Gourmet pleasures galore, ashore and afloat in the Kimberley
On this 10-night luxury expedition cruise from Broome to Darwin, you’ll never consider in-suite dining — the food is just too good.
“Good afternoon. I’m Francis from Panama. Welcome aboard and how can I be of help?” The first learning curve of personalised attention aboard Scenic Eclipse II is that every guest has butler service. On this 10-night expedition cruise through the Kimberley, from Broome to Darwin, I’ve already unpacked and mastered my suite’s “lighting menu”, because someone’s had the eminent sense to label each switch. But Francis has a job to do. He points out the other bells and whistles and I ask him to make bookings for meals. I leave to snoop around the ship and an hour later return to find he’s left a printed sheet, my dining schedule all sorted.
Launched last year, the 228-passenger Scenic Eclipse II is a clone of the company’s first ship Scenic Eclipse, and neither has sailed the Kimberley until now. This cruise is part of a Tastes of Discovery series, so we’re blessed with the presence of not only Scenic’s ebullient kitchen supremo Tom Goetter but his friend Dale MacKay, a celebrated Canadian running the first of occasional pop-ups on Scenic ships.
Several SEII outlets require bookings, although notably none carries a surcharge. Indeed, every mouthful guests consume and, if eschewing the reserve wine list, all of what they care to drink, is included in the fare.
First up I’m booked into Night Market, a newly added venture that transforms street food to fine dining. Tonight it’s Filipino, and among nine tastes are Devilled Itlog (egg with chilli guacamole), Salmon Sinigang (a sour soup) and Kabataan Surprise (a dish of sticky rice, caramelised coconut and mango sorbet). But the hands-down favourite at this intimate sitting for eight passengers is Naughty Adobo, a small roll stuffed with applewood-smoked beef infused with coconut milk and topped by a peanut butter sauce. The Night Market menu switches every few days, to Middle Eastern, Indian and, finally, South East Asian.
This meal has set a high bar for the rest of the voyage, and you sense Scenic stakes a lot on its culinary credentials. Guests descending to the Zodiac pontoon pass a huge banner displaying Goetter, who bears the lofty title of Vice President, Scenic Group Oceans Hotel Operations, standing with Jason Flesher, Expeditions Operations Director. They flank Erwan le Rouzic, aka Captain Everywhere because he’s the most visible skipper afloat. Le Rouzic describes this 17,000-tonne, all-suite ship as a “discovery yacht”, as it’s built for Antarctic conditions, but there’s nothing hard-edged about either the facilities or the food.
My Deck 8 suite is designated Deluxe Verandah and, at 34sq m, covers over-generous levels of sleeping, living, bathroom and storage space. Francis and I come to an understanding about the mini bar. I’ll ignore the soft drinks and Heineken, but when replenishing the teabags from renowned Singapore brand TWG, plenty of Earl Grey please. Otherwise, I leave Francis be, as other guests may have more pressing needs, such as the Canadian I dine with on one occasion, who has caviar delivered every night.
Of SEII’s 10 dining options, I try eight, never considering in-suite dining, while the Chef’s Garden experience passes me by. The Yacht Club buffet (breakfast and lunch only) on Deck 7 sensibly doesn’t overwhelm with choices, the best of which are the cold cuts, salads and gelato. In daylight hours, I prefer Azure, a cosier indoor-outdoor full-service cafe two decks below. It’s here that I appreciate the quality of the bakers and pâtissiers on board, who create the likes of brioche as fluffy as silken tofu for French toast, and a perfect Paris-Brest, that sublime combination of praline mousseline and choux.
Dinner occupies several venues. Koko’s mines many Asian cuisines for inspiration, including a dish that divides the ship. Some diners admit they’re unsure of wasabi gelato, others just don’t like spicy vegetable desserts. Others, like me, praise it to the hilt. The devilish green paste also resides at Koko’s offshoot, Sushi & Sake, another reservation-required experience. Watching master slicer Tony preparing sashimi with such skill and so little effort, I realise I must get my own knives sharpened. The sake comes warm or cold. Or as a Sake Cloud, a bowl of fairy floss melted under a pour of this warm rice wine, Japanese gin, Cointreau and ginger juice. I give the main walk-in restaurant Elements a couple of goes, where the deal is four choices across four courses, including faultless pasta and risotto.
Several times on each cruise, there’s an invitation-only Chef’s Table. Ten guests, 10 stunning courses, 10 fascinating wines and the one-and-only Tom Goetter revealing his life story and philosophy as he introduces each dish. Born into a family of chefs in Germany, he took himself around the world for 10 years, knocking on kitchen doors, including at both Quay and Park Hyatt in Sydney. He flirted with becoming a clown and is still a performer, as well as something of an illusionist. What appears to be a tiny toffee apple is foie gras on a bed of fairy floss, which we dissolve with a tiny vial of vinegar. And what’s this ashtray containing, well, ash? Goetter tells us of observing a Mexican street vendor blowing cigar smoke into his taco dough. “He became my silent mentor,” he says. “This man has made simple food outstanding.” So we dip our “cigar” of beef, beans, avocado, cilantro and cumin, into the (vegetable) ash.
The ship’s third bookable restaurant is French-themed Lumiere, and on my first night there, a presentation appears of four beautiful entree morsels followed by duck breast confit, which requires negotiation. I think the waiter is trying to say that while the kitchen prefers it medium-rare, most diners feel more comfortable with medium. OK, no one wants undercooked duck, but I can’t think of a chef worth their checked trousers who’d overcook it, and the medium-rare I request is lovely. The oddity of this meal, indeed of any I have on board, is a rare failure in the form of a fromage cheddar croissant that arrives as a cold, dry, tasteless breadstick, so something has gone awry. I’m delivered the alternative, an unctuous chocolate tart.
For the last few nights, Dale MacKay takes over Lumiere. He met Goetter on a TV show called Top Chef World All Stars, and whereas the latter’s Chef’s Table is an event, this is just a perfect meal, from chilled chilli cantaloupe soup, plus a concoction of cod, clams, mussels and lobster simply called Celebrating Seafood, to Tasmanian lamb in a brown butter curry. And head patissier Heike Scholl justifiably is swiping the strawberry pavlova for the permanent menu.
Goetter likes his ships to taste of where they are so several meals feature mangrove Jack, a hero fish in these parts, and in port he’ll send out cashed-up chefs in search of whatever’s good. The tale is also told of how Goetter, spying a passing trawler some weeks earlier, negotiated the purchase of 250kg of shrimp and sent SEII’s helicopter to collect it. The choppers also take guests fishing, and their catch goes into the kitchen, to be served several nights later.
SEII’s complimentary wine options are diverse and interesting, both new world and old. You’ll initially be offered whatever white and red the server may have picked up, but it’s also OK to request something you’d prefer. The ubiquitous house Champagne comes from a co-operative called Chassenay d’Arce, but the crowning glory of the bar offerings is the wall of whisky in the main lounge. There’s around 120, from Scotland, Japan, North America and renowned Australian labels such as Lark and Sullivans Cove, all free to a good home.
This is an expedition cruise, and in time we get excursions, but none on the first few days as the current and wind defeat efforts to launch the Zodiacs safely. Eventually we get away for close-ups of the Horizontal Waterfall in Talbot Bay, spot sea critters galore off Montgomery Reef, and inspect many intriguing rock art sites. The final off-ship lark is a thrilling scoot up the King George River to its twin falls.
My favourite is a morning spent on an albeit fruitless crocodile hunt in spectacular Prince Frederick Harbour. We drift close to the mangroves, hoping to find one sunning itself on the bank, but the only sighting is some claw marks in the mud. No worry, as it’s fine simply to be gliding past these stirringly beautiful red sandstone cliffs. Returning to base, our guide steers an unnecessary wide course until we rendezvous with another Zodiac, that is. And who should pop up but Captain Everywhere with elevenses, plastic flutes and Chassenay d’Arce at the ready. SEII may be powered by mangrove Jack and wasabi, but it floats on Champagne. And the occasional tot of Scotch.
In the know
Scenic Eclipse II returns to Australian waters in 2025, sailing the Kimberley from July 21 to September 27. From $16,465 a person, twin-share in a Deluxe Verandah Suite for an 11-day cruise.
The next Tastes of Discovery cruise is Rhythms of the Brazilian Coastline, featuring Michelin-starred Mexican chef Gabriel Rodriguez, from November 16 this year. From $8,345 a person, twin-share with a complimentary upgrade to a Deluxe Verandah Suite.
Jeremy Bourke was a guest of Scenic.
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