Sage Restaurant (5 Course Tasting Menu) - Braddon, Canberra

Sage is a fine dining restaurant in Braddon which offers Modern Australian cuisine. It is located at the heritage building Gorman House Arts Centre. The Gorman House was first opened officially in 1925 as a government hostel and was used up to 1972 as accommodation for public servants. 1981 saw the conversion of the building into an arts centre which is still the case until now. 

Sage Restaurant (5 Course Tasting Menu) (My Rating: 7/10)  

Signage at The Front of Sage Restaurant

Mint Garden Bar - Part of Sage Group

Sage Restaurant Atmosphere on Dinner Time

Sage held "Taste & Test" event available for Tuesday to Thursday dinner during the 5-week period from the 27 August to 26 September. The 5 course tasting menu costed $60 and the diners were given a chance to enjoy and provide feedback on each course. 

The dishes which earned the most positive feedback from the diners will be included as the new permanent menu in the restaurant. The new tasting menus change every week during the 5 week. I personally think that the idea of introducing this event is very smart, business and feedback at the same time! 

Handmade Plates as Used in Sage are Available for Sale

Bread & Butter on a Unique Handmade Plate

I dined at Sage on the third week and as I made the reservation just the week before I was allocated a seat on 8.30pm. The restaurant space is not big and the environment reminded me of the Ginger Room Restaurant at the Old Parliament House (Ginger Room is now closed).

The table was covered with a plain white paper with the same size as the table. The waiter came with the biggest stamp I have ever seen in my life and stamped on the right side of the table where each patron sat. Starting from there my 2-hour career as a food judge commenced :)

The comments on the 5 course testing menu are on the second last picture. I will share my feedback for Sage to you there.

Pan Fried Brocollis, Puffed Rice & Rockford Blue Cheese

Ponzu Tuna, Avocado & Tomato, Yam Chips, Seaweed Crumbs and Lime Sauce

Hamcock & Pork Belly Ravioli, Pork Crackles and Red Wine Jus

Duck Rillette, Potato Hash, Pickled Cabbage, Cheese and Dijon Mustard

Fresh Berries, Meringues, Lime Sauce, Caramel Sauce and Sauvignon Sauce

This Is How It Feels Being Like a "Masterchef" Judge

It was an enjoyable dining experience although there was some hit and miss on each course. Degustation means small testing dish which left the poor BF still a bit hungry so he stuffed his stomach with the complimentary breads served by Sage so that he did not need to visit a junk food store afterward haha.

I was recently contacted by Sage that after the "Taste & Test" event they have developed the 5 course degustation menu for this spring season for $60 instead of $95. So why not try it?


WHERE CAN I FIND THE FOOD LISTED ABOVE???
Sage Dining Rooms - Gorman House Art Centre, Batman Street Braddon ACT

Marrickville Pork Roll, Marrickville

Vietnamese roll or sandwich aka Banh mi has gone viral these last few years in Sydney however there are only a few popular places with long customer queue. The influence of French colonisation in banh mi is baguettes, mayonnaise and pate while fish sauce and pickled vegetables are native Vietnamese. 

There is a big Vietnamese community in Marrickville, I noticed there are lots of shop signage with Vietnamese writing such as accounting firms, asian groceries, barber shops and restaurants. 

Marrickville Pork Roll (My Rating: 6/10)

We arrived at the shopfront around 1pm in the afternoon and luckily the queue was not long. The guy with the red shirt took our order and notify the staff preparing the meal of our order in Vietnamese. It was a tiny shop with every meals prepared in front of your eyes. The price is very reasonable with the highest price of banh mi charged at $4.50. The service was fast as all the ingredients were already prepared and only assembly needed.

Good Food Guide Article on the Wall

Pork Skin Roll (Banh Mi Bi) $4

It is a take-away restaurant as all Banh Mi shops are. The pork skin roll was ordered as we expected it to be crunchy pork crackling which was hugged between the baguette however it turned out that the pork skin was not the crunchy one as per our expectation. The pork skin was a bit chewy however it was still pleasant to eat although we were not sure if we will order this again next time. Other ingredients in the pork skin roll were pickled carrots, cucumber, spring onion, coriander, pate and mayo.

Chicken Roll (Banh Mi Thit Ga) $4.50

The chicken roll was packed with lots of shredded chicken meat. Other ingredients in the roll are exactly the same as those in the pork skin roll. The roll was packed with lots of flavours from the pickles, chicken and fish sauce. The baguettes from this shop were bigger than those from Hong Ha (the most famous Vietnamese banh mi shop in Sydney, located in Botany Street in Mascot) however no baguettes can be compared to the freshly baked, warm and crunchy baguettes from Hong Ha.

Pork Roll (Banh Mi Thit Cha) $4

The main ingredient in the pork roll was the pork cooked in Vietnamese style. It resembled the bacon but slightly different to the Western style bacon. Although all the rolls were delicious but we agreed that we have not found the rolls which are comparable to those from Hong Ha.





WHERE CAN I FIND THE FOOD LISTED ABOVE???
Marrickville Pork Roll - 236 Illawarra Road, Marrickville NSW 2204

Dickson Asian Noodle House - Dickson, Canberra

Sudden craving of Chinese Malaysian food led me to Dickson Asian Noodle House. I have been there for about 5 times and this restaurant has never disappointed me in terms of the meals served. This place serves Malaysian, Laos & Thai cuisine however I am only interested in the Malaysian food here.

When my friends from other states asked me for a recommendation of a restaurant to go to when they visit Canberra, this restaurant is the first one coming to my mind. 

Make sure you make a reservation for a definite spot to enjoy the delicious food especially dinner time otherwise you will either have to find somewhere else to eat or only have short time (in my case 45 minutes) to finish your meal and leave! The restaurant is also fully booked on weeknights not just on the weekends.

Dickson Asian Noodle House (My Rating: 8/10)

We ordered 3 dishes for dinner, the dishes came in a flash and each dish did not come on the same time as what you usually expected at a hawker restaurant. 

Combination Curry Laksa 

Laksa is a spicy curry & coconut milk broth served with yellow noodles, vermicelli, fried tofu, vegetables and combination of chicken, duck and Chinese style BBQ pork.The broth was so aromatic but not too thick which made me keep coming back for the second spoon. The meat served on the dish was so generous.

For those who do not want combination laksa, other options are chicken, bbq pork, beef laksa, seafood, duck, fish or prawn laksa.

Our table was close to the cashier and the kitchen so I could see countless of plastic containers of curry laksa ordered for take-away. This is the ultimate place to satisfy the craving for curry laksa! So far this is the best curry laksa which is comparable to that served at the Satay Delight in the canteen of University of New South Wales, Sydney.

Chicken Crispy Noodles 

The portion was quite shocking to us when presented on the table as we did not expect a big portion. This dish was so good with the combination of the crispy noodles and the tender chicken pieces. However the kailan vegetables were still tough as if they were not cooked long enough.

Beef Hokkien Noodles

This dish was the most disappointing dish of the night. Tough yellow noodles and tasteless gluey thick sauce were not appealing at all so we left the dish unfinished on the table.



WHERE CAN I FIND THE FOOD LISTED ABOVE???
Dickson Asian Noodle House - 29 Woolley St, Dickson ACT 2602