Molto Italian

On a chilly Canberra night, there’s nothing like stepping into a packed, pumping restaurant with good heating. Molto was just the right place for my friend and I, and we settled in and chose one of the many delicious-sounding entrees. We ordered the roe dip (sorry, I didn’t catch the name/price) with lemon and flatbread. This was utterly divine – the delicate roe flavour was perfectly articulated in the creamy dip, and the zing of drizzled lemon on top brought the whole dish to life. We could have happily enjoyed two more plates. Instead, I ordered the main of the day (the meat changes depending on the day of the week), which happened to be lamb ($28). The cut was served with a pistachio crumb and on a bed of celeriac puree, and came out looking divine. The lamb was cooked perfectly and was incredibly tender – it really did just melt in the mouth. The pistachio really made it something special, and being a big fan of celeriac, I found the puree added great flavour. The only downside was that the sauce was quite fatty, and it started to congeal a bit as the dish cooled, but otherwise it was a perfect dining experience.

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

 

Suke Suke

Suke Suke is the coolest new kid on the block, bringing a bar-like feel to the idea of a Japanese izakaya (drinks and little bites to eat). We started with cocktails – I ordered the Hello Kitty Sour ($16), with lychee, yuzu, lemon and peach bitters. This was really well-balanced, with strong citrus tones and just enough sweetness. Next were the gyoza ($8 for 4), which were probably our favourite – perfectly charred bases, thin skin and great pork and prawn flavour inside, these were great with the accompanying dipping sauce. Dish 2 was the takoyaki ($8 for 5) – these were tasty, but seem to have been crumbed and fried, rather than cooked traditionally, and only had tiny pieces of octopus inside. However, the toppings were on point with heaps of bonito flakes and sauces. The popcorn chicken kara-age ($13) was fabulous, with perfect morsels of lightly battered chicken and heaps of mayo for dunking. I also really enjoyed the agedashi tofu ($8), but would have liked less spicy togarashi seasoning and more seaweed. Finally, we tried the beef yakitori ($11 for 4 skewers). Sadly these were lukewarm, but the beef was tasty and topped with sesame, which matched well. A tad pricey for the serves, but with great service and atmosphere, I’ll be back.

Suke Suke, Verity Lane, Sydney Building, Civic ACT, http://www.sukesuke.com.au/

Yummy Chinese BBQ

My friend and I had been meaning to go to ‘that new hot pot place in Acton’ for a while. We went on a quiet Monday night, only to discover it was actually a BBQ place. Moving right along… We were seated and told that the endless BBQ is $35 per head, so off we went (we found out later there’s an a la carte menu too). We started with a range of BBQ skewers, which each have fairly small portions of meat on them, but were delicious nonetheless. My favourite was the first I tried – the lamb, which was dusted in what might have been cumin (?). It had a fabulous flavour and I went back a couple of times for this one. The crab was battered and reasonably ok, and we both tried the chicken hearts, which were ok, but could have done with a squeeze of lemon. I was particularly taken with the sides – my favourite was simply described as “potato”, but it was more like a sliced salad, with fresh, crunchy and slightly pickled vegetables plus a hit of corriander. The handmade rice noodles with sesame sauce were fabulous too, with a great kick of heat. Overall, we decided the meal was overpriced for the quality, but it was certainly enjoyable.

Yummy Chinese BBQ, 1 Childers Street, Acton ACT,

Yat Bun Tong

A friend and I ducked in for a quick dinner at Yat Bun Tong on a Thursday night – we were the only ones there, and ordered four fun dishes from the menu (apologies, I didn’t record the prices). I was feeling a bit under the weather, so my favourite dish was definitely the chicken and corn soup, which was HUGE and probably the most comforting thing to eat when sick – delicious. Next up was the prawn toast, which came with four triangles and a bowl of sweet plum sauce for dipping. Whilst not the absolute best prawn toast ever, it was really tasty and had plenty of sesame seeds and great crunch. Dish three was the xiao long bao (10 to a serve), which had lovely, salty soup inside. I found the skins a bit thick for my taste, and the dumpling filling was a tad small, but given the rarity of this dish in town, quite reasonable. By this point we were getting full, but the shallot pancake came out and was again more than I expected. The texture was a bit heavy on the batter side, but we devoured it – really moreish. A really enjoyable spread of consistently good dishes.

Yat Bun Tong, 10-12 Lonsdale Street, Braddon ACT, no website

Beef & Barley

My last visit to Beef & Barley was just after they had opened, so when I popped by for a solo dinner, I was excited to see that the menu had evolved and grown. Unable to resist the lure of a beef burger with chorizo, I ordered the Atomic Boss ($18.50), with fried onion, smoked mozzarella, pickles, tomato relish, rocket and a choice of house BBQ or ‘fire’ sauce (I went for BBQ). All burgers come with a side of sweet coleslaw and beer-battered chips, and I was delighted to see that they’ve wound back the sugar on the chips, compared to my last visit. The slaw was crunchy and covered in a creamy (thousand island?) dressing, which helped cut through the richness of the burger. Whilst not the most glamorous thing to eat, the burger was utterly delicious – I LOVED the combination of a good quality, perfectly cooked patty, plus the really smoky, spicy hit of the chorizo. This wasn’t supermarket-grade chorizo, and its quality smokiness really worked well with the house BBQ sauce. I couldn’t finish all my chips, but they were crisp and tasty and, really, I enjoyed this meal. A lot.

Beef & Barley, Corner of Eyre Street and Kingston Waterfront, Kingston ACT, http://www.beefandbarley.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. 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/