Patissez

The Lawns at Manuka are a lovely place to relax on a warm afternoon, which is exactly what my friend and I did – plus cake, of course! We had a 15min wait for a table at Patissez, and then ordered two cakes from the display cabinet – a pistachio cake and an open lemon meringue tart, both gluten free. Both were beautifully presented, and we went halves to be able to try both! The pistachio cake was topped with a lime-flavoured meringue in fluro green – this somewhat artificial-tasting flavour seemed to dominate, dulling the pistachio flavour, but complimenting the perfect texture of the cake layers. With oozy icing and luscious creamy layers in between the pistachio cake, those less excited by the lime can still enjoy the delicious flavours beneath. Next up was the open lemon meringue – this is a creative take on a classic, with beautiful, crisp honeycomb perched on top of a huge meringue cloud. Hiding beneath are dollops of a tart lemon curd, but the real surprise was the spice-infused tart base – we thought it might be cardamom or nutmeg, which cuts through the sweetness of the rest of the cake perfectly. Be warned – these cakes are huge, so we got the leftovers to takeaway. Yum.

Patissez, 21 Bougainville Street, Griffith ACT, http://patissez.com.au/

Get excited…

Ladies and gentlemen of Canberra… the Night Noodle Market is coming! Part of Good Food Month (I knew there was a reason I was born in March), the market is set to be bigger and better than last year when it kicks off tomorrow night! The line up is looking excellent – I’m particularly excited about the bao trifecta from Bao Stop, a mini-Boodle feast from Kusina (one of my favourite local businesses), the ever-sophisticated fare from Lilotang, and, finally, the ubiquitous Watermelon and Strawberry cake from Sydney’s Black Star Pastry, fused with the genius that is N2 Extreme Gelato. Yes, it will be busy. Yes, the weather is looking like it will be hot. But Canberra, this delightful pop up hawker-market is only here from Friday 4th until Sunday 13th March, so please make the most of it! To keep you posted on what’s happening, I’ll be Instagramming my opening night experience live for you to follow along and decide which queues are worth braving for yourself (follow me at @sharoninez16). Oh, and don’t forget to check out the rest of the Enlighten events while you’re taking a digestion pause. Happy eating!

The Gods Cafe & Bar

The Gods is so lovely! I loved working in this space, and was very excited to try my mango smoothie ($7) and P-Y-T-T-I-P-A-N-N-A (verbatim from the menu, $16), a Swedish-style breakfast with stir-fry potatos, bacon and onion, with beetroot and a fried egg. Ok, so it’s not exactly the healthiest breakfast, particularly for the carb-conscious, but there is an elegant simplicity to these flavours that I can imagine being the perfect start to a chilly Swedish (or Canberra) morning. The fried egg was cooked perfectly, oozy and runny, coating the potato which might otherwise have been a bit plain. The sprinkle of spring onions adds a great bit of bite to the dish, the bacon contributes a kick of salt and I loved the tender, flavoursome slices of beetroot that balance out the other, heavier ingredients. The sourdough toast is coated luxuriously in butter too. Oh, and the mango smoothie was spectacular – definitely worth ordering, the texture wasn’t icy at all and the mango flavour was intense and fresh. Yum! The staff were attentive without being intrusive, clearing plates and happily letting me linger to write.

The Gods Cafe & Bar, Building 16 ANU Arts Centre, Union Court, Acton ACT, http://www.thegodscafe.com.au

Lolo and Lola

Canberra is entirely to blame for my love of Filipino food – luckily, Lolo and Lola can help me feed the habit started by Kusina! The latest shipping container store to open at Westside, Lolo and Lola (formerly Waterhouse Bakery) offer fresh Filipino dishes and cakes with a menu that changes daily. I went on a Friday and ordered the Grilled Pork Tocino ($12) – cured sweet pork slices served with rice and a tomato salad – to takeaway. The portion size is fantastic – exactly the right amount of food for lunch, and I was impressed by the amount of pork in the serve. The meat was amazingly delicious – sweet as the menu says, but also very tender. The spring onion sprinkled on top helped to lift the flavour and I loved the way some of the sweet coating from the pork oozed onto the rice, which I’m sure was infused with garlic (yum). The tomato salad had wedges of fresh tomato, slices of red onion and cucumber  it was really refreshing to contrast the heavier pork and rice, but I’ll save this dish for weekends as the raw onion was strong and not ideal for going back to work! I’d very happily order this dish again and can’t wait to try more from the exciting menu!

Lolo and Lola, Westside Acton, 3 Barrine Drive, Acton ACT, no website

Remi Food & Wine Bar

I dined as a guest of Remi Food & Wine Bar. Tucked away in the sleek ground floor of 14 Moore Street, Remi has recently come under new management and offers a great value menu breakfast. I chose a comfort food favourite, shakshuka ($14) and a glass of fresh orange juice ($6), made from oranges from Leeton NSW. The juice was served with ice in a large glass, and the shakshuka was nicely presented on a wooden board with a huge pile of sourdough. I was surprised at the generous three eggs included in the dish and only one of the three had just gone past the point of being poached; the other two oozed perfectly into the tomato sauce. The dish itself was full of spinach and tomato, and whilst I would have liked a greater kick of heat, there was great depth of flavour and the sauce was well seasoned. The sourdough was excellent quality and again, I was surprised by how much was included. The service was friendly and prompt, leaving me with the impression of a good, mid-range breakfast venue doing simple classics well.

Remi Food & Wine Bar, 14 Moore Street, Civic ACT, no website

 

Avesta

Avesta has opened in the space previously occupied by Pheast, adding a meat/smokehouse and Kurdish flavour to the menu. We had a group of 12 booked for lunch, and were told to sit anywhere (no table prepared for us), so we gathered the outdoor tables and set up to enjoy the warm afternoon. Things here are still a bit new – staff are still getting to know the menu and the register system, but after a long ordering process, the food came out quite quickly. I ordered the Qaisy ($25.50), a Kurdish beef and apricot dish served with almond and raisin garnished rice. The portion was the perfect size for lunch and I really enjoyed the plentiful, tender pieces of beef. The apricots had leeched their flavour into the sauce, leaving their hydrated forms with little more than texture, but the sauce had a lovely depth of flavour (but no heat). The rice was perfectly cooked and I liked being able to dip my spoon of rice into the sauce, rather than having it all in one bowl. The almonds and raisins added great texture and I would have happily added more on top. The food was slightly pricey for what it is, but everyone enjoyed their meals.

Avesta, 2 Furneaux Street, Griffith ACT, http://www.avesta.net.au/

Sammy’s Kitchen

I haven’t been to Sammy’s Kitchen in such a long time, so I was excited when we organised a work lunch there. On arrival, you notice the lovely plates with Japanese words for fruit and vegetables on them – I had persimmon on mine. We went for the $26.50 per person banquet option, starting with spring rolls and prawn toast. Guys, this is one of the biggest prawn toasts I’ve ever had, and it was amazing – entirely covered in sesame seeds and with heaps of lovely prawn meat inside, I’d come back just for this. But then we had the shantung chicken, and it got even better. Oh hello crispy skin and tender meat and unctuous sauce – get in my belly! Also a dish to come back for. Repeatedly. The beef rendang again had very tender meat and wasn’t overly spicy, and the sizzling prawns in XO sauce disappeared quickly – delicious! We were all getting very full by the time the bean curd and vegetables came out, but again this was a winner, with everyone making just that bit more stomach space to fit it in. The banquet was amazing and great value for the price.

Sammy’s Kitchen, 9 Bunda Street, Civic ACT http://www.sammyskitchen.com.au/