What’s cooking on P&O’s Pacific Dawn

What’s cooking on P&O’s Pacific Dawn, you ask? You will be surprised.

When cruising on the Pacific Dawn, you can nibble, snack, and have a relaxed meal or spruce up for fine dining.
Snacks and Burgers for the very famished are available at all times at The Grill.
Casual dining on the Pacific Cruise is available at the banquet-style Luna Restaurant, where you can enjoy the flavours of Asia. The menu rotates every three days, offering either Thai or Chinese specialities.
The choices at the Buffet-style Plantation Restaurant are significant. Fresh and delicious, even though at this occasion, the ship was still docked at Portside Wharf, Hamilton.
Another option to dine on the Pacific Dawn is the Waterfront Restaurant, where you can order from a very extensive a-la-carte menu.
When sailing, the cruising foodies can book a special celebratory dinner at “the chefs table”. Every serving of the seven-course meal is introduced and explained personally by the executive chef.
He will meticulously match the perfect wines with every plate. On some of the cruises, you can also attend interesting wine lectures and food expos.

The Salt Grill is celebrity chef Luke Mangan’s exclusive signature restaurants on all of P&O’s cruise ships. Open for lunch and dinner, it is worth your while to make a booking and indulge in Luke’s gourmet creations, produced by the executive chefs.

At the Salt Grill, you will enjoy a meal made from the finest and freshest locally sourced ingredients.

As a guest on the Pacific Dawn, I enjoyed a fabulous lunch at the Salt Grill. Joined by executive chef Ravindra Jadhav, Sebastian Schaubensteiner, Food & Beverage Director of the Pacific Dawn and Andrew Spencer, Hotel Director at Carnival Cruise Lines, a truly international setting. Ravindra from India, Sebastian from Austria, Andrew from England and myself, Australian/Swiss. It made for great conversation, obviously mostly about food and travel, and reminiscing of “old times” on the QE2 and discovering mutual friends.

The Salt Grill’s interior design is simple but elegant with great attention to details. All plates, serving dishes, glasses and accessories are engraved with Luke’s signature logo, making the dining experience just that bit more classy and exclusive.
Luke Mangan’s book and merchandise display at the entrance of the restaurant is a tell-tale sign that you are entering into his inner sanctum.

Luke Mangan is renowned for his unusual and unexpected food creations, which derive from his French classical training and Asian influences.
Our luncheon started with the house baked plain and zartar bread with Luke Mangan’s olive oil and dukkah – (my bread Gluten free, the one I saw in the making earlier).
Our Charcuterie plate including (bresaola, capicola, prosciutto) was impressive. It reminded me of the Swiss Alps, where at an altitude of between 800 and 1,800 metres this air dried delicacy has been made since time immemorial, called Bündnerfleisch.

This treat was followed by a superb Tasmanian smoked salmon, with asparagus and orange salad, topped with crème fraiche.
Luke Mangan’s signature dish; “Glass” Sydney crab omelette with enoki mushroom, in a miso mustard broth and herb salad – did not disappoint. A perfect example of fresh and clean flavours, this was simply delicious.
Already very satisfied, we were served a very generous helping of Grilled Lamb cutlets (Victoria, grain-fed) with Provencale herbs and sides of truffled mashed potatoes, crushed peas and mint sauce as well as roasted, curried pumpkin, flavoured with feta and coriander.

Luke’s cooking philosophy is to enhance and accentuate the natural taste of the produce, which was showcased with all of the dishes.
The dessert was somewhat of a surprise; Luke’s liquorice parfait with lime syrup and tuile. Liquorice is not something I would ever have experimented with, but the rich, creamy parfait together with a tangy lime syrup was superb and refreshing.
Unfortunately, there was not much room left to indulge in the magnificent, Australian cheeses.
I waved goodbye when the impressive Pacific Dawn was piloted out of the dock and down the Brisbane river, on its journey around the Pacific Islands, manoeuvring with difficulty under the Gateway Bridge.