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/

 

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,

The Latvian Lunchroom

I jumped at the chance to eat at The Latvian Lunchroom in the Adelaide Central Markets for something completely different. Dad and I shared two meals, starting with the Latvian Snack Plate ($12), which included three pirags (soft pastry filled with bacon, onion and pepper) and our choice of three Smalk maizītes, or open sandwiches. My favourite by far was the deviled egg with anchovy – topped with tiny bubbles of fish roe, the anchovy added a pop of salt to the creamy egg and the dense, flavoursome bread. The smoked salmon with horesradish cream was equally rich and luscious, but in comparison the sausage with mustard was a bit bland. I ordered the Beef Kotlete and Mushrooms ($14) which was incredible value – my plate was piled with sauerkraut, beetroot vinagrette, potato salad, a large beef kotlete (rissole) and some of the tastiest mushrooms I’ve had in a long time, not to mention gherkins. The kotlete was tender and wasn’t dry, and went perfectly with the tang of the sauerkraut. I honed in on the beetroot vinagrette, spiced up with dill and celery it was heavenly. There was so much food and all of it was amazing. I feel a trip to Riga coming on…

The Latvian Lunchroom, Adelaide Central Markets, Adelaide SA, thelatvianlunchroom.com.au/

Avesta

Avesta has opened in the space previously occupied by Pheast, adding a meat/smokehouse and Kurdish flavour to the menu. We had a group of 12 booked for lunch, and were told to sit anywhere (no table prepared for us), so we gathered the outdoor tables and set up to enjoy the warm afternoon. Things here are still a bit new – staff are still getting to know the menu and the register system, but after a long ordering process, the food came out quite quickly. I ordered the Qaisy ($25.50), a Kurdish beef and apricot dish served with almond and raisin garnished rice. The portion was the perfect size for lunch and I really enjoyed the plentiful, tender pieces of beef. The apricots had leeched their flavour into the sauce, leaving their hydrated forms with little more than texture, but the sauce had a lovely depth of flavour (but no heat). The rice was perfectly cooked and I liked being able to dip my spoon of rice into the sauce, rather than having it all in one bowl. The almonds and raisins added great texture and I would have happily added more on top. The food was slightly pricey for what it is, but everyone enjoyed their meals.

Avesta, 2 Furneaux Street, Griffith ACT, http://www.avesta.net.au/

Le Pain Quotidien

I love wandering through The Rocks, especially around lunchtime, when you can be tempted by all sorts of lovely smells in the narrow alleyways. I stumbled across Le Pain Quotidien from the backstreets, and moving inside, I was delighted to discover secluded little private rooms – sure they seemed small, but quaint. It was only when I took my seat in the main room that I realised the restaurant/bakery occupies the old police station! The space is utterly charming, and one menu item leapt out at me – chacuterie. I ordered it ($26) with a jug of housemade lemonade ($4.50), both of which arrived quickly. The lemonade was everything I was hoping it would be, not overly sweet, but not mouth-puckeringly sour. The chacuterie? Oh my. Apart from being beautifully presented on a bread board, I was smitten with every flavour included. There were generous servings of ham (simple and fresh), proscuitto (rich and salty) and salami (just plain yum), as well as a subdued but elegant wedge of pate, which, combined with the range of bakery breads, stole the show. I adored the olives, baby cornichons and sun-dried tomatoes, as well as the dressed lettuce, to break up the meat-fest. Hearty, tasty fare that I will be back for.

Le Pain Quotidien, 127 George Street, Sydney NSW, http://www.lepainquotidien.com.au/

Grease Monkey

To celebrate this week of Christmas, I’m celebrating my favourite foodie thing – burgers! Welcome to #burgerweek! I adore Grease Monkey. I really do. When my friend came to visit from Adelaide I took her straight from the airport to Braddon for a solid Canberra burger experience. On my quest to try all of their burgers, I picked the Pitt Stop ($15), stacked full of BBQ pork brisket and apple cider coleslaw and spiced up with a habanero mayonnaise. As always, Greasy’s didn’t disappoint, with the food coming out quickly and obviously freshly prepared. There was a huge serving of their delicious chips, which I’m not ashamed to admit I devoured – yes they were salty, but man, that seasoning is so good! The burger itself was also perfection – the BBQ pork paired with the milk burger bun was surprisngly and delightfully sweet, and the pork just melted in your mouth. I’d added pickes to the order (an extra $1), and they were chopped up and mixed into the coleslaw, which was perfect. The coleslaw was actually really great to balance the huge amount of meat. Every mouthful was a bite of happiness, and I seriously wished for a second stomach to be able to eat more. Nom nom nom.

Grease Monkey, 19 Lonsdale Street, Braddon ACT, no website

Ginseng

I met up with friends at Ginseng for dinner before a night at the movies, and we each picked one dish to share. We started things off with a serve of the crispy duck pancakes (normally a serve of 6, we asked for 8 to split evenly). I was impressed with the service – they were prepared freshly on the table next door for us on individual plates and the duck pieces were plump, tender and generous. The pancake wrapper was thin and there was a slice of cucumber and a small sprig of spring onion, plus the hoisin sauce. Yum. The three mains came out shortly afterwards – honey prawns, Szechuan beef and sizzling Mongolian lamb. The sizzling lamb was really tender and the sauce was to die for – the right balance of sweet and salty. The beef had a great sweet and sour flavour and plenty of vegetables packed in, but I think the dish of the night was the honey prawns. Yes, I know they’re really unhealthy, but wow they tasted good! The batter was light and crisp and the prawns were so juicy, their seafood flavour enhanced by the honey. Yep, I’d definitely order like that again. Yum!

Ginseng, 15 Flinders Way, Manuka ACT, no website