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The Boat House by the lake Thanks @boatpodchef

It’s a Friday night in January and the Boat House by the lake is the perfect place for dinner as the sun sets with a view over Lake Burly Griffin. Bron and I have a reservation for 7.30.

 
Boathouse By the Lake on Urbanspoon
As we arrive the the breeze picks up outside and the sun is streaming through the large windows that open onto a spectacular view of Lake Burly Griffin. The sun is at about a 20° angle and the light is harsh but we know the light of the setting sun will be quite beautiful as the evening approaches. We’ve been seated at a large table next to the rear wall of the dining room. It’s a good spot, we can see the comings and goings in and out of the dining room.

We are advised that the menu is in transition, as the restaurant is changing its offerings to customers to reflect the change in seasons. The left column represents the degustation option and the right column the à la carte choices.

the Boat House by the lake menu on Friday 2015-01-16
the Boat House by the lake menu on Friday 2015-01-16

After we were seated we were served an amuse-bouche which included a delightful piece of crispy chili chicken skin, a pâté and foie gras lollipop, some olive shortbread, tomato and parmesan marshmallow and a seafood churros with an olive and garlic smear. 

Amuse-bouche including crispy chili chicken skin, pâté and foie gras lollipop, tomato marshmallow, and olive shortbread
Amuse-bouche including crispy chili chicken skin, pâté and foie gras lollipop, tomato and parmesan marshmallow, olive shortbread and seafood churros with an olive and garlic smear

The first course is a chef’s choice and tonight it was a dish made with king fish, onion and coriander. It was a delicious starter. 

King fish with coriander
King fish with coriander

While we were enjoying the amuse-bouche and starter we had some delicious white sourdough bread with a really nice soft and smooth fennel butter. 

The waiter had started to clear the bread plate and noticed my sad face and arranged to bring out more bread. It was a nice touch. I hate to see butter go to waste. 


 

For an entrée Bron chose the duck ham and I went with the pork belly.

Duck ham with witlof, fig and vinocotto
Duck ham with witlof, fig and vinocotto
Pork belly with warrigal greens, coconut and blueberry plus a pork scratching
Pork belly with warrigal greens, coconut and blueberry plus a pork scratching

Bron really enjoyed the duck ham which was smoked and had a delicate flavour. The pork belly had been cooking for 14 hours and cut like a hot knife through butter. It was amazing.


 

For main courses Bron chose the Veal loin and I went with the Grilled beef flank. 

Veal loin with a wreath of asparagus, carrot, grains and blue cheese
Veal loin with a wreath of asparagus, carrot, grains and blue cheese
Grilled beef flank with blood plum, blackberries and goat cheese
Grilled beef flank with blood plum, blackberries and goat cheese

Bron described the arrangement around the veal as a wreath which seemed to be very fitting. Bron said the veal and the vegetable wreath were very good. I was very happy with the beef, the meat and fruit went so well together. 


 

We were surprised when our waiter came out with a pre-dessert dessert. He said the mango mousse was a new dish and the chef would appreciate feedback. I’m sorry the photograph doesn’t do this dessert justice. The mousse is smooth and delicate with the mango flavour being subtle not strong. The sorbet was refreshing but not as refreshing as the surprise packet of finger lime cells on the mousse. Like balls of excitement they popped in my mouth. 

Mango mousse with white balsamic, sorbet and puffed white rice and finger limes
Mango mousse with white balsamic, sorbet and puffed white rice and finger limes

Bron noted how delicious the white balsamic was and the crunch of the puffed white rice.


 

For our main dessert we both asked for the pavlova.

Summer fruits pavlova with chamomile jelly, basil soup and chiboust
Summer fruits pavlova with chamomile jelly, basil soup and chiboust

The basil soup was a really interesting and pleasant flavour. Basil seems to go so well with sweet things. The fruits were nice and the consistency of the pavlova was really good. The cream was smooth and not to sweet and the passionfruit not too tart.


 

It’s no surprise that the Boat House by the lake is one of the best restaurants in Canberra. We had a terrific evening. The food was of the highest quality and the service was impeccable. It’s hard not to be impressed when you walk in and are seated at a strong sturdy table big enough for four but dedicated for two with a linen tablecloth and matching serviettes.

 

We both highly recommend the Boat House by the lake to anyone wanting a great dinner in Canberra with amazing views and superb service. 

 
The Boat House by the lake
http://www.boathousebythelake.com.au/
Grevillea Park
Menindee Drive
Barton ACT 2600

Telephone 02 6273 5500
e-mail info@boathousebythelake.com.au

Restaurant hours
Monday to Saturday
From 6.30 pm
Closed public holidays

Some words from the website
One of Canberra’s ultimate dining experiences. Perfectly executed cuisine, memorable service and unmatched views across Lake Burley Griffin.

Crisp white table cloths, warm, professional service, unmatched water views, spectacular food and wine. The Boat House by the Lake is the perfect venue for an intimate dinner with someone special, a business discussion over a meal, or a night out with friends.

Our restaurant is open for dinner Monday to Saturday nights, and bookings are essential. Find our restaurant dinner menu and our sample degustation menu below. Please note menu and pricing are subject to change without notice.

The Boat House is a fully licenced venue with an extensive wine list. Although we do not offer BYO please discuss with our staff at the time of booking if you have a special bottle you would like to bring with you.

Reviews from other Canberra Bloggers

https://inthetaratory.wordpress.com/2014/02/07/the-boathouse-by-the-lake/
https://inthetaratory.wordpress.com/2014/05/19/boathouse-by-the-lake-redux/
http://www.le-bonvivant.com/2014/05/the-boathouse-by-the-lake-canberra/
http://foodpornjournal.com/2014/12/first-time-the-boathouse-by-the-lake/
https://talesofaconfectionist.wordpress.com/2014/08/06/dinner-at-the-boat-house/
https://inthetaratory.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/truffle-degustation-at-the-boathouse-by-the-lake/
http://wayfaringchocolate.com/2010/05/30/the-boathouse-might-be-good-but-my-family-is-even-gooderer/

My first @menulog experience #menulog

Tonight I tried menulog for the first time. I recall Shari from Good Food Week writing a review about menulog in August 2014 and I’ve been meaning to try the service ever since. I’d recently received an e-mail from menulog about a prize for a MacBook Air so I thought I should give it a go. My love of Mac computers put me over the line 

It’s pretty easy to get into menulog. Just enter the postcode you’re wanting the food from or delivered to and a list of available restaurants is displayed. I heard from a friend that when she travels for work if she doesn’t want to go out she looks up the menulog app and orders straight to her hotel room. You can choose from delivery or pick up. When I looked up the delivery options none of them struck me as food I wanted tonight. I looked at the pick up list and Malaysian Chapter caught my eye immediately. We’d been to eat at Malaysian Chapter in September 2014 and I really enjoyed the experience. 

The ordering system is really easy. Click to select exactly what you want and everything is calculated in real time as you go. As a first time user I also received a 15% discount which was nice. 

I chose pappadums, beef rendang, coconut rice and roti. The total was $20.78 after the discount and I asked for the food to be ready at 6 pm. I should mention I was able to do the ordering while on a break at work and everything was dead easy. I paid by PayPal which made life easier. If you don’t have a PayPal account you can pay with nearly all available credit cards.

As I started driving home I received a text message confirming my order.

2015-01-13 18.26.46

When I arrived at Malaysian Chapter my meal was ready and I was out of the door in a jiffy. 

I could have eaten the food straight from the takeaway containers but I’m a sophisticated food blogger 

Beef Rendang on coconut rice with roti and pappadums from Malaysian Chapter in Belconnen NIKON D7100 with 40.0 mm f/2.8 at 40mm and f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 400
Beef Rendang on coconut rice with roti and pappadums from Malaysian Chapter in Belconnen NIKON D7100 with 40.0 mm f/2.8 at 40mm and f/8, 1/60sec, ISO 400

So how was it? Well the menulog service worked like a charm. No complaints there. The food? The food was good. Takeaway is never as good as the full restaurant experience and my only yearning was for more sauce with the rendang so there could be more to soak into the yummy coconut rice. I think the roti would have tasted better in the restaurant but it was still nice. 

Will I use menulog again? Yes I will. Will I eat at Malaysian Chapter again? Yes I will.

Tell me dear reader, have you used menulog? What was your experience?

The Artisan in Narrabundah

On Thursday night Miss19 and I went to dinner at The Artisan in Narrabundah.

Miss19 is in Canberra visiting friends. It was fantastic seeing her and getting an opportunity to enjoy a nice evening with her over a meal.

 
The Artisan on Urbanspoon
 

Miss19 had eaten a big lunch and she was happy with an entrée as a main while I went for an entrée, main and a side (we shared the side). 

The menu has a good diverse selection of dishes including some Australian fauna. It took us a while to choose what we wanted to eat. 

While we were contemplating the menu we were served an amuse-bouche of apple and goat cheese.

Amuse-bouche | Apple and goat cheese | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/20sec, ISO 250
Amuse-bouche | Apple and goat cheese | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/20sec, ISO 250

I asked for the Buckwheat crêpe with confit duck leg, sugar snaps, watercress, grapes and saba while Miss19 went for the Twice cooked potato and sorrel soufflé with champagne vinegar compressed pumpkin salad but as a main. 

Buckwheat crêpe with confit duck leg, sugar snaps, watercress, grapes and saba | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/10sec, ISO 100
Buckwheat crêpe with confit duck leg, sugar snaps, watercress, grapes and saba | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/10sec, ISO 100

I chose the Angus beef for a main.

Angus beef bavette | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/15sec, ISO 320
Angus beef bavette | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/15sec, ISO 320

We shared the pommes purée as a side.

Pommes purée with garlic chips | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/15sec, ISO 320
Pommes purée with garlic chips | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/15sec, ISO 320

For dessert we chose the tasting plate. I’m sorry the pavé is so out of focus. 

White chocolate and raspberry mousse with mulberry leaf ice cream and meringue | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/4sec, ISO 125
White chocolate and raspberry mousse with mulberry leaf ice cream and meringue | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/4sec, ISO 125
Very OUT OF FOCUS Bitter chocolate and orange pavé with burnt orange cloud and orange segments | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/4sec, ISO 125
Very OUT OF FOCUS Bitter chocolate and orange pavé with burnt orange cloud and orange segments | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/4sec, ISO 125
Violet crème brûlée with violet peach salad and rose rice crisps | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/4sec, ISO 125
Violet crème brûlée with violet peach salad and rose rice crisps | Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/4sec, ISO 125

We enjoyed our meal. 

From my perspective the buckwheat crêpe was okay. It would have been nice to have it like a Chinese style duck pancake but the confit duck was really nice. The beef was very nicely cooked and very tender. 

The desserts were very interesting. Our favourite was the mousse which was quite salty. The saltiness contrasted nicely the sweetness of the chocolate. The pavé was good with a nice orange flavour. The violet crème brûlée was really interesting. The rose rice crisps tasted more like a rose water prawn cracker but in a really good way.

The only downside was that while we enjoyed sitting at a table in the front next to an open window at 8 pm a swarm of mosquitoes invaded and I needed antihistamines to get to sleep. 

Despite the mosquitoes, I’d happily eat at The Artisan again and again. The food is great and the service very friendly. I’m happy to recommend The Artisan to anyone living in or visiting Canberra. 

Have you been to The Artisan? What was your favourite dish?

 

The Artisan Restaurant Pty Ltd
16 Iluka Street
Narrabundah ACT 2604
02 6232 6482
Hours
Monday 6–10 pm
Tuesday–Saturday 12 noon–2.30 pm and 6–10 pm
Accessibility
The Artisan is wheelchair accessible throughout the restaurant, including to restrooms.
Gift vouchers
Gift vouchers are available for any amount and can be purchased from The Artisan during opening hours.
You can book using www.dimmi.com.au

Chicken Schnitzel at The Woden Tradies

A couple of work mates and I went to The Woden Tradies today for chicken schnitzel.

The Tradies at Woden isn’t far from work so it was a pleasant walk in a relatively warm and mildly humid day in Canberra. As a member I was eligible for a discount and I could share that discount with my mates. Ordinarily a standard schnitty costs $18 and a legendary schnitty costs $20. Today a schnitty with any sauce, mash or chips and salad or vegetables cost all of $12.

One of my mates was explaining how one of his daughters has a friend who has hollandaise sauce with her schnitty and she will order two serves of hollandaise sauce so she can coat everything including chips (fries for north American readers and French fries I assume for readers from France ) with it. When I suggested I’d have hollandaise sauce there was laughter and comments about I wouldn’t…


 

Yes, I did 

The Woden Tradies Chicken schnitzel with mashed potato and vegetables plus hollandaise sauce all for $12 Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/210sec, ISO 32
The Woden Tradies Chicken schnitzel with mashed potato and vegetables plus hollandaise sauce all for $12 Apple iPhone 6 Plus with iPhone 6 Plus back camera 4.15mm f/2.2 at 4mm and f/2.2, 1/210sec, ISO 32

The Chicken Schnitzel at The Woden Tradies is pretty good. It’s a generous portion. The crumb coating is complete and not too thick. The mashed potato I think was powdered potato, its consistency was that of thick clag or perkins paste. The vegetables were on the over cooked side. I’m guessing the Hollandaise sauce wasn’t made in the kitchen. That said, it was tasty and satisfying and a great lunch when enjoying laughs and stories with work mates. 


I was pretty full after lunch so I had a salad for tea tonight 

Bacon salad with feta cheese and avocado NIKON D7100 with 40.0 mm f/2.8 at 40mm and f/16, 1/20sec, ISO 400
Bacon salad with feta cheese and avocado NIKON D7100 with 40.0 mm f/2.8 at 40mm and f/16, 1/20sec, ISO 400

 

Meatless Monday | It would have been better with #bacon

Will Meatless Monday be a thing for me?

Last Monday I wrote about my last Salmon Monday and speculated on what I would do on Mondays in 2015. I did mention Meatless Monday but dismissed it quickly. I also received some great suggestions

I’m going to mix things up on Mondays I think. Some will be Meatless Monday, some will be Mad Monday, some may be Monster Meaty Monday, and there may be Mushroom Monday. 

Tonight on the first Monday for 2015 I went for Meatless Monday. I cheated by using some Coles kale coleslaw and added some mango, a nectarine and an avocado. I also added in some sesame seeds and dessicated coconut. 

Kale coleslaw with mango, nectarine and avocado NIKON D7100 with 40.0 mm f/2.8 at 40mm and f/16, 1/40sec, ISO 400
Kale coleslaw with mango, nectarine and avocado NIKON D7100 with 40.0 mm f/2.8 at 40mm and f/16, 1/40sec, ISO 400
No meat here
No meat here

What did you eat on Monday?