Penny University Coffee Roasters, Kingston – a quick look

Penny University on Kennedy St Kingston is hugely popular and buzzing with life and style. A great spot for coffee with generous breakfast servings of interesting dishes that can easily be shared for breakfast or brunch.

Diwali in Canberra – another spring festival with food!

Diwali, the festival of lights held each October/November is such a special time to be in India.
Lights are strung up across streets, traditional Indian sweets are everywhere, families visit and exchange gifts, new clothes are worn and there are plenty of fireworks!!
So it’s a great annual spring opportunity to join with the local Canberra Indian community to help capture a little of the excitement.
And what better way to share celebrations across cultures and engage in warm conversations, than through food.

At the Albert Hall last Sunday there was a full program that included a cooking competition, a concert of dance, fashion, music and a quiz and some enticing food stalls.

Samosas Marsala Dosa

Cooking competition

Burfi Rasa malai

Carrot Halwa Vegetarian biryani

Double ka Meetha Dessert

Beautifully dressed families enjoyed the fair like atmosphere and the joy of celebrating their shared heritage together. It’s a pleasure to be included and to experience a little of India right on our door step.

Food Stalls

I Love Thai – Manuka ACT

I Love Thai in Manuka specialises in takeaway Thai food. However, it frequently offers special deals and has a small indoor seating area, if you’d like to eat in.

Service is friendly and helpful, and corkage is free, but still, there definitely is a ‘takeaway’ feel to the ambiance.

Chicken Meang entree $7.50 Black Sticky Rice with Coconut Cream $7.50
However, the Chicken Meang entree is delicious and good value at $7.50 for two large serves. Likewise the Black Sticky Rice with Coconut Cream is a delicious and generous dessert at the other end of the meal.

Stir fry Chicken in Peanut Sauce ($15.50)

Stir fry Chicken with Cashew Nuts ($15.50)

In between, the Stir fry Chicken in Peanut Sauce ($15.50) has a nice flavour and is a better pick than the Stir fry Chicken with Cashew Nuts ($15.50).

Thai Coconut Gelati $7.50 (not as good as the Black Sticky Rice)

Noodle and Fried Rice dishes, like Stir fries, are $15.50, but other dishes like Thai salads, Seafood, Curries and Chef’s Specials range from $17.50 to $19.50 making them similarly priced to other Thai restaurants better designed for ‘eating in’.

And I Love Thai is happy for any extra to be taken home to enjoy later.

The Merchant Deli & Cafe, Kingston Foreshore

The Merchant is a very welcoming, friendly and relaxed newcomer on the Kingston Foreshore helpfully open 7 days for breakfast lunch and dinner.

It’s great strengths are it’s honest, accommodating and attentive staff, it’s key corner location and it’s value for money menu options.
But it is also stylish and food is beautifully presented.

There is nothing pretentious about The Merchant. Staff are happy to answer and respond to all kinds of queries and requests making it a very good spot for sharing dishes and ordering to suit your appetite.

The menu changes daily, but there is a pattern to what’s on offer.

The sharing platters $28 are great for two people for lunch and I’m told that extra complimentary bread is available to go with all those lovely dips, cured meats, cheeses and pickled vegetables.

Some dishes make a great light meal for one person. The baguettes, soup and salad were all generously sized, and well priced making them excellent value. The pancetta and cheese baguette ($12) had plenty of filling, the soup of the day ($12) serve was large and came with bread and the salad of the day $14 was also a good sized serve.

Likewise, dessert from the cabinet offered well sized serves for $8.

The lamb, lemon and rosemary skewer $25 was large and served with salad.

The pan fried salmon fillet $25 did not come with accompaniments so it made a smaller meal.

The chilli spanner crab linguine $22 and braised lamb shoulder pappardelle $22 were more modest serves as well, but looked delicious.

The Seared Canadian Scallops -served with pea puree, chorizo and olives $14, was a small entree sized serve.

The chicken liver mushroom parfait $20 was a very generous serve and ideal for sharing with some other dishes. (Extra bread available on request at not cost).

BYO wine is available at around $4 per person, but if you purchase your wine from the nearby sister store ‘Prohibition’, corkage is free.

(Prohibition is on the corner behind Local Press and has plenty of good option in the $10-$15 range).

In a nutshell, The Merchant has plenty going for it and is well worth trying out. It could easily become a favourite.

Rice Tapas Bar – Garema Place, Canberra City

The Rice Tapas Bar can be tricky to find the first time (it’s upstairs on the corner of Garema Place, heading towards Alinga Street, next to Frawleys shoes (see the photo to see where exactly).

Service is excellent and staff are helpful and friendly. Corkage is $5 per bottle.
There are quite nice spots for groups to sit, but in winter it can be cold, so its good to take a coat.

Even though it’s a tapas bar, I think the mains are probably a better pick (nicer and better value for sharing). Top picks are the Beef Massaman Curry and the Stir-fry chicken in Peanut Sauce $20.50. The Jim’s Pork Belly has great flavour .The Red Duck Curry $23 with sticky rice $3.50 is also good. The duck had a good flavour, but just a bit too much skin. The Jungle Curry with Chicken $20.50 is not as good.

Serve sizes are not huge, but if you are getting one of the frequent special deals, it’s still good value.

In the entrees, the Mixed tapas (4) $14.50 Peking duck pancake, 1x pad Thai Spring Roll, 1x Yum Beef , 1x Prawn in Golden Jacket is quite good (the duck pancake and yum beef especially tasty), but again not as good as the mains for value. The soft shelled crab, though tempting, is disappointing.

The desserts are interesting, but not stand outs. The sticky rice with black bean and coconut $7.50 is quite good, as is the banana roti $8.50 and the coconut icecream $7.50 but not excellent.

Overall, well worth a trip when a special deal is offered.

Crispy Pork Belly

Seafood stir fry

Chicken and cashews

Tofu stirfry

Red duck curry

Group seating for a larger group

Beef Massaman Curry

Decor

Sticky rice

Entrance in Garema Place

Soft shelled crab main

Stir-fry chicken in Peanut Sauce

Jungle curry

Yum Crispy Pork Belly

Mixed entree plate

Black sticky rice

Banquets and Set Menus

Dessert

Group seating for a smaller group

View

Grazing, Gundaroo, NSW

Grazing is Gundaroo’s offers prompt and attentive service, a cozy country atmosphere, but is ‘rustic ‘rather than ‘fine dining’ feel, so best suited to a more casual occasion.

Allow at least 30 mins driving time from north Canberra. This together with the more casual setting possibly makes Gazing a good choice for a special lunch rather than a special occasion dinner.

In winter it can also be a bit chilly, even with the open fire.

Decor Entree platter

Mains

Desserts

Fish Marsala – so quick, easy, delicate and ‘light’

This fish marsala is ideal for light, but delicious eating. It only has around 500kj per modest serve, takes only 4 ingredients and 15 minutes to prepare and is infallible.
The key to success is to use fresh garam marsala spice.

Ingredients
4 serves

500gm any white fish cubed
1/2 tin light coconut milk
1 tsp chicken stock powder
1 heaped teaspoon garam marsala spice

Method

Cook the cubes of fish in a non-stick frypan until just cooked through.
Add the coconut milk mixed with the chicken stock powder.

Simmer until reduced to a thicker sauce.
Sprinkle garam marsala, stir in well, and cook for a few more minutes.

Serve with a small serve of steamed Basmati rice and a large leafy salad.

Cafe Gaudi – Woden

Located at the entrance to Woden Westfield, Cafe Gaudi is in a perfect location for a quick workday lunch.
What seems open becomes actually cozy and private if you pick a comfy corner in the warmth and relax on the soft couches.
The menu is quite broad wide and interesting. The serves were generous and the prices reasonable.
Service is very friendly, accommodating and quick.
I really liked the look of the focaccias ($14) and the smoked salmon bruscetta ($16.50). But even the sandwiches ($14) were thick with generous tasty fillings.
Cafe Gaudi also offers 25% discount for Canberra Entertainment Book owners.