Quick restaurant review - Alanya

There are quite a few dishes that I miss from Australia. Good Vietnamese Pho, really spicy north Indian curries, Laksa, and Kabak Mucveri.

Now the latter is a Turkish dish, and you would think that being in Europe (and not that far from Turkey) it would be easy to get, but I haven't been able to find it, and even if I could, I suspect it would be a disappointment compared to the Kabak Mucveri in my fave Turkish restaurant in Canberra. A trip to Alanya was definitely on the list for my visit to Australia.

I got my chance, and met up with a friend and ex-colleague for lunch there. The restaurant itself hadn't changed much in the years I have been away. It is tucked away upstairs in the Style arcade in Manuka and has a big challenge to fight the trendy on-street restaurants that saturate this mini town centre. But fight it has, and for forty years (!) it has been serving Turkish food to hungry Canberrans.

The reason why it has managed to stay viable for all this time is because it is simply good. What more can I say than go there and check it out for yourself.

Address 22 Style Arcade, Franklin Street,
Manuka, ACT 2603

Phone (02) 6295 9678

Fax (02) 6295 9624

Website akvaryumhobisi.com/alanya/

Restaurant Review - The Poacher's Pantry

I have a soft spot for this hidden gem in the Australian countryside.

The Poacher's Pantry is officially in Hall, NSW, just outside Canberra, ACT (Australia). That said, it is not in the town, but on Nanima Road. To get there, head along the Barton highway towards Yass and look for the signs and road off to the right.

What is special about this spot? I guess it is a combination of things. The atmosphere is a major feature. The farm property is very picturesque and the building itself seems the epitome of an Australian country house. The wide verandah and patio invite visitors to settle down for either a light snack or meal. From there you can gaze over the wide lawn, watching the birdlife, or other wildlife such as these kids playing.

The other appeal is of course, the food. The smokehouse that inspired the name makes all sorts of wonderful treats - favourites of mine are the emu prosciutto and smoked semi-dried tomatoes. Now the range has expanded with the planting of vineyards around the farm, producing Wily Trout cool climate wines.

The day we went was gloriously sunny (mind you, nowadays that is the norm for this part of the world) and we settled down to start with a glass of champagne and a mezze platter. This allowed us to try a little bit of everything: grilled zucchini, emu prosciutto, ham, smoked chicken, hommous, smoked tomatoes, baba ganoush... a grand mini feast!

For main courses, we chose:

• smoked chicken and leek pie


• smoked lamb with couscous


• smoked lamb chops with sweet potato mash


• smoked duck salad

The winning dish I would have to say, was my sister's choice of the smoked lamb chops.

But I made up for it with my dessert - I could not resist the Poacher's Mess: crumbled meringue, cream and lemon curd. Her creme brulee was good I am sure, but my dessert was divine!
I bought some brandy-smoked chicken and also 2 packets of smoked tomatoes. If you have never experienced a smoked tomato, I tell you, you have not yet truly lived! Sweet and smokey and a taste sensation like no other.

If you want to discover the Poacher's pantry for yourself, you can visit the website, or go there for yourself. "Marakei", Nanima Road, Hall, ACT. Ph +61 (0)2 6230 2487

Aranyszarvas - a restaurant review

So, dear reader, you think that just because I am off on holidays in Hungary, that I am simply relaxing in hot spas and shopping, forgetting you completely? Never, I say, never!! As always I am willing to sacrifice my time and money and waistline, to bring you advice on where to eat wherever in the world I/you go.

Today my visit was to a Budapest restaurant by the name of ˝Aranysyarvas˝ (ask me not how you pronounce this!).

This restaurant has been around for quite a while in various forms and once was one of the hangouts for the artists of Budapest. Nowadays it's decor is more dignified than bohemian, as is it's game-oriented menu.

I started my meal with an entree of stuffed pheasant soup. This consommé had carrots, pheasant, a slice of what I assume was stuffing, and what appeared to be a few slices of black truffle. Sadly the truffle did not really make any impact on the soup, which was on the whole uninspired. The carrots were overcooked and the broth was pleasant but ordinary enough that I didn't bother to finish it once the solid bits were gone. The best part was definitely the stuffing, which was really delicious, with what was just a hint of something exotic... maybe anise, which I enjoyed very much.

Before moving on to the main course, the bread is worth a mention. The bread was good, but more interestingly, was served with a small pot of hommous. This is a charming idea and makes a nice change from butter. The hommous had none of the errors that can be made with this dish - commonly it can be either dry and grainy, conversely oily or dominated by garlic or tahini. Instead this was simple, moist and tasty.

The main course for me continued the game theme: deer with game sauce and noodles. I was a bit surprised by the dish that was set before me (when I get home I will upload the photos) as the ˝noodles˝ were in fact two large dumplings. They didn't look too promising to be truthful, but in fact were incredibly light, fluffy and delicious.

To pontificate a little, let me say that there are really two ways to deal with game meats such as venison. Cook it fast and rare, or long, slow and well done. The 1st is great but you have to be dealing with clients with an educated enough palate to cope with being served meat that still has a little blood in it. The 2nd is more dangerous a route as you risk the meat drying out and toughening. The restaurant chose the latter route and mostly carried it off. The meat was very very well done and I suspect if there hadn't had been sauce would have bee incredibly dry, but in fact it was not tough.

The sauce however was a bit of a shocker. At the risk of being uncharitable I would say the sauce was simply made of American sweet mustard! It overwhelmed everything else. The dumplings, with their delicate oregano flavour were definitely best kept at a distance from the sauce, and the meat, unless scraped clear of it, could have been any random red meat at all - no way to tell what! Once freed from the mustard (so to speak) it did have its own flavour which was worth discovering. I usually really love the sweet and game combination, but sadly this one just did not really work for me and I just could not get that hotdog mustard idea out of my brain.

Conclusion: Now, while the above review does sound somewhat condemning, I would have to say that if I lived in Budapest I would definitely give this restaurant another shot and in fact would say that my experience was, on the whole, positive. There is an interesting sort of hungarian mezze option which I would have liked to try, and if I had been there with a partner would definitely have made a push for.

The restaurant also deserves a big thumbs up for being one of the few non-smoking restaurants in Budapest, a definite plus in my books! The waiting staff were attentive and helpful, the black, cream and old gold decor is elegant without being intimidating. The background music was fascinating (hearing a soft jazz version of YMCA was slightly bizarre but surprisingly pleasant) and the price is reasonable. My meal of (the most expensive) entree, main and a soft drink (including a built in 10percent service charge) came out at about 4000 forint. (about 20US, 30AUD, 22 CHF, 15 EURO).

Where to find Aranyszarvas? It is in Buda district I, Szarvas Ter 1. (the number 5 bus coming from the Pest direction goes right to the doorstep). Open midday to 11pm every day. Ph: +36 (1) 375 6471. http://www.aranyszarvas.hu

Quick review: the Village Idiot

A short trip to Brussels and my favourite restaurant there "L'Idiot du Village". Well, to be truthful I have only been to a handful of restaurants in Brussels, but the list does include a Michelin starred restaurant and a very famous Japanese fusion restaurant, and believe me, l'Idiot is by far the best.

I was meeting up with friends from Australia, and just had to take them there.

The real star was the main course shared between my friend and I, pheasant with roasted apples and chestnuts. Apparently it was the first night of the season that this dish was being served, and as I do love eaten food when it is at its best, in season, how could I say no?

The jus was delicious, the meat absolutely tender and the apples caramelised and sweet. After this, I was too full to be able to even contemplate dessert. Next time perhaps!

Eating with the Vikings

One of the more fun mini-chain restaurants in Finland is Restaurant Harald. The one we went to was in Turku. Decorated up on a Viking theme, the waitresses wear Viking gear, and you can order dishes served up on shields or spitted on swords. Terry and I thought it might be fun to go to the one we saw in Tampere, but had our dinner in the tower instead, so when we got to Turku and found another "Harald", we couldn't resist!

The buffet table, or is it the bar?

For entree, I was seduced by the idea of moose salami, lingonberries and sprucetip syrup, so my choice was:

Game delicacies of Finland
Smoked reindeer sausage, delicious moose salami, grilled beef breast, smoked
garlic, red onion marmalade, lingonberries with spruce tip syrup, smoked almonds,
Rieska (soft flatbread), carrot bread, all served on a slab of slate.

My dinner partner didn't want an entree, but I knew he would 'throw himself on the grenade' and eat some of mine, and indeed he did.

Then for the main course I chose:

Sausage Pan
Wild boar sausage, reindeer sausage, pheasant meatballs, mustard seed sauce,
smoky cheese potatoes, creamed beetroot.

A hearty dish, this was probably a poor choice for me, as it was far more than I could possibly eat, but I really was in the mood for a sausage, and so even just having a mouthful of each was a pleasure. Terry helped out again as he still had room after his:

Blacksmiths Wild Duck
Wild duck breast, malt sauce, smoky cheese potatoes, marinated beans,
creamed beetroot, port wine marinated nuts, red onion marmalade.

I had a teeny taste of the duck which was pleasant, though not amazing by any means.

At this point in time, I was feeling pretty full, but Terry was rather keen on the idea of dessert, and we decided we really had to have something served on a shield... how could we possibly resist this indulgent platter?

Asgot the Red's Ending Shield
Caramel chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake, apple sorbet, Viking style pancakes,
Hulda’s berry dessert, blackberry compote, port wine marinated nuts,
carrot compote.

The caramel icecream was great as was the apple sorbet. The viking pancake was pretty ordinary but much better with the berries on top, and the chocolate cake was absolutely fantastic and although I was groaningly full I wouldn't let Terry have a crumb of my share!

I thought that Restaurant Harald was fun: the atmosphere and silly stories on the menus are very amusing, and if you are in Turku, Tampere or Kuopio, go on... try it... definitely worth 1 visit.

The entry to Harald

Finland food adventures

As part of my adventures in Finland, the evening after the wedding (my reason for being in Finland) in Tampere we headed up to the tower "Nasinneula" for dinner. We had been told that this was supposed to be one of the best restaurants in Finland, but knew nothing more so arrived with an open mind.

The entry to the tower was very cool, with a projected fishpond on the floor that rippled when you walked through it. Sadly I forgot my camera and consquently have no photos, which is a huge pity, as both the view from the tower and the food were more than a little decorative. On the whole, revolving restaurants are not the best places to eat because the food usually suffers from laziness as the owners rely on the view to earn the bucks, but Nasinneula is a pleasant exception.

I started with an aperitif which used a seabuckthorn berry liqueur and ginger ale.

Entree was Reindeer pastrami with asparagus topped with a poached quail egg and tomato salsa. I thought all the separate ingredients were lovely but the tomato salsa overpowered the pastrami a bit.

Then we were served with a small morel soup, which was delicate, creamy and scrumptious (although not as good as my perfected mushroom soup).

This was followed by a trio of fish dishes: A tartare of baltic salmon (good but unexciting), a ballantyne of perch - this was beautifully presented, topped with a tiny tuile and exquisitely fine onion and caviar. The third fish was grilled white fish, which I think was the most "fishy" fish I have ever eaten; neither I nor my partner were very taken with the white fish.

The main course was Reindeer fillet with a dark lingonberry sauce, celeriac & vanilla mash and served with a jerusalem artichoke and potato cake. The reindeer was really very good (reminded me very much of kangaroo) and the combination of celeriac and vanilla in a savoury dish was fascinating and delicious.

We then had two cheeses: Heelmar and Valdemar cheeses served with lingonberry honey.

Dessert was Seabuckthorn & white chocolate cake with seabuckthorn sorbet. I was a big fan of this dessert, but my partner was less enthusiastic about the astringent taste but I really enjoyed the contrast between that astringency and the creamy white chocolate.

Altogether a very good meal at a restaurant I would recommend. 62 euro per head. If you would like to see someone elses photos and read their thoughts on this restaurant, you can find a review at "Only slightly bent".

When the chemistry is right part 2

Tamara and I went through the Alkimi menu and chose a simple lunch of 3 savoury dishes and 1 dessert.

First arrival was rather elegant - tall grissini, looking like a modern decoration.

Then a wee glass with a deconstructed dish. There is a spanish speciality which is made of toasted bread with fresh tomato rubbed on to it, and olive oil drizzled on top.

Instead... a shot glass with a cold tomato essence, cool olive oil and crisp bread cubes floating in it. On top was a piece of Spanish salami. The tomato had a taste like lemony cucumber and was very refreshing.

To accompany it, a piece of soft bread with sundried tomatoes and olives. The next amuse-bouche was foie gras. The dish looked like it just had a jelly in the bottom, but in fact below that was super soft foie gras. To accompany its creamy, rich texture was quinoa, which I guess was fried so that it was lovely and crisp. (Must try doing that)

Then finally the first dish that we ordered: a sort of soup/salad, with salmon, roe and coconut. It was gorgeous looking, with beautiful flower petals and leaves draped over the fish. The waiter then poured the coconut fluff over the top. This was an exquisite concoction. Somehow the coconut was not oily, the salmon delicious with little salty bursts of flavour from the roe. I am not really a huge fish fan but this was pretty damn good nosh.

At this point, Tamara and my choices parted. She was presented with a sort of inverted ham and eggs: a creamy ham "white" and a yolk made of ...? with golden runny yolk inside.
My dish was a sort of canneloni elegant platter with a built in dip for a sort of, served on an dressing, and with a pretty looking salad on the side, which included a strip of apple and cucumber - doesn't it look charming?

Tamara and I had chosen differently for the next dish too. Tamara chose a fish dish, while I indulged in a rich dish of pork cheek with mushrooms.












The mushrooms were incredibly garlicky and yummy and the cheek all crunchy on the outside and well done on the inside; thats one of the five major foodgroups taken care of (I will have to explain my version of the five major foodgroups in another post).

Time to wind up the meal, with dessert, chocolate brownie with chocolate and yoghurt icecreams. This was probably the most ordinary part of the meal, with the brownie being tasty but unexceptional. The yoghurt icecream was lovely though, creamy and just a little bit tart.


Tamara persuaded me that we simply MUST order tea or coffee, just to get the petit fours. So a nice cup of mint tea later, we were presented with one of the most difficult dishes to photograph that I have ever been presented.

There were 2 sweet little macaroons with raspberries, strawberries and cream, financiers and two sort of chocolate lollipops filled with what we think was a blackcurrant icecream. I don't know how we managed to squeeze them in, but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

All in all Alkimia was great. Very reasonably priced at 32 euros a head the presentation of the food was excellent, and the quality far outstripped my other Michelin star experiences so far. The service was slightly odd, as there was a sort of serving table beside us, and food was brought to that table, then distributed to... well, other people actually! Our food was placed on a side table beside someone else and then brought over to us. It was a little bizarre and at times a little cruel, as we got to see all sorts of delicious dishes that we didn't get to eat. But I would definitely recommend this restaurant and go back again in a heartbeat.

Valencia - the eating continues

Wandering along the streets near the hotel we were staying in, we searched for eating options. We came across the "Taberna Hol". For the unbelievable price of 17 euro, they offered a 12 dish meal, including drinks. (a fact we didn't realise until the end when the bill came). Unbelievable.

Ok, so I guess you couldn't call it haut cuisine, but here is what we got for our 17 euros (thats 25 USD, or 28 AUD)

Salad:	Bread, sprinkled with paprika:	Exquisitely sticky chicken wings
Fluffy potato & ham croquettes:	A sort of ham bake:	Crepes filled with gambas & mushrooms
Different sliced sausages & cheese	Rolled pork drizzled with lemon juice & olive oil:	Smooth pate with crisp toasts
Spinach stuffed ham:	A country style terrine:	Two desserts: a sponge cake soaked in sugar syrup, and a rich chocolate cake:

In fact there was also potatoes bravas, but I didn't get a snap shot of it.

So if you are ever in Valencia, look out for "Hol Taberna", avenida Aragon 14-18. I must warn you, there wasn't a choice - you just got what you got, and you had better like ham!

In a pigs ear...

(or what I ate for dinner tonight)

I am in Valencia, enjoying an all-too-brief holiday in the warmth of the Spanish sun. It isn't exactly steaming hot but 15 degrees (that's umm... about 60 degrees F) is a definite improvement on Geneva's -2! Valencia is truly beautiful with ancient buildings and long green parks. Having been to Madrid and Barcelona, I think Valencia beats them both hands down.

One of the many joys of being here is the food. Visiting the markets today was wonderful. It is a feast for all the senses: the scent of fresh fruit, vegies and fish in the air, the sounds of the bargaining the feel of a smooth skinned capsicum and the rough texture of a cabbage followed by the tastes of a breakfast of fresh pastry and a thick luscious hot chocolate... what a sublime experience! The market in Valencia is one of the largest covered markets in Europe, with 959 stalls below its vaulted stained-glass-edged ceiling. As you can see, it is a very pretty building:

Lunch was a veritable market feast of manchego cheese, paper thin serrano ham and tasty bites of cheese-stuffed fruits and vegetables... pimento, apricot, fig, plum as well as some teeny fresh cheeses. I forgot to take a pic till we were half way through, so I can only share a view of some of the meal:

In the afternoon I wandered around the fine arts museum while my friend (who is suffering from a strep throat) slept. When I got back to the hotel, we went for a wander to find ourselves dinner, and ended up in a local bar/restaurant. There we indulged in a large jug of sangria and tapas (as ya do):

• Patatas Bravas - oh so fluffy on the inside, these potato wedges are generously sprinkled with cayenne pepper and served with a big dollop of garlicky aoli. Last time I ate them they actually had a pepper sauce, but these were equally good, in a different way.
  
• Calamares a la Romana - fantastically tender in a thin crunchy shell of batter.
• Verduras Rehogadas - we had no idea what this dish was when we ordered it, but guessed by the "Verduras" bit that there might be something green. It turned out to be a tasty mixture of broad beans, asparagus, mushrooms and artichokes.
  
• Oreja de Cerdo. Again we ordered having no idea whatsoever we were going to get. Once it arrived we identified that it was pork. The texture was confusing... a crispy edge, a layer of wickedly melt-in-the-mouth fat and a hard cartilegenous middle. We debated about what bit of pork it was... artery perhaps? It couldn't be... Then it struck me. Pigs ears! Once back at the hotel a spanish translation program confirmed it. Folks, I can tell you that if you are in Valencia, be brave and try Oreja de Cerdo - it's divine. There is no way a photo can do justice to this dish.
  

Tomorrow we MUST eat Paella.

Michelin star salad?

I visited the tiny village of Eze, perched on a little hill on the French Riviera.

Having climbed up the narrow streets, I discovered (no doubt like many visitors before me) that the only places to get a really lovely view of the sea and countryside were either the "exotic garden" (5 euros to see a lot of cactii? i don't think so!) or if you eat in the Chateau Eza Hotel restaurant. I took a quick glance at the menu outside and winced at the price, but then when I saw that the restaurant has a michelin star, decided that as a birthday present to myself, I would buy myself lunch.

At first the slightly supercilious waiter placed me a low cushiony seat, where the sun poured straight into my eyes and then gave me only the drinks menu. I explained that I wanted to eat, and got the menu, and later moved myself to an actual table. Sadly the menu I was given wasn't nearly as interesting looking as the menu shown outside; I guess it was after lunch and before dinner so the kitchens weren't fully open. Anyway I ordered the salad of serrano ham with melon, served with a minted creme fraiche at a mere 17 euros. For my international readership, that'd be $26.50 aud, 28.50chf, or 24.50usd. Not a cheap eat eh?

So I had high expections for this salad. Maybe that was the problem because, frankly, the reality was disappointing.

What was the problem with it? The ham was ok; not exactly a work of art in plating, but otherwise fine (not much you can do to make a pile of ham look sexy I guess).


The bread was dry, and was really only rendered properly edible by dipping it in the juice from the melon.


The sliced melon was bruised but ok.

With the glass of melon balls, it was clear that they had not been freshly cut - when you first cut melon balls, they are quite smooth, and it is only with sitting for a while that the surface texture kind of 'furs' up so they are no longer smooth. Neither were they all balls. Ok, so you can call me fussy, but we are talking michelin star here and we are talking a darned expensive melon ball, so I do actually expect that they will be at least mostly round! You can see at the bottom of the glass a sort of scraggy bit of melon at the bottom. It was at least a very nice sweet and tasty melon.

And finally... its surprising that this sad little blob of creme fraiche actually managed to make it onto the menu's description of this dish.
To be truthful I think that this would be the level of presentation I would expect from a pretty new apprentice chef, and the head chef of a high quality restaurant would have made whoever plated this do it over again. I guess it would be a perfectly acceptable dish from an average restaurant.

The service was not particularly good or bad... but the view was good.
Would I go there again? I guess I might give them a second chance if I were having a romantic weekend away, but frankly foodwise even a cheap restaurant in a village in Italy would outstrip this place and since Italy is only about 40 minutes away....

Judgement on Thai

The thing about the Na Village restaurant is that it has a wonderful atmosphere.

From the garden you walk through to get in:


to the front door:


to the restaurant itself:

and the lovely girls dancing:


Its an experience, especially on a grey and rainy Genevan evening, which lifts and transports you to a tropical paradise.

And then the food... The restaurant has spared no expense in having really pretty Thai plates and accessories. The curries are all served in elegant lidded bowls, on to glass plates, which sit on top of broad colourful, gold highlighted platters.

The curries themselves were actually pretty good; I especially liked the duck red curry. I did need to ask for some fresh chillies, but that was no surprise to me. The panang was creamy and pleasing, the green curry light but not particularly exciting. There was a fish dish: soft and tender pieces of fish, with a sweet spicy sauce - unfamiliar to me, and very popular with everyone at the table. The platter of stir fried vegetables was simply prepared and a perfect foil for the rich curries - I enjoyed the lovely slightly smokey taste.

The mixed entrees were a little disappointing: a skewer of chicken satay, a short fat spring roll which was unexceptional but ok and some other bits and pieces. Even though I was full as I could be, at the end I weakened and just had to order dessert; mango and coconut rice. The mango was sweet and succulent, a perfect finish to the meal.

I would definitely go back to this restaurant again; less for the food than the atmostphere perhaps, but I would still recommend the food without qualms.