Provini

Provini has been on my to visit list for a while, and it moved up the list after reopening with a new look and refreshed menu. I started with the pig’s head slider ($8 each), mostly because it was the most exotic-sounding item on the menu. The meat was tender and perfectly crumbed, sandwiched between two knots of panini and enhanced by the sweetness of roasted peppers. Tick. Next up was the meatballs ($16), which came with four meatballs in a pot of delicious sugo topped with cheese, and a large chunk of bread. This was the pick of the night – the pork and veal meatballs were perfectly cooked and packed full of flavour, the bread was excellent and perfect for mopping up what little sauce remained after we devoured it on the meatballs. We chose a pasta to share for the main, opting for the pappardelle ($26), with pork, veal and a white wine ragu. Unfortunately the dish was only just warm when it arrived (after quite a long wait) and there was no real ragu to speak of. The meat was lovely – it had been pulled into tender strips – and the pasta was al dente, but it needed much more sauce. We certainly didn’t leave hungry though!

Provini, 50 Bunda Street, Civic ACT, http://www.cocu.com.au/provini/

Chez Kimchi

Sometimes you just need… ha! Thought I was going to say ‘a burger’, didn’t you? No, this time I acknowledge that there is indeed a time and a place for KFC. Korean fried chicken, obviously. A friend and I caught up for KFC at Chez Kimchi on a Friday night, getting a table without a problem. We started with iced apricot tea – served in a large glass it was beautifully refreshing, and kept us going until our first dish arrived. Hello kimchi and pork dumplings! Wrapped into perfect little rings, the serve of 4 ($6.80) was a perfect starter for two. We loved the spicy kick of the kimchi and enjoyed trying the dipping sauces provided. I was also a bit enthusiastic about the pickle sides – so, so good. The main event was the half-size fried chicken. Curious to see what the wasabi sauce was like, we picked the Spring Onion Chicken ($18), which had 7 pieces of chicken (so tricky to split, but we managed). Unfortunately we didn’t get any wasabi sauce with it, but the chicken was so perfectly crispy and delicious that we didn’t really mind. The food here is such great value too – definitely one to come back to.

Chez Kimchi, Shop 11, 70-86 Bunda Street Civic, ACT, no website

Barrio

The food at Barrio is never what I expect – they’re always trying something exciting and slightly off-kilter (which I mean in a whole-heartedly positive way). This time I picked their take on a potato salad, but don’t imagine it’s your usual staid boiled-with-mayo affair. No. Here, your potato is candied. What, I hear you ask? Like almonds? Not exactly – the potato is cooked but almost dehydrated, with a texture that reminded me of unknown but delicious vegetables in Japanese supermarket salads (again, a good thing). To contrast this almost sponginess are segments of fresh orange, which add a divine splash of acidity and freshness, slightly bitter green leaves and some sort of split bean/pea thing (woe is me for forgetting to photograph the menu). That’s not to mention the smattering of puffed wheat and fried shallots on top. I ordered this dish with a side of smoked salmon (the recommended optional extra), and was delighted by the three thick, not overpowering slices that brought great balance to the riot of flavours and textures in this salad. The whole thing was nicely complimented by a glass of fresh orange juice; I could have happily had a dozen more glasses as this was the real deal. Never expect the ordinary here.

Barrio Collective Coffee, 59/30 Londale Street, Braddon ACT                                  http://www.barriocc.com/

Goodberry’s

My friends were appalled to discover that I hadn’t been to Goodberry’s before – apparently it’s a Canberran institution, and on a warm evening my friend took me out to the Belconnen store (there’s also one in Erindale) for my first taste of their famous frozen custard. Frozen custard? Yep. I’ve had frozen yoghurt, but this is a whole new thing. The recommended way to try it is in a ‘concrete’ – a cup of either chocolate or vanilla frozen custard, to which you can add any number of flavourings, so I picked vanilla and decided to add in Reece’s peanut butter cups as my flavouring. You can add more than one, but I was keen to taste the custard as much as possible. The concrete was ready quickly and I was surprised at how big the cup is (much bigger than most #icecreamthurs servings!). The custard really does take on the flavour of what you add, so mine had a lovely hint of vanilla against the salted chocolate and pops of peanut butter and chocolate strewn throughout. Definitely great value and a fun Canberra thing to have ticked off my list!

Goodberry’s 25 Lathlain Street, Belconnen ACT, http://goodberrys.com.au/

Honkytonks

I hadn’t really considered Honkytonks as a dinner venue, but after catching up with a friend there for drinks, we weren’t really ready to move elsewhere. With the recent introduction of table service and an extensive Mexican-themed menu, I was pleasantly surprised by the impressive-looking chimichangas and hot-dogs being brought out. As I am wont to do, I ordered the burger. The Pablo Sanchez burger ($16.50), to be precise. I was lured mostly by the call of the jalapenos and chipotle sauce giving a Mexican twist to the traditional beef burger. The food came out fairly quickly, and my burger was served in a plastic basket with a huge portion of fries alongside. The burger looked great and on first bite, I got a lovely hit of jalapeno heat and spicy chipotle suace – just what I wanted. The patty wasn’t anything to write home about, but it was still slightly pink in the middle as patties should be, so points for that. The fries were thin, crispy and moreish, served with a small dish of tomato sauce that helped cool down the spice from the burger. For the price, it doesn’t really have a scratch on Grease Monkey, but still a good mid-range burger in Civic on a night out.

Honkytonks, 17 Garema Place, Canberra ACT, drinkhonkytonks.com.au

Two Before Ten

When you find yourself brunching over the course of three hours, I believe it is the joining of three marvellous things – good food, good company and a pleasant setting – to nourish the soul. My sojourn at Two Before Ten in Aranda was just that – a lovely three hours of relaxing in the sunshine, admiring the impressive vegetable garden, chatting and enjoying the excellent food. I ordered the Spiced Eggs on Toast with avocado, persian fetta, and Espelette spice (a chilli grown in France) ($15). I added a side of chorizo ($4) to liven things up a bit. The plate was beautifully presented, with the avocado served as a puree and a scattering of lettuce leaves artfully placed on top. The eggs were cooked to that perfect omelette consistency – light and fluffy, with a good kick of spice from the Espelette chilli powder. The persian fetta added some extra creaminess, and I would highly recommend the chorizo on the side, for a nice balance of salty meatiness. Unfortunately the bread fell into one of my pet hates – very tasty, but impossible to cut with the blunt butter knife provided – but that was my only complaint. The staff happily let us enjoy our patch of sunshine and while away the morning.

Two Before Ten, 68 Bandjalong Crescent, Aranda ACT, http://www.twobeforeten.com.au/

XO

 

ICYMI, summer is over. Sad face. My somewhat child-like reaction is to eat lots of icecream and pretend that never happened. Feel free to play along with #icecreamthurs. XO has become one of my favourite restaurants in a very short space of time; they have the trifecta of great service, ambiance and food. Oh, and they have icecream. Yep. I was very excited to try their much-Instagrammed chrysanthemum tea soft serve after a lovely dinner visit with friends. We were so full but, really, who can resist a soft serve? They came out on a specially designed tray and looked heavenly. Now if you’re after a super sweet dessert, don’t order this soft serve – the flavour is exactly what you would expect from an Asian-style dessert; subtle and almost savoury. There’s something familiar about the chrysanthemum tea flavour that had us all searching our memories – there’s a slight bitterness from the tea which really fills your mouth, but is counterbalanced by the creaminess. The texture was fabulous, although on a warm night we had to eat them quickly to avoid melting! I can definitely see myself stopping in just for this in future.

XO, 16 Iluka Street, Narrabundah ACT, http://www.xo-restaurant.com.au