Garnish of India, Canberra City

Recently opened Garnish of India, overlooking Garema Place, is serving some of Canberra’s best Indian dishes at good value prices.
Located in former site of Canberra City’s Flavours of India, it has a similar décor and feel, but a new menu with great promise.
Service is friendly and efficient and there is a warm generous hospitality that seeks to help diners understand and enjoy regional Indian cusines.

Five dishes, three naan and 4 serves of rice and a raita is more than enough for six mixed sized appetites. Four dishes, 3 naan, 3 rice and a raita would be perfectly sized for 6 medium appetites.

Ask for recommendations/specialities as these are the often best options.

Dishes are listed here in order from best pick:

BEEF HARA MASALA $16.50

Diced beef cooked to perfection in a spinach based gravy & flavoured with
fenugreek leaves.

KUMBH MAKAI PANEER $14.50

Fresh mushroom, fresh corn, and dices of paneer a medium spicy preparation (really very good with fresh ginger too)

ERACHI VARATHADU –LAMB (KARNATAKA) $16.00

Tender lamb in a thick gravy made with the spices special to the region of Coorg.

CHETTINAD (TAMIL NADU) $16.50
A Spicy treat from the Chettiyars of Tamil Nadu.

MURGH ZAFRANI KORMA $16.50
Morsels of boneless chicken cooked in cashew gravy & flavoured with cardamoms,
mace & Saffron.

SQUID PEPPER & COCONUT FRY $18.00
A Speciality from Southern India that has a flavour of coarsely ground pepper, coconut
& fresh curry leaves.

ALOO – GOBHI $14.00

Flowerets of cauliflower &diced potatoes cooked with onions , tomato, & ginger juliennes.

MEEN VEVICHATHU –FISH (KERALA) $19.00
Fish in red hot chilli curry flavoured with kodampuli (Fish Tamarind) (not great at all, flesh is too firm, lacking flavour and overwhelmed by chilli).

Sides:

The plain ($3) or garlic ($3.50) naan is excellent and the plain rice is probably a better accompaniment than the saffron rice or even the coconut rice.

GARLIC NAAN $3.50
Indian garlic bread that is baked in Tandoor

2 serves of ZAFRANI PULAO $3.50 per serve
Steamed basmati rice with saffron in milk & garnished with roasted cumin.

2 serves of SAFED CHAWAL $3.00 per serve
Steamed plain rice

THENGAI SADHAM (COCONUT RICE) $3.50
Steamed rice mixed with fried grated coconut& garnished with curry leaves &
mustard seeds.

MIXED RAITA $4.00

Plain yoghurt mixed with cucumber & cumin (good).

Recommendations to try next time include:

PANEER MUSSALAM $14.50 Paneer pieces cooked in red medium spicy gravy with cashew nut paste in it garnished with grated paneer.

TAVA DHINGRI (MUSHROOM) $14 Fresh mushroom and sweet corn cooked in red gravy with more of chilly pepper & coriander

DAL MAKHNI $14 A traditional Punjabi black dal preparation.

DAL TADKA $14 A moong dal delightful preparation with seasoning of garlic & dry red chilly & mustard seeds.

MURGH KAALI MIRCH $16.50 A speciality from Southern India that has a flavour of coarsely ground pepper & fresh curry leaves.

MALABAR LAMB CURRY $16.50 Diced lamb cooked in a medium spicy curry.

BEEF COCONUT FRY $16.50 A Superb medium spiced dish of diced beef that is flavoured with desiccated coconut & curry leaves.

…and the samosas looked yummy too!

Corkage is $8 per bottle and a 25% discount is offered to Canberra Entertainment Book holders.

Cafe Arirang – Canberra City

Tucked away in Hobart Place off London Circuit, Cafe Arirang is a wonderful discovery of excellent Korean dishes at bargain prices.

Popular with students, serve sizes are very generous and two dishes is plenty for three people. Cafe Arirang will also happily give you a container to take with you what you can’t eat.

Great picks are the….

Pork Kathu Set $14.50 (the chicken is also good)

and the Korean style seafood and vegetable pancake $15 (packed full of prawns and octopus

Another good choice would be the Pork Bulgogi, Korean sizzling BBQ pork marinated in special sauce $17 (served with steamed rice).

25% discount for Canberra Entertainment Book holders.

BYO wine $4 per bottle

AMP Building, Hobart Place
Canberra City

Ph: 62571889

Open lunch Monday to Friday, dinner Monday to Saturday

Thai Herb, Gungahlin

Located near other restaurants on the waterfront in Gungahlin, Thai Herb has a more upmarket setting that is engaging with both indoor and outdoor seating. BYO is very reasonable at $2 per person. Dishes, while tasty and attractive, are not large and difficult to share between more than four or five people. Prices are good, ranging from about $15 to up to $27 for specialities. Rice is $2.50 per serve. Desserts are generous serves and good for sharing – $6.50- $9.50. For a mixed group order one dish and one rice per person. A banquet from $25 per person is also a good option and a 25 % discount is welcome for Canberra Entertainment Book holders. Some the best dishes are: 47. Roasted duck with oyster sauce and steamed Chinese Broccoli $26.50 48. Roasted duck in red curry with lychees, pineapple, tomato and basil $26.50 28. Beef massaman curry $17.50 20.Stir fried chicken with cashews $14.90 the 18. Stir fried prawns (7) with ginger and mushrooms $14.90 while generous with prawns $18.90, was a bit too salty Also recommended is the 17. Beef with Chilli and Basil $14.90 and the other curries and 27. Sushee $17.50 look worth trying too.

Chong Co, Woden Southern Cross Club – new summer menu

Chong Co at Woden Southern Cross Club has tweaked it’s menu for summer.

It’s still the top spot in Woden for lunch that lends itself well to sharing dishes in a group.

One dish from the main menu with one serve of rice $3 per two people is just right to enjoy the rich flavours, but leave feeling comfortable.

The summer menu can be a bit confusing, but don’t let that deter you from ordering dishes that might appear in some parts of the menu but not others.

The Beef Massaman Curry is now served with roti $21. The roti is excellent making the Beef Massaman Curry even better as the top pick here.

Green Curry with Chicken is still a great choice as well $18.90.

Another great pick is the Lamb Prik Khing $18.90 stir fried with curry paste, green beans and kaffir lime leaves.

And the Chicken and Cashew Stir fry with chilli jam $18.90 is as good as ever.

Crispy soft shell crab with Tamarind or Chilli Jam Sauce $25.

Thai Beef Salad $18.90 has a good flavour, but is not as good as the curries, laab or stir fries.

Three dishes with three dish is just perfect for six.

Thirst – still a top pick in Canberra

Thirst on West Row, Canberra City, has always had great style and good food. But a couple of newer additions to the menu are outstanding and along with some old favourites, make Thirst the best local spot for Thai food.

Penang Curry with Chicken (outstanding) $25.90

Stir-fry chicken with chilli jam, basil, seasonal vegetables and cashews $23.90

Crispy fish salad $24.90 (an old time favourite)

Chicken and Coconut Salad with peanuts and mint $24.90 (a regular favourite on the specials board)

The new Lemon and basil sorbet ($2.90 per scoop), is light and tangy like lemon delicious pudding, the best flavour on the menu and a wonderful way to finish the meal.

Add a piece of homemade salted caramel with or with peanuts, for extra sweetness.

$5 for a pack of six.

Serve sizes are very generous and great for sharing, even between six people. On Mondays and Tuesdays Thirst offers two mains or two entrees for the price of one making it exceptional value for very good food.

No BYO option is available on Mondays and Tuesdays, however wine starts at around $38 per bottle, and from $8 per glass.
BYO is available other nights of the week for around $10 a bottle.

Four dishes with three rice ($3.50 per serve) between six modest appetites is a satisfying and comfortable ordering plan especially if including ice-cream/sorbet and salted caramel.

If your group includes larger appetites you may need up to one dish per person.

Claypot Chef, Farrer – a hidden Sri Lankan gem

Like the Burmese Curry Place and the Global Café (Ethiopian), the Claypot Chef in Farrer offers an exceptionally good, lesser known cuisine, at an unbelievably good price

The Claypot captures authentic South Asian flavours and is a great place to try many of the Sri Lankan classics like Chicken/lamb/prawn Curry $14/$15, Kottu Roti $10-$13 (a little like a fried rice made with diced roti breads served with curry), Biriyani $13.50, Watalappam $4 (like a baked coconut milk and cardamom custard) , String Hoppers $8 (great with curry), Coconut Sambol side dish $5…..and if pre-ordered, or usually on weekends, also Egg Hoppers $2.50 each, Pittu (rice flour and grated coconut cooked in a cylinder shape and served with coconut milk and sambol $4 (minimum of 5), Goat or Black Pork Curry $15 and Lamprais (a Dutch influenced dish) $18.

Serve sizes are generous and ideal for sharing a few dishes up to six people.

Kottu Lamb $13 Devilled Chicken (a favourite) $15

Prawn Curry $15 Large rice $3

Green Beans Curry $10 Delicious plain roti $2 each

Seeni Sambol $5 (quite spicy) Pappadoms 2 for $1.50

Four dishes with a large basmati rice $3 and roti $2 each (so delicious that you will want one each) is plenty for 6 people (especially because Claypot is so lovely and may offer complimentary extras like rice re-fills, pappadums (usually 2 for $1.50) and cooked milk, palm sugar, cardamom and ginger sweets.

Cardamon & ginger sweets Watalappam $4

At around $12 per person, this is a delicious feast,cooked by people who genuinely want to share their love of Sri Lankan food with Canberrans.

As the Claypot is primarily caters for takeaway customers, inside seating is limited. However groups of up to 10 can be comfortably accommodated indoors and up to 30 can eat al fresco, which is very pleasant on a warm summer evening.

It’s good to phone ahead and book, especially if you’d like to try the dishes that take much time to prepare.

So don’t let the casual nature of Claypot distract you from trying the great food, it’s well worth the visit to Farrer shops (next to IGA) and a worthy suburban dining opportunity to support.

Open Tuesday to Thursday 4-8pm and Friday to Sunday 10am-8pm.

Closed Mondays.

Phone 02 62868081

Ming’s Chinese and Malaysian Cuisine, Philip – $18.80 Banquet

Ming’s offers an excellent banquet full of classic Australian Chinese favourites, in unbelievably generous portions at an amazing price of $18.80 per person.

Possibly this is the best value asian style dinner banquet around and ideal for groups with mixed preferences on a limited budget.

The atmosphere and decor is pleasant, parking is plentiful, service is friendly quick and efficient, and BYO corkage is $4 per bottle.

The $18.80 banquet (here shown for 7 people) includes:

Spring rolls (one per person) Steamed Dim Sims (one per person, and very delicious)

Honey Prawns Stir-fried vegetables

Boneless chicken with lemon sauce Sizzling Mongolian Lamb

Satay Beef Fried Rice

Plenty of boiled rice

…and naturally, prawns crackers..

While serves are so generous that you could eat twice, Ming’s helpfully offers takeaway containers at around 50 cents each, to take home extras for later.

Open for lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday and dinner Sunday, it’s an ideal spot for a family gathering.

Thai Chiang Rai, Belconnen – Thai Cuisine, another Canberra Global Food Delight

Like, it’s sister restaurant in Kingston, Thai Chiang Rai is a good spot for a group shared menu and another spot to try a Canberra Global Food Delight.

Two main dishes between three people is about right.