Stand By Me

I love that some of Canberra’s best eateries are tucked away in suburban oases – Stand By Me is one such gem. I was so impressed by the staff here; friendly, attentive and professional, not to mention happy to answer my questions knowledgably about the menu. I ordered a bottle of blood orange juice and the Samurai Mushrooms ($17.50) to eat. This is such a fabulous dish! The presentation is immaculate, with two wobbly sous vide eggs sitting atop a pile of assorted mushrooms (swiss browns and enoki were the only ones I could identify), with lovely bread soldiers and threads of dried chilli on top. Wow. The flavour backs the beautiful presentation – the eggs were lovely and soft, spilling out over the mushrooms like a sauce, and the mushrooms weren’t dehydrated or shrivelled. On the contrary, they were plump and rich, picking up the garlic and yuzu koshu flavour which brought a splash of refreshment. The judicious use of coriander also perked the flavours up, and the soldiers were made from a bread that I could happily munch away on for days – perfect for moppning up any bits of egg that escaped. Definitely a new favourite!

Stand By Me, 1 Lyons Place, Lyons ACT, no website

Bombolini

Canberra is so great at getting beghind new businesses, as evidenced by the huge success Bombolini Doughnuts enjoyed in their first weekend. Selling fresh (and I mean fresh, the team stay up late baking the night before) Italian-style doughnuts ($5 each) packed with delicious fillings, Bombolini sold out at both he Epic and Southside farmers’ markets, but don’t worry, they’ll be back. We tried two of the many flavours on offer (check their Instagram for the latest flavour combinations). Dad grabbed the Salted Caramel and Golden Syrup Cornflake flavour, which had an awesome amount of caramel filling and was nicely balanced (not too salty). I chowed down on a Starwberry Jam and Basil doughnut. The homemade jam is lovely, and I adored the unique combination with the single basil leaf to bite into, but people, let’s talk about the doughnut. Crusted in an indulgent smattering of sugar and not overly greasy, the pillowy layers of soft fluffy doughnut are probably what I would order as a last supper. These are a must for all Canberra sweet-tooths, and I will definitely be stopping by again soon. Or every weekend. You know, whatever.

Bombolini Doughnuts, Canberra Northside and Southside farmers’ markets, Saturday and Sunday respectively, no website.

Everybody Loves Ramen

I don’t know how I feel about this post. I was super excited to try the burgers from Everybody Loves Ramen – they look beautiful and having lived in Japan, I had high expectations. I chose the Yuzu Burger ($14), given a) yuzu is one of my favourite Japanese flavours and b) the patty is made of my all time favourite Japanese food – okonomiyaki. Now, perhaps these facts set the bar a bit high, so I was really surprised when I bit into my burger and discovered that a) the yuzu glaze was actually yuzu icing, making a sweet layer on half of the bun and b) the ‘okonomiyaki’ was a tiny food-court style patty. Whilst disappointed, I did eat the filling – the bun was just too weird a combination of sweet and savoury for me – the classic kewpie mayonnaise and tonkatsu sauce combination always work delightfully, bringing the okonomiyaki up a notch. I did enjoy the random popcorn hiding beneath my burger, but to be honest I probably wouldn’t order this again – it was trying to be too much all at once, so wasn’t great at any one thing.

Everybody Loves Ramen, at the Night Noodle Markets, Reconciliation Place, until 13 March 2016, no website.

N2 Extreme Gelato

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to #icecreamthurs! Sadly summer is over, so let’s try to keep the magic alive by eating lots of icecream until it gets warm again! One of the most popular stalls at the Night Noodle Markets last year was N2 Extreme Gelato – this year, they’ve combined forces with Black Star Pastry, producing a gelato that recreates their famed Strawberry and Watermelon cake in gelato form. After queuing for a good 20 minutes (I’d highly recommend having dessert first to avoid longer queues), I ordered the Cake Smash Gelato ($9), which was served with the same rose-flavoured cream that the cake has on top, with a light sprinkle of pistachio and rose petals. Once you get through to the gelato itself, there’s a delightful surprise – freeze-dried bits of strawberry and watermelon are scattered throughout, although the real strawberry sweetness comes from the pipette of strawberry sauce you squeeze over the top. The gelato does melt quickly so I wouldn’t try to savour this one for a long time – I ended up drinking the last couple of mouthfuls – but definitely give it a try as a delicious, creamy gelato with perfect bites of fruit within.

N2 Extreme Gelato, Night Noodle Market, Reconciliation Place until 13 March, http://n2extremegelato.com.au/

Bao Stop

Bao Stop part two consisted of the amazing-sounding Peking duck fries ($15). Visualise, if you will, a large tray full of crisp, golden fries, topped with shredded duck, spring onion and Peking sauce. Can you see it? Well, basically that’s what Bao Stop are offering and what we ate on a recent visit to the Night Noodle Markets. The queue for this stall is rather long, so grab something from somewhere else first to snack on while you wait. The service at the other end is actually really fast, so once you’ve ordered the food takes less than 5 minutes to be served (wow guys, wow). We shared this dish between two, and found it very filling – the duck on top is plentiful, tender and full of flavour, enhanced by the Peking sauce that I must learn how to make at home. The meat just falls apart into lovely flakes of duck perfection. The fries were of the thinner variety and were cooked perfectly, although some were slightly soggy after being doused in sauce. The portion isn’t stingy – you are absolutely getting bang for your buck here, worth the wait for a fun, tasty treat.

Bao Stop, Night Noodle Markets, Reconciliation Place until 13 March, http://www.baostop.com/

Bao Stop

Bao Stop is definitely one of the most popular stalls at this year’s Night Noodle Market – we braved the queue to see if it lives up to the hype. For part one, we ordered the ‘Bao Trifecta’ ($20), choosing the duck, pork and chicken options (there is also a tofu choice). Compared to local establishment The Fish Can, the Sydney-based store is a bit pricier, but each serve was excellent value and packed with meat. The duck was probably my favourite overall, reminiscent of the amazing duck pancakes served at Chinese restaurants. The duck was plump and tender, and really a big piece, complemented well by the cucumber, Peking sauce and shredded spring onion. Tick. Next up was the braised pork belly, topped with roasted peanuts, fresh coriander and hoisin sauce. Again I was amazed by how tender the large serve of pork belly was, and the coriander really added a lot. Tick. Finally the Taiwanese fried chicken bao was packed with spice – hello chilli mayo, chilli jam and fresh carrot. The giant piece of chicken was crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, and the flavours were fresh and absolutely delicious. Bao Stop, you can #cometocanberra anytime.

Bao Stop, Night Noodle Markets, Reconciliation Place until 13 March, http://www.baostop.com/

Lilotang

I adore Lilotang, one of Canberra’s modern Japanese restaurants, and was very excited to see that they’re offering lobster rolls as part of the Night Noodle Market. Stationed right by the entrance, the staff were proudly claiming to have Canberra’s best Japanese as we approached the stall. I ordered the lobster roll ($11) and Dad went for the pork belly bun ($10) beng offered by stall-partner Chairman and Yip. Both dishes were served within 5 minutes of us ordering them, which I was super impressed by! The lobster roll looked small, but don’t let that deceive you – there’s plenty of delicious lobster filling packed within the two sides of that sweet, soft brioche bun. The mixture was designed to bring out the lobster flavour, with chives and onion added as highlights. This ranks up there with the Supernormal one as a must-try. The pork belly bun had two huge, fat strips of boiled pork belly resting atop a simple coleslaw – Dad added some hoisin sauce (help yourself at the counter) and it really brought the whole dish to life. The pork pieces were perfectly fatty and tender – an indulgence indeed.

Lilotang, Night Noodle Market Reconciliation Place, Parkes until 13 March,        http://lilotang.com.au/