Have you ever tried a food that you loved so much you thought about it for years afterwards? This has happened to me twice: first, a cheeseburger from a food stand in Germany in 1993, and then again with a Filipino cake I first had in Sydney in about 2002. By the time I got …
Source: Coming soon: Lolo and Lola Filipino Bakery and Eatery – HerCanberra.com.au
A lovely tribute to the food delights of Canberra from In Search of Golden Pudding!
Last month, at Eat Drink Blog, I fell in love with my city all over again.
I first came to Canberra more than 20 years ago in my late teens. I came as a student, from a childhood in the bush, and initially found it very bare and open, with what seemed to be identikit suburbs stretching on forever.
Gradually, as I developed networks of friends and familiar places, it grew on me. I grew to love my tree filled neighbourhood, the birds…the closeness to bushland, shops, and monuments and attractions. In the world of food I loved my local markets, both the big Belconnen Markets, as well as smaller local ones, and as we had children, appreciated a rare night out at some of Canberra’s great restaurants.
Yes I loved all these things, but it was a quiet appreciation, born of long familiarity and I think I took…
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In South India there is a tradition that ‘the guest is God’. At Daana, Westside Acton, Sunita and Sanjay are following that tradition, making their ‘guests’ feel welcome and special.
Sunita faithfully recreates dishes full of flavour from her home town Palakkad in Kerala, including Canberra’s rare (perhaps only) fresh idli and a range of vada.
Idli Sambar $10 – steamed rice and lentil cakes served with coconut and tomato chutneys and sambar – a spiced lentil and vegetable stew.
Dal Vada – a crunchy and mildly spiced Bengal lentil dumpling served with coconut chutney $10.
I’ve also heard the Peanut Chakna is very good.
But perhaps the star of the menu is the dosa! Choose from a marsala spiced potato filling or a very delicious spiced lamb mince.
A generous serving of two dosa with coconut and tomato chutneys and the very good sambar is $14.
If there’s two or more of you, it’s great fun to get the family sized dosa to share ($30 for the lamb $28 for the potato filling).
Other options are the Onion Pakora $8 – crispy onion fritters with tamarind chutney and mint yogurt
Be transported back to Bombay with a Vada Pao $12.
Travel and Beyond raves about the biriyani that’s served on Sundays. Sunita makes the Andhra Biriyani and Sanjay the Chicken and Goat Biriyanis. The style of biriyani will depend on which week you go, but why not try them all.
Daana is a great spot to head with a group. Grab some tables, take your own wine and glasses and order some dishes to share.
For a group of eight, two plates of Dal Vada with a drink, followed by two plates of idli and then two set of Dosa (or a family dosa), would be perfect.
And do finish with a Marsala Chai, made from scratch with a special home-made blend of spices.
There’s plenty of gluten free options on the menu like idli, dosa and onion pakora.
Sanita and Sanjay are generous with their food and extra plates and sambar and chutneys are no trouble, but most of all they are generous of themselves and will do what it takes to make sure you enjoy your visit.
Daana is cute by day and cosy by night. It’s a small spot in plain surroundings but Sunita and Sanjay have created a haven of warmth and friendliness, that you will remember as you leave, promising yourself to be back soon for more.
The Roti House at the bottom of the Ernst and Young building on Marcus Clarke Street in the City, has really great flaky roti. Once you try it, you will just have to go back for more.
Roti is available with some dahl and chicken curry for $12 per plate….
…but it may be better to order the single roti for $6.50 and team it up with the very delicious Beef Rendang $16.80 – beef curry slowly stewed in coconut milk and secret spices.
….and some tasty Belacan Kangkung $14.80 for variety.
Another popular option is the Murtabak Chicken Roti for $12.50 – roti stuffed with minced chicken, eggs and onion filling $12.50.
The Chicken Satay is tempting at $13.00 for six or $19.50 for nine, but the chicken thigh pieces are fairly fatty.
It’s also worth budgeting some room to share a Roti dessert. Warm sweet Roti goes well with ice-cream and condensed milk, like the Roti Kaya with Ice-cream $8.50 (Roti filled with sweet pandas coconut jam).
Or an alternative to a Roti dessert would be the Sago Gula Melaka – tapioca pearls in palm sugar syrup and coconut milk $7.50 …
…or one of the famous Malaysian shaved ice desserts like Chendol $7.50 or Ice Kacang $8.
Desserts are large and easily shared.
A good menu for four people would be…
1 Beef Rendang $16.80
1 Belcan Kangkung $14.80
2 Roti Canai ($6.50 per serve)
2 rice ($2.80 per serve)
1 Roti Kaya with Ice-cream $8.50
or 1 Roti Pisang (bananas) with ice-cream and coconut jam $11
Approx $15 per person.
BYO wine corkage is $6 and one Canberra Entertainment Book 25% voucher is allowed per table.
Open Monday-Saturday 11:30am-2:30pm; 5pm-10pm.
The decor is plain, service efficient, and it can be chilly in winter when the door opens, but the Roti is amazing!
The menu is on the restaurant website but there are also blackboard specials and some banquet options.
The Chong Co Restaurants in Canberra have been constantly offering reasonable priced and generous series of very good Thai food.
But with Chong Co only staying short time in the City and at the Woden Southern Cross Club, the Woden Westfield Mall location is still hanging in there.
This is good news for Woden workers as the dishes are still a great size for sharing and always delicious.
Order one dish and one rice per two modest appetites.
The Beef Massaman Curry $18.90 is still a great choice…
…as is the Pork Prik Khing $17.90.
Rice is $3 per serve.
In the warm weather it’s good to sit outside.
Wheat and Oats is thriving, and it’s easy to see why.
It’s close to the Woden CBD, has easy parking, offered an all day breakfast menu….
….as well as a good lunch menu…
…daily ready made specials…..
…blackboard specials….
….a good range of sweet treats…
…a casual and inviting atmosphere…
…true hospitality, quick service and a readiness to be flexible with orders..
…great prices and an extra 25% discount for Canberra Entertainment Book holders.
The blackboard specials are always good…and the current Chicken Korma with rice $12 is light, flavoursome and full of chicken – delicious!
It pairs well with a side salad if you are sharing between two.
A garden salad is $5, but for $7 the tandoori chicken salad is well worth the extra.
Open 7 days for breakfast and lunch, it’s good for a quick weekday lunch or a leisurely weekend brunch.
A Bite to Eat, at the Chifley shops, is just a short walk from the Woden CBD.
It has always offered an eclectic, casual and friendly atmosphere that’s very popular with locals.
The lunch menu offers a range of differently sized and priced salad and bread-based meals.
The larger meals can be shared and this is a good idea as they can be quite heavy with dressing… like the Cos and Effect for about $17.90 with Tumut smoked trout, baby cos, crisp beans, cherry tomatoes, dill dressing and boiled egg.
The Ava-Bit-A-Cado, also about $17.90, an avocado bruschetta with herbed ricotta and semi-dried tomatoes is a good choice.
PHONE
(02) 6260 3703
Shop 8
Eggleston Crescent Chifley ACT 2606
Mon 8am–4pm
Tue 8am–4pm
Wed 8am–9.30pm
Thurs-Fri 8am–10pm
Sat 8am–4pm
Sun 9am–8pm
Marble and Grain in Mort St, Braddon is well known for its meats and share dishes, but not so well known for its five great $14 lunch specials, available 12-2pm, 7 days!
While there’s plenty of spots close to the CBD offering good weekday lunch specials it’s rare to find one you can take advantage of on weekends!
The stylish décor and professional service help create a dining experience far above the price of the meal.
Drinks are also reasonably priced making this good value for a relaxed Sunday lunch with friends.
The Ricotta Gnocchi is an excellent choice – light, soft texture, lovely lemon flavours well complimented by the mushroom – a stand out dish.
The Poached Chicken Salad with asparagus, avocado, baby cos and buttermilk caesar dressing is a good partner to the gnocchi if sharing dishes, but definitely the support act.
The list of $14 options is short, but well worth trying out!
Not just Sutton Forest Winery and Eling Forest Winery...but lots more from Her Canberra
Vinnys’ Aroma and Spice cooking lessons are meant to inspire but also to be easy.
And Vinnys’ raita really is easy.
She uses a low fat natural yogurt…(but thick Greek natural yogurt is also great)….
…and diced vegetables (like tomato, capsicum, cucumber)…
….mixed with salt, spices, a little sugar …
….and any combination of fresh dill, coriander and mint. (This which really makes this dish.)
Temper the raita with some cooked whole spices (optional).
Raita paired with a dal paratha is an easy entree or a complete light meal.
For the Parathas…
Leftover dal is used to add moisture to the wheat flour (and a little besan flour).
Some extra dried spices are added to the dal before mixing and fresh herbs are added to the dough.
Vinnys explains that this paratha traditionally has an eclectic shape so that can make even beginners’ efforts look good.
A raita and parathas makes a great start to a meal….
….a raita is the perfect accompaniment to main dishes….
…and raita with leftover curries, rice and salad in a wrap makes a great Kathi roll….
….or use raita with leftovers to make a great Thali!
Vinnys teaches in her home kitchen on Sunday afternoons. For more information contact Vinnys at vinnystanve@yahoo.com.au
Fine Eating 