Eat Like Ushi

Driving the 3 hours between Sydney and Canberra doesn't always lend itself to needing a break. However it's easy to add on an extra hour or so getting out of Sydney's central traffic, navigating the highways, accidentally going down tolls or stopping for groceries in Cabramatta (which often results in a pre-trip Vietnamese meal anyway). However if there is a desire for food or caffeine or toilet enroute, Goulburn probably represents the biggest place to stop in through.

After some quick online reading, I was actually hoping to get to The Roses Cafe - unfortunately they were closed for reasons unknown. Other cafes, Thai and Italian restaurants that were around didn't really appeal, so the second option on my list was Greengrocer.

This is actually a bike shop with a nice cafe area as well as some produce for sale too. There are bikes, bike shorts, some laptops and plenty of food around. The atmosphere is eclectic and quite nice. Food options include sandwiches, lots of salad options, some nice Greek meatballs and a solid list of gourmet pizzas. Everything is good without being spectacular, but easily satisfying for any reason you decide to stop by.

When in anywhere, find gelato. It isn't a difficult concept to understand the logic behind. Especially when the weather even at night is 25C and 75% humidity. Ubud supposedly has two gelato places of note - Gelato Secrets and Gaya Fusion. Gaya Fusion is a taxi trip away whereas Secrets is conveniently located towards the top of Monkey Forest Road.

Our very first Bali eat ended up being here, before finding dinner. To be honest we initially couldn't find the particular warung and so ended up snacking here to keep us going. The gelato is fresh, some texture, and there was honestly a couple of small ice crystals in amongst 5 flavours - but I'll forgive them for that.

Flavours included as expected the local fruits such as a rich smooth mango and something I haven't seen before dragonfruit. Great for any time of day or night.

The state of Vietnamese food in Canberra is actually surprisingly decent. For example the closest pho I'm happy to visit is at Fyshwick market, with a broth good enough to make me happy, and much better than the best London has to offer. I've also heard good things about Griffith Vietnamese, but that will be for me to judge another time.

Pho Phu Quoc also has a great reputation and also helped along as I met the owner at work and she was a lovely person. There seemed no better reason to finally get around to trying this restaurant. I had heard the banh xeo was very impressive and it was with some disappointment that when I turned up for dinner, I learnt it was only available for lunch. Nonetheless there were enough other things to try:

- Green papaya salad - crispy, thin slivers of the pickled vegetables, some prawns and a good nuoc mam cham sauce;
- Chilli mussels - large delicious green-lip mussels with a garlic, soy, fish sauce dressing;
- Pepper fish in claypot - well textured fish chunks with savoury flavour;
- 3 colour drink - the che ba mau ended up consisting of 5 colours. I prefer the shaved ice to be a bit finer to aid in dissolving but at least it isn't ice chunks.

After not being able to try the banh xeo, a lunch meal occurred a couple of weeks later. Other than this, the other dish I had on my mind was bun thit nuong. Unfortuately the restaurant does not serve this, however they were able to create me a dish similar to this using a pork chop and also nem nuoung. It was great!

- noodle dish of unknown name (bun thit ...??)
- Sugarcane prawns - sweet chewy grilled sugar cane with a prawn cake that pulls off nicely to make a rice paper roll;
- Banh xeo - large and pretty using a particular recipe using coconut milk (which is not for everybody). It was good, but I liked the other dishes more such that I can see myself coming back for dinner.

I'm keen to try the pho (given the name of the restaurant) but would be quite content to order anything Vietnamese on the menu. I do find it a little unusual that they have some Chinese and Malaysian dishes - unusual because the Vietnamese food is very good and also there is Dickson Noodle House and other Chinese restaurants all very close by. In any case the Vietnamese is very good homestyle cooking and that is what I'm going back for.

07-2015

The restaurant has now officially moved out of the old premises to a new bigger place around the corner. It still has a friendly feel but it does seem a little less cosy and traditional than the old.

- Pho bo - finally tried the restaurant namesake dish. It was quite good, with the broth having a more medicinal flavour to it. It wasn't as strong and rich as the Fyshwick market Vietnamese bakery version, which still remains my choice in Canberra;
- Bo kho - the traditional breakfast beef stew had an excellent rich flavour that went very well with rice. The beef was a bit too overly fatty meaning there wasn't much meat to enjoy. But what was there was good.

I probably wouldn't order either of those dishes again. It's more that I prefer the dishes I've had there previously instead.

My ramen cravings became a desperate search for something of the like in Canberra. Unfortunately there aren't many/any I could find that offer my favoured tonkotsu style.

Perhaps I gave this place a little benefit of the doubt given it is in the Asian restaurant section conveniently located next to Roti House. I had read it was owned/run by Chinese and that the ramen reflected this. I have to agree - the noodles are fine as a soup dish, but I would be hard pressed relating it to the Japanese versions. The tempura as part of it was actually quite nice - well textured batter and prawn, albeit heavier than the typical Japanese style.

The takoyaki wasn't especially crisp, nor was there a hidden surprise chunk of octopus. The flavour combination was there but nothing more. Agedashi tofu was reasonable with a broth worth drinking.

I'll keep looking around. But for now, it'll have to wait until trips to Melbourne and Sydney.

The Good Food guide chef hats for 2015 saw Lanterne Rooms lose its chef hat. A sad moment, but nothing that would deter me from trying this restaurant and the modern take on Nyonya cuisine. Considering how lowly scored Canberra restaurants are on Urbanspoon, a 92% rating is quite remarkable and higher than all of Aubergine, Courgette, Ottoman and Temporada (plus almost all of the other current chef hat places).

The location is nicely away from the hustle of city life, meaning that parking is easy and the only people around are those there for the restaurant. It promotes this place as a nice dining venue for a special occasion rather than during a casual night in town. The decor has some attractive artwork and lampshades, although some actual candles and lanterns would add some extra ambience.

Given the bargain value degustation of $85, it was an easy choice, although I would like to have tried the Crispy Tofu & Eggplant entree and Pork Belly with Black Vinegar & Palm Sugar (could it be the next Longrain pork hock for me?).

- (complimentary) Oysters, pickled cucumber relish with pipette for smoked whiskey - a new dish they were generous enough to allow a sample. Mild raw oysters, tangy cucumber and a potent drunkenness-inducing whiskey. I personally would prefer a strong oyster, but that isn't for everyone;
- Cured Ocean Trout on Fennel & Carrot Confit - trout with chilli and peppers;
- Fish Otak Otak (with Banana Blossom Salad) - a delicious cubic prism of soft ground fish mixed with a strong curry paste;
- Tom Yum Crispy Prawns (with Rock Melon & Apple Slaw) - quality crispy prawns with a creamy sauce that didn't really taste like tom yum (not enough galangal or sourness) but still very nice. The rock melon was an unusual and welcome combination.
- (fish of the day 1) Steamed Ling (with peppers, pineapple sauce, Sichuan peppercorns) - nice more mature Chinese almost refined sweet-and-sour fish dish with the pleasant numbing sensation of Sichuan;
- (fish of the day 2) Fried Barramundi (in Malaysian coconut cream, turmeric, peanut curry) - my favourite dish of boneless fish pieces in a thick heavy nutty curry as they should be. Finished off the sauce with a spoon;
- Duck Rolls (with Kaffir Lime Chilli Dressing) - the most sophisticated crispy spring roll with shreds of duck meat and an exceptional kaffir chilli sauce. No need those typical Chinese pork and prawn versions any longer;
- Slow-cooked Blackmore Wagyu 9+ Beef Curry Kampung Style - probably the dish I liked the least. I've never known whether a wagyu 9+ cut is better for anything other than medium-rare sirloin seared. I didn't feel the meat was more tender than a less expensive breed and the curry sauce was quite mundane compared to the wonderful flavours of fish #2 curry and generally all the dishes;
- Warm Roasted Vegetable Salad - tastiest roasted vegetables I've ever eaten which they told me was due to a savoury sauce of miso and soy (would never have picked that);
- (dessert 1) Buttermilk Kulfi Icecream with Peppered Pineapple - Indian dessert of a *shard*-textured icecream with some "Middle Eastern nuts" (pistachios?)  and more juicy pineapple;
- (dessert 2) Zabaglione with Summer Berries - an eggy, creamy concoction which seemed a little strange cumin (which I like) and salt flakes (which I prefer not). Wanted the Chocolate & Coconut Panna Cotta with Pandan Pearls instead but sadly they were finished.

Our waiter Taiki was friendly, professional and knowledgable even suggesting a more suitable wine than one that was ordered. There were also 3 of people that served us intermittently - something I don't mind as all were good, but others who prefer one dedicated waiter may. 

I really enjoyed the south-east Asian flavours balanced with light, juicy fruit and mild chilli. Given all the restaurants I wouldn't mind returning to, this is one I actually want to return to. Give them back the chef's hat.

Next time I would order the degustation for a first visit as you get to sample so many great dishes. On a second visit, I'd opt for a la carte and stick to Duck Rolls, fish of the day and try the Tofu & Eggplant, Kapitan Duck and Pork Belly.

My first venture to the Nishi building was to see Gone Girl at Palace Electric. Nishi building seems like Canberra's version of Melbourne's Federation Square. It has a weird take on modern, and you either think it's cool (like I do Fed Square) or a little strange (like I do Nishi). In any case movies and food are really the only reason I can see myself in that area.

The dinner options for the area seem to be Mocan & Green Grout, Monster, A. Baker and Parlour. Interestingly (or not) the Urbanspoon ratings for these places all vary from 55% to 80%. Parlour's 80% is probably due to the fact the setting is nice and the food menu seems very expensive for what it suggests. I'm assured that it is good, so perhaps I'll test it next time.

The smell of the meats from A. Baker could be detected from the carparking area in between Nishi and the restaurant. I followed my nose to test the 55% Urbanspoon rating. The staff were fine on a half-full evening. Served quickly, smiled, answered questions without providing anything particularly extra (not that I need extra attention anyway). The initial serving of quality house sourdough (note the name - A. Baker) with grassy olive oil and salt satisfied my early hunger. It's interesting to note that the cured meat comes with house bread (according to the menu) but this is the same complimentary serving that you get anyway (as seen by tables around). It makes the cured meat pretty expensive for cured meat chopped into pieces.

- Longaniza Oscura (pork, pepper, squid ink) - a Spanish black sausage with a strong pork flavour. I have to admit I like the intense cured flavour of jamon/salchichon much better;
- market fish - an excellent dish of kingfish sashimi coated in a mixture of nori/green tea/charcoal powder, served with a delicious assortment of ingredients I had difficulty deciphering (salty black rice crisp wafer, mild horseradish mayo, a couple of green herbs that look similar to rosemary and coriander (now found to be land seaweed and sea spray), black rocks of salt, a green tea and roast rice powder);
- Golden Plains pork belly, heirloom carrots, endive marmalade, crackle - moist fatty piece of perfectly cooked pork belly, with a skin that had mild crackle and retained chewy flavour (I like it like this, others would prefer much more crispness), a marmalade a little too sweet for my liking and some carrot extras and an extra bit of crackling on top;
- Daily special of lamb, freekah, green almonds, curd, artichoke - the lamb (probably shoulder) is pulled apart, mashed back together and lightly pan friend. The meaty lamb was nice although I would prefer longer frying to accentuate the textures and Maillard char. The freekah and curd were nice additions. I believe the waitress said the yellow pieces were young almonds which were unusual in they were filled with a watery liquid. The downside was the artichoke which was firm and hard to chew or swallow.

Overall the food was good, the flavours and textures nice and the use of some slightly less common ingredients won me over. It isn't cheap ($13 starters, $19 entrees, $30 mains) so just be aware...

Next time I would order the market fish again. I think any of the meat dishes would be safe bets. The Fremantle octopus (smoked hot sauce, guanciale, apple, yuzu dressing) sounds like something I want next time also. I would avoid the cured meats as the value just isn't there given the bread is free anyway.

Add-on - I received a reply from the head chef Bernd Brademann who was nice enough to take a bit of time to answer my questions about certain ingredients. Very grateful.

I have some annual leave at the end of January and one of the considerations is Sri Lanka or India. Given there is only 2 short weeks available, India seems possible but perhaps short in order to cover the north and south for the once-in-this-lifetime trip. Conversely Sri Lanka seems too small to fill all that time (given my short attention span and need to move from place to place very quickly). I can't doubt the quality of flavours of Indian cuisine cultured in me from Melbourne and Bendigo (of all places) and most recently accentuated by London (Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani). However Sri Lankan food has been elusive up until now.

Enter Camellia, Canberra's (only?) Sri Lankan restaurant complete with good Urbanspoon ratings and a fortunate standing in the Entertainment Book. It was a quiet Saturday night, with only 3 tables. Service was good including the chef (or owner?) coming out a couple of times to say hello, explain part of a dish and ensure we didn't require more sauce or pappadams (which were delicious with the mains).

- Katagesma (crisp fish with red ripe tomato & purple onion, capsicum in exotic devilled sauce with savoury rice, tropic salad) - sauce was extremely reminiscent of Cantonese sweet & sour. The tropical salad was great;
- Sweet chilli baby octopus, young garlicky beans & toffee almond - modest amount of octopus retaining a touch of crunchiness and softness;
- Biriyani (long grain rice cooked with aromatic exotic spices & tender lamb curry accompanied with two way cooked egg, mint coconut 30 sambol, pappadam & yoghurt cucumber salad) - biryani I've been craving and hoped this version would excite me. Unfortunately the rice was very simply flavoured with ghee/butter and a few spices. It lacked the potent complex flavours I've come to admire in Indian/Bangladeshi/Pakistani versions. The lamb curry was simple and tasty (shared a flavour with Malaysian-style) and the egg was nice;
- Spiced prawn (tempered with mustard seeds, onion, curry leaves & drizzle of coconut cream with savoury rice) - great quality prawns in a simple creamy sauce;
- Nawala Pineapple (pineapple cooked with tropical orange juice and flambéed with Rum and served with Cardamom flavoured ice cream) - the cardamom icecream is fantastic and something new to me. The pineapple sadly looks from a can (given the price of the dish) with a strong rum liquor. The very brief moment of burning at the table is a nice effect;
- Watalappam (steamed jaggery pudding) - very sweet heavy dessert closer to a moist cake than what I expected for a pudding.

Overall the food was fine without the flavours being anything particularly unique or spectacular. For this reason I did feel slightly disappointed especially as the venue is reasonably expensive. The food seems relatively safe so I think it is easy to come here and have a decent meal, but not the impact or mind-blowing introduction to a cuisine I hoped for. They are soon introducing some special events that include live music and new dishes, so I might hold out again until then.

My favourite restaurant in Melbourne (and possibly anywhere in the world) is probably still Longrain. It is a little expensive to go often and with a budget in mind, it was a good idea to find something serving similar. I haven't been to the queue frenzy known as Chin Chin and I think it's unlikely I'll make it in the near future. In any case, I seem to be quite consistently informed the hype/queue/hipness doesn't translate into unique or incomparable food (albeit far from bad as such).

Rice Paper Scissors seems like a new kid on the block around the way from Longrain and Gingerboy but with a much more friendly price tag. The concept of Asian tapas lends itself to trying lots of dishes which is great. And the 5 for $55 is a steal with an added green papaya salad

- Steamed Pork Buns (with pork belly, cucumber, shallots, hoisin sauce) - slightly different interpretation with a burger-style bun that could've used more fluffiness, but otherwise the proper combination of flavours a la David Chang and Yum Bun, and a surpassing piece of roast pork crackling and all;
- BBQ Lamb Ribs (with Mekong whiskey marinade, sticky sauce) - ribs, ribs, ribs, always my favourite and this is no exception;
- Mini Vietnamese Baguette banh mi (with crispy soft shell crab, pickled vegetables, herbs, homemade pate) - soft shell crab sandwich. Simple and tasty;
- BBQ Pork Neck (marinated in black pepper, garlic, coriander root) - tender slices of pork (perhaps could have been a touch rarer) in a sweet salty sauce;
- Crispy Coconut Wafer banh xeo (with pork, prawn, bean shoot, fresh herbs) - not what I was expecting from banh xeo. The flavour of the filling was nice but the banh xeo itself was thick like a rice cake instead of wispy thin and malleable;
- Green Papaya Salad (with peanuts, long beans, chillies) - an excellent rendition with delicious balanced nuoc mam and a moderate kick of chilli. You can pay extra for prawns or meat but it isn't necessary.

Next time I would order as many dishes as possible. All range from good to great, and that's before I've even tried some other options like Thai Fried Chicken or Smoked Scallop Betel Leaf. Will definitely be back.

Add-on 12-2014

95% Urbanspoon and (the waitress this evening informed me) also Tripadvisor #1. Obviously these guys continue to do something really well. It was a choice between here and Longrain for the annual family Christmas dinner and this was the cheaper (and shorter queuing) option. Dishes not previously tried:

- Thai Fried Chicken (marinated in galangal, chilli & coriander root) - crispy, soft and served with a chilli (Sriracha?) mayonnaise;
- Thai Ceviche (lime cured kingfish salad with mint, chilli and shallots) - elegantly tangy eaten with prawn crackers;
- Duck Salad (minced duck, roasted rice, herbs & a fiery dressing served with lettuce cups) - an upmarket version of larb, mild duck flavour, intense dressing;
- Waterfall Beef Salad (with toasted ground rice, shallot, chilli, herbs & a spicy dressing) - really powerfully flavoured meat neutralised by an intensely strong dressing.

Even saved some stuffing space for dessert. To be fair I was probably much too full to enjoy these as much as they should be. And I'm not usually a dessert person:

- Ice Cream Sanga (sweet toasted buns filled with coconut sticky rice, homemade mango sorbet, crushed nuts) - don't quite remember it. Will need to try it again.
- Poached Nashi Pears (in sang som & cassia bark, with peanut crumble & pandan sorbet) - sorbet is really good and 'pandanous'. Gave me a craving for it which I found again at Il Dolce Freddo a few nights later.

As compared to the first meal here, the BBQ Lamb Ribs were once again delicious and pulled easily from the bone but with enough texture not to collapse on picking them up. The BBQ Pork Neck was much rarer (ie. better cooked) and tender - more impressive. Ordered the Green Papaya Salad both with and without prawns. Additional prawns were nice but as I thought earlier, not necessary.

The meal was once again delicious. I do wonder if a lot of the nuoc mam-style sauces are very similar (or identical) between some dishes (eg. ceviche, larb, beef salad, green papaya salad) with slight variation in the amount of chilli, lime or fish sauce. Nonetheless they are all good. I would like to see rice as an option too, just to help mop up and in some cases temper the flavours.

Next time I would order Steamed Pork Buns, BBQ Lamb Ribs, Thai Fried Chicken, Green Papaya Salad and/or Waterfall Beef Salad from what I've tried. Considering all these are meat-based, the balance would come from (untried) Betel Leaf, Tempura Prawn or a seafood special (eg. calamari).

The ramen craze has filtered its way to Melbourne. There were always a few that I thought were average but acceptable - Ajisen, Ramen-Ya (before they closed in the GPO) and Meshiya in QV. I can't say I ever truly appreciated the ramen joy until London. Even in multiple trips to Japan, visiting the ramen floor in Kyoto's train station building and Ippudo, to the miso/salt/soy broths in the smaller suburbs, it really took the rich tonkotsu of Bone Daddies to create the craze for me. In fact in my last few months in London, it was probably my most frequently visited place.

My attempts to find something of equivalent calibre led to me to Ippudo in Sydney, with Gumshara and Ikkyu on the list for next time. Sadly I fear they won't live up to my expectations but it won't stop me trying.

A brief online read gave me a few Melbourne names for when the opportunity arises - Little Ramen Bar, Fukuryu, Kokoro etc. The closest and possibly highest rated seemed to be Hakata Gensuke, complete with the reputation for the welcoming irasshaimase on arrival.

For the first occasion, I couldn't go past the Signature Tonkotsu with special toppings (added cha-shu slices, seaweed and boiled egg). One slice of cha-shu seems ridiculously stingy as an option and an egg is essential so looking at a minimum $21 bowl of noodles. Hmmm. Luckily the soup is a very tasty hearty and unmistakably Japanese ramen pork broth. It didn't have the same thick fatty richness coating the noodles but I won't complain. It was good. The cha-shu is remarkably non-fatty also which is a bonus too. Add a good amount of crushed garlic, chilli spices (in lieu of shichimi powder), pickles and you have a fine bowl of ramen.

Next time I would order the same Signature Tonkotsu with special toppings. I'm curious to try the Black Tonkotsu but I fear the black sesame will ruin the beauty of the broth. Willing to try once.

Dumplings. How simple and effective and satisfying. Yet so easy to make badly - skin too soft, skin too hard, filling not tasty or too dry, sauce bad flavour. My first venture into Din Tai Fung was in Shanghai in 2010 (http://eatlikeushi.posthaven.com/din-tai-fung-shanghai-01-2010) - strange that a Taiwan company would reputedly have the best Shanghai dumplings. On that occasion I sat with no other company but the dumplings surrounding me and enjoyed my lunch. I recall the only thing that didn't impress me that day was the flavour (and cost) of their special black truffle dumplings.

On this occasion the special fluoro sampler combination plate looked too unusual to avoid. Emerald (salad green), topaz (golden corn), pink diamond (seafood), ruby (bolognaise), citrine (cheese), onyx (bbq pork), sapphire (garlic pork).

- Cha Jiang Noodle with Minced Pork - tasty noodles with spicy pork and a little bit of spice;
- Crab Meat & Roe with Pork Dumpling (8) - the classic xiao long bao with an added unclassic addition of crab flavour to the filling/soup. Delicious;
- DTF Veg Delight - the healthy aspect of the meal. Adequate;
- Dumpling Gems (7) - the colourful collection ended up being more visual gimmick than flavour sensation. They are strange and adequate but overall not particularly good. I'll be the first to admit I ordered them just so I could take a photo. Would recommend you only consider ordering it for the same reason;
- Spicy Prawn and Pork Wontons - my favourite dish of the night with succulent wontons drowned in the most delicious flavoursome chilli liquid. Need to eat these again one day;
- Taro Dumpling (4)
- Truffle Dumpling (2) - reinforced my 2010 opinion that expensive dumplings with slight truffle flavour (I suppose they could jack it up with some truffle oil although I still wouldn't order it) does not make for a worthwhile combination.

The sweet drinks are also (unsurprising for a Taiwan brand) a specialty with fresh soy bean milk and an avocado chocolate swirl countering the heat and chilli.

Next time I would order standard dumplings, maximise chilli dishes and a filler of noodles (or rice). Stay away from the gimmick dishes (eg. fluoro colours and truffles).