Far North Queensland in my opinion is gods country, with lush tropical rain forest providing a canopy on one side and the Great Barrier Reef on the other, you can't help get a sense of utopia.
Palm Cove is nestled between Cairns and Port Douglas and is home to the Gourmet Traveller magazine restaurant of the year 'NuNu'.
This is absolute beachfront dining, Nu Nu offers spectacular views of the Coral Sea, with lush palm trees dotting the landscape.
Nu Nu offers modern Australian cuisine and combines the freshest of locally sourced produce to create an awesome selection of flavours.
So with the barre being set so high I had great expectations of the place.
We opted to book for lunch, as the weather was perfect and we wanted to take advantage of the view.
We arrived early, but was offered our table straight away, and what a table, situated outside on the deck you couldn't ask for a better position.
The menu was presented and the waiter offered us some complementary home made potato crisps with sea salt and lime. My goodness if this was an indication of what was to come, then we were in for culinary treat. The lunch menu had been designed for sharing and had a good selection of dishes that would suit most palettes.
We started with the puffed lemon bread and house made pickles. This is a perfect way to start a lunch. Lemon bread or Poori bread is an unleavened deep-fried Indian bread, commonly consumed on the Indian subcontinent. As the name suggest the middle was full of air and complemented the pickles beautifully.
We then proceeded to order the rest of our dishes. Lightly battered zucchini, black vinegar, shallots and coriander chips. Raw yellow fin tuna, octopus, chorizo, olive & red pepper essence. Whole fried baby barramundi, surf clams, pickled squid, thai basil, banana flower & tamarind. caramel, ginger fried chicken wings with kimchi butter. Coconut roasted pork belly, green mango, mint and lemongrass and hand cut chips. Each dish was amazing with the team in the kitchen obviously taking their great knowledge of local produce and putting it on the plate.
Everything about Nu Nu was perfect. The waitstaff, armed with the knowledge to be able to make great recommendation from the wine that matches each dish to what dessert we should have.
If you are looking for a great relaxed dining experience then I highly recommend Nu Nu, and discover for yourself why it was voted restaurant of the year.
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