Paper Moon — Restaurant in Hibiscus and Bays

My family, partner and I visited Paper Moon last night (with a reservation) and we were given the honour of being served by Lucy. Lucy was a great server, she was friendly and didn't talk as if she was reading off a script. We'd all 100% go back just to be served by her. She also recommended that we moved tables as the table we were on previously was tiny for the 4 of us. Not long after switching tables (roughly 5-10 minutes) the table was properly sanitized and cleaned by another server. So cleanliness was a 10/10!

Onto the food, we got the Grazing Board appetizer to start and there was such a wide variety of samplers and everything was extremely well made, tender and flavourful. Great starter; 9/10.

But along with the appetizer we ordered, I got a chocolate milkshake. I had my expectations high, maybe a bit too high. To everyone it just tasted like milk with a very VERY slight hint of chocolate. 5/10; you're better off with a soda or water.

My partner ordered the Scotch Fillet and they loved it, though I felt as though it was too charred on the top. Overpowering the taste of the steak. But the steak fries that came with it were perfectly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Overall; 8/10.

My mum ordered the Grilled Salmon with Risotto, the salmon completely melted in your mouth, vegetables were perfectly cooked, not too hard, not too soft. This would make a perfect 10/10 dish, but I think the risotto was a bit too salty. Which kind of made anything that was touching it have a distinct saltiness taste. I'd give this another 8/10.

My pop ordered the Beef Wellington, which we were told would take 30 minutes, but it came out with almost everything else. Everything tasted amazing. From the pastry down to the sauce. The beef was perfectly rendered and the pastry had a small amount of cheese separating it from the pâté. Even the mushrooms in it were extraordinaire. The only complaint he had with it was that it was a bit too small, but I give it a 9/10.

And finally, I ordered the Salt & Pepper Squid Salad. Which at the time I was surprised that it took the longest, everyone's food had already come out and it took maybe an extra 5 minutes. I didn't expect much from a salad but when it came out I understood why it took longer. This was by far the best and biggest salad I have ever seen and ordered. We also thought the squid was going to be small cuts of squid but it ended up being multiple big tender-sized chunks of squid that were perfectly tender and fell apart in your mouth. The salad itself was a bit flavourless but if you incorporate the sauce/dressing that's given with it, it becomes a whole lot better. This, in my opinion was the best dish of the night. 10/10.

Now, onto dessert! When we were thinking of what to order we had asked Lucy how big the desserts usually are and instead of her telling us some fancy wording on why it's small, she told us straight up, which we loved. We ordered the Tiramisu and the New York Cheesecake, both were quite small but it was a good portion for the 4 of us considering we were all full from our mains.

The Tiramisu wasn't the best I've had, but it was definitely a sight for sore eyes. Looking at it I felt like I had travelled to Italy! The mascarpone was pretty good but the lady fingers were too hard and crunchy. It was as if I was eating a scotch finger. I give it a 7/10.

And as for the New York Cheesecake, it was amazing. It was moist, flavourful and the base was a perfect texture and consistency. Though it was a bit too flavourful. The berry and passionfruit compote was very overpowering. If you put them together all you can taste is the passionfruit, but if you try it separately it just becomes too much, so try the cheesecake with a small pinch of the compote. Overall I give it an 8.5/10.

We just want to give a big thank you to Lucy for an unforgettable night and we will definitely come back just for you! This is a great place for a family dinner, a date night or just drinks with your mates. Come give this place a try!

(All pictures hopefully in...

Winter roast special advertised with garlic bread, vegetables and Yorkshire pudding. We had seen it advertised and it sounded just what we needed on a colder blustery day. Experience started well. Staff polite and quick to take Oder get our extra drinks. There was a choice of meats but as there were two of us we both had to have the same meat no individual choices allowed.

The garlic bread arrived one small slice in a bowel between 2 adults !! We called the waitress and asked if this was all as there was two of us this and was reluctantly given another slice 5 mins later. So our together meal started individually.

Main course arrives lamb on a dish presented well and enough for 2, with tongs to serve. I asked for gravy as there was very little on the meat. Then the vegetables arrived one small bowl (same size as garlic bread). No utensils to serve. That was it !!

Realizing we had no plates the waiter then quickly gave us two COLD SIDE PLATES as our main plates and rushed away. (Probably to make the food look more). As the food was cooling we tried, with our knife and fork to move the few vegetables peas included from the dish and ended up having to tip them onto the very small bread plates.

Suddenly out of the blue the waiter appeared after we had eaten most our meal, with a small bowl with two small yorkshires, he said he’d forgot. Off he went , no gravy ever materialized and we ate quickly as the food was now cool from having to be put small cold plates. There was just enough food only to fill these plates, it was dry and it looked like we were eating child portions of food. It was quite embarrassing for us, as a family turned up at the next table and looked across.

We left very disappointed. As we paid we quietly voiced our disappointment and this was met by this is a new menu we are just trialing. Thanks for that information ! Then why do I have to pay full price for your experiments .

When we go to a Resturant, and we eat out regularly, we expect to have enough food to be satisfied and not to look like we are sharing and adult meal between two adults, like children. Definitely not a good experience or one we want to repeat. Not worth the time or money. Maybe wait until they have done their trial.

A little customer care would not go amiss especially when we were giving polite feedback. We have photos to back up what we have written here, on our experience Sunday...

Mixed Experiences – Great Breakfast, Disappointing Dinner

We’ve been to Papermoon before and had a great breakfast a few months ago, so we returned for dinner with high expectations—but unfortunately, it fell short.

Things started off poorly when my wife ordered an espresso martini. It was extremely bitter and tasted burnt. We asked for a replacement, but the second one tasted just as bad, so we felt awkward but sent it back and settled for a glass of Prosecco instead.

We were also told about a $95 special that included two mains and two appetisers, or one appetiser could be swapped for a dessert. The appetiser pricing on the menu was varied, so we clarified with one waitress whether we could get a shared platter instead of two separate starters. She said that was fine. But when we went to place our order with another waitress, we were told we couldn’t do that—confusing and slightly embarrassing.

On the plus side, the starters we did get—calamari and chicken bites—were great. But my wife’s salmon main arrived on a bed of risotto that was undercooked and grainy to the point of being inedible. At first, we didn’t want to complain again since we had already sent drinks back, but we had to say something.

That’s when the duty manager, Richard, came over and was quite defensive. He insisted the risotto was “meant to be that way,” which came across as patronising, like we didn’t know what risotto was supposed to taste like. He also questioned us about the drinks we’d returned earlier, saying it was the first time they’d ever had complaints—implying the issue was with us, not the drinks.

To their credit, they replaced the dish with a better-prepared risotto, and Richard later returned to check in and offered a round of drinks on the house (which we declined). So it did feel like they tried to make amends.

As for my main—the steak was average, accompanied by about seven wedges, a couple of slithers of carrot, and two tiny broccoli florets. It looked more like a side than a $40+ main.

All in all, this was a disappointing experience. There were some highlights—the appetisers were good, and the team eventually tried to correct things—but the overall inconsistency in service, communication, and food quality just left us feeling underwhelmed and a bit awkward...