Captain Cook Cruises
Gold Lunch Series
King St Wharf 1
Darling Harbour, Sydney
The Gold Lunch Series is a once-a-month event offered by Captain Cook Cruises, running between February and December 2020. We attended the launch of the series recently. It’s a truly decadent day out on the beautiful harbour with crisp white tablecloths and lashings of simply superb cuisine and beverages onboard the MV Sydney 2000, a large and stylish vessel.
Throughout 2020 Captain Cook Cruises will present Gold Lunches of different themes so that all tastes are catered for. This one was “Paddock and Claw” and included a presentation by Monin, the makers of flavoured syrups used in the starting cocktails which were amazing!
Canapes arrived first – wagyu beef and lobster roulade mini bites. Beautiful to look at, beautiful to taste. The beef was tender and the lobster moreish. What a great start!
Next up was the appetizer. A picture-perfect crab and mango tower with avocado which was a tasty combination of colours and well-matched flavours.
Our entrée was a plate of Australian seafood including prawns, bugs and crab. Finger bowls and crab crackers were in order here and we attacked with gusto! It was such succulent and fresh seafood - we thoroughly cleaned out those shells.
After a champagne sorbet palate cleanser (which was also delicious), our mains arrived. A massive T-Bone cooked as you like it with roasted vegetables and a pot of jus. We couldn’t believe the tenderness and quality of the meat – it was really a superb cut and so impressively cooked. We were quite full but it was too juicy and delicious to leave anything on the plate. Just sensational!
Dessert! A beautifully presented apple raisin crumble with vanilla ice cream which was quite amazing. It had a great cinnamon flavour and tender apple chunks on a crumble base and it was delicious.
Cruises can sometimes be hit- and- miss and experience has shown the focus to be more on the scenery than the food. This cruise was surprisingly different and the quality of the food certainly exceeded expectations. The accompanying wines were of exceptional quality and there were plenty of varieties to choose from.
It was so lovely cruising Sydney Harbour on this lazy afternoon, taking in the views and being pampered by the attentive and friendly crew who seem to love what they do. We enjoyed hearing from the Monin presenter and it was a treat to try our hand at cocktail making with the lovely syrups.
An excerpt from a recent press release by Captain Cook Cruises shows what’s in store for 2020 – and it all looks amazing:
Gold Lunch cruises HARBOUR SPICE, PADDOCK & CLAW, AQUA FIZZ, CUT ABOVE and VINO BOTTE make up the ten cruises held onboard flagship vessel, MV Sydney 2000, in this exceptional 2020 lunch series, including a mix of Thursday, Friday and Sunday departures.
HARBOUR SPICE pairs Asian cuisine favourites with Ales and Wines and departs Sunday 23 February 2020.
PADDOCK & CLAW celebrates Australian Beef and Shellfish paired with cocktails and wine and departs Friday 20 March and 7 August 2020.
AQUA FIZZ combines scrumptious Seafood and Sparkling Wines and departs Sunday 05 April and 13 September and Thursday 3 December 2020.
CUT ABOVE partners the finest Australian beef and wine and will be held on Friday 1 May and 16 October 2020.
VINO BOTTE takes the best rustic Italian food & pairs it with the best wines and departs Sunday 28 June and 15 November 2020.
On every Gold Lunch cruise, premium food and beverage suppliers from across Australia share secrets of their success. The 2020 series will include presentations from a variety of Australia’s top wineries including Tyrrells, Vasse Felix and Brokenwood
A big thanks to the lovely Sue-Ellen Forster, who made us so welcome and looked after us all afternoon. Those Dames dined as guests of Captain Cook Cruises.