Zootz

The reviews for Zootz were mixed, so when we went for a celebratory dinner I was a bit worried about what might happen. Zootz has a fabulous location right near the jetty, and we were one of many groups seated outside. I’d heard it was a seafood place, but on arrival the menu didn’t actually have a lot of seafood options, and I couldn’t go past the call of a good steak. My friends ordered drinks and they took a while to come out – we had to ask after them twice before they arrived, which was a bit poor, even for a busy night. Our food arrived at the same time though, and I was amazed at the large cut on the plate. I’d ordered it medium-rare, which to me means pink in the middle, but sadly my steak was overdone. However, the flavours were incredible – the caramelised onion on top went nicely with the rich, smooth mashed potato and the sweet balsamic sauce drizzled on top. The steak itself was lovely and tender, although not melt-in-your-mouth, and both of us eating it agreed we would order it again. Don’t expect perfection, but Zootz offers a good value meal.

Zootz Kitchen Bar, 257 Seaview Road, Henley Beach SA                 http://zootzhenleybeach.wix.com/home

Opera Bar

I’m beginning to see why people like living in Sydney. Leaving Canberra on a chilly 14 degree day, I arrived in Sydney to a balmy 27 degrees for the ballet at the Opera House. It was perfect weather to meet up with my friend in between performances (I went to the matinee, she to the evening show) and so we decided to go to the Opera Bar. We sat near the band, but the sound wasn’t up too loud and their song choices were quite mellow. We wanted a light snack and so ordered a serve of the soft shell crab and kimchi bao to share. I waited for quite a while at the bar to collect our drinks; my friend’s berry mocktail looked amazing, full of muddled blueberries, lychee and mint, I would definitely try it next time. The bao came out fairly quickly and whilst the bun itself was a bit dry and thin (not light and fluffy like they should be), I couldn’t fault the filling – crispy deep-fried soft shell crab, with kewpie mayonnaise, corriander and spicy kimchi. Perfect for a warm evening catch up.

Opera Bar, Lower Concourse Level, Sydney Opera House, Sydney NSW                http://operabar.com.au/

The Mess Hall

Wandering along Bourke Street in search of brunch, the buzz of people outside The Mess Hall caught my eye. It’s a welcoming space, stretching back to the kitchen and decorated with climbing plants on a wire mesh, soaking up the natural light pouring in from upstairs. The menu is fairly short, so I started with an orange juice, served in a generous sized glass, and ordered the green scrambled eggs. It came out quite quickly, and I was intruiged by the flavour combinations. Not your average scrambled eggs, this version had finely-sliced asparagus, pesto and truffle oil mixed in. Yep, truffle oil. Yum-o. The overall effect was fantastic – the pesto had a subtle flavour but the asparagus was crisp and juicy, and the truffle oil flavour lifted everything to a new level of deliciousness. The bread was a bit too toasted for my taste, but on balance this was made up for by the fluffy eggs. The staff happily left me to my book while they set up for lunch, and I appreciated not being rushed. I’ll be back to try their pasta and sit in the cozy upstairs room!

The Mess Hall, 51 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC           http://www.themesshallmelbourne.com

Charcoal Restaurant

Arriving at Charcoal felt like stepping back into another decade. I was one of the only women there, and the red leather seats and trolley cart service gave the atmosphere of an old school boy’s club. However, none of this detracted from the dining experience. Charcoal is a steak restaurant, so everyone in the group ordered one cut of steak or another. We ordered the anchovy bread to start, which must have been pan fried in butter is was so good – crispy, salty and morish there was nothing healthy and everything delicious about it. For my main, I picked the cajun fillet – something about meal with a good spice rub is always appealing. Our meals came out at the same time, and I liked the touch of a floret of butter served atop my steak. I’d ordered medium-rare and medium-rare I received, with tender pink hiding inside the charred outer meat. The cajun flavour was spicier than I expected, but I really enjoyed the smokey, vibrant taste. We received salad with our meals which was nice to break up the meat-fest. Charcoal isn’t cheap, but the quality was excellent and the setting is certainly unique.

Charcoal Restaurant, Melbourne Building, 61 London Circuit, Canberra ACT, no website

Cold Stone Creamery

A Swiss friend of mine introduced me to Cold Stone in 2009 and I haven’t looked back. It’s very similar to Cold Rock in Australia, where you choose an icecream, load it full of yummy things, and watch while the staff mush it all together (mush being the technical term, of course). Actually, Cold Stone ups the game, offering icecream in waffle bowls (you heard me, waffle bowls) and singing to customers as they prepare your icecream. As if this place didn’t make me happy enough, they also have the best icecream flavour combo ever – peach and raspberry! It’s a spring special called the Peachy Cheeky and includes white peach icecream, raspberries (frozen), peach jelly, peach chunks and whipped cream. In a waffle bowl. Are you sold yet? I first tried this delight in 2009 and was super excited to have it again this year – it didn’t disappoint. The sweet peach and tart raspberry combination is always a winner, and the textural contrast of the fruit pieces, jelly and icecream was magic. I may or may not have devoured the waffle bowl too… Luckily that’s what they’re there for. Check it out, they’ve got locations all around Japan.

Cold Stone Creamery, Shibuya Mark City 4F, Dogenzaka 1-12-13, Shibuya, Tokyo Japan  http://www.coldstonecreamery.co.jp/

Smoothie Stand Aoya

I don’t generally tend to think of vegetables when I think of smoothies, but when I saw this cute little wooden stall on one of Kagurazaka’s quaint backstreets, I couldn’t help but give it a try. The menu is organised by colour, and is also available in English. I picked the ‘orange colour smoothie’, which included red paprika, carrot, tomato, apple, mango, orange, goji and water. This whole stack of fresh ingredients was packed into a blender and carefully coaxed into a smoothie, that was, to my surprise, poured into a plastic pouch rather than a cup. The colour was certainly orange and on first sip I was delighted by the warmth of the paprika (the flavour was just like capsicum) and then the tones of carrot and tomato. The texture reminded me a bit of the fresh, slightly bitey Pressed Juices, but with a lot less sweetness. The portion was generous and the lady was really friendly and chatted to me as she made my smoothie. A lovely introduction to vegetable smoothies!

Smoothie Stand Aoya, 3-1-4 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, no website

Mr Papa

Mr Papa has been around for a few years now, appearing at events like The Forage regularly, but this was my first visit to their semi-permanent home at the Hamlet in Braddon. I was also Dad’s first visit to the Hamlet, so we ordered an empanada and a chanchito (pork roll) to share and give us room to try other things. The friendly ladies at Mr Papa happily chatted to Dad in Spanish while they prepared our food, and gave us a sample of the sauces they offer to try – the green one (I can’t remember the name) was to die for and we got a small tub of it for our empanada. The empanada was beautiful and fresh, with pastry that wasn’t too thick and lots of filling. The tangy lime sauce made the dish though – I’d highly recommend getting as much of it as you can because it was so, so good. The chanchito was slightly less exciting – there was a lot of bread, and whilst the pork was tender, I found that the raw onion dominated the flavour. The sweet potato slices were a great textural contrast though. I’d definitely get the empanadas again!

Mr Papa, the Hamlet, 16 Lonsdale Street, Braddon ACT                                           http://www.mrpapa.com.au/