Santa Lucia Wednesday 10 October

Santa Lucia Trattoria at Swinger Hill is a home style Italian restaurant which is particularly popular with older groups and families.  As a result, it can get crowded and noisy as we found out when we arrived for dinner on a cold Wednesday night.  Despite this, the service was reasonable and the staff friendly and helpful.

We decided to order a range of salads and pastas to share which was a good way of tasting a variety of dishes on the menu.  Surprisingly, it was the simple salads that were the biggest hit.  We ordered the Insalata di Arugala and the Insalata con funghi.   The first was a rocket salad with shaved parmesan and the second was a grilled mushroom salad with mixed lettuce.  Both were served with a beautiful caramelised balsamic vinegar dressing(yum!).  There were also heaps of mushrooms in the Insalata con funghi.  They were freshly grilled and served warm and just soaked up that lovely dressing –we were in heaven. 

We ordered mixed breads (Garlic, herb and anchovy) to arrive with the salads.  They were very basic but filling and good to have as an appetiser as the mains took some time to arrive.  For mains, we ordered 5 dishes - the PolopettiallaGriglia (chargrilled octopus), Spaghetti marina, Risotto con pollo, Gnocchi allaromagnola and Fusilli al Biondatevere.  The serves were large so the 5 dishes wereplenty enough for six.

The only main dish that was really disappointing was the chargrilled octopus which was both burnt and rubbery – a shame as the other salad dishes had been so nice.  The other pasta dishes were reasonable without being spectacular.  The two favourite dishes were the Fusilli al Biondatevere which had veal and prosciutto in a white wine and cream sauce and the Gnocchi alla romagnola which was homemade gnocchi in a napoletana sauce.

After all the mains, some of us still had room for dessert.   The dessert menu isn’t extensive and by the time we ordered dessert, the more popularchoices had already sold out.  In the end, we tried three dishes – a simple chocolate gelato, a baked custard and chilled pears in wine.  The best of these was easily the baked custard which was divine – well worth ordering again. 

We enjoyed our meal and there was plenty of it.  The cost also worked out as a fairly reasonable $32 each.  It isn’t the best Italian food in Canberra and it isn’t the place for a romantic dinner for 2.  But for families and small groups wanting a tasty home style (plain) Italian meal, it was not bad value and a nice night out. 

Banana Leaf 26 September 2012

Ron's report on Banana Leaf (while I was in Europe)

·         Diced lamb with black spices, chick pea and coconut milk. Everyone liked this. 

·         Tiger prawns and scallops with Sri Lankan spices. Seafood curry. Really good.

·         Vegetarian delight – potato and green pea with Sri Lankan spices wrapped in triangles. Sauce was very hot. Basically vegetable samosas. Everyone liked them. Just the sauce was too hot. 

·         Chicken biryani with ginger and turmeric with Sri Lankan spices. 

·         Lomprisht – basmati rice with chicken, fish fricadel and vegetable curries wrapped in banana leaves and baked. Everyone liked this as well. 

·         Kottu rotti tossed with onions, chillies, leeks, carrot, egg and beef. Sri Lankan pub food. Spicy. Everyone liked this. 

·         Watalapam – Coconut and treacle. Described as like a crème brulee – also like brown custard. Very nice.

·         Curd and treacle – like yoghurt. Kim said it’s good for you. The yoghurt was quite sour and the treacle was very sweet. Very enjoyable contrast. Lovely.

Hoang Hoa 13th September 2012

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

Wine: Redgate Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2012 Margaret River
Stanton & Killeen Moodemere Red Durif 1992
Taylors Merlot 2008

Food;
Spicy Duck with pancakes
Mermaid Tresses

Silver fish
Home style pork ribs
Ma Po bean curd
three treasures chicken
Five spice crispy lamb

The mermaids tresses were very fine, cooked in sugar, crispy, cold with what we think was blachan.  The duck pancakes crispy, spicy, delicious with a hoisin sauce that had a hint of cinamon.  Ron was up to his elbows in duck grease, face full of duck and said in characteristic style that he didn't like it.  the rest of us just said that we loved it.

The silver fish (I think they mean whitebait) was not universally liked, Ron said he was not fussed, it was like cardboard.  Karen and I liked it, there were big chunks of garlic and chilli, the batter was crispy and altogether, it worked.

The pork was boneless, just fell apart, mouthwatering, magnificent..

Mapo bean curd, silken tofu with the addition (not usual) of corn kerals.  The chilli was hot, the flavour nice.
3 treasures chicken, with mushrooms, eggplant and tofu and ginger, brilliant!

Conversation:

• medical centres on Canberra (?!!!)
• Johns latest trip to Canada
• how to manage underperforming staff
• phones (i-phones)
• travelling and Disneyland (who wants to go?)
• kids swimming lessons

The bill for the 6 of us was $243.  It was not as good as it has been, the service was a bit slow  Everyone enjoyed it all, though some complained that the ma po bean curd was a bit hot, but that's just how the rest of us like it

Barbeque Nation, Erindale Shops Wednesday 29 August

Present: Jim, Karen, Kim, Ron, Megan
Main discussion points: Cooking night by Jim and Karen's son Daniel: computers (as always); Megan's son Julian's French club fondue night: ASIO: idiocy of some federal government bureaucracies, the likelihood that Ron was a dachshund in a previous life.

Wine: forgotten what, but nothing from the 1990's (unusual).

Food:
Entrees:  The girls had the vegetarian selection, the boys had the meat.  The vegetarian selection was voted by far the best.  We had spinach and potato fritters, which were a bit crumbly but nice; onion bhaja, nice but the samosas had too much of a strong flavour of one spice, not sure which.  It needed a bit of yoghurt to finish it off.
The boys dish of fish, chicken and meat was nice, plain, the meat was a bit spicy.  But they liked them all.

Mains:
Because we had had decent entrees, we had only four mains between the five of us, pumpkin, eggplant, chicken and lamb.
The ginger lemon chicken was interesting, the tandoor flavour came through.  The lamb was a bit of a staple, okay but ordinary.  The eggplant masala was everyone's favourite, rich sauce with a full eggplant flavour.  The pumpkin curry was a surprise, we think it had been roasted first which gave it an almost sweet flavour.
Two of us had dessert, gulab jamon and the one I had was coconut balls in a milky sauce, doesn't sound great but was delicious.
Overall, we enjoyed the meal, the menu was extensive, but not much sign of the promised barbeque. Not sure where it got it's name from, though there are several by that name in India.

Mings Wednesday 15 August 2012

(Photos to come...)

Present

Kim, Karen, Jim, Ron, and John

Wines

McWilliams Hanwood Sauvignon  Blanc 2011 - a light table wine.

Star Lane Beechworth Shiraz 2008 - which is very difficult to obtain, and which is brought out for special occasions.

 Main Discussion points

1. Reminisced about the fantastic weekend in Beechworth - especially the dining out and the visits to the wineries.

2. Discussed the logistics necessary for Jim and Karen to drive the kids around to their various activities in the leadup to the dinner.

So, while the Wednesday evening water polo practice continues into the future, it was decided to commence our Wednesday night dinners at 7.30 pm.  

3. Talked about Lara and Daniel, including Daniels's trip to the USA.

4. Kim shared some of her cooking experiences, and some stories about Lisa's activities.

5. There was a review of Megan's birthday party celebrations.

6. There was a discussion of Megan's absence (we all missed her), and the difficulty of coordinating Megan's busy life with our dining visits to Mings.

Food

1. San Choy Bau (entree):Interesting texture with lots of onion, celery, and carrots wich gave great character. For some it was a little bit salty.We could have done with some more lettuce leaves.

2. Fried Two kinds of Tofu in Sambal Sauce: Described by some as not mashy enough, it was nonetheless a favourite. Comments ranged from delicious to spectacular.

3. Fillet Steak with Samboy(?) Sauce. This well presented claypot dish proved somewhat controversial. While the flavours were very nice, the meat was a bit chewy, and could have benefitted form being cooked for longer. Inspite of this, it did rate as a favourite for one of the diners.

4. Shantung Chicken: Comments on this dish stretched from somewhat dry to delicious.

5. Yu Shiang Eggplant: While this claypot dish met expectations, it did not generate very much discussion.

6. Red Curry Seafood: This very watery dish proved to be the least liked of all the dishes consumed. The curry could have benefitted from a richer blend of flavours 

Other Comments

1. We made a great selection of dishes from the menu.

2. The service was really good.

3. There was a great variety of vegetables.

4. All servings were of generous proportions.

5. As all five main courses arrived within a short periods of time, it was difficult to capture everyone's comments.

Artisan Narrabundah Shops 1 August 2012

Zucchini flowers

ocean trout

Scallops

Consomme

Pork

Mushrooms

Beef

donuts

Wine:
Bubbly something (forgotten what; I think a fleur de lys)
Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 1991

Food:

It was my birthday, so as per usual we chose to go upmarket and booked into the Artisan. http://www.theartisanrestaurant.com.au. And as per usual, we chose the degustation but changed the oysters for the zucchini flowers. The dish that decided me on the degustation was the dessert, donuts with blackberry something and blackberry liquour, which does not appear on their online menu anymore, mores the pity.

Changing to the zucchini flowers was a good move, they were absolutely divine. The group was inspired enough to come out with some incredibly erudite quotable quotes, but unfortunately I have lost that bit of paper I wrote them on. Suffice to say they were a highlight, crisply fried, with dukka and a smidge of lebanese eggplant finely sliced, deep fried and then dried (??). Superb.

The trout was gently poached with a sweet-ish sauce, and a potato salad underneath. Comments were "okay" "salty", the vineager was lovely the sauce sweet. It was very different from the zucchini flowers, demonstrating a versatility of flavours between the two.

The scallops with prosciutto, well the proscuitto didn't quite work, it overwhelmed the scallops. Ron thought the cauliflower sauce created a bridge betten the two, the hard prosciutto and the squishy scallops: the blokes thought it was good but the girls though it a bit plain.

They brought out a very cute little soup/consomme, capsicum flavoured but sweet/bitter. The group settled on "eruption of initial sweetness followed by a lingering bitterness"

The pork was spectacular, simple yet beautiful, the maple syrup was a nice contrast and the hazelnuts went well .

The mushroom dish was just beautiful, fried enoki fantastic, the frying brought out the sweetness, with garlic and stilton underneath.  The sweetness of the mushroom complimented the cheese and garlic and the flavours were fabulous.  Truffles included.

The steak, with potato souffle was a standard dish, not much experimenting but just superb all the same.  The "glorious tender steak was complemented perfectly by the fluffy souffle"  Piece de resistance.  (Ron talking).

They gave us a little watermelon souffle, followed by the jam donuts, words fail us they were just brilliant.

The degustation doesn't come cheap ($100 each) but we brought our own wine so not much was added on.  The restaurant was not full on the Wednesday, so not too noisy.  The waiters were friendly, liked talking to us about the food and the wine and even brought out  a truffle for us to inspect.  I'd never seem one before, on it's own.  Apparently they go to the truffle place somewhere out of Canberra and dig their own.

Fabulous meal, be prepared to eat heaps. but well worth it.  Still not quite Sage in my books, but the downside of Sage is that it can be crowded and noisy and they insist on two sittings per night.

Flavours of India, Woden Wednesday 18 July

Wine:
Jeir Creek Canberra 1994 Cabernet Merlot
Rolling Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2011

Entree: Aloo Papdi Chaat and Chilli prawns.
Mains: Paneer Butter Masala
Channa Masala
Chettinad - Lamb
Madras Beef
Malabar fish curry
Murch Zafrani Korma

Food:

The prawns were excellent, everyone loved them.  They had a beautiful coating which gave them fabulous texture that was different.  The prawn was not lost as per usual with Indian food.  The Aloo (fried spinach on top of what was almost a potato salad) was tasty, crunchy with a yoghurt and tamarind dressing.  The different textures of the crunchy spinach and soft potato went well together.

The main dishes all came out together, so we were all absorbed in making sure Ron did not pig them all.  Interestingly, we all seemed to prefer different dishes.  The fish was "different" the lamb was a tamil dish, chicken fabulous, great flavour.  There was not bad dish, they were all tasty, went well together, and each was a bit different.  Often when eating Indian out, different dishes often end up tasting the same, but this was not the case here.

Dessert (which only three of us had) was gulab Jahmin, there was no other choice except icecream.

Flavours of India is a reliable choice, food always good, not spectacular, but that is not what we were after. Service good, restaurant not too crowded.  If you are a decent, down to earth Indian, this is a good place to go.  It cost us about $38 each, good value.

Wild Duck Restaurant Kingston Wednesday 4 July 2012



Duck pancakes

lamb shank

schnapper

chicken and lemongrass

pork

prawn curry

duck



dessert



www.wild-duck.com.au


Wine:
Tambelaine 2002 Hunter Valley Sparkling Pinot Chardonnay
Wild duck Creek Estate Heathcote Springflat Shiraz 1993
Vass Felix ssb 2011 Margaret River Classic Dry White
R L Buller and Son Limited release 1991 Mondeuse Shiraz Rutherglen Beverford

Food:

Ron had found out about Wild Duck Restaurant I don't know how, but any mention of duck in the same sentence as Asian restaurants gets us all in immediately.  This is a recently opened restaurant, away from the old Kingston shops area and in what is becoming "new Kingston" on the shores of the lake.  It is still a bit remote and empty but is forecast to overtake the old area as "the" place to eat out, at some stage.
The owners have put a lot of thought into the menu and gave us some elaborate descriptions of how they prepared the food (marinate for 2 weeks, that kind of thing...).  They seem keen to provide Canberra with some new, fusion Asian type food, similar to some of the other new restaurants such as Malamay, Lantern Room etc.

We had:

• Scallops with XO conpoy chilli
• Roast duck rice paper rolls
• Lamb shank in Golden sands, "crispy fried lamb shanks off the bone in a dune of baked golden coconut garlic...etc"
• Wild Mushroom duck Breast Twice cooked tender duck breast with mixed wild mushrooms in a bed of steamed baby spinach
• Lemongrass chicken marinated overnight with lemongrass chilli and garlic and char grilled etc
• Daikon Pork belly. Slow cooked in 3 kinds of soy sauce, rock sugar and mixed spices
• Wild prawns with fresh papaya and okra in thai mild green curry
• Coral cut snapper, scored, floured with chilli lime and coriander

Comments:
Scallops, beautiful, touch of chilli jam on top, spears of aspargus, yum, yum from the boys. Chilli jam provided a sharp accent, but the one scallop looked a bit lonely on the plate
Duck pancakes, very much Peking duck style, still warm, neatly presented
Lamb Shank: Ron "it's all crunch oh my god", but the rest of us found it a bit dry, too much coconut, lovely flavour.  No  hope of telling it was lamb shank, but the powerful flavour of the lamb comes through though over powered by the coconut.
Prawns: very nice yummy, but not the best, a bit ordinary, the sauce a bit thin.
Pork with caramalised daikon?  The pork was falling apart, but overall the dish was not spectacular (should have been) we found it lacking in spices and needs more meat less fat.
Chicken.  Lovely, infused, well done.  It was a breast which combined flavour and moisture, very hard to do in a chicken breast.
The duck was "good', Karen loved it, not fatty, perfect, the spinach and mushroom suited the gamey flavour of the meat, it was a beautiful balance of flavours.
The fish had a deep ginger flavour, nice batter, well cooked, tasty, but "safe".
Desserts were plain but gorgeous, particularly the peanut icecream (again)

Overall, we wanted more veges (did we choose the wrong dishes?) and would have liked chopsticks. The service was excellent and staff were keen.  They had a great knowledge and interest in wine and food.  We couldn't quite work out if the dishes were meant to be shared or were made for individual servings.  I think they were trying for both which made it just a bit confusing for us who were sharing.

Definitely worth going to, some dishes were winners, others not so a lot depends on what you order.  Forgotten how much it costs but not one of your cheap eats.