Prawn Star in Cairns was misleading to me as I walked on the pier at the marina after spending the day out on the Great Barrier Reef. It looked like a place with a goofy name where one purchases fresh seafood to prepare elsewhere. The name Prawn Star had me imagining large scantily clad shrimp performing some kind of silly lewd exotic dance.
Prawn Star in Cairns. Restaurant Review.
Prawn Star is actually a floating seafood restaurant and bar that is comprised of three vessels that are anchored to the pier.
Menus with photographs were on the table; and boxes on wheels function as seats. A type of metal barrel was used on which servers placed items.
After the order of what are known as Bugs was placed with the server, one of the members of the staff started preparing the food.
“Bugs are a flat lobster-like animal with a hard external shell which turns red when cooked”, according to a definition that appears at the official Internet web site of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority. “Bugs are also known as Balmain bugs or Moreton Bay bugs and are often cut in half, drizzled with oil/butter, seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked on the barbeque in their shell.”
A metal bowl with two small forks was placed on the aforementioned metal barrel.
Watching the food being prepared was fascinating. Care was definitely taken to ensure that the seafood was properly prepared.
The Bugs were served with a type of remoulade and two slices of lime; and they were easy to remove from the opened shells. They were fresh and tasty — with or without the sauce or the lime. $60.99 in Australian dollars — which included a surcharge for using a credit card to pay for the food — or $40.26 in United States dollars
Final Boarding Call
The bugs are advertised as for serving one to two people. Unless you have a light appetite, this dish is really enough for one person.
I recommend dining at Prawn Star.
Prawn Star
Marlin Marina
E Finger, Berth 3
Cairns, Queensland 4870
Australia
61-0497-007-225
Operating Hours
Open daily from 11:00 in the morning through 9:00 in the evening.
Parking is available nearby on surrounding streets.
All photographs ©2024 by Brian Cohen.
