Soju Girl

We had the banquet dinner at Soju Girl for my friend’s hen’s night, and started out with cocktails. I had The Mandarin – gin, mandarin, ginger liquer, lime and ginger beer. The flavours were subtle and well-balanced, making a smooth, tangy drink that I’ll order again. We started with the betel leaf smoked trout – a fusion san choy bao-style mouthful which was a delicate explosion of flavour and one of my favourites. The zucchini flower was surprisingly filling, packed with sticky rice, and the creaminess of the eggplant pickle dish had me going back for seconds. The handmade gyoza were perfection – just the right amount of crispiness and perfect with the dipping vinegar – and the sauce accompanying the king prawn skewers was some kind of magic. We finished with the chicken katsu, which again was quite filling, and rice, so whilst all the portions were small, we didn’t leave hungry. The staff were attentive but not intrusive, and my only criticism was that the meals came out too quickly in succession, rather than being well-paced. Despite this, the banquet had great variety and flavour – I will be back again soon!

Soju Girl, 41-43 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra ACT                                               http://www.sojugirl.com.au/

Supernormal

My friend and I visited Supernormal for a Friday night dinner and waited for about 45 mins for a table – while we waited we devoured the Supernormal Smash cocktail with gin, tonic and seasonal syrup – it was a perfectly balanced cocktail with the right amount of sweet and bitter. We were told that the dishes are best to share, so started with the sesame cucumber (2 pieces included), which had a lovely pickled flavour and came served on a stick, followed by the raw bar tuna dish. As our lobster rolls arrived we asked the kitchen to slow the service down, as the plates were piling up. The roll was a highlight, with tender strips of lobster meat and a sweet brioche bun. My overall favourite, though, was the duck bao – cooked in Peking duck-style, the meat was cooked to perfection with a thin crispy shell, and served with hot, soft bao. So, so good. We finished off with the miso and pink lady soft serve, which had a fascinating flavour combination that just worked. We added the snack petipas given at the start of the meal on top to make it even better. Five hours later, we left full, happy and wishing we had a second stomach for more!

Supernormal, 180 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC                   http://www.supernormal.net.au

Little NNQ

Meeting up with friends for a Gouger St dinner in Adelaide, I picked the new kid on the block – Little NNQ, the outpost of Nghi Ngan Quan. The menu is full of exciting-sounding things: DIY cold rolls, curries, and soups. I ordered the entree sized pho as a starter, which was more like a small main when it came out, full of rare beef, beef balls, onion and noodles. The broth was fabulous and not overly salty, and I was well on my way to full after drinking every last drop. I had the grilled scallops with ginger as my main, along with the orange and kumquat juice, which was served in a mason jar and had a refreshing citrus bitterness to it. The scallops came out with five on the plate drowning in sauce, accompanied by  piles of spring onion. Sadly the scallops were overdone, losing their softness to chewiness, but the sauce was spectacular and I ate a lot of it with rice. I would have been disappointed with the serving compared to my friend’s giant bowl of sour soup if I hadn’t had the entree. Verdict? Tasty dishes worth trying, despite imperfections.

Little NNQ, 125 Gouger Street Adelaide, SA, no website

Akiba

I raved about Akiba on my lunch excursion, but it seems word hasn’t got out yet that they’re open for breakfast. The menu was very limited – only three food items – but that made the choice an easy one. I picked the ‘aki-bun’, a breakfast bao with bacon, egg and pickled fennel. The waiter explained that they’d just set up their juicer to make fresh juice, so I ordered a juice with all of their fruit (you can choose your combination) – orange, apple, pineapple and grapefruit. The food arrived first, and my first impresison was that it was a small meal, which is fine for $6. The yolk of the fried egg was beautifully runny, and there were three strips of lean bacon inside the springy bao. I found the spicy rice seasoning a bit overpowering and quite strong for breakfast, but it did complement the pickled fennel well. Our juices arrived towards the end of the meal (we weren’t charged for them due to the long wait) – I couldn’t taste any pineapple, but the other flavours were clear and fresh. I think having the juice with the meal would have tempered the spiciness, so I’ll be back to try the other two items as they settle into the breakfast service.

Akiba, 40 Bunda Street, Canberra ACT                                     http://www.akiba.com.au/

Mamachau

Oh Adelaide, how I adore your food trucks! They conveniently gather together on the odd occasion for an event called Fork on the Road, which is where I tried Mamachau’s incredible bao. At only $3.50 each they felt like a real steal, and we picked two of the three flavours on offer to try. I had the KFC (Korean fried chicken) bao, with kimchi mayo and Asian coleslaw. The chicken was to die for! Crisp, fresh and tasty, it was definitely the winning choice, with incredibly soft meat inside the fried (but not oily) skin. The kimchi mayo didn’t add as much spice as I expected, but there was plenty of self-serve Sriracha sauce for extra chilli. The slaw was packed in and the bao was springy and not too dense. We also tried the master stock pork belly bao with peanuts and pickled vegetables, which was a great flavour combination, but which paled in comparison to the KFC bao. The pork belly was tender, flavoursome and complemented the coriander and hoisin sauce perfectly. Luckily they also have a store on King William Street – added to my ‘to visit’ list.

Mamachau, Shop 3/118 King William Street, Adelaide SA    http://www.mamachau.com.au/

Asian Noodle House

If you’re a Canberra local, you’ve probably eaten at the Asian Noodle House more than a few times. I certainly have, and whilst the Dickson store is the original, it’s not super close when you’ve been to the theatre. Luckily the Civic outpost is, and that’s where we headed for a post-show dinner. The menu is a mix of Asian cuisines, from Thai to Laotian (hello larb) to Chinese to Malay – diners are spoilt for choice. I’m not sure if the laksa is Singaporean or Malaysian-style, but it’s legendary in Canberra.  Packed full of greens, tofu, two types of noodles and a mix of sweet spices, the Asian Noodle House laksa is a dish that expats make a beeline for when they’re back in town. It’s no wonder, when the laksa is reliably delicious and the same at every store, every time.  For those whose eyes are bigger than their tummies (guilty), there’s a half-size available too.  A local legend for a reason – check it out if you haven’t already, and if you have, well, it’s probably just about time to go back for another bowl.

Asian Noodle House, 49 Northbourne Ave Civic Canberra City  http://www.noodlehouse.net.au/Noodle_house/Welcome.html

Kong BBQ

I was a bit confused when I first saw the sign for Kong BBQ – it was half written in Japanese, but when I approached the menu looked like Korean fusion. Ok, I don’t mind a bit of cultural confusion, as long as it’s tasty! Luckily despite the language/cuisine conflict, Kong has some very tasty offerings, many of which come with my favourite form of cabbage – kimchi! As a takeaway lunch from the pop up stall in the city, I started with two different buns – the smoked brisket and the spicy pork belly.  Both are served in a soft bun and are packed full of flavour and spice (and kimchi).  Bring your tissues for runny noses and oozy sauce – not elegant, but when food tastes that good who cares? To finish, I shared a chicken roti roll with lemon and (you guessed it) kimchi – this was far and away the highlight, and I would have eaten two more of them if there was any space left in my stomach.

Kong BBQ, Rue and Co (pop up), 80 Collins Street, Melbourne            http://www.kongbbq.com.au/