Bar Rochford

Bar Rochford had a great vibe going when my friend and I arrived just after 6pm on a Friday night. We snagged two seats at the bar, and started with the Stormy Monday cocktail ($16). With aged rum, house-made ginger beer, lime and bitters, we were astounded at how strong the ginger was, to the point of being a bit much (more like chilli in terms of heat). I sipped cautiously throughout the night. We started with a plate of three cold cuts – finocchiona, proscuitto and coppe ($20). Each was generously portioned and delicious, although the proscuitto was cut a tad thick for my taste. We then ordered from the specials menu – the roast duck with crispy skin and beetroot. This was a complete delight, with well-seasoned skin and tasty meat that was just past pink but not tough. The foam on the plate didn’t really have a flavour, but the beetroot had an intense earthy taste which complemented the duck perfectly. Finally, still going on the cocktail, we ordered a plate of hand-cut chips ($8), served with a spiced tomato relish. These were so moreish I could have eaten them all night. Yum!

Bar Rochford, first floor, 65 London Circuit, Canberra ACT, http://www.barrochford.com/

Monster

I’ve never actually had dessert at Monster, so after a scrumptious dinner there with Dad (pork neck bao, best lamb ever), we decided to share a dessert as I finished off my Lyneham cocktail ($19). The cocktail was an unusual blend of gin, capsicum, black tea, lychee and lemon – it had a suprisingly savoury taste which I quite liked, with a stronger capsicum flavour than I had expected. Definitely a sophisticated drink. The dessert menu doesn’t tell you anything more than the ingredients, so we chose the soft chocolate, mandarin, cocoa nib and almond dish ($18), and waited to see what would emerge. We were rewarded with the most delicate soft chocolate… I’m not sure exactly what to call it – log? cake? mousse? It was just that bit thicker than a mousse, and matched the mix of textures from the mandarin gel, alcoholic mandarin segments, and crisp mandarin shards perched on top. I got much more peanut than almond as the nut flavour – they were scattered whole and crumbed on top. It was an adventurous delight to try all of the elements, and together they matched perfectly. Utterly delicious!

Monster Kitchen and Bar, Hotel Hotel, 25 Edinburgh Avenue, Acton ACT, http://www.hotel-hotel.com.au/eat-and-drink/monster/

Temporada

I can’t believe this was my first visit to Temporada! I caught up with Bec for breakfast, and we both admired the sleek, elegant decor. I ordered the baked eggs with pork sausage and pistachio dukkah ($15) – when it came out with two thick slices of toast with real butter on them (swoon) and topped with parsley and dill, I was very pleased with my choice! The ramekin didn’t look very full, but the dish was deceptively filling. The eggs were just a tad past runny, and were nicely seasoned – this was the bulk of the dish. The pork sausages had fabulous flavour, and there was a good serving of them in the ramekin – it was nice to have a variant on the traditional chorizo option. But what really lifted this dish was the pistachio dukkah. Dukkah is one of my favourite things, and this one was superb, with plenty of huge pistachio chunks and a great blend of spices that complemented the rest of the dish perfectly. Temporada has excellent service and faced with a slight mix up at the till, the staff dealt with it quickly and professionally. On a cold Canberra morning, there’s really nothing more you could want.

Temporada, 15 Moore Street, Canberra ACT, http://www.temporada.com.au/

Akiba

Akiba is a standing favourite of mine, and I hadn’t been back for a while, so stopped in with friends for a long weekday lunch. We were seated in the nicely-heated outdoor area, and had plenty of time to peruse the menu before someone came to take our order. We started with the kimchi and angasi pancakes (serve of 4), which were topped with sriracha sauce and bonito flakes. Whilst small, the pancakes packed a punch and whetted our appetites for the rest of the meal. Next up was one of my favourites from Akiba – the fried chicken. Hello mounds of deep-fried chicken goodness topped with a tonne of cheese! Alone the chicken is a bit dry, but with the added sauces (not 100% sure what they are – one is a spicy chilli, the other is a mayonnaise of some sort, but they look deceptively like ketchup and mustard respectively!) the whole thing lifts up another notch. We fought rather politely over the last pieces. Finally we shared a plate of Singapore noodles, which was a real highlight. The ingredients were fresh and there were tonnes of prawns and the portion was really generous. Really great food for sharing.

Akiba, 40 Bunda Street, Civic ACT, http://www.akiba.com.au/

Vincent

Barton has really started coming into its own with the opening of the Macquarie Place centre – I had a long lunch at Vincent with a friend, taking advantage of their share plate menu. We started with the Pork Croquettes with Gribiche ($14 for 3) – these were perfectly crumbed on the outside and utterly delightful on the inside, with really tender pork and plenty of flavour. The gribiche (like a tartare sauce) was the perfect match and we devoured these greedily. Dish two was the Pork Belly with Cauliflower, Fennel and Currant ($20). Basically this was autumn on a plate, with sweetness from the currants, tang from the pickled fennel and a rich, earthiness from the pork paired with the cauliflower. The flavours were pefectly balanced and the pork fat was nicely rendered. Finally, we enjoyed the Lamb Rump with Date Chutney, Aubergine and Fetta ($26). The lamb was cooked to perfection and everything with it was a sensory delight. I loved the rich flavour of the pureed aubergine, the sweetness of the chutney and the quenelle of creamy fetta. Sophisticated, seasonal food perfect for sharing.

Vincent, 48 Macquarie Street, Barton ACT, http://www.vincentrestaurant.com.au

XO

 

ICYMI, summer is over. Sad face. My somewhat child-like reaction is to eat lots of icecream and pretend that never happened. Feel free to play along with #icecreamthurs. XO has become one of my favourite restaurants in a very short space of time; they have the trifecta of great service, ambiance and food. Oh, and they have icecream. Yep. I was very excited to try their much-Instagrammed chrysanthemum tea soft serve after a lovely dinner visit with friends. We were so full but, really, who can resist a soft serve? They came out on a specially designed tray and looked heavenly. Now if you’re after a super sweet dessert, don’t order this soft serve – the flavour is exactly what you would expect from an Asian-style dessert; subtle and almost savoury. There’s something familiar about the chrysanthemum tea flavour that had us all searching our memories – there’s a slight bitterness from the tea which really fills your mouth, but is counterbalanced by the creaminess. The texture was fabulous, although on a warm night we had to eat them quickly to avoid melting! I can definitely see myself stopping in just for this in future.

XO, 16 Iluka Street, Narrabundah ACT, http://www.xo-restaurant.com.au

Eightysix

Part One is here. We were served the prawns and the curried fish salad at the same time, so we left the cold salad until after we’d finished the delectable prawns (I scooped up every last bit of that heavenly sauce!). My only criticism of the night was that too many dishes came out at once, rather than being well-paced over the course of the meal. We had just started the salad when the chicken biryani was served. The salad was the dish of the night for me – the curried ocean trout was tender and flaked into perfect pieces, and the cucumber, celery, onion and green beans were incredibly refreshing after the spicy prawns. We saved a bit to finish with, then got stuck into the biryani, which had been cooked until some of the rice was crisped (like bibimbap). The chicken had some sort of yoghurt coating which was luscious and perfect, and the almonds, herbs and sultanas added hugely to the flavour. Finally, we decided to share a dessert – the coconut sago and mango. We loved the toasted coconut and sesame topping, the pops from the sago pearls, and then deliciously sweet, fresh mango. All in all another spectacular kitchen takeover. Come back again soon?

eightysix, 11 Elouera Street, Braddon ACT http://eightysix.com.au/

Eightysix

I couldn’t resist booking in for the second Christine Manfield extravaganza at Eightysix this year. Whilst her last ‘kitchen takeover’ was Asian-themed, this time is all about India and Bhutan, in celebration of her latest book, a travel guide to the two countries. We started out with drinks – I had the ‘strawpop’ minus alcohol, with pomegranate and lychee. It was lovely and sweet, served in a small glass bottle. On the waitress’s recommendation, we started with the beetroot roti entree – the roti was perfectly puffed and crisp, deflating into soft layers of buttery goodness and enhanced by the beetroot mix on top. I loved the slight hint of heat that lingered on the back palate from the beetroot. Next up were the cauliflower pakoras – they were super moreish, cooked in a lovely batter and served with a cool raita. The cauliflower was divine, but there were also parcels of spinach leaves with lentils wrapped inside. Yum! I was very excited to try the tamarind prawns with eggplant next – sitting at the bar, we could see the giant prawns being prepared. Everything about this dish was lovely – the thick, plump prawns, the tender but not mushy eggplant and the delicate yet spicy sauce that brought the whole ensemble together. Part two is here.

eightysix, 11 Elouera Street, Braddon ACT http://eightysix.com.au/

XO

The egg added a richness to the utterly delicious ragout – Kent explained that this is one of his Mum’s dishes, which he knew he wanted to include on the menu here – I’d come back for this alone (once again, there I was scraping the sauce off the plate with my spoon!). We had two main plates – the crispy lamb ribs ($29) and the confit duck leg ($28). The ribs were a close second for my favourite dish – even my friend who doesn’t really like lamb loved them and has decided she can eat lamb if it’s cooked like this. The ribs are piled up in a tower, topped with corriander and Vietnamese mint, and coated in a gooey, sweet plum sauce, as well as XO’s housemade lemon oil, to cut through the richness. Whilst not elegant to eat, the ribs were tender and tasty – the herbs supercharged the flavours for me, elevating this into a really spectacular dish. Finally, we enjoyed the confit duck leg – this was a good last dish, given how spicy it was. The duck was perfectly cooked and tender, and I enjoyed the mushroom broth, but definitely needed some rice as a spice-balancer! XO ticks all the boxes, service included – absolutely worth a visit. Or two…

XO, 16 Iluka Street, Narrabundah ACT, http://www.xo-restaurant.com.au

XO

Walking into XO feels like stepping into downtown Melbourne – the space is modern, fresh and very stylish. The menu is equally exciting, organised into starters, small and large plates, sides and desserts. We started with the bao ($8 each), which had the most incredibly fluffy texture and were served as burgers, rather than wrap-arounds. Co-owner Kent told us that he and the chef spent months perfecting the recipe, so that they stayed fresh upon service – I can confirm, they certainly do! The combination of the pickled daikon, the unctuous pork belly and the freshness of the cucumber was magical and set our palettes up for the rest of the night. Dish two was the steamed prawn and pork dumplings ($16, includes 4), served with the most delicious soy vinagrette – it had a perfect balance of spice, sweet and vinegar flavours and I may or may not have drunk the leftovers with my spoon. The dumpling filling was fresh and had great, distinct textures – I adore prawns in dumplings and could taste them loud and clear. Yum. My dish of the night was the Asian Bolognaise – fried udon served with a ragout and a 60 degree egg, this is comfort food at its best.

XO, 16 Iluka Street, Narrabundah ACT, http://www.xo-restaurant.com.au