Joe’s Bar

On arrival at Joe’s Bar for a late dinner, the vibe was welcoming and chic, with beautiful glassware on display and an impressive array of spirits behind the bar. I started out with the Giant G&T – trust me, when they say giant, they mean giant! Served in a fishbowl glass, this classic is given a refreshing twist with housemade rhubarb syrup and pickled rhubarb, plus strawberries and fresh mint. It went nicely with the spiced popcorn brought out to the table – be warned, it’s extremely moreish! We decided to share two entrees and a main – starting with the arancini and the chicken liver parfait. The arancini were beautifully crisp on the outside and lovely and gooey inside, although we both thought they could have done with a bit more flavour – perhaps more of the dipping sauce, or some chilli? The pate was served with fresh bread and we lapped up every single mouthful – absolutely gorgeous. But the piece de resistance was the tagliata di manzo – black angus steak with crispy rocket, parmesan and balsamic. Oh my. We devoured the perfectly done steak and delighted in the balance achieved with the crisp of the rocket and sweetness of the balsamic. Next time I’ll get one of those to myself, thank you. We stayed until closing and weren’t hurried out – thanks team at Joe’s, you made a stunning first impression!

Joe’s Bar, East Hotel, 69 Canberra Avenue, Kingston ACT, http://www.joesateast.com/

Pizza Arte

Ladies and gentlemen of Canberra, how is it that none of you have told me about this place before?! Oh my! I was feeling very lazy on a Friday night and driving through Kingston, I decided to treat myself to pizza for dinner – I saw the sign for Pizza Arte and went in, keen to try something different. Pizza Arte dishes up woodfired pizzas that are cooked while you wait (if you didn’t order ahead, like me) – and cooked fast. I ordered a small ($13) Marinara, and sat there for less than 10 minutes before my pizza was ready. Wow. I took it home to devour, and devour it I did! The base was lovely and thin, and had a beautiful smoky charring around the edges, making it nice and crisp. The toppings were perfection – kalamata olives, capers and anchovies – all incredibly tasty (and salty), and in authentic Italian proportions (i.e. just enough). What really surprised me was the huge flavour packed into the tomato base sauce – wow. I noticed that they sell jars of it, so on my next Friday night pizza run, I’ll definitely snap one up to try. Serious pizza love.

Pizza Arte, 13 Leichhardt Street, Kingston ACT, http://www.pizzaarte.com.au/

Hyatt Hotel

When a friend mentioned that the Hyatt was doing a series of Latin Flavours feasts from around South America, we booked in quick smart for the Argentine one. We were met with one of the best buffets I’ve ever seen in my life. There were three buffet stations, PLUS a stand from which to get your cooked goat. Swoon. I started with seafood – cold crabmeat, octopus salad and fresh prawns, plus oysters and mussels. I also fell in love with the beetroot salad. Oh my. Next was the red meat – rib eye steak in chimmichurri, goat, mini empanadas stuffed with beef and cheese, cheesy cabbage rolls and a selection of cold meats (chorizo, jamon and salami). By this point my initial goal of three savoury and two sweet rounds was seeming overly ambitious. I ditched savoury and loaded up my plate with a melt-in-your-mouth mango cake (I don’t think they have mangoes in Argentina, but who cares?), churros dipped in chocolate from the chocolate fountain, dulce de leche pancakes, strawberries and cream and quince tart. The tango demonstration was a good digestion pause before cheese to finish. There are a couple more nights left (Venezuela and Mexico) so get in quick!

Promenade Cafe, Hyatt Hotel Canberra, 120 Commonwealth Avenue ACT http://canberra.park.hyatt.com/en/hotel/home.html

Mr Shabu Shabu

My love of shabu shabu is no secret, but on this particular visit, a friend and I indulged in dessert there after our reliably delicious beef shabu shabu. There are three icecream flavours on the dessert menu – green tea, black sesame and red bean – all traditional Japanese dessert flavours. I picked the black sesame and my friend tried the red bean flavour. The scoops were $3.80 each and came out in a side dish-sized bowl, with one reasonably sized scoop inside. The black sesame scoop was a not-completely-appealing grey colour, but had a really fascinating savoury taste. The icecream was very creamy and at first that hid the sesame flavour, which made an appearance on the back palate at the end of the mouthful. The more I ate, the clearer the flavour became, and whilst it wasn’t as sweet as I expected, my friend preferred that to the sweeter red bean flavour. I tried a bite of the red bean, and actually thought it worked better, the sweet flavour pairing well with the creaminess. The verdict? Japanese icecream flavours are an adventure, definitely worth a try with varying sweet-savoury options!

Mr Shabu Shabu, 6/35 Childers St, Canberra ACT, no website

Oscars

We went to Oscars to celebrate my brother’s birthday, and absolutely everything about our experience was lovely. We started with a plate of the housemade port, thyme and Cointreau pate, which was served with cornichons, flatbread and a divine apple and pear chutney. Best. Pate. Ever. The flavour was utterly perfect and I would love to be able to buy this in bulk!!! For the main, I went for a pizza (I always think of Oscars as a pizza place) and had zero regrets. The Idaho comes with potato, rocket, sour cream, caramelised onion, bacon and sweet chilli sauce, which makes for one damn fine pizza. The base was lovely and the potato was cooked perfectly. There was plenty of sour cream and sweet chilli sauce, and every mouthful was delicious. If I could have eaten more, I would have. Somehow we were persuaded into dessert and three of us shared the Belgian chocolate mousse – it was far heavier than I would usually expect from a mousse, but despite that wasn’t sickly rich, although my stomach was really struggling for space. A special mention must go to the staff, who were so friendly and welcoming and set the right tone for a truly lovely celebration.

Oscars, 201 Main Road, McLaren Vale SA  http://oscars.com.au/

CocoNine

On a cold and foggy night my friend and I ventured down to the foreshore to pick a Thai place for dinner – Coconine seemed welcoming and cozy, so in we went. The staff were so friendly and happily let us peruse the very long menu. We decided on two dishes to share – the Roast Duck Curry and the Siam Gem on Fire, a stir fry with beef and a tom yum sauce. Our coconut rice arrived with the mains – fluffy and with a distinct coconut flavour, this is my go-to accompaniment whenever it’s on offer. I started with the beef stir fry – there was plenty of beef on the plate and it was sliced really thinly for maximum tenderness. The sauce was packed with flavour and I definitely got the ‘tom yum’ vibe, even though the dish didn’t have mushrooms. I loved the lemongrass flavour and crunched happily on the giant snow peas (yum!). The duck curry had a lot more of a kick to it – the pairing of duck, lychee and tomato with red curry really can’t go wrong, and this version had very tender duck and extra sweetness from pineapple pieces. We left with very happy tummies.

CocoNine, 132/2 Trevillian Quay, Kingston ACT                            http://coconinekingston.com.au/

Sushi Zanmai

I know I’ve blogged about Sushi Zanmai before, but my experience on this visit was incomparable. We went for dinner, and surprisingly didn’t have to line up (win!). Sitting at the counter, our sushi-san started chatting to us, as they usually do, but this guy was a comedian, and kept us entertained with jokes and impressions all night. Not only did we get the amazing nigiri sushi I ordered, chuo toro (mid-grade tuna), aburi salmon (my ultimate favourite), unagi (top grade eel), saba (the tastiest mackarel ever), we were also treated to a complimentary cube of the most delicious tuna I’ve ever eaten – it was tiny, but had been seared on all sides and salted and it just melted in my mouth. Amazing. To top it off, the gentleman sitting next to us, who was dining alone and joined in on the conversation and jokes, gifted us bowls of miso soup – it must have been their premium soup, as it was packed with fish meat, and had an incredibly complex and hearty flavour. I can’t really explain how much this place makes my heart swell with joy, but I can say that it epitomises everything that I love about Japan. Thanks for another special experience Sushi Zanmai.

Sushi Zanmai, 1F Yodabashi Camera building, Akihabara Tokyo     http://www.kiyomura.co.jp/ (Japanese only)