Eat Like Ushi

I've been craving good Japanese food for a while. I wax and wane between this - after 6 trips there, I sometimes find it difficult to justify the price difference here and there, particularly for quality sashimi/nigiri. Considering you can almost get a return flight to Tokyo now for close to the same price as a Melbourne omakase menu makes it even more likely I might shun the local places in preference for those overseas. Canberra seriously lacks any kind of good traditional-type Japanese restaurant. Lilotang has outstanding food and Akiba has more comforting bar food, but neither have the same kind of elegance nor classic feel to them which I have missed.

After a quick read through the chef hats and reviews (and because Minamishima as the other competitor wasn't open), I ended up at Kappo for the celebratory meal between Christmas and New Year. The menu is intriguing - essentially an omakase of varying numbers of courses (naturally I selected the odoroki 9 course for $150 per head) and a listing of the ingredients that would feature (in order to remove ones that don't sit with you).

There's some autonomy in selecting your chopsticks from the presentation case and similarly sake sets to drink Okuharima from. Then comes the food, bit by bit...

- Miso tofu with daikon yuzu;
- Coffin Bay oyster with caviar (very creamy with a hint of tartness), vegetables with a delicious walnut satay sauce, fig with puffed rice, deep-fried juicy quail;
- Buckwheat tofu, dashi, ginger & daikon - umami soup and my first experience with the lovely buckwheat tofu;
- The Ocean - lobster, salmon, scallop, salmon roe, black rice, seaweed, sea grapes served separately then mixed together;
- Mustard leaves, kaki tempura, balsamic reduction
- Nigiri course - Toro with black garlic, King George whiting with ginger, Tasmanian salmon with daikon & chilli;
- Chawanmushi - sweet corn, crunchy "par" (?) meat which was some kind of delicious mollusc (texture reminds me of what they call arkshell in Japan but with a clam flavour). An outstanding combination;
- Puff rice tempura, scampi, zucchini flower topped with this incredible creation of wasabi ice;
- Wagyu sirloin with black salt, hoisin, peppers & sour peach
- Ume rice tsukemono

Desserts
- Yuzu & honey sorbet;
- Chocolate cigar, Japanese donut, apricot jelly with azuki beans;
- Creme brulee.

Roasted green tea was served to finish off the evening. An exceptional meal with modern twists on the traditional kaiseki. Yes, it is quite expensive. I can't wait to return to Japan.

Looking back now, it does strike me as slightly inconsistent that this place is rated TA 4.5/5 and FB 4.7/5 but on Zomato 2.9/5. There's always expected to be some discrepancy and I tend to opt for the Zomato ratings more (even though I don't quite understand how they are calculated sometimes since the change from Urbanspoon).

Anyway the travel companions were TA enthusiasts and to be fair I thought the name of the place showed some promise.

After a 4-day hike to Frenchman's Cap which included battering of my knees, most foods would've gone down quite well. For a cafe, the menu is rather limited. Pies, toasties and burgers with really not much other offerings that the word cafe springs into my mind (sure I've been coloured by the cafes in Melbourne, Canberra and even Hobart just prior).

Pies can be served with a few different options. Being calorie-unconscious, I selected the Mountaineer. The pies that day were limited to only plain beef and beef with onion unfortunately. My beef with onion pie came topped with rasher bacon and thick cheese sauce and served with reasonable sweet potato fries. The pie was quite average with all mince and no chunks of meat that I much prefer.

The Wombat toastie had eggplant, roast capsicum, semi dried tomato, rocket, feta, pesto and basil and topped with a couple of onion rings. I've been spoilt by cafe breads and sourdoughs and so white loaf seemed a bit of a letdown. But the ingredients inside were a nice typical vegetable combination.

Next time I'd probably look harder (and myself) to see what other options are around. If I ended up here again I'd certainly opt for the burger and see how that goes down.

On Christmas morning I was surprised so many cafes and restaurants remained open. When I say so many, that really wasn't many at all, but given the day I expected almost complete shutdown. After a night of excessive ham and celebratory meats, the mood was for vegetarian to give much needed assistance to digestion.

Vegie Bar was an obvious choice, however after arriving to a queue both inside and outside, it seemed more prudent to search elsewhere. Long on my list is Yong Green Food but they were doing the expected thing and having a holiday on the holiday. After a short walk, Radhey appeared with its self-promotion of chai and all things natural. The queue included some real hippie types (not hipsters) with the unusually placed piercings, colourful clothes and headwear.

- A lunch plate of Thai vegetable curry with roti (roti was more like a chapati, mild curry), sweet potato shepherd's pie (sweet potato mash and lentil base), arancini ball (fresh fried and delicious rice middle);
- Tandoori tofu wrap (pan-seared marinated tofu & salad in a toasted spinach flatbread with homemade tandoori mayo) $12
- Raw brownie - delicious, not too sweet, base of dates and topped with thick chocolate and walnut.

The soy chai and iced soy chai were both delicious, well spiced with good notes of ginger. I'll happily come back here even when there are other vegetarian options nearby.

After some exhausting Boxing Day shopping and traversing the thousands that had descended into the city, lunch was much needed. Unfortunately Mugen was closed and meant a planned cross city walk to Ikkoryu for ramen. However enroute a very "Melbourne" laneway appeared and my eye was caught by a sign - "Shandong Mama Mini". I had heard rave reviews about the dumplings but had never made it there. This seemed a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the previous (mis)fortune. There was only one other person eating here in the middle of lunchtime and so I didn't have to experience this new fad of queuing.

Black soy milk was something I'd only previously tried at Seoul Soul. The Korean version seems a bit stronger in flavour and more preferred by me. The sauces were standard soy and vinegar, homemade chilli oil (which I bought some as a KK gift) and the garlic chilli sauce that comes with Mackerel Fish dumplings (which is an exceptional sauce of chilli, vinegar and heavy garlic).

- Mackerel Fish dumplings (fresh fillet mixed with coriander, ginger & chives into a mousse-texture filling) $12.8 for 7 - delicious roll-shaped dumplings with a great textural contrast of soft mousse filling, chewy top and crisp fried bottom;
- Little Rachel Seafood dumplings (prawn, calamari, salmon, chives, cabbage & sesame oil) $10.8 for 7 - nice dumplings with the salmon standing out more than the prawn or calamari;
- Stewed Beef Shank Bun (with coriander, peanuts & toasted sesame) $4.8 - beef was soft and seemed braised in masterstock. The bun itself wasn't the best as it seemed a little firm and not that soft and bouncy;
- Wasabi spinach salad $8.5 - blanched leaves and stems mixed through with a small hit of wasabi. A little expensive but if you want a vegetable dish this is a decent option.

I can see why the Mackerel Fish dumplings are the most well known here. I can also see why the chilli garlic sauce is so strongly advertised in the menu. Both are exceptional. I'll come back again for those, to try other varieties of dumplings, the pork belly bun (just to see how the pork compares with all the rest) and fried chicken wings. Without having looked yet, I wonder how much extra variety the mothership has?

I had an afternoon wedding on in the lovely wine region of Coldstream on Melbourne Cup weekend Sunday. The location lent itself to a nice relaxing lunch in the area just before the rains hit down with spiteful vengeance.

Luckily I was told to visit Innocent Bystander, to take advantage of the free tastings (including a delicious "real" apple cider that I took home, a moscato and a little vermouth) and the excellent woodfired pizza (spicy pork sausage, buffalo mozzarella, San Marzano tomato + chilli $25).

The food and drinks are excellent and the venue buzzes some excitement and atmosphere. It's a great place to visit.

On a hot Braddon evening, it seemed most apt to head to Frugii for dessert. The heat of the weather and also from the mild chillies from Mandalay Bus were still fresh and a cooling finale was sought.

The icecream and gelato flavours were varied but it seemed difficult to go back the great 2-flavour combination of dark chocolate and cherry. I've spent a bit of time at home trying to recreate the dark chocolate cherry king shake that used to be on the winter menu at Cupping Room and so this was an easy choice. The dark chocolate was smooth and sweet, similar to a 65% block. The cherry had moderate flavour and complemented well. Of course the gin & tonic, lychee and espresso flavours also appealed but you have to can't have them all (well I can't at least)

Additionally they were advertising some alcoholic dessert pops and the dark chocolate one had an unsweet, mildly bitter cocoa dryness, similar to eating 80-85% dark chocolate. I didn't mind it, but I can see lesser chocolate people (ie. those who prefer white or milk) wouldn't like this at all.

I've seen Frugii being sold by the tub at Essential Ingredient in Kingston. I'll have to grab a tub before I leave.

I had about 5 hours to spend in Belconnen whilst getting my car serviced. It was lucky that between my resting spot in the Westfield foodcourt (with free wifi) and the car service centre was Malaysian Chapter (which I'd heard first from the new Entertainment Book voucher a little while ago) and Goodberry's (which a friend insisted I try).

After a few hours of draining my laptop battery it was time for lunch. The humid 37C heat didn't make curry the obvious choice for lunch, but I was already committed. I couldn't decide between typical Malaysian noodles (ie. laksa) or roti. I saw the staff appeared Malaysian Indian rather than Malaysian Chinese so decided to go down the curry pathway.

- Roti chanai with lentil curry $3 - mildly flakey and a bit chewy but overall felt a little underwhelming. I prefer my roti wispy and light but buttery;
- Nasi lemak with beef curry (fragrant coconut rice served with sambal, peanuts, crispy anchovies, cucumber and hard boiled egg) $13.5 - I was hoping the beef curry was going to be rendang (as in the full menu) but was a more standard curry. The ingredients were all reasonable and made for an adequate meal.

If I'm ever back up on the north side at meal time, I'd opt to try their versions of noodles (laksa or mamak mee goreng) or beef rendang. I don't think I'd order from the lunch menu next time.

As my time living in Canberra comes to a close, there's a short list of food places to tick off. Pod Food had been on for 1.5 years and my last foreseeable Canberra weekend seemed like the best time to go. Additionally I wanted to go to Pialligo Estate for the first time and hopefully pick up some smoked goods to bring to Melbourne for Christmas.

In a cosy 38C heat, the air conditioning inside Pod Food was welcome. Nonetheless the other diners sitting on the deck protected from the direct sun all seemed to be having a comfortable enough time soothing their sweat with wine.

- Cranberry & pistachio stuffed chicken, beetroot, parsley cream - beautifully tender with some marginal pink (which is fine to eat) chicken with a sweet and textured filling;
- Kimchi pork hock, soft egg, togarashi popcorn - couldn't detect kimchi but the pork hock had outstanding strong flavour and the corn 3-ways (juicy cob, strong puree, salty popcorn) had good flavour and texture combinations;
- Ricotta zucchini blossom, pumpkin risotto, fennel chutney, pepitas - one very large zucchini flower with risotto and herbs;
- Harissa spatchcock, labneh, honey carrots, moghrabieh - well seasoned and cooked protein with spiced yoghurt sauce and Israeli couscous;
- Pod garden leaves, walnut, pear, local cow curd;
- Coconut parfait, cured pineapple, burnt butter crumb, mango - fruit pieces with coconut icecream essentially;
- Poached pear, yoghurt mousse, oat & almond crumb, parsley icecream - the green dollop had an intense parsley flavour. Quite different and interesting;
- Mandarin & almond cake, ginger crumb, Pialligo apricot, creme fraiche, icecream - the cake absorbed the Japanese mikan juice and turned into a moistened delight. Soaked apricot appealed to me more than the fresh. The icecream wasn't lasting very long in the heat.

The food quality and dining setting are excellent. I'd have no trouble deciding whether to return or not. Lunch is a little cheaper than dinner for the same menu, and you can enjoy the surrounding greenery much more. There's also a 25% discount voucher in the Entertainment Book which improves the value somewhat.

Last year I lamented the lack of food trucks and street food in Canberra. Since then I've tried RJs (now closed I've heard), Westside Acton Park, the Hamlet but never made it to Mandalay Bus, which is probably the highest rated of the lot. On a sunny Friday evening, the Hamlet was pumping with people filling the seats, queuing and eating along the streets. It was the perfect opportunity to keep walking past and join the younger demographic with their BYO alcohol and hysteria.

- Prawn twisters $9 - prawns chopped into pieces and deep fried into thin rolls;
- Jalapeno aioli waffle fries $9 - exceptional waffle-shaped potatoes topped with mild aioli. Some of the most memorable fries I've ever had. Add some extra chilli to this fantastic dish.
- Satay chicken with kimchi on roti $9 - very nice tender satay with a tasty salad. Couldn't detect any kimchi in the salad and the roti quality was pretty average (flat, firm and chewy rather than flaky, buttery and soft). To me a roti should be soft and flexible whereas this one conformed to the bent boat shape of the box.

Overall the food quality was excellent, especially considering the price and setting. There aren't many places in Canberra you can eat for that price (the baby Brod being the possible exception). I'm quite keen to try the fried wings and pork belly saigon roll with tikka slaw & sambal next time. Of course the waffle fries are a given.

During the winter, Santa is a Brazilian churrasco with meat skewers (and assumably smells) filling the room. In the relatively warmer and quieter summer season, there is an a la carte menu that has Brazilian elements but certainly much less so. In any case there were enough Brazil bits to bring me here (and honestly the other options in Thredbo for dinner are quite limited...)

Immediately upon sitting the hostess asked if I'd like some Brazilian bread whilst reading the menu. My reflexes said no to bread, until I read it on the menu and reconsidered my decision. Next time just don't say no to Brazilian bread.

- Brazilian Cheese Bread (tapioca cheese bread wit brazil nut dukkah & olive oil) $6.5 - warm firm outsides and a doughy interior that is actually cheese rather than unrisen dough. The dukkah was salty and delicious although it was impossible to get any balsamic through the olive oil;
- Prawn & Snapper Moqueca (northern Brazil fish dish with coconut milk, tomato, capsicum, dende & coriander served with quinoa puff) $34 - a good number of prawns and reasonably well cooked fish in a creamy coconut milk-based curry;
- BBQ Pork Fillet & Spicy Chorizo Rotisserie Sword (with house sides of rice, polenta chips, black beans, salad) $34 - the meats were removed from the sword at the table. Chorizo was very mild but the pork was extremely tender and well flavoured;
- Baby Beetroot, Palm Heart & Fetta Salad (with crispy polenta, kiss peppers & salad leaves) $16 - a nice salad mix of juicy beetroot, heart of palm (which I have a can of at home and been waiting to work out how to use) and these small kiss peppers that look like tomatoes but have an unusual tangy sourness.

The food is quite expensive overall (as are most dining options in Thredbo) but nonetheless satisfying and filling. I'd happily eat these dishes again or hopefully try the churrasco adornment of meats.