Golden Drum 5 May 2013

Wine: Cradle Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2011 Marlborough New Zealand

Westend 3 Bridges 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Griffith

We’d been to the Golden Drum some years before, when it was the Master Legend.  We’d like it then because of its emphasis on Hunan cooking, spicy, hot, different from your normal run of the mill Cantonese cooking.

The menu was still the same.  For our seasoned Asian tastes, it is an exciting one, with lots of new dishes to mull over with unusual ingredients, lots of offal done strange ways.  We decided not to bother with the offal, and went for:

• Panfried spring onions and shallot cakes
• Prawn sesame rolls
• Crispy aromantic duck with YuXiang sauce
• Stir fry eggplant with green beans
• Chairman Mao’s red braised pork belly
• Prawns with aromatic cumin
• Fried Rice.

So what did we like?  The entrees were plain, we decided that we didn’t need to bother with them.

The hunan dishes were lovely.  The cumin prawns were interesting.  We queried the waiter on this, because we didn’t think cumin was usually found in Chinese food, but apparently it is a traditional ingredient (you learn something all the time).  The eggplant and beans was the standout pick of the night.  The duck had too much sauce, the pork was fatty but otherwise the sauce was nice.

The owner of the restaurant spends much of his time wandering from table to table, keeping an eye on the wait staff, some of whom seemed to be in learning mode. The restaurant was almost full, and almost all of the diners seemed to be of Asian origin which is always a good sign.  We asked him what some of the other tables were having, and the answer was mapo tofu; hot pots; stewed chicken with 3 sauces; braised beef with taro; spicy minced pork with vermicelli, all duly noted for next time.

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

The conversation?…staffing, bosses, psychos and training….

Water's Edge 21 May 2013

Well, what can we say about Water’s Edge. It is one of the best, upmarket places in Canberra?  The chef from Sage moved here some time last year and the quality of the food reflects that. 

It was one of our special dinners because it was Ron’s birthday, so he got to choose.  The setting is gorgeous, opening out onto the lake, (not at its best at night but what the heck); the tables are nicely set apart so the noise level is not too much for our ageing ears, (not yours Kim).

Being an upmarket restaurant, we of course didn’t share our dishes, we had to choose our own, something which the blokes managed without too much trauma. 

Wine:

Blue Ranges Midnight Cuvee 2008

Jeir Creek Chardonnay 2009

Penfolds Bin 389 1992, which Jim and Karen first thought had gone off “like a green orange, wet dishrag”.  The sommelier persuaded us to let it breathe etc and it did come good, but I think the rest of us would have drunk it anyway.

Jeir Creek Botritis Semillon SB 2008 (gosh, did we drink all that?).

Food:

The highlights were the mushroom soup, with crunchy bits at the bottom which was delicious and intense: the patè was glorious: bonemarrow tempura very good: the pork entrée exquisite  (Ron “ the fruit in the wine, chardonnay,  really exploded in my mouth"); squid was tender, an amazing combination with the chorizo.

And the rest of the dinner was in the same vein….every dish delicious, inventive, amazing flavours, no overwhelming sauces, incredibly presented.  The service was excellent, always in the background, not intrusive.  The sommelier knew his wine and made us feel better about the Bin 389 which was not at its best.

This meal was something to be remembered, and highly recommended for special occasions,  special nights out etc.

Chiang Rai 8 May

After the damage inflicted on our ears by noisy Bodega, we thought we would try tried and true Thai restaurant, Chiang Rai in Kingston.

We’d been there before, so knew what to expect and knowing that they do lots of lovely duck, decided to give it another go.

We were all there, Megan had promised to bring the viola player from the Canberra International Music festival, but he didn’t materialise.

Wine: Deepwoods Estate 2011 Verdelho Margaret River, another serendipitous selection given the tick by Jim.

St Huberts, Cabernet Sauvignon 1993 from Jim and Karen’s seemingly inexhaustible cellar.  Fabulous.

Entree:

Rice paper rolls, nice, sauce (hoisin and peanut)  was lovely with plenty of prawns.

Duck pancakes: the filling was very tender, luscious, the pancakes were quite big.

Mains:

Duck paa-lo, duck legs cooked in Thais herbs and Spices.

Another duck (can you ever have too much duck)?  It was tender, rich in flavour with a fabulous sauce.

The beef mussaman dish was tender, beautifully spicy with the addition of chilli.

Macadamia Scallops were very delicate, the macadamias were a nice touch

Pad Thai was very nice, but not the best in Canberra.  We thought it had tomato sauce in it, and didn’t seem to have the authentic taste as it was too rich and sugary.

Chicken red Curry was nice, the sauce was punchy but it was a standard red curry.

All the dishes were standard Thai, good, basic and well done.  A good place to go if you want reliable, tasty Thai food and that doesn’t disappoint.