Eat Like Ushi

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.

Reading through the lists of Canberra's best restaurants lists (eg. AGFG, SMH, GT, other), two recurring names seem to be the vegetables, Aubergine and Courgette. I couldn't find anything online suggesting these places are linked (which is surprising given the similar names) and Aubergine seems to always come out on top as #1 in Canberra. Maybe it's just me, but despite this, the online menu at Courgette always appealed to me more, and hence was the fine dining place I most wanted to try here. Now that I've had the opportunity to eat at Courgette, it seems natural that I'll have to try Aubergine sometime for comparison.

It was a small group dinner at Courgette, which meant the lucky use of the Boardroom - a private dining area that I imagine is usually filled by business people trying to impress each other. The room is beautiful and stylish, with equally impressive extra-wide chairs to fit the largest of fatcats. It does create a slight excessive distance between each guest but not really much of an issue.

The food presentation is classy and it was unfortunate I couldn't capture the pictures.

First Course
- Ricotta and sweet red pepper filled courgette blossom, heirloom tomato, garlic creamed spinach;

Second Course
- Roast quail breast and twice cooked golden plains pork belly, asian slaw, soy pearls, apple sauce - excellent flavoured quail, succulent pork belly, sadly let down by an Asian slaw that was too plain as it was without dressing;
- Seared scallops, smoked cauliflower purée, fennel crunch, fermented black garlic - perfectly cooked moderate cylinders of scallop, well supported by the other flavours and textures;

Third Course
- Mandagery creek venison loin with dijon mustard, beetroot, asparagus, sheeps milk fetta, hummus - cooked rare (which is ideal) but didn't seem to make the same impact as the entree meats or the fish main;
- Hiramasa king fish, scampi, pea puree, fennel, pomegranate, avruga caviar sauce - very nice combination of salty, sweet, slightly tangy to complement the soft fish and mildly crunchy scampi;

Fourth Course
- Windsor strawberries and cream meringue, custard, mint cloud, freeze dried mandarin - beautiful presentation, simple combination, but meringue isn't my thing;
- Caramelised nectarine, apple cinnamon pithivier, ginger and butterscotch ice cream - delicious winner, the name says everything.

The presentation is great, the food is tasty and the setting is lovely. I'd be hard pressed to say I found anything here especially unique or rare, but I'd certainly recommend it for an upmarket meal in the capital.

Burgers - the craze sweeping the world. Long gone are the dirty McDonalds, Hungry Jacks and KFC burgers (although each with their merits I suppose) and in with as gourmet and expensive as they get. 

My USA trip in 2011 with a single savoury bite of In-&-Out and the more fancy Ahi Tuna Burger at Gott's Roadside Cafe (which inspired me to make my own version) started off my recent fascination. Melbourne's best seems to be Andrew's (dirty) or Huxtaburger (slightly less dirty). 

I still can't go past the London burger revolution over the past few years. MEATliquor (cookbook coming soon!) really brought out the grease and grime deliciousness that created the first "dining" burger experience that influenced me. Once it became available without waiting in Covent Garden, there was never an opportunity not to grab one when passing by. From there things exploded - the old chains of Byron and to a lesser extent GBK, the (average to me) Lucky Chip near Broadway Market, the great reputations I didn't get to try of Patty & Bun and Dirty Burger and Honest Burgers, the really expensive overly attempted fanciness of Bar Boulud, and finally my probably favourite in the end - the Icelandic inspired Tommi's. Finally the dominant reputation of Shake Shack (Covent Garden and Dubai airport) which I can safely say should be avoided, unless there are no other reasonable options. That's a lot of burgers tried in 2-3 years.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/best-burgers-in-london-ranking-the-capitals-burger-joints-9692950.html

Canberra's own is Brodburger (not Broadburger - although someone can clarify if it has some kind of Nordic pronunciation), another foodvan turned permanent setup in much the same vein. Having managed to try most of them over the past 6 months, I am happy to approve the Brodburger, the Broddeluxe (although a bit huge - a double Brodburger essentially), Brodveg (which is probably their most unique burger as compared to the field) and to a lesser extent the Brodlamb and Brodbattered Fin (upmarket Fillet-o-Fish).

The burgers are large, the beef is cooked to default as medium-rare (I prefer rare, but there's no issue here), the buns and ingredients are fresh. It doesn't have the same dirtiness as the greasy London trend that leaves you feeling queasily guilty and satisfied and in need of wetwipes, and the seated area is clearly somewhere where you are there for food first, and socialising/drinks second.

It's very recommended to try and add to the list of burger comparators - I'm surprised there isn't more competition at the moment. MEATliquor - it's time to expand.

4 years accolade with a one-chef hat in the SMH guide probably means a little more in Canberra than it would in Sydney. I don't even know this restaurant had it until I looked on the website to make a booking. The counter argument is that a one hat standard in Canberra probably wouldn't be so in Sydney, but no matter. It's nice to know which restaurants around are more well regarded in order to test those opinions. It's pretty unusual that I go for a fine dining Italian experience - I'm much more partial to the homestyle cooking in Italy making exception only for truffles. My last fine Italian meal was probably Caffe E Cucina in Melbourne way back in 2003...

I've read some find the service to be not up to standard. It was a little unusual to have 3 different servers - a main one, one that assisted when the main one was attending another table, and another that tended to serve the food. It doesn't bother me at all. Some were more polite than others but none were rude. In any case I'm there for the food and the service is adequate enough not to detract from the experience.

- "Capesante saltati" seared sea scallops, celeriac puree, lemon & caper butter - excellent scallops cooked to perfect interior rareness, well accompanied by salted butter and capers. The puree added some texture but little flavour;
- Pressed quail & proscuitto terrine with pear, witlof & vincotto - very meaty cold slices with nearly undetectable proscuitto lining each layer, contrasted nicely by the sweet and bitter salad;
- Chestnut pappardelle, mushrooms, pecorino romano & truffle oil - truffle oil always makes me a little wary, but thankfully it was only a subtle hint in amongst excellent cheese and mushrooms, with a nutty pasta;
- Wood braised milk fed "capretto", tomato, olive & cannellini beans al uccelleto - nice savoury flavours let down by a generous portion of stringy, slightly dry goat;
- "Piattoni" braised green beans & basil pesto - simple beans with a surprisingly only mild touch of pesto. Could've used more pesto I think;
- Dark chocolate flourless torta, poached kumquats & vanilla bean icecream - dense heavy chocolate slice, delicious sweetened sour fruit and refreshing icecream.

Overall the meal was good with enough flavour satisfaction, a full stomach, but a little room for improvement.

Next time I would order an entree of pizza (which had a lovely fresh scent filling the airspace of the next table), my choice would be puttanesca (anchovies - can't beat that on a pizza) and any of the excellent sounding antipasti dishes. Time your visit with a piatti del giorno that suits your tastes - my choice would probably be rock suckling pig (Tuesday) or beef cheeks (Thursday).

I've always been a fan of the Melbourne Entertainment Book. My parents were avid fans of one local restaurant in Doncaster and would buy 3 books per year under the logic that 3 means in that place plus a few Brumby's coupons was enough to justify the cost. I think it's popularity has slipped (in my mind at least) when the removal of many great Melbourne restaurants from it - Jacques Reymond, Koko, The Point were probably my pick. Nonetheless there's some bargains to be had if you're going to head out.

Similarly I was a bit reluctant to invest in the Canberra version. Considering the relative unknown names in it (as basically all the well rated restaurants in Canberra are noticeably absent from it), it seemed potentially poor value. However I must admit after giving it more thought, the fact that dining out in Canberra is so very expensive, it doesn't take much to make up the $50 cost (or so) for it.

If nothing else, it gives an excuse to try some local neighbourhood places and hope for the best. Baan Latsamy is quite average in its online rating. Luckily I didn't see it this way.

- Hot Pot Roast Duck (slow-cooked in Thai herbs & spices served with steamed vegetables) - tender duck meat, mushrooms and vegetables in a heavily flavoured masterstock;
- Som Tum (shredded green pawpaw salad in spicy sauce) - ordered it "hot" which had a nice kick to the sour salad. Definitely hot Thai-hot (which is a good thing);
- Whole Barramundi steamed - nicely cooked whole fish in a deliciously simple soy/ginger broth with coriander;
- Saffron rice - it has the colour of saffron but tastes like it has soaked up hours of coconut milk. Could not stop eating it.

Maybe the full price cost has caused some of the negative ratings? I'm not sure. I'd be happy to come back here. Entertainment book makes it better naturally.

Next time I would order any of the same dishes, perhaps try the tom kha (which is my standard for nearly all Thai restaurants).

Look into any online list of Canberra's "best" restaurants, and nearly every single one has Aubergine listed at the top. Despite this, I must admit the menu doesn't overly excite me (Courgette looks much better as a comparison). Perhaps it's partially due my swing away from fine and more towards comfort food. In any case the newly opened Temporada seemed to be much further up my alley. Given the owners are the same as Aubergine, it could be expected the quality of cooking would be also. I don't know where Canberra delivers news of recent restaurant openings but I'd be keen to know. The Hot Dinners website is still the most informative one I've seen worldwide.

On a quiet Monday night, walking in at 630pm to a nearly empty restaurant was quite surprising. Couples, friends and groups trickled in and by 8pm the tables were all full - not a bad effort for a Monday (maybe assisted by the fact that most other places are closed on Sundays/Mondays?). The room is nicely set with a central rectangular open bar, stools surrounding and chairs on the outside walls against a backing of wooden slats. If the management actually read this one day, I would only suggest possibly turning up the heating a little (big glass windows and a high ceiling made it slightly chilly inside).

- Woodgrilled oysters - I didn't expect these to be so good. The Coffin Bay oysters were beautifully strong and enhanced by warmth and smoked tones. Really excellent. Never thought I'd ever like any form of cooked oyster more than raw;
- Pig's head roll, kim chi coleslaw - sliders have always been a (novelty) weakness of mine. Head/cheek meat is an indulgence Hawksmoor created within me exactly a year ago. This was a nice deep fried patty with slaw (I didn't notice any kim chi flavour). The soft shell crab version on the table next to me wafted over to me also;
- Venison scotch egg, sauce gribiche - little quail egg surrounded by venison mince and deep fried served with a sauce reminiscent of tartare. A refined version that was nice;
- Jurassic quail, grilled polenta, radicchio, pear - grilled quail and grilled polenta with a few lighter flavours for balance. It was good but I didn't feel anything special;
- Grilled lamb ribs, spiced eggplant, lemon dressing - 13 rib bones coated with succulent soft meat, charred outsides and surrounded by the most wonderful mix of eggplant pieces in a dressing with slight lemon tartness and berry sweetness. I think the ribs needed a touch more salt to create the harmony of balance, but I'm not complaining;
- Jerusalem artichoke & mushroom gratin - when you have a crust of parmesan above any kind of baked dish, you'll have food flavours;
- Cider poached apple & quince, quinoa porridge, honeycomb - a dessert I haven't seen before of white quinoa porridge dotted with black quinoa, toasted puffed quinoa clusters, broken honeycomb and a mildly alcoholic-flavoured fruit. Great way to end the meal.

All washed down with a pear & sticky date mai tai. Perfect place for friends to sit around, eat, drink and be merry.

Next time I would order woodfired oysters (4pp may be enough), try the soft shell crab roll, and a main of either lamb ribs or beef ribs. The seafood plate looked nice but pretty standard of prawns/mussels/oysters (although if it's all woodfired, this could be unexpectedly unique like the oysters) and I'm always a bit hesitant to order fish mains at restaurants. There's enough variety to keep everyone interested though.

One of the important lessons learnt in the past couple of weeks - where possible, fly Qantas instead of Virgin domestic. Considering the last 3 flights people I know have taken with Virgin have been delayed by a total of 10 hours with barely any communication, the extra price of a Qantas flight might well be worth it.

What else do you do when the flight is delayed by an hour? Go find somewhere to eat that isn't too far away. What do you do when you find it is delayed again by another 2 hours? Then by another hour? Keep away until the last minute.

The silver lining was that going to this cafe at 8am on a Saturday morning was a good choice. Located in Fyshwick only 10mins from the airport, it was a perfect place to settle down and I'd even advocate in the future planning a breakfast here before flying out (on Qantas of course so you can actually time your meal properly...)

- Latte - quite strong and bitter and apparently very good by coffee-drinker standards;
- Soy chai latte - unfortunately a horribly sweet syrup concoction to the point I couldn't drink it;
- Special of Roasted beet & broad bean insalata with goats cheese, poached eggs & fried bagel - delicious salad, nicely poached eggs, a French-toast-style bagel (which was an interesting take) served on a chopping board;
- Special of Grilled Spanish morcilla sausage with potato gratin & poached eggs - crusty chewy bread, potato cheese and some kind of nutty (pistachio perhaps?) crumble, runny warm eggs and one of the few places I've seen around Australia to serve morcilla/black pudding. One of the best breakfast compilations I've had anywhere in the world.

The food is fantastic. The coffee is (apparently) great too. It's an easy choice for a pre-airport meal. Just don't order a chai latte.