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)
Showing posts with label $. Show all posts
Showing posts with label $. Show all posts
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
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)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
