5 Senses

Name: 5 Senses
Type: Café
Location: Tuggeranong Hyperdome
Meal: Lunch
Food et: Roast Lamb Panini

A friend and I decided to check out the Hyperdome’s newest café, 5 Senses, for a work-day catch up lunch (thing).

The café opened only a week ago and when we arrived early, it was already pumping with shoppers and public servants (it is in close in proximity to a few different Tuggeranong based departments). The layout is open, situated in to a newer corner of the Hyperdome shopping centre, under Big W and adjacent to The Reject Shop. The décor is simple and unobtrusive – you can sit at a table or at one of the strategically placed arm chairs. We were shown a few seating options and decided to take a table for two near the kitchen, out of the way from the main seating area.

The menu consists of a decent looking breakfast menu (mental note for the weekends, when it’s all day breakfast) and a lunch menu that incorporates a few different cuisines. The menu is a nice change from the basic “coffee club” style menu that a lot of café’s adopt. Some interesting dishes include: spatchcock marinated with soy, sesame oil and lime juice with spiced green lentils and crunchy leeks; duck confit with roasted root vegetables, potato puree and a balsamic vinegar reduction; and a Wild Mushroom Pappadelle. However, if you’re after a lighter lunch – as we were – they also have a menu for sandwiches and burgers.

My friend K ordered the steak sandwich (Eye fillet, lettuce, tomato relish, mushroom, beetroot, swiss cheese and caramelised onions) – which she enjoyed and said it was “yummy”. She said she especially enjoyed that the beetroot was fresh – not the canned stuff – and that the meat was tender. She also liked the mushrooms, as a nice touch and something a little different.

I ordered the roast lamb Panini which came with baby rocket, kalamata olives and fresh olives.

Although the olives were an interesting and flavoursome touch, I felt as though this Panini was missing something…something that I couldn’t put my finger on. I think it was that the roast lamb wasn’t seasoned, it was plain old roast lamb – not hot, but not cold either. The Panini bread was really nice, really fresh and soft. Both meals came with lightly seasoned chips, which were crunchy and pretty fantastic (and free, cos it doesn’t say anything about chips on the menu – Best. Surprise. Ever.). I said I wasn’t going to eat them all. I ate them all.

The service was a little all over the shop – literally. After we’d finished we watched staff run around, but no one came to get our plates for a long while and then when we finally got up and went to the counter on our own accord, no one seemed quite sure who should put the order through. That is to be expected in the first few weeks of business. The service we did receive was friendly and welcoming. There seemed to a be a lot of the staff’s family visiting, which was nice. I got the impression that it is a locally run operation, the owner/manager was on site, and I believe in supporting that type of establishment – you can keep your Nandos, thank you very much. I’m sorry, Nanados, I didn’t mean it – I love you.

I think I’ll definitely be back to try 5 Senses more extensive menu, perhaps on a weekend when a big lunch is more appealing (and I’m not at risk of falling asleep on my desk). The cakes also look pretty fantastic, so this would be a nice place to catch up, or a welcome break from shopping.

Silo Bakery

Decided to hit up Silo Bakery in Kingston, since I was in the neighborhood and I've always wanted to try it. Every time I've tried it's been packed or closed. Today it was busy and all the tables taken, but the service was fast and we were out of there in no time.

My sister and I shared a giant slice (two in one) of the Chocolate mousse tart with apple and berries, while sitting outside in the sun.

All I have to say is: GREAT GOGGALLYMOOGALLY!!!

I can't continue to blog due to my happiness induced sugar coma. Drool.

Maple + Clove

Name: Maple + Clove
Type: Café/Restaurant
Location: Hotel Realm, Barton
Meal: Breakfast
Food et: Avocado, Tomato and Basil $15

Like most Canberrans, I love me a Sunday breakfast. I’m always trying to find new places to try for breakfast, keeping my eye out for places that do more than the usual bacon and eggs, eggs benny and the standard big breakfast. When researching places for a friend and I to catch up for breakfast, I found Maple + Clove.

Maple + Clove ticked all the right Canberra breakfast boxes – nice area, interesting looking food, and it seemed just a little bit trendy. My friend, P, rang up and secured us a table for a late Sunday morning.

When we arrived we found that we were given a table outside, which I think would have been lovely – surrounded by the open and green park area, within the Hotel Realm - if it wasn’t such a miserable day! We were sat for about two minutes before the skies opened up and the umbrellas above the table could do little to protect us from the down poor. Thankfully there were a few seats left inside for us and the other poor outside schmucks, so we all shuffled inside.

Maple + Clove is decked out with a trendy, almost industrial feel. There’s cerement and dark colours in abundance. The area is open, with large doors opening out to the patio, where we had previously been sitting. Most of the cafe is taken up with tables, on the side is a breakfast bar and a place for coffees or take away (they do take away meals – including currys and tagines!!). The kitchen is up the back of the room, and it looks busy!

There were a lot of people there on this Sunday morning, which I thought was odd considering I’d never heard of the place. I suspect that their main customers are from the hotel, but also the niche clientele, that they have tapped in to with their organic approach, who make the trek to the weekend-quite part of Barton.

The menu consists of a lot of healthy alternatives and natural organic produce, some of which I had to Google. The bread is made with spelt flour, which meant Buckley’s to me until I found out that it is a healthier alternative to white flour. I even got a hypo-colour juice which had some vegetables in it. Look at me being all fancy and healthy. For once.

I ordered the Avocado, Tomato and Basil which was exactly what it says on the box, but with spelt flour sourdough and a cashew hummus.


I actually enjoyed this dish quite a lot…after I scrapped half the ingredients off. Too much tomato and (I never thought I’d actually say this), too much avocado – it was too overpowering and I got sick of the taste of both before I was even half way through the meal. Once I halved the vegies, it was a nice fresh dish and hit the spot. The cashew hummus was particularly tasty – I wish they’d had more of it! Sadly the bread wasn’t toasted enough and went quite soggy, which I’m not overly keen on.

P ordered the Wholemeal Spelt Fig + Walnut Toast, which was served with butter and a berry compote.


P confided that what was put in front of her was very different to what she was expecting. The loaf is cut in to two fat pieces and the butter and compote are put in to small jars on the side. The butter was ice cold and near impossible to spread, I’d nearly finished my dish before P had finished buttering! Po did say that she was quite let down by the berry compote, as she was expecting something a little less dense – to me it looked like it was stewed without sugar to break it down. Overall, P did like her meal, though. She said the loaf was tasty, and not as sweet or as dense as it looked.

The service at Maple + Clove was really good. They were very helpful moving us about outside to avoid the rain, and then again when we gave up and move inside. They were attentive and informative, and very friendly. Have no bad words to say.

Verdict: I think Maple +Clove is cool. It’s trying to do something different and I respect that angle. The place is well set out, in a great location, perfect for lazy guilt free breakfasts!

Cream

Name: Cream Café and Bar
Type: Restaurant, café, bar
Location: Civic
Meal: Before-hours dinner
Food et: Calamari (tapas) and steak sandwich

My brother (A) and I decided to hit up Cream for a quick bite to eat before an early movie session. Seriously, who starts a movie at 6pm – that’s too early for dinner, and then it’s too late for dinner afterwards (or if you’re like me, you’ve eaten every piece of popcorn in the vicinity and are too full for dinner).

There doesn’t seem to be many quick pre-dinner dinner options around the area, Babars is open with a limited menu (pizza) and Kingsley’s Steakhouse is not the kind of place you go to scoff a meal down. Usually Sammy’s or Wagamama’s would have sufficed, but we’d both OD’d on Asian food in recent times and wanted to try something tasty, but a bit more laid back.

Cream is nestled on the corner of Bunda and Genge streets, pretty much directly under the Dendy wing of the Canberra Centre. The café is modern in it’s lay out, with bar like benches and stools mixed in with the more traditional café setting. There is a coffee bar in the middle, underneath a beautiful feature light. The space is bright and trendy, but not too pompous.

Cream does good coffee and drinks, but I am partial to their cold drinks – specifically their fruit frappes. Tonight I decided on the “Passion Paradise” which is a blend of lychees, pineapple, passion fruit and lychee juice. I liked it, it’s really cold and refreshing, but it was a little sweet for my usual tastes.

Cream does a limited menu before 6pm, consisting of tapas and burgers. I’ve previously come here before an early movie, and a friend and I had shared the tapas tasting plate – something I highly recommend – but tonight A and I decided to get the burgers.

I ordered the steak sandwich, which has a tender sirloin, lettuce, tomato, free range egg, aioli, caramelised onions and is served with shoestring fries – however I opted to omit the egg. Seriously, Australia …


I used the word ‘tasty’ a lot when we were there and I’ll continue that trend in this post – this sandwich is tasty! The steak was tender and not too tough, which you see a lot on steak based burger/sandwiches. The onion was caramelised well, nice and soft, and had a nice flavour. The salad was crisp and plentiful – I hate it when you get one piece of lettuce! The bread holding the whole thing together was toasted Turkish bread that was fresh and hot, soaking up the juices from the flavoursome insides.

Shoe string fries are my very most favourite type of fries, so I was pretty much in chippy heaven! They were done perfectly - crispy, but not burnt, and with the perfect amount of saltiness. One thing my brother did suggest, and I agree, is that the chips be served with an aioli or some kind of dipping sauce – there are a whole lot of chips on that plate, and eating them plain can get a bit tiresome.

A ordered the Chicken Burger which has a free range breast with lettuce, tomato, bacon, pineapple relish, paprika aioli and is also served with shoestring fries.


A was really happy with his burger, and said “there was the right amount of sauces on the burger and it wasn’t too sloppy”.

We decided to get the calamari as a side, because when I’d had it in on the tasting plate previously, it stayed with me and I wanted to try it again. The calamari is dusted in spices and served with a mango lime relish.


The calamari was well cooked (not too rubbery) and the spices really gave it another dimension. The mango lime relish is a fantastic accompaniment to the dish, and is tangy and sweet. It can be quite strong, so don’t dunk your whole calamari piece in it. I think it would have worked better as an aioli than a relish/chutney.

The service at Cream is good, but not great. The staff are young and always seem to be busy, but after they seat you and take your order, that’s the last you’ll see of them - you pay at a counter and you’re on your way. The food was served quickly and, in fact, our entire meal took a total of 30 minutes from sitting down to walking out the door. Perfect for the pre-movie rush!

Verdict: I was really happy with our visit to Cream, the food was tasty and fresh, the menu was hip and inventive, and the place has a trendy, but welcoming atmosphere. I’ve heard some people call Cream “pretentious”, but I’ve never encountered an ounce of that. Hell, I was wearing thongs and I felt at home!

Rating: 3/*****

Urban Food

Name: Urban Food
Type: Cafe and store
Location: Acton
Meal: Breakfast
Food et: Hash with bacon and eggs, side of toast, juice, coffee

A friend of mine once told me that her favourite place to "hipster watch " was Acton. Colour me intrigued!

I dragged my friend J and her 14 year old daughter to Urban Food for a "relaxed girls brunch out" - mistake number one.

Urban Food cafe is spread out within the store of the same name, a grocery store stocking gourmet items (mind you I only saw normal stuff, like milo, on the shelf). Actually, spread out might be a generous term, more like 'squashed in'. There are tables of different sizes all over the space, and not much room to walk through it. The space echoes and you can't really hear each other talk, which is not ideal for people like J and I, who talk a lot.

The cafe is packed when we enter on a Sunday around 10:30am. Thankfully I know what Canberrans are like on a Sunday and had the hindsight to book a table. The line to order the food is nearly out the door and we had to line up for a while before placing our order.

If you've read this blog much, you'll know that I am a fan of fried potato - so naturally, I ordered the hash with bacon and eggs. But I'm also a huge sourdough slut, so naturally I also had to get that as a side.

Firstly the main attraction, the hash, was awful. Under cooked (raw potato is not a lovely thing), tasteless and full of onion (which is an ingredient they left off the menu). The hash was also supposed to have bacon in it, but I could only find three tiny pieces in mine. The eggs were fried, pretty standard and hard to get wrong. The toast was served plain with no butter or anything (seriously, who does that?). The best part of the whole dish was the tomato chutney that was served with it, and that was too sweet for my liking.

The meal actually made me feel ill and I was "onion burping" for the rest of the day.

J had the bacon and eggs (served with toast) with a side of mushrooms.

Randomly, mushrooms are not included in any of the meals but cost $5 as a side. They do give you a large portion, but they are cooked with NOTHING. No butter. No salt. Nudda. I like mushrooms, but a big pile of mushrooms can get somewhat bland after a few bites. J happens to be the most Italian person I know, and reacted as if cooking mushrooms without salt was worse than any form of blasphemy.

J's toast was also served without butter, which she couldn't fathom and we ended up grabbing a staff member to get us some butter - even though what they ended up giving us could barely cover one piece. And by the time we got the butter, the toast was stone cold.

J's daughter E decided to get the Tradie's Burger with mushrooms (added to the burger, not on the side.

Turns out simple is best, and this ended up being the best meal of the morning. The burger does what it says on the box, and E was pretty happy with it.

Ironically, the service at Urban Food is really good. Although there is no table service, the staff on the floor where friendly and helpful.

Verdict: Not the kind of place you go for a quiet, lazy Sunday brunch. If you're after a trendy healthy meal - then it's the place for you! Urban Food seems too concerned with what they think people don't want (salt, butter etc) that they end up serving boring food. If people don't want flavour - let them ask for the deductions, don't make everyone suffer!!! And with that sentence I know why I'm so fat. :)

Rating: 2/*****

Dobinsons

Name: Dobinsons
Type: Cafe, Bakery and Take-away.
Location: Civic
Meal: Lunch
Food et: Big Breakfast
Cost: $14.95

My sister and I decided to hit up Dobinsons for a quick Sunday lunch before going to see a movie at Dendy. My sister is a regular there and recommended it as somewhere to get a decent, cheap and fast meal.

We rocked up to the outdoor seating area along Bunda Street and grabbed the only available table. Thankfully, for all the other guests, just pipping out a couple of cyclists still in their riding gear. Seriously, we don't need to see your crotch when we're trying to eat! Or is it just me that notices...

We had a quick look over the menu, displayed on a few big blackboards out the front of the cafe, and took about two seconds to decide what we wanted. I made K go and order at the counter for me - because I knew what waited inside. Dobinsons is famous (at least in my head) for it's cakes and tarts, and I knew that if I saw them I would want to forgo decent food and just have a Banana Caramel Tart for breakfast. Thankfully logic overtook my stomach's desires.

Sunday lunch time is practically Sunday breakfast for me, since I spend most of the morning in bed, so I decided to get the classic Big Breakfast.

The meal is served with a small glass of orange juice and a coffee (flat white for me) - not bad for a sum total of $14.95. Lots of food on the plate, all of it well prepared and tasty. The mushrooms were really nice, buttered and not too mushy. You can choose how you want your eggs and I got scrambled eggs, which were fluffy and light.

K decided that, since she'd actually eaten breakfast that morning, a more hearty meal was needed for lunch. K got the Hawaiian Burger, which is made up of a chicken schnitzel (not quite a Hawaiian staple), bacon and pineapple. Slap a pineapple on anything and it becomes Hawaiian!

Hawaiian or not, K enjoyed her burger and said it hit the spot. Served with some crispy wedges, I can see this being a hangover staple actually...

We finished our meals pretty quickly and ran off to see our movie (Moonrise Kingdom, which is fantastic by the way). After our session, the lure of Dobinsons treats drew us back. I'd been thinking about them most of the film and as soon as it was over I said to K - "right, back to Dobinsons?", to which she heartily agreed.

Sadly my Banana Caramel Tart had sold out by the time we got back to the cafe (about 4:30pm), and they were close to closing up. I decided on a Chocolate Cheesecake Tart and a Lemon Tart to take away.

I ate the Chocolate Cheesecake Tart when I got home, pretty much as soon as I walked in the door. Let's face it, it's rich as all hell but utterly devine. Creamy with a decadent chocolate taste and a crumbly casing. Scoff!

Next time I'll only eat half...because now I don't think I need any dinner.
Verdict: Dobinsons is a reliable, reasonable priced affair with a selection of treats to win over some of the most dedicated health nuts. Service is fine for the type of set up they have, you order at the counter and then your food is delivered, efficiently and with a smile.

Rating: 3/*****

Pod Food

Name: Podfood
Type: Restaurant. Café. Modern Australian.
Location: Pialligo
Meal: Breakfast
Food et: Pancakes
Cost: $16.00

Ah. Picturesque Pialligo. For those of you unfamiliar, Pialligo is a random little “rural suburb” in Canberra, just near the airport, full of nurseries and plant shops. It’s where Canberra’s green-thumbed community converge on weekends.

In the last few years, the nurseries have cottoned on to Canberra’s booming breakfast and brunch culture and have started up cafés and restaurants amongst their bulbs, seedlings and pots (there are a lot of pots).

A friend (D) and I wanted to catch up for brunch out at Pialligo’s Podfood. We’d heard good thing and we were keen to try it. Only, they don’t do brunch…

Podfood is open for breakfast on weekend mornings from 8:30am to 10am and then lunch from 12pm. I’m sorry? Where is the 10.30am breakfast for the lazy people, huh??? I was pretty disappointed, not going to lie. I like my lazy Saturday morning breakfast/brunch to be as late as possible, to get in as much sleep as possible!

We decided to make the sacrifice and booked a table for 9am. Oh, the things we do for food.

Podfood is stupidly cute. A rustic, cottage looking, building, painted a welcoming blue and yellow, surrounded by a courtyard and a deck, with plants and flowers at their borders. The main room is fairly basic, but nice, bright and inviting.

I decided that I had a sweet tooth that morning, which is rare for me (I’m more of a savoury gal), so I decided to get the pancakes. D got the eggs Benedict with salmon. I also ordered a Chai Latte and D ordered a Mocha.

The food was cooked and on our table in no time at all, very efficient but probably due to the fact that there wasn’t that many people in the restaurant. The cold weather drives people away from places like Pialligo; if it was warmer it would be booming!

First let me get the negative out of the way – the drinks. D’s Mocha was cold and weak (but she likes them pretty strong). My Chai Latte was also cold and not overly flavourful. I stuck with water after that…

But now on to the good – the food! The pancakes were so fantastic. Warm, fluffy and the perfect size - I didn’t end up eating so much I wanted to spew (which happens often to me with yummy things). The pancakes had a walnut and maple ice cream on top, which was creamy and sweet, and the plate was drizzled with walnuts and chucks of pear compote. It all just worked so beautifully together.

D’s Eggs Benedict with salmon ended up being Eggs Benedict with spinach – as the salmon had not yet been delivered for the day. I felt like commenting that that was because they opened so EARLY. I’m still suffering from lack of sleep a week later, you see.

D said her eggs were cooked perfectly; a good amount of runniness and the spinach was cooked well. She was extremely happy with her meal too.

We ended up sitting around after we finished the meal just chatting and killing time, and as a testament to the great service, they let us stay as long as we wanted. All I had to do was pick up my handbag and our waitress grabbed the cheque for us, we didn’t have to ask. She was polite, happy and really attentive for the entire meal. Just fantastic service, you really could not ask for anything more.

The sun had come out, so after we’d finished with breakfast, we went for a walk around the nurseries and pot plant shops. I found a tea cup pot plant that WILL be mine. When I have more money…

D strutting her stuff amongst the pots.


Verdict: All they need to do is improve on their drinks and I think Podfood could really become a “must-go/do” Pialligo landmark.

Rating: 3.5/*****

Gus'

Name: Gus’ Cafe
Type: Café. Modern Australian
Location: Civic
Meal: Dinner
Food et: Grilled chicken breast sandwich
Cost: $10.50

Established in 1967, by Augustin ‘Gus’ Petersilka, Gus’ Café has become a Canberran landmark and a legend.

Gus came from Vienna, Austria, which is evident in the basic wood lined, continental-style interior of the café. It’s a simple décor, harping back to a simpler time.

Now famous for it’s out-door dining, Gus actually had to fight an epic battle with local bureaucrats and council officials (including a petition to the Queen) to be Canberra’s first open-air, late night café. Thankfully for us all he won his battle and from 1968 the café extended out on to the street – and other Canberra restaurants followed suit. Canberra now has a bustling out-door dining scene, and we have Gus to thank for that!

With this in mind, a friend and I decided that Gus’ was the perfect place to grab a quick bite to eat before an early movie. The weather was decent so we grabbed a table in their outdoor area. Being that it is still winter in Canberra, the heaters were on and the plastic shielding was up. It was actually nice and cosy, like being inside the restaurant – but with the added bonus of people watching from the street.

Gus’ menu consists of basic café food, quick bites, pastas, risottos and my very most favourite thing ever – all day breakfast. They have a really great coffee menu too, if you are so inclined (but I’m a tea drinker, bitches).

As we didn’t have much time, we both grabbed a small meal that we knew wouldn’t take too long to prepare. I chose the Grilled chicken breast sandwich (without chips, as I’d had an afternoon tea at work) and J chose the nachos with chicken.

The meals come out about 10 minutes later, smelling and looking delicious. The grilled chicken sandwich was served on toasted bread which had been coated in a garlic butter (drool!). The sandwich was built with sliced grilled chicken, cheese, roquette and a sun dried tomato mayo. It was very tasty, the mayo giving off a nice saltiness to off set the blander chick and roquette. The sandwich was quite sizeable, definitely a two hand effort.

J told me that she was very impressed with the nachos, especially the amount of topping. J liked that they had more of the sour cream/guacamole/salsa then most nachos you get out at restaurants – which is never enough! She was a little wary about adding the chicken, because she’d never had chicken with her nachos – but she was very impressed and liked it a lot.

Service at Gus’ is efficient and polite. The girl who served us was fine, she got our order right, but she was neither happy nor overly attentive. The guy behind the counter when we went in to pay was quite chatty and put a smile on our faces as we left.

Verdict: I think Gus’ is a good “go to” place. In all honesty, the food is nothing to write home about, but it’s quick and basic – which is sometimes all you need! The greatest thing about Gus’, though, is the atmosphere, the location and the legend.