Cobblestone Lane

2/173-179 George St, Bathurst NSW 2795
Tel: (02) 6331 2202
Website: www. cobblestonelane.com.au

This restaurant has won a large assortment of awards, featured in newspapers and food critics regularly rave on about it.

Entrée:

Trunkey pork belly with caramelised cyder, celeriac, apple & cranberry strudel (pictured below) – sweet, tangy savoury punch of flavour, slice of roast pork lines the bottom topped with pastry filled with caramelised capisicum with roma herb running through it.


Wood smoked ocean trout, avocado, grapefruit & horseradish cream – rare with avocado salsa lined with citrus fruit pieces & cream cheese. Very average, they should have mentioned the trout was not cooked and limited to serving this in summer (not the arctic months of winter which reputedly snow in Bathurst).


Main:

Roasted Beef fillet, field mushrooms & red wine jus (pictured below)– medium thick steak done well, perfect potato mash with magical butter (see below description); mushroom wine ‘jus’ reminiscent of vegemite-tinged moo jus.


Pan fried Jew fish, creamed leek, artichokes & Mediterranean salsa – good texture, firm & not flaky, a good piece of fish cooked well with a slightly peppery flavour


Mixed Leaf Salad with Champagne dressing – Champagne gave the leaves a spicy flavour and does go straight to the head for someone who does not drink like myself. Refreshing & different, but not my preference.

We received a complimentary walnut dessert – light fruity flavour with exciting texture and crunchy seeds. Reminds me of a good ol’ walnut & prune log slice I used to enjoy.

Coffee: really strong, bitter flavour with pleasant lingering aftertaste – don’t need buckets of sugar or syrup to cover the bean flavour means it is a high grade of coffee. Thumbs up!

After all this, I have to say the most memorable thing was the butter served with the complimentary bread – it had a fluffy, creamy texture which was in between the butter used Vietnamese pork rolls (more jelly like) and buttered popcorn. Aftertaste – heavenly.

Bollywood Masala

Address: 69/12 Challis St, Dickson ACT
Tel: (02) 6257 7333
Website: www.bollywoodmasala.com.au

Below: Entree platter for 2 (non-vege) - an assortment of fish, chicken, beef, lamb cooked in a tandoor oven. The white pieces of chicken you see were extremely tender and carried a strong smoky flavour. The lamb cutlets best absorbed the tandoor flavour & spice.

Above: Green hiriyani "spinach naan" - the spinach flavour was undetectable, in fact it tasted the same as plain naan bread, just with a green dye.

Below: Beef Vindaloo - seedy (as in, small granules) texture and very spicy




Above: Chicken Masala - more like a stirfy with vegies than a curry persay, lighter & tasty with a tomato based tang.

Below: Biriyani - savoury, not too oily, flavoursome, the lamb meat not too interruptive and overpowering in this dish.


I quite enjoyed my meal here -it is not particularly cheap but the food is a good standard and I haven't been let down as such. Some really good, interesting & potent flavours here.

Benjarong Thai Restaurant

Address: 129 George St, Bathurst NSW 2795

Tel: (02) 6331 3627

Trading Hours

Lunch: Tue – Fri 11:30am to 2:30pm

Dinner: Tue – Sun 5:30pm to 10:00pm

A simple, casual dining experience with a setting of quilted electric blue pleather chairs which one cannot look away at.

Pad Thai Noodles (pictured below) – this was absolutely delightful, ranks #2 after my favourite Drunken Noodles at Pent Thai. Fragrant, tasty and not to heavy with fresh vegetables and a nice heat to it.

Duck Curry – creamy, but not heavy like an Indian curry. Peas are a cute addition, and it lives up to its 2 out of 3 chilli rating – packs a nice spicy punch.

Sizzling Beef – smoky flavour and served on a sizzling hot plate. Cooked in almost like a liquid pepper sauce, with a strange musky vegetable taste created by celery & bamboo shoots. Beef was a little tough, but otherwise a very good flavour.

Would definitely come back here for an inexpensive, tasty meal.

Poachers Pantry

Smokehouse Cafe
Address: Nanima Rd, Hall NSW
Tel: (02) 6230 2487
Website: www.poacherspantry.com.au

Trading hours: Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays 10am-5pm

Tasting & sales: 10am-5pm daily


Poachers Pantry is an instutition for those residing in the ACT or nearby surrounds. Originally a smokehouse selling deli meats, it is located within a farm property.

On this occasion, a meat platter was ordered (there really isn't much choice - meat or seafood) which contained a selection of cold meats, some dips & relish accompanied by bread and lavosh bread.



Chicken - heavily smoked flavour with a hint of spice which is quite powerful (my favourite, light and would be great in sandwiches)

Kangaroo proscuitto - very strong flavour, tends to absorb the smoked flavour in a salty way (must try especially if you are bringing tourist friends) and the meat is quite tought & chewy

Pork/ham - lightly smoked flavour reminscent of a side dish

Sausages - not a fan of these, very strong 'gamey' flavour, but nothing a bit of dip can't cover up.

3 Dips - Eggplant with garlic, yoghurt, radish. These vary according to season I think - the radish one was even had a tinge of wasabi tang.

Relish - Sweet gherkin with lots of flavour and a sharp peppery spice kick to it.

Sundried tomato relish - my favourite relish, a perfect balance of flavour and particularly great with the lavosh bread

Vine leaves stuffed with rice - these were delightful and even moreso with the garlic dip - the vineleaves had a tangy & sour flavour to them which was nicely offset by the savoury flavour of the dip.


As you can see, a wide-ranging assortment of bits & pieces to try and mix/match flavours to suit your taste. I am also told the seafood platter is highly regarded.

Remember to phone ahead to book a table to avoid disappointment because they have been notorious for turning those away who do not have reservations - even if you have travelled halfway across the state to get there.