My 2016 Canberra Favourites!

As 2016 draws to a close, I think it’s time to pick my favourite Canberra eateries from the year.

In no particular order they are…

The best ice-cream must go to the Frugii Dessert Factory.

The most versatile goes to Taste of Bangladesh, for not only hosting a cooking workshop and a huge birthday party, but also supplying the goods for a magnificent Melbourne Cup Lunch.

The best fine dining goes to Courgette

The best event venue goes to the Boathouse

The best cheap and cheerful goes to The Claypot Chef

The best venue goes to Pialligo Estate

The best all rounder goes to Monster Bar

The best brunch spot goes to Two Before Ten

The best Sunday lunch spot goes to Poacher’s Pantry

The best weekday lunch goes to Penny University

Most beautiful food goes to Space Kitchen

The Grounds, Alexandria – really, quite an unexpectedly full experience

I’ve long heard about the fame of the immensely popular The Grounds, in Alexandria, but nothing has prepare me for the enormity of what is actually not just an eatery but a whole experience.

From the helpful parking attendant on arrival….

…. to the petting farm…..

…. the Saturday market…

… the Saturday food carts…

…to magnificent Christmas baking…

…to Santa!!

Definitely more than I’d bargained for!

There’s clearly a sophisticated system in place that keeps hundreds of people happy, supplied by a bakery….

…..take-away and picnic options….

…..Garden cafe…..

…..and coffee roasting.

Even special events are well catered for.

We settled on tea $4….

….and the Dried Fruit dish $14 with Chai infused winter fruit compote

…but others were enjoying other more substantial dishes like the smashed avocado on toast, brekkie burger, home-made granola or superfood muesli.

On a Saturday you may need to wait for a table, but even that can be highly entertaining!

Easy to see why it’s a popular destination for families and those seeking a whole ‘outing’.

Chifley Bar & Grill, Barton – the new summer menu

The Hotel Kurrajong is all decked out for Christmas and the Chifley Bar & Grill has a new summer menu.

The starters include Pork Cheek Croquettes with green Apple Slaw $20…

..and a Grilled Haloumi and Mint Salad with halloumi cheese, orange, mint and roasted walnut $20.

The Chilled Gazpacho with Poached King Prawn $20 also sounds good.

The website menu is not up to date, but here’s the latest!

Black Market Coffee Roasters – a very handy spot to know on Enmore Road!

Black Market Coffee Roasters are new to Enmore Road and just a few minutes walk away from The Urban Hotel.

Perfect for a quick coffee or light brekkie I had flagged it for my next visit.

The crumpets with honey, marscapone, mint, summer fruits and nut butter $12 were top on my list.

As I waited I enjoyed one of their very popular coffees and watched the locals drop by to pick up theirs.

The crumpets arrived and were beautiful, but sadly not house-made as the prep area is tiny.

Next visit I’ve got my eye on the fig and cranberry fruit toast, a bargain at just $4.50 sourced from the Bourke Street Bakery’s Bread and Butter project – an artisan bakery and also Australia’s first social enterprise bakery with 100% of profits being reinvested into baker training and employment pathways for refugees and asylum seekers.

I’ll be back!

2016 Christmas Baking

Full of amazing ideas for next year! Especially love the candied peanuts!

In Search of Golden Pudding

I really don’t want to worry anyone, but I had to let all you bakers know that Stir Up Sunday is only a week away…I think that means there are only five Christmas baking weeks left! So, it seems like a good time to remind you about the Christmas baking recipes on the blog, which are all linked in the list at the bottom of the page, as well as a few of my favourites from elsewhere on the web.

I also wanted to let you know a bit about my baking plans, so for those who are into a bit of baking nerdery, read on! This post is duplicating a process I did as an experiment in 2014. I had started a list here of my Christmas baking (I usually write one on paper) – what I was planning on making, and when, and noting stages as they were…

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Need New Year’s Canapes? – here’s 14 quick, easy, make ahead ideas

Good canapes + drinks = a great event – and so easy to do at home.

Step 1:

Send the invites

Step 2:

Make ahead and freeze everything you can.

Step 3:

Make ahead the rest

Step 4:

Make room, hang lights, organise platters and glasses

Step 5:

Final assembly

Step 6:

Welcome guests, pour drinks, pass around canapes

Savoury ideas

Dill scones with smoked salmon dip, cucumber, aioli, smoked salmon and dill

Cinnamon and brown sugar pear, blue cheese dip, date, walnut pikelets

Cinnamon and brown sugar roast sweet potato slices with hummus and olive

Roasted potato slices with roasted carrot and cummin dip and semi dried tomatoes

Baby pea and feta cheese pikelets with sour cream and sweet chilli sauce for dipping

Sweet corn chorizo and cheese mini-muffins

Red curry, broccoli and coconut soup (originally made with carrot but great with any vegetable)

Couscous, pumpkin, chickpea, date salad (for something more filling)

Spanish potato frittata

Pinwheel smoked oyster, cream cheese and cumin sandwiches

Crumbled mince pie Christmas ice-creams

Mini trifles

Cheesecake marble brownies

Coffee almond meringues

For more recipes go to:

Finger food ideas

No. 10 – Woden’s new spot for a worker’s weekday lunch

Number 10 is the new kid on the block in the Woden Departmental District and clearly very popular for pre-Christmas catch ups. It’s taken over from Smoque at the bottom of the Abode Hotel on Bowes Street.

It offers three great $15 lunch specials and I particularly like the look of the salad and the steak.

https://www.instagram.com/number10restaurantandbar/

In + Out Lunch $15

Skirt Steak – Chargrilled skirt steak with Café de Paris butter and fries

Fish + Chips- Beer battered fish and chips with No. 10 remoulade sauce and a cucumber and fennel slaw

Roast Pumpkin Salad – Salad of roast pumpkin, roast sweet potato, cos lettuce, pine nuts and fetta

However, on my first visit we were road testing the two salads listed under the small plates.

My Beet Salad was excellent! A perfect amount and full of tasty, well balanced flavored and textures. A great light lunch but some may want to order a side of bread.

Beet Salad – Pickled beetroots with goats curd, candied and pickled walnuts, radish, celery hearts, honey vinaigrette $17 ($24 main size)

My dining partner tried the Calamari Salad – also a good choice.

Calamari – Flashed fried squid with citrus salt, caramelised pineapple, coriander, cucumber, mint and orange syrup $18

Also, very popular for lunch is the Chicken and Waffles – Buttermilk & Bourbon fried chicken with waffles, maple aioli, cress and lemon $21.

https://www.instagram.com/number10restaurantandbar/

But I do think I’d have to have the Beet Salad again next time I’m back, it was so very good!

Burbury Terrace High Tea

The Burbury Terrace is one of Canberra’s High Tea specialty venues, competitively priced with a great view.

High Tea is $50 per person with and extra $10 for sparking wine.

The menu includes sandwiches….

…scones….

….and sweet treats.

While the ambiance and range may not be the same as the Hyatt Hotel, tea and coffee is bottomless and guests are welcome to take home anything they didn’t get to enjoy.

But remember High tea is also great to do DIY!

Paramount Coffee Project, Surry Hills – SMH’s Good Food Guide’s 2017 Cafe of the Year

Never missing an opportunity to try a Good Food Guide hot tip, we braced the rain to try the Paramount Coffee Project, an easy walk from Central Station, on Commonwealth Street, for breakfast.

Wanting to try some of the innovative dishes we shared the very delicious Creole Jambalaya with chorizo, smoked barramundi, charred squash smothered cabbage and caramelised lemon $19.50

….. and the Key lime pie waffle with coconut lime and pepper slice, macerated berries, salted Nutella ganache and green apple $19.50, very moorish, but definitely best shared.

The open spaces are very welcome and while very popular, it’s not too hard to grab a table.

Claypot Chef – in my top 10 for Canberra!

The Claypot Chef has been on my wishlist ever since Karen Really Likes Food did that magnificent piece on Chef Udaya.

Now that the warm weather is here, it was a perfect time to head to the Farrer Shops to sit out front with a lovely no corkage BYO wine and a bunch of friends to share some of the best Sri Lankan food I’ve ever had.

When we arrived Udaya was busy in the kitchen preparing that Sri Lankan signature dish Kothu Roti. The sound of chopping on the hot plate brought back many fond travel memories.

However, Udaya is the consummate host and he quickly arrived at our table with wine and water glasses and complimentary pappadoms. In fact he keep the water filled all night and returned with more pappadoms.

Based on our past enjoyment and Karen’s recommendations – we chose for our group of six, one dish each of the Green Bean Curry $11 with spices and coconut milk…

…Sri Lankan Black Pork Curry $17…..

…Devilled Chicken $15….

…one large rice $3…..

…one roti each $2 each…

And we doubled up on then Lamprias, that classic Dutch Burger Sri Lankan lunch box in a banana leaf oven-baked with a pork/chicken, a fish ball, deep fried egg, potato, eggplant, seeni sambol and spiced rice – delicious!

The real stand out stars were the Pork and Green Bean curries, roti and Lamprias. Udaya also arrived with some complimentary Coconut Sambol (usually $5) which was a perfect condiment – I will get that every time!

Nothing was too much trouble for Udaiya and to complete our meal he brought us some complimentary traditional Portuguese settler inspired Love Cakes – delicious!

We had food left (may have only needed one Lamprais) all for less than $16 per person.

Claypot Chef has won a firm spot on my top favourites in Canberra.

Do drop by over Summer and try it for yourself.

Closed Mondays and Christmas to 11 January for a break – Claypot Chef is usually open Tues to Thurs for dinner 4-8pm and Fri-Sun 10-8pm for lunch and dinner.

Take-away is also hugely popular.

Phone: 62868081 or 0404074440

Fine Eating

Hints Hacks and Highlights

My 2016 Canberra Favourites!

The Grounds, Alexandria – really, quite an unexpectedly full experience

Chifley Bar & Grill, Barton – the new summer menu

Black Market Coffee Roasters – a very handy spot to know on Enmore Road!

2016 Christmas Baking

Need New Year’s Canapes? – here’s 14 quick, easy, make ahead ideas

No. 10 – Woden’s new spot for a worker’s weekday lunch

Burbury Terrace High Tea

Paramount Coffee Project, Surry Hills – SMH’s Good Food Guide’s 2017 Cafe of the Year

Claypot Chef – in my top 10 for Canberra!

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