After arriving in Cairns airport and picking up our rental vehicle, the first stop was a drive to Palm Cove. It was a very windy afternoon and the lovely beach was offset somewhat by blustery winds and sand. But like all good beach areas, there has to be a fish and chippery.
They have a simple menu but one that allows fish (battered, grilled or crumbed) and a small selection of fresh local fish to pick from.
The first time was a classic battered barramundi $20. The fish had good flavour and did not have a strong fishy sense. The chips were really excellent - something I soon discovered to be a constant in Queensland. Super salad (kale, broccolini, mint, avocado, quinoa, pepitas, sunflower seeds, Spanish onion, tahini dressing) $14 was nice and balanced. Kaffir lime aioli $2.5 wasn't that necessary but a bit of balance.
The second time a week later, I decided to try the meal deal Lucky Box (battered fish, lime pepper calamari, crumbed prawn cutlets, chips) $33. I wanted to try crumbed fish as something different to battered and they were happy to accommodate. There was a huge amount of coral trout (4 pieces) although I think they were fried a bit long given the colour. It didn't taste burnt at least though. In hindsight it was too much crumb fried in one box, and so battered would have been better to stick to. And given the first visit, battered is better there overall.