Exploring some of Canberra’s best Part 4 – Local foods and drinks with Eat Drink Blog 2015

There were plenty of local food and drink producers ready to get behind the recent Canberra food bloggers conference (Eat Drink Blog 2015) which gave bloggers a chance to taste some of what Canberra has to offer and meet the people who make it all possible.

The Cheese Project has some lovely fresh white curd that’s perfect mixed with fresh herbs or sweetened and mixed with orange rind.

Poacher’s Pantry offers something a little different with its Kangaroo Prosciutto and Smoked Duck Breast.

Lerida Estate’s Jim Lumbars is proud and generous with some of his favourites.

The Muesli Bar creates some delicious and interesting blends…

…and the Fix has been busy building up a range of special cold pressed juices…

A.Baker does many things well, including pastries….

And Six8 Coffee Roasters from Yass serve great coffee from a very cute van!

Exploring some of Canberra’s best foodie haunts Part 2- At Westside with Eat Drink Blog 2015

Following in the footsteps of the Hamlet is Westside at the Acton end of Commonwealth Bridge.

Offering different cuisines to the Hamlet, but in a similar style, Westside is also a great summer spot to head with a group, your wine, glasses and a few dollars. Set up some folding in a nice position overlooking the lake and pick up a range of interesting foods from the friendly street food stalls, to split and share.

Or if you haven’t come prepared, just grab a table and a glass of wine from the Aviary bar on the top level.

Habibiz offers Mediterranean food and Limey’s…Gelato.

The One has some good looking soft Thai pork and beef tacos $12…..

The Fish Can‘s menu includes tempura prawns and sweet potato chips $13…

….some delicious Bao like prawn, fish, and soft shelled crab $13.50 in a surf pack….

….and perhaps even better chicken and pork belly Bao for around $4.30-$4.50 each…

….also they offer a Mars Bar Bao and Tempura Tofu Bao…

The sweet Bao Fries $3.50 with condensed milk glaze and black sesame are very morish.

Miss Van’s has an excellent Ginger Chicken, Vermicelli noodles and fresh herbs Vietnamese salad $12 in a generous size, and it is also famous for it’s Banh Mi.

Daana is serving up some great South Indian Street foods like the, hard to find idli, Vada, dosa and Uttapam according to Jude and Travel and Beyond.
A great place for families with younger children as parking is easy and free there’s plenty of space to run around nearby.

Exploring some of Canberra’s best foodie haunts Part 1 – At The Hamlet with Eat Drink Blog 2015

The recent, brilliantly organised and executed, national food bloggers conference, was an excellent opportunity to meet and fall in love with some of Canberra’s best food experiences.

Launching at the Hamlet on Lonsdale Street, Braddon, generous and gracious hosts showcased much that this friendly, relaxed collection of street food stalls has to offer.

Broddogs offered a selection of their smaller sized Brodpups…..

…..Mr Papa Peruvian Street Food their delicious pork belly sandwich…..

…..Spit Shack treated bloggers to their 2 foot King Roll and smaller samples of their yummy pork and lamb rolls….

…Fillos were generous with their souvlaki…

…Custom Pizza prepared a selection of their wood fired favourites….

…Mr Morris had some gorgeously decorated donuts…

….Little Dreams wonderful macaroons…

….Thomas from the Brathaus was full of fun and encouraged bloggers to enjoy his meats and sausages…

( Thomas and his family also turned up to serve breakfast all weekend, a true host!)…

….Pie Day teamed their melt in the mouth pastry with mushy peas….

…April’s Caravan served wonderful milkshakes and waffles….

…But perhaps the very best of all were the Katti Rolls from Binny’s Kathitto, traditional Indian street food…

The Hamlet is the perfect place to grab a table, BYO ( glasses too), and collect and gather a selection of good value, wide ranging options to share ( just bring a sharp knife) and enjoy as a group.

But do leave space for icecream from The Frugii Dessert Factory, the very best in Canberra. John lovingly creates new flavour experiences like Passionfruit Pavlova, Cardamom and Lemon Myrtle, to delight customers.

His passion for great icecream is infectious. Great value at $5 for a small serve with two flavours.

Read more about Eat Drink Blog Fun with Gary, Rose, Serina, Serena and Erin.

Wilbur’s Cafe, Hackett – a real suburban treasure!

Canberra is famous for the suburban gems located at its local shops. Wilbur’s is truly one of these.

Well love and well supported by locals, it is also a well kept secret that it has terrific food!

Serving breakfast ( for extended hours), lunch and dinner and offering plenty of great specials it also generously offers a two for one option for Canberra Entertainment Book holders.

A new menu is to be launched soon, but some of the current good picks are….

The Cozza Burger $18.90 – marinated portobello mushroom, slow roasted tomato, caramelised onion and Camembert on toasted Ciabatta with chips, is very good.

As are the Lemon Pepper Squid Salad, perfect with mango, coriander and a great aioli $17.90 from the specials board…

…and the Angel Hair Pasta $24.90 full of garlic prawns, bacon, roast capsicum, roquette in a white wine, basil butter sauce finished with Parmesan and lemon is surprisingly delicious and light.

The coffee is excellent and wine by the glass or bottle, very reasonable.

A dessert case of cakes is also tempting.

It’s impossible not to relax and enjoy the friendly atmosphere, welcoming staff and wonderful food.

It would be perfect on a Sunday evening for the happy hour 4-6pm and $10 dine in pizza, but a weekend brunch or lunch is also not to be missed.

Space, Woden – some beautiful new salads to try

Space in Woden is the hottest spot for lunch and it’s hard to go past it for dishes that look like works of art and combine flavours and textures in exciting ways.

So it’s excellent that already Ricardo has introduced some more new dishes to try.

The menu this week features two new salads that are both very beautiful to look at and include ingredients that complement each other well.

The Chicken Peach Salad is especially delicious, full of fresh mint and coriander instead of the usual lettuce leaves, moist spiced chicken breast pieces and crisp peach slices garnished with coconut, chopped peanuts and watercress made perfect with a great nuoc cham dressing $18.90.

The new Smoked Trout Salad $18.90 pairs haloumi and watercress, watermelon and smoked trout, with the sweetness and crispness of pickled grapes and carrots, finished with pine nuts and a lemon dill crème fraiche dressing.

Both salads are light but substantial and you can enjoy the full dish without feeling uncomfortable.

Great if you can order two and swap to try both.

Still on the menu is the Pulled Pork salad with pearl couscous, almonds, peas, mint, feta, pomegranate and harissa yogurt $18.90…

..and a Roast Vegetable Salad with roast baby carrots, pumpkin, beetroot, green olive and almond tapenade, pickled grapes, walnuts, goats cheese, quinoa and lemon poppy seed dressing $18.90.

The gourmet burgers are still looking great….

Wagyu cheese burger $16.90…

….as is the Calamari $18.90 with sumac spiced calamari, red pepper hummus, smoked almonds, quinoa and watercress salad and citrus aioli $18.90.

And the all day breakfast dishes like the Smoked Salmon Breakfast $18.90 (hot smoked salmon, smashed avocado. coconut rosette, poached eggs, puffed grass, dukkah, lime coconut dressing) are also great for lunch….

….or a dessert!

The wine is served in beautiful glasses for $8 a glass and both the Sav Blanc and Chardonnay are very good.

Bookings aren’t taken so arrive early to be sure to grab a table.

Mama Buoi, Surry Hills Sydney

Spoilt for choice, it would be easy to overlook a smaller spot like Mama Buoi Vietnamese restaurant. But that would be tragic as you would miss the nostalgic, relaxed decor, the story of the family behind the restaurant,the great value but most of all the most delicious food!

Ask the staff for their recommendations as these are excellent!

The Saigon influenced duck curry is fragrant with ginger, tamarind and Vietnamese herbs in a rich flavoursome sauce with sweet potato – $18 ($3 per serve of rice).

This teams really well with the vermicelli salad with Vietnamese herbs, lemongrass pork, pork spring rolls and an incredible sauce $14.

Both are very generous and very shareable serve sizes. In fact one dish could feed 2 people with an entree, but it would be hard to miss out on these flavours. Two dishes is plenty for three people.

If you do have an entree, choose the duck pancakes $14 for two as these are very good with pineapple, picked carrots, mixed herbs and honey.

The food is so excellent you can’t bear to leave any!

Staff are friendly and welcoming and service is quick and efficient.

Belluci’s, Woden – update on the lunch specials

Belluci’s Restaurant in Woden, still offers their popular lunch specials menu on weekdays. $19.90 (or $15 with the Canberra Entertainment Card) gets you a choice of rissotto, pasta, salad, pizza, or the newly added burger, fish and chips or chimmichanga along with a glass of wine, beer or softdrink.

The chicken caesar salad is still a good lighter choice…

…as is the Verdure Salad with roasted root vegetables and goats cheese.

The risottos and pastas are heavier, but tasty picks (especially the Fettucinne Carbonara).

The Vedura and Belluci’s Special Pizzas as still good as are the risottos.

But the chicken breast burgers and the Chimmichanga are well worth a try as they look delicious.

Cafe Arirang, Hobart Place, City – great value delicious Korean

Cafe Arirang, hidden away in Hobart Place Canberra City is one of Canberra’s little known, best value gems.

Serving delicious Korean food at great value prices in generous portions it’s one of the very best spots for cheap and cheerful.

Not upmarket, but friendly and popular, the setting is fairly plain.

But it’s BYO with cheap corkage ($4 per bottle) and offers a 25% discount to Canberra Entertainment Book holders. As three dishes is plenty for four people, it’s a true bargain at around $10.50 per person including the corkage.

Three great dishes to try that offer a range of textures and flavours are the….

Chicken or Pork Katchu Set $17 that comes with great Kimchi and rice.

The seafood pancake $16 is fantastic too and stuffed full of seafood with a nice dipping sauce.

The Beef Bulgogi (BBQ beef in marinated in soy sauce) $17 is also excellent and includes rice. ( number 19. BBQ pork and squid in special sauce $17, is also very popular).

If there are six in a group ordering one seafood pancake and 2 chicken/pork Katchu ( or one of each ) and one Beef Bulgogi, and one BBQ pork and squid in special sauce would be perfect!

Open weekdays for lunch and six nights ( closed Sunday) for dinner, parking. At night is easy on London Circuit near the Supreme Court.

A definite must try!

High Tea at home – a great idea for a large group

If you have a cupboard of inherited, mixed not matched, china and perhaps some interesting table cloths, ( or even if you don’t) then hosting a high tea can be a great way to bring people together.

It’s relatively easy, because everything can be made ahead (much even frozen) and set out on tables before guests arrive. You can choose to serve savoury options as canapés first with a glass of bubbles, before everyone sits down for tea and sweets delicacies.

By creating a high tea at home you have lots of flexibility with the food, drinks and seating arrangements. You can cater easily for dietary preferences and plan the event so that everyone can chat and get to know more people. Also more people can afford to join in than when you book a $50 per person set menu, and where you only get to talk to those directly next to you.

Good ideas for savoury canapés in include cheese chorizo and corn muffins…..

….smoked salmon on cucumber or 1/2 scones…

Asian style frittata….

pinwheel sandwiches with smoked oyster, cumin, lemon juice and cream cheese dip ( ask the bakery to slice the bread length wise)

Pikelets with blue cheese/cream cheese dip and caramelised pear with date and walnuts.

It’s also easy to make these options gluten free is required.

Sweet options that can be made ahead include chocolate dipped strawberries….

….scones with jam and cream ( less preparation if served halved with whipped cream and jam separately)..

…mini cup cakes decorated (e.g. Lemon curd centred muffins, with lemon icing and candied lemon…

…pancake swirls with cinnamon and brown sugar and cream cheese and walnuts..

…chocolate rum balls..

…meringues with chocolate…

…chocolate caramel slice…

Mini trifles in shot glasses ( available from Home Base, Woden Westfield).

You can also accept offers of help with food preparation if you choose as things are easy to add to the table as they arrive.

Cups and saucers can be matching or miss matching. It works well with mugs and small plates too. Look out for inexpensive three tier stands at Aldi or use cardboard versions available from Home Base or Reject shops.

Trestle tables are about $34 and folding chairs about $8 each from Bunnings.

Fine Eating

Hints Hacks and Highlights

Author: Food and Travel Secrets

Exploring some of Canberra’s best Part 4 – Local foods and drinks with Eat Drink Blog 2015

Wilbur’s Cafe, Hackett – a real suburban treasure!

Space, Woden – some beautiful new salads to try

Mama Buoi, Surry Hills Sydney

Belluci’s, Woden – update on the lunch specials

Cafe Arirang, Hobart Place, City – great value delicious Korean

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