Chomolungma Nepali Cuisine, Manuka, absolutely delicious

The test of a good nepalese restaurant is it’s momos and Chomolungma has the best momos I’ve tasted outside of Kathmandu. They come with a delicious tomato and sesame chutney and a tasty clear soup.

Recently opened Chomolungma in Manuka, fills the spot left by the Himalayan Restaurant in Palmerston Lane.

Chomolungma’s menu is short and focuses on a thali style meal with variations. But boy is it good.The Nepali spiced gravy is absolutley delicious and the dahl smoky and flavoursome. The sides include a crunchy vegetable mixture that provides a great texture contrast and a dahl that is smoky and flavoursome.

The roti $3 is an essential addition.

The service is very friendly, warm, welcoming and efficient.

Three people could share 1 serve of momos, two main thali meals and two roti.

It is the type of meal that is memorable and makes you look forward to going back to have the same meal again…even the next day.

ten chicken momos $12 (excellent) with a tasty clear soup

khassi ko masu $18 – braised goat meat (on the bone) with a nepali spiced gravy, rice, dahl, sautéed spinach, mango pickle and crunchy vegetable side

pappdoms are complementary and corkage for BYO wine is $2 per person.

Desserts include a hot millet pancake served with banana, strawberry and honey $9 and ice-cream with a trio of toppings mango, berries and chocolate $6.

The pork momos and the chicken thali style meal (Kuyhurako Masu $15) are well worth a try.

Closed Sundays

Phone: 0450 317 346

Taste of Bangladesh & India, Manuka, an amazing discovery

Taste of Bangladesh & India, Canberra’s new Bangladeshi cuisine restaurant in Manuka is a wonderful discovery. The flavours are unique and delicious, serves are generous, hospitality is warm and the value for money is second to none.

Pleasantly cozy with thick carpet for easy chatting, it is ideal for couples or groups.

Wine is BYO and corkage is free.

The naan is huge and lovely ($2.50 each)

Pappadoms are complementary.

Great choices are….

…the samosas (2 for $7)

Fish Bengali – snapper fillet cooked with eggplant in Bangladeshi spices $16.50 (beautiful flavours)

Dum Murgh – boneless chicken marinated in special herbs and spices and cooked on a slow fire $15.50 ( a standout dish)

The mango kulfi $4.50 is a generous serve that can be shared and makes a fine finish to the meal.

1 dish, one rice and one naan with one serve kulfi is just right for two people.

Suggested menu for a group of six:

pappdoms

3 serves Samosa (6 pieces)

1x Dum Murgh

1 x Fish Bengali

1x Palak Paneer

3 naan

2 serves rice

2 x kulfi

$15 per person (corkage free)

Good for a large group – Bentham Street Bar ‘n Pizza, Yarralumla

Bentham Street Bar ‘n Pizza in Yarralumla is a great spot for a large group get together.
Sisters Carol and Sandra are very helpful, accommodating and flexible.

While indoor seating is limited, in good weather, up to 40 can be accommodated outdoors in a lovely shady setting on a quiet leafy corner.

BYO is offered at $5 per bottle and you can bring along your own dessert to keep costs down, for $2 cakeage per person.

When designing an interesting, good value ordering plan consider ordering the equivalent of ½ pizza per person and 1/3 of a salad, if also bringing dessert.

This will cost approximately $19-20 per person including corkage and cakeage.

Choose 4 types of pizza and ask for pizzas to be cut into 8 so that everyone is able to try a range of (if not all) choices.
Some popular choices are
Four cheese (vegetarian option) $21

Gourmet vegetarian (vegetarian option) $21

Spanish Chorizo $21

Smoked salmon with onion, crème fraiche, spinach, capers, wasabi mayo $22

The pizza oven can only cook seven pizzas at once, but this is not a problem as it means, hot pizzas keep coming. Gluten free bases are also available, which along with at least two very good vegetarian options, makes to easier to cater for special dietary requirements.

For Salads it is easiest and best value just to order the very good Mesculin, rocket, fetta, olives, tomato and capsicum $12.50, in which case three people share each salad.

If opting for more variety also consider the Smoked salmon, capers, onion, with wasabi mayonnaise $16.50 if which case six people would share two different salads.

Rama’s Fijian Indian Restaurant, Pearce

Rama’s Indian Fijian Restaurant at the Pearce Shops is immensely popular and busy.

Service is extremely friendly and efficient and there’s a real feeling of being welcomed and entertained.

Prices are probably more than average but this is balanced by no corkage BYO, and more reasonable rice and roti prices.

The food is also very good and serve sizes good for sharing between up to six people.

Entrees include the very delicious Roti parcel $9 each

Cooked pumpkin and coconut wrapped inside a

pan fried roti

and large Vegetable samosa 2 for $12

The mains that included a creamy spinach sauce win over the more tomato based sauces.

The standout dish is Lamb Saag

Cubes of lamb cooked with fresh spices, spinach and

coconut milk. $24.50

quickly followed by Palak Paneer $20

Home made cheese cooked in a smooth spinach sauce

The Curried Beans and Tomato $13 are a good value very tasty dish, good to add to a shared menu.

Sliced beans, chopped tomatoes and onions cooked

slowly at low temperature, with a hint of spices.

The Prawn Saabji $24.50

Prawns cooked with onion, garlic, tomato, spinach

and coconut milk, comes with six prawns and a tasty sauce.

The Aamm Chicken (Mango Chicken) $23

Boneless chicken pieces cooked with fresh spices and a

sweet mango sauce, while listed as a ‘speciality’ is not as good as the other dishes, but better than the

Madras Fish Curry $23.50

Boneless fillets of ling marinated in lemon juice, tumeric,

garlic and simmered in spices, in a tomato based sauce which is fairly hard textured fish in a very spicy sauce.

Pappadam 4 for $3 with yogurt and tamarind sauces

Roti $2.50 each

Rice $2.75 per person (unlimited)

Three dishes between four people is a good amount to share and stay comfortable.

If also ordering one entrée piece each (particularly the large samosa) then three between six may be enough especially with roti.

Suggested menu for six:

3x Pan fried roti with pumpkin and coconut (halved)

Lamb saag

Palak paneer

Curried beans and tomato

1 extra dish (e.g. the Potaotes and Peas Curry which comes highly recommended – Potatoes, pea, onion, tomato and fresh coriander cooked in a touch of spices $20 or try the Fijian Pork Curry $24 or the Goat Curry $23 )

3 roti

6 rice

$160 total approx. ($22 per person – no corkage required)

Snapper, by the Lake

Inspired by the Food Marshall’s post on Snapper, at the Southern Cross Club Canberra Yacht Club, by Lake Burley Griffin, it is certainly a unique and special spot.

Possibly it is the only place on the lake where you can have the benefits of taking your own picnic (like choosing your own spot, taking wine and drinks, nibbles, cake, keeping costs down, space for kids to run around) but also have the luxury of hot tasty fish and chips (around $12)….

…or a nice smoked chicken and avocado or Caesar salad ($10) ready to go …

Garden salad $6

….along with a manicured lawn, great view, and live music (Sat and Sun from 12).

Snapper does have tables, but these fill quickly and may not always be shady/sunny, so it pays to bring your own chairs as well as a back up.
They also sell alcohol, cakes and are open 8am-8pm every day!

It’s just such a treat to have the flexibility to buy or bring as much or as little as suits you on the day, every day of the week, for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Hard to beat as a great spot in the good weather, particularly for families.

Sharing at Smoque, Woden

The new Woden Smoque, while specialising in a range of American styled burgers and salads also offers the option of all-meat dishes and a range of sides, which can be added to a sharing menu for variety.

Cornbread can also be ordered on its own.

The Mac n Cheese ($5.90 for the large serve), is good value, tasty and Moorish (but pretty rich and oily).

The Carolina Pulled Pork $14.90 is also pretty oily. The pulled pork is probably better enjoyed in the Original Burger.

The Garden Salad, while not as interesting or tasty as the Texan Waldorf or Thanksgiving salads, is good value at $9.90 and excellent for adding more salad greens to a menu selection.

While it’s good to try a range of Smoque’s options, the best sharing menus are based on the gourmet burgers and a mix of feature salads/garden salad. The Vegie Burger $13.90 and Original Burger $11.90 are the best burger choices and the Texan Waldorf or Thanksgiving salad, both $16.90 are good combined with a Garden Salad $9.90 which is less rich.

Vegie Burger $13.90

One burger or salad can be shared between three to four people (just need a sharp knife) and the total number of salads and burgers can be the equivalent of three between four people, making the cost of the shared menu around $10 per person.

The Hamlet, Lonsdale Street Braddon

If you’ve enjoyed the Forage street food offerings you will love The Hamlet on Lonsdale Street Braddon, a (temporarily) more permanent home for these caravan vendors of yummy, casual eats.

Open Tuesday to Sunday, it’s a great, inexpensive night out and just perfect for sharing a range of samplings between a group in good weather (just bring a sharp knife and a few extra paper plates).

Start a Lonsdale Street food tour (as it’s hard to get a table later) or stay the whole evening.

BYO (drinks and glasses) without corkage, adds to the great value.

Top picks include Mr Pappas’ Pork Belly Roll ($12)….

….and Broddogs “pups” (perfectly sized for sampling, $5-$7 each).

…or a full sized ‘dog’ $6.50-$11 (about 1 1/2-2 times the size of a ‘pup’)

New Yorker Dog with a Kransky

Omi Pup (the best!), New Yorker Pup & Chilli Pup are all good.

Choose from a Vienna Frankfurt, Spicy Kransky or Pork free sausage.

Also worth trying is the pork roll with apple sauce from the Spit Shack ($12:90)…

….and the Bratwurst in a roll with sauerkraut $9 from ‘Bratwurst’…

I’m also told that the Bratwurst’s Schnitzels are good and easily shared ($16 small, $21 large).

One of the great things about the Hamlet, is that there are often smaller serving sizes on offer like Free Range’s pulled pork with couscous, rice and salad ($8).

There’s also plenty to choose from for those wanting gluten free options. Broddogs has gluten free buns available and the sausages are gluten free. Free range’s pulled lamb is gluten free.

Mr Papa’s Pork Belly sandwich is also gluten free if you skip the roll.

Other choices include Mr Papas’ Peruvian Stuffed Potato (tasty, but plenty of outside coating to get through)

…and Mr Papas’ Empanadas and Chicken Wings.

Turkish Pide House, Woden

The Turkish Pide House in Woden has lovely outdoor seating and inviting interior seating.

It also has a menu full of interesting Turkish dishes and a very convenient location for Woden workers.
The tricky challenge has always been how to order an interesting range of dishes to share and leave feeling content but comfortable.
A banquet (starting at $19.50 and including a glass of wine) is an easy way to share but is way too much food.

However, an alternative for sharing between a group of six is to order a dip and Turkish bread to start with another entrée item and a couple of salads with chicken veal or seafood as well as a pide.
This works out at around $13 per person.

Entrée:

Carrot Dip with Turkish bread – carrot, olive oil, garlic, yogurt, mint & herbs $10.00

Kabak Mucver– Crispy zuchinni puffs served with yogurt & dill dressing $12.50 (halved)
(Two different dips would also work)

Mains
2 Salads:

Meditarranean Tavuk Salatasi- Tender chicken pieces char-grilled and tossed with mesculin lettuce, roma tomatoes, cucumber & topped with croutons. Served with a savoury piquant dressing. $19.00

Other choices include:
Prawn Salad– Char-grilled King prawns, tossed in mesculin lettuce with roma tomatoes, cucumber and infused with a tangy dressing. $20.00
Calamari Salad -Grilled Calamari, tossed in mesculin lettuce with roma tomatoes, cucumber, & infused with a tangy dressing. $19.00
Aegean Salatasi- Thinly sliced veal, char-grilled and tossed in baby spinach, fetta cheese, mesculin lettuce, tomatoes & topped with tzaziki dressing. $19.00
Karisik Balik Salatasi -Grilled seafood salad including salmon, prawns & calamari $22.00

1 Pide

Vegeterian Deelite – Roasted pumpkin and potato with fetta, garlic, capsicum, onion & cheese topped with pesto aioli. $18.50

BYO is also welcome at around $4 corkage per bottle.

Fine Eating

Hints Hacks and Highlights

Reviews (Around Canbera)

Chomolungma Nepali Cuisine, Manuka, absolutely delicious

Taste of Bangladesh & India, Manuka, an amazing discovery

Good for a large group – Bentham Street Bar ‘n Pizza, Yarralumla

Rama’s Fijian Indian Restaurant, Pearce

Snapper, by the Lake

Sharing at Smoque, Woden

The Hamlet, Lonsdale Street Braddon

Turkish Pide House, Woden

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