Editor Pick
Caravel Restaurant--Seafresh Buffet
- September 11, 2006
- Rated 2 of 5 by
UK Flower Girl from Market Weighton, England
The décor of the restaurant was nothing to write home about. In fact, it looked like a large room set up for a buffet (ironically enough!) with tables and chairs set in the middle with buffet tables on two sides. It was pleasant enough, just nothing memorable. It reminded me of a wedding reception buffet.
I was looking forward to a seafood meal. I mean, we were in New Zealand, surrounded by water. The time difference was wreaking havoc on my body, though, and I didn’t have much of an appetite, which isn’t a good thing when you have a large seafood buffet at your disposal.
The buffet tables were set with an amazing quantity of food and had an incredible variety. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to eat a whole lot, so I needed to be picky. Tom was hungry, so he was able to sample more of the buffet.
Both of us started with seafood chowder—big chunks of mussels, crab, shrimp, and other unidentifiable pieces of seafood in a scrumptious, creamy soup. Definitely one of the best chowders I have ever had.
Next came the salads and cold seafood. The number of different dishes astounded me, and I had a hard time choosing: oysters on the half shell, New Zealand Green-Lipped mussels, pasta salad, crab salad, prawns, mushroom salad, marinated fish salad, shrimp salad in dressing for a green salad…need I say more? I had a few bites, but wanted to save room for the main.
Main courses included freshly cooked beef or prawns and scallops cooked to order by a lovely Indian man who conversed with us whilst our food cooked. He asked us where we came from and told us about coming to New Zealand from Hyderabad, India. The rest of the mains included things such as whitefish with basil, beef in gravy, freshly steamed vegetables, rice, potatoes, seafood pasta, and mussels.
Both Tom and I enjoyed the starters but didn’t have much of an appetite for the mains. The dessert table beckoned us from afar. I was stuffed to the gills but felt like I needed just a bite of something. Pavlova, a famous NZ (and/or Australian) dessert, was included among all of the other wonderful things, such as hot apple crumble with cream, cheesecake, fresh fruit, coconut cake, and coffee or tea to finish it off. I had one bite of Pavlova since I didn’t know if I would have the opportunity to have it elsewhere in NZ. That one little bite was worth it!
Tom and I left the restaurant satisfied with the food, but the décor left us with something to be desired. The meal was part of our Dinner, Bed and Breakfast package. If I were to stay again, I would try the Japanese restaurant before eating at the Seafresh Buffet again.
From journal Rotorua: Maori Culture and Geothermal Delights