A collection of 7 news bites to make every foodie in Cairns hungry
It's an understatement to say we enjoy eating out here at Tropic HQ, be it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, brunch, afternoon snack or late-night bite.
In fact, most of our meetings our held over a plate of some shape or size, or at the very least several cups of coffee.
So we're always keen to share some of our favourite snippets of foodie news from the Cairns culinary scene, such as these 6 snippets we highly recommend you act (or dine out) on.
1. MAMA COCO GOES SUB-CONTINENTAL
One of our favourite cafes in Cairns is also one of our favourite pop-up dinner spots. This vibrant Aumuller St hangout has been killing it with their monthly set course menu events, and Chef Davy O'Rourke and his team will do it again on April 28 and 29.
This time around they're taking your tastebuds to the sub-continent, with flavours inspired by India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and other nearby nations.
It's going to be an incredible night, and those who know will understand the importance of booking early. This one will be a sell-out, yet again.
BOOKINGS: Mama Coco on 4052 1226
2. LOCAL FOODVIXEN GOES INTERNATIONAL
Popular local food blogger FoodVixen has launched a foodie trip to Bali that will make you reconsider any previous travel plans you may have had for August.
Teaming up with Mercedes Gonzalez Travel Management, FoodVixen will lead a 5 night tour to some of Bali’s hottest food haunts.
Prices are $1387 per person twin share or $1787 for singles, which includes flights, accommodation and more.
DETAILS: FoodVixen's Facebook page
3. SUNDAY SESSIONS AT OCHRE
If there's one thing we love more than food here at Tropic HQ, it's eating food while listening local live music. Add in Trinity Inlet water views and a stellar wine list, and you've got Sunday Sessions at Ochre Restaurant at Harbour Lights.
On May 7, you can kick back to the acoustic sounds of Carinda Christie, performing diverse and energetic originals combining folk, pop, rock and blues sounds.
In the meantime, get yourself to Ochre quick smart to catch Chef Herick's latest to-die-for special (pictured): Crispy Skin Atlantic Salmon with baby beetroot, grilled squash, asparagus, fennel and tendril salad.
It's amazing!
DETAILS: Ochre's Facebook page or call 4051 0100
4. C'EST BON, OUI OUI
Here at Tropic HQ, we've long believed the Cairns CBD could do with more high-quality restaurants to save us making the trip to Palm Cove or Port Douglas for exceptional food, service and wine lists.
One of the key exceptions, apart from Ochre mentioned above, is of course C'Est Bon on Lake St.
We're particularly impressed by the great value - and always creative - set course lunches on offer.
Starting at $35 for two courses (entree-main or main-dessert), plus a free glass of wine and unlimited bread, you'd be hard pressed to find a better alternative in our city centre.
DETAILS: C'est Bon website or call 4051 4488
5. APEX MILK BAR BANG ON LUNCH BOXES
For a lunch with a more casual vibe than C'Est Bon, we highly recommend a visit to Hoare St, where you'll find the crew at Apex Milk Bar whipping up some kickass $10 lunch boxes.
Choose from The Royale and chips, battered Spanish Mackerel and chips or the Apex BLT and chips for a very sweet $10.
The lunch box specials are available weekdays from 11am to 4pm.
Get on it!
INFO: Apex Milk Bar Facebook page or call 4051 1749
6. THE PADDOCK RESTAURANT=VEGIE DELIGHT?
OK, not really.
But we do think the ricotta stuffed flat mushrooms with salt baked root vegetables and aged cheddar at The Paddock is a pretty damn awesome dish for vegetarians.
For the rest of us, there's everything from the 900G Cape Grim Striploin and Flinders Island Eye Fillet to the Pig Belly and free range chicken, all featured on The Paddock's (relatively) new menu.
BOOKINGS: The Paddock's website or call 4031 0100
7. MEET EAT REPEAT 3
Yes, we're casually dropping in this last fact so you can be the first to know... the third installment of Meet Eat Repeat will return in June.
We can't say too much just yet, but we've collected the feedback from our first two events and are mashing up some new ideas to make Meet Eat Repeat 3 even more special.
Stay tuned to TropicNow for the announcement, or sign up for our exclusive MER alerts by clicking here.
To get you inspired, check out our beautiful photo gallery from MER2.
