Esperanto

Oh dear, a city review.

Wife wanted somewhere nice to go to so we decided on Esperanto.  It is situated in City Tattersalls Club.  It is all very proper silver service.  The waiters are proper as well. It is nice to be spoilt every now and then.

We decided to go the whole hog.  The dinner started off with an amuse bouche and bread.  The bread was nice and warm.  I am going to describe my dinner since I cannot really remember what the wife had.
I started off with scallops - nice fresh and plump.  And not overdone.  There were simple accompaniments to go with it.

Next the main.  I had crisped skin barramundi in a spicy tomato fondant.   I am a bit of a spice freak so the fondant wasn't really spicy.  But the fish was fantastic.  I think I would have been happy with everything on the menu.  What is great about Esperanto is that you get steamed vegetables.  Again just well done.

Mt dessert was a simple Affagato.  It came with cointreau.

Now if any restauranteur wants to get it right, take a lead from Esperanto.  They get it right!  At the end:

1. Desert comes first.
2. With dessert comes the dessert wine.
3. COFFEE COMES LAST!!!!!!!
4. And we don't want wait for the bill forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Esperanto gets everything right.

The wine list is extensive and good as well.

Revesby Workers Family Table

The wife and I were bored and didn't want to cook.  And she had a $25 gift voucher from Revesby Workers.  So we toddled off to the Family Table.

The Family Table is a Cafeteria style eatery.  You line up and order what you want.  Then it is served to you.

My wife had salmon and I had pork ribs.  They were both excellent!  They bring out an extra plate for the pork rib bones - very thoughtful.  We couldn't fault the food.

But please, do something about the wine.  The wines available are dreadful and put me off going to the Club.  At least have the wine of the month by the glass.  Everywhere else in the club there is a much better range!

The Australian

This is my last blog for Canberra.  I decided to have a drink at The Australian and in the end had dinner there as well.

I went for pizza and this was a great move.  I had the one called the Victorian (for what reason I don't know).  It had pepperoni, chilli, tomato and a number of other ingredients.  It was great and didn't last long.  This hotel is small but has great character, a good range of beer on tap (I had James Squire Porter) as well as a top range of Canberra region wines.

Worth a vist.

Canberra - Kingsley

Due to a medical condition, I don't eat steak much.  I went to Kingsleys last night because I enjoyed mussels when here last year.  They weren't on offer tonight so I had my rare steak.  I was seated and was well advised by staff regarding the different cuts of meat.  I had eye fillet from the south coast, with chips and steamed vegetables.  And it was all magnificent!  It was joined by a Bourke St Shiraz from the Canberra region (not sure about the Melbourne name) - a must if a bit expensive.  I normally don't eat desert but had a great vanilla bean panacotta, Tamar Ridge Boytritis Riesling and wait for it, a decent coffee.

A must on a cold night!

Canberra - King O'Malleys

What I am doing here playing drinking games with my students?  Well it was a lot of fun.  I ate chicken pargiamana with chips and salad.  Actually it was very good and well priced.  Its loud and young.  Yeah, suits me.

Postscript - Darwin

I returned to The Noodle House for a meal with friends.  I must have got them on a bad night before.  The food was magnificent this time.  We shared steamed barramundi with ginger and shallots, tofu with three types of mushrooms and duck with mushrooms.  All fantastic.  Well done Noodle House.

Darwin Eateries - Pee Wees and The Noodle House

Twelve months ago I came to Darwin and enjoyed these two eateries.  This time I went away disappointed.

First Pee Wees.  It appears there was confusion about the number of our booking.  But that was no reason to be surly.  For me, it started the night in a sour way.  I had soft shell mud crab and pork belly.  The crab was cold and the pork belly slightly burnt and dry.

And now The Noodle House.  It was State of Origin night (but I am sure this ad no bearing on the food).  Exactly one year go, I had the lemongrass chicken and would have eaten it forever!  This time it was a strange taste (not much lemongrass) and dry (is this the big dry of Darwin).

So far I have been disappointed y the food in Darwin.  But I will not give up - there must be a good barramundi somewhere!

The Wine Cellar - Bankstown Sports

You have to meet Tim.  Tim owns the Wine Cellar at Bankstown Sports and is only open Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  And the cellar is his and his hobby.  All you have to do is tell him what you enjoy and he will do the rest.

If you need something to eat, Tim will co-ordinate it with the two upstairs Italian restaurants.  The BBQ seafood platters are highly recommended and Tim will match it with a great pinot noir.

If you can, don't drive and you will have a spectacular night.

In finishing, Bankstown Sports has a number of great restaurants.  For my wife's birthday we visited Platform One, which I will review in the coming weeks.  However, we started off with a generous glass of Mumm's champagne in the Wine Cellar!  Tim opened it specially - he is that sort of guy.

Welcome

I like reading the newspaper.  I like reading restaurant, cafe and bar reviews.  But it seems that if I want to sample most of the places reviewed, then I have to move out of my southern Sydney home to at least the inner city.  It seems that most reviews hardly get out of the city.  Maybe the reviewers use their travel expense to pay the grossly inflated bills.  So I have decided to do something about it!

Whenever I go out in the burbs I will post my own reviews (and yes, I occasionally go into the city to eat and you will get that review as well).  I am not so concerned with the flashy interior but with the food and service.

I hope some people will join me on this journey.