Other ideas for sharing food with friends around Canberra

Murrumbateman Winery, Murrumbateman

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Canberra is blessed with lots of lovely wineries for a weekend outing. But Murrumbateman Winery has the advantages of being easy to find and offering a genuinely welcoming, generous and gracious style of hospitality that is a treat in itself.

Bobbie Makin’s passion for sharing his wines is clear as he introduces his range., each time making you feel like very welcome and special guests.

Start with Bobbie’s wine tasting (free for groups of ten or less) before selecting a glass (around $7) (or bottle $25-$30) to go with your pre-ordered tasting platter (pre-order by 6pm Wednesday).

Greek Mezze $19.50 (for two people, price reduces with larger groups)

Taramasalata, Hummus and Tzatziki with garlic baked Turkish Bread, Stuffed Capsicums and Roasted Artichoke

Then sit back and enjoy along with a lovely view of the vines.

Mr Frugii Dessert Laboratory, Braddon

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Mr Frugii on Lonsdale Street Braddon can be tricky to find, but just watch for the long line of happy customers emerging from the new Ori building opposite the old Lonsdale Street Traders.
Offering a short list of great flavours, it pays to be adventurous ( the musk is wonderful) and free tastes are offered.

The $10 serve is very generous and you can combine 3 flavours.

$5 serves are also offered as well (up to 2 different flavours) as some delicious cakes for $6.

Salted Butter Caramel is great ( but not as good as that musk)!

Limited seating at tables and be prepared to queue if it’s busy.
Open from Wednesday’s to Sundays 12pm-11pm
A perfect end to a Lonsdale Street Food Tour.

Mandalay Bus, Braddon

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The Mandalay Bus in Haig Park Braddon is a Canberra icon that is immensely popular. In good weather, it’s a real treat to grab a table and some milk crates and share a selection from their interesting, good value menu of great food.

Bring some wine ( free corkage) some glasses and probably some extra paper plates if sharing and enjoy the leafy treed outlook across the park and background music.

Go early if you want to be sure of a table and choose a weeknight when it’s less busy. But it’s also a great option to take your own table and chairs and set up just under the trees.

Open Wed-Sun from 6pm.

Some great picks are the Satay Chicken with Kim Chee on a crisp roti (a favourite) $9

Burmese Chicken Coconut Noodle $10

Burmese beef curry with potato and rice $10 ( a special)

Jalapeno Poppers, 7 for $9 (jalapenos stuffed with cream cream cheese and crumbed)

Vegetable samosas, 5 for $9 (nice crispy shells)

The Spicy Pork Tortilla $10

However, the Pigs Ear Schnitzel on a Saigon Roll has a lovely green apple and cabbage salsa fresca but it really is a pigs ear, so you need to be comfortable with that ( a special $9).

Makes a great first or second course for a Lonsdale Street Food Tour.

Turkish Banquet – a great idea for sharing food with friends at home

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An easy, great value idea for enjoying food with friends, is to order turkish banquets.

Delivered to your door……………

……..a little re-plating can transform this ‘take-away’ meal into something special.

(Four banquets are shown here i.e. $92 total).

While there’s is usually a minimum order of two banquets that are intended to serve two people, two banquets are more than enough for four people, even six if you add a dessert of your own.

(These four banquets, with dessert were about right for 8-12 people to share).

It can also be good to add some vegetable crudites for the dips as well to add crunch and texture. This works out at around $8 per person and leaves everyone feeling satisfied, but comfortable.
Lynham Pide Hut at the Lynham shops, Canberra offers a $23 take away/delivered banquet (minimum order 2) that includes:

Mixed dips & bread

Zucchini balls, falafel, fetta spring rolls

Chicken skewer, sliced donor kebab meat, meatball & turkish rice, mixed green salad, Kiymali pide (Seasoned minced lamb, onion, cheese, parsley & herbs)

Baklava open 11:00am – 9:00pm Tuesday to Sunday Ph: 02 62485568

They happily deliver orders over $30 and even offer a 25% discount for holders of the Canberra Entertainment Book!

Her Canberra’s Belconnen Street Food Tour

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The idea of moving eateries for each course is great for mixing up a group. Everyone gets to chat to someone new while walking between courses and then sit next to someone different.

Her Canberra has great ideas this week for doing this in the Belconnen dining precinct.

Noodle Cafe, Canberra City

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While there’s plenty of Canberra City eateries offering week day lunch specials, Noodle Cafe offers a terrific Saturday lunch special.

Centrally located in Garema Place, this friendly family run restaurant offers great food, generously served at great prices. It’s a good spot for a casual Saturday lunch group lunch.

Combination Laksa Nasi Goreng

The laksa is as good as any in Canberra and I’ve heard the Pho is very good too.

Little complimentary extras are a welcome treat.

BYO is welcome at $3 per bottle of wine $1 per bottle of beer.

Also ideal for including as a dessert stop on a Canberra City street food tour.

DESSERTS

Black Sticky Rice $5.50 (Sweetened black sticky rice pudding topped with coconut milk)

Fried Ice Cream $6.00 (Topped with Chocolate, Caramel or Strawberry syrup)

Banana Split and Ice Cream $6.00 (Topped with Chocolate, Caramel or Strawberry syrup)

Fried Banana Fritter and Ice Cream $6.00 (Topped with Chocolate, Caramel or Strawberry syrup)

Chinese Pancake and Ice Cream $8.00 (A specially made Chinese style fried pancake with red bean filling and ice cream)

Sharing a Platter at Palace Cinema, New Acton

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If you have early evening tickets to a movie at the Palace Cinemas in New Acton, Canberra it’s worth thinking about arriving early to share a platter and wine in the attractive bar area.

There’s no problem with taking it into the theatre if the movie starts, but it’s better to leave enough time to savour the flavours and enjoy the delicacies while you can see them.

It can be tricky to balance the board on your knees and fumble in the dark for a caper to go on your smoked salmon.

Aperitivo Board $20 – Tasmanian smoked salmon, artisan cheese, cornichons, spiced hommus, fire-roasted capsicum, turkish bread (and water crackers).
Wine starts at $9 a glass.

Tulip Top Gardens, Federal Highway, Canberra

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Tulip Top Gardens is an amazing spot for a special picnic with friends or family!! Located on the federal highway (turn left when you see the sign just after the Macs’s Reef Road turn off), it’s like Floriade without the crowds.

Only open for one month in Spring, your admission price of $14 ($12 for larger groups) includes tea or coffee, a sausage in bread and dutch pancakes.

But a much better idea is to pack a gourmet picnic to enjoy in these perfect surroundings, with background classical music to match the ambiance.

And why stop there…for a truly special occasion, there is nothing more perfect than a full high tea amongst these gorgeous blooms.
Call ahead to ask if Tulips will set up table and chairs.