Broddogs

Broddogs is one of the more prominent, well-known food trucks at The Hamlet, originally set up in Belconnen, and I couldn’t go past it for my first visit to the food truck enclave. On recommendation from Fine Eating, I went for the Omi Dog – vienna frankfurt with a salad of onion, gruyere and mayonnaise dressing – and a side of chips. I waited about 5 minutes for my order (not bad at all really) and the first thing I noticed when sitting to eat was that the bun of the hot dog was hot, but the filling wasn’t. It made for an interesting contrast, with the sausage sliced up and mixed through the cold salad. I liked the raw onion flavour cutting through the otherwise creamy salad, but probably won’t order it again on a work day! The hot dog was very filling and the bun was nice and soft. Note to self: the serve of chips is massive and should be shared. They’re the same shoestring fries as Brodburger, with some magically delicious seasoning and no dipping sauce required. Whilst not as blow-your-mind good as Brodburger, Broddogs offers an affordable, filling hot dog served fast.

Broddogs, The Hamlet, 16 Lonsdale Street, Braddon ACT, no website

Shimbashi

I visited Shimbashi once in 2012 and remember a) the restaurant not appearing to have a name and b) the amazing soba they served. On this visit, I ducked in for a late lunch (last orders are 2:30pm) and was reminded once again how fantastic simple Japanese food can be. I ordered the teriyaki salmon special, which came with a rice bowl topped with lettuce and salmon, a small bowl of pickles, and a serve of soba. I ate the salmon first as the hot dish (I’d chosen cold soba), and was surprised at how large the serving was. The teriyaki sauce was sweet and rich, and was just the right amount to coat the perfectly cooked fish and most of the rice. I dipped the lettuce in the small salad I’d received on arrival to give it some dressing, which complemented the pickles nicely. The soba was equally delicious, with spring onion and seaweed to add extra flavour. The noodles were obviously handmade and had a great springiness to them which sent me straight back to Japan. Simple, delicate and authentic Japanese that I will definitely be coming back for.

Shimbashi Japanese soba and sake bar, 17 Liverpool Street, Melbourne VIC     http://www.shimbashisobamelbourne.net/

Reuben Hills

Surry Hills is definitely Sydney’s Braddon (read: hipster central) and as such has more cafes than you can poke a stick at. Chosen for their unique menu, I met a friend at Reuben Hills to try a South American-themed brunch. It turned out that my friend had already visited once before, and recommended the ‘NOT Reuben’ – their take on the reuben sandwich, which is a favourite of mine. Meal decided. We also both ordered the cold pressed juice – beetroot, carrot, celery, ginger, lemon and apple – which came out quickly in a large glass with a wedge of orange, and felt very healthy to drink. The NOT Reuben arrived in a plastic tray (diner-style) and was huge! I only managed to finish half of it, but it was a scrumptious half. The brisket was crusty and thick but melted in your mouth, and the pickled slaw was packed in, fresh and crispy. Without a doubt the horseradish mayonnaise brought the whole thing to life and the rye was gently toasted = perfect. They also kindly gave me a takeaway container for the other half. A thoroughly lovely place to enjoy a lazy weekend morning.

Reuben Hills, 61 Albion Street, Surry Hills, NSW    http://www.reubenhills.com.au/

Wood & Coal

Being owed lunch is a wonderful thing – I’d helped my colleague out a couple of times and was promised lunch in return, so we booked into Wood & Coal. My first impression was positive – the decor is simple but tasteful, with creative tiles on the floor and a ‘balcony’ area that’s inside the mall. The menu is all about the spit-roasted meats, but there are appetising sides on offer too. We went for the lunch special, which included three different meats, tzatziki with pita bread, iceberg lettuce salad and loukoumades for dessert. So far so good. I was surprised to see that the ‘plate’ was a metal tray with divided sections (like a German bento box, my friend commented) – it seemed a bit down-market for the restaurant’s vibe. But the food removed all thoughts of plates – each meat (pork, lamb and chicken) was beautifully smoky, generously portioned and well accompanied. The pita was soft and although my serving of tzatziki was smaller than the others’ it was rich and tasty. The loukoumades were dense and very sweet – two was definitely just the right amount. We also devoured a side of the fried cauliflower – yum!

Wood & Coal, 125 Bunda Street, Civic ACT       http://www.woodandcoal.com.au/

Walt and Burley

This was my second visit to Walt and Burley and I was very impressed with the whole experience. We went for a friend’s farewell lunch, and were seated at an indoor table, explained how the menu works and encouraged to order at the bar. Having had one of the burgers before, I opted for the cajun tuna loin, as part of the ‘from the grill’ part of the menu. It was a great choice – whilst a little pricier than the majority of the lunch menu, the portion of tuna is large, and when my plate came out the fish was perfectly pink inside. The outside had been seared with cajun spices, something tomatoey and cheese, and the tuna was incredibly tender. Every mouthful was a delight. The salad was perfectly matched and had a fresh spring feel about it – the black-eyed beans and zucchini combination was light and felt healthy to eat. The meal was more than enough for me, although I was a bit cheeky and picked at some of the chips we’d ordered to share – so tasty! Friends ordered the buttermilk chicken, which is the next thing on my list to try.

Walt and Burley, 21 Eastlake Parade, Kingston ACT        http://www.waltandburley.com.au/

Uogashi Nihon Ichi

My love of sushi is pretty well known, so when I was back in my old stomping ground in Tokyo for a day, my friend and I stopped in at the local standing sushi bar for lunch. This branch of Uogashi Nihon Ichi is located on one of my favourite streets in Tokyo – Kagurazaka-dori. It’s an old geisha quarter, now full of traditional stores and restaurants, and is a bit of an institution – the street even has its own annual festival! On entering Uogashi, we were shown to a space along the standing bar. Like a sit down sushi bar, each station has its own cup of tea, soy and hand towel, just no chair. We ordered a range of different pieces, including tuna, salmon, kingfish and a couple that I had no idea what they were, but tasted amazing! The sushi-san gives you the option of soy (shoyu) or salt (shio) to put on the piece, and there are different recommendations for different fish. Each piece was reasonably sized, although a bit smaller than the nigiri at Sushi Zanmai. As usual, my favourite was the aburi (seared) tuna, but really, it’s all good!

Uogashi Nihon Ichi, 1F PORTA Kagurazaka 2-6 Kagurazaka Shinjyu-ku Tokyo  http://www.uogashi-nihonichi.com/english/

Melt

This was my second time eating at Melt, and it was just as good as the first at their other location on King William Road. The Waymouth Street restaurant has a green theme – it runs through the tiles, the website and even into the water jugs, which are packed with fresh mint leaves to make tap water refreshing. We opted for the CBD lunch special – a selection of tapas, pizzas and salads, and were amazed at the high quality of every single dish. The tapas included fried zucchini balls with an amazing mayonnaise, pan-fried haloumi, the best baba ganouch I’ve ever had and chilli green beans. This was promptly followed by three pizzas (between five people) – ‘albondigas’, with Spanish meatballs and cherry tomatos, ‘funghi’, with mushrooms, egg and watercress, and ‘the 38’, with zucchini, speck and mint. I’d requested ‘funghi’ as it was my favourite last time, but this time I was sold on ‘the 38’ – the flavours were perfect for spring and very fresh. All the bases were lovely and thin with just the right amount of crispiness. I absolutely expect there to be third, fourth and fifth visits here, at the very least.

Melt Pizzeria, 38 Waymouth Street, Adelaide SA http://www.meltpizzeria.com.au/