Bicicletta Restaurant – Canberra – Australian Capital Territory – Australia – December 2018

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ACT, Australia, Bicicleta restaurant, canberra, dining with friends, Eggplant, Gnocchi, Polenta, Vegan food

A Canberra Italian restaurant serving delicious vegan dishes

Isn’t it funny, I live in a small city and; having lived here for nearly fourteen years and have never been to Bicicletta Italian Restaurant (which my ‘foodie’ friend Jane had told me about several times)…but last month that all changed…

I arranged a pre-Christmas dinner with girl friends I have known for over thirty-five years.  We all joined the same employer way back in 1983.  Unfortunately two girls could not make it but the remaining three and myself allowed us to catch up on all the gossip of life.  Even though I have now retired we still keep in contact and only one of the girls is still with the same organisation…although she did leave for many years to run a hotel in the country.  But back to our dinner…  Bicicletta Restaurant serves locally sourced food and its menu has several vegetarian and vegan options.  In this location, there are several restaurants and a few residential complexes who share a communal vegetable and herb garden. I loved this little area; so beautifully maintained also with an ‘interesting’ statue and small gardens and pathways for local residents to enjoy.We sat outside in the courtyard with a view inside the restaurant through large windows.The courtyard is great for the warmer months with lush greenery and coloured chairs and umbrellas.  In late Autumn and Winter, blankets are supplied to keep your legs warm.I loved the look of two vegan items on the menu so decided to try both an entree and main course.  I chose the eggplant dish for entree which was deep fried with a balsamic glaze, polenta chips and a small amount of rocket.  This was an incredibly delicious meal…really too big for an entree but I was not complaining.  I loved it!My friends shared the Pane, Olio E Balsamico which was a selection of breads; sourdough, baguette and brioche served with butter, aged balsamic reduction and extra virgin olive oil [forgot to take a photo].

For my main course I ordered the Gnocchi Da Giardino; house made pumpkin, potato and ground herbed gnocchi with roasted baby beets, broccoli florets and wild mushrooms in spinach and a vegan herb pesto sauce.  Another incredible dish – so [so] good.One of my friends also ordered the gnocchi but hers included a topping of crumbed goats cheese.

My friends then chose a range of dishes including the Capesante; pan seared scallops with romesco sauce, green apple tartare with lime and salmon caviar.Also the Ravioli Di Maiale Arrosto; house made ravioli stuffed with roast pork, apple, potato and thyme in a creamy apple, rhubarb and white wine sauce finished with rocket, toasted walnuts and aged balsamic.  And finally the daily risotto dish with wild mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, rocket and freshly shaved parmesan.  I thought all the meals looked so appetising and were beautifully displayed.  But in relation to our friendship, no matter how different our lives are now, this group of friends is still very special to me and I always enjoy catching up with them over a meal.

 

 

Lazy Su Restaurant (2nd visit) – Braddon – Canberra – ACT – Australia – August 2018

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ACT, Australia, canberra, Cheezeburger, deep fried tofu, dinner with friends, Dumplings, jasmine tea smoked duck breast, Korean buffalo wings, Lazy Su restaurant, mapo doufu

A Canberra restaurant I love…

I find that no matter how many new restaurants open in Canberra, I always seems to return to the ones I love and one I particularly enjoy is Lazy Su voted the number 1 people’s choice restaurant in Canberra.  The interior is distinctly Asian with a Japanese-Korean pop culture theme…I love it!!On this occasion a few months ago I went with my friend Jon and a young Chinese friend we have become close to over the past year or so and who refers to us as his Aussie mum and dad – very sweet!  The menu is good for meat lovers, vegetarians and vegans and there is a good choice of wines and spirits.We started off with dumplings; vegan kimchi, tofu and shallots (more for me as neither Jon nor Peter ate any),  pork and cabbage Chinese style dumplings and Korean buffalo wings which the boys told me were spicy and delicious.The boys then ordered a soy braised pork dish with Korean pickles and shallots and a dish of jasmine tea smoked duck breast which was pan-seared with carrot and yuzu citrus purée and charred Asian greens.  Then they shared a Korean noodle soup which contained pork belly, egg and crispy noodles.

I ordered a cheezeburger which has vegan mince, black beans, mustard, vegan cheddar, cos lettuce, tomato sauce and charred leaks.  It was ‘really’ good but quite large so I need not have ordered Grandma’s Spicy Tofu (Ma Po Doufu 麻婆豆腐) with pickled mustard, eggplant, garlic, chilli and shallots.

I only like mildly spiced dishes and I forgot to ask the waiter how spicy this dish was…oh my goodness it made my tongue and lips go numb with the first big mouthful.  What a shame as it really was good but I couldn’t eat any more.Peter who was born in Sichuan in China and eats very spicy food regularly told us that to calm the tastebuds and numbness after a spicy dish you should eat sugar; haven’t tried this yet but I do know that milk, water and yoghurt do not work.  We did order some from the waiter but it took a little while to reach us and my mouth had calmed down by that stage.

We did order one more dish which was really tasty; deep friend tofu with an avocado sauce – wow so good.  I think even non-tofu lovers would enjoy this one.We were way too full for dessert so after an evening of good food and wine and lovely company it was time to say ‘goodbye’…until next time.

 

 

 

 

 

Green Herring Restaurant – Nicholls – Canberra – Australian Capital Territory – Australia – March 2018

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ACT, Australia, Australian cuisine, canberra, dinner with friends, Green Herring Restaurant, Nicholls

Dinner with Aussie and Chinese friends

I visit a local dumpling restaurant regularly with a friend of mine [Jon] and we have formed a close friendship with a young man [Peter] who is from Sichuan Province in China but studying here in Canberra at university.  Lately, we have had dinner with Peter and his girlfriend Katie so Jon and I wanted to take Peter to a restaurant that was typical of Australia.Jon chose The Green Herring Restaurant which is located in a historic village near my home.  The restaurant is housed in one of Canberra’s oldest buildings; a 150 year old slab hut.  The Slab Hut was built in 1860 in a small town about 100 kilometres from Canberra and was transported to Canberra in 1970 and has been The Green Herring Restaurant for over twenty years.  The owner told us that the restaurant still maintains the original construction materials from almost 150 years ago with minor modifications and extensions to provide the necessities for restaurant operations.We arrived and were shown to our table.  The inside of this beautiful building is just as charming as the outside but probably a little too old fashioned for me. We ordered a bottle of Australian wine but found out Peter doesn’t drink so we ordered him a soft drink.  Jon knows the owner of the restaurant having been there several times, so we were lucky to have personal service from the owner that evening.  We started off with a cob loaf with roasted garlic butter and balsamic olive oil as well as dukkah focaccia bread with a duo of dips.For our main courses, I of course, chose non meat dishes [a very nice pumpkin dish] and Jon discussed with Peter the Australian cuisine on the menu and then ordered for them both.  They ate kangaroo, Australian prawns, Australian lamb and Australian eye rib fillet…

We also shared a couple of side dishes; beans and toasted almonds and buttery mashed potatoes…Throughout the evening, it was lovely chatting to Peter and getting to know him a little better; hearing about his family in China and his studies in Australia.  He has since invited us to meet his family in China [which we are now doing next month; so looking forward to returning to what I call ‘my second homeland’].

It was then time for dessert and as all desserts contained gelatine, I passed!!  But the owner kindly had a lovely little cup of fresh fruit and ice cream prepared for me.  Must say the main dessert plate looked pretty good though.All in all a great night of fun conversation which allowed me to practice my Chinese (sometimes successfully)…

 

XO Restaurant – Narrabundah – Canberra – Australian Capital Territory – Australia – January 2018

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ACT, Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Chinese fusion cuisine, dinner with friends, Narrabundah, Tofu, XO Restaurant

Dinner with friends

There is a small group of friends from my previous employment that I like to catch up with…we started off going out to dinner at a local restaurant but now have decided to catch up at each other’s homes as it’s a little more relaxed.

But our first catch up was at a local restaurant serving South East Asian cuisine.  Unfortunately one of my friends could not attend so it turned out to be just four of us.  What a great night it was…lots of food and wine and so much to catch up on.I chose this restaurant as I had been here before and enjoyed the food.  XO Restaurant is located in a small neighbourhood shopping street and is known for its communal share plates.  There is a range of vegetarian and vegan dishes and lots of other dishes for my meat and seafood loving friends.

We started off with steamed dumplings…yum…these were Chinese style dumplings but a little like Italian ravioli containing minced vegetables and wood ear mushrooms sitting in a spicy soy vinaigrette and also a dish of special XO fried chicken wings which were marinated in butter milk and came served with a large dollop of kewpie mayonnaise.

We also ordered two plates of Banh Mi; one a vegetarian lentil burger with carrots and cucumber and a mushroom pate which was accompanied by a chilli kewpie mayonnaise.  The other plate pretty much the same but with a pork burger and toppings of carrot and cucumber.  A little more than bite size and so tasty.

Next dish I chose was the shallow friend tofu with soy and candied ginger.  I do love tofu especially now I am vegan [which wasn’t at the time of going to this restaurant] and this didn’t fail to impress…the tofu was so fresh and the sauce delicious.

I must say looking back on the evening we really ordered so much food but unsurprisingly managed to eat it all.  I have decided just to list all the dishes as there really were so many…and every one was delicious.

Two dishes of fried Udon noodles; one vegetarian in a Swiss brown mushroom ragout and the other with chicken.

Sugar snaps tossed in a garlic confit.

Fried baby squid with a sweet chilli salt.

Grilled chicken thigh fillet with a pickled vegetable and peanut sauce.

Nasi goring with squid ink fried rice, spanner crab and fluffy eggs – well that is what the eggs are called, I just think they are a little scrambled; suppose they could be fluffy!

Slow cooked black Angus chuck steak reduced in coconut milk and spices.

Steamed fish cooked with ginger, shallots and shoaling wine.

Yes… and still more to come.  Only one more dish though…a salmon ceviche with lime caviar, red curry cream and a crispy salmon skin.

All throughout the evening, wine certainly flowed and our laugher grew louder. Funnily enough we didn’t have any room for dessert.  I really do love catching up with my friends and look forward to the next catch up with this particular group of girls but now know all three that came on this occasion cannot work out a bill even though it pretty much was just divided by four!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chairman & Yip Restaurant – Barton – Canberra – Australian Capital Territory – Australia – January 2018

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ACT, Australia, canberra, Chairman & Yip, Chinese cuisine

Dinner at a great Chinese restaurant in Canberra

I wanted to thank some friends for something they did for me last year so I thought a dinner out at one of Canberra’s Chinese restaurants would be ideal…it was!

Since its opening in 1992, the Chairman & Yip has become one of Canberra’s longest standing and highly regarded restaurants.  A couple of years ago it moved from the centre of the city to a suburb just out of the city.  I last time I dined at its previous location was in 2015 and really enjoyed the cuisine.  I am not sure why it moved but for parking reasons I am glad it did.  The city is so hard to get a park without paying enormous fees.  

The new restaurant’s interior is dimly lit with lots of black gloss with dark red drapes and chairs – all I think adds to its ambience and the middle section of the restaurant hosting a whiskey bar with lounges and all sorts of whiskeys from around the world.And tables are very nicely presented…We ordered a couple of dishes to start;  the Sichuan style crispy chicken with barley and caramelised onion and salt and pepper tofu and we also shared a bottle of white wine.  I did like the serving bowls the dishes arrived in!We also ordered the roast duck and mushroom pancake and a mushroom vegetarian pancake for me. These were put together at the table by our waiter so whilst it doesn’t look that great in my photo both were delicious.  I also borrowed a photo to show what they look like inside.

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

Another dish ordered was the fish of the day (can’t remember what it was) but my friends said it was very healthy and tasty and finally the sweet and spicy eggplant which came with sesame, shallots and fried peanuts. I think the eggplant dish was the most delicious and it looked pretty colourful and appetising when it arrived.

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

A really nice evening and an excellent way for me to thank friends for being so generous.

 

 

 

Bamiyan Restaurant – Braddon – Canberra – Australian Capital Territory – Australia – January 2018

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ACT, Afghani cuisine, Australia, Bamiyan Restaurant, canberra, dinner with friends

A new cuisine to try in Canberra

A few months ago my friend Jane invited me out to dinner and said she wanted to try an Afghani restaurant near the city.  I had no idea what Afghani food tasted like so took a look at the menu on-line and it looked great with lots of vegetarian dishes so off we went.We decided on a banquet as both of us were relatively hungry and Jane suggested all vegetarian was great for me, but we really could not eat all dishes as there were so many!

We started off with a plate of samosa and Afghan pan fried flat bread stuffed with pumpkin, chopped onion shallots, coriander and spices.  Both were accompanied by a raita yoghurt dip and an Afghan chutney…Jane was being very good and did not eat the heavy samosa [I did]…that and the bread was really good.
We were then served a traditional Afghan dumpling which is steamed and topped with yogurt, chickpea tomato sauce and garnished with a little bit of mint.  Again very good and so tasty…feeling a touch full at this stage!Our next dish was called Kachaloo Loobia Korma; a chef’s special comprising a korma sauce with red kidney beans, mild spices and herbs accompanied by a really good naan bread.  As you can imagine very full by now but had to taste this delicious dish and eat the naan bread.At this stage I took a little break from eating and took some photos.  It really is a lovely restaurant with great traditional ornaments, pictures and wall carpets. And the iconic photograph of the young beautiful green-eyed Afghani girl who appeared on the front of National Geographic in 1985.I did find a photograph of her now on the internet [courtesy NY Times)…still with same amazing eyes just probably not staring as intently at the camera.But back to our restaurant…still more food to come…the Banjan Boranee arrived which is another traditional Afghani dish of fried eggplant covered with cooked tomato and yogurt sauce and it was supposed to be garnished with dry mint but I couldn’t see any.  Loving this dish so much along with a separate [large] dish of rice topped with a layer of julienne caramelised carrots, sultana and almond nuts [had to pick out the sultanas but apart from that a delicious aromatic rice].A really good restaurant that I must take my friend Naomi to as she lived in Islamabad for over four years and I think she would love the food and ambience which I know is similar to that of Pakistan.

 

 

Nara Peace Park – Lake Burley Griffin – Lennox Gardens – Yarralumla – Canberra – Australian Capital Territory – Australia – February 2018

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ACT, Australia, Australian Capital Territory, canberra, Japanese blossoms, Japanese Gardens, Lennox Gardens, Nara Peace Park, Yarralumla

A lovely Japanese themed garden in Canberra

I came across this park whilst visiting the Chinese Gardens here in Canberra.  All you have to do is continue walking from the Chinese Gardens and you in the gardens.  You can’t really miss them and whilst they are very small they are lovely to walk through especially on a sunny day with views across Lake Burley Griffin.

The gardens were a gift from the people of the ancient city of Nara in Japan to the people of Canberra and celebrate the sister city link between Canberra and Nara.  Design and construction was carried out by local designers and contractors who consulted closely with the city of Nara and the Embassy of Japan.

You can enter through a large traditional wooden gate…
And walk along beautiful paved pathways…
Whilst enjoying a number of iconic cherry blossom trees.  The planting scheme is mostly trees, groundcover plantings and specimen shrubs. The trees include twenty-four cherr­­y blossoms, four Crepe Myrtles, ten Japanese Maples, and one Japanese Red Pine. Shrubs include Japanese Lily of the Valley, one of Japan’s earliest spring bloomers which is still the most common shrub grown in the city of Nara’s parks because the deer will not eat it.
Central to the park is the eight-metre tall pagoda, crafted by a Japanese sculptor. It stands as a miniature replica of Empress Komyoh’s towering pagoda, which was erected in Nara in 725AD. Other structures within the park are two large tōrōs, or Japanese lanterns, which weigh five and three tonnes respectively. And the World Peace Bell…  The 350-kilo brass bell came from Japan and is a replica of the peace bell at the United Nations headquarters in New York.  Its design includes 103 coins from nations of the UN.

The bell will usually be rung annually on World Peace Day in September.  That date also coincides with the opening day of the United Nations General Assembly, and national and international days of remembrance and celebration.And the final structure is a ‘Toku‘ which was commissioned to celebrate the 1300th anniversary of Nara. The sculpture has three main elements: A five-storied pagoda form which represents Canberra; a floating stone representing Nara; and the form of a small bird symbolising peace. The bird resembles a Latham’s Snipe, a species which migrates annually between Japan and Canberra (long way to go!!). A really lovely place to visit and enjoy the peacefulness and beauty.

 

 

 

Zaab [Streetfood] Restaurant – Braddon – Canberra – Australian Capital Territory – Australia – March 2018

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ACT, Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Braddon, dinner with friends, Eggplant, Lao-Thai street food, nam jin sauce, seafood platter, Tofu, Zaab Streetfood Restaurant

Dinner with friends

Zaab (pronounced sahp) Street Food is a local Lao-Thai restaurant in a suburb I regularly visit to meet friends for dinner.  I had been to this restaurant once before and ordered the Pad Thai noodles and didn’t really love my meal, but my friend Jane really loves the food so I said I would give it another try…and can say I am very happy I did.

Inside is a spin on a classic southeast Asian street food restauarant – beer ads hanging out the front, corrugated iron panels and graffiti on the walls, and low tables and stools to enjoy a casual evening meal. The menu is small and includes nice range of vegetarian options and lots of other dishes to share.Since retiring last November, I make an effort to catch up with the good friends I used to work with and as I hadn’t seen Kylie or Xenia since I retired I felt it was time for a catchup.  Jane booked and we met up for a pre-dinner drink and chat and together walked to the restaurant.  There is an extensive beer menu but none of us ordered beers; Xenia started off with a cocktail which arrived in a funky plastic bag with straw, Kylie’s came in a normal cocktail glass and Jane and I ordered wine.Most of the smaller dishes are for sharing so we ordered a few including the chicken satay sticks and crispy tofu with fried noodles.  The tofu was so (so) good.Jane ordered two serves of the betal leaf which contained a spicy pork filling [she has had this several times before and loved it] – you roll them up and eat in one bite…loved by the girls.Also ordered was the Crying Tiger dish which is a Thai dish comprising strips of beef and a hot sauce.  A lot of my friends enjoy this dish and whilst the girls said it was spicy, they did say it was very tasty.We also ordered two serves of the corn fritters and I ordered a roasted eggplant dish (no surprises here) to share with the other girls.  Wow… this was very good as it was cooked to perfection with a particularly spicy tomato sauce…the girls loved this dish too.  The final dish ordered by the girls was a grilled seafood platter to share.  It came with king prawns, barramundi fillet, mussels and calamari and a nam jin sauce which I now know is a hot, sour and tangy Thai dressing.  Looked pretty good I must say!As we were leaving I saw a noodle cart with fairy lights that serves meals during the day. And on a Friday/Saturday night it transforms into a DJ station – probably too late in the evening for me but guess it would be great for the younger crowd!!Always great to catch up with friends; we have decided to make this a regular event and will try out other restaurants in Canberra.

Natural Nine Restaurant – Casino – Canberra – Australian Capital Territory – Australia – February 2018

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ACT, Australian Capital Territory, canberra, Chinese cuisine, Lunch with friends, Natural Nine restaurant

First visit to Canberra’s refurbished casino

I had read about the Chinese restaurant at the Canberra Casino which had very good reviews but had not particulary wanted to go there as it was located inside the casino and guess I didn’t think it would have great ambience being next to gambling tables.  But… recently I read another review at the beginning of Chinese New Year (gong xi fa cai to my Chinese friends) which again mentioned how good the food is…so knew I had to go especially over CNY.

And as it was CNY, my friend Jon and I first visited the Chinese Gardens in Canberra [pot to follow] and then drove to the Casino.  You have to first walk through the Casino floor, which is pretty small compared to those in Sydney (where I have been for work) and Las Vegas (also for work) with a bar next to the entrance to the restaurant.We were the only people in the restaurant which had lovely Chinese lanterns all throughout and was served by a beautiful girl who was born in Japan and moved to Australia to be with her partner; an Aussie boy – lovely chatting to her I must say.

There was a lunch special on during the week; being the choice of pork, chicken, egg or tofu wheat noodles for $10.  These were inexpensive so we decided to try them along with other dishes.  The bowl came out filled to the rim firstly with the noodles then topped with all vegetables, tofu and ginger – such a filling dish.I am not sure where the name Natural Nine comes from but all the colourful paper place mats have the Chinese character for the numeral nine on them and also the same character is on the walls.  They all look fabulous.The menu is extensive and great for vegetarians and I think that is why we ordered so much food.  First up we ordered the steamed mushroom and water chestnut dumplings with black garlic dressing and as Jon loves spicy food and chicken wings he ordered the Sichuan pepper and lime chicken wings.  Both dishes arrived pretty quickly which made me think they are part made and heated up when ordered but my dumplings were still very good and Jon said the wings were extremely tasty.Our next dishes were the sweet and sour plum eggplant with handmade egg tofu – best dish ever!!!  I loved it.  This came served with a bowl of steamed rice but as we had ordered another rice dish we did not touch it.We also shared a bowl of exotic mushroom and burnt onion wild fried rice; so delicious and such a big bowl, so we only were able to eat about half.  Shame we were so full as it really was very good.This restaurant is well worth visiting; such good food.  After lunch we head to the Casino and watched a few people start with a huge pile of chips and end up with none!!  I guess that is why I never gamble!!

They also serve a Chinese High Tea on a Friday and Saturday afternoon with both savoury Chinese treats and sweets – so must return!When I spoke to the waitress, I had mentioned that the paper place mats were fabulous, so when we went to pay she gave me two to take home…very kind!!

 

 

 

 

Rasa Sayang Restaurant – Dickson – Canberra – Australian Capital Territory – Australia – August 2017

Tags

ACT, Australia, Australian Capital Territory, canberra, Chinese cuisine, Dickson, Dickson Dumpling House, dinner with friends, Friends, Malaysian cuisine, Rasa Sayang Restaurant

A quick dinner with a friend 

A thirty minute walk from my home is a suburb with many Chinese/Thai/Indian and Vegan restaurants.  I usually eat at the Dickson Dumpling House which is definitely my favourite but I wanted to try something different, so with a good friend who I used to go to school with [all those years ago], we visited a Malaysian/Chinese restaurant called Rasa Sayang.  This particular restaurant has been in this suburb for over thirty-five years so it must be doing something well.

We had made a reservation but as we were there early, we were initially the only people in the restaurant.The menu is extensive with over 100 dishes to choose from and has lots of options for us vegetarians.  I ordered the tofu with peanut sauce and Anne ordered the deep fried spring rolls with a plum sauce.  Pretty good but am glad the tofu comes with a sauce otherwise in the main I do find it rather bland.  But this particular tofu was lovely and fresh so it was enjoyable.I ordered some Malaysian bread [roti chanai] to share which was absolutely delicious. My friend had not tried this type of bread before and loved it so guess next visit she will order it along with her omelette.The owner is very personable and enjoys a joke whilst taking your order and as soon as he saw us laughing at his jokes, he returned to tell us more…more laughter and now ready to order our main courses.  Anne ordered the crab omelette with beansprouts, shredded onions and topped with oyster sauce…she said it was absolutely delicious.  So delicious that since that visit she drives over from her home [about half hour] to pick up this omelette regularly.  [no photo as forgot to take one].

I ordered the Eggplant Sambal, which was sliced eggplant cooked in a spicy sambal sauce..not bad but my preference is up the road at the Dumpling House.  I don’t think this dish was as spicy as my preferred dish.  Still good though!I enjoyed the evening very much and loved chatting to my friend but as it was a week night [I was working back then], we just ate our meals and left rather than what I usually like to do which is relax, chat and enjoy a glass of wine.  Next time!!