Restaurant Review - Bay Leaf Balinese Restaurant

  Our first night in Cairns we had an exceptional dinner at Bayleaf Balinese Restaurant. J has Dutch roots and this restaurant came highly recommended by his father (a connisseur on Indonesian food).

We went with the Balinese rijsttafel (rice table) which is basically a banquet (minimum of 2 people).  This was fantastic value at $49.95/head for 4 large courses.

Firstly we were presented with appetisers – a refreshing green papaya and vegetable salad, and pork, chicken and minced seafood satays with peanut sauce, picked vegetables and soy sauce. The satay came served on a grill in the middle of the table and were fragrant and delicious.

Next up was the soup of the day, but unfortunately I don’t have a photo and I can’t remember the flavour. I do remember it had a definite kick of chilli and had raised my body temperature by several degrees by the time I finished it!

The main course had seven (7!) components:

• Braised beef in coconut – one of the highlights of the night;
• Steamed minced duck parcels in banana leaf;
• Pork in sweet soya sauce – lovely, reminded J and I of a fantastic Indonesian dish we had in Amsterdam;
• Balinese lamb stew with cardamon and coriander;
• Grilled marinated fish fillet;
• Braised squid and fish fillets in yellow coconut milk;
• Balinese chicken curry.

This feast was served with steamed rice and vegetable condiments. If I had one complaint about the banquet (I can’t speak for the rest of the menu) it was the lack of vegetables.  A vegetable curry wouldn’t have gone astray amidst all that meat!  However, all the dishes were tender and fragrant.

Finally, dessert.  I wasn’t sure what to expect for dessert as I sometimes find it can be a bit of a let down in banquets.  However, this dessert blew me away.  We had an enormous serve of tropical fruits (so sweet and fresh), steamed black rice with fresh coconut and palm sugar, sticky brown rice squares (which you ate with a coconut sauce and palm sugar sauce), a tea cake style slice and little green wraps of some kind with a sweet coconut and rice filling (my favourite).  I found the desserts really interesting and unusual and I know my partners-in-wine agreed!

This was a really positive experience on all fronts.  I will offer up one warning however.  The restaurant is attached to a slightly dated hotel, and looks out onto a suburban street (opposite Cairns public hospital), so the atmosphere is not quite “fine dining”.  However, the staff were very friendly and efficient and this was certainly a cut above your normal hotel restaurant!

I should add – they make a fantastic lychee cocktail!

Bayleaf Balinese Restaurant
Cnr Lake and Gatton Streets
Cairns,  Queensland
Ph: 07 4051 4622
Web: http://www.bayvillage.com.au/bayleaf