Schnitzel Haus

When my brother came to town for a work trip, his one request was to have a good schnitzel. Rejoice, brother, said I, for a Schnitzel Haus has opened in Braddon! And off we went. The menu at the Schnitzel Haus is quite extensive, and you first need to choose what type of schnitzel you’d like (pork, chicken or veal). I opted for the veal, and picked the Mexican – schnitzel topped with salsa, guacamole, sour cream and jalapenos. I was tempted by the schnitzel burgers, but decided to go the whole hog on my first visit. So, when my schnitzel came out, it was really, really big. Like, ‘how on earth am I going to eat ALL this?’ big. But man it was delicious. The crumb was wonderfully thin and the veal was lovely and tender and who doesn’t love Mexican toppings? I didn’t eat many chips – they were lovely, but were taking up much-needed schnitzel space – but I really appreciated having the salad to balance out the meat. It had a light oil dressing which was perfect. The only downside was the noise – we arrived late-ish, and it was still really hard to hear one another across the table. Other than that, it got the thumbs up from both of us.

Schnitzel Haus, Lonsdale Street, Braddon ACT                       http://theschnitzelhaus.com.au/braddon.html

Kusina

I’d never tried Filipino food before my friend booked a group of us in for Kusina’s Boodle Feast. The Feast happens on the last Sunday of the month and the menu changes every time, so regulars get to try new things. The exciting part is that there are no plates or cutlery – you have banana leaves as plates and go back to basics eating only with your hands. We had a group of seven, so had two platters (they’re designed for four) jam packed with garlic rice, salmon, potato salad, pork belly, curry, deep-fried prawns, salted eggs, corn and fried chicken. Yep. That’s a lot of delicious food! My favourite was undoubtedly the pork belly -tender, fatty and with a delicious soy dipping sauce, it vanished quickly from our platter. The salmon had a cheesy-baked topping that was really perfect for the fish, and I liked the cold potatoes for some vegetable content. The prawns were lovely and spicy, and the chicken was so crisp I had to go back for more. The rice was completely addictive – I would have happily just had that for dinner – and the portions were well-judged for the number of people. I think I’ve found a new favourite.

Kusina, Cooleman Court, Weston ACT http://www.kusina.com.au/

Kinn Thai

It’s always lovely to catch up with friends who have been overseas – deprived of good South-East Asian food in Europe, they asked to have Thai for lunch so we agreed to meet at Kinn Thai. I was very excited to see a red duck curry on the menu (it’s one of my favourites) so we ordered that along with the crispy pork belly and chicken pad thai to share. The pork belly came out first and I think it was my pick of the three – I loved the crispy skin and tomato on the top. All the flavours, including the added dressing, just worked, and I probably ate more than my share of the plate! Next was the red curry – this was the favourite for most of the table. There was a perfect balance of spiciness and flavour, with tender duck, pieces of lychee and good helpings of tomato and chilli. I would recommend this as hearty comfort food without hesitation. Finally we shared the large plate of pad thai, which had plenty of chicken and bean sprouts, and was perfect with a drizzle of lemon on top. Thai cravings very well satisfied!

Kinn Thai, 125 Bunda Street, Canberra ACT                                                    http://kinnrestaurant.com.au/

Capital Golf Bar & Bistro

When your best friends offer you a free dinner, it’s pretty hard to resist. We went to the Capital Golf Bar & Bistro with a Groupon voucher for up to $100 worth of food. Hello steak! The menu had the usual pub fare of pasta, pizza, grilled meat and some kids meals, but I honed right in on that steak – 300g scotch fillet, to be precise. We actually ordered a plate of garlic bread to start, which came out lightly toasted and very buttery and garlicky (yum!). When our food came out, I was disappointed that my steak was not medium-rare as requested, but rare – just a bit too much for me. The waiter was very apologetic and a new steak was brought out fairly quickly. This was probably closer to medium, but definitely better than the other way. It came with garlic mash (small portion but tasty) and mushroom sauce (creamy with sliced mushroom inside), and the steak itself was fairly tender (not melt-in-your-mouth but not tough either) and very tasty. The meal was about what I would expect from an old-school pub (rather than a gastro-pub), with great service.

Capital Golf Bar & Bistro, 46 Jerrabomberra Avenue, Narrabundah ACT             http://www.capitalgolfbistro.com.au/

Sage Dining Rooms

Part one is here. The second main was agnolotti with mushrooms, truffle, pine nuts and a creamy bone marrow sauce, and this was my favourite of the two. I loved the rich cream sauce and the pairing of truffle with forest mushrooms. The pasta was clearly house-made and had a lovely bite. Looking at the dish, I just wanted to dive right in, with all that beautiful grated parmesan on top! By this point we were getting very full – I sipped at my mocktail (strawberry and mint lemonade – uttery divine and something I will go back for) and enjoyed the Autolyse bread with butter and salt, topped with a truffle crisp (the strongest truffle flavour of the day). The first dessert was the sweet and it was at its best with a mouthful capturing all of the elements – the sweet waffle, the not-very-sweet icecream, the shaved truffle and the salty popcorn. Everything worked perfectly to create a complex, sophisticated dessert. Finally, we finished with truffled brie, served with thyme-infused leatherwood honey and a neutral, very thin crispbread. The thyme made the honey almost savoury – again, trying the dish with all the elements in one mouthful yielded the best flavour. Sage, you sure know how to make a first impression! The Sage truffle lunch is on until the end of July as part of the Canberra Truffle Festival.

Sage Dining Rooms, Batman Street, Braddon ACT                     http://www.sagerestaurant.net.au/

Sage Dining Rooms

This was my first visit to Sage, and what better occasion than the Truffle Festival? Sage is a fine dining restaurant and the service really reflected that – the staff were wonderfully attentive but not intrusive, and happily slowed down the pace of our courses when we lingered over each one. My friend and I tried all of the 6 dishes offered for the truffle lunch.  We were delighted by the perfect amuse-bouche to start – a ‘salt and vinegar’ custard with truffle. It was the lightest custard I’ve ever tried and the salted, crispy top had me salavating! First course was a cauliflower veloute (French-style soup) with hazelnuts and truffle – I could have eaten this all day long. It was thick, rich and had the perfect balance of textures. Entree two was a 63 degree hen’s egg with polenta, with fun pops of chives and corn with the oozy egg yolk. The portions were really generous, as was the amount of truffle on each dish. Main number one was chicken breast with crisped pumpernickel and a divine sauce (where I suspect the truffle was hiding). The chicken was perfectly tender, although I think this dish was less strong at showcasing the truffle than the rest. Part two of this review to follow.

Sage Dining Rooms, Batman Street, Braddon ACT                     http://www.sagerestaurant.net.au/

Patissez

I was super excited to try Patissez’s raspberry and pomegranate galettes after drooling over them on their Instagram feed, but alas, they had sold out when I arrived. The staff were really friendly and helpful, and when I asked for another fruity cake to try, the pointed me at this one – a raspberry and lychee dacquois. As you can see, it’s pretty, and yep, it tastes amazing. Let me walk you through it. The garnish on top is a fresh raspberry and a cluster of caramel popcorn -the popcorn doesn’t relate to any other flavours in the cake, but it’s really tasty! The red outer layer is a raspberry gel of some kind, and it’s really thick and stretchy – quite an unusual texture. The raspberry flavour is excellent though, and it matches the lychee cream filling perfectly. The lychee cream is really authentic and I couldn’t believe how light and fluffy it was – but hidden inside is a layer of more raspberry and pistachio cake – as if it could get any better! The flavours and textures all worked together really well and the dacquois was just the right size for an afternoon treat.

Patissez, Shop 2/21 “The Lawns” Bougainville Street, Manuka ACT, no website