Tags
Australia, canberra, Dickson, dining with friends, Eggplant, steamed bao, Superbao restaurant, Tofu
A visit to a newly opened restaurant
Earlier this week, I asked my friends Ray and Natalie to come with me to a new restaurant near my home. It’s located in the ‘Chinatown’ of Canberra and inside is bright with nice decor; all clean and fresh with amazing artwork on the main wall.
The restaurant is owned by Paul and Angel who both grew up in China and have been selling their bao at local markets in Canberra before they opened this restaurant.
Our waiter had a great sense of humour and he and Angel made our visit a really lovely experience. We were told that the shop closes on Mondays and it’s this day they make hundreds of steamed buns for the week ahead. I guess no rest days for owners of a new restaurant!
Of course the main food on the menu is bao. If you don’t know what a bao is…well they are those fluffy, folded-over steamed buns usually filled with pork belly, pickles and crushed nuts but this restaurant has all different types of filling. There was one I really wanted to try; the Panko Tofu Bao; tofu crumbed with panko flour, white and black sesame seeds and then fried. There are also rice and noodle dishes along with vegetable and meat dishes on the menu; so a good range of food.
Our waiter kindly let me know that the steamed buns are not vegan which was a bit of a shame as I really felt like eating the panko tofu. So instead I ordered lightly fried tofu which was so fresh and tasty and an eggplant dish. It wasn’t the style of eggplant I am used to (Sichuan style with oil) but more chargrilled I think. Both dishes were beautifully presented.
Ray and Nat ordered several of the bao to taste and both said they were very good.
Their choices were the Pork Belly Bao where the pork belly is cooked traditional Taiwan style and served with crushed peanuts, pickled cabbage and coriander leaves. Their second choice was the Shanghai Duck Bao; the duck stewed in soy sauce and Chinese spices with a slice or orange which we were told amplifies the rich and decadent taste and their third choice was the Crispy Fried Chicken Bao where a chicken thigh is marinated overnight then coated with a secret flour recipe and deep fried and comes with a drizzle of saffron mayonnaise.
Also ordered were the beef skewers which Ray and Nat shared and sparkling water and a glass of wine each.
When we called over our waiter to ask for the bill, he told us that we definitely had to try the Oreo Bao [not vegan unfortunately), but shared by my friends who said it was absolutely delicious. Rather decadent I think!
I am sure I will return as it’s a good place to pop in for a quick meal and glass of wine albeit a little expensive!
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].
One of my friends also ordered the gnocchi but hers included a topping of crumbed goats cheese.
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.
I start off leaving from Canberra and arrive at Sydney Airport from Canberra for five weeks in the ‘Middle Kingdom’ and because this year [and last] I achieved Qantas Platinum Frequent Flyer Status I take my friend Jon and I into the First Class Lounge. On our last occasion we saw a famous movie star so that was pretty cool and on previous occasions I really look forward to ordering scrambled eggs, hash browns and sourdough toast but since becoming a vegan, eggs are out so it was delicious sourdough, hash browns and avocado and…a glass of champagne!
Before I leave for any overseas holiday, I do a lot of research about where I want to go and then type out a full itinerary which includes details of places to visit/who I will see/my driver [if there is one]/costs and accomodation details. My friends who travel with me love it because all details are in one document and it might include a map and a link to the place we intend to visit. However, I do always leave time for resting as that is just as important to me as sightseeing. This time was no different…a complete itinerary.
We arrive in Beijing nearing midnight and I had booked an Airbnb in Sanlitun [area that is know for the location of many embassies and lots of restaurants and bars]. Our accommodation was great and the weather was amazing the next day; skies were blue [surprisingly]…but so welcome as we had great views from our apartment.
Our first day and evening we went for a walk around the local area and saw some great buildings; some I had not seen before in the two years since I had been to Beijing.
Our second day, I had arranged a private driver, one I used when I lived in Beijing, to pick us up to take us to the Forbidden City. Both Jon and I had been to there separately before, but I really wanted to go back and walk slowly through and see things I had not seen before. It was worth it as we arrived early and our fabulous driver Mr Mike had already booked us tickets so there was no need to line up; just arrive show our passports and in we went and as can be seen from my photo so did thousands of other visitors.
But before we arrived, cars are not allowed to stop on Chang ‘an Jie [street] alongside the Forbidden City or Tian’anmen Square so we parked some distance and after going through security screening (and seeing the long line of Chinese to visit the body of Chairman Mao at his Mausoleum) we entered Tian’anmen.
So as I said, we entered the Forbidden City and walked about a couple of hours. It is a former imperial palace; so impressive and really you could spend days there looking at the individual rooms containing jade, jewellery, wooden structures etc. Or like me, just loving walking around the ancient buildings because it has such an incredible history having taken fourteen-years to complete by over fourteen-million workers and the fact ordinary people were not allowed to enter without permission! I love hearing the provincial Chinese talking when it is their first visit to such an amazing place they thought they would never access.
And one of my favourite sites is the rooftops..
Afterwards we enjoyed a delicious Chinese lunch of eggplant [of course], sautéed cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, a tofu dish [that didn’t look all that good but was absolutely delicious], string beans and mushrooms and duck pancakes for Jon. And a bottle of New Zealand white wine brought by a dear Chinese friend.
What a great way to start a five week holiday in the Middle Kingdom…so until next time!!
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.
