Kinh Do Macquarie 21 October 2020

 

 

 

 

Present: Jim, Kim, Ron, John, Megan

We ventured Northside again, big move, but we like Kinh Doh, always a good meal.  The restaurant was fairly full, even in times of Covid and there was a noisy group at the front (people having fun) which made it a bit difficult.  However, it was still enjoyable.  They offered to choose the dishes for us, to which Ron said yes at a canter

Entree was spring rolls (boring to nice) and curry puffs (nice, but are they really Vietnamese?).

 

Mains: Chicken lemon grass: great, it was Kim's favourite: beef and broccoli which was the least interesting.  It had an unusual flavour and the beef was tender.

Sizzling seafood was maybe the favourite as it had a tamarind and peanut sauce, most unexpected and interesting.

 

The salted chilli eggplant and tofu was not a menu item but made especially for us because we said we liked those ingredients.  Not oily or greasy and someone said the nicest tofu chips they had ever tasted. 

Those weak amongst us had mung bean dessert with ice cream and coconut cream which look and apparently tasted delish.

 

Dumpling Inn, Jamison Shops Macquarie 7 October 2020

 

The Dumpling Inn menu can be quite challenging for Westerners.  Some of the dishes have daunting ingredients like tripe, pig intestines and jellyfish (which only Ron the Brave was willing to try!). Other dishes are just unusual and without a clear description, you’re never quite sure what you’re ordering.        

The most surprising dish of the night was “dry scallops with baby spinach”. We were all expecting a few (whole) scallops on a bed of spinach without any sauce (“dry”).  Silly us!  What arrived was a mound of wilted spinach completely encased in a rich umami sauce made from reconstituted dried scallops cut into smaller thread-like pieces.  The sauce had a wonderful mouth feel and  a strong seafood flavour so it was a much more interesting dish than we were expecting.         

The other dishes were also very enjoyable. For 5 of us, we had 1 entrée and 5 main dishes. The entrée was the Dumpling Inn Crispy Duck - a deep fried ½ duck served Peking style with pancakes, cucumber and hoisin sauce.  Always reliable, this dish didn’t disappoint us this time either! 

Our 5 mains were the “dry” scallops, 4 season beans with minced pork and olive sauce, fried squid with hot rock salt, deep fried fish fillet in sweet ginger sauce and fillet steak with wasabi sauce.

Our favourite dishes were the 4 season beans and the fried fish. We often order dry fried beans with mince but this was the best version of the dish we have ever tasted. The addition of finely sliced Chinese olives (which are a completely different species to the Mediterranean olive) added an extra level of salt and flavour which really complemented the dish. The name “4 season” was a bit confusing but apparently, it’s the traditional (Sichuan) name of the dish and just refers to the heartiness of the beans which can be grown over 4 seasons (who knew?!).

The fried fish was fantastic. Coated with a light crispy batter, the delicate fish was soft and perfectly cooked.  Minimal sauce meant that the fish wasn’t overpowered by the sauce and the batter stayed crispy throughout the meal.  The sauce itself was also excellent – just enough ginger overtones to balance the sweetness of the sauce.

We also enjoyed the other mains. The fillet steak with wasabi sauce is a fantastic combination.  The fillet steak is very tender and the wasabi kick cuts through the meatiness of the dish and lifts it to a higher level.  The rock salt squid was a staple standard for us but well-cooked and not too hot or salty.

Despite being very full (OK...maybe we ordered one too many dishes!), we still apparently had room for dessert and shared a mixture of red bean cake and custard cake. Both dishes were very good but similar – deep fried pastry encasing 2 different fillings.  The custard filling worked particularly well as its coconut flavour and softer texture was a nice contrast to the pastry.

Although the restaurant was noisier and more crowded that we would like (especially in these COVID times), the food and service were excellent and it was a great night with some fabulous food.      

 

Lamshed, Yarralumla Shops 23 September 2020

 

 

Present; Jim, Karen Megan, Ron, John

This was one of our special birthday dinners, albeit almost 2 months late.  Andrew still slumming it in snowy Ballarat and Kim not well.

They offered us a $60 degustation sharing plate menu and we said yes immediately

First up was cured salmon with blueberries and something on the side.  Very delicate and scrumptious though some thought it need a bit more tarting up, more blueberries?

Lamb carpaccio with peas, garlic, pickled onion and fried capers was excellent as well as visually interesting.

Eggplant tempura with miso on the side was yum, appropriately crispy tempura perfectly done.

Squid with potato and paprika mayonnaise was very nice with the earthy chargrilled flavour of the squid.

Next up was spatchcock with parsnip and hazelnut.  Not enough parsnip, a very understated vegetable.

This came with a crispy cabbage and sumac salad.

And there's more: gnocchi with mushrooms, yum and finally beef cheeks slow cooked in a rich sauce.  Some said that was their favourite.

We could share the desserts also, rhubarb with white chocolate; some kind of cake; pear tart with caramel sauce.  All superb.

Highly recommended restaurant, not too noisy, the wait staff were friendly and helpful.  Wine was BYO only Tues and Wednesday at $15 per bottle, fair enough.  A great evening

 

 

SOI VIII 9 September Griffith Shops

 

 

 

 

Present: Jim, Karen, Ron, John, Megan, Kim

Entree:

Silver bags:  full of peanuts, no corn.  Most of us didn't like them because of that but Ron did like them for the same reason.

Tofu in a creamy peanut sauce.: Kim said that the tofu was nice and creamy but then Ron said he didn't like the sauce, tasted like vinegar, but he would say that wouldn't he.

Curry puffs: They were deemed to be the least liked entree, not enough flavour, too much potato.

Mains"

 Chicken with cashew nuts: okay, not great.  It looked pretty but didn't live up to it.  Mostly harmless

Green Curry with seafood: Lovely simple flavour, well received.  Ron said it was hot but the rest of us disagreed.

Duck stir fry with basil: Was superb, our favourite. 

Mussam beef: rich sauce, beautifully cooked, meat was lovely and tender, the flavour went all the way through.  It was the standout for the evening.

We passed on the dessert, they only had icecream with or without topping.

 

Gary's Restaurant Erindale 26 August 2020

 

Attended by John, Karen, Kim and Ron.

The restaurant has changed hands from when it was The Oriental Terrace.

The entree of duck pancakes was excellent. Everyone commented how much they loved them.

The mains of Gulai Ayam, Sizzling Yushang Eggplant Hotpot, Dry Chilli Beef and Fish Fillets with Ginger and Shallots were all well received. There was a mixture of opinion as to which dish was the favourite for each of us. The Dry Chilli Beef vanished the fastest, so that may say something...

The serving sizes were quite large. Along with the rice we had to accompany the meal, we were all full.

There was no room for dessert for any of us.