The Flute

#sweetweek continues with this grand adventure! When my best friend decided she was going to surprise her husband with goldfish for his birthday, she and I set out at lunchtime to pick up the fish, so they could be waiting for him when he got home from work. Yes, she’s a mastermind (that’s why she’s my best friend). Anyway, this plot took us very close to the elusive Flute (only open on weekdays), so we couldn’t resist the chance to pop in. I picked a cake I haven’t seen there before – Apple Strudel cake. Um, yes. The ‘apple’ was a dome of vanilla mousse/cream, glazed in apple-flavoured sweetness, sitting atop a cake that had all of the beautiful apple strudel flavours I feel in love with in Austria. The top was decorated with a spiced crumble, which was lovely and rich, with pieces of (poached?) apple layered inside. I was actually surprised by the subtlety of the whole cake, which probably could have had slightly bolder flavours for my taste, but everything was perfectly executed, as usual (and, incidently, like my friend’s birthday gift plan. I told you, mastermind).

The Flute, 8 Barrier Street, Fyshwick ACT, http://www.theflutebakery.com.au/

Molto Italian

I met a friend for dinner at Molto Italian, where we were warmly greeted and seated at the bar. I’d already scanned the menu and picked what I wanted to try – the Maccheroni Matriciana ($28), with cured pork cheek, slow cooked tomato ragu and pecorino romano. Matriciana is one of my favourite dishes – I make it at home a lot – but this was a whole other level of sophistication. The ragu was just enough to coat the pasta, with a little extra for mopping up, and wasn’t too rich. I loved the crisp pieces of cured pork cheek, which added a great meaty flavour, as well as a kick of saltiness, to the meal. The combination of the sauce and pork took me right back to northern Italy. The pasta was cooked as al dente as it comes, which I found utterly delightful. I was worried that the portion would be too much – it’s huge, so definitely great value – but I finished it easily and didn’t get that ‘oh I’ve eaten too much pasta’ stomach-heaviness that lower quality pasta can induce. Sadly I didn’t have room for dessert, but I will certainly be back for more authentic, top notch Italian very soon.

Molto Italian, Element Building, Eastlake Parade, Kingston ACT, http://moltoitalian.com/

Pepper Lunch

I dined as a guest of Pepper Lunch; all opinions are my own . As part of the generous meal at their launch, Pepper Lunch also included a complimentary dessert soft-serve – hello #icecreamthurs! I am a huge fan of soft serve, and I feel like the benchmark in Canberra has been set pretty high, with this delight from XO in Narrabundah. I was very excited to see that Pepper Lunch offers a range of Asian-inspired flavour toppings for their vanilla soft serve, including black sesame (unavailable at the launch) and green tea (matcha), along with caramel and chocolate options. Both my friend and I picked the matcha, which came in a huge cup and had green tea syrup and powder swirled throughout. The icecream itself was really creamy, and I loved that it was already starting to melt slightly as I ate it. I was a bit surprised at how subtle the matcha flavour was – usually matcha has quite a strong, bitter taste that you either love or hate, but this version seemed to be missing that bold flavour, which can be great or disappointing, depending on your view of matcha. Personally, I would have liked a stronger flavour, but I really enjoyed the vanilla soft serve.

Pepper Lunch, 88-96 Bunda Street (next to Oliver Brown) Canberra, http://www.pepperlunch.com.au/

Space Kitchen

My quest to try all of the Ricardo’s/Space cakes continued at a friend’s baby shower held at Space. Everyone else ordered lunch – I ordered cake. I’ve had my eye on the Cookie Monster ($9.90) for a while now, and this was clearly the moment. Now, I must advise you of two exciting facts about this cake (apart from the fact that it is both blue and named after the Sesame Street character, which you will have gathered already). One, it is large. Like, you may doubt your ability to eat it yourself, large. But wait… Two, it is light! Hooray, you can enjoy it all to yourself. The giant macaron top cracks open to reveal a half-mousse half-sponge filling, dotted with Oreos. Mmm. Oreos. The texture is quite unusual, but definitely in a good way – everything is surprisingly smooth and even though it looks blue, chocolate biscuit is the dominant flavour. I did largely eat this myself, and didn’t feel bloated or overly smashed by sugar afterwards, so there’s a good balance in terms of density and sweetness. Given the size I also rate this highly on value (especially when you don’t have to share!).

Space Kitchen, Skypark, corner of Furzer and Worgan Streets, Phillip ACT, http://space-kitchen.com.au/

Ricardo’s Cafe

One of my 2016 goals is to work my way through the cake menu at Ricardo’s – I feel like I started this quest with a bang! I am a huge fan of Snickers bars, and the Ricardo’s interpretation on this classic chocolate bar is utterly divine. Firstly, the size of this cake is just right (I’d say it’s even slightly bigger than your average icecream) for an afternoon tea snack, but be prepared for rich decandence! The peanuts scattered over the outer shell are dusted in edible gold sparkly dust (yep, that’s the technical term), making it not only tasty (peanuts) but also very pretty (sparkly!). Inside is a magical mix of chocolate mousse and liquid salted caramel, which oozes out from the centre of the cake. I love chocolate mousse and this one, coated in a layer of chocolate, was divine. The entire flavour effect realy does taste like a Snickers, but much fresher. Texturally, the crunch of the peanuts and the soft mousse plus the thick caramel is delightful. Yep, this is a very sweet (but not heavy) interpretation of a classic chocolate bar. Yum.

Ricardo’s Cafe, Jamison Plaza, Bowman Street, Macquarie ACT, ricardoscafe.com/

Little Bird

I didn’t really have high expectations of Little Bird – I’d heard the menu was limited, so I was imagining the inevitable bacon & eggs vs granola battle in my head. Luckily, it exceeded all expectations, and I ordered ham and potato croquettes with avocado and Sriracha fried eggs ($17.50) – they came out beautifully presented, with the croquettes sitting on a bed of smashed avocado, topped with lemon-drizzled rocket and two fried eggs, with a good dash of Sriracha on top. Wow. The eggs had perfectly runny yolks, and the lemon on the rocket jazzed the whole dish up and acted as a great antidote to the heat of the Sriracha. The croquettes were masterful – crisp on the outside, and full of smooth, creamy potato on the inside, with chunks of ham… I was actually surprised that I could finish them, so not as heavy as they seemed. The avocado added great texture and flavour to an already excellent dish, that I will definitely be back for again soon. The only downside was the ventilation – we left smelling of fried things, which was a bit of a shame. Perhaps sit outside to avoid this!

Little Bird, Corner of Macquarie and Broughton Streets, Barton ACT, http://littlebirdbarton.com/

Pepper Lunch

I dined as a guest of Pepper Lunch; all opinions are my own. Pepper Lunch has brought its sizzling-plate Japanese food to Canberra! I was super excited to attend their launch event – if only we could find it! After wandering up and down Bunda Street, we finally spotted the store next to Oliver Brown, and it was on like Donkey Kong. I started out with a bowl of miso soup ($3.50), with a beautifully salty white miso and seaweed, plus silken and fried tofu inside (yum!). The staff were friendly and welcoming as they brought out our meals, explaining that the plate is served at 260 degrees (what?!), and that before eating the giant rib-eye steak ($24.90) I’d ordered, I needed to slather their specialty pepper butter over my meat. Ok, if I must! The rib-eye was sizzling hot, and pre-sliced for ease of enjoyment. The meat was beautifully tender (I could cut thinner pieces with chopsticks alone), with great marbling, and the beauty of the hot plate is being able to cook it to your liking without a long wait. I really loved the pepper flavour from the butter – it added so much to the beef – and the vegies broke up the meal nicely. Pepper Lunch opens today – check it out!

Pepper Lunch, 88-96 Bunda Street (next to Oliver Brown) Canberra, http://www.pepperlunch.com.au/