Madame Woo, Kingston

Tucked in amongst a strip of restaurants along Giles Street, Madame Woo is clearly a local favourite for take-away on a Friday night.

Also, offering dine-in, BYO is $7 per bottle.

The menu is extensive and reflects the talents of chefs from Malaysia, Thailand and China.

The house specials are good picks and include:

Roast duck spring rolls with Hoisin sauce $8.80 for three pieces…

…and the very popular lime and coconut chicken$18.90.

Rice is $3.50 per serve.

Service is efficient and very friendly and welcoming.

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CIT Restaurant – Reid, another look at dinner

The CIT Reid campus restaurant continues to offer excellent value for a two ($20) or three ($25) course lunch (Tuesday or Friday) or dinner (Thursday).

It’s a seasonal menu, that is the same in June as it was in April, with slightly different presentations and a new set of staff.

Entrees
The Salmon carpaccio remains the best entree….

…followed by the Seven spice smoked marinated duck…

and lastly the Eggplant & smoked goat cheese (not so good).

Mains
The Steamed Barramundi is still the top pick ….

….followed by Coq au vin..

…and then the Mushroom and Capsicum Couscous.

Desserts
It’s more difficult to pick the best dessert with the Self-saucing Chocolate pudding …

…an equally good choice as the Cream Brûlée.

Wine by the glass is $5and coffees are $2.50, both good value.

And maybe check out the CIT cafe open Wednesdays 11:30-2pm (and offering good $10 lunch specials) or the regional shop open Wednesdays and Thursdays 11-1pm.

Dumpling House, Woden – Updating the dumpling menu

Dumpling House in Woden has updated it’s dumpling menu but not much has changed.

There’s a range of dumplings and buns on offer, usually around $14 for up to 15 pieces.
(good for sharing with a group).

These include:

Combination Dumplings $15.80 (15 pieces) (chicken, beef, vegetable)

Steamed Prawn Dumplings $12.80 (8 pieces)

Shanghai Fried Pork Buns $14.80 (10 pieces) (Nicely freid on the bottom, but fairly oily overall).

Fried Beef, Onion and Coriander Dumplings (15 pieces) $13.80 (again nicely fried on the bottom, but a bit of an odd flavour).

Shallots Pancake $7.80 (quite good for a little more variety)

Chinese tea is $1.50 per person

It’s by no means a cheap lunch, and lacks the variety that can be achieved by sharing other cuisines, but good fun for a change.

Public Bar, Manuka

The Public Bar like Me and Mrs Jones, Cream and Urban Pantry offers a vibrant, indoor and outdoor atmosphere, extended hours 7 days a week, serves an interesting menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner and, for Canberra Entertainment Book holders, two mains for the price of one.

Lovely outside in good weather, it also has useful bench seating for solo diners.

Perhaps the best choices at lunch are the shared plates or the burgers.

Other choices include:

SLOW COOKED LAMB $23 with quinoa tabouli, mint yoghurt, fresh pomegranate & pistachio crumble. Still looks beautiful, but the flavours are some how not quite the same as they used to be.

FISH & CHIPS $21 Beer battered fish fillets w/ salad, tartare & lemon.

However breakfast (available until11:30am on weekends) would be well worth checking out too, especially in the good weather.

No BYO but wine available by the glass.

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The Merchant, Kingston Forshore

The Merchant on Kingston Foreshore has much to offer. It’s open 7 days for breakfast, lunch and dinner and has large serves sizes that are great for sharing.

Corkage is free if you buy your wine at the co-owned Prohibition Bottle Shop around the corner and show your docket.

There’s a lovely fun decor with both inside and outside seating.

While it’s popular and can get busy, the Merchant is happy to take bookings.

The menu changes every season but the current menu still includes many popular favourites.

The Almond Crossiants $8.50, are baked in house and must be the absolute best in Canberra. They are amazing!

There is also great flexibility offered in the menu. Breakfast is served until 3pm every day and bagels, baguettes and sandwiches are available from 6:30am until the afternoon.

The baguettes $13/$14 are huge and enough for two modest appetites.

The French Baguette $14 is especially good toasted, with plenty of persian feta, prosciutto, cranberry sauce, mixed greens and pear slices.

Service is very welcoming and accommodating making it a true pleasure to dine here.

(10% surcharge Sundays, 15% surcharge public holidays)

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CocoNine, Kingston Foreshore

CocoNine is not as busy and popular as the other Thai restaurants on the Kingston Foreshore (Morks and Chong Co) but it’s still definitely worth a visit.

The flavours are a little different to usual expectations and the presentation is very appealing. Serve sizes are good for sharing even between up to six people.

The Beef Massaman $19 is excellent ….

…as is the Chilli Basil Chicken stirfry $19….

…the Pork Pad Prik Khing also is very good $19..

and so is the Siam Aromatic Spicy Duck (a larb styled salad) $27.

While there’s plenty of stir fries and curries for around $19, some dishes seem quite pricey so it pays to make use of the Entertainment Book 25% discount or any other offers and deals.

A good tip is to start at the back of the menu where the more modestly priced stirfries and curries are listed and then work forwards to the more expensive duck and seafood specials.

Generous serves of rice are $3.50 and corkage is only $5 per bottle which is helpful for budgeting.

Service is friendly and very quick. Gluten free ordering is also very easy.

CocoNine also has a good lunch special for $10.90, weekdays.

Kinn Thai, Canberra City

The new to town Kinn Thai in the Canberra Centre is really worth checking out.

Attractive decor, generously sized dishes ideal for sharing, and devious flavours, make it one of Canberra’s top places for Thai food.

As other reviewers have said, Kinn’s Dishes are great choices.

(They also mention the Crab Prawn Rools $7 for 4 pieces and Crispy Pork Belly $24).

The Crispy Barramundi $25 is the best…

…but the Chilli Jam Crispy Soft Shelled Crab $23 comes close…

….as does the Massaman Lamb Shank $19.50 (with a roti)(similar to Chong Co’s in flavour and presentation).

The Chilli Green Peppercorn Eggplant $16 is not as good.

Rice serves are large for $3 and one may well be enough for two people.

Two serves rice and three mains are just right for 5 medium appetites.

Corkage is $3 per person.

Can be a bit noisy for larger groups and for conversation, but great food and good value.

Taste of Bangladesh – a perfect menu for 12

After much trialling of different dishes the very best combination at Taste of Bangladesh for a group of 12 just has to be:

Pappadoms to start (complimentary)

Entree:

3 serves Onion Bhaji (12 pieces) with tamarind chutney and mint yogurt ($7 each serve)

Mains:

3 serves Fish Bengali, medium spice level ($16.50 per serve)

3 serves Dum Murgh Chicken , medium spice level ($15.50 per serve)

3 serves Palak Paneer, medium spice level ($14 per serve)

4 serves rice ($3 per serve) (5 or 6 serves for larger appetites)

6 Cheese and Spinach Naan ($3.50 per serve)

3 serves Eggplant Bhorta ($5 per serve)

Dessert:

3 serves Gulab Jarman ($4.50 per serve)

3 serves Mango Kulfi ($4.50 per serve)

Total cost per person: $17.75

Free corkage for BYO wine

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Mood Food, Braddon

Mood Food is a relatively newcomer to the eateries in Lonsdale Street Braddon and now promoting itself through the 2015/16 Canberra Entertainment Book (two mains for the price of one).