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.

Peppercress

Name: Peppercress

Type Restaurant

Location: Southern Cross Club, Tuggeranong

Meal: Dinner

Food et: Slow roasted pork belly, Balinese style duck, Turkish and rose water mousse.

Let me start off by saying, my Dad is from the country. He lived there growing up, and moved back there last year. Dad’s idea of dinner out is a chicken schnitzel at the Peak Hill Bowling Club, of which he is a board member. Peak Hill is situated on the Bogan River – need I say more?

So, when Dad suggested that he wanted to go to the Southern Cross Club in Tuggeranong for his birthday dinner, I wasn’t surprised.

The Tuggeranong Southern Cross Club has a bistro downstairs, and I think that is what everyone pictures when they think of sports clubs and the like. Steak and chips, cutlets and vegies – that sort of thing. However, Peppercress is different.

We arrived on a Thursday night at 7pm, to find the restaurant, located on the top floor of the club, deserted. For the entire two hours we were there, only two other tables were filled. The waiter did say that they were busy the night before, and I hope for their sake it’s true. The space is large and elegantly decorated with lots of lush fabrics. The tables are spaced quite a distance away from each other, which is a marvellous idea for intimate dinners.

In edition to the décor not being what you expect, the food is an even bigger surprise. Modern, imaginative and so, so, different from your usual club fair of bangers and mash! Since it was Dad’s birthday, and since Dad was paying, we decided to go all out and get ridiculous amounts of wine to compliment our ridiculous amounts of food. The wine menu was a little more expensive than I would have liked, if I was paying myself. But I’m a cheap drunk. Literally. $5 for a bottle and I’m set.

The food however, is really well priced for what you get.

For entrée I got the Slow Roasted Pork Belly with Chardonnay poached apple, seeded mustard vinaigrette, herb salad – minus the mustard vinaigrette, because I am allergic to vinegar.

This was awesome. Really salty and a little fatty, just how I like my pork belly. I was extremely happy with this dish. It was the perfect size, so as to not fill you up for the main. Everyone else in my family was on the same wave length and ordered the Calamari and Chorizo salad, with pan-fried haloumi, and an orange dressing. They all loved it, and my Dad, who had never tried haloumi before, is now obsessed with squeaky cheese.

For the main course I ordered the Balinese Style Duck Breast with peanut and potato hash, and orange and chilli glaze (on the side).


The dish was good, but not amazing. I feel like there could have been, should have been, more flavour. The duck was cooked perfectly and had a light coating, but there was a bit too much fat for my liking. The potato and peanut hash was awesome and tasted fantastic with the orange and chilli glaze drizzled over it. All in all I enjoyed it, but felt it was missing something.

My brother, A, and his boyfriend, C, both got the Pappardelle Pasta with Lamb Ragu and Ricotta, which consisted of thick ribbon pasta, tossed with lamb ragu, Sicilian olives, fresh mint and ricotta cheese. I tried it, and it was deliciously rich and smooth and the olives gave it a salt hit that was just fantastic. The mint was great edition too, giving the dish a fresh taste. I preferred this over my own dish, actually.


My sister K, got the Couscous Strudel, which was a filo pasty parcel filled with couscous (obviously), chick peas, fetta, bell peppers and eggplant. This was a great dish, lots of flavour and character - and it’s a good vegetarian alternative to the usual ‘pasty’ type meal.


Dad got the Moroccan Lamb Rump, which was slow cooked and served with rosemary rosti, madeira jus and some vegetables. They call this one the ‘house specialty’ and I can see why. This was a perfect dish. The lamb was cooked to perfection, tender and coated in a mild spice that really complimented the flavours of the meat. One thing I would add, is some kind of yoghurt mint/cucumber sauce, as I always feel that goes well with spiced lamb.

For dessert, I couldn’t go past the Turkish and Rose Water flavoured mousse, which came with Persian floss and strawberries.


This was phenomenal. The mousse was creamy and smooth, the flavours really shining through but not over powering. The floss was a fun edition and was oh so pretty and tasty.

A got the house speciality of Soft centred warm Chocolate Pudding with vanilla bean ice cream rolled in crushed pistachio. The pudding was rich and chocolaty, a bit much for myself but my brother liked it. The stand out of the dish, though, was the ice cream. The crushed pistachio casing really gave a new dimension to the ice cream and just really worked.



K ordered the Apple and Rhubarb crumble, served with vanilla bean ice cream. This was a pretty standard, but tasty, crumble. The topping, which I always fail tremendously when I try to make myself, was crunchy and sweet. The filling was sweet without being sickly – it all came together for a hearty, soul cheering dessert.



The service at Peppercress was top notch, more what you would expect from some of Canberra’s fine dining institutions, than ‘the club’. We were shown to our table by a really nice waiter, who stayed with us most of the night and was just brilliant. Dad had been drinking and the waiter handled him perfectly, giving as good as he got – I think Dad thought they were best mates by the end of the night. And I think the waiter was glad to be entertained on a quiet night.


Verdict: It makes me sad that this place was deserted. It was brilliant. As soon as I left I said that I would write this blog post in the hope of boosting their attendance, because they deserve it. And Tuggeranong deserves a fine dining option, damn it!. Take your partner here on a date, go there with a group of friends, or take the whole family for a special celebration. Just do it!

Streets of Asia

Edit Feb 2013: a few people have mentioned to me lately about a decline in this restaurants quality - and I am inclined to agree. I have since been back to this restaurant and while I didn't have to wait long and the food tasted fine, I was left wondering about the hygiene standards and the quality of the food being served. A friend of mine became very ill after eating the soft shell crab here. Sad. But Asian Noodlehouse is up the street!

Name: Streets of Asia
Type: Restaurant and Take-away. Asian. Noodles.
Location: Tuggeranong
Meal: Lunch
Food et: Lemongrass Squid, Deep fried duck with chilli and basil
Cost: My friend paid - but it was roughly $15-20 a dish

To celebrate a friend’s 40th birthday, a friend took us all out for lunch and a “girls afternoon” (massages etc). The birthday gal is a fan of Asian food so we decided to try Streets of Asia in Tuggeranong.

Streets of Asia used to be housed up the back of the Hyperdome, near the Good Guys, but recently moved down to what they call “Southlife”, a row of cafes and restaurants out the front of the Hyperdome along Anketell Street. Since the move, the restaurant has expanded in size and decor. Giant black and white photos of notable Asian stereotypes (rice, an old man wearing a bamboo hat etc) line the walls. The decor is modern and fresh, without being too trendy or pretentious.

I am a Public Servant who works in the Tuggeranong area, and for years I have been hearing how good Streets of Asia is. My allegiance to Asian Noodlehouse, just up the street, had stopped me from trying them before this. Not sure why that is. To be honest, now that I have tried them both - they’re actually quite different.

We decided on three dishes, to try a few different things, and a big serve of rice. One of the girls is a “vegetarian” who only eats seafood, so we got a squid dish, a fish dish (heh) and a duck dish.

The squid was cooked in a chilli and lemongrass sauce, with lots of fresh vegies. Yum! It was one of those sauces that are so delicious; you just want to push everything else on the plate to the side and spoon the sauce in to your mouth. The squid was cooked well and was not too chewy (a pet hate of mine!).

The second dish was fish, which I don’t like, so I can’t comment on how the fish was cooked. The other two seemed to enjoy it though. The sauce was really nice - a sweet chilli, garlic and basil concoction. Perfect drizzled over rice.

However! The bestest dish of the day was the duck. A crispy skinned deep fried plate of heaven. Well cooked duck with a crunchy outside, covered in an ah-mazing chilli and basil sauce, served with a good helping of fresh vegies. The sauce was strong and flavourful, bursting with life. Very moreish. Just brilliant. I was fighting my non-“vegetarian” friend off for this one. After I ate most of the duck, I then proceeded to eat bowl after bowl of rice with the chilli and basil sauce. I was so full by this stage, but I kept on eating!

I was devastated to find out that they don’t do the duck dish as take-away. In fact, most of the non-noodle dishes are eat-in only. This is not so great when I want to grab dinner for myself (being a single gal) on the way home from work. I’m not really a fan of sitting in restaurants by myself, but the duck makes me think it might be worth grabbing my book and heading down for a weekend lunch or weekday dinner by myself.

The service was good, but not exceptional. They're really fast at ordering and then bringing the food out but there are no pleasantries. They don't speak great English, but that always heartens me - because it means you're gonna get authentic food from people who really know how to make it!

Verdict: While I am still a loyal Noodlehouser for Noodles and takeaway, I think Streets of Asia could very easily become a new favourite for sit down dinners with friends before a movie or as somewhere close to just go have a catch up. And, boy! That duck dish is probably one of the best Asian dishes I’ve ever had.

Asian Noodle House

Name: Asian Noodle House
Type: Restaurant and Take-away. Asian. Noodles.
Location: Tuggeranong (and there is one in Dickson too)
Meal: Lunch
Food et: Half-sized Combination Egg Noodle Soup
Cost: $11.00

Asian Noodle House is mine, and pretty much everyone I knows, favourite "go-to" restaurant and take-away. To say I am biased...is entirely fair. The food is delicious, fresh and quickly prepared. You can always get a good, decent sized, meal for a good price.

As a Mother's Day treat, I took Mum out to Noodle House for lunch and then to see a movie at Limelight (Cinema Plug: my sister works there). Sadly, Dad had cooked a gigantic breakfast for Mum and all us kids, so neither Mum or I were particularly hungry by the time we arrived at Noodle House.

Usually I will get the Chicken Pad Thai or a Laksa, because both are totally amazing, but today my stomach just couldn't take it. Mum ended up just getting a serve of 4 spring rolls (which are delicious, by the way). I decided to go for something a little lighter, the 1/2 sized Combination Egg Noodle Soup.

The soup was nice, but not overly flavoursome. Which, strangely enough, was perfect. I didn't want anything that would assault my senses and make me sick. Egg noodles, duck, bbq pork, chicken and bok choy in a chicken broth with some fried onions and shallots. It was nice hearty meal, which I devoured in no time at all - even though I was full before I started. I think I really like chilli in Asian food, so that is probably what I found was missing.

The great thing about Noodle House is that you really can get anything you feel like. They have rice dishes, curries and many, many noodle dishes from around Asia. There is a section for Chinese foods, Loa dishes and Thai ones. There are also a few other random Asian specialities thrown in. A few people I know really, really love their Singapore noodles - although I am not a huge fan of those in general, so I can't comment.

The menu offer numerous vegetarian dishes and option - most of the noodle dishes come with a tofu/vegetable option as well as a seafood, beef, chicken, pork and duck option. The kids are covered too, with a children's menu offering smaller sizes and blander food for the youngsters - something you don't see often at Asian places.

My friend J constantly rave about how they have the best Pad Siew and the best Laksa he has ever tasted. The Cha Kway Teow is also a winner.

The service is okay, nothing spectacular, but I've never had a mix up with orders or the bill and I've never had to wait very long for my food - even when they are busy. I guess you can't really ask for more (perhaps a smile...?).

The restaurant is small and modestly designed, it's quite popular but you can generally find a seat. Unless Roller Derby is on around the corner...

Verdict: I love this place. I used to eat here at least one a week, sometimes more...until I moved around the corner from it. Strange, I know. I do make sure I have it at least once a month, though. I seriously cannot fault this place, food wise. I've tried so many dishes from this menu and they've all been amazing. Highly recommend.

Little Istanbul

Name: Little Istanbul
Type: Restaurant. Turkish.
Location: Tuggeranong
Meal: Dinner
Food et: Too much...


Saturday night my flate mate and I walked around to Little Istanbul, a Turkish restaurant around the corner from our flat, to gather for the 30th birthday dinner celebration of one of our mutual good friends.

First thought as we entered the restaurant on this particular night and made our way up to the back where our resevered table awaited? "Holy crap, it's busy". Followed by "Holy crap, it's hot!" Yikes. Extremely hot. Not sure if it was the amount of people in there, but we all started stripping off layers as soon as we were seated.

The restaurant does have a good, lively atmosphere, so much so that it can be hard to hear people on the other side of the table...but let's face it, we were there for the food, dang it, not idle chatter!

We'd pre-ordered the Royal Banquet, the biggest most expensive one they have - which is still reasonably priced considering the amount of food you get. Bring. It. On.

First up was, as always, my favourite part of any Turkish dinner - dips with bread. So simple, yet so yummy. I knew we had a lot of food to come, but I couldn't stop myself spooning a nice big heaping of each dip on to my plate. Bubbaghanush, Humus, Beetroot, Havuc (carrot) and Tzatziki - all made to perfection. The bread was warm and fresh, perfect for scooping up big dollops of dip. Yummo. A special mention about the Humus: it's amazing. I'm a snob for Humus now because of this stuff - no more store bought stuff for me, thank you very much!

Along with the dips and bread we were also served Borek (cheese wrapped in pastry) and Kabak (zucchini balls). What's not to love about those? The fetta in the pastry gives off a yummy tangy taste and the zucchini balls are soft and doughy.

I passed on the vine leaves, as I knew the meat plate was next and I want to save my stomach for that! Meat, people, meat.

The next plate was full of seafood - but I hate seafood, so I can't tell you what it was like. A Pide with prawns arrived at the same time and all the others seemed impressed with the seafood. Whatever...

My friend has a seasame seed allergy and the chef made him two special Pide's with out them (the first one had a couple of seeds on them, so they made him a new one free of charge). It was fantastic that they were so willing to help him out, and he can now enjoy Pide - like normal people.

The plate of meat arrived and I dug right in. Sis Kebab, Sis Tavuk, lamb cutlets and a big pile of Pilav. Yum. Yum. Yum. The meat was flavourful, coated in the right amount of spices, and cooked to perfection.

I think there was salad in there too, can't remember. Meat.

After I'd eaten so much I thought I was going to vomit, my friend's wife "surprised" him with three belly dancers. The restaurant were kind enough to help her organise the setting, by supplying their sound system for the music and turning down their house lights to reveal flashing disco lights up the back. Who knew!?!?! Happy 30th, geeko! The boys got up and had a dance with the lovely, talented, ladies. I, however, hid on the other side of the table. Things like that freak me out...

After our entertainment was finished, they turned the lights back up (scaring everyone in the restaurant to death) and we finished off our meal with some dessert - a plate of assorted delicacies. I went straight for the Birds Nest and Baklava (a personal favourite).

Verdict: A great night out with friends. The food was great, couldn't really ask for anything more! Service was fantastic, they were helpful, polite and just really nice! Winner.