Tuscan's Table, Cairns

I hate resorts sometimes. The restaurant choices are inevitably limited and for acreage getaways like The Lakes Resort and Spa in Cairns, the great places to eat are a bus ride or 3km walk (in the humid, 32 degrees Celsius weather) away. Alas, we were starving after having spent a great day on the Great Barrier Reef and a walk or bus ride just wasn't going to happen. And that's how we ended up at The Lakes' lone restaurant, Tuscan's Table.

The restaurant itself is modern. Three quarter windows line the 'outside' section. They can be opened, revealing the restaurant to the resort's gardens and central water feature. But it's the middle of Summer and, considering that it's Cairns, no one wants to be exposed to the humid air, let alone outside. Inside is nothing special; I remember nothing of what it looks like.

We wait a while to be welcomed, lucky we have plush cushioned chairs. Various families surround us, all look a bit peckish. The service is not the best. The best word I can think of to describe our waitress is awkward. She seems out of place and confused as she heavily stomps around the restaurant and basically throws the menus at us.

We glaze over the extensive menu for quite a while--there's pasta, pizza, salads, pork, chicken and beef.  A large chunk of the meals are outright Italian and then there's a handful of your standard mains. Nath and I look forward to the duck all' arancia: duck breast served with orange and Grand Marnier sauce ($30) and Pork belly: Slowly roasted pork loin with crispy crackle, served with mixed herb risotto and rosemary and marsala sauce ($26)

Nathan and I both like our pieces of meat. The duck is tender, as is the pork. The duck's skin is crispy, as is my crackling (praise the lord for non-chewy crackling!) And, while Nath's side of vegetables is a bit on the boring side, my risotto is heavenly. For me, risotto is one of those things that tastes good, regardless of its lack of technical skill and creativity. Nathan's sauce was okay; if you are an orange enthusiast you probably would've loved it. However, for both of us (and I admit, I am not the biggest fan of citrus fruits, especially orange) it was way too sweet. And this is where the compliments and small negatives end.

My meal, in reality, was almost inedible. Well, not all of it: just the bits that were covered in sauce. After digging in, I literally questioned whether Tuscan's Table had confused their savoury and sweet sauces, because mine tasted like toffee. It was so sickening and odd, I assumed that this must have been the case. God bless any poor souls who order this meal if it is not. Sickly sweet, thick and overpowering. I was lucky the so-called rosemary and marsala sauce only clipped the ends of my pork.

So, would I go back? Probably not. If you're thinking about going to Tuscan's Table, you are probably exhausted and are holidaying in the resort. I recommend you try get over that tiredness and make the trek to somewhere more worth your while.

Tuscan's Table, The Lakes Resort and Spa, 2 Greenslopes Street, Cairns