Zen Yai Thai – London Circuit, Canberra City – Thai Cuisine

Zen Yai is another good Canberra restaurant for Thai food, centrally located in the city, quiet on week nights, with a pleasant, tasteful decor, a nice feel, very reasonable corkage and mains that are well sized for sharing.

BYO is $3 per bottle of wine, $1 per bottle of beer.

Suggested menu for six:

Choose four mains and four serves coconut or plain rice.

The Stir fry dishes (e.g. Chicken with fresh chilli and basil) and curries (e.g. Massamun or Penang curry) make excellent choices, but also consider the house specials e.g. Gang Dang Ped, roasted duck in red curry with lychees, pineapple, tomatoes and sweet basil.

My favourite was the Beef Massamun Curry, followed in order by the Stir-fried Chicken with Chill and Basil , Beef Panang Curry with Beef, Roast Duck Red Curry with lychees and pineapple, Green curry with Prawns, Stir fried Chicken with Cashew nuts, Sweet and Sour Pork. (I have also heard the pork laab is excellent.)

Beef Massamum Curry $17.80

Stir fried chicken with fresh chilli and basil $18.50

Beef Panang Curry with Beef $21.50

Roast duck in red curry with lychees and pineapple $21.50

Green curry with prawns (quite spicy) $19.80

Stir fried Chicken with cashew nuts

Sweet and Sour pork with coconut rice

11 London Circuit, Canberra City

Canberra, ACT
Ph: 62627594

Open 7 days

Flavours of India – Woden

Flavours of India, is Woden’s best spot for Indian food.

The Kadhai Murgh (chicken pieces tossed with onions, tomatoes and capsicums along with coriander and garlic), Paneer Hara Marsala ( cubes of fresh cottage cheese cooked with tomatoes in spinach based gravy and fenugreek leaves), Gosht Hara Marsala (boneless pieces of lamb cooked along with spinach and fenugreek leaves) and the Malai Kofta (cottage cheese dumplings stuffed with raisins and finished in a rich creamy tomato and cashew based gravy) are all delicious.

The Kulcha Paneer ( stuffed bread) was exceptional.

Suggested Menu

One dish, bread and rice per two people for lunch

Gosht Hara Masal, Malai Kofta, and Kulcha Paneer

Kadhai Murgh and Paneer Hara Marsala

Shop G90/Woden Plaza Corinna St

Phillip ACT 2606

(02) 6260 5441

Parlour Wine Room – New Acton, Canberra – an excellent lunch spot

Inspired by Her Canberra‘s review it was great to try the Parlour Wine Room in New Acton recently.

Refurbished after the fire in 2011, it is beautifully furnished in period style and I’m told, still retains some of it’s old characteristic atmosphere.

The $16 lunch special (Tuesday to Sunday) (+ 10% surcharge on Sundays), is excellent value and includes a generous serve of house wine ( the shiraz was excellent) and a slice of sourdough bread and olive oil.

The Battered Calamari with chipotie aioli and pickled cucumber was our best dish followed by the Spanish beef and potato stew (once with beef and another time with pulled pork). Next best was the Pappardelle pasta with pork belly and sofrito and lastly the Fried free range eggs with piquillio peppers and jamon.

Battered Calamari with chipotie aioli and pickled cucumber

Spanish beef and potato stew

Spanish beef and potato stew (with pulled pork)

Pappardelle pasta with pork belly

Fried free range eggs with piquillio peppers and jamon

CONTACT

16 KENDALL LANE, NEW ACTON, ACT

PH: (02) 6257 7325

HELLO@PARLOUR.NET.AU

TUES – SUN: 12 NOON TILL LATE

Sutton Forrest Estate Wines – the best stop for coffee/lunch on the way to Sydney

Sutton Forest Estate Wines

A real gem on the Hume Highway.

This Winery and Cafe is a great find and the only real alternative to roadhouses and quick service restaurants on the left hand side of the highway. Helpfully, it is also midway between Canberra and Sydney. (On the right hand side, almost opposite, Sutton Forest Estate Wines, is Eling Forrest Winery, also good for a stop when heading back from Sydney on the other side of the highway. However, it gets much busier than Sutton Forrest winery and it can be worth crossing over the overpass for quicker service and a quieter spot.

Sutton Forest Estate Wines can be a bit tricky to find the first time. Head up to McDonald’s but drive past the drive through entrance and keep going, almost as if you are getting back on to the Hume highway, but take the last exit on the left down a small road. There are usually signs out to indicate the right way to go.

The turn off to the winery from McDonalds Heading back the other way to get back on to the highway

Sutton Forrest Estate winery and cafe is only open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays 9-5pm (sometimes a bit earlier).

Nic and his wife Santina are lovely, They make great coffee and wonderful focaccias with Santina’s home roasted vegetables, and salami or ham.

They also have Alpine gelato, torte delle nonna, jam tart (homemade) , minestrone soup and a wonderful looking antipasti platter for two or more ($19) which I’m told comes with plenty of bread and would be great with a bottle of their own wine ($20-$27 per bottle, also available by the glass). (I suspect a platter for two could be enough for more than two.)