The Fish Can

Canberra seems to have gone mad for bao, the latest foodie trend to sweep Instagram, and The Fish Can are giving the people what they want. We went on a warm weekend afternoon and there was a significant queue of people waiting to order and collect their bao. We ordered a couple of different fillings to try – pork belly, soft shell crab and fried chicken. Yes, it’s a small shipping container/food truck, so we did have to wait a while, but the bao were dished up fresh, and whilst this isn’t fine dining (the bao wrappers don’t really compare to somewhere like XO), it is tasty and filling food. The pork belly bao is packed full of tender, fatty meat, refreshing cucumber and sprigs of coriander to lift the whole combo – I liked it, rather than loved it. Next up was the soft shell crab – mmm. Cooked in tempura batter and dished up with coleslaw and crushed peanuts, this was one I’d come back for. But my ultimate favourite was the ‘Chican’ -fried chicken breat with aioli, crushed peanuts and coriander. The chicken was so perfectly tender inside and crispy on the outside, combined with the crispy peanuts and spicy aioli to make a real winner.

The Fish Can, Westside, 3 Barrine Drive, Acton ACT

Creatures of Habit

It’s true that a good breakfast can really set you up for the day ahead, and on a work trip to Frankston I was very thankful to be able to get a good cooked breakfast at Creatures of Habit. I ordered the smashed avocado with fetta and cherry tomatoes, and added two poached eggs for an extra $3. Sadly they don’t offer fresh juice, but I had a bottle of Noah’s apple, peach, kiwi fruit, mango and lime bottled juice, which was delicious and one of the best, non-cold pressed bottled juices I’ve had in a long time. The food took a while to come out, and, frustratingly, I could see it on the pass waiting for service to deliver to the table for quite a while. Luckily, my eggs hadn’t over-poached and were still runny by the time I did get to eat them, and everything was still hot and fresh. The avocado and fetta combination was beautiful, and the toast was a good quality, dense (and filling!) bread. The cherry tomatoes did have an odd fizz to them, so I didn’t finish them, but overall it was just what I needed to keep me going for he day ahead.

Creatures of Habit, 435 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC, no webiste

Space Kitchen

I know I’m a bit slow jumping on the Space Kitchen bandwagon, but let’s just spend a moment appreciating what a beautiful bandwagon this is. Located on the ground floor of Skypark, Space brings together industrial and urban chic, with a dose of Ricardo’s desserts thrown in for good measure. I couldn’t go past a fresh juice, so started with the orange, pear, pineapple and passionfruit combo ($6.9), which was beautifully balanced and sweet. To eat, I picked the super-Instagrammable (that’s totally a word) Space Benedict. Now don’t imagine your classic eggs benedict people, this is something on a whole other level. Obviously the presentation is to die for – Space sets the bar high, and the taste doesn’t disappoint. The perfectly poached eggs oozed out over the plate, mixing with the beetroot hollandaise to make a perfect sauce for the crumbed pork croquette that makes up the majority of the dish. Whilst rich, the pork is lovely and tender and has a great amount of flavour on its own, let alone with the hollandaise or pea puree, not to mention the addd textural elements of a crumbled brioche mixed with pork crackling. My only suggestion would be something else to help mop up all those saucy elements – otherwise, I’ll be back again soon!

Space Kitchen, Skypark, corner of Furzer and Worgan Streets, Phillip ACT, no website

Bread & Bone

I wanted to kick the new year off with a 10/10 post – a meal that I had completely, utterly loved. So, ladies and gentleman, here is Bread & Bone Wood Grill. I started with the Dark & Stormy cocktail ($12) – a perfect blend of rum, ginger beer and lime that packed a punch but at the same time was just right (so much lime!). On the waitress’s recommendation, I ordered the B&B Burger ($18), the house specialty. Cooked on their eponymous wood grill, the beef patty was done to perfection, blushing pink inside, and had fantastic flavour. To be honest, after my first bite, I didn’t deconstruct the burger in order to be able to give you a blow-by-blow – I devoured that sucker without another word. So, all I can tell you is that there is some sort of magic mayonnaise/sauce, lovely thin bacon and that the whole damn thing is so tasty you’ve made me want another one right now just thinking about it. The fries were also top grade, well-seasoned and super crispy. With flawless service, great atmosphere and heavenly food, add Bread & Bone to your must-visit list for 2016.

Bread & Bone Wood Grill, 15 Peel Street, Adelaide SA, no website

Jamface

Thanks to everyone for reading along this year, I can’t believe how quickly it has gone! I’ll still be blogging, but will drop down to 3 posts a week over the summer. Wishing you all the best (and excellent food adventures) for 2016!

I was pretty darn excited to see that Poh Ling Yeow, of Masterchef fame, has opened a stall at the Adelaide Central Market, one of my favourite places in the world. We stopped in for afternoon tea and I was in love from the get go – the stall fits perfectly into the Market vibe, but has so much character you can’t help but be charmed. We ordered three cakes – a raspberry and almond tea cake ($4.50), a chocolate custard, salted caramel and peanut tart ($5.50), and a ‘Milly Filly’ (mille-feuille) vanilla slice ($7), which Poh herself made up especially since they’d run out (awesome service!). The tea cake was the least rich of the three, with a lovely marzipan-almond flavour, great density, and a slightly tart kick from the raspberry. My favourite was the chocolate tart, which was super luxurious and had a perfect balance of sweet and salty. The vanilla slice looked like something from a French patisserie, it was so delicate and beautifully layered. The vanilla flavour was equally delicate and the pastry layers were crisp perfection. I snapped up a jar of strawberry jam to try at home too. Oh yes, I will be back.

Jamface, Stall 28-29, Adelaide Central Markets, Adelaide SA, http://www.jamface.com.au

Onomichi Ramen

There are quite a few restaurants around the Hamamatsucho JR station, but many of them are designed for quick churn (i.e. standing restaurants/izakayas). We were quite tired after a day of sightseeing so ended up picking Onomichi Ramen, as it had seats. Sure, the decor is nothing special, and it has a lingering smell of cigarette smoke, but once you’ve received your giant bowl of ramen those things fade into the background. I ordered the standard soy ramen and added on all the extras – pork and egg. They offer table service, and brought out edamame for us to start. The ramen didn’t take long (so a good spot if you’re really hungry!) and the broth looked rich and fatty. Research after the meal explained that Onomichi ramen is the local specialty of Onomichi, near Hiroshima, and uses a typical soy broth with added fish paste and melted lard. Whilst that may not sound appetising, I promise you, it was delicious, and if I’d had room to finish the bowl I would have. The pork was thick and tender, the egg gooey in the centre and the ramen had a great amount of bite. Yum, yum, yum.

Onomichi Ramen,  Chome-30-11, Hamamatsucho, Minato, Tokyo Japan

Little Oink

Three friends and I adventured out to Cook in Belconnen to try Little Oink, known for its cute decor and pork-themed menu. We sat outside, and my seat had company – a lovely life-sized pig statue leaning on the bench, joining the conversation. We started with drinks – coffee for my friends, a soy hot chocolate ($5) for me. Whilst not Surry Hills-good, the hot chocolate did taste of chocolate rather than just soy and came with two marshmellows – yum! After admiring the fun menu item names (om-nom-nomlette, for example), I opted for the Jordo – a brioche roll with bacon, two eggs, cheese and tomato relish ($12), and added extra avocado for $3. The food took a while to come out, but they did serve all of our meals shortly after one another, so we didn’t mind. I had to chase up the extra avocado, and when it came out it was a reasonable serve, probably half of a small avocado. The bun was packed full – there was a lot of bacon inside and it had a really great flavour. The eggs were fluffy and cooked through, and the brioche was just the right amount of sweet. We lingered afterwards and weren’t rushed – a lovely quaint spot.

Little Oink, 22 Cook Pl, Cook ACT, no website