Paella at Pod Food, Pialligo – a treat for Cooking Circles Canberra

Fine Eating was back again at Pod Food this week with the very lovely company of Cooking Circles Canberra!

The generous and immensely hospitable team at Pod hosted a fabulous evening of all things Paella!

John, Jack and Sam – our hosts

Pod Food is of course the perfect garden venue for sharing paella with new friends. I always love how many new people I meet at Cooking Circles and it’s great to catch up again with those I’ve met before.

As we arrived, we introduced ourselves and took up Sam’s very welcome offer of a glass of Canberra wine.

We settled in as John unpacked the secrets of a successful paella!

John explained how to create the perfect stock base…

…what and when to add the oil, onions, spicy and smokey paprikas, Spanish onion and chorizo, beautifully coloured capsicums….

….stock, seafood and chicken.

We appreciated the importance of the crackle and the crust as the delicious aromas filled the garden.

John and Sam even shared their favourites ways with leftover Paella – add and egg and Pialligo bacon for a brekkie paella, soy sauce and peas for fried rice – paella freezes and reheats beautifully.

So relaxing after a busy day, to sit and enjoy conversations about creating and sharing food.

But their was a surprise left for us. No eating paella off our laps from a disposable plate for us!

John, Jack and Sam had created a beautiful space for us to enjoy each other’s company and that very, very fine paella.

If you weren’t lucky enough to catch Paella at Pod Food, don’t miss another wonderful event coming up. All woman are welcome to come along to Cooking Circles.

Join us in April as we unpack the iconic Indian lunchbox with Shafique at Joy Indian Restaurant and create roti, lentil and vegetable rice and chicken kadai together.

Do grab a ticket or two before they all go!

The Canberra Food Bloggers road test the new menu at Pod Food!

Canberra has a lovely and lively community of people writing and posting about food!
The food bloggers are an especially social bunch and we love to get together for lunch every couple of months and enjoy some of Canberra’s wonderful venues.

This week Bizzy Lizzy took us to try out Pod Food’s new menu, in the conveniently close but relaxingly rural Pialligo.

Sam Kildea, fabulous host that he is, set us up beautifully in Pod’s delightful garden…

….but at Pod, there are just so many cute and cozy nooks to choose from.

The most difficult decision of the day was whether to enjoy two ($50) or three ($60) courses!

Second most tricky was which of the gorgeous options to choose.
Some went with entrees: the Prawn noodle (yes, noodles made from prawns), with a soft 65 degree egg, parmesan, bacon and avruga caviar (which they raved about!)…

….and the very decorative Pork sausage with pickled peach, mushroom cream, capsicum and chilli jam.

Other choices on the menu were Asparagus spears, with beetroot, caramelised onion, goat’s cheese and rye cracker or Duck rillettes with pickled raspberry, crispy chicken skin and nashi pear.

We covered all the mains with the sirloin being the standout dish (along with very popular chilli and rosemary salt baked potatoes and aioli, which Sam thoughtfully threw in for us).

Seared sirloin with fennel, dutch carrot with saffron potato foam

Mushroom and chicken roulade with wasabi jelly, shimeji, chorizo and pea

Pan fried market fish (swordfish this time) with potato, chermoula, wild rice and a lovely spinach soubise

Wombok wrapped nut and lentil with pumpkin, tomato and radish

And hugely successful were the desserts….

My Lime cheesecake with raspberry, lime get, macadamia, raspberry meringue and pineapple sorbet was a delicious balance of tart, sweet, crunchy and creamy – wonderful!

The others loved their Pan perdu cooked in a very aromatic clarified butter with apple tarte tatin ice cream, brandy apple puree, blackberry and white chocolate!

Also tempting was the sour cherry ice cream with coconut and oat crumble, chocolate jelly and cherry marshmallow.

As we chatted about cookbook launches, restaurant recommendations, writing opportunities and of course the wonderful food and atmosphere that Pod Food offers – the new Pod menu was declared a great success!!

Salotto, Kingston – good for a group on a budget

I’ve enjoyed Santa Lucia Salotto‘s great lunch special (now $13.90) but this week I road tested the main menu for a group dinner on a budget.

We were fourteen girlfriends with a $25 per head limit on food. So we choose a range of dishes to share – which all turned out to be perfect picks – with plenty to eat and some left over.

It was all served together which gave it a tapas/shared plate feel and while everything was delicious – the salads were the real standout for me! (And there was no salad at all left by anyone!)

For 14 of us we ordered:

Antipasto

4 x ANTIPASTO PLATTER with san daniele prosciutto, cappacollo, mortadella and wagyu bresola accompanied with grilled vegetables, warm olives, giaidinera and pickled artichoke $25 each (bread is $6 for six slices so we got two serves and a couple of extras thrown in!).

Salads

3 x INSALATA CON FUNGHI with grilled mushrooms with mixed lettuce, garlic, chilli, spanish onion & sun-dried tomatoes $14 each

3 x INSALATA CAPRESE with a soothing fresh tomato, basil and buffalo mozzarella salad dressed in an olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette $14.50 each

Pizza (cut into 8 slices)

2 x PROSCIUTTO fiori di latte, san danielle prosciutto, fresh roquette and shaved parmesan $21 each

2 x AMANTI DELLA CARNE fiori di latte, 3 meat ragu, salami and barbecue sauce $23 each

2 x FUNGHI fiori di latte, 3 mushrooms with a drizzle of truffle oil $20 each

BYO wine corkage is $9 per bottle and there’s seating inside and out!

3 top tips for hosting a Brunch event at home – the perfect meal for entertaining a crowd!

Mid-week public holidays are a great opportunity to host an event!
There’s usually something to celebrate – hence the day off – and guests have fewer prior commitments to work around.
And brunch is the perfect meal!

It can all be done ahead.

It’s flexible enough to fit in any budget.

It’s easy to adapt to special dietary needs

It is just one course that can be set out ready, leaving plenty of time to chat to guests.

It can all be cleared up to allow for a relaxed evening before heading back to work the next day.
But these are the three top tips for success!

Set beautiful tables

it sets the scene
it leaves plenty of room in the kitchen to set out the brunch buffet for everyone to help themselves
it leaves the washing up on the tables and not in the kitchen getting mixed up with the food. It also allows it to be cleared up gradually as the dishwasher capacity allows.

2. Do everything ahead

Prepare dishes ready to serve and organise drinks

3. If you are accepting offers of help – ask guests to bring anything that needs to be done on the day ( eg fruit platters, fruit salad) as this keeps the day free for last minute organising.

Some menu ideas:
Drinks:

Lemon and mint ( or other flavours) infused iced water ( freeze ice in large containers to add)

Non- alcoholic fruit punch

Peach infused white wine

Sparkling wine and rose

Mango lassi shots

Food:

Baked French toast using croissants and other pastries in a bread and butter pudding recipe

Bircher muesli breakfast trifle using alternate layers of Bircher muesli, Greek natural yogurt and poached fruit and berries, topped with toasted muesli crumble, dried fruit and nuts and berries

Pancake stacks (banana pancakes are yummy) layered with Greek natural yogurt, brown sugar and sliced banana and cinnamon, topped with chopped almonds or walnuts ( assemble on the day)

Frittata or Spanish omelette

Corn and Chorizo muffins

Oven baked bacon

Banana bread

Scones with jam and cream

And generously offered by others:
Croque Madame

Savouries

Dolmeh

Fruit platters and fruit salads

Red Chilli Sichuan – still one of Canberra’s greats

Red Chilli Sichuan – Alinga street, City does Chinese (Sichuan) cuisine very well!

The popularity of Red Chilli Sichuan, with diners who would know, still testifies to it’s authenticity.

And the reputation is totally justified!

Suggested menu for six

Entree:

91. Stir fried shredded duck in peking sauces that comes with 8 oddly shaped pancakes $26.50, makes a great starter for up to eight people per serve.

71. Stirfried pork in Peking Sauce and Shallots $22.50 (served with 5 pancakes, so you might need an extra)

Main Course (one serve can give up six a taste):

86. Kung pao chicken $19.50 one of my favourites and good value

48. Stir-fried eggplant and prawns in casserole $22

96. Stirfried green beans with pork mince $18 (good but fairly oily) but I think next time I’d get the popular 80. Chef special lamb slices with spicy cumin $25

Steamed rice is generous and only $2.50 per serve.

Corkage is expensive at $10 per bottle, but this is balanced by very generous serves of rice and lots of good value dishes that are well sized.

(I’ve also been told that wine by the glass serves are very generous here.)

Five dishes is a good amount for six mixed appetities and with four rice serves.

25% discount offered with the Canberra Entertainment Book up to $30.

Total cost for food $118.50 ($20) ($88.50 with the discount ($15 per person)

(Discount also applies to corkage.)

Open 7 Days

Lunch:

11:30 am to 2:30 pm

Dinner:

5:00 to 10:00 pm
Novotel Building Shop G1,

75-89 Alinga St , Canberra Australia 2601

P: (02) 6248 6288

The Grounds, Alexandria – really, quite an unexpectedly full experience

I’ve long heard about the fame of the immensely popular The Grounds, in Alexandria, but nothing has prepare me for the enormity of what is actually not just an eatery but a whole experience.

From the helpful parking attendant on arrival….

…. to the petting farm…..

…. the Saturday market…

… the Saturday food carts…

…to magnificent Christmas baking…

…to Santa!!

Definitely more than I’d bargained for!

There’s clearly a sophisticated system in place that keeps hundreds of people happy, supplied by a bakery….

…..take-away and picnic options….

…..Garden cafe…..

…..and coffee roasting.

Even special events are well catered for.

We settled on tea $4….

….and the Dried Fruit dish $14 with Chai infused winter fruit compote

…but others were enjoying other more substantial dishes like the smashed avocado on toast, brekkie burger, home-made granola or superfood muesli.

On a Saturday you may need to wait for a table, but even that can be highly entertaining!

Easy to see why it’s a popular destination for families and those seeking a whole ‘outing’.

Chifley Bar & Grill, Barton – the new summer menu

The Hotel Kurrajong is all decked out for Christmas and the Chifley Bar & Grill has a new summer menu.

The starters include Pork Cheek Croquettes with green Apple Slaw $20…

..and a Grilled Haloumi and Mint Salad with halloumi cheese, orange, mint and roasted walnut $20.

The Chilled Gazpacho with Poached King Prawn $20 also sounds good.

The website menu is not up to date, but here’s the latest!

Black Market Coffee Roasters – a very handy spot to know on Enmore Road!

Black Market Coffee Roasters are new to Enmore Road and just a few minutes walk away from The Urban Hotel.

Perfect for a quick coffee or light brekkie I had flagged it for my next visit.

The crumpets with honey, marscapone, mint, summer fruits and nut butter $12 were top on my list.

As I waited I enjoyed one of their very popular coffees and watched the locals drop by to pick up theirs.

The crumpets arrived and were beautiful, but sadly not house-made as the prep area is tiny.

Next visit I’ve got my eye on the fig and cranberry fruit toast, a bargain at just $4.50 sourced from the Bourke Street Bakery’s Bread and Butter project – an artisan bakery and also Australia’s first social enterprise bakery with 100% of profits being reinvested into baker training and employment pathways for refugees and asylum seekers.

I’ll be back!

No. 10 – Woden’s new spot for a worker’s weekday lunch

Number 10 is the new kid on the block in the Woden Departmental District and clearly very popular for pre-Christmas catch ups. It’s taken over from Smoque at the bottom of the Abode Hotel on Bowes Street.

It offers three great $15 lunch specials and I particularly like the look of the salad and the steak.

https://www.instagram.com/number10restaurantandbar/

In + Out Lunch $15

Skirt Steak – Chargrilled skirt steak with Café de Paris butter and fries

Fish + Chips- Beer battered fish and chips with No. 10 remoulade sauce and a cucumber and fennel slaw

Roast Pumpkin Salad – Salad of roast pumpkin, roast sweet potato, cos lettuce, pine nuts and fetta

However, on my first visit we were road testing the two salads listed under the small plates.

My Beet Salad was excellent! A perfect amount and full of tasty, well balanced flavored and textures. A great light lunch but some may want to order a side of bread.

Beet Salad – Pickled beetroots with goats curd, candied and pickled walnuts, radish, celery hearts, honey vinaigrette $17 ($24 main size)

My dining partner tried the Calamari Salad – also a good choice.

Calamari – Flashed fried squid with citrus salt, caramelised pineapple, coriander, cucumber, mint and orange syrup $18

Also, very popular for lunch is the Chicken and Waffles – Buttermilk & Bourbon fried chicken with waffles, maple aioli, cress and lemon $21.

https://www.instagram.com/number10restaurantandbar/

But I do think I’d have to have the Beet Salad again next time I’m back, it was so very good!

Paramount Coffee Project, Surry Hills – SMH’s Good Food Guide’s 2017 Cafe of the Year

Never missing an opportunity to try a Good Food Guide hot tip, we braced the rain to try the Paramount Coffee Project, an easy walk from Central Station, on Commonwealth Street, for breakfast.

Wanting to try some of the innovative dishes we shared the very delicious Creole Jambalaya with chorizo, smoked barramundi, charred squash smothered cabbage and caramelised lemon $19.50

….. and the Key lime pie waffle with coconut lime and pepper slice, macerated berries, salted Nutella ganache and green apple $19.50, very moorish, but definitely best shared.

The open spaces are very welcome and while very popular, it’s not too hard to grab a table.

Fine Eating

Hints Hacks and Highlights

Eating out in Canberra

The Canberra Food Bloggers road test the new menu at Pod Food!

Salotto, Kingston – good for a group on a budget

3 top tips for hosting a Brunch event at home – the perfect meal for entertaining a crowd!

Red Chilli Sichuan – still one of Canberra’s greats

The Grounds, Alexandria – really, quite an unexpectedly full experience

Chifley Bar & Grill, Barton – the new summer menu

Black Market Coffee Roasters – a very handy spot to know on Enmore Road!

No. 10 – Woden’s new spot for a worker’s weekday lunch

Paramount Coffee Project, Surry Hills – SMH’s Good Food Guide’s 2017 Cafe of the Year

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: