Mint

There’s really nothing like sitting in a garden bar on a summer night, especially when you’ve managed to escape work early! We headed over to Mint at about 4:30pm on a weekday for a friend’s farewell, and arrived to an empty bar, giving us a monopoly on service and our pick of the tables. I ordered a Hendrick’s and tonic, which was poured into a long glass with great care and served with a wedge of cucumber. Unfortunately, the tonic tasted a bit watered-down, but the measure of gin was full and the service friendly. After lounging around for a couple of hours, we got peckish, so ordered a plate of hot wings and the pepperoni pizza. They came out promptly, and in serves of 6 (6 wings, 6 slices of pizza). The wings were quite salty but the dipping sauce was delicious and there was quite a bit of meat on each one. The pizza was the highlight though, with a perfectly thin, crispy base and minimal but tasty toppings in true Italian style: rich tomato, completely melted cheese and spicy pepperoni. I’ll be back to try their other pizzas and chill out in the leafy green space.

Mint Garden Bar, Gorman House Arts Centre, Batman Street, Braddon ACT http://www.sagerestaurant.net.au/mint-garden-bar/

Olé

Spanish is one of those cuisines that can be done very well, but often is done fairly averagely. Olé falls into the former camp, luckily for my friends and I who went for dinner one balmy Brisbane evening. We got a table easily, and decided to share a few tapas dishes. I picked the croquetas del dia, which turned out to be cuttlefish, and the pulpo con patatas (octopus with potato), and my friend chose the tortilla espanola and the gambas con chorizo (prawn with chorizo). Everyone’s Spanish language skills improved just by reading the menu! The croquettes came out first and were perfect – crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and not hot to the point of mouth-burning. I definitely ate more than my fair share of the octopus, which was soft and well matched with the potato and tomato paste it was served with. The tortilla was beautifully presented and was light and fluffy, and the saffron rice served with the prawns was to die for – a hint that their paella would be excellent! Brisbane definitely knows its tapas.

Olé Restaurant, Shop B12, Little Stanley St, South Brisbane QLD     http://www.olerestaurant.com.au/

Old Parliament House

Friday drinks at OPH were something of a myth when I moved to Canberra – they’d been all the rage but had since stopped, so I never got to go. But good things come to those who wait – once again OPH is opening its courtyard to those seeking end-of-week beverages. We headed over for a friend’s farewell after work, emerging into a lovely green space full of benches and beanbags. The bar is set up under a pergola and offers wine, beer and cider, and alongside it is the food. For $6, you could choose to eat 1. a bratwurst with sauerkraut, 2. tandoori chicken skewers or 3. a green paw paw salad. I went for the bratwurst, after seeing that it was DIY condiments (yes!). I heaped my hot dog up with bacon chips, sauerkraut, diced pickles, aioli and cheese – it was definitely the right choice. The roll was just the right thickness and held everything together without dominating the flavours, whilst the sauerkraut and pickles really complemented the  sausage. The cheese didn’t add much flavour, but the bacon chips were crispy and worked well with the whole combination. No better way to send a friend off in style.

Old Parliament House, 18 King George Terrace, Parkes ACT   http://moadoph.gov.au/events/friday-night-drinks/

Ganbaranba

When I saw that Ganbaranba wasn’t just a ramen shop or a noodle restaurant, but a ‘noodle colosseum’, it was pretty much compulsory to eat there.  Though I swore to try and gladiator my way through all of the ramen on the menu, I only managed to get there twice. On both occasions we shared some gyoza to start, and they were incredible – beautifully pan-fried with extra crispy bits hanging off each dumpling and a soft and tasty filling. Round one was the traditional tonkotsu ramen – I found the broth to be a bit oily, and the pork was quite tough, but the ramen had just the right amount of bite. Round two was all about the shoyu – the best ramen of my life was in Kyoto in 2009 and it was a shoyu ramen. It’s not as common to find soy-based broths in Australia, and so I always try them when I can. Whilst it wasn’t Kyoto-standard, this shoyu was really tasty, full of bamboo shoots and again perfectly bitey ramen. Ganbaranba’s staff were super friendly and made us feel welcome, so they get the thumbs up from me.

Ganbaranba Noodle Colosseum, 12/20 Spence Street, Cairns QLD, no website

Tha Fish Restaurant

It’s pretty much impossible to go to Cairns and avoid seafood – a group of us decided to embrace the inevitable seafood feasting and booked in to Tha Fish. With the fancy esplanade location, we expected great things. We ordered a dozen natural oysters to start, which came with chilli jam and Asian-style fried onion crisps. The first oyster I had was fresh and flavoursome and enlivened by a drizzle of lime. Each of the following ones were a little less tasty than the first, but still satisfied my craving. Choosing a main was tricky – the menu has so many options – but in the end I picked a fillet of barramundi served with cous cous, dukkah and labne. The cous cous was moist and suited the barramundi, which was quite large and cooked to perfection. The crunch of the dukkah and the creaminess of the labne really brought the best out of the fish – definitely a winning combination. The staff were very attentive and the service was excellent, although fair warning, good fish does come with a high price tag – in this case it was well worth paying.

Tha Fish Restaurant, Pier Point Road, Cairns QLD        http://www.thafish.com.au/

Asian Noodle House

If you’re a Canberra local, you’ve probably eaten at the Asian Noodle House more than a few times. I certainly have, and whilst the Dickson store is the original, it’s not super close when you’ve been to the theatre. Luckily the Civic outpost is, and that’s where we headed for a post-show dinner. The menu is a mix of Asian cuisines, from Thai to Laotian (hello larb) to Chinese to Malay – diners are spoilt for choice. I’m not sure if the laksa is Singaporean or Malaysian-style, but it’s legendary in Canberra.  Packed full of greens, tofu, two types of noodles and a mix of sweet spices, the Asian Noodle House laksa is a dish that expats make a beeline for when they’re back in town. It’s no wonder, when the laksa is reliably delicious and the same at every store, every time.  For those whose eyes are bigger than their tummies (guilty), there’s a half-size available too.  A local legend for a reason – check it out if you haven’t already, and if you have, well, it’s probably just about time to go back for another bowl.

Asian Noodle House, 49 Northbourne Ave Civic Canberra City  http://www.noodlehouse.net.au/Noodle_house/Welcome.html

Golden Boy

I was reluctant to eat to Golden Boy. Botanic Bar was one of my favourite places to have cheap pizza and good sangria, and I have many fond memories of hanging out in the right-wing of the bar. When I heard it had been converted into, of all things, a Thai restaurant, my soul died a bit inside. But on my last trip to Adelaide, my friends had already planned dinner there and it was the easiest way to see them all at once. So I relented. Reluctantly, I entered the once-hallowed corridor, to discover that it had been covered in quite a nice palm-leaf wallpaper. So far so good. I was greeted warmly by staff, and shown into the renovated space, which has hand-written scrawl artistically scattered on the walls (somehow it works). We went for the Tuk Tuk banquet, and they just brought courses and courses of fresh, spicy and delicious Thai food. Particular highlights were the satay skewers with the best peanut sauce I’ve ever had, hulled-out cucumber shells full of some kind of melt-in-your-mouth beef and a papaya salad. Only disappointment was the elderflower cocktail, which was watery and tasted like detergent. So I’m pretty much a convert. Anywhere else in town upgrading?

Golden Boy, 309 North Terrace, Adelaide           http://goldenboyrestaurant.com/#