Coo Izakaya

Location: 15 East Row, Sydney Building, Canberra
Phone: (02) 6257 2233
Link: www.iori.com.au/coo/index.htm
Cuisine: Japanese

I've had Iori, and its sister restaurant Coo, recommended to me a few times, so when my parents came up to visit me, I decided to try out Coo.

Coo had a nice set up and sported an almost-tapas like menu with an extensive range of smaller dishes and a few larger ones. We decided to go tapas-style and ordered an assortment of the smaller dishes.

renkon chips - deep fried lotus root

First to arrive was the renkon chips, essentially deep fried thinly sliced lotus root. The crunchy slivers of lotus root had an interesting texture. and were lightly seasoned. 

spider roll - inside-out sushi roll filled with tempura soft shell crab,
lettuce, avocado, cucumber and seafood stick, wrapped with
special Aburi salmon

This was one of the most interesting items on the menu, and there were no regrets in trying it out. The spider roll was a beautiful combination of flavours and textures. 

Shio Saba - grilled mackerel

This dish was a bit of a disappointment for me, both in size and in quality. The serving size was rather small and the sauce was rather lacking. The mackerel was a tad overcooked and had a dry and brittle texture.

Coo ramen

The ramen was a bit of a gimmick - served in a stone pot over a flame. The broth was light and flavoursome, the noodles 'al dente' and the vegies plentiful. However, the ramen was nothing like the ramen I've had at Ramen Ya and Meshiya, it was missing the menya (picked bamboo) and would have tasted a significantly better if it had some meat in it.

Teri chicken

The highlight of the night was the teri chicken. The tender juicy pieces of chicken were smothered in a beautiful teriyaki sauce and the salad was light and refreshing.

We finished off the meal with a scoop of green tea ice-cream. The ice-cream was unlike normal ice-cream and had a slightly chewy texture, as though tapioca powder had been added to the mix. The result was a scoop of ice-cream that did not melt and collapse into a puddle as easily as normal ice-cream would, in fact, it managed to hold its shape until the very last bite.

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The service was varied, The main waitress who took our orders and looked after our table was rather rude and dismissive, something I would not have expected at a restaurant of Coo's standing. The other waiter who brought us some of our dishes, on the other hand, was quite friendly and eager to help.

Food-wise, the experience was great, but I won't be rushing back for the service. Might give it's sister restaurant, Iori, a shot first.

Overall Impression: 7.5/10

Sabayon

Location: Shop 4, Melbourne Building, West Row, Canberra City

Phone: (02) 6247 8212

Link: www.sabayon.com.au/sabayon/index.html

Cuisine: Modern Australian

Sabayon was the first classy fine-dining experience I've had in Canberra. And I must say from the outset, I was quite impressed with the place. 

Service started off a little slow, we were taken to a table by a friendly and polite waiter, but had to wait a few minutes before menus and water were offered. On opening the menu, I was a little disappointed that the menu differed from that which I had seen on the website (the pork belly dish I had intended to order was missing).

That aside, the menu had a nice selection of dishes ranging from red meats to seafood and also vegetarian options.

Ironically, my first highlight of the meal was the complimentary bread. Having been served far too many bad bread rolls (either rock hard, dry, cold or a combination of the three), the bread at Sabayon was delightful. Served warm, you could tell that the bread was freshly baked - light and airy, and when smothered with some butter, just melted in your mouth. Hands down the best complimentary bread roll I've had. Unfortunately, it just looked like an ordinary bread roll, so no photos were taken.

Now onto our entrées.

seared Queensland scallops with a confit duck terrine, Fennel puree and an apple salad

First up were some beautifully seared scallops served on top of a duck terrine. The scallops were fresh, juicy and lightly seasoned to bring out the sweetness in the scallops themselves. The duck terrine was nicely flavoured and you could still get actual pieces of duck. The matchstick sized apple pieces provided a nice refreshing balance to the dish.

quail Wellington with a mushroom Duxelle, beetroot and
goats cheese finished with a balsamic walnut oil dressing

Probably my least favourite dish of the night - which was perhaps an ordering mistake rather than a mistake of the chef - I found that the dish was very much pastry dominated. So much that the quail, which in and of itself, was beautifully cooked and well flavoured, was drowned out. The pastry also seemed to have more oil or butter that it needed. The beetroot, goats cheese and dressing gave the dish with some extra 'kick' but were very much required to balance out the excess pastry flavour.

Our mains took a little while to arrive. But the wait turned out to be a good thing - the serving sizes weren't as small as we had anticipated.

grass fed beef fillet (cooked medium), mustard spatzle, chick pea
 chips, zucchini, tarragon bearnaise and port jus

A fairly sizable portion of tender beef was cooked exactly the way we asked for it to be cooked. The beef was so well cooked that we didn't even need a steak knife. The chick pea chips were very creative, with smooth chick pea puree centre and a crispy outer shell. 

ballotine of ocean trout and dory fillets wit herb gnocchi and
chorizo, Jerusalem artichoke puree and basil jus

With so many components on the plate, we were a little concerned as to how the flavours would pair up, but it kind of worked. The ocean trout was cooked to perfection. It held its shape when being cut, but just melted in your mouth with an almost creamy like texture. The gnocchi and chorizo went well together and gave the dish a subtle chilli 'kick'.

roasted Moroccan spiced lamb rack, spec and cauliflower puree,
potato fondant, confit cherry tomato, marinated artichoke,
lentils and garlic jus

Again, the meat was cooked perfectly. The lamb was just cooked, a little pink on the inside and very juicy and tender. The potato fondant was like a little disc of mashed potato with crispy edges. The two richer flavours were balanced off with the slightly sour artichoke, spec and cauliflower puree and the burst of freshness from the cherry tomato. The lentils added a interesting dimension to the dish with the somewhat nutty texture.

nectarine sorbet

We were surprised to be presented with a complimentary scoop of nectarine sorbet each, as a palate cleanser. Whilst the sorbet was a little too sweet for a palate cleanser, it was however very refreshing and quite tasty. It could potentially work well served as an accompaniment to a dark chocolate dessert.

warm chocolate fondant with fresh raspberries and
a pistachio malt ice-cream

Chocolate fondant. Probably one of my favourite desserts of all time - when done well. Tonight's was delicious, but a little on the overcooked side. The edges were nice and crisp, but the inside was not as oozy as I had expected it to be. It was probably closer to being a cake than a fondant. The ice-cream, on the other hand, was absolutely spectacular. On reading the menu, I had imagined pistachio flavoured ice-cream. This was not to be - the ice-cream was served with actual pieces of pistachio in it! The pistachios added a wonderful crunch and nuttiness to the ice-cream. 

Service was a little slow, which I guess is understandable for a Friday evening, and given the serving sizes are not as small as one would expect at a higher end restaurant, the breaks were rather needed. The staff were pleasant and friendly without being overbearing.

The atmosphere was chilled and relaxed, seating comfortable and lighting dimmed. A nice place to enjoy a quiet dinner for a special occasion, but definitely not a place where you would let your kids run wild in. 

Sabayon is reasonable in terms of value for money if you appreciate quality as well. The entrées.were $18 each, the mains $32 each and desserts $15 each.

Overall Impression: 8.5/10

Happy's Chinese Restaurant

Location: 17 Garema Place, Canberra City ACT 2601
Phone: (02) 6249 7015
Link: www.happys.com.au
Cuisine: Chinese

As many would know, Canberra has a distinct lack of what a Melbournian or Sydneysider, would consider to be a 'proper' Chinese restaurant. There are a couple scattered throughout different town centres, but within Civic, I have only found one that comes close. Happy's makes people happy.

Puns aside, I've found that Happy's has struck the right balance between authentic Cantonese cuisine and Westernised Chinese food (for those not so keen on the authentic flavours). The menu ranges from your Westernised basics - honey chicken, sweet and sour pork and beef in black bean sauce - through to the more authentic dishes such as eggplant hot pot and Szechuan chicken.

One of the reasons my non-Asian friends like Happy's is the existence of the banquet deals. With banquets ranging from $18 to $28 per head, you can get a whole array of dishes, including soup, entrée and dessert, for a reasonably low price.

On one such occasion, we ordered the $20 menu, which gave us soup, three entrées, five dishes, fried rice and dessert.

chicken sweet corn soup

First up was the soup. It was your typical chicken sweet corn soup - it had the right consistency and the balance of flavours was right on the mark. Nothing fancy, just simple chicken sweet corn soup.

dim sims, spring rolls, prawn toast and prawn crackers

Again, this was nothing special. General deep fried goodness. All were deep fried until crispy although the dim sim was a bit on the dry side. Again, nothing special and I found that they all needed the plum sauce to balance out the dryness.

honey prawns

One thing I've noticed about Happy's is that once the food starts coming out, it rolls out continuously. Before we had even finished our entrées, the mains were brought out. First up was the honey prawns - juicy prawns coated battered then coated with a sweet sticky honey sauce to balance out the oiliness of the batter.

chicken fillets in a birdnest

I generally love bird's nest dishes, but this one disappointed. Mostly because they replaced what is traditionally a potato base with deep fried noodles that was dry, bland and tough rather than crunchy. That aside, the chicken fillets were tender and juicy, and the vegetables and the sauce were cooked to the texture.

chilli beef

The chilli beef was one of the more impressive dishes of the night. The beef had a nice 'wok hei' aroma and the chilli gave the dish a nice 'kick'. Unfortunately the beef was overcooked, leaving it a little dry and chewy.

sizzling Mongolian lamb 

Dishes that come to the table sizzling always create a little food excitement for me, so when the Mongolian lamb hit the table, my meal was pretty much complete. The lamb was tender and well-marinated and the onions had been caramelised, adding some sweetness and texture to the dish.

pork ribs in plum sauce

Having two deep fried dishes on the one banquet menu was probably not the best choice in menu design as by this stage, there had already been a series of fairly oily dishes. That aside, the ribs were cooked reasonable well - not quite falling off the bone, but they certainly not overcooked and still retained some lovely meat juices. The sauce provided a nice acidity to the dish, and was strongly flavoured but not too overpowering.

special fried rice

I can never understand why all restaurants like to call their fried rice dishes 'special'. It's fried rice. And certainly nothing that sets it apart from any other fried rice. The fried rice was a very average dish and there was probably a little too many ingredients in it for it to be an accompaniment to the fairly strongly flavoured dishes. Steamed rice probably would have worked better.

Service-wise, Happy's is your typical Cantonese restaurant. The waiters and waitresses take your order, bring your dishes out and take the dishes away once you've finished. There is minimal communication and the waiters and waitresses were reasonable polite.

$20 is not bad considering most meals out there these days cost around that, we definitely had enough leftovers for lunch the next day. However, if you're after a more authentic Cantonese dining experience, I'd suggest that you skip the banquet and just order n-1 dishes (one less dish than you have people) plus rice. the servings are generous and you'll probably save yourself some money.

Overall Impression: 7.5/10

The London

Location: 121 London Circuit, Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: (02) 6257 1986\
Link: www.thelondonburgersbeers.com.au
Cuisine: Burgers and beers

Located in the Sydney Building in Civic, the London is a relatively new eatery and one to add to my list of Canberran eateries that have decent food at reasonable prices.

The London specialises in burgers and beers. And by that I mean, the menu is about 90% burgers and beers. Just as well we were after burgers then!

The menu sports four burgers under each meat category (beef, lamb, chicken or scotch fillet) as well as vegetarian burgers, salads and oddly enough, a crumbed fish dish. We ordered a scotch fillet steak burger with bocconcini, and a Mexican chilli beef burger. Both came with beer battered chips and sweet chilli with sour cream dipping sauce.

Scotch fillet steak burger with bocconcini, tomato and basil salsa, garlic aioli, lettuce and onion

The burger was one of the best I've tasted. The flavours were well-balanced between the smokiness of the scotch fillet, the creaminess of the bocconcini, the acidity of the salsa and the freshness of the salad ingredients. The scotch fillet was cooked just right - well cooked enough for my liking, but still retaining the meat juices and being tender enough to bite through in a burger. There was a very small part that was a little on the stringy side, but for the price paid ($14), it was a negligible problem.

The chips significantly exceeded my expectations. Far too many places fail to reach the compromise between having a chunky chip that remains crispy. These ones achieved just that - chunky chips that had a solid amount of fluffy potato encased within a crispy batter coating that actually made a 'crunch' sound when bitten into. Perfection? I'd have to say it was pretty much there.

Mexican chilli beef burger with melted Swiss cheese, spicy tomato salsa, sour cream, lettuce, tomato and onion

Reports indicate that the Mexican beef burger was similarly pleasing.

Now, I would probably get in trouble if I did not spruik the drink deals. The menu lists eight beers available on tap, and you can get a jug for $10, and $8 on Sundays. And yes, the deal also applies to cider.

$8 jug of cider

Prices were good, the burgers range from $12 to $14 and drinks are reasonably cheap. Service time was average but it was well worth the wait.

My dining companions were also very impressed with the decor, and the large televisions showing the rugby.

I think we've found a new 'local'.

Overall Impression: 9/10

Petaling Street Malaysian Hawker Food

Location: 600 Station Street, Box Hill, VIC
Phone: (03) 9890 0972
Cuisine: Malaysian, Hawker

One of the things I miss most about Melbourne is the hawker style food you get in Box Hill. So when we found out that the place we were heading to was shut, we popped into this place.

The setup of the restaurant was done quite nicely. They managed to renovate the open kitchen to show off the chefs at work (it used to be La Porchetta) and the tables have a cute little drawer were they place serviettes in.

Chicken nasi lemak 

My theory generally is that if you walk into a restaurant which specialises in a particular cuisine, it would be silly to not order something of that cuisine. Hence the nasi lemak - coconut rice with chicken sambal and ikan bilis (dried fish). Can't say much for the ikan bilis as I'm not a huge fan, but it was crispy and tasted like it should. The coconut rice was amazing and went superbly with the chicken sambal which was bursting with flavour and just spicy enough for my liking.

Ipoh horfun 

The Ipoh horfun was also quite good, although I was a little disappointed in the lack of 'things' in the noodle soup. The steamed chicken was tender and full of flavour, although it seemed very much like Hainanese chicken - even the dipping sauce was the same. Was not very impressed when I found a piece of chicken skin which had not been cleaned properly.

Pork ribs claypot rice 

When they warned us that this dish would take longer, I certainly did not expect it to arrive after we had nearly demolished the other two dishes. And it wasn't all that worth the wait. The ribs were well flavoured, but were quite dry and a little on the overcooked side. The rice was the biggest let down though. Claypot rice usually means you get nice bits of crispy rice from the base. In this case, we got slabs of overly sticky and semi-crispy bits of rice. I couldn't work out whether it was caused by the pot it was served in or the method they had cooked it in, but I won't be going back for more claypot rice - we'll leave that for Claypot King!

 Ice kachang

Following on the theme of Malaysian foods, we finished off the meal with a bowl of ice kachang, a generous serve of shaved ice with coconut milk, red bean, grass jelly and various other Malaysian treats. Amazing flavours and the only fault I could find was the fact that they buried all the 'goodies' underneath a tower of ice that kept falling onto the table when we dug into it. 

Service was reasonably fast given how busy they were, and the food was rather impressive (and each dish was less than $10!). Will be going back to try some more of their Malaysian fare next time I'm back in Melbourne!

Overall Impression: 8.5/10

Wang's Lucky Bar (旺旺辛运吧)

Location: 921 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill
Phone: (03) 9899 8558
Cuisine: Chinese

My parents had been talking about this lobster banquet deal for quite some time, so when I finally got back to Melbourne, we decided we would give it a shot.

The deal: $98 for a four person lobster banquet which involved lobster, three dishes and rice.

Shallot and ginger lobster with egg noodles

First up, the lobster was quite fresh and cooked just right. However, the sauce was a bit of a let down. It wasn't nearly as aromatic as I had expected - there was an obvious lack of the strong ginger and shallot flavours that are the champions of the dish. Noodles were just as they should have been.

As for the rest of the dishes, I was too fixated on my lobster to take photos. Not that it matters too much as they were a bit of a let down. I think it started with the poor choice in combination of dishes (the banquet did not offer us any choices, so the dishes were fixed).

The Hainanese chicken, which was supposed to be a key dish of the restaurant, was good but nothing fancy. The chicken was a little on the oversalted side but other than that, was moist and well cooked. The sauces (shallots, and sweet chilli) were quite good accompaniments.

The salt and pepper pork ribs were a completely different story. The batter, whilst light and crispy, was heavily ladened with oil. A sign that the temperature of the oil had not been hot enough to force out all the oil. There was also a distinct lack of flavour. Together this resulted in crispy oily bits batter hanging off some pretty tender but flavourless meat.

Stir fried Chinese broccoli rounded off the meal, Pretty standard but definitely needed after all the oil in the pork dish.

So value-for-money-wise, it was definitely worth it. You don't get cheap lobster all that often, and this was a pretty good deal (we even had leftovers from the dishes). However, if you're looking for quality in what you get, this would not be my first choice.

Overall Impression: 6/10

Woolshed

Location: t18/161 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands
Phone: (03) 8623 9640
Link: www.woolshedpub.com.au
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Overall Impression: 6/10

Had the opportunity to try their Christmas dinner menu. This gastropub dishes up delicious food. Everything was plated up beautifully and tasted just as good as it looked! Great for a group function.

Groove Train

Location: Melbourne Central Level 3
Phone: 1300 GROOVE
Link: http://www.groovetrain.com.au/
Cuisine: Pub style
Overall Impression: 5/10


My experiences have varied largely depending on the different Groove Train stores. The thing with Groove Train is its actually pretty pricey for what it is. Take this chicken parma for instance, a regular chicken parma at a pub would be about $15. At Groove Train its $20.90. And the parma was very average.
Chicken Parmigiana $20.90
topped with melted mozzarella cheese, Napoli sauce & parmesan cheese, served with salad & chips

Grilled Barramundi $22.00
served with potatoes, celery and a balsamic reduction

I have however, had pretty good experiences when it comes to their 'specials'. The above Barramundi dish was one such example. Perfectly cooked, and beautifully seasoned, it was worth getting there and rushing back to the office within my one hour lunch break.
Maybe the lesson with Groove Train is to ignore their usual pub grub and stick to what you don't know…

The Metropolitan Hotel

Location: 263 William Street (cnr Lt Lonsdale), Melbourne
Phone: 03 9670 1385
Link: http://www.themetropolitanhotel.com.au/
Cuisine: Pub Fare
Overall Impression: 6/10
Char-grilled 300gm Porterhouse, Mash Potato, Broccoli and Pepper Sauce Our “Famous” Parma: Lightly Crumbed Chicken Breast, topped with Virginian Ham, Tomato Napoli and Melted Cheese served with Chips and Salad Char-grilled 300gm Porterhouse, Mash Potato, Wilted spinach and shiraz jus

Consistently good food. Great wood-fired pizzas and pub food. Nice and casual ambience. Friendly and prompt waitstaff. Perfect for a quick lunch or a casual dinner. Highly recommended!

RA, Collins Quarter

Location: Collins Quarter, 86a Collins St,Melbourne
Phone: (03) 96508500
Link: http://www.collinsquarter.com/
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Overall Impression: 6/10

RA is well known among the younger corporate crowd. Jam packed on a Friday night, this upmarket city pub is tucked away in an alley (in a very Melbourne sort of way). Less known is the fact that they offer delicious food for those seeking to reward their taste buds.
I had the opportunity to sample their Christmas menu…




Turkey Gallotine
Stuffed with Lemon and Oregano served with Tequila cherries and caramalised pistachio

Pims!

Roast Pork Belly with Bread Stuffing, Grain mustard coleslaw and Roast yellow peaches

Christmas Pudding with Brandy Anglaise

Service was prompt and friendly. The food was wonderfully Christmas-y =) The pork had good crackling, the turkey was tender, the pudding was moist! It was simple and to the point.