I have to admit I have always been a fan of Tudo Vietnamese restaurant in O'Connor. Simple Man and I went there when we were courting. I memorably, ordered the special chicken soup. When it arrived, I discovered special chicken meant a chicken leg, mostly bone with a skerrick of meat on the outside and crispy skin. What made it memorable was the fact that as I was about to chow down, I kid you not, a small three legged dog stopped by the window and looked up at me mournfully. It was too awful even to laugh.
Simple Man, who had at this point kept hidden his general aversion to chilli or spice, ordered the blandest thing on the menu much to my horror (back then he also let me put olives in everything without telling me he hated olives. Oh the things we do in the courting phase that we would never do for each other now!)
Simple Man and I did not intend to go out tonight - in fact it was dedicated eat all the bits of fresh veg left over in the fridge night. But I had an uncharacteristic washing disaster this evening that sent me to the after hours chemist for a product to remove the blue that has infiltrated every white possession I once owned. The chemist being conveniently located right next to Tudo, we couldn't help but be side tracked.
After an initial argument over what type of spring rolls to order (I wanted fresh, he wanted deep fried - he won), we selected the satay chicken with vegies and the red beef with steamed rice on the side. The satay at Tudo is somewhat legendary, rich but with enough spice to lift the flavours and add a bit of life. Tonight didn't disappoint.
I hadn't had the red beef before. It is a very fragrant dish, almost a cross between a curry and a casserole. The flavours of cinnamon and star anise reminded me pleasantly of pho and the slow cooked beef was amazingly soft. This was a big hit with the chilli averse Simple Man, although I probably wouldn't order it with the satay again - two rich dishes at once left (not to mention the deep fried spring rolls!) left me feeling a bit too full for a hot summer night. Dare I admit that we picked up a couple of Freddo Frogs for later in the night?
To my mind, Canberra is short on good restaurants like this - fresh tasty food that doesn't cost a fortune. Hurrah for a place that does casual dining well - we'll definitely be back again.
Tudo Vietnamese Restaurant
7 Sargood St
O’Connor
Ph: 02 6248 6030
Service: Efficient
Crowd: Included some Vietnamese (surely a good sign??)
Money: $
($ = mains 15 and under; $$ = mains 25 and under, $$$ = mains over 25)
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Sunday Lunch at Lynwood Cafe, Collector
I love the idea of eating fruit from our backyard trees. Simple Man and I have both an apple and a plum tree and have stolen quite a bit of fruit off the neighbour's apricot tree (I'm eyeing off their figs too which have not quite ripened). There's something very earthy about eating locally grown fruits and veg and so the Lynwood Cafe, famous for its homemade style preserves, demanded a visit (note, we're not the only ones who think so - you need to book ahead by phone).
The Lynwood Cafe is set in an old country house in Collector, NSW, about 45 minutes from Canberra. The owners are renowned for their jams and chutneys, made from fruit grown on the property (for some reason on our visit Simple Man didn't seem content with waiting for lunch to sample some of the local fruits and chose to rip an obviously unripe apple from the tree, bite into it savagely and spit it out in disgust by the entrance to the cafe - quite a way to arrive).
The Cafe itself is decked out in classic country style. It looks quite rustic from the outside and inside the walls are decked with pictures of women riding horses in drizabones. There is a shady grassed area out the back and had been cooler it would have been lovely to sit outside under the trees.
The menu includes a good variety of entrees, salads and mains, as well as a winelist made up entirely of local wines. Simple Man and I shared the antipasti, designed to showcase some of the aforementioned preserves, for starters. We sampled the house cumquat marmalade (delicious!) and onion jam as well as a variety of treats including pate, what I think was a pork terrine, semi dried tomatoes and olives, all served with toasted bread. I would have liked to have been told a little bit about what was what on the plate, particularly the home made produce, but I had no complaints about the food.
I struggled to choose between the salmon cakes and the tuscan bread salad (neither the Kingfish nor the zucchini flowers were available when we were there) before choosing the later. It was probably a bad choice given I'd just eaten my fair share of bread and tomatoes with the antipasti, but the salad itself included a generous amount of baby capers and anchovies with a nice sharp tang from the vinegar.
Simple Man followed up with the beef and stout pie which was served with mash potatoes and one of the homemade chutneys. In his humble opinion, the pie lacked in flavour a little but he did describe the mashed potato as one of the best things he'd ever eaten in his life (although bear in mind potato is pretty much his favourite food).
I splurged (calorifically) on dessert, choosing a sensational lemon and polenta tea cake. It was really perfectly moist and scrumtious. Even the Simple Man, who generally abhorrs the concept of fruit or grains in his desserts, was impressed.
As we rolled our full bellies out the door we stocked up on a big tub of raspberry and rhubarb jam, which I'm sure will also be delicious (as an aside, most of the stash in their store would make excellent presents). I also couldn't help but eye off the Ploughman's Lunch on someone elses table which looked spot on, not only for the country ambience but also for the fresh local flavours. Definitely one for our next visit.
Lynwood Cafe
1 Murray St
Collector NSW 2581
http://www.lynwoodcafe.com.au/
Ph: (02) 4848 0200
Service: down to earth
Crowd: a mix of country and Canberra folk, kid friendly
Money: $$
($ = mains 15 and under; $$ = mains 25 and under, $$$ = mains over 25)
The Lynwood Cafe is set in an old country house in Collector, NSW, about 45 minutes from Canberra. The owners are renowned for their jams and chutneys, made from fruit grown on the property (for some reason on our visit Simple Man didn't seem content with waiting for lunch to sample some of the local fruits and chose to rip an obviously unripe apple from the tree, bite into it savagely and spit it out in disgust by the entrance to the cafe - quite a way to arrive).
The Cafe itself is decked out in classic country style. It looks quite rustic from the outside and inside the walls are decked with pictures of women riding horses in drizabones. There is a shady grassed area out the back and had been cooler it would have been lovely to sit outside under the trees.
The menu includes a good variety of entrees, salads and mains, as well as a winelist made up entirely of local wines. Simple Man and I shared the antipasti, designed to showcase some of the aforementioned preserves, for starters. We sampled the house cumquat marmalade (delicious!) and onion jam as well as a variety of treats including pate, what I think was a pork terrine, semi dried tomatoes and olives, all served with toasted bread. I would have liked to have been told a little bit about what was what on the plate, particularly the home made produce, but I had no complaints about the food.
I struggled to choose between the salmon cakes and the tuscan bread salad (neither the Kingfish nor the zucchini flowers were available when we were there) before choosing the later. It was probably a bad choice given I'd just eaten my fair share of bread and tomatoes with the antipasti, but the salad itself included a generous amount of baby capers and anchovies with a nice sharp tang from the vinegar.
Simple Man followed up with the beef and stout pie which was served with mash potatoes and one of the homemade chutneys. In his humble opinion, the pie lacked in flavour a little but he did describe the mashed potato as one of the best things he'd ever eaten in his life (although bear in mind potato is pretty much his favourite food).
I splurged (calorifically) on dessert, choosing a sensational lemon and polenta tea cake. It was really perfectly moist and scrumtious. Even the Simple Man, who generally abhorrs the concept of fruit or grains in his desserts, was impressed.
As we rolled our full bellies out the door we stocked up on a big tub of raspberry and rhubarb jam, which I'm sure will also be delicious (as an aside, most of the stash in their store would make excellent presents). I also couldn't help but eye off the Ploughman's Lunch on someone elses table which looked spot on, not only for the country ambience but also for the fresh local flavours. Definitely one for our next visit.
Lynwood Cafe
1 Murray St
Collector NSW 2581
http://www.lynwoodcafe.com.au/
Ph: (02) 4848 0200
Service: down to earth
Crowd: a mix of country and Canberra folk, kid friendly
Money: $$
($ = mains 15 and under; $$ = mains 25 and under, $$$ = mains over 25)
Pants and Zeffirellis, Dickson
Simple Man and I had the first real fight of our relationship over food. It started simply enough. It was Summer and Simple Man had been dwelling all day over an issue very dear to his heart - pants and more specifically why he has to wear them. Evening having approached, he made his proclamation. "I am never wearing pants again," he announced. And so we went for some time, pantless.
The snare came one night when I wanted to go out for dinner, pantless. There is something about shorts that prevents all but the most brave from dining in particular venues. There are certain restaurants for pants and there are certain restaurants for the pantless. We went to one that did not require pants and had a terrible time. Simple Man would not repent, I was traumatised I'd wasted an evening on bad pasta and bam - our first real fight. We didnt really get over it until the first whiff of Canberra winter when the sensibility of pants became suddenly apparent to Simple Man.
The weather having been extremely hot in Canberra lately, the Simple Man, now unsurprisingly, refused, again, to wear pants. Simple Man chose the restaurant.
Zeffirellis is not only the kind of place you can go pantless, it also fits another of Simple Man's favourite categories - it serves "Big Food" (Big Food generally referring to some piece of large meat accompanied - almost invariably - by chips).
The evening did not start well. The two of us were hungry (truth be known we'd already tried two other restaurants that were closed or full) and neither of us are particularly nice when we're hungry. The waitresses, all as the Simple Man pointed out looking almost identical, seemed to be doing their best to ignore us.
Simple Man's food came out first (thankfully, he can get nasty when his blood sugar levels drop). It fit the criteria of Big Food - steak and mushroom sauce with chips (no vegies - he was told it was one or the other). According to Simple Man it went down a treat. I ordered the Quatro Gusti pizza, which included quarters each of Capriciossa, Magherita, Mushroom and Tropical (for Simple Man). It seemed the ideal choice for the indecisive me. Generally, the pizza seemed to taste of salt and not a lot else.
Unltimately, I left feeling full but unsatisfied. The tables around us had not been cleaned. The wait was disappointing. These things could have been overlooked had it been busier, but they were far from capacity. Even Simple Man, who quite enjoyed his Big Food and who is not a fussy man, agreed that the service and cleanliness were disappointing.
Zeffirellis
5 Wooley Street
Dickson
Ph: (02) 6262 5500
http://www.zeffs.com/
Service: average
Crowd: lots of thongs - I also saw boardshorts
Money: $
($ = mains 15 and under; $$ = mains 25 and under, $$$ = mains over 25)
The snare came one night when I wanted to go out for dinner, pantless. There is something about shorts that prevents all but the most brave from dining in particular venues. There are certain restaurants for pants and there are certain restaurants for the pantless. We went to one that did not require pants and had a terrible time. Simple Man would not repent, I was traumatised I'd wasted an evening on bad pasta and bam - our first real fight. We didnt really get over it until the first whiff of Canberra winter when the sensibility of pants became suddenly apparent to Simple Man.
The weather having been extremely hot in Canberra lately, the Simple Man, now unsurprisingly, refused, again, to wear pants. Simple Man chose the restaurant.
Zeffirellis is not only the kind of place you can go pantless, it also fits another of Simple Man's favourite categories - it serves "Big Food" (Big Food generally referring to some piece of large meat accompanied - almost invariably - by chips).
The evening did not start well. The two of us were hungry (truth be known we'd already tried two other restaurants that were closed or full) and neither of us are particularly nice when we're hungry. The waitresses, all as the Simple Man pointed out looking almost identical, seemed to be doing their best to ignore us.
Simple Man's food came out first (thankfully, he can get nasty when his blood sugar levels drop). It fit the criteria of Big Food - steak and mushroom sauce with chips (no vegies - he was told it was one or the other). According to Simple Man it went down a treat. I ordered the Quatro Gusti pizza, which included quarters each of Capriciossa, Magherita, Mushroom and Tropical (for Simple Man). It seemed the ideal choice for the indecisive me. Generally, the pizza seemed to taste of salt and not a lot else.
Unltimately, I left feeling full but unsatisfied. The tables around us had not been cleaned. The wait was disappointing. These things could have been overlooked had it been busier, but they were far from capacity. Even Simple Man, who quite enjoyed his Big Food and who is not a fussy man, agreed that the service and cleanliness were disappointing.
Zeffirellis
5 Wooley Street
Dickson
Ph: (02) 6262 5500
http://www.zeffs.com/
Service: average
Crowd: lots of thongs - I also saw boardshorts
Money: $
($ = mains 15 and under; $$ = mains 25 and under, $$$ = mains over 25)
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