PappaRich

I haven’t been to PappaRich in years, but on a chilly day I stopped by on a whim for lunch. It took a while for me to attract attention to order, but when I did, went for the Roti Canai with Tandoori Chicken ($15.90), plus a lychee soda ($4.90). The lychee soda came out first in a huge glass with a few whole lychees inside. This is quite a sweet drink, with refreshing lime and a nice fizz to it. The roti arrived shortly after, with a reasonable-sized portion of chicken, the roti itself, and two dipping sauces – one a spicy sort of chutney, the other a cooling raita. Let me say, the roti is to die for. Soft, fluffy and easy to break apart, this was a pure delight to eat and next time I might just order a tonne of roti. Yum, yum, yum. The chicken had a great tandoori flavour, without being very spicy, and whilst the piece looked big on the plate, there wasn’t a huge amount of meat on it. Both the chutney and raita were fabulous, well-matched and served in just the right quantity for my liking. But really, the roti was the highlight.

PappaRich, Canberra Centre, 148 Bunda Street, Civic ACT http://www.papparich.net.au/

Vincent

Barton has really started coming into its own with the opening of the Macquarie Place centre – I had a long lunch at Vincent with a friend, taking advantage of their share plate menu. We started with the Pork Croquettes with Gribiche ($14 for 3) – these were perfectly crumbed on the outside and utterly delightful on the inside, with really tender pork and plenty of flavour. The gribiche (like a tartare sauce) was the perfect match and we devoured these greedily. Dish two was the Pork Belly with Cauliflower, Fennel and Currant ($20). Basically this was autumn on a plate, with sweetness from the currants, tang from the pickled fennel and a rich, earthiness from the pork paired with the cauliflower. The flavours were pefectly balanced and the pork fat was nicely rendered. Finally, we enjoyed the Lamb Rump with Date Chutney, Aubergine and Fetta ($26). The lamb was cooked to perfection and everything with it was a sensory delight. I loved the rich flavour of the pureed aubergine, the sweetness of the chutney and the quenelle of creamy fetta. Sophisticated, seasonal food perfect for sharing.

Vincent, 48 Macquarie Street, Barton ACT, http://www.vincentrestaurant.com.au

Paesano

I think my friends and I confused the staff at Paesano – we stopped by for dessert one night and asked a tonne of questions about their options, dietary requirements and pricing (Instagramming all the while) that might have looked (and sounded) something like a foodie whirlwind. Regardless, we eventually managed to order and sat outside. While most of the group ordered gelato, I was sucked in by the pretty dessert in a jar. Yep. It was a raw vegan cheesecake (continuing the Adelaide trend of awesome raw foods), created by Sweet Lola. The jar looks small, but once you get stuck in, there’s a lot in there! Topped with apricot, raspberry, cacao nibs, coconut and other delicious things, the berry-flavoured ‘cheesecake’ (no dairy actually contained) had the lovely texture of all raw cakes – and was surprisingly filling. I found every mouthful to be a delight and was sad to reach the bottom of the jar. The cacao nibs in particular were interesting – not sweet, but well-paired with the sweet apricot, they added a lot of flavour. The staff happily let us sit and chat until late – a nice place to while away an evening and enjoy dessert.

Paesano, 81 O’Connell Street, North Adelaide SA, no website