Bellabar and Locanda Winter Menu Sampling

About two weeks ago, I was kindly invited to sample the new Winter Menu by Bellabar and Locanda. Each dish was paired with a drink but since I can't have alcohol, I won't be reviewing them (photos won't be missed though!). The tasting night was great and thanks to the Bellabar & Locanda Team for their awesome hospitality. I must say that Max is definitely one of the most friendly (and very hospitable) general managers I've met.

Bellabar is just adjacent to Locanda with a comtemporary decor and dim lighting which makes the place quite cozy and romantic. Locanda, on the other side, has a more rustic decor and i definitely loved the big bench filled with freshly made pasta and mouth watering Italian antipasto items.

The night started out with Bellabar's lounge food menu being paired up with some drink creations by Jared - the senior mixologist at Bellabar who is very knowledgeable and friendly. Knowing that I couldn't have alcohol, Jared was so kind to make me a mocktail instead - Ginger & Cucumber Lime Mocktail.

The first dish up was the Fried Gnocchi paired up with the Bella “75” (no photo for this drink, sorry). According to Paolo, the executive chef, this dish is an inspiration from Sicily and it was served in a mini iron pot with some rocket leaves and finished off with a beautiful salsa verde. The gnocchi is freshly made with potatoes and was lightly fried, which created a lovely and crunchy texture outside while retaining the inside light, fluffy and full of potato flavour! Delicious~

Next dish was the Lamb Medallion paired with the Closer - the drink served in a martini glass shown in the first photo. Frankly speaking, i am not a fan of lamb dishes but this one wasn't too bad. The lamb was slightly grilled and put in an iron pot (same as the fried gnocchi) on a bed of mash potato and topped with some salsa verde. The lamb medallion was quite tender and not overly 'lamby'...very nice with the mash too!

Last of the Bellabar's tasting menu was the Bresaola on Parmiggiano paired with the Moscow Mule. I quite liked the strong and bold flavours present in this dish; the bresaola was cut paper thin and delicious when savoured with parmiggiano. The pickled tomatoes were super juicy and full of flavour and that just added an extra punch to the dish! Lovely.

Moscow Mule

Now moving on to Locanda's winter menu (no photos for the drinks as they were paired up with wines, except for the dessert dish), we are first presented with an entree called The Ducketta which literally means Little Duck. I never really had duck as an entree so this was actually quite interesting and a bit different. The duck used in this dish was a young duck cured and slow cooked in duck fat for about 12 hours, served with strawberries and celeriac and finished off with a plum vinaigrette. The duck was tender and the flavours worked well without making this dish 'too heavy for an entree'.

The next dish was a pasta dish, Trofie Pasta served with Scallops, Oyster Mushroom and Tarragon Pesto. Trofie pasta is like a twisted parpadelle, if you are wondering. The pasta was cooked al dente (perhaps just a tad under for my liking) and it was served with some nicely seared juicy scallops. The dish also exhibited some lovely earthy flavours from the mushrooms and the tarragon pesto; good dish for winter i must say.     

Next up was the Asparagus Risotto which it is pretty much self explanatory. The rice was cooked to perfection and all the ingredients just came well together. Simple, elegant and not to mention delicious! It's a must dish for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike =) 'No cream added!' - as Maxi emphasized.

Last dish to come out before the dessert was probably one of the highlights for most of the guests, The "OX" Scotch Fillet (aged 60 days). This was slow cooked in aged balsamic vinegar to add that beautiful caramelization on top of the meat while retaining its tenderness and the juices inside. The final presentation was done in front of us where Paolo cut the Ox Scotch Fillet into strips and drizzled some olive oil over them. Unlike the normal beef scotch fillet, ox scotch fillet taste a bit gamier and feels richer too. This dish was really done well and totally recommend it.

Last of the tasting menu was of course a dessert dish, the Passionfruit Semifreddo and White Chocolate Panna Cotta. The semifreddo was quire refreshing which matched quite well with the slightly richer and smooth white chocolate panna cotta. This dessert was matched with their House Barrel Aged Negroni.

House Barrel Aged Nigroni

The night ended well and I am sure all of the guests enjoyed it as much as I did. I was quite pleased with the quality and the standard of the dishes; dishes that deserve another mention (in my humble opinion) are the ducketta, the asparagus risotto, the ox scotch fillet and of course, the fried gnocchi. I am most certain that I will be back for these sometime!

Lastly, I would like to thank Phil (from The Mark Agency) for coordinating this event and I would also like to thank Paolo Milanesi (Executive Chef), Max Rossi (General Manager) and Jared Thibault (Senior Mixologist) for being such awesome hosts. 

Soju Girl

I've always wanted to come to Soju Girl and after who knows how long, i've made it! We went there on a Saturday night and as expected, it was busy. Soju Girl's decor is classic-chic with a hip and trendy twist; it is divided up into sections where you can enjoy some nibbles and drinks at the lounge area or you can have a proper sit down dinner. The menu focuses primarily on contemporary Asian fusion food done in small and large plates to be shared around and of course, best enjoyed with the variety of fun and fresh cocktails that Soju Girl has to offer.

We started with a few small plates to share:

- Tiradito of King Fish, Yuzu, White Soy, Radish: the kingfish was fresh and well dressed by the yuzu dressing. The sourness from yuzu was quite prominent but balanced well with slices of cucumber and radish.

- Thick Cut Bonito Sashimi with Yuzu Koshu and Japanese Soy (part of the specials menu): the bonito sashimi was fresh and matched deliciously with the yuzu koshu in Japanese soy.

Alice Thai Restaurant

Honestly, i wouldn't have found out about Alice Thai Restaurant if it wasn't for a friend of mine, who raved about how good their Pad Thai was. Alice's location is not exactly the best because their entrance can be easily go by unnoticed and their sign is often hidden behind the dance studio one. Alice's is not very big but you can tell that the owner has meticulously selected the paintings and decorations to create a traditional Thai atmosphere in the restaurant.

Digress Restaurant & Lounge

We were at Digress Restaurant & Lounge for a Christmas work dinner - a place that was highly recommended by the manager. We were greeted by two Asian-looking lion statues at the entrance before heading downstairs where the restaurant and the lounge are. The restaurant is dimly lit to create a more relaxing environment (but not too good for photo-taking) with the wall recesses adorned with vases in a simplistic manner and tables neatly presented with purple tablecloths. Forgot to mention that Digress' specialty is to serve Italian and Indian fusion dishes which i thought would be quite an interesting combination to try. 

The menu offers a lot of choices which made it hard to decide, so we ordered a Naan Basket and some Mozzarella & Paneer Fritters to start with. The naan basket came with 3 different types of naan: fetta naan, sundried tomato naan and garlic naan. The fetta naan was quite nice with the gooey and yummy centre but my favorite was still the garlic naan.

The mozzarella and panner fritters were lovely - nice and crispy on the outside with a soft and melt-in-your mouth texture inside. It came with a jalapeño aioli which gave it a nice kick too. 

Pelagic Bar & Dining - Dinner

As i mentioned previously, i would be back again to try their a la carte menu. So here i am again, but this time for dinner. For some reason, the decor seems a lot more dramatic at night than during the day.I especially liked the brightly-lit shelves full of upside down wine glasses and the colourful school of fish painted on the walls. We got some Lemon, Lime and Bitters to satisfy our thrist while we chose the entrees and the mains.

For entrees, we've ordered the Conchinglie pasta with king prawn, spanish onions & soft herbs and the Seared scallops with crispy pigs ear & shaved radish salad. Conchinglie pasta resemble little seashells and for some bizarre reason i find them quite fun to eat. For this dish, i was perhaps a bit disappointed with the presentation as i was expecting to find some visible king prawns instead of tiny diced pieces of such. Taste wise it was alright (quite light) but having whole pieces of prawn would have probably made it tastier and better. The scallop entree was lovely; generous sized succulent scallops were nicely seared and paired with crispy pigs' ear to add the much needed saltiness and the crunchy texture to the dish.

Conchinglie pasta with king prawn, spanish onions & soft herbs

 Seared scallops with crispy pigs ear & shaved radish salad

Next up were the mains, which we ordered the Eye fillet with yorkshire pudding, horseradish cream & red wine jus and the Grilled yellowfin tuna with warm spanish onion, cherry tomato & balsamic salsa. The eye fillet was cooked to medium rare and it was gorgeously tender. There wasn't really a need for the yorkshire pudding to be there but it was nice nonetheless. 

The grilled tuna was lovely too. The tuna was cooked perfectly and all the components tasted good as well. However, i felt like there was something missing, something (sweet?) that would bring all the components together to make it a beautiful dish. Nicely executed but fell short taste wise.

Here is the bowl of fries that we ordered to accompany our mains. It came out pipping hot! *nom

Last to come up was, of course, the dessert. We decided to share one as we were already too full to get a dessert each. Sadly they didn't have the Strawberry Festival (the dessert which i ordered on my previous visit) on this occasion, thus we decided to go for the Classic Creme Brulee. 'Crack' is the sound i heard when i gently hit it with my spoon and i was happy to find a luscious custard underneath eagerly waiting to be devoured. The custard itself tasted nice but it was a tad too rich for my taste. I am glad that we shared as i am almost certain that i wouldn't be able to finish one by myself =P

Even though the night was gloomy and rainy, the overall dinner experience was good and it lifted our moods up. The ambience was good and the waitress was very knowledgeable and attentive. The food was nice with just a few misses here and there. Coming back? Certainly, but not sure when...unless you tell me that the Strawberry Festival is back!

The Fish Shack

The Fish Shack (Petrie Place, off Bunda St. (02) 6248 5885) is a new fish and chips place located where the former Phat Duck was. The tiny place has simple 'marine' inspired decorations and most of its seatings are located outdoors. Although it was still winter last week, the sun was generously out and enjoying lunch al fresco became possible. We arrived just a bit before lunch time to make sure we got a table to enjoy our meals. The Fish Shack only serves fish of the day to ensure that their 'fish-meals' taste the freshest as possible. On this particular visit, the fish of the day was Blue eye cod. 

Pelagic Bar & Dining

Decided to have lunch at Pelagic Bar & Dining (Shop 2, 131 London Circuit, Civic (02) 6162 0752) and try their special lunch menu for $15 which has options of pasta, risotto and fish. We both decided to get fish as seafood is their specialty and they get it fresh everyday. Pelagic Bar & Dining has a simple and contemporary ambience with a cool feature wall fully decorated with fish. The staff was friendly and very knowledgeable which is always nice when you can't decide on what to order. 

I can't recall each dish's exact names but this is what we ordered: Crispy Snapper with salsa vinaigrette and Char-grilled salmon, asparagus and salsa verde. Both fish were cooked quite nicely but i particularly liked the crispy snapper as the salmon was a bit salty for my liking. Fortunately the salsa verde helped to neutralize the saltiness from the salmon and the arparagus were superb! Our mains were accompanied by Mixed leaves salad with balsamic dressing which was ordinary.

Crispy Snapper with Salsa Vinaigrette

Char-grilled salmon, asparagus and salsa verde

Mixed leaves with balsamic dressing

After having our mains we ordered a Strawberry Festival to share. It's a dessert that presents strawberries in seven different ways; the dish contained strawberry bavarois, strawberry sorbet, strawberry granita, fresh strawberries, dried strawberries, strawberry chips and a strawberry dust to finish off the presentation. Although it was all strawberries, there was a nice balance of sweetness and sourness in the dish. It not only looked pretty (in shades of pink and red) but it tasted delicious too, definitely the highlight of our lunch! *recommended

Lunch was satisfying and the lunch specials were quite good. The highlight was definitely the Strawberry Festival dessert which i don't mind going back for. Their a la carte menu looks nice too, so i might give it a go sometime! 

Dickson Asian Noodle House

Sorry guys for the lack of posts! I was busy finishing an article about Canberra for Tiger Airways! >.<"
Anyways, i am back!
**
I haven't been to Asian Noodle House (4/19-29 Woolley Street, Dickson (02) 6262 5903) for a long long time and as far as i remember, my last meal there wasn't that great. Past aside, i decided to give it another go after hearing a few good comments about it and seeing its high rating on Urbanspoon. 'Maybe they have really improved afterall' - i thought to myself. 

The restaurant hasn't changed much, the same dark square tables and plain walls with minimal decor. We went there for lunch and ordered a Duck Laksa and a Hainan Chicken Rice. I must say that the laksa was not bad. The soup was very tasty but i just wasn't really happy with the random artificial-looking chunks of duck inside of the soup. At least at Streets of Asia, you get a nice chopped up roast duck drumstick.

Then there was the Hainan Chicken Rice. At first sight i went 'Wow, the portion is quite generous". Second glance i thought to myself "O-kay, it looks dry". The disappointing thing with this Hainan Chicken was that it had no skin nor bones, it felt dry and they just looked like pieces of chicken that are put in noodle soups. I was quite disappointed with the dish and it was quite painful to finish the whole plate of dry chicken pieces, although the sauce did help in a way.

Overall, lunch was not all that satisfying. The laksa was okay but not the Hainan Chicken Rice. I gave it a second chance and sorry to say this, but i won't be coming back anytime soon.

Artespresso for Breakfast

One of the things that i enjoy doing on a beautiful Saturday morning is to wake up late and have a beautiful brunch at a nice cafe. This time we headed to Artespresso (31 Giles Street, Kingston (02) 6295 8055) which is located in the nice and calm surrounds of Kingston. Artespresso features a trendy and modern decor and has balconies where you can choose to seat as well. The staff wasn't very attentive and took them a while to take our orders. 

We ordered a cup of Mocha and two breakfast dishes: Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict (poached eggs, hollandaise, English muffins and smoked salmon) and Arte's Big Breakfast (Poached, scrambled or fried eggs, sausages, bacon, confit tomato, spinach, sweet potato rosti, sourdough).

Pho Phu Quoc

Pho Phu Quoc (6 Cape St, Dickson (02) 6249 6662) is one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants here in Canberra. It's unpretentious, simple and focuses mainly on serving great food to those who visit. I can't believe that i have not blogged about it although i've been there on countless occasions (i guess they were all impromptu, thus no camera in hand). On my last visit, i was pleased to see that they've done a few upgrades to the restaurant by adding more decorations with a Vietnamese flare to its walls. We started our meal with a Vietnamese Three Colour Drink which was nice and refreshing. It is made with herbal jelly, red bean, green jelly strips, red jelly strips, ice and coconut milk and my favorite part? The green jelly strips.

Grill'd - Belconnen Westfield

I must tell you that the newly refurbished Belconnen Westfield is truly stunning. It looks brighter and better with more shops, eateries and beautiful 'artsy' seating areas that i immediately fell in love with. I'm glad that i no longer have to take 3 hours trip down to Sydney to satisfy my cravings for asian bread and bubble tea, as they have Top Bread and EasyWay there. That's a great improvements for Canberra! YEY!

Oo..sorry for going off-topic and not mentioning what i was doing in Belconned Westfield. I was there for a Media Launch for Grill'd (Westfield Belconnen, Level 3 - Next to Target (02) 6251 1588) which only opened on the 31st March. Grill'd has some energetic vibe that just makes the whole place very inviting. It is well furnished with nice wooden tables, colourful chairs and fun wall arts (designed by a Melbourne artist) which altogether guarantees a fun and relaxing dining experience for both adults and children.

The event started with a few introductions, an overview of the company and its vision - to deliver tasty and yet healthy burgers which are 'made with love'. We were first introduced to the Thick-cut Hot Chips which came out pipping hot and accompanied by three different dips: Herbed Mayo, Tomato Relish and Sweet Chilli Mayo. My favorite dip out of the three was the tomato relish as it went the best with the chips; herbed mayo and sweet chilli mayo were good but they didn't blend as well with the chips.

Hot Chips with 3, erm...only 2 sauces in this photo (1st: sweet chilli mayo 2nd: herbed mayo and the tomato relish is missing)

Au Lac Gourmet Vegetarian Restaurant

I've never been a vegetarian in my whole life but i was rather eager to try a vegetarian restaurant in Dickson: Au Lac Gourmet Vegetarian Restaurant (4/35-39 Woolley Street, Dickson (02) 6262 8922). It is reputable for its mock meat dishes, so i decided to be a bit adventurous and give it a try. The worst case scenario will be me resorting to vegetables and tofu, which i love anyways.

Au Lac is not a fancy place but a small and simple restaurant with a few Vietnamese-themed decorations here and there. Its menu looks very similar to a normal Vietnamese restaurant's except the fact that its meat it's not real meat but soy meat.

As soon as i saw  Roast Soy Duck on the menu i knew i had to get it. I was really curious to see how the 'fake' roast duck would look and taste like. To my surprise, the mock duck actually had crispy skin and even 'stuff' that resembled duck fat (sorry, but i don't know what the fat is made of), that's imitation at its best no? The taste was pretty decent for an imitation of the real roast duck, although i still prefer to have the real thing.

Kingsleys Steak & Crabhouse

I've always wanted to try Kingsleys Steak & Crabhouse (North Quarter, 125 Bunda St, Civic 1300 546 475) but, for some bizarre reason, i never got to try it until i was formely invited by them last week. Perhaps the thought that "It's always there and i can try it anytime i want" was the reason why i did not put Kingsleys Steak & Crabhouse at the top of my 'to-try list'.
Kingsleys features a rustic decor with dark wooden chairs and tables which, to my opinion, are a perfect fit for a steakhouse; the addition of a few funny cow or crab-related humour on the walls adds that nice little extar touch to the restaurant. Their menu is not extensive but enough to leave you spoiled for choices, from steaks to seafood and an array of tantalizing entrees and sides; they also have a comprehensive drinks menu.

We started off the night with some Lemon, Lime & Bitters and an Alaskan King Crab Leg - with mayonnaise and lemon to share. The crab meat was succulent with a delicate and sweet flavour, definitely worth getting my own next time =P

For mains, we decided to sample some of the steaks that Kingsleys had to offer. We ordered the Rib Eye - 120 day grain fed, Riverine Premium Beef, marble score 2+ and the Wagyu Rib Eye - 350 day grain fed, marble score 6-7, Oakleigh Ranch (QLD), all served with a sauce and chips/potato mash. To accompany our mains, we got a Tomato, Bocconcini & Basil salad.

For the rib eye, i chose a mushroom sauce to go with it together with some chips. The steak had some marbling and was deliciously juicy and tender. The chips came out pipping hot and i just couldn't get enough of those!

As for the Wagyu Rib Eye, a Bearnaise sauce and potato mash were chosen to accompany it. Although the wagyu was a bit burnt on one side, the marbling was nice and definitely more evident than in the Riverine Rib Eye and the steak was equally tender. The potato mash was okay and quite a lot for a side.

The Tomato, Bocconcini & Basil salad was simple but refreshing. The tomatoes were tasty and sweet, especially the green ones, and it is one of my favorite combos that can never go wrong. It was a good side to go with the mains.

I personally liked the Riverine Rib Eye more than the Wagyu Rib Eye (not taking into consideration the burnt bit) maybe because i prefer my steak to be more on the lean side. I am not saying that i dislike Wagyu, on the contrary, i love Wagyu but i prefer to have it in smaller portions as opposed to a whole 400g wagyu steak. A bit too much for my petite-self...

After our mains, we decided to only order a Key Lime Pie to share because we couldn't fit another dessert in *i heard that their Creme Brulee is not bad either. The pie had a smooth and creamy texture and it wasn't overly sweet; the key lime taste was refreshing and the dessert was a perfect way to finish off our meal at Kingsleys.

The dinner at Kingsleys was lovely and the service was great. The staff is knowledgeable and diligent; the food overall was good and i will certainly come back to try other things from their menu.

Thanks Sarah, Marcus and the Canberra Kingsleys Steak & Crabhouse team for their awesome hospitality!

Mecca Bah - Canberra

Went to Mecca Bah for a friend's farewell and the first thing i've noticed about Mecca Bah (25-29 Manuka Terrace, Flinders Way (02) 6260 6700) was its beautiful and rustic decor. Mecca Bah has a very relaxed atmosphere and it is divided into two sections: the restaurant and the bar. The restaurant itself was very inviting and the patterned-lamps were my favorite things. The staff was polite but not very attentive as i had to keep asking them to refill the water for our tables. Our order took a while to come but it could be because we had 20+ people.

The lamps had the same pattern design as the menu

I ordered a Middle Eastern Spiced Swordfish with Spicy Couscous and loved the fish. The fish was lightly marinated and grilled beautifully - moist and juicy. The couscous was gently tossed with some pistachio which added a nice touch to the overall dish. 

Lamb Meatballs with Egg & Spicy Tomato Sauce Tangine was the most oredered dish at our table. I don't usually fancy lamb but the meatballs were really tasty (and not as 'lamby') and went well with the couscous. It's a very delicious and hearty dish but seemed like it wasn't enough for the guys.

Overall the food was good and i enjoyed dining at such a lovely and cozy restaurant. Will certainly be back to try their mezze menu as well as their Turkish pizzas.

Italian & Sons - Vino e Cucina

This post is long overdue! It was meant to be up sometime in December after we went to the Italian & Sons (7 Lonsdale Street, Braddon (02) 6162 4888) for a Christmas Dinner (for work). We decided to go there after finding out that Italian & Sons was awarded one hat by the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2011.

There are two services in one day, one at six o'clock and the other one at eight - we booked the six o' clock one because we couldn't wait until eight to have dinner. Italian & Sons has a fairly small entrance and its name plaque is not in an obvious place, so make sure you look out for the number 7 sign!

We started off by ordering some drinks, a Lemon Lime Bitters for myself, and some Wood-baked Focaccia with rosemary and sea salt to share. The focaccia was nice and soft, very fragrant too. Good way to start the meal.

We had a bit of chat before our entrees started coming. I ordered the Kingfish 'crudo' with pink peppercorns and baby herbs; the thinly sliced kingfish was fresh and nicely drizzled with a light lemon-y dressing. I quite enjoyed this entree, i have to say. Other entrees ordered included the 'Fiore di zucca' ripiene filled with ricotta, thyme & zucchini (stuffed zucchini flower), Pea, mint & buffalo mozzarella 'suppli' risotto balls and Chilli & garlic Yamba prawns & eggplant caponata.

I wasn't particularly impressed with these entrees. The zucchini flower was poorly presented (solely with a lemon wedge) and so was the risotto balls. The risotto balls tasted a bit bland and crumbed very easily. The Yamba prawns dish was probably the best presented out of the three, but it was rather salty.

'Fiore di zucca' ripiene filled with ricotta, thyme & zucchini

Pea, mint & buffalo mozzarella 'suppli' risotto balls

Chilli & garlic Yamba prawns & eggplant caponata.

Moving on to the mains. I've ordered the Orecchiette with suckling pig, broccoletti, chilli and pecorino and also tried a bit of the Spaghetti 'ai fruti di mare', prawn, calamari, tomato and snow pea and the Margherita Pizza. The suckling pig pasta was light and tasty but for the seafood pasta, the spaghetti was a bit tasteless and the seafood components were a bit on the salty side. The margherita pizza was alright, simple and fresh (the base wasn't particularly wow).

Left: Orecchiette with suckling pig, broccoletti, chilli and pecorino Middle: Gnocchi with veal and marjoram ragu Right: Spaghetti 'ai fruti di mare', prawn, calamari, tomato and snow pea

Margherita Pizza

Unlike the entrees and mains, the desserts came out pretty fast. We ordered the Italian classic Tiramisu, Torta Al'Cioccolato (Flourless Amadei chocolate torte with marsala zabaglione and strawberries) and House Made Gelati...i can't recall the flavours clearly but i think they were mango, banana and some liqueur that i can't remember (Cointreau?). I only liked the mango gelato as the banana one was rather sweet. The portion of Tiramisu was quite generous and definitely needs to be shared, taste-wise it was nice (a tad sweet). However, it lacked a bit on the presentation side as it looked as if it was just tossed onto the plate and topped with a sauce.

Left: Tiramisu Middle: Torta Al' Cioccolato Right: House Made Gelato

Not long after we finished the desserts, we were asked to pay the bill and leave. That didn't leave a good impression of the restaurant and some of the girls thought it was rather rude. I understand that they are trying to accomodate for both services, but they could have been a little nicer about it. Overall, the food was average and not sure if it lives up to the one hat it was given. I don't know if the reviewers are more lenient towards 'regional' restaurants because in Sydney, a one-hatted restaurant certainly does a better job than this - especially on the presentation side.