Ethiopia Down Under, Pearce, Canberra – Ethiopian Food another Canberra World Food Delight to share

http://www.ethiopiadownunder.com.au/

Pearce Shops
Shop 1 – 70 Hodgson Crescent
Pearce ACT

Open for Dinner – Tues – Sunday 5.30pm till late

Phone: 02 6286 165

Friendly service and easy parking.

Corkage is NIL

Suggested shared menu for six

ALIT’CHA DORO $19.90
Strips of chicken breast pieces cooked with carrot, green chilli & onion. (gf)

KAY WAT $17.90
Ethiopia’s main stay and most popular meat dish – tender beef pieces in a spicy berbere sauce. (gf)

ASAR TIBBS $20.90
Nile Perch fish fillet pan-fried fresh with burbere spices, capsicum, onion & tomato. (gf)

All mains come with steamed rice and fluffy pancakes made from sorghum.

HOMEMADE ICE CREAMS, GELATO & SORBETS

(225-250 gm or approx 2-3 scoops) $8.90 (gf)

Flavours vary with availability and season

Ice creams (full cream) (vegetarian) (gf)

Ethiopian Sidamo Coffee & Roasted Hazelnut
Three Chocolates & Cointreau
Caribbean Coconut Rum Triple Chocolate Chip
Ginger, Toasted Coconut & Chocolate Shards
Cumquat & Scorched Almonds
Turkish Delight
Malted Chocolate & Macadamia Nut
Gelatos (milk based) (vegetarian)

Gelatos (milk based) (vegetarian) (gf)

Lemon
Pure chocolate
GSorbets (non dairy – no egg white used) (vegan)

Sorbets (non dairy – no egg white used) (vegan) (gf)

Lemon
Pineapple and Coconut Cream
Passionfruit and Valencia Orange
Mango Sunset

25% discount for Canberra Entertainment Card up to $25

Total cost of food and corkage $111 ($18.60 per person) ($86 with the discount ($14.30 per person)

Icecream and gelato

ASAR TIBBS

ALIT’CHA DORO

KAY WAT

Sanur’s Balinese Restaurant, Belconnen, Canberra good sharing menu for a group

Shop 1, The Broadwalk

1/114 Emu Bank, Belconnen, 2617
Phone: (02) 6162 1688
Email: admin@sanurs.com.au

Opening Hours

Lunch 12.00 – 14.30 (Tuesday – Saturday)
Dinner 17.30 – 22.00 (Tuesday – Sunday)

Suggested menu for six

Opor Ayam $17.9
Tender chicken tenderloin cooked in spiced coconut curry

Beef Rendang $18.9
Slow cooked beef in rich coconut sauce with Indonesian Traditional herbs and spices

Gado Gado (V) $14.9
Steamed mixed vegetables with peanut sauce, boiled eggs, garlic crackers & fried shallots

Terong Balado (V) $16.9
Lightly fried Japanese eggplant with padangnese chili relish

Three serves rice

25% discount up to $30 for Entertainment Book

Corkage $5 per bottle

http://www.sanurs.com.au/index.html

(Total cost of food about $78) ( $13 per person) ($ 59 with the discount ($10 per person)

Gado Gado

Beef Rendang

Discovering Canberra’s World Food Delights with friends – good spots and great menus

Canberra offers a bounty of great spots to explore the cuisines of the world with friends, and even meet some of the locals introducing the food of their home country to their fellow Canberrans, at the same time.

Vietnam, China, India, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Italy, Thailand, Mexico, Ethiopia, Laos, Burma, Malaysia and Bali as well many more cuisines are well represented in restaurants and street food style eateries around town.

Through some creative ordering and sharing, it’s easy to enjoy a range of dishes, finish dinner still feeling comfortable and keep the cost of the food down to around $20 or less.
And most places offer BYO which also keeps it affordable even if you’re planning a ’round the world’ ticket.

In the next few posts, I’ll help with some places to head and some menu ideas.

So grab some friends, a bottle wine and share some exciting food adventures discovering Canberra’s world cuisines.

Good sharing menu – Chong Co Kingston, Canberra – Thai cuisine

Chong Co Thai on the Kingston Foreshore offers a lovely lakeside setting in the good weather (but can also be busy and noisy in winter). Service is excellent. Serves are generous and flavours delicious.

However, prices per dish tend to be $2-3 more than the sister restaurants, perhaps to cover the higher rent.

The chicken green curry and beef massaman curry are excellent, as are the prawn and the chicken cashew nut stir fries.

Suggested shared menu for six people (2 dishes per 3 people is plenty)

CHICKEN GREEN CURRY $23
Thai style curry with chicken, green chilli paste and coconut milk with mixed vegetables and basil leaves (Medium)

BEEF MASSAMAN CURRY $25
Made from special massaman curry paste cooked with coconut milk, onion, potato topped with peanut and coriander (Mild)

CHICKEN CASHEW NUT STIR FRY $21
Stir fried chicken with cashew nut, chilli jam,
and mixed vegetables (Medium)

LAMB CHILLI BASIL STIR FRY $21
Stir fried lamb with chilli, basil leaves and mixed vegetables (Medium)

Three serves Jasmine rice $3 per serve

$2.70 corkage per person

Very helpful service. Best in warm weather when you can enjoy the lake views and open setting. ( Can be noisy inside).

25% discount for Entertainment Book up to $30

Total food cost $99 ($16.50 per person) ($74 with the discount ($12.40 per person)

BEEF MASSAMAN CURRY – amazing!

CHICKEN CASHEW NUT STIR FRY

Prawn & cashew stir fry (8 prawns) very good, $29 Complimentary 1st birthday treat

Chong Co Deep fried ice-cream $8.90

Thai pumpkin custard served with ice-cream $9.90 (very good)

11/81 Giles Street, Kingston (i.e. Kingston Foreshore)

Phone: 6162 0200
OPENING HOURS: 7 Days 11am-10pm

(Can be tricky to find as it’s not well sign posted from the road, but it’s at the end of the foreshore away from King’s Ave bridge next to the Rum Bar and near Max Brenner, on a corner.)

Taj Agra Dickson, Canberra – Indian cuisine

Taj Agra Dickson

35 Woolley street Dickson

Ph: 02 62496633

Helpfully open 7 days of dinner Monday to Sunday 5:30pm-10:00pm

Lunch Monday to Friday 12-2pm

Suggested menu for six

Entree:
3 serves Samosa – Spiced potato and green peas in crispy pastry (order one serve per two people as each serve includes two samosa) $9.90 per serve

Mains (order one serve of each, for six people):

Chicken Makhani (Butter Chicken) – chicken pieces half cooked in tandoori oven and finished in a creamy tomato sauce $18.50
Beef Madras – South Indian beef curry with coconut milk and fragrant spices $18.50
Handi Gosht-chef’s own selected spices and lamb, simmered in a clay pot to accentuate its full flavour $18.90 and

One serve Raita $4.50

Three serves Saffron Basmati Rice $3 per serve
with 3 Plain Naan – tandoori bread ( 1/2 per person) $3.50 per naan

BYO (Corkage $5 per bottle)

Click to access dickson.pdf

Total cost of food $109.50 ($19 per person)

25 % discount up to $20 for the Canberra Entertainment book ($89.50 ($15 per person)

Samosas

Chicken Makhani (Butter Chicken) Saag Chicken Handi Gosht

3 dishes, 3 serves rice, raita and naan

Naan

Thai Chiang Rai Kingston, Canberra -Thai

Thai Chiang Rai Kingston, is an ideal spot for an inexpensive, but interesting and pleasant, group dinner. Noy, the manager, is very helpful in designing a shared menu and his suggestions are terrific.

Helpfully open for dinner every day from 5 pm (and lunch Monday to Friday), it is found at 48 Giles St Kingston.

Phone 02 62326999 for bookings.

Suggested shared menu for six people, and
a good mix of flavours textures and colours;

Order one dish each of four to five of:

FIVE SPICE PRAWN $25.90 Stir-fried Prawns infused with five flavours of spices (this photo 3/4 of a serve size as it’s possible to order 1 1/2 serves, usually around 10 prawns per serve)

ROAST DUCK RED CURRY $22.90 With beans, bamboo shoot, peas, zucchini and lychee

ROAST CHICKEN $22.90 Crispy roast chicken with cucumber, topped with chilli, garlic, coriander and special soy sauce

STIR-FRY DRY CHILLI & CASHEW NUTS with onion and shallot and chicken $19.90

STUFFED EGGPLANT $22.90 (about 8 pieces per serve)

STICKY RICE $4.90/ basket(one basket per four people) (this especially good with the red duck curry)

and 2 serves of COCONUT RICE ( $3.90/ person)

Corkage $5.90 per bottle (or $3.90 per person)

http://www.thaichiangrai.com.au

25% discount up to $30 for the Canberra Entertainment book

Up to around $21 per person (for the five dishes and rice) (or $16 per person with the discount)

: 3/4 serve Five spice prawns (about 10 prawns per one serve)

: Red duck curry (excellent too)

: Stuffed eggplant (about 8 pieces)

: Sticky rice (great with curry)

: Roast chicken ( a good choice and easily shared)

: Chicken and chilli with cashew nuts

Meccabah, Manuka, Canberra – Moroccan cuisine

http://meccabah.net

Opening Hours: Monday to Sunday, 11AM till late

Phone: (02) 6260 6700
Address: 25-29 Manuka Terrace, Flinders Way, Manuka, Canberra ACT 2603 (above Coles)

The tangines and turkish pizzas are especially good for sharing.

Suggested shared menu for six

1 serve Turkish pizza Lamb Kofte, Spicy Tomato Sauce And Yoghurt $24

1 serve Beef Tangine With Ras El Hanout Spices, Sweet Potatoes, Carrot And Preserved Fig ( with cous cous) $24

1 serve Chicken Tangine with cinnamon, raisins, almond, sesame & honey (with cous cous) $24

1 serve Turkish Pizza Spit Roasted Lamb, Rocket, Yoghurt & Sumac $24

Mecca Bah Ice-Cream (divine)

Date & Vanilla, Middle-Eastern Halva, Rich Chocolate, Turkish Coffee

Single Scoop $4 (one per person, but great to get two scoops of each and share, to taste them all).

Not BYO

25% discount up to $30 for the Canberra Entertainment Card

Total food cost $120 ($20 per person) ($15 per person with the discount)

The best place to park is in the medical centre building on Furneaux Street ( in between Franklin and Bouganville streets) which is free after hours. You can walk down the lane opposite the pedestrian crossing across Furneaux street, and Meccabah is across the road at the end of the lane.

Beef Tangine With Ras El Hanout Spices, Sweet Potatoes, Carrot And Preserved Fig ( with cous cous) $24

Turkish pizza Lamb Kofte, Spicy Tomato Sauce And Yoghurt $24

Turkish Pizza Spit Roasted Lamb, Rocket, Yoghurt & Sumac

Baan Latsamy, Manuka, Canberra – Laos Thai food from North East Essan

Baan Latsamy is on Flinders Way in Manuka, across the road from Coles, McDonalds and Gelatissimo.

Open for dinner 7 days 5:00-10:30pm and lunch Monday to Saturday 11:30am to 2:30pm Ph: 02 62950426.

The best place to park is in the medical centre building on Furneaux Street ( in between Franklin and Bouganville streets) which is free after hours. You can walk down the lane opposite the pedestrian crossing across Furneaux street and Baan Latsamy is on the right hand corner at the other end of the lane.

Suggested Shared menu:

Entree Crunchy Eggplant with Chicken and Prawn Deep fried sliced eggplant wrapped with minced chicken and prawn served with chilli sauce ( this is fantastic!). Order one serve per two people ( two generous pieces in each serve) $12.90 per serve

Mains ( serves are large so choose three for six people)

Mussamun Curry with Beef $18.90 With potato and roast peanuts, cooked in a thick curry, coconut milk sauce

Hot Wok Stir Fry Ginger and Vegetables with Beef $18.90 With ginger, beans, onions, shallots and dried mushrooms

Green Curry with Chicken $19.90 With bamboo shoots, beans, peas and basil leaves cooked in coconut milk Chicken with Cashew nuts stir fry $18.90

Hot Wok Stir Fry Thai Basil with Chicken $18.90 With capsicum, onions, beans, bamboo shoots, fresh chilli and basil leaves in the chef’s special sauce

Three serves of rice is enough for six people.

The sticky rice $2.90 goes especially well with the curries and slow cooked duck. Otherwise the coconut rice is lovely $2.90.

Baan Latsamy will also very helpfully provide 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 serves of dishes which is very useful if group numbers are tricky.

BYO wine ($5.50 corkage per bottle) 25% discount offered for the Canberra Entertainment book up to $25 $105 total cost for food ($17.50 per person) , $81 with the discount ($13.50 per person)

Crunchy eggplant with prawn and chicken (2 pieces $12.90) ( only one piece shown here)

Beef mussamun curry

Green curry with chicken

Hot Wok Stir fry Thai Basil with Chicken

Hot Pot Stir Fry Ginger and Vegetables

Chicken and cashew nut stir fry $18.90

Hot pot roast duck (delicious, but more difficult to share the large pieces)

Camellia Restaurant, Manuka, Canberra – Sri Lankan Cuisine

Enjoy true Sri Lankan hospitality as Jaged, the host at Camellia Restaurant introduces two iconic dishes unique to Sri Lanka:

String hoppers with fish curry $27 and
Kottu Roti with chicken curry $25

Three serves of each dish is about right for eight people to share (i.e. 6 dishes in total).
You can swap the curries for fish, chicken or beef, but the fish is the best and the chicken goes with with the kottu roti.

Total cost of food $156 ($19.50 per person)

BYO wine ($10 corkage per bottle)

One complimentary main when another ordered is offered for those with the Canberra Entertainment Card. (Total cost of food with discount is $131 ($16.30 per person)

http://www.camelliarestaurant.com.au

Open for dinner Monday to Saturday 5:30pm onwards, lunch 11:30am-2:00pm Monday to Saturday.

Closed Sundays.

Camellia Restaurant is on Franklin Street in Manuka, next to the entrance to Capitol Cinema.

Phone: 02 62952756
The best place to park is in the medical centre building on Furneaux Street ( in between Franklin and Bouganville streets) which is free after hours.

A review of Camellia Restaurant
http://michelesindia.wordpress.com/2014/01/27/camellia-restaurant-a-sri-lankan-gem-for-canberra/

Great Sri Lankan food read from Lonely Planet
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/sri-lanka/travel-tips-and-articles/discover-the-many-flavours-of-sri-lanka

Kottu Roti with Chicken Curry

String hoppers with fish curry

More Canberra World Food Delights with Friends – Pho Quoc, Dickson, Canberra – Vietnamese Cuisine

4/6 Cape Street, Dickson, ACT

Ph: 02 62496662/02 62496476

Open Monday to Friday 11-3pm, Saturday and Sunday 11am- 10pm

This Vietnamese eatery in Dickson is often busy with Vietnamese families enjoying meals together and service is great.

Suggested menu for six

Starters:

The Pho with rare beef is delicious, made with tender beef and a very rich and yummy stock $12. One serve could be shared as a starter, but ladling it out into small bowls could get messy.

Two serves Vietnamese pancake $16 (fantastic, crisp, buttery and filled with pork and vegetable in a great sauce. The dipping sauce for the pancake is wonderful too. The pancake is usually only available at lunchtime, unless pre-ordered, as it occupies the wok, and takes the chef a while to cook. However, it may still only be available weekdays and before 6pm.)

Mains (order 3-4):

Pepper fish in claypot $22

Boneless chicken with cucumber and soy and peanuts$17

Caramelised pork $17

Beef/chicken/lamb with lemongrass and chilli $15

Three serves plain rice $3 per serve

BYO corkage is a mere $1.10 per person

Total cost for food and wine corkage up to $19.80 per person (or $89 with the discount ($14.80 per person)

25% discount up to $30 offered for the Canberra Entertainment book.