Dieci e Mezzo, Canberra ACT *Android Exclusive*

Dieci e Mezzo

http://dieciemezzo.com.au/
Food: 4/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Service: 5/5
Cost: $$$

Dieci e Mezzo is a very impressionable restaurant in the heart of Civic. The dining space was sophisticated and unique, with a dazzling yet soft play of colours and lighting. I especially loved the ambience of the place.

The food and wine was excellent, and the service impeccable. My knowledge of the chef/owner, James Kidman, was very little however I was aware of the mark that he has made on the Canberra dining scene. The menu was varied and certainly reflected the seasonal aspect for which Kidman is well known for. It's a shame that he has since moved to Queensland to pursue his culinary career.

My lasting impression of Dieci e Mezzo lies with the waiteress whose undeniable knowledge of the menu, as well as the wines and local produce, proved to be flawless.

Octopus, cannelini beans and lentils served with grilled bread

Pickled ox tongue, quail eggs, turnips, radishes and aioli

$21

Fillet of ‘Cone Bay’ barramundi, squash caponata, burnt butter, sage and raisins

$32

Local black truffle ($25 for a shaving over a meal)

Char grilled pork cutlet, chestnut gnocci, broccoli, lemon and roasted chestnuts

$29

Celeriac, parsnip and potato mash

$9

Almond milk pannacotta, moscato poached pear, caramel icecream and gingerbread

$15

Pork Barrel Cafe, Parkes ACT

Pork Barrel Cafe

http://www.porkbarrel.com.au/

Food: 3.5/5
Atmosphere: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5
Cost: $$

Pork Barrel is a pleasant cafe situated in the leafy suburb of Parkes. This was my first visit to this establishment and in this case I really enjoyed what was typically 'Canberran' about this place. The menu was varied, and the serving sizes were decent and moderately priced.

One of my all time favourite dishes, French toast with pear, bacon and maple syrup, was a good sized meal and the flavours complimented each other perfectly. My only criticism would be the fact that the lack of pear was made up for with an over-generous serving of maple syrup (think small wading pool). All in all, the dish was delicious and I would order it again regardless. It was a nice change from my usual Eggs Benedict.

Skinny flat white.

French toast with pear, bacon and maple syrup.

The grass-fed organic beef sausages with sweet potato mash, caramelized onions and red wine jus tasted as good as it looked. The sausages were fresh and cooked well and the sweet potato mash was smooth and creamy. Unfortunately, the chef must have been generous with his sauces that particular day, as he was also over-zealous with his application of red wine jus. No major complaints though, as the sausage dish was tasty none the less.

Organic beef sausages with sweet potato mash, caramelised onion and red wine jus.

The Commercial Hotel, Bega NSW

The Commercial Hotel

Food: 3/5
Atmosphere: 3/5
Service: 3/5
Cost: $$

For a decent sized meal, The Commercial Hotel is a good place to start. I've been here a few times in the past and its certainly one if the nicer pubs to dine at in the township.

On this occasion we ordered from the $10 lunch specials and decided to go with some burgers. The meat was 'real' and the Turkish bread was deliciously fresh! The meat patty on the Cheeseburger seemed to be homemade, not prepacked or processed, and the chicken used in the Cajun Chicken Burger was a fair dinkum chicken breast, chargrilled to perfection.

Cheeseburger with Chips

$10 Special

Chargrilled Cajun Chicken Burger with Chips

$10

Club Sapphire, Merimbula NSW *Android Exclusive*

Club Sapphire, Merimbula

http://www.clubsapphire.com.au/restaurants-dining/pacific-bistro

Food: 2.5/5
Atmosphere: 2/5
Service: 3/5
Cost: $$

It probably wasn't the best idea to come here during the annual Jazz Festival. It was insanely busy. No problem with getting drinks from the bar, but the meal here was a bit touch and go.
The Oysters Kilpatrick weren't great. The oysters themselves were plump and fresh, as you would expect from a coastal town, yet they were drowned in Kilpatrick sauce and covered with large, roughly chopped, hideous pieces of bacon. PS - who serves their Oysters Kilpatrick with a plethora of random lettuce leaves thrown on top?!

Oysters Kilpatrick

On the other hand, I ordered the Pork Belly having low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of ingredients and satisfying emulsion of perfect flavours. It really was nice.
As for the Garlic Prawns served on a mountain of white rice (literally), my uncle spent most of the night with his head near the toilet bowl and my cousin felt ill for the majority of the following day. Apparently the prawns hadn't been cooked thoroughly and were still opaque in the centre.

Roast Pork Belly with Rocket, Pear, Walnuts and Parmesan served with Red Wine Jus.

Lamb Billabong - Lamb wrapped in bacon.

Serai Restaurant, Gungahlin ACT

Serai Restaurant 

Food: 4/5
Atmosphere: 2.5/5
Service: 4/5
Cost: $$

Serai is a small restaurant hidden away underneath the apartments alongside Yerrabi Pond. I noticed this place a few weeks ago and really wanted to try some decent Malaysian in Canberra. Coming here to do so was the absolute right choice!

This is the first establishment I have dined at where the staff actually asked me why I was taking photos of the food. I explained my food / blog obsession to the friendly waiteress and she seemed very open to conversation. The Persian waiteress (and owner?) also told us that one of their two chefs was Malaysian and the other was Persian. The beauty of Serai is that they offer both these cuisines on the menu. We were chuffed when a few minutes later she brought out some complimentary Persian yoghurt sauces and crackers for us to try!

Complimentary Persian yoghurt sauces.....

....served with crackers.

This one contained fresh smokey eggplant. Authentic Persian dip.

The meals we ordered were fresh, non-oily and extremely tasty. The Char Kway Teow was the best I've had to date. Not only were we impressed by the quality of food, but the entire meal and drinks came to a total of $42 for two! Had the nice waiteress given us a discount? We weren't sure. What I am sure of is that we both agreed that we will be back here again, for both the excellent food and the lovely service.

Roti Canai served with Dahl Curry

$7.50

Coconut Rice

$3.00

Malaysian Chicken Curry

$16.90

Char Kway Teow (with Prawns)

$18.90

Best Char Kway Teow I've ever had!

The addition of the sliced fish cake was delish!