All Things Chocolate

Address: Shop 19 Cusack Centre, Eyre St, Kingston ACT 2604
Tel: (02) 6162 0881

Website: www.allthingschocolate.biz

This is a carefully tucked-away little café in the old-world part of Kingston. The atmosphere is friendly, warm & homely.

Being sat down & greeted with water is always a comforting motion in a Chocolate Café. It is a warning that whatever happens next, it will be ok because you have this glass of water to wash it down with so you will not get chocolate poisoning.

Highly recommended is the hot chocolate drink here – creamy, fluffy, heavenly sweet (but not as sweet as Max Brennar) and very reminiscent of being safe & warm in the midst of the cold winter’s day. (Pictured above - milk hot chocolate, pictured below white hot chocolate).

I also ordered the Gluten Free Chocolate cake (pictured below) which is a smoother, lighter version of mud cake. Served with a thick raspberry coulis & cream – this is the cake I’ve been mistaking in my mind for the overrated one eaten at Jaz Bar.

Also recommended is the chocolate brownie which is also served with raspberry coulis.

A great escape from over-priced & over-commercialisation.

Tutta Bella (Wood fired Pizza)

Address: 74 Bridge St, Benalla VIC
Tel: (03) 5762 5777

Recommended: Proscuitto Pizza - interesting texture & combination of flavours - salty, bitter and savoury.

Au Lac Gourmet Vegetarian Restaurant (Vietnamese)

Address: Shop 4/39 Woolley St, Dickson ACT 2602
Tel: (02) 6262 89922

Open 7 days: Lunch - Tue to Sun 11:30am-2:30pm, Dinner - Mon to Sun 5:30pm-10:30pm

A mix of Entrée & Main:

BBQ soy meat – able to emulate the toughness of meat, served here with satay sauce

Soy chicken drumstick – an aromatic wad of fake meat served on a stick of lemongrass (the ‘bone’ of the drumstick), sweet chilli brings out soy sweetness

Fried soy fish with spicy salt & chilli – salty, with a layer of seaweed (kind of looks like deep fried eggplant from afar) with a fishy taste. This was actually my favourite – it is very different, savoury dish with interesting flavours.

Crab meat pate – crab flavour & aroma present, also emulates an egg-like texture (not quite a spread)

Roast soy duck – crispy skin with a smokier flavour than the real deal served with a sweet plum sauce

Wonton soup – tastes like pork, but I didn’t personally enjoy the extremity of the chives they used in the dumpling.

It was a nice meal – evidently don’t get too carried away with ordering like I clearly did, but the entrees are quite small. I would come back here for novelty’s sake, or just if I want to eat lots without feeling like a carnivorous barbarian.

Also check out the vegetarian pate they import from Europe – great on crackers, and I actually prefer it to the real stuff!

Scratchleys On the Wharf

Address: 200 Wharf Rd, Newcastle NSW 2300
Tel: (02) 4929 1111
Website: www.scratchleys.com.au

This place was hyped up to be the best restaurant in Newcastle – so I was expecting a lot. The food took its time in arriving, but it was definitely worth it.

For entrée my table ordered the mixed bread platter (consisting of Garlic, Herb & Sundried Tomato) to start. Bread was soft and fluffy & spread/topping was potent, flavoursome and delightful. The herb bread was sort of pesto-y, kind of like a saltier herb bread. Sundried tomato bread was cheesy (I enjoyed the most) and the garlic bread was almost like the garlic butter they use in seafood dishes (in a positive way)

My main was a seasonal special: “Red Emperor fillet dusted in cajun spices on crushed kipfler potatoes with roasted mediterranean vegetables & balsamic onions with a carrot & ginger Raitha”. The fish fillet was fresh & wholesome, the vegies a loose patty with balsamic through it, surround by sweet potato crisps – a very intriguing tangy flavour. This was topped with a sauce that reminded me of a Vietnamese restaurant – a noble attempt at mixing South-East Asian with Mediterranean. The Cajun spices were hardly noticeable and was nothing special on the fish, but coupled with the “Vietnamese Restaurant” topping packed a new flavour punch. There were so many flavours – a taste minefield!

Also recommended is the the Golden Fried Seafood Plate (Pictured below with modifications): “Battered Fish, Calamari, A Prawn Wonton (which are apparently heaven), Served With Beer Battered Chips, Salad & Homemade Tartare Sauce".

Dessert was a Blackberry & Apple Pie with Boysenberry Icecream – The pastry was fresh ,& the filling exactly as I imagined it to be – melting, & a perfect amalgamation of the strong flavour of blackberries which was put out by simplicity of apples. Actual apple pieces inside! Boysenberry Icecream just made it better and more berrylicious!


Also pictured: Marsbar cheesecake? - I didn't get to try this but for a non-cheesecake-liking person, it looked pretty damn good (served with caramel icecream?).

This meal of course sent us over the edge and in need of being rolled out of the restaurant. But good feed!

Lanterne Rooms

Address: 3 Blamey Place, Campbell ACT 2612
Tel: (02) 6249 6889

Website: www.lanternerooms.com.au

I am really having a hard time tossing up between this restaurant and Madam Woo as my favourite Asian fusion restaurant in Canberra and possibly Australia.

Madam Woo has a lot of dishes, but also which are very similar. Their servings seem to be bigger and dining experience a little more casual.

Lanterne Rooms is situated in a really small shopping town area in a totally underrated suburb. The service is attentive, professional, with passion and interior leaves no doubt as to the choice of restaurant name.

Entrée:

Duck rolls with marinated vegetables with kaffir lime chilli dressing – this was essentially a sweet duck-strip-meat spring roll (in a thicker batter) with an ornate salad and sweet chilli dressing. We had one each and it was gorgeous, and a tease for more.

Grilled lamb cutlets with capsicum mint pesto- this was arguably my favourite, just because I have never seen lamb cutlets executed in this way (excuse the pun). The cutlets had a strong charred flavour, complimented by the bitterness of what reminded me of an olive pesto – the two flow right into each other in unison.

Mains:

Shanghai rice noodles with dark soy, calamari, prawns, scallops & salted fish – the noodles are what the waiter referred to as a “Chinese gnocchi” with smoky yet sweet soy aftertaste and sticky/chewy, glutinous texture. The scallops cooked nicely, and seafood was also quite pleasant without giving the dish an overpowering sea taste.

Slow-cooked beef curry – the beef here was also similar to a brisket, separated easily and melted in your mouth. The curry sauce was not overly creamy, but rather more like a curry “dressing” with sediment satay/curry flavour to infuse in the beef. Quite a punchy spice it had too…

Campbell’s best kept secret – a must see (eat!)

Ottoman Cuisine (Turkish)

Address: Cnr Broughton & Blackall St, Barton ACT 2600
Tel: (02) 6273 6111

Opening Hours: Lunch - Tue-Fri Noon to 3pm; Dinner Tue-Sat 6pm-10pm

Website: http://www.ottomancuisine.com.au/Canberra/Canberra.html

This is one of my favourite top 3 restaurants in Canberra because it has a combination of: fantastic food, great pricing (I think), good service & the optimum ambience between a bustling vibe that is not loud enough so that you cannot hear what the person sitting opposite to you is saying.

Entrée:

Scallops with Lemon Mash & Mustard – scallops quickly seared with complimentary textures & flavours. I find that fluffy, potato-ey sides always work well with a well-cooked scallop dish. Lemon is always a safe option with seafood and this was no exception.

Pan-seared Ocean Trout & Almond Tarator with Mustard dressing. The fish looks quite rare, but it is in fact not slimy at all. The Almond tatator was similar to a denser version of hummus and the quantity was just right in this. A Culinary delight.

Mains:

Char-grilled deboned spitchcock marinated – texture is between duck & chicken thigh meat, tangy lemon hit with a dry-paste Mediterranean marinade.

Lamb cutlets – rubbed in a Mediterranean dry spice, flavoursome and juicy. Potato chips were more like mini toasts, drizzled in a tangy vinegar dressing. Served with Turkish rice – the oily sweetness was carefully fragmented by harshness of sea salt.

Dessert:

Green Apple sorbet with Midori Syrup, sprinkled with crushed pistachio – Smoothest & most refreshing sorbet I’ve ever consumed, apparently the midori raises the freezing temperature hence no iceflakes. The waiter suggested this was a good finisher to ‘cleanse’ the palette – and the man totally knew he was on about. I satisfied the sweet tooth without tipping over the edge (like most desserts will do).

Pictured here is the Semonlina & Orange Cake with orange syrup. It looked like a soggy friand to me but I was assured it was quite delightful. Wwe had a bit of a mishap with the desserts, they initially delivered the poached pear (pictured delightfully below) instead of the orange cake, but very quickly recfitied this (in effect bringing 2 orange cakes, one of which we had to send back to say we already had an orange cake). The service and problem management was swift & professional, with the waiters apologising profusely about the mix up (no skin off our back, we almost got a free dessert).


The only thing that could have made this evening better was a piece of Turkish Delight (there was a mountain at the paying counter as I entered the restaurant, but you've obviously got to get out early if you don't want to be stuck with the last stale looking piece - which I didn't pick up & eat mind you)...

The Claredon Hotel

Address: 347 Hunter St, Newcastle NSW
Tel: (02) 4927 0966

This is a nice, contemporary pub serving cheap & tasty meals all week long (most meals ~$10 mark).

Above: Lamb shanks - these were apprently highly recommended, here in a red wine jus/sauce served with mashed potato.

Below: Sausages & Mash


Below: Risotto in cream sauce with bacon & mushroom - a slightly more oniony rendition of risotto (as in, large chunks of onion throughout which I wasn't personally too fond of).