Author: Food and Travel Secrets

A $20 banquet idea for a large group Christmas Party

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If you are planning a Christmas Party for a large group (like a work team or Branch) but need to stick to a budget so that everyone can afford to come, then a $20 three course Bangladeshi Banquet including corkage, may be your answer.

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Taste of Bangladesh offers food that is a hit with everyone who visits. It’s great value with large sharable serves, there’s no corkage charge on beer or wine and Shafique, your host is very keen to be flexible to meet your needs.

Special dietary requirements can be met easily. Most options are gluten free, some also dairy free and the spiciness of dishes can be easily varied.

A $20 per person plan could include:

Complimentary pappadoms to start

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Entree:

1 onion Bhaji per person $1.75 (4 pieces for $7 and $1.75 each for extras) with tamarind chutney and mint chutney

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Mains:

1/2 Cheese and spinach naan per person ($1.75)

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4 Dishes per 5 people $12.30 per person

Good choices are:

Dum Murgh (chicken)

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Fish Bengali

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Palak Paneer (vegetarian)

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Chicken Biriyani

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2 serves plain rice per 6 people (this enough if also getting a Biriyani) $1 each

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1 Raita per 7 people $0.50 each

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Dessert

1 serve Gulab Jaman (halved pieces) and 1 serve Mango Kulfi per four people ($2.25 per person)

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Free corkage on wine and beer

And for those who would prefer something different, there’s also a range of good pizza for $12 like the Tikka Pizza (may also be an alternate entree).

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Cream, Canberra City, a look at brunch

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Cream in the centre of the Canberra City restaurant strip on Bunda street has a great location for a weekend brunch if you’re shopping. It gets busy so you may need to book. It also gets noisy.

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Service is attentive and efficient.

Breakfast options start at 7:30 and run until 2:30pm on the weekend. (Mon – Fri: 7.00am to 11.30am).

A good option is the Big breakfast $20 -free range eggs poached, scrambled or fried on toast w/ bacon, chorizo, button mushrooms, oven roasted tomato & chat potato

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From 11:30am salads, burgers, pastas and mains are also available.

The Pulled pork Burger served with chips is a good pick $19 – sticky bbq pulled pork w/ chimichurri, seeded mustard slaw, spiced crispy onions (usually served with a brioche bun, but here the bun is swapped for Turkish bread, a good choice, and sourdough is another possible swap).

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No BYO, but  it is licensed with a good selection of wines.

Canberra Entertainment Card Holders are offered a complimentary main when two are ordered.

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Urban Bean, Woden – good lunch options

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Urban Bean , Scarborough House has a very convenient location for many Woden office workers and can be a great choice for lunch weekdays.

Menu options are interesting, well priced and generously sized for sharing.

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The Warm Chicken Salad $14.90 is a good light option..

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or with extra bread on the side could easily be shared.

…and the Char-grilled Lamb Wrap $13.90 also excellent…and shareable.

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Take with you containers are cheerfully provided.

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Plumb on Tennant, Fyshwick

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CBR.foodie’s recent post is a good reminder just how good Plumb on Tennant is.

Despite the industrial area location the decor is pleasant, service is great, food is excellent and good value.

Open 7:30 – 3 weekdays, breakfast ends at 11:30am. (Also open Saturdays).

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The lunch menu includes plenty of favourites, like gourmet burgers, focaccia, pasta and salads but also some more unusual dishes like zucchini feta dumplings. Serves are generous and great for sharing.

Wagyu Beef Burger $17.50

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But on weekends breakfast runs from 8:00am until Plumb closes at 1:00pm which adds to the lunch options.

Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon $19.50 ( butter and sauce on the side)

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Plumb Big Breakfast $19.90

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Takeaway is a great option too, and prices are even less.

Wagyu beef burger (takeaway) $9.50

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Plumb offers holders of Canberra Entertainment Card two meals for the price of one.

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Belluci’s Woden, still a great $19.90 lunch special

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Belluci’s in Woden is still offering their great lunch special for $19.90 including a wine, beer or soft drink.imageimage

The Chicken Caesar Salad is as good as ever…

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…and serve sizes are good for sharing in a group and presentation is excellent.

Risotto with Caramelized pumpkin, baby spinach & gorgonzola dolce w/ roasted walnuts.

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Bicicletta, New Acton

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Bicicletta in the Peppers Gallery Hotel  some lovely settings to enjoy a range of good Italian dishes, well priced and well sized for sharing with friends. Situated in the nostalgic old Acton Hotel it has a restaurant, library bar and courtyard (great for summer) to choose from.

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The pan di pizza is a good way to start as 8 well sized pieces are included, great for sharing.

Ordering a mix of salad, pizza and pasta to share is a good plan.

The 4 formaggi (cheese) pizza is excellent as is the insalata di stagione.

The pappardelle al braciato di agnello and gnocchi parmigiana are also good choices. (Gnocchi is a smaller serve size).

Bicicletta can get busy as it also caters for hotel guests and room service, so it pays to order promptly.

No BYO option. Glasses of wine start at $8 and serves are generous.

25%  discount up to $40 offered to holders of the Canberra Entertainment Book.

Starters

pan di pizza $12 (8 slices)

freshly cooked pizza bread with rosemary and

extra virgin olive oil or garlic and chilli or tomato

and chopped mushrooms

Pasta

gnocchi parmigiana $24

house made potato and parmesan gnocchi, sautéed

with roasted tomato sauce, sautéed eggplant, roasted

bell peppers and fresh ricotta cheese

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 pappardelle al braciato di agnello $26

house made pasta with braised lamb in balsamic,

truffle oil, thyme and grated pecorino cheese

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ravioli di ricotta $25

house made ravioli filled with fresh ricotta and

spinach, sautéed with tomato and burnt butter

sage, artichoke petals v

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spaghetti allo scoglio $26
fresh mussels and little neck clams, king prawns and
baby squid, sautéed in chilli and garlic, tomatoes and white wine sauce

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Salads

 insalata di stagione 16

crispy pancetta, tomatoes and butter lettuce, poached

egg and black olives, parmesan scales and Italian dressing gf

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Pizza

Formaggi $22

mozzarella, Italian cacio di bufala, Italian

parmigiano and pecorino served with fresh rocket v

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verdure $20

tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and grilled

seasonal vegetables v

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Dessert

Gelati $4 per scoop

Pistachio and Chocolate

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Suggested shared menu for six 

Starters

pan di pizza $12 (8 slices)

freshly cooked pizza bread with rosemary and

extra virgin olive oil or garlic and chilli or tomato

and chopped mushrooms

Pasta

2x pappardelle al braciato di agnello $26

house made pasta with braised lamb in balsamic,

truffle oil, thyme and grated pecorino cheese

Pizza

Formaggi $22

mozzarella, Italian cacio di bufala, Italian

parmigiano and pecorino served with fresh rocket v

Salads

 2x insalata di stagione $16

crispy pancetta, tomatoes and butter lettuce, poached

egg and black olives, parmesan scales and Italian dressing gf

$19.70 per person

(can also stretch to 7 people or even 8 (add an extra salad) if you ask for the pizza to be cut into 8 pieces).

$16.80 per person for 7 people, $16.75 per person for 8

Monday to Sunday 5.00pm to 10.00pm

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The Answer for the Spontaneous Celebration at Work – a cake in a box!

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If you’ve ever been caught short at work without the wherewithall to quickly create a memorable event to celebrate a birthday, a welcome or a farewell, then ‘Not Quite Nigella’ has the answer.

The ingredients and ‘cake pan’ for Lorraine’s Easy Three Ingredient Pineapple Bread, can be easily stored in a 2 litre icecream container, ready to mix together in moments and cook in the ready to go cup cake cases. Too Easy!!

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No washing up, just throw the icecream container in the recyling bin. Busy work mates can even grab their ‘cup cake’ and keep working.

(Dusting with icing sugar and ready to go cake stand are optional, but do make a real difference!).

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Gryphons Caffe Bar, Griffith – good for a casual weekend winter lunch

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When it’s cold or rainy, but you’d still like to head out for brunch or lunch, it can be good to know somewhere where you can park very close, nip inside quickly for a casual meal and stay warm.

Gryphon’s Caffe Bar at the Griffith shops is like that. It’s open 7 days, early (food from 8am ) until late, and while it can get busy, there is usually room for a couple more, even if you don’t book ahead.

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There’s a range of tapas, gourmet burgers, pizzas, salads and mains, as well as plenty of popular breakfast dishes and some changing specials.

If you are an Entertainment Book holder, you can get two meals for the price of one.

A pizza and a burger make a good combination to share for a winter lunch.

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Hickory Dickory Dock Pizza (special) $20 (nice with the prawns)

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Soft-shelled Crab Burger $20 (with a good sourdough roll)

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No BYO but wine by the glass starts at $7.

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Catering at home for a large group Brunch

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Variety is the key to an interesting Brunch at home.

If people serve themselves and choose from a range of options, everyone can choose their own portion size and even take small serves of lots of different flavours and textures.

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Many dishes as able to be made ahead, even frozen.

Keep it simple:

Bircher muesli

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Baked porridge

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Pancakes

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French toast pudding (like a bread and butter pudding). Try Cinnamon Scrolls great looking recipe for Chocolate Chilli French Toast Bake)

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Fruit compote

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Fruit salad

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Breakfast muffins

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Fruit toast with cinnamon and honey ricotta cheese

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Baked eggs (just heat a jar of pasta sauce with a tsp of smoked paprika and a tsp of chicken stock powder mixed, break the eggs into the hot sauce and bake in the oven until firm.

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Great in individual ramekins especially with a croissant to dip into the sauce.

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Juice

Good tea and great coffee!

Zen Yai, Canberra City – Thai dinner for a group of ten

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Zen Yai Thai Restaurant, on London Circuit in the City, is a good place for a group to catch up, being very centrally located, near the bus stations and with easy parking on the other side of Northbourne in front of the Supreme Court. (The car park directly across the road fills quickly).

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It has a lovely decor and a great round table that seats ten people comfortably and is ideal for including everyone in a group. (Can get pretty noisy though, so it can still be tricky to chat to anyone across the table if the restaurant is busy).

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For a mixed group of ten, with a range of appetites, ordering two serves of five mains to share, and rice for all, is perfect.

All these dishes are excellent but possibly the favourites might be:

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Gang Ga Ree Gai – Yellow curry chicken with potatoes, pineapples and tomatoes $16.80

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Phad Ka Pow – stir-fried roast duck with fresh chilli and basil $18.50 ($16.50 with beef or chicken, but the roast duck is the pick)

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Pla Nung Ma Now – Steamed fish fillets with spicy chilli and fresh lemon grass $19.80

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Larb – pork mince spicy salad (also available with chicken or beef) $17.50

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Keow Warn- Fresh green curry king prawns with vegetables $19.80 (can also have fish instead)

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Rice is $2.50 per person (but it’s worth getting the coconut rice for $3.50 which is delicious)

By choosing a range of different dishes, this becomes a complete dining experience and there’s no need (or room) to also order other courses.

The dishes mentioned are all quite spicy, so ask for milder versions if you need them.

Service is gracious, warm and efficient.

Prices are good value and serve sizes are large enough to share between up to six people.

Corkage is also very reasonable at $3 per bottle of wine and $1 per bottle of beer.

It all makes for a great night out for $20- $25 per person.

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