You may recall Tuan and I had a fantastic local seafood lunch at The restaurant decor is simple, and has an open kitchen, which provided a quietly buzzing atmosphere. Noting its name as the Poolside Restaurant, my friend and I asked whether they ever have the glass concertina doors open to enjoy the fabulous dry season weather. Apparently they don't. I think they are missing a huge opportunity here. Locals and visitors alike revel in the chance to sit outside in Darwin and not melt. The wooden deck around the pool is gorgeous and it would be simply delightful to sit outside for dinner at this time of year. Bring the outside in, I say. The special menu for June looks like this:

Entree  Tasting platter of pan seared scallops, green pea puree, tian of crab, tomato fondue, mango & chilli marinated baby octopus*

Main Dukkah crusted tuna, beetroot, chickpeas & asparagus salad & herb oil* Cilantro crusted NT barramundi, potato gratin, baby vegetables & béarnaise sauce Singaporean chilli soft shell crab, steamed bok choy & jasmine rice*

Dessert Warm sticky date pudding, vanilla ice cream & fruit salsa* Pistachio & cinnamon pannacotta with deconstructed pavlova* Trio flavoured jelly & fresh fruit compote

*the dishes we ordered

The entree (pictured above) came out quite quickly and we were underway! I'm not going to sugarcoat things - there were one or two ok elements on this dish, but on the whole it was a bit of a rocky start. The scallops were seared to perfection and melted in the mouth, but the accompanying pea puree was a strange pairing. Reminded us of the mushy peas you might have on top of a meat pie. The octopus was tender and tasty, though if you're looking for the chilli hit you may not find it. The tian of crab was over-salted and I was left with a strong raw onion aftertaste. I am a firm believer in simple, clean flavours when it comes to seafood - let the produce speak for itself. Unfortunately, this entree didn't do that.

I ordered the dukkah crusted tuna for main after confirming with the waitress that it would be served seared. A good quality piece of fresh tuna, seared rare and juicy is absolutely divine, so I was looking forward to this. Not long after we placed our orders, we saw another diner sen his really, really rare tuna back to the kitchen. The chef took on the feedback from the diner, (maybe a little too much), which became evident as soon as our very overcooked tuna was brought out. The dukkah was nice, mostly consisting of sesame seeds and cumin. The salad was delightful and packed with sweet fresh roasted beetroot, asparagus and plump chickpeas.

The Singaporean chilli soft-shell crab was a tough one to work through. It  was a lot stickier than other chilli crab dishes both I and my dining partner have had before - even in Singapore. It had a dark, punchy and spicy gravy with a lot of sweetness and big chunks of fresh ginger. I honestly found the crab got a little lost in the sauce. The bok choy was steamed al dente and delicious, and along with the rice was a perfect accompaniment. Not a bad dish at all.

The desserts were a highlight from the moment they appeared in front of us. Visually gorgeous and with absolutely divine flavour, these dishes were by far the best part of the meal. The sticky date pudding was a lot lighter and fluffier than most, whilst still being rich and sweet. The fruit salsa was a pleasant surprise, including finely chopped fruits and mint. It provided a reprieve from the richness of the pudding and I could have happily eaten a bowl of this on its own with ice cream or yoghurt.

The Pistachio & cinnamon pannacotta with deconstructed pavlova was quite special. It was heavy on the pistachios and light on the cinnamon, but the subtle spiced flavour was still there. Texture wise, it was super creamy and didn't hold its shape for long, which was absolutely fine, because it really didn't last for long. The deconstructed pavlova was more of a pistachio-crusted meringue - the marshmallowy kind. Yum. I've been day dreaming about this since I had it and would love to see this on the permanent menu!

At the end of the night, Chef Prabhat joined us for a chat. His background is varied and interesting, including stints at Crown Promenade in Melbourne and other notable high-end hotel chains within Australia and overseas. As a relatively new Darwinite, he admits he's still finding his feet when it comes to the dining scene here. I think hotel restaurant dining is a whole other ball game - for many reasons.

All in all, the meal was pleasant, the staff were friendly and the atmosphere was ok. I think they are doing themselves a massive disservice by introducing a completely new special menu every month - practice makes perfect, after all. After the last couple of hotel restaurant meals I've had, I'd really like to see Top Enders get past the awkwardness of walking through a hotel lobby and sitting in a restaurant filled with out-of-towners.

I've found that these are the places where some of the most exciting, adventurous cooking is happening. Chains like Hilton are trying their hand at new things and working really hard to establish themselves as a fantastic dining option for locals and visitors alike. And in a place like Darwin, where we are always whinging that there's nothing new to do/see/eat, we need to start taking advantage of the experience and skill that these chefs often have.