Queenies

As a food lover, I am always looking for new experiences in different cuisine. Coming from a multiracial country has definitely made most of my encounters with different cuisines a very enjoyable experience. This time, we decided to try something that we haven't tried before - Jamaican food. To be honest, I don't know much about Jamaica, all that I know is Usain Bolt is from Jamaica and Jamaican always seems really fit to me. 

Wanted to go on Boxing Day for dinner but they are closed. I think they are only open for lunch on Friday and open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday. Anyway, I am glad we manage to get a table despite calling them at a very last minute. We went there on Saturday for dinner. 

Pickled cucumber, it was a complementary dish. 

We didn’t know what to order so we asked for some recommendations. The waitress was friendly and smiley and her recommendations were awesome!

We had the bammies as our started, one with prawn, mango and ginger, the other one with pulled pork and pineapple. I can’t decide which one is my favourite because they are delicious in their own ways. Bammies are actually a kind of traditional Jamaican cassava flatbread descended from the simple flatbread eaten by the Arawaks. The taste is pretty similar to roti or naan but is a slight thicker version. 

Ceviche sounds really fancy and I haven’t actually had one before so I decided to try the Sean Paul Ceviche, it was served with scallops, pappadum, black bean puree, avocado and curry salt. The combination was really interesting. The scallops were served raw but all the elements complemented each other really well. I really enjoyed the dish. 

Jeff just couldn’t look pass the Voodoo wings, and hence we ordered that. It was SPICY, yes SUPER SPICY! I thought I could take spicy food relatively well because of all the spicy food back in Malaysia but the voodoo wings have definitely proven me wrong. It reminded me of Crazy Wings (the super spicy chicken wings that I had in Melbourne last year). Jeff really liked it because he loves anything that is spicy. It was well seasoned and cooked well too, the chicken was juicy and the outer bit was crispy. 

I am a pretty big fan of sweet potatoes, and therefore when I saw the sweet potato fries on the menu, I just couldn’t look pass it. Definitely no regrets getting that because it was crunchy, delicious and awesome! The spiced mayo that came with it was really yummm. 

Because both of us are food monsters, we also had the BBQ Jerk chicken with jungle slaw. I think out of all the dishes, this is the most ordinary one because everything else was really good. I didn’t really like the slaw because of the slight bitterness but the chicken was definitely well seasoned and well cooked. 

We were stuffed after having so much food but after looking at the dessert menu, we decided that we have to try the banana cream pie. I am glad it didn’t disappoint. The pie was massive, and it had an oreo base with peanuts, chocolate and banana as the filling. OMG this is so sinful but soooooo good, I think it is worth the calories!

It was a great experience; I will definitely come back for more. Next time, I will come with at least 3 other people so that I can order more!

How I would rate this place:
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Food: 8/10
Presentation of food: 7/10
Price: 7/10
Service: 8.5/10

Queenies
https://www.facebook.com/queeniesjerk

Level 1, 336 Riley St, Surry Hills, NSW 2010

(02) 92123035
Opening Hours:

Friday: Lunch

Tuesday – Saturday: 6pm – 11pm

(Couldn’t find a reliable source to tell me the accurate opening hours)

Kusina

Instead of the normal Aussie brunch/lunch, I felt like something different last weekend. Hence, I used Mr Google to look for something different but yummy. After reading lots of posts by different food bloggers, different reviews by diners on urban spoon, I finally decided on Kusina.

Kusina is a family run, authentic Filipino restaurant located in Weston Creek. I am very attracted to “Boodle Feast” which is held on the last Sunday (dinner only) of every month. The chef cooks whatever he feels like and the food is served on a banana leaf. How cool is that? I couldn’t make it this month, but I will definitely go there one day.

We did not know what to order so we asked for some recommendations. 

Alimasag – fried soft shell crab, garlic chili mayo and palm vinegar. I am allergy to soft shell crab but since she recommended it, we got the dish. OMG it was delicious, the soft shell crab was fried until it was super crispy, and all the other elements of the plate were flavoursome – spicy and salty. No regrets getting this even though I was suffering from allergy later in the day, the pain was worth it!

Sizzling Sisig – thrice cooked pork, chili, lime, mayonnaise, egg. This is my favourite dish! The pork was boiled, grilled, deep fried and then put on to the sizzling plate. It was bursting with flavours, soooooo good. Asian loves heavy flavour food and this is definitely one of them. I highly recommend this dish if you do visit Kusina.

 Inihaw na Isda – baby snapper, spicy mango salsa. Not sure how I felt about this dish. The fish was not very fresh, the meat tasted a bit funny and the mango didn’t taste fresh. It was decent but not as good as the previous two dishes. Jeff normally loves mangoes but he barely ate the mangoes in this.

We had all of these with the garlic rice. I forgot to snap a photo because both of us were so hungry. The garlic rice was nice and fragrant. I am a garlic lover, hence I love the garlic rice.

We had no rooms for desserts after eating so much. But the purple yam cake and red velvet brownies looked too good. It was a tough decision choosing between the cake and brownies, but the lady recommended the red velvet brownies so we took away the brownies. The lady was so motherly and kind that she gave us another slice of red velvet brownies as Christmas present. Thank you so much, the red velvet brownies were yummmmm! 

How I would rate this place:
Ambiance: 7/10
Food: 7.5/10
Presentation of food: 7/10
Price: 8/10
Service: 8/10

Kusina
https://www.facebook.com/KusinaRestaurant

http://www.kusina.com.au/

Cooleman Court, Weston Creek, ACT 2611

(02) 6288 8461
Opening Hours:

Monday: Closed

Friday – Sunday: Breakfast – Dinner

(Couldn’t find a reliable source to tell me the accurate opening hours)

Poachers Pantry

There are so many nice cafes and restaurants that I want to visit in Canberra. Poachers Pantry is definitely one of the top on my list. It is a bit tricky because we can only go there on the weekends since the café is only open from Friday to Sunday. When I sent them an email to enquire about the opening hours to make a reservation, the café is booked out for dinners for wedding and other events, hence we can only go there for brunch or lunch. On top of that, it is around 40 minute-drive from where we live so we can only go there on the weekends.

We had two shared entrée. I visited this café with Jeff and two friends.

 Entrée: Seared scallops with poachers smoked duck breast, cocoa nib pine nut crumble and pomegranate dressing. The scallops were juicy, the duck breast was decent, and the dressing was alright. I would expect a tiny bit more for the price we paid.

Shared plate: Smokehouse Charcuterie Board – a platter of hot and cold smoked meats served with a selection of dips, lavosh, bread, pickled vegetables and fig and quince chutney. I am not sure how do I feel about this plate. Nothing on the plate impressed me, everything was pretty average and I expected the portion to be a bit bigger.

Liz had the poachers smoked lamb rump with honey heirloom carrots, du Puy lentils and Bredbo black garlic relish. Maybe because I only took a tiny piece of lamb, I thought it was a little dry. But Liz enjoyed her food so it should be good.

Judy had the verjuice poached Tasmanian salmon with kipfler potatoes, leeks, baby prawns and pea puree. I don’t think I have ever had poached salmon in a restaurant before, it is always either pan fried or grilled so it was something new to me. The salmon was soft and juicy but I think I still prefer salmon to be either grilled or pan fried.

Jeff had the poachers smoked chicken sour cream pastry pie with Gruyere cheese, creamed sweet potato and red onion jam. I was tossing between the pie and the turkey breast for my main, was delighted when Jeff decided to get the pie as his main. It was a pretty good choice. I like the way the chicken pie was made, there were cubes of chicken pieces instead of shredded chicken and I liked it that way. The creamed sweet potato was sort of like a mash which was pretty good too.

I had the poachers smoked turkey breast with maple roasted pumpkin, jewelled quinoa, cranberries and candied pecans for my main. The turkey breast was cooked until it was soft which was really good. However, the turkey breast itself did not have much flavour, but everything else on the plate were really yummm. My favourite was definitely the maple roasted pumpkin, it was bursting with flavour, and the outer bit was burnt and crispy. The quinoa and pecans were delicious too. I was happy with the dish.

As for dessert, Jeff and I shared the warm ginger cake with local honey and vanilla semi-freddo, glace pear and cinnamon liqueur. I love ginger desserts because they are always unexpectedly delicious. This was not an exception but it was a tiny bit too sweet for my liking. The ginger cake was moist and soft, the semi-freddo was good, I wished they gave us a bigger scope, the pear was too sweet and the berries syrup was definitely way too sweet for Jeff and me.

Liz had the dessert which was on the specials – orange panna-cotta with berries syrup. I am not sure if I remember the name correctly but it was something like that. That was my first time having panna-cotta, I don’t know why but I haven’t ordered panna-cotta for desserts before. The dessert was decent, the panna-cotta was smooth and creamy, but the orange was too sweet for my liking and everything else was pretty average.

Judy had the kaitifi baklava and pistachio gelato sandwich with strawberry reduction. This is not like other baklavas which normally taste really nutty and sweet. This is more like a museli made baklava, it was definitely something different but it was just not my kind of dessert.

The food was good but I thought it was a bit more on the pricey side. It is definitely worth going at least once but I am not sure whether I will visit this place again, mainly due to the travel time and price. 

How I would rate this place:
Ambiance: 7/10
Food: 7.5/10
Presentation of food: 8/10
Price: 6.5/10
Service: 7/10

Poachers Pantry
http://www.poacherspantry.com.au/

431 Nanima Rd, Hall, NSW 2618

(02) 6230 2487
Opening Hours:

Monday – Thursday: Closed

Friday – Sunday: 10.00am – 10.00pm

Eightysix

Want to eat yummy food?

Looking for a place to catch up with friends? 

This is definitely the place to go.

I have heard so many things about this place. Have been wanting to visit EightSix for ages before I finally have the chance to. I tried making reservations a few times for a Friday/Saturday night and the restaurant is always fully booked. 

I am finally here!

This post is a combination of three different visits. 

YESSSS EightySix is awesome!

Pork belly with maple terrine and spicy cabbage

That was my first time eating a cold dish with pork belly, not used to it at first but it got better and better.

Manchego brulee with Autolyse crostini

Not sure how would I describe this but the manchego was yummm, something worth trying!

Ricotta gnocchi and lamb ragu

The gnocchi was fluffy and bursting with flavours, the lamb ragu was beatifully cooked, loved everything of this dish!

Pappardelle with duck ragu

The papperdelle was so thin and smooth. The duck was very well-cooked too. 

Mushroom and sherry risotto

I wish I knew how to cook yummy risotto. This dish is so simple but is bursting with flavours.  

Salmon with Pickles

Loved the big fat juicy salmon! It scared me a little because of the colour but it was good. 

Charcoal chicken with buttermilk slaw

Didn't like the slaw but the chicken was so damn delicious. The meat was soft and tender but the best part was the skin - crunchy and burnt. Saved the skin for the very last because I wanted to keep the taste in my mouth as long as possible.

 Whole Lamb Shoulder
The skin fall of the bones sooooo easily and the lamb is flavoursome! This dish can easily feed 6 people.

Lemon shortbread

It was pretty but it was way too sour for my liking, not my kind of dessert. 

Banoffee pie with pretzel

This is definitely the bomb! I don't know how they made it but this is the best banoffee pie I have ever eaten!

Caramel popcorn sundae

I think this is their signature dessert,love the peanut brittle & caramel ice cream! The combo is just awesome!

How would I rate this place:
Ambiance: 7.5/10
Food: 9/10
Presentation of food: 8/10
Price: 8/10
Service: 9/10

Eightysix
http://eat-86.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eightysix/480462502008403

Elouera St Braddon, Braddon, ACT, 2612

(02) 6161 8686
Opening Hours:

Monday 6pm - 10pm

Tuesday - Sunday

Lunch 12noon - 2.30pm

Dinner 6pm - 11pm

Claire's Kitchen at Le Salon

Have been looking around for a nice restaurant to celebrate our anniversary. Most of the restaurants were already booked out when I called them because we wanted to go for dinner on a Friday and we only decided on Friday two days before hand. Fortunately we managed to get a table at Claire’s Kitchen.

Claire’s Kitchen is known for its French food and the romantic ambiance and hence a perfect place to celebrate our anniversary. The prices of the food were decent, I must say that it is definitely good value for money – delicious food with decent prices. I highly recommend this place to couples or people that are looking for a nice place to hang out at and at the same time wants really yummy food.

 Jeff had the Rabbit Terrine that was on the specials for his entrée. Jeff does not normally like pear but OMG the poached pear was delicious, it went really well with the rabbit terrine. After I took a bite, I wished I ordered that. The flavour of the dish was interesting, I haven’t eaten something like that before.

 I had half dozens of the Escargots Bourguignons – Traditional French snails in garlic parsley and Cognac butter for my entrée. I don’t eat snails a lot but I have had it before and the snails here were not as good as the ones I have had before. Don’t think I will order this again if I visit this restaurant again.

 Jeff had the Filet De Boeuf – Tasmanian grass fed beef fillet with truffled mash and shiraz and star anise jus for his main. When the waiter served the dish, we were staring at the piece of steak because it was a massive piece of meat. It was delicious, the meat was tender and juicy, Jeff and I both loved the dish. The truffled mash was good too!

I had the famous Canard En Croute – Duck and Pinot Noir pie with melted brie under the puff pastry crust. Couldn’t took my eyes off this dish when I saw it on the menu because I love duck. OMG it was heavenly yummmm!!! This is my first time having a duck pie and I am normally not a super big fan of pie but this is so so so so so so so so good! I will go back just for this dish! The puff pastry was crunchy, the duck meat was soft and flavoursome. If you do visit this restaurant, I highly recommend you to give this dish a go. 

As for desserts, Claire’s Kitchen offered a dessert trolley kinda thing. A waiter brought out a tray of desserts and you pick what you want. I didn’t think the desserts were impressive. In fact, I thought it was a little pricey. 

Jeff had the raspberry brulee. He didn’t really like it because he thought the raspberry ‘destroyed’ the taste of a brulee. When something is added to the food, it is supposed to enhance the flavour to make the food taste better but I don’t think the raspberry did that. I preferred a normal brulee as compared to the raspberry brulee. 

 I haven’t had chocolate enclairs before and it is supposed to be a French dessert so I thought I would try that in a French restaurant. I won’t say it wasn’t good but maybe I just didn’t quite like it. The pastry was decent, the chocolate was alright but I don’t think I would order that again.

How would I rate this place:
Ambiance: 8/10
Food: 8.5/10
Presentation of food: 8/10
Price: 8/10
Service: 8/10

Claire’s Kitchen at Le Salon
http://www.claireskitchen.com.au/

35 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010
(02) 92831891
Opening Hours:
Tuesday - Saturday
Lunch by appointment
Dinner 6pm – 12am