Category Archives: Food reviews – Australia

A DATE AT WATERS EDGE RESTAURANT IN CANBERRA

16 January 2013 2 comments

With the kids snugly tucked into bed and babysat by Chris’ parents, Chris took me out on a wonderful dinner date at the Waters Edge Restaurant. I was excited – it was our first (and last) proper date during our Canberra trip.. and the thought of us being alone sans kids was just so deliciously enticing :P

It started off pretty badly because actually, Chris had made the booking for their sister restaurant, Courgette. Unbeknownst to him, Courgette was closed over the Christmas/New Year season. So he dialed Courgette’s number, and it was auto-redirected to Waters Edge WITHOUT informing him. The waiter at Waters Edge restaurant took his reservation without warning him that this was an entirely different restaurant.

So of course, we turned out at Courgette. We were really weirded out to find it closed, since we had made the reservation. But because I vaguely remembered that they had a sister restaurant, I deduced that maybe our reservation was there instead.

We called Waters Edge to check, and YES, the reservation was there! No apology from the staff, however.

So we jumped back into the car and drove to Waters Edge. The service staff were friendly and polite, but very obviously understaffed. We waited half an hour for our order to be taken. When we mentioned we wanted to order wines, the waiter said he’ll put our food order through first and would “be right back”. A very long 15 minutes later, he came to take our drinks order.

I should also mention that they didn’t proactively refill our water glasses – something I consider a sign of attentive service in a nice restaurant. I asked them 3 times to refill.

We had to wait 20-30 mins for the waitress to come round with the bread rolls. I was bloody STARVING because it was 9PM by now and we had only just ordered our food, so Chris almost had to physically restrain me from tackling her to the ground as she strolled around the room slooowwwly.

They also completely forgot about our truffle mash, which we ordered as a side dish. When we pointed this out, he said “I’ll take it off your bill.” Damn straight you will, buster!! I actually expected, with the delayed ordering and forgotten side, they would offer a complimentary coffee or something – but nada.

Anyway, those were the bad points. It was annoying, but not really a deal breaker.. just that it made the evening a little less than perfect. We still thoroughly enjoyed our food and our time together just chatting and laughing. Our lives are so consumed with kids these days that it’s nice to have a little breather sometimes :)

 

My wonderful man outside Waters Edge restaurant

 

That whipped butter had the best texture, but tasted like smoked bacon butter. When we asked, he said it was “smoked apple butter”. OK whatever, it seriously tasted like smoked bacon!!

 

Spanner crab roulade, chilled tomato consomme, seeded mustard ice cream – the consomme was a bit of a weird combination, but loved the crab!

 

Quail and foie gras terrine, picked rhubarb, barberry and vanilla – eeeeek fantastic. Then again, I can never fault foie gras

 

Warm prawn cocktail with blood orange and spicy avocado cream – this looked pretty anemic on the plate, but the mix of flavours and textures (especially that gorgeous cream sauce) was excellent

 

Caramelised pork belly, boudin noir, crisp apple and radish – HOLY SMOKES this was perfection. Lusciously soft and tender, I wanted 6 more pieces of this.

 

Pan seared john dory, balmain bug ravioli, fresh peas, eucalyptus – so pretty a dish. beautifully cooked fish, what more can I say?

 

White pyrenees lamb rump, smoked eggplant, capsicum terrine, quinoa – this not only look good, it tasted freakin’ good!!!!!

 

Strawberry and elderflower shortcake, meringue, sweet cucumber, wild berry sorbet – this sounded so interesting on the menu! Beautifully executed and not too sweet, but that “sweet cucumber” was completely odd..

 

Cheeses with walnut bread, fruit and crackers – ahhhh a cheese platter at the end of a meal. How can you go wrong?

 

Lovely ambience and food, all washed down with a sparkling pinot noir. A much-needed date night out.. and we felt so reinvigorated afterwards :) Totally recommend this place for a date in Canberra, but just confirm you’re going to the right restaurant and go EARLY, or your meal will end up finishing past 11PM like ours did!

 

CANBERRA: DRINKS & NIBBLES AT THE REALM

11 January 2013 2 comments

We had a really lovely dinner date whilst in Canberra. It was a double date with Chris’ sister and her husband – the ones that got married earlier this year. And come to think of it, we’ve actually never been on a double date with them before! It was really nice having an adult conversation and a night out sans kids.

We went to Realm Hotel’s Ostani bar & restaurant and boy it was a hit! We were really impressed with the quality of the food, not to mention the speed of which they came out. It’s actually really reasonably priced considering 1) we’re in Canberra, and 2) we ordered a ton. Almost all the dishes were really good, and I’d definitely go back again. Well worth a visit if you’re in Canberra. Love the relaxed vibe of the place and it also has a really lovely outdoor area if the weather is nice enough.

Inside Ostani bar and restaurant

 

Grilled garlic & chilli prawns, coriander yoghurt ($15) – this was actually really expensive, considering you get 4 prawns for the price. GEEZ!

 

Salt & pepper squid with aoli ($12.50) – outstanding. Crisp, tasty and delicious

 

Lamb cutlets wrapped in prosciutto, pesto ($16.50) – eeeek these were amazeballs!!! Tender lamb that was cooked to perfection

 

Seared scallops & pesto ($16) – my goodness. Just LOOK at the photo. How can you not salivate??

 

Spicy chicken drumettes with chilli plum sauce ($13.50) – this sounded so boring on the menu, but I thought they tasted pretty brilliant.

 

Grilled Portuguese chicken skewers, lemon aioli ($15) – stupidest item we ordered. Bland, uninteresting, and 3 skewers for 15 bucks. Gak!

 

Roasted pork belly, apple cider reduction ($14.50) – good grief this was excellent. Succulent chunks of pork belly that totally hit the spot

 

SALSICCIA E TALEGGIO Italian sausage, taleggio cheese, caramelized onion & thyme ($18.50) – this was small but pretty good. A nice thin base with lots of toppings

 

Beer battered chips ($8.50) – how can anyone resist hearing the words “beer battered chips”? Anyone who can resist is NOT my friend at all. These were awesome. What else can I say?

 

This was actually a very reasonable amount of food for 4 adults. We didn’t think it’d be enough, but turns out the meat dishes were actually chunky and filling. So much so that we didn’t feel the need to get dessert. Or rather, they’d sold out of the chocolate-based dessert that I wanted (BOOHISS). I think that, with drinks, it worked out to about AUD$40-50 per person which is not bad for a night out in Canberra – considering bellies were filled and we had alcohol.

 

CANBERRA: CREAM CAFE & BAR

9 January 2013 13 comments

We randomly stumbled upon CREAM Cafe & Bar whilst in Canberra Centre shopping mall. We were after a place where all of us could have a nice relaxed brunch.. preferably outdoors. But because it was the weekend, the place was packed so we could only get an indoor spot. No issue though, as with their high ceilings and huge glass-paned windows, it was so airy and bright it was almost like sitting outdoors anyway.

Their menu made me salivate at the mere sight of it. Oh how I love brunch-y type places! This was exactly my type of cafe. It’s not cheap, but nice brunch cafes are roughly around that price, and I’ve heard stuff tends to be pretty expensive in Canberra anyway.

Inside CREAM. Love how bright the cafe is!

 

None of us are looking at the camera, but I still like this pic :)

 

I thought the food was really good. Lovely presentation, and good quality ingredients. The portion sizes were decent – something that is good about Australia in general. I just had my main, and didn’t need to have dessert afterwards!

I ordered Hunter the Organic sourdough toast and it turned out to be a real waste of money because he spotted and ate ONE fry at the start, and proceeded to have a total meltdown at the table for most of the brunch. Sigh. So obviously once that happens, him eating an iota of food is totally out of the question. And being Hunter’s personal rubbish bin, I ate it instead. I personally thought this dish was insanely expensive. $8 for 2 slices of toast and a bit of jam? GEEZ! At least it was good….

Organic sourdough toast with house jams ($8)

 

My STEAK SANDWICH tender sirloin, lettuce, tomato, free range egg, aioli, caramalised onions w/ shoestring fries was a winner in my book. The steak really was tender as promised and it really hit the spot. Would get this again any time!

STEAK SANDWICH tender sirloin, lettuce, tomato, free range egg, aioli, caramalised onions w/ shoestring fries ($18)

 

Doesn’t the BIG BREAKFAST free-range eggs poached, scrambled or fried on toast w/ bacon, baby kransky, mushroom, tomato & chat potato look so enticingly good???! It arrived on a big plate piled with food and I thought this was pretty good value for money.

BIG BREAKFAST free-range eggs poached, scrambled or fried on toast w/ bacon, baby kransky, mushroom, tomato & chat potato ($19)

 

The CORN FRITTERS crisp fritters w/ fresh spinach, roast peppers, diced avocado & poached egg  were very nicely done too. Really similar to the ones we’ve had at bills in Sydney. I liked the addition of a poached egg too, which gave the dish a lovely creamy texture.

CORN FRITTERS crisp fritters w/ fresh spinach, roast peppers, diced avocado & poached egg ($17)

 

The Strawberry milkshake was actually pretty sour. I guess that’s a good thing, since they use fresh strawberries ;) I adored their Latte though. The only thing I found odd was that I ordered a large/mug version, and it came in a small cup. Makes me wonder what the small/regular version is like….. must come in a thimble or something!

Strawberry milkshale ($6), Latte ($4.50)

 

I really enjoyed the cafe and reckon it makes a great brunch place with family or friends on a weekend. Would go back if we are ever in Canberra again!

 

“Wiggles red car!”