Fish 349- North Hobart

"There are plenty of fish in the sea, but none I've found to be as tasty as thee"

After finishing work this afternoon, I met with my mother in North Hobart for lunch at Fish 349 on Elizabeth Street.

It had been quite some years since I dined here, but based upon my experience there today, I will be returning much sooner next time.

Being lunch time I skipped the entree and went straight to the main (unless you could count eating a nibble of Mum's Thai Fish Cakes as an entree!) I ordered the Grilled Trevalla, that had been marinated with fresh chilli, ginger, corriander and lime. This dish was served with an Asian salad- perfect compliment to the Thai style flavours in the fish.

The fish was grilled skin off- cooked to perfection. The fish simply felt apart from the touch of my knife, and all the juicy Asian flavours burst out with each bite. Even writing about it is making my mouth water! For those who don't know my personally this may not mean much, but to those who do- the fish was so beautiful that not a single drop of lemon juice or vinegar touched my plate, which is truly astounding.

The salad was so zesty and exciting- you didn't feel like you were eating a salad. You felt instead like you were eating the fresh, or "live cd" version of all the flavours that were included in the fish marinade- I've never enjoyed a salad to such a degree as I did today. It wasn't like having a meal with a salad, the salad was more like a "fresh vegetation" variation of the fish course- simply remarkable.

I snuck a few of my Mum's chips (quite a few in fact!) and they were scrumptious! I couldn't stop at just one! These nice wide flat chips were golden and crispy on the outside, and white and fluffy on the inside- sea salted to perfection.

For a very busy "fish and chip" place- they do well to prepare such high quality seafood without having to wait for ages for it to be served. Seafood is generally very fast to cook, but I can tell that not only is the Chef very innovated and the kitchen staff competent, but the whole restaurant is well run and it appears to me that they properly prepare for the work they have to do.

After seeing through recent Facebook photos that I have stacked on a bit of weight, I said no to the Hot Fudge Sundae, and opted instead for an Affogato (slightly better!). And I can tell you all that their coffee is sensational- so please stick around for icecream and coffee once you have finished your meal!

Fish 349 is home to what I believe is the best icecream in Hobart. It has all the elements of a dock-side Fish and Chips restaurant, but tucked away in North Hobart- which adds great variety to that wonderful strip of restaurants on Elizabeth Street.

THE VERDICT

FOOD & FLAVOUR- thumbs up

EXECUTION & PRESENTATION- thumbs up

SERVICE & ATMOSPHERE- thumbs up/sideways- the service was good for the style of restaurant that it is. It's nothing memorable, but it doesn't need to be

OVERALL: thumbs up

Magic Curries- Battery Point, Tasmania

"Indian Cuisine with nothing to fault"

Magic Curries in Battery Point is one of the lesser known Indian restuarants that Hobart is home to- but it is certainly one of the best.

From the moment you walk in, you feel at home in this charming little cottage with log fires throughout the winter months. I have made it a challenge to sample each Indian restuarant in Hobart, and in the process I have been learning a little about the different flavours and styles of Indian cuisine.

Magic Curries is run by a family from Punjab, Indian and their style is Northern Indian- especially Punjabi style.

For starters was the cheese pakora with mint sauce, which was a nice start to set the scene for a delicious meal and excellent experience.

In order for me to compare each of the Indian restaurants in Hobart, Chicken Tikka Masala is the chosen meal to benchmark from.

The Chicken Tikka Masala from Magic Curries was just bursting with a variety of different flavours- the familiar tomato style base with spices, it was absolutely perfect.

For dessert the Mango and Pistachio Kulfi was sampled, and the Mango was a winner in my books. The Kulfi was served on a stick and bared a somewhat phallic resemblance- which would either make for a conversational piece or awkward moment- depending on whom you were dining with.

The Mango Lassi was simply perfect and the Garlic Naan did not disappoint. All in all, an excellent experience.

THE VERDICT


FOOD & FLAVOUR- thumbs up

EXECUTION & PRESENTATION- thumbs up

SERVICE & ATMOSPHERE- thumbs up

OVERALL: thumbs up

Seasons Restaurant, onboard Spirit of Tasmania I

"I felt like I was on a luxury cruiser liner"

My roadtrip from New South Wales to Victoria had come to an end, and now it was time for my overnight trip aboard the Spirit of Tasmania before arriving back in good old Tassie. I'd purchased the cheap-o 'Ocean View Recliner' seat for the journey, so I figured I should at least splash out on a decent meal!

I jumped aboard and headed straight to the restuarant to make a reservation- glad I did as so many people had to wait a long time for a seat. I was greeted warmly by the maitre-d who introduced my waiter for the evening and welcomed me. The waiter then brought over some water, bread rolls and took my order for a glass of Roseveares Pinot Noir- (I was in the mood for Red :)

I jumped straight to the mains and ordered the marinated Lamb Cutlets, on a bed of mash. The cutlets were so tasty, and cooked to perfection. Even though I was in a classy restaurant, I couldn't resist the urge to finish off the bones with my fingers as it was just so beautiful!

I didn't want my meal to end, so I ordered 2 desserts- the apple crumble (which was the special) and a sticky date pudding. The apple crumble was more of an apple cake- less crumble, and the sticky date pudding was admittedly a bit dry and could've used more caramel sauce, however, it didn't detract from my overall experience. I took the waiter's suggestion of a nice NZL Riesling to wash down my dessert, and the meal ended on a good note.

Nothing could've outdone those lamb cutlets. For a reformed Vegetarian to be eating off the bone means it must've been good!

THE VERDICT


FOOD & FLAVOUR- thumbs up

EXECUTION & PRESENTATION- thumbs up

SERVICE & ATMOSPHERE- thumbs up

OVERALL: thumbs up 

 

The Boathouse Restaurant, Lakes Entrance VIC

"A grand disappointment"

The previous night I was extremely impressed with my dinner at the hotel in Canberra, that I felt the urge again to venture out in search of some fine cuisine. I was staying in a cheap motel, but Belevue on the Lakes was just down the road, boasting luxury accommodation and their own restaurant adjoined to the hotel, so I thought I would check it out.

I had never eaten Oysters before, and surrounded by water in Lakes Entrance, I felt compelled to pluck up the courage to order an Oyster starter. I order just half a dozen of the Oysters with Camembert- not the best decision on my behalf, nor was it the best decision on the chefs behalf to place 2 ingredients of 'gooey' consistency together. The flavours just didn't really work together- I felt they needed something with a stronger flavour and consistency to contrast the Oysters. The whole dish was bland.

As this restaurant was hideously over priced, after the Oysters I had another entree rather than a main. Being the only real 'restaurant' surrounded by Fish and Chips shops, punts and an RSL gives them the licence to charge as much as they please for what they are labelling as 'fine dining'- as there is no competition. They will always have a market there without having to try or to build their reputation- thousands of tourists will go there purely because it is there, rather than upon recommendations from others- as there are so many tourist flowing through the Lakes that they can continue to over price and under deliver.

For my main (which was an entree), I tried the Crab meat and Saffron Tart- which was a glorified Quiche with a hint of seawater- the saffron on top was the most exciting part of this dish. It was bland. I wouldn't want to pay more than $7 for it.

For desert, I stuck with the tart theme and ordered the Chocolate Tart. The best part of the entire meal was the 2 chocolate toffee bits sticking out the top of the tart for presentation. These were delicious. The rest of the tart, again like this whole experience was bland. The chocolate was not nearly rich enough, you could barely tell it was chocolate. Even the big bit of chocolate used as presentation between the toffee bits tasted like watered down chocolate. The scoop of vanilla bean icecream tasted like cream with little brown dots through it- again it was bland.

I found this whole restaurant experience bland and underwhelming. The service was awkward, and the music was too quiet- I could hear everyone's conversations in the whole restaurant. 

THE VERDICT

FOOD & FLAVOUR- thumbs down

EXECUTION & PRESENTATION- thumbs up

SERVICE & ATMOSPHERE- thumbs down

OVERALL: thumbs down 

BG Skyline Restaurant- Canberra ACT

"The best food and service yet experienced in 2009."

After a long day, arriving in Canberra after 8pm, I wanted nothing more than a shower and a good meal. Out of pure laziness, I opted to dine at the restaurant on the top floor of Rydges Lakeside Hotel in Canberra where I was staying- and I must say that I was exceedingly impressed.

The lift doors opened to a gorgeous skyline and a friendly greeting from the restaurant manager. I was seated along side the window, and the services from the word go was friendly and attentive, without being overbearing. From the atmosphere already created in those first few minutes, I was inspired to order a $20 glass of Moet & Chandon, and it only got better from there.

For starters- flat bread, lightly dusted with sea salt, served with a saucer of extra virgin olive oil and aged balsamic. The middle eastern style flat bread was a nice twist on the seemingly traditional bread & balsamic combination.

Main Meal- King Fish with piquillo peppers and olives in a salsa verde. This was simply amazing. The salsa verde was bursting with so many rich aromatic flavours, and was the perfect accompaniment for the King Fish, which was cooked to complete perfection, simply 'falling' apart the moment my knife made contact with the fish.

Dessert- Pine Nut and honey tart with cinnamon semifreddo. Now this was definitely an experience. I had never thought of pine nuts and their possible place in desserts before. The tart was simply remarkable and incredibly innovative. It wasn't too sweet, and allowed for the natural flavour of the pine nuts to shine through. Flavour wise, it wasn't the best dessert I've ever had, but I was simply in awe and appreciation of such a novel idea for a dessert. I didn't go much on the cinnamon semifreddo- having said that I'm not really much of a cinnamon or semifreddo fan however.

THE VERDICT

FOOD & FLAVOUR- thumbs up

EXECUTION & PRESENTATION- thumbs up

SERVICE & ATMOSPHERE- thumbs up

OVERALL: thumbs up