $20 mark. Pumpkin soup; Smoky Oysters in lime foam; Emu and caramelised shallots; Duck proscutio; Taste plates consisting of four samples - Pumpkin soup, Crocodile, Duck proscuto and prawn with noodles. All were rated Excellent except the emu (Very Good) and the Soup rated only good as the "froth" style did not produce enough "body".
Main course: prices for main courses were in the high $20 - high $30s. Both Scallop and Prawn bisques were rated Very Good. The Barramundi was rated Excellent and "to die for". Both Pork dishes were rated as Very Good, whilst the Yellowtail King Fish was downgraded from Excellent to Very Good as it was a bit salty. Kangaroo Shabo Shabo was rated as only Good, not because of the quality of the meal maybe, but because the diner, unattracted to raw meat dishes, was not made aware that Shabo Shabo is a raw meat style, cooked in a soup at the table.
Sweets: prices for sweets were in the high teens - mid $20s. The chocolate volcanoes - hardened chocolate cake with warm runny chocolate centres were voted the hit of the night and the assortment plates of four desserts, including a smaller version of the volcano were also highly regarded. The fruit salad was accompanied by an interesting champagne coconut foam and the trio of creme Brulees - dragon fruit, mango and traditional were delectable. All desserts were rated as Excellent.
Drinks: 2 bottles of Grenache at $67.00 each and 3 bottles of Chardonnay at 30.00 each
Summary: A most impressive but little known restaurant in Cairn's tourist souvenir strip. The narrow frontage gives little indication of the quality of the restaurant within. The food was for the most part exquisite and the service impeccable. Understated professionalism is the only description. Each dish and the ingredient in each dish was special. This is without doubt one of the best restaurants in Cairns. Some of us considered it equal to Cairn's best known quality restaurant - Tamarind and many of us considered it better than Tamarind. certainly a recommendation for a special evening.
Next choice: Neil. Date Third Friday in March - 20th March
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Cho Gao at the Pier 9th January 2009
Gerry's Choice. Present: Irene, Ken, Neil, Alex, Gerry, Andrew, Elly.
Overall Rating: Prior to music = 3.9 stars After music commenced = 2.2 stars
Total Cost per person: $52.00 ( excludes deserts and final drinks - deserts and final drinks at Donini's was a further $20.00 per head.
Ratings scale: Excellent; Very Good; Good; Not so Good; Poor; Abysmal
Greeting and Seating: Good
Table Presentation: Excellent
Settling in - drinks breads etc.: N/A
Menu selection, variety price etc.: Excellent
Specials presentation: n/A
Wine selection, variety and price: Good - not a big selection
Drinks Service: Very Good
Food Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Excellent
Music: Abysmal. Subtle Asian themed background music until 8.30 when the DJ came on. The doof doof dance type music - disliked by even the younger members of the party - was a total turn off. What had been a pleasant evening was spoiled by loud, inappropriate music and the arrogance that accompanied it. The waitresses were sympathetic, but were unable to have any influence on the DJ who, gyrating to the music was so absorbed in his own head phoned space that the requests of mere paying customers for a bit less noise whilst eating were treated with disdain. Many people left, and so did we. We were forced to finish our meal at another restaurant. (Our old favourite - Donini's at the Pier).
Food choices: All meals were shared in the Asian Fashion
Entree: Peking duck; Sam Cho Boo; Chicken Curry puffs and Rice Paper Rolls. all rated Excellent.
Main course: Most of the choices rated Excellent: Beef Rendang - tender, hot and spicy; Pork crispy belly was as good as you would get anywhere; Baby Barrimundi was tender, fresh and subtlety spiced with ginger and shallots; and the Pork Stiry fry was colourful and tasty. The only slight disappointment was the Massamum duck curry which rated not so good, as the duck was tough and fatty, and heavily laced with potato at the expense of the duck. Roti and Dhal accompanied and both rated Very Good.
Sweets: N/A
Drinks: Sticks Cabernet Sav. @ $36.00 and a Chapel Hill Unwooded Chardoney @ 38.00 were chosen and were adequate.
Summary: This restaurant/bar has a location to die for and the use of verandah, bar area with high tables and stools, and separate low seated dining area is cleverly done. The bleached bare timber effect and Asian shaped table stools and louvered internal partitioning all add to the Asian flavour. Service, though slightly slow to start, was excellent once warmed up, and bordered on professional once complaints about the music began to flow.
A pleasant dining experience turned into a head splitting, thumping nightmare when the DJ started up at 8.30. It was far too early for this type of music in an eating venue, and the music was totally in appropriate. The trouble is Cho Gao is trying appear to be a restaurant but wants to act like a bar. Its neighbour "Bella Vista" is a very popular bar, and given that they are owned by the same people, one would think they would be better allowing Cho Gao to be the food venue - at least until a little later in the evening. Shame, because the calibre of the food would indicate that they are serious about being a food venue.
All agreed that we would go again, but only early in the evening as a pre movie or show type venue.
Overall Rating: Prior to music = 3.9 stars After music commenced = 2.2 stars
Total Cost per person: $52.00 ( excludes deserts and final drinks - deserts and final drinks at Donini's was a further $20.00 per head.
Ratings scale: Excellent; Very Good; Good; Not so Good; Poor; Abysmal
Greeting and Seating: Good
Table Presentation: Excellent
Settling in - drinks breads etc.: N/A
Menu selection, variety price etc.: Excellent
Specials presentation: n/A
Wine selection, variety and price: Good - not a big selection
Drinks Service: Very Good
Food Service: Very Good
Ambiance: Excellent
Music: Abysmal. Subtle Asian themed background music until 8.30 when the DJ came on. The doof doof dance type music - disliked by even the younger members of the party - was a total turn off. What had been a pleasant evening was spoiled by loud, inappropriate music and the arrogance that accompanied it. The waitresses were sympathetic, but were unable to have any influence on the DJ who, gyrating to the music was so absorbed in his own head phoned space that the requests of mere paying customers for a bit less noise whilst eating were treated with disdain. Many people left, and so did we. We were forced to finish our meal at another restaurant. (Our old favourite - Donini's at the Pier).
Food choices: All meals were shared in the Asian Fashion
Entree: Peking duck; Sam Cho Boo; Chicken Curry puffs and Rice Paper Rolls. all rated Excellent.
Main course: Most of the choices rated Excellent: Beef Rendang - tender, hot and spicy; Pork crispy belly was as good as you would get anywhere; Baby Barrimundi was tender, fresh and subtlety spiced with ginger and shallots; and the Pork Stiry fry was colourful and tasty. The only slight disappointment was the Massamum duck curry which rated not so good, as the duck was tough and fatty, and heavily laced with potato at the expense of the duck. Roti and Dhal accompanied and both rated Very Good.
Sweets: N/A
Drinks: Sticks Cabernet Sav. @ $36.00 and a Chapel Hill Unwooded Chardoney @ 38.00 were chosen and were adequate.
Summary: This restaurant/bar has a location to die for and the use of verandah, bar area with high tables and stools, and separate low seated dining area is cleverly done. The bleached bare timber effect and Asian shaped table stools and louvered internal partitioning all add to the Asian flavour. Service, though slightly slow to start, was excellent once warmed up, and bordered on professional once complaints about the music began to flow.
A pleasant dining experience turned into a head splitting, thumping nightmare when the DJ started up at 8.30. It was far too early for this type of music in an eating venue, and the music was totally in appropriate. The trouble is Cho Gao is trying appear to be a restaurant but wants to act like a bar. Its neighbour "Bella Vista" is a very popular bar, and given that they are owned by the same people, one would think they would be better allowing Cho Gao to be the food venue - at least until a little later in the evening. Shame, because the calibre of the food would indicate that they are serious about being a food venue.
All agreed that we would go again, but only early in the evening as a pre movie or show type venue.
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