Rashay's Cafe & Restaurant

Address: 371 Macquarie St, Liverpool NSW 2170 (There is also another branch located in Liverpool, check website)

Ph: (02) 9600 9255
Fax: (02) 9601 0448

Website: http://www.rashays.com/

This place seems to be some sort of Western Sydney institution (On a Friday night anyway).
I was told to come here for the best steak and food ever by a fellow halal-meat-eating friend.
Western parts of Sydney is a cultural melting pot with an array of ethnicities spanning from Eastern Europe, Middle Eastern to South East Asia. Hence this restaurant caters for, and has a flavour which doesn't discriminate.

Drinks:

I am a huge sucker for fruit juice blends. This is the Berry Blast Mocktail: "Strawberries, Raspberries, Sorbet, Apple Fruit Juice".
Tastes like a non-syrupy version of a slurpee...nice childish-fruitiness.

Below: The display window of Rashay's is lined with these "Twist n Drink" - originating from Austria (according to the label). It is basically some water with sugar and flavouring. We were told by the waitress it was for children, but we insisted on ordering it anyway. The cool novelty about this is that when you tip the bottle upside down, it doesn't spill - you have to squeeze the bottle to release the liquid. Very child and idiot friendly.

Starters:

Oysters Kilpatrick - "Premium Sydney Rock oysters with beef rashes and worcestershire sauce". This was a very different take on Kilpatrick Oysters which I had to try. The beef gave it an interesting flavour but this combination with worcestershire sauce wasnt salty enough - I prefer the bacon for more smoky flavour. But it was good to get my halal peeps who couldn't otherwise try oysters kilpatrick style an introduction.


Grilled Garlic Butter Prawns - "Garlic buttered prawns with a wedge of lemon". This was actually my favourite. I could go on eating these forever. Done very well - butterflied prawns, grilled so the shell was smoky but gave the flesh a nice tender texture. Butter flavour was fluffy and garlic not overpowering (very light & subtle). Bliss.


Mains:

Beef Ribs - "Slow cooked rack of ribs with your choice of sauce on the side". We actually ordered this as an additional entree because it is a small rib serving - only 4 ribs. You see it served with the gravy sauce. The meat was very tender - in between a brisket and soft steak, almost melts in your mouth.


Barramundi - "Grilled boneless barramundi fillet with dill sauce and lemon". If you are sane, do not ever in your right mind order this dish. I was supposed to order the "Rashay’s signature filled barramundi - Filled with oven dried tomatoes, mushrooms & bocconcini, wrapped in potato
served with a lemon butter sauce" which already sounds and looks better, but who was to know a restaurant would serve 2 different types of barramundi? Lesson learnt - be specific and spell out the name of the dish you are ordering.

The barramundi tasted like it came straight out a metallic container of salt water. The dill sauce is out of this world - should be listed as a legal poison. This is my fault, but I know better now.

New York Cut & Lobster -"Grain fed 300g sirloin grilled to your liking and your choice of sauce". You can choose your half a lobster mornay (cheese) or garlic style.

The steak (tasted my friend's "well done" which I normally don't like because I find well-done too tough) was suprising good, and even better with the sauce.

The mushroom sauce here is really out of this world - great with steak, chips, and had I known I would have put it on my barramundi as well. Exceptionally creamy but tasty as well.

Potato mash is also a little different - very peppery.


Desserts:

Rashay’s Jumbo Brownie Sundae - "Rich chocolate brownie pieces in a layered ice cream sundae". This is a dessert within a dessert. Chocolate brownies have an initial slight coconut aftertaste. Then you get to the chocolate syrup and its just sugar hitting your brain from that point. A good challenge...


Mud Cake Sensation -Warm chocolate mud cake served with a scoop of vanilla icing. The centre is actually liquid, the icecream melts into the craters of the cake, fusing to form like a liquid chocolate icecream sensation.


All in all not a bad place. I've heard mixed opinions about this place. I probably wouldn't choose another Friday night to go there unless I wanted to be surrounded by teeny boppers and screaming kids, and the service can sometimes be shocking (we had a mix of exceptionally courteous and drugged-up waitresses/waiters).

Zefirelli Pizza Restaurant (Canberra)

Address: 5/55 Woolley St Dickson, Canberra ACT 2602
Ph: (02) 6262 5500

Opening hours (closed for lunch on public holidays):

Monday - Friday
11.30am - 2.30pm
5.00pm - 10.00pm

Saturday
5.00pm - 10.00pm

Sunday
12.00pm - 2.30pm
5.00pm - 10.00pm

Website: http://www.zeffirelli.com.au/


Dessert: Flourless chocolate torte w/ chocolate fudge

This is the closest to heaven that I'll get to in Canberra compared with Jaz Bar's chocolate cake.

Zefirelli's version is like a cross between a chocolate brownie, and a slice of chocolate fudge. It has a slightly bitter taste (so is not overly sweet/sickening), which is politely offset by the scoop of vanilla icecream.

The carmelised nuts at the top give the cake extra flavour and texual density (I suspect there are finely ground nuts throughout), the cake body is not quite chewy, but melts in your mouth.

Do give it a try!

Taj Agra (Canberra)

Address: 35 Woolley Street Dickson, Canberra ACT
Tel: 02 6249 6633

Website: www.tajagra.com.au

Taj Agra is a well-presented, reasonably priced restaurant serving North Indian cuisine.

Entree:

1. Tandoori Fish: "Diced New Zealand Ling Fish marinated with spices, garlic, ginger and
cooked in clay oven". The fish was a little tough (but I liked it), wholesome but complimented the tandoori marinate. A different take on tandoori but nevertheless unforgettable.

2. Spinach Pakora: "Finely chopped fresh spinach & potatoes delicately spiced and deep fried, served with mint sauce". A densely textured croquette/patty if you like, filled with herbs, spices and finely chopped potato & spinach. An articulate entree if you take the time to analyse the flavours...

Mains:

3. Naan Bread - 3 varieties:

GARLIC NAAN: "Fine plain flour breadfinished with garlic, baked in tandoor".

PANEER NAAN: "Plain flour bread stuffed with cheese and spices"

KEEMA NAAN: "Plain flour bread stuffed with lamb mince and spices". This was the first time that I tried this, it was delightful! Reminds me of a fresh, warmed-up salami. Highly recommended!

4. Beef Vindaloo (made extra hot): "A traditional spicy curry for "hot food lovers". That description says nothing about the dish but if you can handle your spice ask them to amp it up - you can see the chilli seeds in the photo below. Was a stagnant type of hot, seedy, pungent dish. Yummo!

5. Bakra Masala (goat): "Diced goat sauteed in a wok with onion, pepper, tomato, ginger,
garlic and herbs and cooked to perfection". A more savoury curry, with stewed meat - goat with its own unique aroma & taste. I'd say the meat was the strongest flavour/element in this curry (gamey).

6. Chicken Tikka Masala: "Boneless tandoori Chicken pieces cooked in tasty thick Gravy". This is a tangy-er, sweeter curry compared to the others. Would even go as far as classifying it as kind of fruity which is not typical of Tikka Masala but this had a higher component of vege content.

All in all, a good dining experience & feed. Food comes out a little slower than I would like (don't go there starving) but that was also on a Saturday night with a full house.

Turkish Pide House (Canberra)

Address: 16 Moore St, Canberra City ACT
Tel: (02) 6249 8700

Website (which is currently suspended because they need to pay their bills): www.turkishpidehouse.com.au


For $30pp (mid-tier banquet) this was an awesome feed:

Entree: 5 dips with toasty turkish bread (tip is not to fill up on the dips):

1. Pancar : Ezmesi Beetroot mixed with garlic, mint and yoghurt (Beetroot dip) - one of the sweeter dips, refreshing, almost tangy - consumption in excess would aid bowel movement I would imagine.

2. Patlican Ezmesi: Eggplant mixed with garlic, mint, yoghurt and salt (Eggplant dip: savoury, probably one of my favourites, can keep eating it forever without feeling sick.

3. Havuc: Carrot mixed with garlic, mint and yoghurt (Carrot dip): My 2nd fave - another savoury one, shredded carrot gives it a nice hearty texture

4. Cacik: Cucumber mixed with garlic, mint and yoghurt (Cucumber dip) -minty cool, almost had a sesame taste in it - definitely one of the best cucumber dips I've had.

5. Humus: Crushed chick peas, tahini, lemon juice and olive oil seasoned with herbs

Below: Kabak Mucveri (Fried zucchini balls) - Grated zucchini, mixed with fresh herbs and deep fried, served with yoghurt sauce. Soft & fluffy inside, crispy outer shell - reminiscent of a doughy chiko roll.

Mains:

Pictured below - Left: Sebzeli (vegetarian pide) - crispy bread texture, fresh ingredients (tomato, onion, capsicum, parsley, cheese). Right: Tavuklu (chicken pide) - roasted chicken pieces with parsley and cheese. I really do apologize for this blurry photo - they really could have done better with the serving size of this pide. This was for 5 people - and the other guests were literally snatching at this pide plate hence my rushed photo. Didn't try to chicken one because it was gone about 3 seconds after this scratchy photo was taken.


Yesil Salatasi: Lettuce, tomato, onions, cucumber, fetta cheese and olives - this is essentially a simple garden salad with balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of finely shredded fetta cheese. Never used to be a fan of fetta especially in its cube form, but this was awesome!

Above: Sis Tavuk (chicken shish kebab sticks) - Chicken pieces seasoned with herbs, grilled on skewer. The "marinate" was this paprika-ish powder and very flavoursome.


Above: I can't find this on the menu, but I suspect it is beef/lamb shaved kebab meat in a bbq saucy/yoghurt dish. Sauce is very unique and tasty, reminds me of bbq sauce mixed with ketchup and tobasco. Meat is thinly sliced and very tender.

Tastes great with the most underrated rice (pictured below). Can't figure what the grains are but they give the rice more moisture, as well as a fragrant semi-sweet flavour.


Below: Kofte - Small (lamb) meat balls, marinated in herbs and grilled. I love this stuff, they chop up the meat and keep knifeing it so its nice and tender. Throughout the meat you can taste the herbs and most importantly chilli flakes (even though this dish is nowhere near hot).


I bet you're sick of scrolling down but as you can see for $30pp, its definitely a worthwhile feed and the food is quite a substantial standard (although I wish it was a bit more oily). Service was great and they cater for as little as 2 people and our table of about 20 people.

Pancake Parlour (Canberra)

Address: Cnr East Row and Alinga St, Civic, Canberra City ACT 2600
Tel: (02) 6247 2982

Website: http://pancakeparlour.com

This is similar to Sydney's "Pancake at the Rocks" (most overrated institution ever) without all the ridiculous queues at all hours of the day/night.

I eyed off my fellow co-eaters' dinner one of which was a cajun chicken salad generously supplied with pieces of marinated chicken (I was pretty jealous), and the other a cheese & potato pancake. Yes maybe next time.

I'm usually skeptical of these dessert do-it-all places, but settled for a recommended "Hot Ball". (Pictured below). And to date I still dream about it...

Who knew a simple scoop of vanilla icecream, some roasted almonds and hot choc fudge could be so unforgettable! That cylindrical wafer thing in the middle was a bit stale, but once that was out of the way, the rest was just heaven. I put it down to a simple but effective combination of ingredients with complimentary textures (e.g. peanuts are too sickening).

It's also a perfect size for when you've already eaten dinner but want to be a fatty and have dessert too. Or it's a great dessert for when you don't want to be a fatty but want something sweet to end your evening.

P.S. Don't believe their "closing time" of 10:30pm. I was met with great disappointment on another occasion during a weeknight when they were bringing the signs in at about 9:30pm.