Rocksalt Modern Dining Restaurant Review

To be perfectly honest at first i wasn't thrilled about the idea of going out for lunch last Saturday, for the 3 following reasons 1. I had hangover  2. I had a dinner party to prepare and 3. I still had a bad taste in my mouth from our last dining disaster.

But poor Horn had been working so hard all week and really wanted to spend some time quality time with me before Monday rolled around again. It just so happened that it was Gold Coast Restaurant Week (restaurants in Broabeach put together set menus to get new people into their shops). 

We were tossing up between Moo Moo's and Rocksalt Modern Dining, we decided on Rocksalt as we have been to Moo Moo's quite a few times and its nice but in the last week 3 people had recommended Rocksalt to us. 

So with a brave face and a smile i got ready for lunch, i knew Horn would feel like a drink as he had just finished a huge week at work. 

The Menu

We made a reservation earlier as we weren't sure with GCRW if it would be packed, when we arrived we were welcomed by a lovely guy named Lee/Leigh. He was chirpy and bubbly- just what we like in a waiter.

I noticed straight away that there were reserved signs on most tables so i was glad that we booked, then I noticed that they had those bloody wall length couches too (you know the ones where you have to sit close to people), i crossed my fingers and prayed that we wouldn't be seated there. It must of been our lucky day because we were the only table for two inside not on the couches.

Looking around the restaurant the decor was nice and clean with modern features, Lee/Leigh was our waiter for the afternoon and he was informative, friendly and fun. There were 3 menus to choose from: Al carte (anything you wish), GCRW (choices of entree, main and dessert) or the weekly lunch special (2 entree sized dishes with a glass of house wine or local beer), we looked through all of the menus and to help me decide i asked Lee/Leigh what the house wine was with the lunch menu and to my delight it was from Marlborough NZ so i decided to go with the LUNCH SPECIAL.

Now Horn pretends he doesn't have a sweet tooth but he does, he in fact loves his sweets! So i wasn't shocked when he suggested that if he got the GCRW menu that we could "share" the dessert....

So we placed our orders and our drinks soon arrived, my wine (the hair of the dog) was lovely and Horn ordered an Asahi (beer), chatting away we were hoping our meals would be nice and that's when our entree's arrived.....

Salt & Pepper King Prawns with
Asian Spanner Crab Salad,
Sweet Corn Custard, Soy Dressing

I ordered the S&P Prawns, it may look small on the large round plate but it was enough and boy was it DELICIOUS.... The light crispy coating on the prawns, the fresh spanner crab and the sweet corn custard was silky and perfect... The only thing left on my plate were the prawn tails.

Pan Roasted Quail with
Pine Nuts, Raisins, Soft Polenta,
Parmesan, Thyme Jus

I wish i was as adventurous as Horn, there are still a few things that i cant get my head around and quail is one of them. I have tried it before and liked it but as Forrest Gump mumma says sometimes you never know what you gonna get, so i stick to what i know. Horn said it was beautiful, the raisins were his favourite part he loved the little pops of sticky sweetness and said it went perfectly with the tender quail.

Rare Peppered Beef Carpaccio with
Celeriac, Horseradish, Garlic Croutons,
Truffle Oil, Parmesan

My second entree was the Carpaccio, it was slightly different to what i am used to but i really enjoyed it. I am trying to find the right words to explain the texture of the meat and i am not sure if this is correct but i am going to say it was "aged" or dehydrated it was NOT DRY at all just not as raw as i expected but it was awesome.  All of the components went extremely well together and i loved the Garlic Croutons and Horseradish.

Loin, Cutlet & Shoulder of Lamb with
Fondant Potato, Dutch Carrot, Glazed Shallot,
Peas & Mint and Lamb Sauce

Now everybody knows that Horn loves Lamb, so its no surprise he ordered it again. I would like to let everyone know that i DO cook Lamb at home, he just cant get enough of it. He also has a secret fetish for baby carrots so his face lit up when he saw it on the plate.  The three different cuts of Lamb were all cooked they way they were supposed too: loin was juicy, the shoulder braised and tender and the "frenching" on the cutlet was precise and the meat perfectly pink. You cant see it in the picture but the "peas and mint" component was a puree and the colour was the most vibrant green i have ever seen.

Dark Chocolate Marquise with
Peanut Butter Mousse, Frozen Banana Zabaglione
and Caramel Popcorn

Dessert time, we decided to go CHOCOLATE of course... The other option was Lavender Panna Cotta, (i hate to sound like a drama queen but i hate Lavender, the colour, the smell, the over use as a fragrant and the fact that its used on toilet paper says it all) there was no way we were getting that. 

This dessert has still got me drooling......... I have really been enjoying peanut butter lately so when i saw it on the dessert menu i got super excited.. I wasn't sure what Marquise was but gathered it would either be a cake or a dense mousse and it turned out that it was a combination of the two and semi frozen, it was nice but really rich. 

The stand out for me was the Frozen Banana Zabaglione i am not sure if any one remembers Barney Banana by Billabong (not to be confused with a Banana Paddlepop they are very different)- it tasted exactly like it, it was creamy and tasted like real Banana not a flavouring and the caramel popcorn, well all i can say is who doesn't like pop corn?

The Bill

So once we polished off our desserts, we asked for the bill after all i had a dinner party to prepare for! The grand total was $113, which we think is very reasonable for 2 Imported Beers, NZ Sav Blanc, 3 Entrees, 1 Main and a dessert. 

We had such a lovely afternoon, it put us in a great mood and got us ready for the night ahead. We were very happy with the service, presentation and taste of the meals- we will definitely be back and by the look of the restaurant (which was packed when we were leaving) Rocksalt Modern Dining is a favourite for locals and tourists...

Score: 8/10