Brodburger

Location: 11 Wentworth Avenue, Kingston ACT (next to the Old Bus Depot Markets)
Phone: 0424 635 824
Link: www.brodburger.com.au
Cuisine: Burgers

I will probably be flame-grilled by local Canberrans for this post.

For most, Brodburger is the burger joint of Canberra. It's a tourist must-see, a late night craving satisfy-er and apparently the best burgers in town.

Wrong.

Don't get me wrong, the burgers do taste pretty good and are jam-packed with delicious fillings. But to be frank, the burgers are expensive, overrated and after all that, you still have to wait at least 30 minutes (on a good day) for your food. (By which time, anything would taste good!)

The first time I went, Brodburger was still a van in a park. The burger was delicious, but that was relative to the hour wait in the cold and dark.

My more recent visit was well after they had moved into the old glassworks building at the OBDM. You'd expect that perhaps now having a proper functioning kitchen, they would make the burgers faster. Wrong. The burgers still took almost an hour to come out.

Brodchicken - succulent butterflied Chicken breast, flame grilled.
Topped with bacon, avocado, fresh lettuce, tomatoes &
Spanish onions. Includes homemade aioli & tomato relish

A Brodchicken costs $14.50. Add another $2.50 for chips and with a drink you're looking at close to $20. The burgers are good, but when you compare them to the London, Grill'd and the newly opened Shorty's, the burgers at Brodburger just aren't worth the price or the wait.

Overall Impression: 5.5/10

Sanur's Balinese Restaurant

Location: 1/114 Emu Bank, Belconnen, Canberra 2617
Phone: (02) 6162 1688
Link: www.sanurs.com.au
Cuisine: Balinese

Finally made the trek out to Belco last night to try out Sanur's Balinese Restaurant. It's been on the list for some time now, but it was worth the wait. 

We're seated and menus are brought out. As usual, I've had a sneak peak of their online menu which contains a list of 'signature dishes' (not easily identifiable on the actual menu). We order a platter of skewers, the beef rendang and the bebek betutu (the latter two are on the 'signature dishes' list).

coconut juice

First up, some refreshing coconut juice. The drinks menu sported two coconut juices - the fresh one costs $6 while the other $4. We ordered the latter, but I'm not sure there would have been much difference as it tasted much the same as a fresh one.

The first dish to hit the table was a mixed platter of satays - a perfect solution to our inability to decide on which meats to get.

sate Sanur's - platter of chicken, beef and prawn skewers
with rice cake, satay sauce, pickled cucumber and sambal

While I initially thought that the chicken and beef  looked a little dry, they were beautifully chargrilled and still tender and juicy on the inside. The prawns were succulent and smokey. The satay sauce was sweet and savoury and peanutty, and topped off with some fried shallots for an extra crunch - a strong hit of flavour that went brilliantly well with the skewers and the   rice cake. The pickled cucumber with sambal was an interesting addition, I'm not 100% sure it was a necessary component of the dish, but the sambal had a good hit of chilli which was cooled down with the cucumber.

beef rendang - slow cooked beef in rich coconut sauce with Indonesian Traditional herbs and spices

Next up was a rich aromatic beef rendang. The beef was fall-apart-tender and could easily be pulled apart with a fork and spoon. The gravy was sweet, slightly spicy and soaked up the rice well. A great winter warmer.

After a slight wait, our duck arrived! The menu warns that the dish will take about 30 minutes to prepare, which suits us fine since we ordered an entree anyway.

bebek betutu - roast duck in Balinese secret spices covered in banana leaves

The duck arrives wrapped in banana leaves as promised. The duck has been rendered and roasted and the meat is falling off the bone. There's an Asian-ish salsa of sorts scattered on top to add some freshness. The duck is soft and tender, the skin is slightly smokey from the roasting and the banana leaves. My only issues with the dish is that the bones are easily tangled up in the flesh which made it a little difficult to eat, and not quite enough salsa to give the contrasting crunch and freshness.

You'd think that all that food would have been enough, but we couldn't pass up dessert.

pisang goreng - deep fried banana in special battered with mandarin infused palm sugar syrup

Not your typical banana fritter! These little bananas are deep fried to crunchy but then smothered in a sweet sticky syrup that just screams of South East Asia. Delicious and a perfect winter dessert.

coconut delusion - coconut pancake filled with unti (shredded coconut)
with pandan anglaise, ice cream & toasted almonds

I still haven't quite worked out why the Malaysians and Indonesians like to call these things 'pancakes'., because I keep envisaging a stack of flat pancakes. These are more like pandan crepes rolled up into cigars or spring rolls. The crepes are thin and the shredded coconut filling is sweet but not too overpowering. The toasted almonds add the crunch element. The anglaise didn't quite have enough pandan flavour, but overall, the dish was a treat.

In addition to the delicious food, I have to commend the service. Our waitress was attentive and pleasant, the food was served promptly (even the duck). It'll definitely be worth trekking back up that way to try out some of the other dishes on the menu.

Overall Impression: 8.5/10

China Plate at Kingston

Location: Shop 4, 5/11 Kennedy St, Kingston ACT 2604

Phone: (02) 6260 7555

Link: www.chinaplatekingston.com.au

Cuisine: Chinese

Two posts in one night. Looks like the blog drought has ended.

With some entertainment cards in hand and a need to catch up, we headed to China Plate for dinner.

We started with two entrees, mostly because E insisted they were must-haves...

Peking duck pancake

The pancakes were nice but pretty standard. The duck was a little on the dry side, but had a good overall flavour. The pancakes were a little too delicate that mine started to fall apart (although that might be a result of the chef putting together the wraps before the pancakes had time to cool down - they were piping hot). Perhaps I just have higher expectations than most. 

Shanghai dumplings (XLBs)

The XLBs. Well, I resent them being called dumplings for a start, because technically they are buns. If E hadn't been there before, I would have just dismissed that item on the menu as regular dumplings. The wrapper was a little thicker than usual. That said, the filling was tasty, and there was actually some beautiful broth inside. The gingery vinegar sauce was a nice zingy accompaniment. 

But it was the mains that really impressed. Five people, four mains. It's your typical n - 1 rule.

cumin seeds spicy flavoured lamb

The lamb was beautifully cooked, with some crispy edges from the heat of the wok. There was a good hit of cumin, although the spice level a little milder than I'm used to for a Sichuan dish.

honey pepper beef ribs

Who could say no to beef ribs. Cooked on the bone to keep the meat tender, the bite sized pieces of beef rib were smothered in a sweet and peppery sticky sauce that just left you wanting more. 

eggplant with spicy salt

This one was a little controversial. Some enjoyed it, others found it a little insubstantial. I personally found it tasted like deep-fried air. Tasty deep-fried air, but still just air. Chunkier pieces of eggplant might have resolved that issue.

chicken green curry

The green curry was yet another great dish. The curry itself was creamy, with a nice hit of chilli. The chicken had been tenderised prior to cooking which kept it soft and tender, and the vegies were cooked to al dente.

three kinds of mushroom with seasonal vegetables

This was a simple but tasty. Shitaki, enoki and ling-gi mushrooms stir fried with bok choy and covered in a flavoursome gravy.

And lastly, we decided to order one deep fried ice-cream with chocolate topping to share between four.

deep-fried ice-cream with chocolate sauce

I've had this a couple of times in different restaurants, and actually really enjoyed this one. The batter on the outside was thin and crispy with almost a biscuit-like texture. It provided a nice textured contrast to the ice-cream. A nice sweet finish to the meal.

Overall Impression: 9/10

Shorty's Canberra

Location: 29 Garema Place, Canberra City
Link: www.facebook.com/pages/Shortys-Canberra/448326301906294?fref=ts
Cuisine: Pub, Modern Australian, Fusion

Recently opened, Shorty's is a welcome and refreshing addition to the cluster of restaurants in Civic. Unlike its neighbouring cafes with standard menus and the 'same old stuff', Shorty's is a trendy pub with an exciting menu, an extensive drinks list and just a general 'feel-good' vibe about it. 

I've been so impressed I've been twice in 3 days (and I usually don't visit the same restaurant more than once a week if I can help it)!

My first visit was a casual Sunday lunch. The specials board caught my eye and after a quick skim of the menu, I opted for the soft shell crab sanga. I'm pretty sure the menu didn't say it came with chips and aioli, so when the paddle board arrived with a crusty bread roll and a generous pile of crinkle cut chips with aioli, I was already impressed.

soft-shell crab sanga with crinkle cut chips and aioli

The 'sanga' was a brilliant modern take on the traditional Vietnamese banh mi. Instead of a traditional pork filling, the crusty bread roll was filled with deep fried soft-shell crab and avocado replaced the pate. And in line with tradition, the usual suspects of pickled carrots, chilli and coriander were all present. The crab was crispy and well seasoned, the avocado was smooth and creamy and offset both the fried crab and the pickled carrots beautifully. I hope this one gets added to the regular menu, because it's definitely a hit.

There's always something about crinkle cut chips that make them taste better than straight cut chips, and in this case the crinkle cut helped them hold onto 'shorty's seasoning'. I'm not quite sure what went into it, but was amazing.

Dropped in for lunch again today with some colleagues with high expectations since I had talked the place up. Shorty's didn't disappoint and the colleagues were definitely impressed. 

pulled BBQ pork burger with coleslaw & sweet mayonnaise

This time I went for the pulled BBQ pork burger. A bit of a messy eat, but definitely worth the mess. The pork was soft, tender and juicy, and smothered in a sweet and sticky BBQ sauce. The richness of the pork and the sauce was nicely balanced with a fresh crunchy coleslaw and sweet and tangy mayo.

Again, the crinkle cut chips were the perfect accompaniment. And they have James Squire apple cider on tap!

Inside can a little loud so can be difficult for conversations, but if the weather is good, opt for a table on the deck. It's a little quieter, and you can sit back and enjoy the fresh air and whatever you have chosen to entertain your taste buds with.

You don't get all that many great places in Canberra, and Shorty's is definitely a must visit for foodies and non-foodies alike (and I'll definitely be going back).

Overall Impression: 9.5/10

Digress Restaurant & Lounge

Location: 11 Akuna Street, Canberra
Phone: (02) 6248 6952
Link: www.digress.com.au
Cuisine: Italian and Indian fusion

Indian and Italian fusion? Sounds kind of weird, and not exactly something one comes across very often. In fact, Digress claims to be the first restaurant to combine both cuisines not only on the same menu, but in the same dish.

Located next to Transit Bar, Digress is both a bar and a restaurant. The stairs from the entrance take you straight into the lounge.

There's a special on most nights, and Friday's happy hour is 5-7pm, with $5 basic spirits, beer and house wine as well as a live band. There is also a swing social on later in the evening that a couple of friends want to attend, so we're there for drinks and dinner.

The restaurant is located on the same floor, separated by a wall and some curtains. Decor is simple and elegant.

We order a naan basket various pizzas and a pasta.

naan basket - sundried tomato, fetta, garlic

The naan basket is a brilliant starter. Soft fluffy naan bread is stuffed with a variety of ingredients. I end up with a slice of fetta and one of garlic. The garlic one is simple and subtle, the fetta much more vibrant and exciting, the saltiness of the fetta contrasts well with the buttery fluffiness of the bread without being too overpowering.

volcano pizza - salami, prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes,
red capsicum & jalapeños seasoned with garlic and oregano

red devil vindaloo pizza - hot salami, red capsicum,
olives & onions garnished with a lemon twist

pizza bolognese - Bolognese sauce with mushrooms, Spanish
onion & capsicum seasoned with Italian herbs and
Indian spices then topped with cheese

The pizza bolognese was the only non-fusion dish of the night, and tasted simply like a spag bol served on pizza (as expected). The slivers of mushroom scattered over the top provided a nice contrast and added flavour.

tandoori chicken penne - charcoaled tandoori chicken stripped and
cooked with red capsicum & shallots finished in a creamy sauce

Unlike the others, I opted for a pasta - I was curious about how the combination of tandoori chicken and Italian penne would taste. Sure enough I was not disappointed. Smoky pieces of tandoori chicken was tossed through penne and a tomato cream sauce. It was almost like a basic Italian tomato cream sauce, but with added smokiness and aromatic Indian spices. 

The service was pleasant, and with an entertainment card, the meal was extremely good value for money.

Overall Impression: 7.5/10

Sage Restaurant

Location: Gorman House Arts Centre, Braddon ACT 2612
Phone: (02) 6249 6050 
Link:  www.sagerestaurant.net.au
Cuisine: French, Modern Australian, Degustation

As a special farewell for a friend who was leaving the city, we headed to Sage for a last hurrah and some fine dining.

I'd heard lots of good things about Sage, so was definitely expecting great things. It possibly didn't help them that I'd just been to Vue de Monde a few days before.

Service on arrival was pleasant as the waiter offered to take out coats and made friendly small talk. Menus were laid out on the table with a selection from the already rather limited menu. My first disappointment for the night was that the two dishes I had set my eyes on from the online menu were not available. I'm not sure if it was due to the size of our group (~12 people), or whether it was standard, so we'll let that one slip.

We opted for the three course meal for $80, which included bread and amuse bouche.

house baked bread with artisan churned butter and sea salt

First up was a starter of house baked bread served with artisan churned butter and sea salt. The freshly baked bread was warm, crusty on the outside and soft and fluffy inside. The butter was smooth, rice and creamy, and salt was, well, salt. A nice start to the meal.

amuse bouche: mushroom miso consomme

Ahh, I love this kind of food. The amuse bouche came in the guise of a mushroom soup infused with miso, a tuile and some pieces of mushroom served on a piece of slate. The soup was rich and filled with mushroomy goodness, although a tad too salty. The tuile was crisp and acted a little like a crouton. Delicious!

After quite a long wait, our entrees were brought out.

pork ‘all sorts':slow cooked belly, braised cheek, choucroute, baby vegetables

I ordered the pork 'all sorts', which was essentially different cuts of pork cooked in different ways. The pork cheek was beautifully soft and tender, flaking when pulled at with the fork. It had a nice rich flavour which was balanced out with the sweetness of the choucroute (pickled cabbage). The baby vegies were cute and added some nice colours and 'crunch' to the dish. But the pork belly. What a total disappointment!

For me, pork belly is either braised or stewed to the point where the rind becomes soft and gelatinous, or it is roasted so that the crackling is crunchy and 'cracks' when cut with a knife. Yes, yes, MasterChef has taught me a lot...

This one? The meat was soft and tender, the fat was rendered, but the crackling was not the least big crunchy. It was soggy and a little chewy. To be honest, I would've gotten better roast pork from an Asian BBQ store (and there aren't that many of them around in Canberra).

The other entrees included a heirloom carrot dish, and a 'beetroot variations' dish that my friends raved about. 

honey peppered heirloom carrots:malt, yolk, ricotta, olive powder, brioche

beetroot variations: eucalyptus smoked trout, freeze dried mandarin, coriander

Again, another long wait before our mains were brought out, and this was where the service started going downhill. Whilst the gentleman waiter we'd had to start with remained polite and friendly all night, we had one waitress who looked like she clearly did not want to be there. I got a sense of a 'can't be bothered' attitude from her as she collected dishes after we finished each course.

What was worse was when she brought out the veal for a friend, and somehow managed to spill sauce on my coat (perhaps it would have been a better idea to hand my coat in when we got there).  I didn't realise what had happened until a friend pointed it out to me. The waitress made one of the biggest mistakes in restaurant service - she failed to acknowledge it and pretended nothing happened, but clearly knew because she suddenly became very flustered, and her attitude only got worse after that.

Anyway, onto the mains...

lemon sole: potato crumble, cauliflower, parsley, capers, red wine jus

I don't often order fish when I'm out, partially because I've had too many experiences with overcooked fish fillets or fish with their bones left in, and also because I'm more a shellfish or meat fan. I was rather pleased with this dish - a generous serve of three fillets of perfectly cooked fresh sole with crumbles of potato and cauliflower scattered around it. The highlight of the dish was the yellow 'roll-up' - which tasted just like a mango roll-up only fruitier - that added a nice sweetness to the dish.

I couldn't quite work out where the red wine jus or lemon elements of the dish were. The sauce dolloped around the plate certainly did not taste like red wine (and were creamy and tangy, going well with the fish). What I missed most with the dish was the lemon. I felt like there could have been a much more intense lemon flavour, whether it be in some deconstructed form, or even as a wedge of lemon on the side. Without the lemon, the dish really relied heavily on the 'roll-up' for any variation in flavour.

muscovy duck: orange, carrot, pickled red cabbage, licorice

artichokes: textures of globe & jerusalem artichokes, hazelnut, kale, sherry

veal tenderloin: sweetbreads, forest mushrooms, sweet potato, soy & maple glaze

French peas - bacon, eschallot, cos lettuce

The peas were but one of the sides that we ordered for the table, along with the delightfully buttery Paris mash. These peas were fresh and had a fragrant aroma from the eschallot and smokiness from the bacon.

The waiting times were getting longer and longer. If I recall correctly, dessert took almost 45 minutes to be served - and this was after the waiters insisted we order our desserts when we ordered the entrees and mains. One would have thought that pre-ordering dessert would mean that it would come out faster, or at least in a reasonable amount of time.

electric citrus: pound cake, kalamansi curd, marshmallow, lemon sorbet

When it finally arrived, I was immediately impressed by the presentation and creativity inherent in the dish. Sage had finally redeemed it's 'fine dining' reputation through this one dish. The chef had certainly demonstrated 'electric citrus' - light and airy pound cake, sweet and juicy pieces of mandarin, strawberry and soft pilllowy marshmallows, quinelles of zingy lemon sorbet and a beautiful lemony foam that floated over the top of all the other ingredients.

The dessert was everything a dessert needed - textures, flavours, and aethetically pleasing.

chocovado: chocolate cremeux, hazelnut cocoa crumble, lemon gel, avocado cream

rhubarb & raspberry: quinoa crunch, creme brulee foam, rose petals

I have never been to a fine dining restaurant and been so disappointed with the service. The food was generally very good with some amazing dishes, and others that fell short of the mark. For $80, it was decent value for money.

Just don't go for the service.

Overall Impression: 7.5/10

Public Bar + Dining

Location: Cnr Flinders Way and Franklin Street, Manuka, ACT 2603
Phone: (02) 6161 8808
Link: www.publicbar.com.au
Cuisine: Bar

A friend has been talking about Public Bar for a while, so today we stopped by to grab a quick bite before heading out to the movies.

Public is located on the corner of its block, which means that, unlike most bars, it gets a fair bit of natural sunlight flowing in through the large glass windows.  

There's a fairly extensive menu (especially for a bar) which ranges from freshly shucked oysters to burgers, pizzas and tapas style sharing plates. We order food and cider and sit ourselves next to one of the windows.

steak sandwich with roquette, free range egg, romas,
caramelised onion, tomato chilli relish & aioli

My friend's steak sandwich is huge and comes served on a large wooden board with a side of fries. Plenty of accolades for this pub favourite.

sand whiting, tempura battered with apple aioli and chilli oil 

I was after something a little lighter, and the apple aioli on the menu caught my eye. The barman must have been a little confused, because I asked whether how the fish was served and he said it came as one piece. How wrong he was, although I did have a suspicion that the sand whiting sounded a little like white bait.

The whiting fillets were small and there was more batter than there was fish. But the batter was crisp and not laced with oil as some fried fish can be. The highlight was definitely the apple aioli and chilli oil dipping sauce. The aioli was smooth and garlicky, with a fresh hit of apple that cut through the creaminess. This was contrasted with the chilli oil surrounding the aioli, designed to give the dip a bit of a kick. It was a beautiful combination of flavours that I wouldn't mind served with wedges or chips.

Best part of all, they had Monteith's cider on tap!

Overall Impression: 8/10

Urban Food Store + Cafe

Location: Cnr Edinburgh and Marcus Clarke Streets, Acton 2601
Phone: (02) 6162 3440
Link: www.outincanberra.com.au/urbanfoodstorecafe
Cuisine: Breakfast, Cafe

It's been a while since my last review, and it hasn't been completely due to the lack of eating. Although I must say, after two years in our nation's capital, I still haven't found much on the food scene that I've been that impressed with. There's a couple of 'regulars', but all in all, it's not Melbourne.

Something that has been a bit of a highlight over the past two years has been the lazy weekend brunches. If anything, these cafes can do a decent breakfast that's big enough to definitely cater for the two meals brunch is supposed to substitute for. And they've generally been worth waking up 'early' for.

That brings me to the latest brunch adventure. Due to the heavy downpour of rain (so much for it never raining in Canberra...), we decided against walking into the city and took a car to Acton.

Urban Food falls into the stereotypical category of upbeat cafe. Decent portion sizes, organic and fresh produce, good coffee and a mishmash of wooden and aluminium decor.

Despite the place bustling, we're seated within a couple of minutes, and menus are already on the table. I skip the first page of 'the usuals' and launch straight into the fancier dishes - if I'm going to pay for breakfast, I'm going to order something I can't make at home.

A couple of dishes catch my eye but I settle on the zucchini and corn fritters. It's a bit of a gamble, as fritters can sometimes err on the side of being too heavy,  but I've heard good things about Urban Food and am keen to see how they go.

zucchini and corn fritters, with bacon, poached egg, wilted spinach and smokey BBQ sauce

They live up to expectations. The fritters are light and fluffy but hold together enough to remain in a stack for presentation purposes. Flavour-wise, it's well seasoned and the corn kernels provide a fresh zing and different texture to the otherwise smooth zucchini and batter mix. The bacon is crispy but not burnt, and the poached egg is so perfectly poached that after cutting apart the whites, the yolk is still runny yet intact. The BBQ sauce is sweet and smokey and fairly strong, so I'm glad they've put it on the side. It works really well with the fritters, but you don't need much of it.

M orders the bacon, hash and eggs, with a side of lamb sausages. The dish looks great, the potato is seasoned with bacon pieces and dill. The sausages are nicely browned. Good feedback.

bacon, hash and eggs with lamb sausages and roasted Truss tomatoes

Service is pleasant despite the place buzzing with customers, and the wait isn't as long as one might expect from a place with so many customers and such an extensive menu. I'm no coffee expert, but my mocha has the same aroma as the one I had at Farmers Daughter, and I've been assured that it's what a 'good coffee' tastes like.

Definitely worth missing a sleep in for!

Overall Impression: 9/10