Urban Pantry

Urban Pantry has undergone a refresh – both to its decor and its menu. The fresh, clean-looking space has made presentation a priority (as its Instagram account attests), so I met a friend visting from Melbourne there to try the new offerings. I ordered the Chef’s Pan ($18), with a poached egg, haloumi, spinach, roast tomatoes, asparagus and mushroom, which sounded like a delicious and healthy way to start the day. Our food came out quickly, and I was smitten with my dish before I took one mouthful, it was so pretty! I broke open the egg, which was dotted with quinoa, and the perfectly runny yolk oozed out to coat the assorted vegetables – mmm. I started with the good stuff – hello haloumi! It was lightly grilled, and had a nice, strong flavour without being overly salty. Winner. Next the tomatoes, which had also been perfectly seasoned and tasted like summer. Tick. I am a huge fan of asparagus and I adored this amount, steamed just right for me (not totally soft) and cut into bite-sized pieces. The mushrooms had a really deep, earthy flavour and it was great to lighten things up with some spinach. The fancy toast served on the side was fabulous too. So, delicious all round really!

Urban Pantry, 5 Bougainville Street, Griffith ACT, http://www.urban-pantry.com.au/

Pressed Juices

I know I’ve blogged about Pressed Juices before, but they have such a fun range that I couldn’t help myself. This time I wandered past one of their Sydney stores, and was determined to try something different. I hadn’t had any of their ‘green’ juices, and the lady kindly offered me a couple of samples to try, but while I was sipping on those, my eye was caught by one of their smoothies. I double checked – yes, dairy-free – and went for it on an impulse. It was, luckily, a great choice. The texture was like a slightly runny smoothie, although surprisingly thick for a cold press containing nothing but fruit. The four ingredients – pineapple, coconut, lychee and lemon (yes, they were the only ingredients in the whole thing) – were really well balanced. The pineapple and lemon were the most distinct flavours, but neither was overly sharp and the coconut made the overall flavour a bit creamy. I also really liked the ‘bits’ of pineapple and coconut left in the smoothie, which enhanced the texture, although I imagine could be offputting for anyone not a fan of pulp. So, two for two on the Pressed menu.

Pressed Juices, Shop 1, Region Food Arcade, 2 Bridge Street, Sydney NSW    http://www.pressedjuices.com.au/

Good Life

Adelaide has some amazing pizza places, and Good Life is one of the first that I really fell in love with. I’ve been going there for years and always end up ordering the same pizza – it never disappoints! Mum and I stopped in for a weekday lunch and were seated out on the balcony. We got my favourite, the chicken, potato, rosemary and parmesan pizza, to share in the large size ($29.85). The pizza came out fairly quickly and was visually stunning – large chunks of chicken were covered in fresh, not-melted parmesan and golden potatoes. Mmm. The flavour matched the presentation – the chicken pieces were tender and plump, if a little fatty, and packed with flavour, well matched with the subtle sliced of roasted garlic and the infrequent and not-overpowering dottings of rosemary. The pizza base was thin and crisp, especially along the crust, and was nicely seasoned for maximum tastiness. The potato was perfectly cooked, but the highlight for me was that parmesan – I adored the bitey flavour and the generous portion per slice. We couldn’t quite finish the last piece, but gave it a good try. A reliable favourite to keep coming back to!

Good Life Modern Organic Pizza, 44 Jetty Road Glenelg, SA http://www.goodlifepizza.com/

Double Shot

I have an incredibly awesome group of friends who will make pretty much any excuse to catch up – luckily breakfast is often that excuse. We gathered at Double Shot on a weekday morning – I started out with an apple, orange, pineapple and mint juice ($7), which was served in quite a large jar and was nicely balanced between the ingredients – there’s nothing like a fresh juice to start the day! I’d tried the mushroom dish before, so this time I went for the scrambled eggs with pecorino, grilled asparagus and truffle oil ($19). Our food was brought out mostly together (a short wait in between the first and last person to be served), and I felt like the presentation was a bit slap-dash, as though the ingredients had just been tossed on the plate, but I guess it’s hard to make scrambled eggs pretty! The asparagus was perfectly cooked and went perfectly with the fluffy, creamy eggs. The pecorino added a great bite to the dish (I liked that it wasn’t all melted into the eggs), and the truffle oil was in there working its magic. The toast was a bit too crispy for me, but other than that it was a lovely meal, both food and company-wise.

Double Shot, 18 Duff Place, Deakin ACT, http://doubleshotdeakin.com.au/

Eightysix

Part One is here. We were served the prawns and the curried fish salad at the same time, so we left the cold salad until after we’d finished the delectable prawns (I scooped up every last bit of that heavenly sauce!). My only criticism of the night was that too many dishes came out at once, rather than being well-paced over the course of the meal. We had just started the salad when the chicken biryani was served. The salad was the dish of the night for me – the curried ocean trout was tender and flaked into perfect pieces, and the cucumber, celery, onion and green beans were incredibly refreshing after the spicy prawns. We saved a bit to finish with, then got stuck into the biryani, which had been cooked until some of the rice was crisped (like bibimbap). The chicken had some sort of yoghurt coating which was luscious and perfect, and the almonds, herbs and sultanas added hugely to the flavour. Finally, we decided to share a dessert – the coconut sago and mango. We loved the toasted coconut and sesame topping, the pops from the sago pearls, and then deliciously sweet, fresh mango. All in all another spectacular kitchen takeover. Come back again soon?

eightysix, 11 Elouera Street, Braddon ACT http://eightysix.com.au/

Eightysix

I couldn’t resist booking in for the second Christine Manfield extravaganza at Eightysix this year. Whilst her last ‘kitchen takeover’ was Asian-themed, this time is all about India and Bhutan, in celebration of her latest book, a travel guide to the two countries. We started out with drinks – I had the ‘strawpop’ minus alcohol, with pomegranate and lychee. It was lovely and sweet, served in a small glass bottle. On the waitress’s recommendation, we started with the beetroot roti entree – the roti was perfectly puffed and crisp, deflating into soft layers of buttery goodness and enhanced by the beetroot mix on top. I loved the slight hint of heat that lingered on the back palate from the beetroot. Next up were the cauliflower pakoras – they were super moreish, cooked in a lovely batter and served with a cool raita. The cauliflower was divine, but there were also parcels of spinach leaves with lentils wrapped inside. Yum! I was very excited to try the tamarind prawns with eggplant next – sitting at the bar, we could see the giant prawns being prepared. Everything about this dish was lovely – the thick, plump prawns, the tender but not mushy eggplant and the delicate yet spicy sauce that brought the whole ensemble together. Part two is here.

eightysix, 11 Elouera Street, Braddon ACT http://eightysix.com.au/

Miss Van’s

Ah Miss Van’s, how I adore you! On this visit I branched out from my usual banh mi and went for one of the noodle salad bowls, which a colleague had raved about on our last visit. Trust me, this is something you want to order. For a very good value $12, you can get a huge bowl full of Vietnamese chicken and noodle salad perfection. I picked the ginger soy chicken option (they also have lemongrass and chilli tofu for vegetarians) and it is probably the best salad I’ve ever eaten in my life. I loved the fresh tang of the vinegary sauce, the huge quantity of incredibly fresh vegetables (bean sprouts, carrot, radish, cucumber), herbs (mint and corriander) and toasted peanuts to add even more texture. The noodles tend to hide towards the bottom, so don’t be shy mixing it up before tucking in. The chicken was so tender and the ginger soy flavour was spectacularly good – especially paired with the fried shallots on top (one of my favourite things). I can’t recommend this enough – perfectly fresh and full of flavour, this will be my go-to favourite for some time to come!

Miss Van’s, Westside Acton, 3 Barrine Drive, Acton ACT http://www.missvans.com.au/