Took my pa out to lunch for his birthday. We went to the Raging Bull steakhouse in Parap.
Those of you who have been around for a while will remember the location being called "Jessies", where you got awesome steaks and chilled red wine Darwin style back in the 80s.
The steaks were beautifully cooked. The distinction between medium well and medium was there and the flavour of the meat and it's tenderness were excellent.
You have a choice of salad and chips or mash and vegetables. I like lightly steamed vegetables, but the vegetables that came with the steak that day were so lightly steamed that they were almost raw. However, the mash was all smooth excellence!
Your drinks are brought promptly and the table service is reasonable (although last time I came here, they forgot our entree entirely!) and the food comes out when the steak is cooked - so if you order your steak well done it states on the menu what the cooking time will be so you know what to expect.
They appear to have a wine cellar but we weren't offered a wine list and I didn't think to ask.
I will go back as the steaks are fantastic, the rest I can cope with in the pursuit of such excellence :-)
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Finlay's Joint
Brand new year! Yay! More dining out to be done.
First foray for the year was Finlay's Joint. I went with a friend on Sunday last.
I'd booked for lunch at 12 but we were both hungry earlier so we got there at 11:30.
Man that place is noisy! The acoustics are really bad and as soon as there are more than about 12 people inside the large dining room it's hard to hear each other talk.
I love the old furniture and the chairs are really comfortable.
We grabbed menus and quickly went to order.
We were informed that the lunch orders wouldn't be made until after 12 as it was still their breakfast service time. The only other places that do this so strictly to my knowledge are places like MacDonald's and Hungry Jacks. Finlay's is a restaurant/cafe with a full kitchen so I'm at a loss as to why they couldn't do a steak sandwich and a chicken parmigiana before 12.
We were told that we could order now (11:30) but wouldn't get the food for at least another 25 minutes.
As we didn't want breakfast foods, we made our order and ordered tea to drink in the interim. The tea came out quickly but was really weak, it was awful.
There are self-serve/shared bottled sauces and self-serve water from a cooler.
When the food arrived, there were generous servings.
The steak in the sandwich was good quality and tender; and the chips were really good.
The chicken schnitzel was a good thickness and well-cooked.
Unfortunately there were rotting greens in the salad. I find this disgusting and it's really a pet hate for me - it should never happen.
ambience: 5/10
food: 7/10
service: 6/10
wine list: none
value for money: 8/10
First foray for the year was Finlay's Joint. I went with a friend on Sunday last.
I'd booked for lunch at 12 but we were both hungry earlier so we got there at 11:30.
Man that place is noisy! The acoustics are really bad and as soon as there are more than about 12 people inside the large dining room it's hard to hear each other talk.
I love the old furniture and the chairs are really comfortable.
We grabbed menus and quickly went to order.
We were informed that the lunch orders wouldn't be made until after 12 as it was still their breakfast service time. The only other places that do this so strictly to my knowledge are places like MacDonald's and Hungry Jacks. Finlay's is a restaurant/cafe with a full kitchen so I'm at a loss as to why they couldn't do a steak sandwich and a chicken parmigiana before 12.
We were told that we could order now (11:30) but wouldn't get the food for at least another 25 minutes.
As we didn't want breakfast foods, we made our order and ordered tea to drink in the interim. The tea came out quickly but was really weak, it was awful.
There are self-serve/shared bottled sauces and self-serve water from a cooler.
When the food arrived, there were generous servings.
The steak in the sandwich was good quality and tender; and the chips were really good.
The chicken schnitzel was a good thickness and well-cooked.
Unfortunately there were rotting greens in the salad. I find this disgusting and it's really a pet hate for me - it should never happen.
ambience: 5/10
food: 7/10
service: 6/10
wine list: none
value for money: 8/10
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Cornucopia
Ahh, Cornucopia. An old favourite for Sunday brunch and always a great place to take visitors.
For those of you who haven't been (what the hell are you doing living in Darwin and not visiting here?), Cornucopia is a cafe/restaurant located at the Museum and Art Gallery on Conacher St. It's open for breakfast and into the afternoon.
You sit on a raised deck overlooking the water, which even on a hot day remains cool and breezy. So when booking, asking to have a table outside is the way to go.
Booking is recommended, especially on Sundays and most days in the tourist season. On Sundays, you can expect a request to rebook your table or you may indeed be the second (or third!) group of people to use that table that day.
So, to the menu. The decision is usually a bit tough as they offer fancy eggs, for example, eggs royale (with smoked salmon), delicious salads and really good fish and chips.
On this occasion one of my friends and I had the raw energy salad, not as boring as you'd think. A good variety of tastes and textures for example, marinated beans, cheese, sultanas, roasted peanuts, grated carrot, bean sprouts and other salad vegetables.
My other friend went for the light snack of the fish cakes. They came with a good sized side salad and dipping sauce. There were three on the plate and they looked as if they were made from fresh white fish with herbs through them, wrapped in very thin bean curd sheets and deep fried.
Always check out the specials menu for the salad of the day, it's always good. The regular salad item is also very good, it's a smoked salmon and snow pea salad with avocado, topped with an orange and poppy seed dressing.
One thing to note, and it is on the menu for your information, they don't split bills here.
The service is efficient and friendly and the portions are a good size.
Apologies, I didn't check out the wine list.
ambience: 8/10
food: 8/10
service: 8/10
value for money: 8/10
wine list: another time!
For those of you who haven't been (what the hell are you doing living in Darwin and not visiting here?), Cornucopia is a cafe/restaurant located at the Museum and Art Gallery on Conacher St. It's open for breakfast and into the afternoon.
You sit on a raised deck overlooking the water, which even on a hot day remains cool and breezy. So when booking, asking to have a table outside is the way to go.
Booking is recommended, especially on Sundays and most days in the tourist season. On Sundays, you can expect a request to rebook your table or you may indeed be the second (or third!) group of people to use that table that day.
So, to the menu. The decision is usually a bit tough as they offer fancy eggs, for example, eggs royale (with smoked salmon), delicious salads and really good fish and chips.
On this occasion one of my friends and I had the raw energy salad, not as boring as you'd think. A good variety of tastes and textures for example, marinated beans, cheese, sultanas, roasted peanuts, grated carrot, bean sprouts and other salad vegetables.
My other friend went for the light snack of the fish cakes. They came with a good sized side salad and dipping sauce. There were three on the plate and they looked as if they were made from fresh white fish with herbs through them, wrapped in very thin bean curd sheets and deep fried.
Always check out the specials menu for the salad of the day, it's always good. The regular salad item is also very good, it's a smoked salmon and snow pea salad with avocado, topped with an orange and poppy seed dressing.
One thing to note, and it is on the menu for your information, they don't split bills here.
The service is efficient and friendly and the portions are a good size.
Apologies, I didn't check out the wine list.
ambience: 8/10
food: 8/10
service: 8/10
value for money: 8/10
wine list: another time!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
the cool spot
Okay, so there are some things that are really kick arse about this place and some things that are at best mediocre.
Kick arse list:
the view
the banana splits and other ice cream fabulousness
the hot chips cooked to perfection in fresh oil
the barra with salad and chips
the hot breakfasts
Alawa cake shop cakes
the lemon meringue pie - as it is now, not how it was in the past!
its opening hours
consistency
Mediocre list:
expensive toasted sandwiches
cheesecakes with way too much gelatine in them
atmosphere inside
Bad list:
the guacamole on the nachos
rotting salad mix in the salad main courses
Kick arse list:
the view
the banana splits and other ice cream fabulousness
the hot chips cooked to perfection in fresh oil
the barra with salad and chips
the hot breakfasts
Alawa cake shop cakes
the lemon meringue pie - as it is now, not how it was in the past!
its opening hours
consistency
Mediocre list:
expensive toasted sandwiches
cheesecakes with way too much gelatine in them
atmosphere inside
Bad list:
the guacamole on the nachos
rotting salad mix in the salad main courses
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Sandy's
Despite sounding like a 70s character, this cafe has really good food. In a previous life it was Spiros, you know, the cafe where you had to walk through clouds of second-hand cigarette smoke to get into the joint?
Actually, you still do. Well, soon enough you won't have to do that, it's a good thing too, as I want to eat here more regularly!
The salads at this place are really good and really good value. I had the pesto lamb salad for $16.90. The lamb was tender and juicy and there was a substantial amount of it. The salad was large and included rocket. It was topped with a smooth dressing that was nicely tangy. There were also triangles of pita bread with tzadziki on them decorating the plate.
I have heard the crispy chicken salad with potatoes is fine as well.
The cafe is neat and tidy with some couches along the windows and a row of comfy bench seats along one wall. It's brightly lit and you smell the coffee when you walk in.
Food: 9/10
Service: 7/10
Ambience: 6/10
Value for money: 9/10
Actually, you still do. Well, soon enough you won't have to do that, it's a good thing too, as I want to eat here more regularly!
The salads at this place are really good and really good value. I had the pesto lamb salad for $16.90. The lamb was tender and juicy and there was a substantial amount of it. The salad was large and included rocket. It was topped with a smooth dressing that was nicely tangy. There were also triangles of pita bread with tzadziki on them decorating the plate.
I have heard the crispy chicken salad with potatoes is fine as well.
The cafe is neat and tidy with some couches along the windows and a row of comfy bench seats along one wall. It's brightly lit and you smell the coffee when you walk in.
Food: 9/10
Service: 7/10
Ambience: 6/10
Value for money: 9/10
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Tasty House
I went to lunch at tasty house (in the mall) with some mates before they headed OS a few weeks ago. We had the lunch special which is two dishes and rice as well as 5 yum cha items for $16.
We chose some beef with ginger and spring onion, fried rice and stir fried vegetables. For yum cha we chose some coriander dumplings, 2 serves of prawn dumplings, and 2 serves of steamed pork buns.
The food was delicious, the combination of the dipping sauce flavours and the prawn dumpling flavours was an exercise in synergy (ie. the sum of the flavours was greater than just the two components' flavours!). The beef dish also merits special mention, it had a lovely balance of flavours.
The service was friendly and attentive and the atmosphere was really nice - high ceilings and darker colours in the decor worked well together.
Food: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Ambience: 8/10
Value for money: 8/10
We chose some beef with ginger and spring onion, fried rice and stir fried vegetables. For yum cha we chose some coriander dumplings, 2 serves of prawn dumplings, and 2 serves of steamed pork buns.
The food was delicious, the combination of the dipping sauce flavours and the prawn dumpling flavours was an exercise in synergy (ie. the sum of the flavours was greater than just the two components' flavours!). The beef dish also merits special mention, it had a lovely balance of flavours.
The service was friendly and attentive and the atmosphere was really nice - high ceilings and darker colours in the decor worked well together.
Food: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Ambience: 8/10
Value for money: 8/10
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Yum Cha
I went to lunch at Yum Cha (on Cavenagh St) on Sunday just gone. For older Darwinites, the restaurant used to be the Lee Dynasty restaurant - the first Chinese restaurant in Darwin to not serve pink coloured sauce on their sweet and sour dishes.
This weekend lunch option is so popular with locals that you must book.
We had a selection comprising turnip cake, taro puffs, rice flake pork rolls, stuffed eggplant and the prawn rice rolls. We drank chinese tea throughout the meal.
The service was quick for the food.
Top ups for the tea had to be asked for a few times and the water requested didn't come.
I would have liked some fresh green vegetable options with all of the starches and meats - I remember that on a previous visit they had a lovely green vegetable special.
Anyway, the food is great and I would go there again and again just for the prawn rice rolls and chinese tea!
This weekend lunch option is so popular with locals that you must book.
We had a selection comprising turnip cake, taro puffs, rice flake pork rolls, stuffed eggplant and the prawn rice rolls. We drank chinese tea throughout the meal.
The service was quick for the food.
Top ups for the tea had to be asked for a few times and the water requested didn't come.
I would have liked some fresh green vegetable options with all of the starches and meats - I remember that on a previous visit they had a lovely green vegetable special.
Anyway, the food is great and I would go there again and again just for the prawn rice rolls and chinese tea!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Il Piatto
I went to Il Piatto on Friday night.
The ambience of the place is fantastic, table cloths, beautiful glassware & plates and gorgeous lighting. The view is also one of the best from a restaurant in Darwin. The chairs are very comfortable and the decor is neutral and elegant.
Our entrees were the oysters, the seafood salad and the carpaccio of beef.
The oysters were very good and were simply presented with slender wedges of lemon.
The seafood salad was mediocre and not flavoursome due, in part, to being underdressed.
My $25 beef carpaccio was on the menu as having rocket leaves but came with lettuce mix and was almost tasteless except for the cracked pepper crusting on the outside of the beef and the shaved parmesan. There was not even a simple dressing on the dish aside from being circled by three thin lines of balsamic glaze (possibly from a bottle).
Mains were taglioni with slipper lobster (a.k.a. balmain bug), chicken stuffed with cheese & sun-dried tomatoes with a sage sauce and a pizza siciliana (salami and black olive).
It all sounded SO good.
The pasta was bland and you could only really taste the tomato sauce base with a meagre amount of the "slipper lobster" having been cooked to rubbery tastelessness.
The chicken tasted like it had a coles chicken seasoning on the outside of it and my friend said there wasn't even a hint of sage flavour in the sauce. As it was decorated with rosemary - I did wonder if they had any sage out the back at all....
The pizza on the other hand was suberb! The tomato base was rich and full of flavour and the crust was light and crisp. The other toppings were salami, small whole black olives and really nice cheese.
Two other items of note were that we had overservice regarding the taking of our order, pretty sure we were asked at least 4 times within about 15 minutes if we were ready to order. While this overservice did translate well regarding water top ups and drinks service, it was getting annoying at the begnning of the evening.
The other is that the wine list comprised either boring but quaffable wines that you can get at the local bottle shop or Italian wines. Being unfamiliar with the latter - as I suspect a few Darwinites may be, it would have been lovely to have someone knowledgeable among the staff suggest one.
I think this restaurant is well suited for having a superb pizza with a glass of quaffable wine and soaking up the sunset.
But to call it fine dining is well off the mark.
The food is pub food quality - which is fine when you're in a pub, not fine when you are paying wads of cash for it in a restaurant that is dressed up as a fine dining restaurant.
A note to the unsuspecting - no take away is available. I had a fairly assertive discussion with one of the waiters and managed to take half of my pizza home, but it was hard work.
I feel quite strongly on this issue. I have paid for it, therefore it is mine to do with as I will. Give me a waiver to sign. Let me know before I order - perhaps a note on the menu, and I will order less (ie. no $25 carpaccio) so that I won't have left overs to hassle you about!
So, the numbers:
AMBIENCE: 9/10
SERVICE: 6/10
WINE: 4/10
FOOD: 3/10 (with the exception of pizza and oysters)
VALUE FOR MONEY: 5/10
The ambience of the place is fantastic, table cloths, beautiful glassware & plates and gorgeous lighting. The view is also one of the best from a restaurant in Darwin. The chairs are very comfortable and the decor is neutral and elegant.
Our entrees were the oysters, the seafood salad and the carpaccio of beef.
The oysters were very good and were simply presented with slender wedges of lemon.
The seafood salad was mediocre and not flavoursome due, in part, to being underdressed.
My $25 beef carpaccio was on the menu as having rocket leaves but came with lettuce mix and was almost tasteless except for the cracked pepper crusting on the outside of the beef and the shaved parmesan. There was not even a simple dressing on the dish aside from being circled by three thin lines of balsamic glaze (possibly from a bottle).
Mains were taglioni with slipper lobster (a.k.a. balmain bug), chicken stuffed with cheese & sun-dried tomatoes with a sage sauce and a pizza siciliana (salami and black olive).
It all sounded SO good.
The pasta was bland and you could only really taste the tomato sauce base with a meagre amount of the "slipper lobster" having been cooked to rubbery tastelessness.
The chicken tasted like it had a coles chicken seasoning on the outside of it and my friend said there wasn't even a hint of sage flavour in the sauce. As it was decorated with rosemary - I did wonder if they had any sage out the back at all....
The pizza on the other hand was suberb! The tomato base was rich and full of flavour and the crust was light and crisp. The other toppings were salami, small whole black olives and really nice cheese.
Two other items of note were that we had overservice regarding the taking of our order, pretty sure we were asked at least 4 times within about 15 minutes if we were ready to order. While this overservice did translate well regarding water top ups and drinks service, it was getting annoying at the begnning of the evening.
The other is that the wine list comprised either boring but quaffable wines that you can get at the local bottle shop or Italian wines. Being unfamiliar with the latter - as I suspect a few Darwinites may be, it would have been lovely to have someone knowledgeable among the staff suggest one.
I think this restaurant is well suited for having a superb pizza with a glass of quaffable wine and soaking up the sunset.
But to call it fine dining is well off the mark.
The food is pub food quality - which is fine when you're in a pub, not fine when you are paying wads of cash for it in a restaurant that is dressed up as a fine dining restaurant.
A note to the unsuspecting - no take away is available. I had a fairly assertive discussion with one of the waiters and managed to take half of my pizza home, but it was hard work.
I feel quite strongly on this issue. I have paid for it, therefore it is mine to do with as I will. Give me a waiver to sign. Let me know before I order - perhaps a note on the menu, and I will order less (ie. no $25 carpaccio) so that I won't have left overs to hassle you about!
So, the numbers:
AMBIENCE: 9/10
SERVICE: 6/10
WINE: 4/10
FOOD: 3/10 (with the exception of pizza and oysters)
VALUE FOR MONEY: 5/10
Monday, October 11, 2010
Happy Garden
On Saturday the 2nd of October, a large group of us went to the Happy Garden in Parap for a banquet dinner to celebrate the Dan Certificate presentation of a friend. The meal was $32 per person.
We started with chicken and sweetcorn soup followed by steamed dim sims and fried wontons.
For main course we had special fried rice, lemon chicken, chef's special sizzling beef and steamed barramundi with ginger and spring onions. Despite not being a fish lover, the barra was the stand out dish.
Dessert was a choice of either lychee and ice cream or fried ice cream (choice, hahaha, no contest there for me!). A large, golden-crusted ball of ice cream - DELICIOUS!
The numbers:
AMBIENCE: 6/10
SERVICE: 7/10
WINE: 6/10
FOOD: 7/10
VALUE FOR MONEY: 8/10
We started with chicken and sweetcorn soup followed by steamed dim sims and fried wontons.
For main course we had special fried rice, lemon chicken, chef's special sizzling beef and steamed barramundi with ginger and spring onions. Despite not being a fish lover, the barra was the stand out dish.
Dessert was a choice of either lychee and ice cream or fried ice cream (choice, hahaha, no contest there for me!). A large, golden-crusted ball of ice cream - DELICIOUS!
The numbers:
AMBIENCE: 6/10
SERVICE: 7/10
WINE: 6/10
FOOD: 7/10
VALUE FOR MONEY: 8/10
birthday tea at Hanuman
I went to the hanuman again, late in September for my birthday. It was fabulous, as usual. I think I got photos of one course, and we just devoured the other course before I remembered.
We started with lamb cutlets coated in tandoori spices, money bags, the duck salad and the chicken satays. The duck salad is a stand out dish - do yourself a favour and have it next time you go. The satay sauce is another highlight and I love the mint yoghurt chutney combined with the spices on the tender lamb cutlets.
For the main courses we had butter chicken, the pork belly, beef musaman and hanuman prawns. for greens we had the baby bok choi. While the pork belly is stand out dish, the musaman is such an exquisite blend of spices and coconut milk with really tender beef pieces that it deserves a mention. Also, the butter chicken is the best I have ever tasted (even having worked in three Indian restaurants over my hospitality career!). You can taste the slight char of the chicken pieces due to their having been cooked on long metal skewers in a tandoor oven before being simmered in the creamy red sauce.
I also had a third course - my favourite Hanuman dessert, the black rice brulee. A crisp coating of toffee tops a silky custard which in turn sits atop a layer of black rice pudding.
I was reminded by a friend that when looking for really good food, not to miss it when it arrives. So I revise my previous ratings to reflect this viewpoint.
Food qualiity:10/10
Service: 9/10
Ambience:7/10
Wine List : 8/10
Value for money: 9/10
We started with lamb cutlets coated in tandoori spices, money bags, the duck salad and the chicken satays. The duck salad is a stand out dish - do yourself a favour and have it next time you go. The satay sauce is another highlight and I love the mint yoghurt chutney combined with the spices on the tender lamb cutlets.
For the main courses we had butter chicken, the pork belly, beef musaman and hanuman prawns. for greens we had the baby bok choi. While the pork belly is stand out dish, the musaman is such an exquisite blend of spices and coconut milk with really tender beef pieces that it deserves a mention. Also, the butter chicken is the best I have ever tasted (even having worked in three Indian restaurants over my hospitality career!). You can taste the slight char of the chicken pieces due to their having been cooked on long metal skewers in a tandoor oven before being simmered in the creamy red sauce.
I also had a third course - my favourite Hanuman dessert, the black rice brulee. A crisp coating of toffee tops a silky custard which in turn sits atop a layer of black rice pudding.
I was reminded by a friend that when looking for really good food, not to miss it when it arrives. So I revise my previous ratings to reflect this viewpoint.
Food qualiity:10/10
Service: 9/10
Ambience:7/10
Wine List : 8/10
Value for money: 9/10
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