Restaurant Review: Blu Ginger, Civic

For my farewell dinner, friends organised a group dinner at Blu Ginger. I had heard many good things about this restaurant and was excited to try it.

The restaurant is always busy for good reason. The food (which is Indian cuisine) was absolutely delicious. We especially loved the lamb and pumpkin curry (my favourite), the goat curry and the chicken korma (really really good as far as kormas go!). There is plenty of choice on the menu, including a number of options that you don't see in just any Indian restaurant.

The food came out quickly and the servings were good for the price. In terms of atmosphere, it was packed on the Saturday night we were there (and very noisy) and they had squished us together on a too-small table, but it was bearable. It was warm and cosy at least, with nice decor.

I would go so far as to say that it is one of the best Indian restaurants I have eaten at in terms of the taste and quality of the food. Here is a photo of the deliciousness:

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the service which was disorganised and rude. We were a group of 16, but had split into smaller groups to share meals. I suggested to the waiter that he put the meals of the group of 6 people with whom I was sharing separately to the rest of the table, so that they'd know where to deliver the mains and sides. He said "no we don't do that here".

That's fine, but as expected when the orders were brought out it was chaos- sides had been combined into single bowls and were delivered randomly to different parts of the table, not to those who ordered them. At least one meal wasn't delivered at all. One person asked for another serving of rice and was brought a huge bowl which they probably charged at 4 servings. Another person asked for another serving of rice and it never arrived.

When we got the bill, we queried it because of the meal that hadn't been delivered. In addition, rice was $3 per serving and we had been charged for 18 servings (totaling $54, not an insignificant amount to spend on rice), which was not possible because we only had 16 people and not everyone had a serving (in our group of 6, we ordered 2 servings of rice between us and 4 servings of naan).

The response from our waiter to my polite query was incredibly rude. Apparently the meal that hadn't arrived had definitely been delivered "somewhere" (they just couldn't tell us where), and so they wouldn't remove it. We had also "definitely" ordered that many servings of rice. I couldn't be bothered arguing so we were just going to pay the full amount. The waiter then came to the table and said angrily "If you are really still disputing that the meal arrived, I will remove it, but it definitely was delivered".

To put this into perspective, the meal that we wanted removed from the bill cost $16. The 16 of us had ordered a main each, at least one side each (or 2.5 sides each if we accepted their rice bill, which we did because it would have been too much effort to dispute further), lassis, softdrinks, wine and beers. The total bill came to well over $400. The waiter caused 16 people to leave with a bad taste in their mouths and a tainted opinion of the restaurant due his rude attitude over a $16 meal. Very dumb by anyone's standards.

Food = 9/10 - Excellent!
Service = 2/10 - Terrible! Mostly thanks to one waiter, who should be fired.
What a pity about this discrepancy...

Restaurant Review: The Artisan, Narrabundah

Recently for a colleague's leaving lunch, we went to The Artisan in Narrabundah. I was super excited because it meant I got to check out the Vinnies store there - not quite befitting of an expensive luncher, but very befitting of an op shop addict :-)

The Artisan states that their philosophy is "to provide an experience that showcases the master craft of food and wine – from the ingredients, technique and knowledge we use to the ability to select the perfect wine to match each of our creations."

I was certainly impressed with the waiter's knowledge about the ingredients contained in the food and how it is made. This is the kind of service that you'd hope to get in a fine dining institution. I have been to places which are much more expensive than The Artisan and the waiters have not had a clue about anything when we've asked a question...

I didn't have an entree, but by all accounts the braised pork belly was fantastic:

 

Maple brushed pork belly, slow braised in Gypsy pear cider with witlof
and hazelnuts - $19

A selection of mains:

 

Terrine of ratatouille niçoise with crisp zucchini flowers, goat fetta and red wine

reduction - $28

Pure South eye fillet with potato soufflé, black Terra Preta truffle butter and port jus - $35

And desserts:

Crème brulee - Vanilla bean custard with burnt sugar, pistachio and spiced pineapple - $14

Bitter chocolate and cherry pavé with crème anglaise and rose fairy floss - $14

Chewy meringue encased in a cellophane wafer with cream chabousse, seasonal berries and passionfruit liqueur reduction - $14

Overall, I enjoyed my beef, but I didn't find the flavours to be overly spectacular. I really didn't like the cheesy potato pie thing that came with it, but the beans wrapped in prosciutto went down nicely.

The creme brulee was good but I was expecting more of a traditional creme brulee - I personally would have described their creation as more of a pana cotta in terms of texture and taste.

I would return and order differently, because the service was excellent and the food was very well presented and has potential.

Rockingham Beaches & Eating Out

It was soo hot in Perth during the days after Christmas. One day was 39.9*C, the hottest day of the year so far. I spent an hour at the beach (about all I can manage at the moment in my semi-crippled state, and I don't want a melanoma anyway) and the water was blissful. This is not even one of Rockingham's nicest beaches, but it was the closest and easiest for me to get to with my crutches.

Our time away was also all about eating. Who knew you could find such delicious treats at a shopping centre!? I have been craving a stuffed spud for months now, this one really hit the spot. Frozen yoghurt with berries on fresh fruit salad was a perfect afternoon snack too:

We also tried a new restaurant, The Italian Job on Rockingham foreshore. This place was hit and miss - the pizza was delicious, the steak with chips and salad was nice and good value... but the mediteranean style salad went down really badly (3 people in our party ordered this unfortunately, and all said it was very bland and tasteless) and I thought the Tagliatelle Firenze was likewise quite bland and average. I'd like to go back and order just pizzas - they were so yummy, and one is big enough to feed two people if you aren't big eaters!

 Average pasta, a little bland

 The pizza was however delicious - great dough and plenty of cheese and toppings! Yummo!

 This salad was unpopular with all three people on the table who ordered it. Pity, as it is an interesting combination with couscous, veggies and dough balls.

Today, I am back in Canberra and back at work. It is very depressing! Half of the office is still empty...and I have a lot of work to catch up on!

Restaurant Review: Soi-VIII Thai, Griffith

We tried Soi-8 Thai in Griffith, with a GrabOne voucher in hand, entitling us to 2 entrees and 2 mains. The entrees weren't anything to rave about but we loved the mains, and would definitely return. The ginger beef was delicious, and the chilli chicken was very spicy but good. They are actually called something else and have the ingredients/spices listed, but there is no online menu and I can't for the life of me remember. They were well presented, and generous servings:

Dessert wasn't included but I was feeling indulgent (any excuse!) and ordered some fried ice cream. It was HUGE, and quite yummy:

I think that one of my goals for 2012 will be to find the best fried ice cream in Canberra :-) In the meantime, Soi-VIII Thai is a goer - I'll be back!

Review: Flavours of India, Woden / Phillip

Flavours of India is relatively new, situated next to Grill’d outside Westfield Woden. The decor is nice, if a bit bland/unoriginal. Service was good.

The food was a bit disappointing. The first sign that it wasn’t going to be good was that our meal came out within 15 minutes- the sauces were obviously just reheated in a pan or something. It tasted a lot more like the Indian food that is sold in supermarkets, or something that would come out of a packet – there wasn’t much in the way of spices or texture to savour. Even the garlic naan seemed to just have some garlic butter painted on it, which tasted like the type you buy in a jar. The whole meal was reasonably priced (we paid approx $25 a head for 2 mains, rice and naan and no drinks)  but given the amount of Indian restaurants in the area, I wouldn’t return- much better to try somewhere else and really enjoy the food.

Review: Global Ethiopian Cafe, Civic

Global Ethiopian Cafe is not the kind of place I’d usually choose to eat dinner, as the decor makes it look like a dodgy cheap lunch bar. However, I bought a dinner for 2 voucher on Grabone and so we tried it. Firstly, the current menu prices are reasonable even without a voucher: $13.50 gets you a meat dish with rice or injera, which is filling. They also have cheaper lunch specials apparently.

We had some beef samosas and lentil samosas to start, and then the Doro Wat (chicken slowly simmered with tomato, paprika and hard boiled egg) and the Lamb Tibbs (spicy lamb with burbere spices, capsicum, onion & tomato).

The samosas were quite bland but the mince beef used was good quality. They tested fresh and were generously filled. The mains were very tasty- although I’m not sure where the hardboiled egg was in the Doro Wat (it was nowhere to be seen in the dish, which was disappointing). The lamb had a very interesting and delicious flavour- it was well cooked (so lamb was quite tough, perhaps this is typical of the cuisine?). It was a good quality lean cut, and I’d order it again.

The service was friendly; the cafe seems to be run by an Ethiopian couple who make genuine home style fare. I’d be more inclined to get takeaways from here than dine in- the inside is a little dingy, which isn’t helped by the grubby menus you are handed on arrival (big marketing no-no). Good food and cheap though, so I will call in for takeaways or a picnic lunch in the future.

A note about “injera”: This is traditional Ethiopian flatbread, and has a very unusual taste. In making injera, flour is mixed with water and allowed to ferment for several days, giving it a sour taste. It tastes almost as if it has had lemon juice added to it. It has a very fluffy, spongy texture. I probably wouldn’t have it again, so make sure you order some rice with your meal too incase you don’t like this.