Bowery to Williamsburg

Latkes? What are latkes? I usually try to order the unusual things on a menu, and this drew my eye for sure. I met an old friend for breakfast on a Saturday morning and we holed up along the long communal table at Bowery to Williamsburg, where you’re practically part of the kitchen. The Lox & Potato Latkes ($20) was a great side to a good catch up, with two perfectly poached, runny eggs, spears of asaparagus, a slab of cured salmon and latkes with horseradish. The mystery was solved on first bite – latkes are potato pancakes, and these were spiked with zucchini – they were filling and tasty and delicious with the kick of the horseradish. I’m generally not a huge fan of fennel, but pickled the way it was, it brought a great flavour contrast to the latkes. The cured salmon was more subtle than smoked, which was appreciated that early in the day. The asparagus was cooked nicely and had just the right amount of bite, without being stringy. This was a fun introduction to New York food for me – enough familiar elements to be comfortable and enough new things to be exciting.

Bowery to Williamsburg, 123 Hardware Street, Melbourne VIC, no website

Buvette

After a fabulous savoury course, it was time for the sweets. We had tried to pace ourselves, but ended up only trying the least portable desserts, and getting the rest takeaway (thank you Buvette!). I started with the lemon meringue tart, as the lightest of all the flavours. The meringue was so glossy and soft, it just melted away into the sweet pastry and delicious lemon curd base. Yum. Next up was the profiterole – now usually I’m not a huge fan of these, as they can be bland compared to other sweets, but this one had such great quality chocolate and a caramel-flavoured filling, that it has change my mind about what a good profiterole can be. The tiramisu was a highlight, although by then I had reached dairy saturation, so only tried the coffee-and-liqueur-soaked cake – it was stronger on the coffee than the liqueur, which was probably good to counteract the sleepiness from so much eating. Of the sweets I took home, I particularly liked the strawberry friand – it had great flavour and actually smelt really great too – and the salted caramel square was also divine. Highly recommended for a special occasion, or just to celebrate the weekend!

Buvette, Hotel Realm, 18 National Circuit, Barton ACT, http://buvette.com.au/

Rice Paper Scissors

I must say, I did judge the book by its cover with this one – I was enchanted by the décor at RPS, so we stopped in for a very late lunch-snack, grabbing a seat at the bar before the kitchen closed. The menu is an exciting exploration of South East Asia, and I couldn’t go past the temptation of soft shell crab mini banh mi ($13 for 2), plus a house made lemon iced tea ($4.50). Served in a fashionable jar, the iced tea had both lemon and lemongrass, but both were well balanced and not overpowering. The staff here are friendly and chatty, creating a welcoming atmosphere that we enjoyed. The food came out fairly quickly, and it definitely confirmed our order choice. Served on soft brioche buns, the banh mi were utterly delightful – the generous portion of crab was just the right blend of crisp and soft, bringing great flavour and texture to the dish. The house made pate added a creaminess to each mouthful, and I particularly liked the addition of pickled vegetables, which, with the fresh coriander, lifted this to a whole other level. I will definitely be back!

Rice Paper Scissors, 19 Liverpool Street, Melbourne VIC, http://www.ricepaperscissors.com.au/

Portrait Cafe

I was so impressed by the variety at the Portrait Cafe that I really struggled to pick only one things for lunch – gourmet pie? Beetroot risotto? African stew? They have it all! I ended up going for something more classic – a Cuban sandwich ($15) with grilled ham, pork belly, sweet potato, gruyere, onions, pickles, aioli and mustard. Yeah, that’s quite a lot of delicious things packed into one sandwich. Luckily they all went together perfectly – pork is a perfect meat to pair with slightly sweet things, so the soft sweet potato and the sweet burger bun complemented the double pork hit perfectly. The pork belly had so much flavour and the saltiness from the ham was amazing. I’m also a bit aioli fan, so really this was a winner on all fronts. I hadn’t realised it also came with chips, which were nicely cooked (perhaps a tad soft for my taste) and generously heaped onto the plate. This was a great value, delicious lunch, and whilst I couldn’t finish all of it, I’d definitely come back to try some of their more exotic offerings.

Portrait Cafe, National Portrait Gallery, King Edward Terrace, Parkes ACT, http://www.portrait.gov.au/content/cafe-and-shop

Manchester Press

Manchester Press’s lunch menu is all about the bagels (oh yeah), so after a delightfully perfect soy hot chocolate (seriously, I had to confirm that it was dairy-free, it tasted so good), I ordered the Reuben closed bagel ($14), with smoked pastrami, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, thousand island dressing and pickles. Also – bonus – the bagels are served with salted pretzels and a pickle. Yum! The bagel itself was firm but not too dense, and you get a sensible, serrated knife to eat it with dignity. There was so much pastrami on this bagel I couldn’t quite believe it – I particularly liked the spicy kick of the seasoning (it reminded me of spicy togarashi), but be warned that it isn’t for the faint-hearted. The meat was tender and tasty, just as it should be, and I loved the way that the pickles served in the sandwich were diced up and mixed throughout the creamy dressing. Mmm. The sauerkraut flavour was a bit lost amongst the strong tastes of the pastrami and the dressing, but there was enough of a tang to know it was there. Basically I’d happily eat this any day with no complaints – #cometocanberra?

Manchester Press, 8 Rankins Lane, Melbourne VIC, no website

Miss Cakeish

Ishara from Miss Cakeish is a genius. When I saw her drop-dead gorgeous creations on Instagram, I was completely sold – they’re just so beautiful! I ordered a small ‘Monet’ ($90), which serves up to 16 people, and asked for sunset colours for my belated birthday lunch. The result was stunning – topped with fresh roses, gold leaf and streaked in perfect buttercream smudges of orange, ochre, yellow and pink, it was exactly what I’d imagined. Luckily, the cake didn’t just look pretty – it tasted fabulous. With a range of cake and ganache or buttercream flavor options, I ordered the orange and almond cake, with a dark chocolate ganache. Ishara kindly allowed me to adapt the dark chocolate to add an orange flavour, which was balanced the rich bitterness perfectly. Cutting into this beauty, there were four layers of cake, each sandwiched with ganache. The cake itself reminded me of one of my favourites from childhood – madeira cake. Delicate, spongy and light, it was no hardship to eat a giant, tall slice. The cake, ganache and buttercream added up to a cake that wasn’t sickly sweet and wasn’t too heavy – in other words, utterly delightful. Highly recommended for celebrations of all sorts.

Miss Cakeish, https://www.facebook.com/miss.cakeish/

Tosung Charcoal BBQ

I love Korean food with a deep passion, so when my friend suggested we hold our group dinner at Tosung, I booked in an instant. We had a party of 13 and were easily accommodated. We delegated ordering to one of the guys and enjoyed the feast that followed. Tosung provide all diners with complimentary sides, including pickles, potato salad and kimchi (yum!). I got stuck into the kimchi pancake when it arrived – the batter here is nice and light and there is just the right amount of spice in the serving. Next up was a serve of spicy chicken; fried and coated in a sweet sauce and dusted with sesame, this isn’t the top tier of KFC (I prefered the one at Chez Kimchi), but it was still tasty. After that we enjoyed our bibimbap, served on a piping hot stone bowl and ready to mix up. I think the real highlight was the BBQ meat though – the cuts of beef and pork cooked over the hot coals were to die for and I think everyone ate more than they’d planned to! We also had fun tasting the lemon and cucumber sojus on offer – highly recommended to match the food.

Tosung Charcoal BBQ, 15 Franklin Street, Manuka ACT