Bentspoke Bar & Darbar Restaurant – Braddon – Canberra – ACT – Australia – July 2017

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ACT, Australia, Bentspoke Bar, Braddon, canberra, Darbar restaurant, Indian cuisine

A night out at one of Canberra’s top twenty restaurants

My frequent dinner partner, Jane and I met one evening for a drink before dinner.  I had done my usual and walked into the city to meet her at a local bar/pub.  It was raining all the way into the city but I took an umbrella and must say did enjoy the hour-long walk.  I had been to this bar before with a group of friends where we sat upstairs, but this time we met downstairs just for a glass of wine before walking to the restaurant to meet another friend from interstate.

Bentspoke is a pretty funky bar with options to sit outside with a heater (as it was the middle of winter) or inside..we chose inside.

After finishing our drink, we walked over to the restaurant and met our friend Peter.  The restaurant I chose was a new Indian in the local restaurant area.  At Darbar Indian our table was reserved with a small blackboard with my name on it…rather sweet.  But unfortunately within five minutes a large family group arrived; the size of the group is not the problem; it was the parents allowing their two children to run around and scream [a lot].  We were the only two tables in the restaurant and with parents not controlling their children it was pretty annoying. There was plenty of dishes to order from the menu.I ordered the masala dosai for entree after asking Jane and Peter if they would share with me as the waitress told me it was a pretty big serve.  The dosai is a thin, crisp golden brown rice pancake rolled with spiced potato masala and served with coconut chutney and sambar. It tasted good albeit a little bit spicy.Peter ordered the chicken chat pat an aged chicken marinated in spices, lemon juice and deep fried. It’s then tossed with curry leaf and fenugreek powder and coriander.  It’s served with a lemon wedge and spanish onion.Jane ordered the chef’s specialty which was called Jal Pari Hariyali – a marinated Tasmanian salmon fillet with tumeric,cashew paste, cumin and coriander powder with lemon juice and pan friend.For my main dish I ordered the malia kofta; dumplings made from potato and cheese and tossed in a combination of curry leaves and mustard seeds then simmered in a Moghhlai gravy.  This is a dish I always order at Indian restaurants.  It was nice but not the best I had ever had.  I am not too sure why it wasn’t that delicious, I think it was the sauce – not as creamy as others.Peter ordered the chicken tikka dish to share with Jane.  It was boneless chicken cubes that have been marinated in yoghurt, spices and smoke roasted. Pretty good they both said.Jane ordered a goat curry for main course, again to share with Peter.  It came diced and stewed in a medium spice and flavoured with onion, fenugreek seeds and fresh curry leaves.  They both liked this dish too.  Great company but a little spoilt by screaming children…probably won’t go back.

 

Ushna Indian Restaurant – Abu Dhabi – UAE – July 2017

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Abu Dhabi, Grand Mosque, Indian cuisine, United Arab Emirates, Ushna restaurant

Dinner with views of the Grand Mosque

Whilst in Abu Dhabi on our stopover back to Australia from the UK, my brother, nephew and I stayed two nights at the Intercontinental Hotel.  A lovely hotel with its own beach but with the temperature being around 45 degrees celsius it was way too hot for me to go there for any longer than a short look.  I preferred sitting in the lobby with the beautiful orchids and the air-conditioning.

 

We asked the concierge to recommend a good place for dinner and the Ushna Restaurant located in the Shangri-la Hotel complex was recommended.  The concierge was an extremely lovely lady who we got to know well over our two days in Abu Dhabi and she made our booking at the restaurant.

Well… firstly when we arrived there was a wonderful surprise for my brother and nephew who saw the latest Lamorghini (the ‘Hurricann’ model my brother tells me and worth $950,000) so two excited boys had their photos taken alongside!And then when we entered the restaurant which was dimly lit and very lovely…along with beautiful views over the river and the Grand Mosque in the distance…and when were shown to our table there was a nice surprise – a large white plate with a welcome note in chocolate for us…all arranged by the hotel’s lovely concierge – so sweet (which my nephew ate at the end of the night – the chocolate not the plate!!).

 

We ordered our meals but first came some complimentary snacks and a refreshing cucumber shot contained in a glass of red coloured shaved ice which arrived in a beautiful silver display box with a candle and my name on the mirror…Our entree was some beautiful tasting naan and a serve of pumpkin and falafel balls which we shared (well my brother and I as my nephew didn’t like them)…For my main course I ordered the palak paneer (a spinach and paneer cheese dish) and my brother and nephew ordered two dishes which were both meat but I think I was too taken by another complimentary shot that arrived as a palate cleanser – watermelon, lemon and some spice I can’t recall that I forgot to photograph one of the dishes.  I must say the dishes don’t look that good in my photos but the food was very good.And the watermelon, spice and lemon shot was so good too…then to end the evening there was a hot chocolate for my brother but nephew and I were too full – and more complimentary things arrived – a little plate of almonds on chocolate with decorated toothpicks to make eating easier.A great night; too much to eat but definitely worth the visit for the food, service and views!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copper Chimney Restaurant – Canberra – ACT – Australia – November 2016

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ACT, Australia, canberra, Copper Chimney Restaurant, Indian cuisine

Another new restaurant in Canberra!!

A friend was visiting from Beijing and we wanted to catch up over dinner; I didn’t want to take him to a Chinese restaurant as I knew he had eaten Chinese food probably every day for the past three years. So I decided on an Indian restaurant in the centre of Canberra and that is where we went along with two other friends.

When I walked into the restaurant, I loved the feel of the place, especially the bright and colourful cupboards along the wall displaying lovely Indian ornaments.

We shared entrees so ordered the onion bhaji (spiced onion fritters served with a mint and tamarind chutney), palak papdi chaat (spinach leaves in a spicy lentil batter, topped with a yoghurt, mint, chilli and tamarind chutney) and my friends shared the chicken tikka.

None of us had tried the palak papdi chaat before and each of us said how delicious it was.

For my main course I ordered the dal masala (yellow lentils tempered with cumin and garlic) with basmati rice, whilst my friends shared a butter chicken dish, the lamb roganjosh and also a madras beef dish.

Food was fresh and delicious – a great night with a friend I had not seen for a while; lots of conversation about China and a little on how bad the pollution is.

I think when most people eat at an Indian restaurant they order the delicious bread and we definitely did that on this occasion.  We ordered the mixed bread basket comprising naan, garlic naan and roti.  I think roti is much more healthy than the naan, so I enjoyed a couple of pieces of that!!

And a pot of peppermint tea to finish off the night…