Hortas

On a perfectly warm afternoon, Mum and I headed down to Port Noarlunga for lunch with a craving for fish and chips. Wandering around, we saw the beautiful location of Hortas looking out over the water and were sold. We sat out on the balcony and ordered two serves of the fish and chips. The food came out surprisingly quickly, as we were commenting that sitting on the deck felt like lounging at a friend’s place, it was so relaxing and comfortable! The plates were huge, with two pieces of beer-battered garfish, a mound of chips, a bowl of tartare sauce and a garden salad on the side. Whilst the presentation was pretty, it was a bit hard to eat on a plate with no free space. The fish was nicely battered, with the batter leaning more towards the dense side, and inside the fishmeat was perfectly cooked and tender. I found the flavour a bit unusual (just this type of fish? The Coopers beer batter?) but I enjoyed it with the lovely tartare sauce. The chips were a bit on the pale side for me, but were cooked through, and really, you just can’t go past that view.

Hortas, Port Noarlunga Jetty, Noarlunga SA, http://www.hortas.com.au/

Good Life

Adelaide has some amazing pizza places, and Good Life is one of the first that I really fell in love with. I’ve been going there for years and always end up ordering the same pizza – it never disappoints! Mum and I stopped in for a weekday lunch and were seated out on the balcony. We got my favourite, the chicken, potato, rosemary and parmesan pizza, to share in the large size ($29.85). The pizza came out fairly quickly and was visually stunning – large chunks of chicken were covered in fresh, not-melted parmesan and golden potatoes. Mmm. The flavour matched the presentation – the chicken pieces were tender and plump, if a little fatty, and packed with flavour, well matched with the subtle sliced of roasted garlic and the infrequent and not-overpowering dottings of rosemary. The pizza base was thin and crisp, especially along the crust, and was nicely seasoned for maximum tastiness. The potato was perfectly cooked, but the highlight for me was that parmesan – I adored the bitey flavour and the generous portion per slice. We couldn’t quite finish the last piece, but gave it a good try. A reliable favourite to keep coming back to!

Good Life Modern Organic Pizza, 44 Jetty Road Glenelg, SA http://www.goodlifepizza.com/

Miss Van’s

Ah Miss Van’s, how I adore you! On this visit I branched out from my usual banh mi and went for one of the noodle salad bowls, which a colleague had raved about on our last visit. Trust me, this is something you want to order. For a very good value $12, you can get a huge bowl full of Vietnamese chicken and noodle salad perfection. I picked the ginger soy chicken option (they also have lemongrass and chilli tofu for vegetarians) and it is probably the best salad I’ve ever eaten in my life. I loved the fresh tang of the vinegary sauce, the huge quantity of incredibly fresh vegetables (bean sprouts, carrot, radish, cucumber), herbs (mint and corriander) and toasted peanuts to add even more texture. The noodles tend to hide towards the bottom, so don’t be shy mixing it up before tucking in. The chicken was so tender and the ginger soy flavour was spectacularly good – especially paired with the fried shallots on top (one of my favourite things). I can’t recommend this enough – perfectly fresh and full of flavour, this will be my go-to favourite for some time to come!

Miss Van’s, Westside Acton, 3 Barrine Drive, Acton ACT http://www.missvans.com.au/

Da Rosario

Lunch at Da Rosario has been on my ‘to do’ list for a while – the day we managed to go was blustry and cold, and the staff kindly offered us a seat inside at parent-restaurant Mezzalira to shelter from the weather. The menu is full of temptations, but on a work day we kept it simple – I ordered the spaghetti carbonara and my friend picked the pizza special – tomato and truffled mushroom. Both meals came out quickly and at the same time and looked like good Italian food should – simple. The food here is all about stepping back and letting the flavour combinations shine. The carbonara was delightfully creamy, but not sickeningly rich, and had cured pork cheek instead of bacon. It was fattier, but lighter too, and added just the right amount of saltiness. The dish used pecorino rather than parmesan, which meant that it complemented, rather than overpowered, the overall flavours. The portion size was generous and filling. My friend’s pizza had a thin, crispy base and minimal quantity/maximum flavour toppings. You could smell the truffled mushroom as it came out. Mmm. Perfect for satisfying an Italian food craving!

Da Rosario, 59 London Circuit, Canberra, ACT, no website

Lotus Dumpling Bar

I know people rave about Ding Tai Fung, but to me, Lotus make the best dumplings in Sydney. Yep, I called it. This title was definitely reinforced on a recent visit. We started out with a Jade Forest cocktail – Citron Absolut, mint, lemon juice and soda blended into a perfectly integrated, light and refreshing drink that was dangerously delicious – be warned, you will probably want more than one. We had two dumpling courses, and as the serves normally include four dumplings (and there were three of us), the waitress asked if we wanted portions of six (yes) – great service. The jade prawn dumplings were the standout. With two-toned, thin, sticky skins, these are the closest thing I’ve found to the dumplings I had in Guangzhou. The filling had fabulous identifiable individual textures (i.e. it wasn’t a blended mush) – plus the prawns were super juicy. Oh yum. Next were the pork xiao long bao, which were as silky and lovely as I remember. We then had the black pepper beef, which was incredibly tender and slathered in a delicious marinade, served with perfectly steamed asparagus and baby corn, and the crispy eggplant, which was deep fried, crispy on the outside and pillowy soft inside. Mmm. Lotus, you are undoubtedly my favourite.

Lotus Dumpling Bar, 3/16 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay NSW, http://www.lotusrestaurant.com.au/

The Cupping Room

This was my first visit to The Cupping Room for lunch – finally, I could try their famous burgers! The spring menu is full of delights, and I couldn’t go past the lure of a Korean fried chicken burger with kimchi ($20) – swoon. I started with the strawberry, apple and mint juice, which was beautifully presented in a large glass and was really refreshing – strawberry and mint belong together! The burger arrived shortly afterwards and was piled nice and high with white kimchi and the fried chicken. I was expecting the chicken skin to be really crispy, but instead it was more slightly chewy to get through to the succulent meat inside. There was some magical sauce drizzled on top that brought a bit of spice to the party, since the kimchi wasn’t overly hot (thank goodness, given how much there was!). Some fresh cabbage added a bit of crunch too. I loved the fries, which were lovely and crisp and served with a generous portion of aioli – no scrimping here. Overall this was an excellent, if slightly too filling, lunch and I’d definitely come back to have it again.

The Cupping Room, 1/13 University Avenue, Canberra ACT, http://www.onacoffee.com.au/

Kuzuryu Soba

I have written a lot of posts about places in Kagurazaka, but this is a new one we discovered on this trip and I fell completely in love with it! We were wandering the backstreets and saw a small tour group beng led up the stairs into what looked like a traditional restaurant. After checking that a reservation wasn’t required, we took a seat inside and discovered that it was a soba restaurant, yay! The waiter was very patient with my Japanese and suggested we order a lunch set, so Mum had a mushroom soba and Dad and I both ordered the tempura set with tempura and kake soba (hot soba in a broth). The tempura was mostly vegetables and had a delicate, flaky batter which was nice and light. I particularly enjoyed the sweet potato piece, before getting stuck into my soba. The noodles were obviously made by hand – you could actually watch the chef slicing them – and were cooked to perfection. The broth had just the right amount of umami and wasn’t overly salty. The bowl was huge but I managed to finish all my noodles – I’ll definitely be back for another serving next time I’m in Tokyo.

Kuzuryu Soba, 3-3 Kagurazaka, Tokyo http://kuzuryu-soba.com/