Dear Reader,

Hi there. How are you? Welcome to another midweek post. I just had a wonderful weekend in Canberra with my girlfriend. It was great to have someone with me to celebrate my birthday.

We spent a lot of time eating. We also spent time walking and enjoying the glorious weather. I recommend it if you’ve never visited the National Arboretum on a fine sunny day.

Two before ten, Aranda 10 Yards (the evening restaurant)

10 Yards

Entrée

Antipasto Plate for 2

This is a share plate of locally sourced cured meats and cheeses, garden salad, Urban Farm lavosh crackers and pickled vegetables. It was more than enough for two people and would probably be enough for the main meal.

Main meals

We shared the mushroom ragu and a special on the menu, viz., confit chicken Maryland.

The ragu included:

• Aranda grown mushrooms.
• Roasted tomato and garlic.
• Garden herbs.
• Shallots with Urban Farm pappardelle and pecorino cheese.

The confit chicken Maryland included chorizo sausage with cannellini beans. The borborygmi and the aftereffects that evening were delightful!

These dishes were large and probably too much after the antipasto. I’d probably think about sharing a single main course dish for future reference. Both dishes were delicious; however, I liked the ragu more than the chicken.

Dessert

We shared a single serve of bread-and-butter pudding, ice cream, and butterscotch sauce. More than enough, this was a nice, sweet end to a good meal.

Food 4/5

Service 3/5

Stella’s by the lake

One morning we both enjoyed Eggs Benedict with bacon at Stella’s. Stella’s is an excellent go-to local café for coffee and a solid breakfast or brunch, given the proximity to where I live.

Food 4/5

Coffee 4/5

Cheese

Rather than lunch each day, we indulged in cheeses. A blue, a brie, a cheddar, a Pink Lady apple, Bartlett pear, and crackers. We went with Olina’s Bakehouse cranberry and sunflower seeds.

Aubergine

One evening, we dined at Aubergine. It was nice to dress up a little and enjoy the quiet ambience of this well-known Canberra restaurant.

The five-course meal begins with snacks and ends with petit fours. There was seafood in the form of Murray River Cod and yabby. There was poultry in the form of quail and mammal meat in the form of lamb, including excellent lamb shoulder beignet balls.

The food was delicate and artistic in terms of plating and arrangement. Each dish combined flavours so that each could be distinguished along with the textures of each element. Some were surprising, and all were delicious.

The service was outstanding. It was friendly, informative, and attentive.

Food 5/5

Service 5/5

Birrigai café

This café is located within the IRT Kangara Waters Retirement Village. Given my age, it felt comforting to be here enjoying a breakfast of light, fluffy pancakes, a jug of maple syrup, and a ramekin filled with a red berry compote. 🤣

Food 5/5

Turkish Pide House

Rather than go out, we got a takeaway from this long term established purveyor of Turkish delights. The starting combo box had zucchini balls, potato balls, and börek along with garlic yoghurt. The pizza had pumpkin, rosemary, garlic and feta and mozzarella cheese.

The serving size is always huge here, and I had leftover pizza for another night.

Food 5/5

Ricardo’s café and patisserie

Ricardo’s cafe and patisserie is in Jamison Plaza.

We had granola with banana brûlée for breakfast and an excellent coffee one morning.

One evening we bought pastries for the birthday cake. We enjoyed two creative desserts, which were out of this world good.

Food 5/5

Service 4/5

Final thoughts

It has been a fantastic weekend. Again, I took no photographs because I was focused on enjoying the whole experience.

The food and service ratings I’ve given should be considered in terms of:

1/5 Poor

2/5 Not satisfactory

3/5 Satisfactory

4/5 Good

5/5 Outstanding