The Trustee, Perth

Brookefield Place in Perth is a great spot to head near the CBD for a drink or for dinner.

There’s lots of lovely bars like La Fayette, the Print Hall and Choo Choo’s.

For a quieter sit down meal, the Trustee offers a bistro menu that includes…

….Butternut pumpkin, ricotta cheese ravioli red capsicum coulis $27

Half serve Marron with lemon risotto $38

Prawn linguini blue cheese $35

Slow braised lamb shoulder pearl barley, pancetta, cauliflower, jus $38

Beef cheek soft polenta, roasted mushrooms, jus $36

Wine starts at around $42 per bottle for house wine.

Hanuman Restaurant, Alice Springs

Hanuman is famous in Alice Springs for dining.

Located near the Alice Springs Convention Centre, it’s especially convenient if you are staying at Double Tree Hilton Hotel.

The Meen Moolie is good….

…but the Duck Salad is perhaps not as good as it sounds.

Two dishes with rice can be enough to share between three people.

Serving Thai, Indian and Nonya dishes, the menu is full and options plentiful.

Service is friendly and professional!

Franklin, Hobart

A good place for dinner in Hobart CBD is the new and popular Franklin.

The menu is designed for sharing and with a range of smaller and larger dishes that change daily.

It’s a very good idea to be adventurous as the dishes that sound the least appealing may well be the best like the…

grains cooked with braised nettles, southern calamari and toasted saltbush $24

…and the grilled lettuce side dish with wakame.

Also on the menu has been a Grilled Blue eye cod with parsnip, dried oyster and blue kale $32

Lamb rump with bread sauce, red Russian kale and anchovy $38

and a Cider poached pork neck $48

Also good to try would be Frank, closer to the water.

The Glass House, Hobart

The very best spot in Hobart for a drink before dinner is watching the bay at the Glass House, on Brooke Street Pier.

Close to the CBD it’s just across from Salamanca place.

Small-fry, Hobart

This tiny but cute eatery on Bathurst street near Hobart’s CBD is gorgeous and a real experience for a coffee, all day breakfast or quick lunch.

Open seven days, the menu is short but good!

The crumbed haloumi slider with celeriac remoulade and the shaved brisket with rava dressing slider are both excellent….

…..as are the bakery treats like the Chelsea roll with cherry sauce.

Daci & Daci Bakers, Hobart

Daci & Daci on Murray Street, are easy to find near Salamanca Place……

……have an extensive range, good prices…..

…..and a pleasant atmosphere.

As “bakers of bread, Viennosserie, cakes, patisserie, provisions and savouries and European Coffee House” they are a convenient choice for brunch, lunch or coffee.

Choices include brekfast dishes (the fruit toast is gorgeous, huge and more than enough for two people, a true bargain at $7)….

…cakes and pastries…

…salads…

And much more.

It’s hard though to resist the huge meringues…

Jackman & McRoss, Battery Point, Hobart

Ask the locals where to head for brunch and they are likely to point you towards Jackman and McRoss….

….bakers of fine breads, cakes and pastries, on Hampton Road.

It’s easy walking distance from Hobart CBD and in fact there’s a short cut from Salamanca Place up the Kelly Steps.

Although it’s tricky to choose….

….. the Scrambled Eggs wrapped in Tasmanian Smoked Salmon with rocket and aioli on a Danish Pastry ($12) is fantastic.

A good tip is to share one if you still have more spots to try.

Glass Brasserie, Sydney CBD – perfect for a special lunch!

Located in the Sydney Hilton Hotel, Glass has imposing presence with its vast windows overlooking the Queen Victoria Building, it’s wall of wine and massive open kitchen.

A creation of Chef Luke Mangan, the menu is modern Australian with an Asian twist that works well.

Lunch at Glass is truly a special event. The service provide by knowledgeable staff, is excellent. The decor is opulent yet relaxing.

Choosing dishes from such an inviting range can be difficult, but you can’t go wrong if you stick with the signature dishes and perhaps add those that sound too good to miss.

Great choices include:
Pork belly pancakes, cucumber, shallot, coriander & hoisin $29 ( six per serve and the pork belly is delicious)

Steamed zucchini flowers with silverbeet & feta, smoked tomato & pine nut salsa, soft herbs $28 ( three per serve)

Free range crab omelette, enoki mushroom & herb salad, miso mustard broth $29 ( the tasty broth is added hot at the table)…

Pan fried potato gnocchi, corn, asparagus, zucchini, Parmesan, lemon thyme (a bit too oily and perhaps the weakest dish in the list) Entree $27

Snapper fillet, crispy prawns, Thai salad, spicy broth $48

Torched meringue, watermelon, strawberries, raspberry & pepper sauce, sugared almonds $19

Liquorice parfait & cloud, apple, lime & tapioca $21 ( particularly wonderful is the liquorice icecream, making this the top dessert choice.)

Corn custard, blueberries, parsnip ice-cream, popcorn powder $20 (the weakest dessert choice)

Glass raspberry chocolate Violet Crumble $23 ( served with hot raspberry sauce poured at the table)

Good wine matches are:
Adelaide Hills, SA Grüner Veltliner 2015 Hahndorf Hill $ 72 bottle or $15 a glass…with “Aromatic, enticing, generous. Straw-coloured, full of apple, stone fruit and spice notes with an exotic edge of Turkish delight”

… or the richer 2013 Principia Chardonnay Mornington Pen, VIC $17 a glass with – “Aromas of fleshy white peach and citrus are intermixed with cashew and biscuit. Refined Burgundian like palate with a sense of creaminess building. Flavours of white peach, citrus and cashew are followed by subtly integrated toasty oak and spice.”

Wine by the glass is generous and works out about the sms cost as by the bottle.

If you can only order a few dishes, the very top picks are:
Pork belly pancakes, cucumber, shallot, coriander & hoisin
Snapper fillet, crispy prawns, Thai salad, spicy broth
Liquorice parfait & cloud, apple, lime & tapioca

Closely followed by the:
Free range crab omelette, enoki mushroom & herb salad, miso mustard broth and the…..

Glass raspberry chocolate Violet Crumble.

Do share dishes to try a range of different tastes and textures and to eat to your appetite. (Up to four people can share one dish, even the entrees and tapas!)

For a group of four modest appetites for lunch perhaps order one each of….

Pork belly pancakes, cucumber, shallot, coriander & hoisin

Steamed zucchini flowers with silverbeet & feta, smoked tomato & pine nut salsa, soft herbs (ask for four instead of three)

Free range crab omelette, enoki mushroom & herb salad, miso mustard broth and the…..

Snapper fillet, crispy prawns, Thai salad, spicy broth

Liquorice parfait & cloud, apple, lime & tapioca

Glass raspberry chocolate Violet Crumble

Torched meringue, watermelon, strawberries, raspberry & pepper sauce,

sugared almonds..

….and either try the Vanilla crème brûlée, macadamia biscotti $18 that gets good reviews form others or the Sticky date soufflé, butterscotch & malt ice-cream $22
(but you need to allow 20 minutes to prepare).

Do also ask for some of the very delicious Pepe Saya butter that absolutely makes the bread ( also very good in its own right)…..

Do ask for a booth or a table near the window overlooking the QVB…..

And do take a tour of the restaurant as the wine wall and open kitchen are well worth a look too.

If your budget doesn’t stretch to lunch, then coffee and dessert or a drink with a tapas, would also be delightful here.

Snapper, Yarralumla – another look

Snapper is just as popular as ever.

Offering a causal outdoor setting where you can mix your own picnic options with take-away salads or fish and chips, it’s a combination that’s especially popular in the good weather for families.

Menu options include the Caesar Salad $10…

…Crumbed fish with Chips…$12

…Battered fish with chips….$12

…calamari $8.

Manuka’s Public – some excellent lunch salads!

The Public Bar and Dining Rooms in Manuka has secured a great spot on the corner of Franklin and Flinders.

It’s menu offers something to suit everyone. At lunch on a weekday, that might well be one of the main meal salads that are well sized and perfect for sharing.