Tag Archives: Max Brenner

Sanur’s | Max Brenner | #bestblogs13

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On Friday night Bron and I had dinner at Sanur’s in Belconnen. It’s on Emu Bank near the Belconnen Arts Centre.

We’ve eaten here a few times before and enjoyed ourselves.  From the images from that meal you can see why for me it’s always difficult to go past a deep friend whole snapper. There’s just something special about a whole fish dish.

The service is best described as friendly and quaint. Nothing is too difficult but sometimes I’m not sure all that is said is understood. My guess is that part of the accoutrements of this restaurant are sourced from Bali. I say this because in the toilets (rest rooms for my North American friends and the Dunny for my school mates) the hand dryers are not made for the Australian electrical system, they use UK pins. Sadly the rest rooms also do not have a paper or cloth towel option, just the underwhelming and underpowered air dryer. I’ve mentioned on this blog before the standard for air dryers is the Dyson Air Blade. Anything less is not adequate.

Okay, back to the food which the most important aspect of any restaurant experience.

For an entrée we shared the Udang Goreng Tepung ($10.90) [King prawns in spiced, crispy coconut batter served with cucumber relish (4 pieces)]. This was pretty good. The prawns were really tasty and the cucumber relish refreshing. I found my prawns a little tough; slightly over cooked. The restaurant was busy and the prawns looked like a popular dish from what I saw around me. The coconut batter was really nice and the subtle taste of coconut was very pleasant.

For mains we asked for the Panggang Iga Kambing ($24.90) (available for dinner only) [Char grilled marinated lamb cutlets served with sambal kecap] and the Ikan Balado/Udang Balado/Cumi Balado ($28.90) [Deep fried of whole fish served with padangnese style mild chilli sauce]. The lamb cutlets were divine. They were succulent, tasty and the dipping sauce really gave off a fantastic aroma. The fish was okay. It was good as a fish dish but you know you really need to be okay with bones. Nearly every mouthful has bones in it and unless you like swallowing bones careful mastication is the order of the day. Being deep friend it meant the bones in the head and tail were edible. I ate through most of the head and tried valiantly to consume the head without putting off Bron. I refrained from making sucking noises as I ate the eyes and crunched on the head bones. The tail was amazing. There was quite a lot of garlic in the dish which was really nice given I haven’t eaten much garlic of late.

We also had some Roti Pratha (V) ($5.00) (2 pieces) [Indonesian style bread, good accompaniment for curries] to eat instead of rice.

Sanur’s

We were here last night

Sorry the lighting wasn’t good for iPhone photography.

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Entrée prawns

#dinner Entrée king prawns #yummy

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Main fish

#dinner deep fried whole snapper #yummy Yes I ate the whole head and tail

Main fish close up

#dinner deep fried snapper #yummy

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Main lamb

#dinner lamb cutlets #yummy

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As we left Sanur’s we walked past a small Chinese restaurant named 2 Yummy BBQ Noodle House

The chef’s specials look pretty good

Chef’s specials

Look @donovanshaw intestines

Anyone for intestines?

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We walked home via Max Brenner‘s

I had a waffle with chocolate and Bron had a chocolate lick (no picture of Bron licking chocolate sorry)

Waffle

#dessert waffle #yummy

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While we both enjoyed the meal at Sanur’s it was a fairly salty experience and something sweet and chocolate flavoured was necessary. Max Brenner was a very suitable solution to our desires.

Sanur’s is a very worthwhile restaurant for a nice meal. The eating area is cosy and warm. Sanur’s is popular with families and there were a few babies in prams on the floor on Friday night. The food comes out in good time, not too quickly and not too late. The wait staff are friendly and always very accommodating of requests for more water and changes in food requests. The restaurant is also close enough to Westfield Belconnen and the Hoyts Cinema complex that an early meal followed by an easy walk and movie is pretty convenient. Alternatively, on a Friday evening, an early meal can be followed with some late night shopping at Westfield Belconnen.

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Sanur's Balinese Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Max Brenner on Urbanspoon

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Sanur’s http://www.sanurs.com.au/
Sanur’s Menu http://www.sanurs.com.au/menu.html
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/bd2pk


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Address 1/114 Emu Bank, Belconnen ACT 2617
Telephone (02) 6162 1688

2 Yummy BBQ Noodle House http://www.2yummy.com.au/
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/otdwr


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Max Brenner http://www.maxbrenner.com.au/
Google maps http://goo.gl/maps/wd2ar


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At a later date I want to share with you my rating system based on the presence or absence of cloth napkins. Just a hint, I really think a restaurant that uses cloth napkins is a better quality restaurant.

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Four strikes Lemon Grass, four strikes…

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It’s been a little while since our last outing to Lemon Grass at Woden. We love the food, especially number 39 on the menu GANG PANANG (Creamy red curry (chicken or beef) with crushed peanuts and kaffir leaves topped with crispy egg noodles). We wanted to give them another go. We were patient and as clear as possible when speaking. Yet we waited and waited and at the end when we wanted to ask for dessert, the wait staff cleared empty tables rather than tables with customers. They main problem with this restaurant is the ratio of wait staff to customers. On a large floor with seating for more than a hundred or so customers there are three wait staff. They’re friendly enough but I’m not sure what food service training they’ve received.

We started with entrée and around us we had fish cakes, curry puffs and pork patties. These were not that good, they were tasty but not really anything special.

Pork patties (iPhone)

I then had the beef red curry (Number 39).

Beef red curry (iPhone)

One of our party noticed you couldn’t get a 69 at this restaurant. Mind you, you can’t get a 63 or a 64 either :-)

We all wanted something sweet and were prepared to stay and order dessert here. Lots of other tables had been vacated and dirty plates were stacked on each. We had dirty plates on our table and were clearly wanting to stay. The wait staff avoided our attention seeking behaviour and proceeded to clear the other tables. In the end, we went to the front desk, obtained the bill, sorted out the money and left.

We had dessert at Max Brenner.

I had ice cream, whipped cream and toffee topping plus a hot white chocolate.

Ice cream, whipped cream and toffee topping (iPhone)

White hot chocolate (iPhone)

Will we return? Yeah probably. We had the idea we’d order number 39 for takeaway and then go somewhere else to eat. That may be the solution.

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Chong Co Thai Bar and Restaurant | Sanur’s Balinese Restaurant | @Bron99 ‘s amazing birthday cake

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After being away last week in Ottawa it was good to see and catch up with Bron. On Thursday night we had a night out at Chong Co Thai Bar and Restaurant and then to Max Brenner for some chocolate. Yesterday was Bron’s birthday and a few of us went to dinner and then had dessert at a friend’s place.

On Thursday night we didn’t really need to scan the menu. We knew what we wanted and shared some Thai fish cakes for an entrée. These were nice and full of flavour but a little rubbery. For a main course Bron chose the barbecue chicken (marinated skin on chicken with served with sweet chilli sauce) and I chose the barbecue lamb which Bron had the last time we were here.

Chong Co Thai fish cakes (iPhone)

Chong Co Barbecue chicken (iPhone) Served with sweet chilli sauce

Chong Co Barbecue lamb cutlets (iPhone)

The chicken and lamb were delicious. I would highly recommend these two dishes for a main course meal.

After the main course we walked to Max Brenner for a little chocolate.

I had a white chocolat and an exploding chocolate shot. The hot chocolate drinks are served in hug mugs which look like toilet bowls.

Max Brenner white chocolat in a hug mug (iPhone)

Exploding chocolate shot is popping candy over melted chocolate served with gummy bears (iPhone)

The popping candy is fun. It’s a pity the venue is very noisy, it would be good to eat this in a quiet room.

Friday was a pretty full on day but our Friday’s are always made better with a Mavi Breakfast wrap and coffee. This is a deal done at Mavi.

Mavi Breakfast wrap contains a hash brown, egg, bacon, mushrooms and barbecue sauce. (iPhone)

On Friday evening I didn’t get to Bron’s until late (don’t ask, it was a long day at work). Bron prepared a lovely Chicken thigh roasted with lemon, garlic and shallots served with lemon risotto and broccoli. This was accompanied later with a Flourless toffee date hazelnut chocolate muffin with cream. The meal was delicious.

Chicken thigh roasted with lemon, garlic and shallots served with lemon risotto and broccoli (iPhone).

Flourless toffee date hazelnut chocolate muffin with cream (iPhone)

Saturday was Bron’s birthday. We went to the EPIC markets at Exhibition Park early in the morning. Bron bought a heap of produce including some truffles and cultured butter. I bought a vanilla slice.

Do you think it’s big enough? (iPhone)

After the markets we had breakfast at Ricardo’s Cafe in Jamison. This is an amazing place for pastries. Just click on the link to see. I had a coffee and big breakfast.

This was very filling (iPhone) You can see Bron’s Eggs Benedict in the background.

On Saturday night we went to dinner with some friends to Sanur’s Balinese Restaurant in Belconnen. We’d been there before but that was years ago. The menu is full of delicious choices and I’m reminded of a review from T1 of In The Taratory fame. Bron and I shared a couple of entrées, viz., the Bakwan Jagung ($9.9 buys you Sweetcorn patties with prawns and shallots served with sweet chili dipping (3 pieces)) and the Udang Goreng Tepung ($10.9 buys you King prawns in spiced, crispy coconut batter served with cucumber relish (4 pieces)). For a main I had a whole deep fried fish (a little fish) Ikan Balado ($28.90 buys you deep fried of whole fish or prawns or calamari served with padangnese style mild chili sauce). I like fish like this and was happy to head the eyes.

Bakwan Jagung Sweetcorn patties with prawns & shallots served with sweet chili dipping (iPhone)

Udang Goreng King prawns in spiced, crispy coconut batter served with cucumber relish (iPhone)

Ikan Balado Deep fried of whole fish or prawns or calamari served with padangnese style mild chili sauce (iPhone)

Ikan Balado Deep fried of whole fish or prawns or calamari served with padangnese style mild chili sauce sans flesh and eyes (iPhone)

After dinner we went to Tanya’s place for dessert. Meredith had given Bron a Dutch pancake maker for her birthday and we needed to try it out. In addition Tanya had been busy making a cake or awesome proportions.

Dutch pancakes with maple syrup and ice cream. (iPhone)

The balls are cake encased in white chocolate. The balls are decorated with icing and the green grass is also green dyed chocolate. This was amazing and tasted so good (iPhone).

I was so relaxed after dessert I fell asleep and put a show with my snoring :-)

This morning Bron prepared scrambled eggs with the cultured buttered infused with the truffles she bought at the markets.

Truffled scrambled eggs (iPhone)

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Chong Co Thai Restaurant and Max Brenner

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Last night we went out with some friends to the Chong Co Thai Restaurant in Belconnen and then enjoyed dessert at Max Brenner which was in the same area. Bron and I had been to Chong Co a couple of times before and enjoyed the food.

There were five in our party and we quickly agreed to start with the mixed entrée which consisted of a spring roll, curry puff, fish cake and and Satay chicken. The spring roll was quite peppery and the fish cakes had a lovely firm texture that wasn’t rubbery.

The mixed entrée consisted of a spring roll, curry puff, fish cake and Satay chicken. (iPhone with flash)

For the main course Bron chose the deep fried batter soft shell crab topped with tamarind sauce, ginger, shallot, coriander, crispy onion and mixed vegetables. The dish was enormous with at least two crabs.

Soft shelled crab (iPhone with flash)

I chose the Pan fried batter barramundi topped with chilli, cooked in coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves and sweet basil leaves.

Fried barramundi (iPhone with flash)

The barramundi was rated with two chillies. For me it was bordering on hot. It was not uncomfortable but certainly sinus clearing. Mixed with some rice, this was delightful.

The service at the Chong Co is remarkable. The ratio of wait staff to customers is very high, nothing is too much trouble.The restaurant was fairly full with a good turnover of patrons. When full the place is very noisy and hearing conversations can be difficult. It would be good if the owner added some sound baffling to the ceiling and walls. The wait staff all look very good in their costumes and the decor is very inviting.

I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants a good night out.

After our main course we elected to enjoy dessert at Max Brenner. We’ve been to Max Brenner a few times before. Last night we tried a few different things.

I had a passion fruit waffle sundae.

Passion fruit waffle sundae (iPhone)

Michael had a Max-wich

Max-wich (iPhone)

Bron had a banana crepe.

Banana crepe (iPhone)

Max Brenner Chocolate Bar on Urbanspoon

It was a really good night out. Given the proximity of Max Brenner to Chong Co, it was a great combination.

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Dinner at Lemon Grass Woden and Max Brenner Belconnen

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After an afternoon of shopping at Costco and DFO we’d worked up a hunger for Thai food and chocolate.

I’ve been to the Lemon Grass restaurant in Woden a few times. The food has always been nice. Last night was no exception. The service though was a little quirky. At one stage we had food and no plates and at other times plates and no food. All the servers looked unhappy and it appeared they didn’t have designated tables to wait on.

For starters we had Taud Man Pla (Thai fish cakes) and Goong Taud (deep fried King prawns coated in almond flakes).These were tasty morsels and certainly made me hungrier for more food.

Taud Man Pla Spicy Thai fish cakes

Delicious

Goong Taud Deep fried king prawns covered with almond flakes

A little over cooked.

For a main course I had the beef Gang Panang (creamy red curry with crushed peanuts and kaffir leaves topped with crispy egg noodles). Along with the rice to soak up the amazing creamy curry juices, this was a light spicy and tasty meal.

Gang Panang Creamy red curry (chicken or beef) with crushed peanuts and kaffir leaves topped with crispy egg noodles.

I’ve never really appreciated Thai desserts, so instead we went for a drive north to Belconnen to Max Brenner to enjoy some chocolate, viz., in the form of chocolate fondue (Pure melted milk and dark chocolate served with strawberries, bananas, marshmallows and banana bread).

Chocolate fondue with melted dark and milk chocolate.

In the end there was melted chocolate left over. I didn’t want to waste it.

I think this is an acceptable way to finish the melted chocolate.

The Lemon Grass menu can be found at www.lemongrassthai.com.au/Images/LemonGrassMenuWeb01.pdf

The Max Brenner menu can be found at http://www.maxbrenner.com.au/menu/menu.pdf

Max Brenner Chocolate Bar on Urbanspoon

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