Hobart – Tasmania – Australia – May 2017

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Australia, city sights, Fisherman's Dock, H Jones & Co, Hobart, Jam Factory, Tasmania, waterfront

An early morning walk around Hobart, Tasmania’s capital

Whilst in Hobart for work, I stayed at a lovely heritage hotel in the city which was only a short walk to the water.  The hotel was originally built by convict labour in 1834 and is said to be one of the oldest boutique hotels in Australia. It was such a lovely and elegant hotel with period furniture and the rooms with high ceilings and an old fashioned bed and cupboards but with modern touches like wifi and coffee and tea making facilities.

We arrived very late in the evening after a day working in Melbourne so I went straight to bed but the next morning I got up quite early and head out towards the water to Fisherman’s Dock.  This took about ten minutes and on the way I saw some lovely historic buildings which are very typical Hobart.

At Fisherman’s Dock, it was lovely to see boats surrounded by old buildings and views out to sea.

Really lovely views so early in the morning! I walked past two big warehouses on the waterfront referred to as the Jam Factories…so I decided to do a bit of research to find out about their history…

Summary from Wikepedia:

Henry Jones IXL was a company primarily known as a manufacturer of jams, conserves and sauces in Australia, established by Henry Jones in 1891. The brand is now owned and manufactured by SPC Ardmona, which has itself been owned by Coca-Cola Amatil since February 2005.    The IXL brand – ‘I excel in everything I do’ was Henry Jones’s personal motto.

The building is now a dedicated art hotel after it was abandoned and languishing in neglect, until in 2004 architects revived the site which is now a five-star hotel.

I then walked around the dock for about forty-minutes taking in the views of the mountains with fog below, following which I returned to my hotel to get ready for my meetings in Hobart; walking past churches and more buildings. A capital city I really must come back to – so much to do and see!!

 

 

 

Madame Shanghai Restaurant – Sydney – New South Wales – Australia – June 2017

Tags

Australia, Chinese fine dining, Madame Shanghai Restaurant, NSW, Sydney

A work function followed by dinner with friends

A new Chinese restaurant has opened near Hyde Park in Sydney and as I had to travel to Sydney (with my friend/colleague Jane) for a work function, I decided to catch up with two other friends for a late dinner at Madame Shanghai restaurant.  Well what a fabulous find!!

We walked in and had a drink at the cocktail area overlooking Hyde Park which is said to be reminiscent of a Shanghai garden with lush greenery.  It is also decorated with beautiful lamps and really lovely ceiling fans.

The whole area is stylishly decorated in blues and pinks emulating 1930’s Shanghai.  It’s actually pretty spectacular.

We then moved to the dining area.  The whole restaurant is dimly lit in a sophisticated way and initially we were seated at a round table near the door and with the door open it was too noisy, so we asked to be moved and were accommodated straight away.  Our table had a little lamp to allow us to read the menu and the table setting was lovely.

 

My friends Paul and Kay started off with a cocktail each and Jane and I ordered our usual white wine and a bottle of sparkling mineral water.  Paul ordered the Spontaneous Combustion which is made with rum, Gunpowder gin, fassionola, guava, citrus and  beachcomber bitters – along with lots of ice – so delicious, he had another, but I forget what Kay ordered.

The menu is extensive and meant to be shared and has several vegetarian options.

My friends decided to share their meals and I ordered my own vegetarian dishes.  The dishes I ordered were the open top dumplings (four to a serve) and the pumpkin and brocolini dish with hazelnuts and tamari as well as some cauliflower with chilli and balsamic sauce – absolutely delicious!!

My friends started off with the scallop and snow pea dumplings and the duck pancakes with hoisin sauce.

They then ordered the beef short ribs with fish sauce, chilli and fresh herbs which comes with a large bone on the plate which is more decorative rather than edible.

The next dish they tried was the soft shell crab with tomato chilli sauce and grilled milk bread.  I used one finger of the milk bread to mop up some of my chilli and balsamic sauce.  The colours in this dish were so vibrant.

The restaurant also has an outdoors area for dining but too cold on this particular night.  It’s covered with bamboo trees and soft lighting throughout and on the way to the bathrooms you can see fabulous prints of Shanghai women adorning the walls.  I have some of these at my home in Canberra as when I departed Beijing, my lovely language teacher gave me six as a gift which I then had framed.

The chef is Shanghai born and emigrated to Australia in 1996 and it is said his passion for food is inspired by his grandmother’s home cooking and uses the  ‘less is more’ approach.  I like this style.

Final dish ordered by my friends was the octopus with chilli and heirloom sauce and at that time Kay was ready to have one more cocktail – same as before with the dried apple on the top.

Then it was time for dessert; those who know me know I very rarely eat dessert during the week and this time was no different even though they looked and sounded incredible.  Jane is not a big dessert eater but indulged a little this evening.

There are three desserts on the menu and all three were ordered. The first was the white miso cheesecake with passionfruit and cassis – beautifully displayed.

Second was a mango pudding with mango (of course), milk foam and finger lime decorated beautifully with little edible flowers.

And finally Madame’s Gold – a gold glazed chocolate mousse with peanut ganache and rum caramel which is designed to look like a gold bullion.

Pastry chef, Tiffany Jones describes the dessert:

 “Madame’s Gold is symbolic of Madame’s love of the high life and indulgence of the finer things in life…she’s an independent woman who uses her gold bullion to sustain her lavish lifestyle”.

 

 

Otis Dining Hall – Kingston – Canberra – ACT – Australia – June 2017

Tags

ACT, Australia, canberra, Kingston, Otis Dining Hall Restaurant

‘Another’ new restaurant in Canberra

For several years Canberra had a Belgium Beer Cafe which was a good place to go for a drink on a Sunday afternoon and then one day it was gone; not sure why as it was always full of people but some months ago, in its place was a new restaurant called Otis Dining Hall..which certainly is not a hall in the true sense of the word but a fabulous restaurant.(source: http://www.thisisotis.com.au)

I booked a table (for me and my friend Jane) one Saturday evening in June.

When I dine out if I see a dish with cheese in it, I always ask can the cheese be removed as I do not eat cheese containing animal rennet and this time was no different as the dish I liked the look of was the pumpkin ravioli dish.  I wasn’t sure if there would be a shaving of parmesan so I asked the [very] young waiter if this could be done and he immediately told me it couldn’t.  I was surprised as the cheese was not inside the ravioli nor part of the dish, so I asked him if he was sure and he said he was and that cheese on a dish could not be removed.  I was rather [very] frustrated and asked him if he could ask the chef (who actually makes the meal!!) which he reluctantly did…and surprise surprise the chef said ‘yes’ the dish could be made without the shaving of cheese.  grr!!

So after this ordeal, I did order the pumpkin ravioli with  sage burnt butter, a hen’s egg and amaretto…and it was definitely worth it – absolutely delicious..

Jane, who apologied to me first (because I am completely vegetarian and and lover of all animals) ordered the salted wallaby tartare with pickled vine leaf, macadamia nut floss and burnt onions.  The wallaby is a small Aussie animal and I think just a smaller version of the kangaroo and I really didn’t think it was an animal we ate, but I guess all animals can be eaten. Jane said it was good but next time would probably order seafood [her favourite].

It was at this time I asked for an ice bucket for our wine as it hadn’t arrived with our bottle, well I asked twice really [again to our young and inexperienced waiter] and in the end Jane had to insist on one…it was a little frustrating but not the biggest issue in the world…

For main course I ordered the forest mushroom gnocchi with pickled chestnut mushrooms, pine nuts and taleggio cheese (I asked for the cheese to be removed and funnily enough this time it was ok).  So delicious!!Jane ordered the Otis pepper steak with  silk-wood brandy jus and a side of french fries – it was funny though as that was exactly what it was…steak on a plate with nothing else…I suppose I think there could be some greens somewhere on the plate – but no!!I ate the fries as Jane is not a big eater of chips!! (lucky me).  No dessert for either of us as we were very full but this is what we can expect…(source: http://www.agfg.com.au)

Other friends of mine have eaten at this restaurant and actually asked me about the service; like me they found it wanting – maybe it’s because it’s new and the staff are young but the food is definitely worth a return visit.

 

 

 

 

 

Agostinis Restaurant – Canberra – Australian Capital Territory – Australia – May 2017

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ACT, Agostinis Restaurant, Australia, canberra, Italian food

Dinner with a friend from London

A friend of mine has a posting to London and recently returned to Canberra for a short visit.  I wanted to catch up with her so we decided to go out to dinner (of course with my other friend Jane) at a restaurant that is attached to one of the lovely hotels.

This Italian restaurant has a casual and comfortable feel with a predominantly pink palette throughout.  It’s good for families and larger groups rather than intimate dining.  On the evening we went there was a large group next to us so it was a little difficult to hear our conversation.

It has a pretty extensive menu and everything is made in-house, from the ice cream to the the pizza dough which is great.

And then there’s the pizza oven – the largest in Canberra. It fits fourteen pizzas at a time and even rotates to make the best use of the heat.  

(source: http://www.goodfood.com.au)

The kitchen is open, meaning both the pizza oven and the chefs preparing the evening’s meals are on full display which I do like to see.

I ordered the Cavolo salad which is an Italian coleslaw dish with finely shredded green cabbage and a garlic, lemon and mint vinaigrette.  It was really nice – refreshing really and as I was having a very healthy night I didn’t order anything else and ordered a bottle of sparkling water to enjoy whilst my friends shared a bottle of white wine.Jane ordered the parmesan and thyme crusted veal cutlet which was served served with a fennel and cabbage salad.  She loved it!My London friend ordered a pizza with a topping of prawns, cherry tomatoes, chilli, parsley, mozzarella and lemon.  She loved it too – nice and fresh with a good base.The restaurant does have a very good selection of wines and a specialty behind the bar is the range of Italian-made wines on tap.  Might need to try one next time. 

A nice evening with friends but I think I might try a few of the other restaurants in town before I return.

 

 

Sanya Bar – Braddon – Canberra – ACT – Australia – April 2017

Tags

ACT, Australia, Braddon, canberra, Chinese cuisine, Sanya Bar

New bar/restaurant in the inner city

My friend Jane’s husband is currently working overseas so during his absence Jane and I regularly try new restaurants mostly in Canberra but also in Sydney and Melbourne.  Last last month she told me about a new  bar/restaurant in the inner city called Sanya Bar so we decided to try it out.

We went there on the week of its soft opening and arrived when it opened as couldn’t make a reservation either through the website or after Jane physically went to the bar.  Which meant we got good seats when we arrived.  The cuisine is Beijing fusion.  So what is Beijing fusion you might ask [as I asked the same question), well it’s just a different take on northern Chinese food.  The restaurant’s menu is a mix of traditional dishes including the renowned Peking Duck pancakes but then it also has other interesting dishes.  For example crispy banana chicken wings and blue cheese, pear and walnut wontons and deserts like fried cheesecake with toasted coconut. Interesting!!

The restaurant is so lovely; intimate and dark with several tables near the bar and a few more smaller tables down a long corridor whose wall has many framed Chinese black and white prints.  We sat next to the bar (in the best seats I say) which has gold grout between the tiles [never seen gold grout before] and enjoyed some champagne whilst catching up on our lives.

The owner, JJ Chen was a public servant in Canberra for some time and then moved to Beijing and the head cook is her mum who has been a cook at Parliament House and the Hyatt Hotel in Canberra. I also did some research and found out that the head chef’s  grandfather was a cook in China’s Imperial Palace and he had passed down his recipes and taught his granddaughter how to cook.

The name of the restaurant is the same as a beautiful beach on Hainan Island in China and the menus, which are pretty cool, have pictures of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army troupes being entertained by Marilyn Monroe and a caricature like cartoon of people in Tian’anmen Square, [certainly not a picture you could have on a menu in China).  Both are by renowned Chinese-Australian artist Guo Jian, who is a friend of the owner.

There are also great murals on the walls which match the menus.

When Jane and I finally stopped talking [we hadn’t caught up for a while] we decided to order dumplings; mine vegetarian and Jane’s meat filled.  They arrived all wrapped up nicely and matched with a spicy sauce.  The sauce was delicious but Jane and I found the top of the dumplings a little dry; guess it was the soft opening so will make allowances.  But the contents were good.

We also ordered a plate of  vegetarian wontons which I found were pretty much the same as the dumplings but a different shape.  Looked great in the dish but still a tiny bit dry on the top.

The official opening was a couple of weeks after we dined and I have heard the owner is going to make the entrance to the restaurant more like a Beijing Hutong so I will have to go back to check it out and give those dumplings just one more try.

 

 

 

Mount Wellington – Hobart – Tasmania – May 2017

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Hobart, Mount Wellington, Tasmania

Lovely views from atop the mountain

A couple of weeks ago I travelled to Hobart, the capital of Tasmania which is an isolated state off the south coast of Australia.  Unfortunately, there are no direct flights from Canberra so I had to fly to Melbourne (Victoria) first then over the Tasman Sea to reach Hobart.

(source: http://www.worldatlas.com)

Hobart sits on the Derwent River and is such a beautiful city; one of my favourites actually as I love the climate there.    Hobart experiences four distinct seasons which is similar to Canberra.  It’s a pretty cold capital city [again like Canberra] with the average temperatures range from 11.5 – 21°C in summer…but not as warm as Canberra as during our summers our average temperatures range from 12.6 – 27°C but our temperatures in summer do reach 40°C with little humidity which is great.

Whilst there, I had a couple of hours to spare so my colleagues kindly drove me up to Mount Wellington which is the summit of the Wellington Range.

The mountain rises to around 1200 metres above sea level and is frequently covered by snow, sometimes even in summer and as we were leaving we saw little pockets of snow on the ground.

We arrived at the top of the mountain after a trip where I had a little motion sickness but it was worth it to get out of the car as there was an enclosed look-out and wooden pathway which provided spectacular views of the city and the Derwent river.

I couldn’t go out on the enclosed look-out as I have such a fear of heights and it was just too close to the edge but the walkway provided great views too.  We were up so high that I also had great views of the clouds sitting around the top of the mountains…lovely sight with the sun shining through the clouds.

I also went for a walk around Hobart before work that morning but I will cover that in another post…

Courgette Restaurant – Canberra – Australian Capital Territory – Australia – May 2017

Tags

ACT, Australia, canberra, Courgette Restaurant, Fine Dining, French wine

Fine dining on a Saturday in Canberra

Courgette Restaurant is located just on the outskirts of the CBD in Canberra; not a particularly good spot as it’s a bit in the commercial area but definitely worth locating to try the food.  It’s owned by one of Canberra’s great chefs James Mussillon.

It’s luxurious inside but also cosy so you feel comfortable in the main restaurant.  There are options for group dining in private dining rooms and I have done this a couple of times before for work but I really prefer the main area.

One of the special things about the restaurant is the separate private dining room called the Cellar Room which is located [unsurprisingly] in the cellar surrounded by over four-hundred different bottles of wine and seats up to ten people.

 The restaurant has a great lunch time special with three courses for just $66; I think this is surprising for Canberra in a fine dining restaurant as it’s inexpensive…we commenced with sparkling mineral water and my friend Jane ordered a really nice bottle of French wine (most enjoyable).

I started off with a corn fritter dish which was really not your typical corn fritter but came beautifully displayed on a wooden platter with baby corn and a mustard dressing.

Jane ordered the Morton Bay bug tail, seared scallop and chorizo with sweet peas, baby kale and fermented black garlic. Jane is a real ‘foodie’ and said both her entree and main course were fabulous.

Then for main course I had the roasted heirloom carrots, with crunchy seeds – so delicious…and so beautifully presented.

Jane ordered the beef dish which was also so well presented and even I said that being a strict vegetarian.  It came with truffled mash, sweet and sour red cabbage with a port and thyme jus.

Our desserts were amazing; Jane had the fresh raspberries short bread mille feuille with fresh cream.

I ordered the baked hazelnut tart which came with coffee marscapone mousse, and praline dust. Didn’t like the mousse I must say as it was coffee flavoured and I don’t drink or like coffee but loved the rest of the dish.

Loved the experience and will definitely return.

Abell’s Kopi Tiam restaurant – Manuka – Australian Capital Territory – Australia – April 2017

Tags

Abell Kopi Tiam restaurant, ACT, Australia, canberra, Chinese, Malaysian, Manuka, noodles, Vegan

Dinner on a week night!

A friend at work told me about a restaurant that she goes to regularly with her husband on the way home from work and said the food was fabulous.  So I knew I had to go there and soon after arranged for three of my friends to come along one weeknight.

Abell’s Kopi Tiam restaurant is a combination of Malay and Chinese food with its website saying that Kopi means ‘coffee’ in Malay and Tiam meaning ‘shop’ in Chinese (Hokkein) so it’s said to be named after coffee shops in Malaysia who serve traditional and home-style meals which is exactly what this lovely restaurant did.

It’s a rather sweet and colourful little restaurant with chairs and tables outside along with heaters and blankets on the back of chairs as Canberra gets quite cold even in the lead up to winter and I guess some people still like to sit outdoors (not me).  We sat inside!

My friends ordered the special spring rolls for entree but I didn’t want any as I wasn’t that hungry.

My friend Ray was trying to be a bit funny as he knows no-body can eat until I have taken a photo for my blog; so he pretended he wasn’t happy with the presentation of the dish so moved one of the rolls – I really don’t think he will be a food presenter (ha ha).

They also shared the red curry fish cakes, the spring onion roti and pork and prawn dumplings – which were absolutely loved by Ray and Nat (but in particular Ray).

The restaurant was opened in 1998 by Abell Ong, of Chinese/Malay heritage and his wife who are both from Sarawak, one of the Malaysian states on the island of Borneo.  When he arrived in Canberra he said he could not find any authentic Malaysian restaurants so decided to open his own….and I am so glad he did!

For our main dishes my friends ordered beef rendang and mixed vegetables with tofu and mushrooms.

I ordered the vegan noodles with vegetables.  There are many vegetarian dishes on the menu and it’s great to see that vegetarians and vegans are equally catered for with plenty of stir-fries and coconut curries.  I found out a funny story that Abell tried introducing fermented tofu (stinky tofu) to the menu, which is another Chinese classic, but I think only loved by the Chinese, and its distinctive pungency wasn’t well received – so off the menu it went! (I say thank goodness).

This dish was so good, so tasty…I loved the noodles. I tried the tofu and mushroom dish as well and that was good too but certainly not as good as the vegan noodles.

An excellent night and I will return soon!!

 

 

 

 

Hyatt Hotel – Canberra – ACT – Australia – April 2017

Tags

canberra, French Champagne, High Tea, Hyatt Hotel

High Tea on a Sunday Afternoon

I think most people like a High Tea…well those of with a sweet tooth anyway.  I hadn’t indulged for many years so thought it was time to try the Hyatt in Canberra which has High Tea every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  So a couple of weeks ago my friends Ray and Natalie and I went to enjoy the delicious treats.

Parking is pretty scarce at the front of the Hyatt so we drove around the rear, parked  and entered through the back doors.  It’s a pretty fabulous old world hotel and we entered to an opulent lobby.  It’s really lovely and I think it really is a little bit nicer than the front foyer.

We were shown to our table [a reservation is a must] where we listened to some soft music and our efficient waitress offered us a glass of Australian, Lerida Estate Zenzi, sparkling wine.

Unfortunately the sparkling wine was very sweet so neither Nat nor I drank it but we did order a bottle of French champagne to share between the three of us.  And that was great!!

As we had arrived right on time of opening, we decided to go up to the buffet.  For those of you who have been to a High Tea, it’s usually brought out on a three tier tray with a selection of hot and cold foods. However, High Tea at the Hyatt is a buffet and what a fabulous selection of food there is, and so beautifully displayed.

It even has a range of sweets on the top shelf of the table; all available to eat.

As soon as I arrived I realised I had left my phone at home and knew I wanted to create a post on the visit, so lucky for me, Natalie follows my blog so kindly offered to take all photos. Thanks Nat!!

After a sip of champagne, we decided to make a start and chose the hot snacks; vegetarian samosa and mini meat pies.  The three of us said that the samosa were just delicious and we went back for a second plate later.

I had pre-ordered a vegetarian plate as knew the buffet cucumber sandwiches would contain cheese.  My plate arrived and contained a cucumber sandwich, avocado sushi, a pumpkin and rocket wrap and two small spoons of mixed vegetables.

My friends then chose an array of hot and cold savoury snacks.

We knew if we raced back to the buffet we would be too full to taste a little of everything so we decided on a twenty-minute break between courses.  At this time I ordered a pot of peppermint tea which was very refreshing.  This really is my favourite flavour of tea.

Our next course was the scones with fresh cream and strawberry jam, [a choice of plain or fruit), followed by a couple of other plates of different cakes, pavolva, mousse and pastries.  Again managing to wait twenty-minutes between each ‘course’.  As I mentioned the food was so beautifully displayed on the table and it was great to see nobody piling too much food onto their small plates.  You can go back as many times as you like, so there is no need!

I loved all the food but definite favourites were the vegetarian samosa and the strawberry mousse…absolutely delicious.  After a couple of hours, we decided we should leave, but the great thing was none of us were so overly full as I really think the twenty-minute gap between plates makes a huge difference.

A definite place for visitors to Canberra [and a must for those of us who live here].

Enzo’s Cucina Restaurant – Campbelltown – New South Wales – Australia – April 2017

Tags

Australia, Campbelltown, dinner with family and friends, Enzo's Cucina Restaurant, Italian food, New South Wales

Dinner with family over Easter

Over the Easter period I went up to Sydney to visit my family and chose a local restaurant for dinner and invited my best friend from school who I hadn’t seen for some time.  We have been friends for over forty-three years and really enjoy catching up whenever possible – she is an amazing girl (or woman now I guess).  This was the same restaurant I had booked for a surprise birthday party for my dad four years ago but now it’s been fully refurbished and is really lovely inside.  We had a very early dinner so were lucky there was only about three or four full tables when we arrived..completely full when we left.

The walls have been re-plastered with some of the bricks visible and there are framed prints around the walls with movie stars such as Sophia Loren eating pasta.

The menu is extensive with lots of vegetarian choices. I chose the Gnocchi al Pomodoro; potato dumplings pan tossed with basil, oregano and tomatoes –  such a tasty dish and really filling; so unfortunately I could only eat half.

My dad ordered a Barramundi fillet which was served with fried olives, tomato and basil oil on potato mash.  A huge dish but he managed to eat it all and loved it.

My brother ordered the Vitello all a Griglia; grilled veal with fresh herbs and a lemon dressing with roasted garlic potato mash while my nephew Braydon had the Calamari Fritti; lightly crumbed squid rings served with mayonnaise and lemon.  Great meals I was told and everything eaten.

My school friend Deb ordered a grilled chicken salad. I didn’t bother taking a photograph of this dish as it was just a huge bowl with salad and the chicken was at the bottom.  I did however take some photos of our desserts.  Wow!!  I had the tiny doughnuts with ice-cream and Braydon ordered the Nutella covered crepes.  Again too many doughnuts for me to finish but I definitely tried my best to eat them all.  I just love doughnuts and these were great.

My brother finished off with a hot chocolate in a fancy jar with a little sponge biscuit.

We had such a good night and it was great to see the restaurant refurbished and of course that extensive menu is just excellent.