A Jewel in Canberra, The Jewel of India

A Jewel in Canberra, The Jewel of India

I wasn't expecting much from the culinary options for Canberra, my first dinner was very good, so when my colleagues suggested Indian on the second night, I felt on I was on a positive roll.

And I wasn't disappointed. The Jewel of India was among the best Indian food I've had. Our group agreed on the banquet options. This included poppadom, appetizers (tandoori chicken and samosa), a basket of naan, and four entrees (Aloo palak, Beef madras, Lamb rogan josh, and chicken korma). All the selections were fabulous. The beef madras, if I had to pick one, would be my favorite (perhaps since I don't have it very often).

There was also dessert (the obligatory golum jabba (I'm never cared for that dish, so I didn't even try it) and a mango ice cream that was very good (but took a while to soften up).

Staff were attentive and the decor quite nice. Highly recommended.

Meal: Dinner
Date Visited: 4 June 2010
Rating: ****
Address: 11 Bougainville St., Griffith, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2603
Website: http://www.jewelofindia.com.au

Wig and Pen: Drinking in a political pub

Wig and Pen

We had two days of very good meeting in Canberra, and so, before some of our group headed back to other parts of Australia, we went out to the highly recommended (well, actually, the only recommended) pub in Canberra. It was a Friday night, so it was packed. Unable to get seats, we hovered around on wall and bar area. Wig and Pen is a brew pub, and we sampled some of the local brews. The best was Venom, a strongly hoppy beer (the way I like it). Likely a nice place to relax when it was less crowded, it was also family friendly with a number of children in the bar area.

So, I'll join in with my Melbourne colleagues and give the Wig and Pen two thumbs up.

Meal: Drinks
Date Visited: 4 June 2010
Rating: ****
Address: 53 Alinga St., Canberra City, Australian Capital Territory 2601
Website: http://www.wigandpen.com.au

Pork Barrel: Better than an earmark

Pork Barrel: Better than an earmark

After a meeting at the National Library of Australia (NLA), our hosts suggested that we head for lunch just across the way at the Pork Barrel (as a resident of the Washington, DC area, I could appreciate the capital city humor in that).

Now in DC, I would have expected some BBQ, but the Pork Barrel was a pizza place (noted by one of the NAL staff as "the best pizza in Canberra". Not sure if I can vouch for that, but it was a quite good pizza. I went for the "Deli Pizza". Sun dried tomatoes, olives, and feta cheese.

Pizzas were made to order, so the food took a while to arrive (and we were a group of nine), but was worth the wait. There wa also a nice outdoor seating area (if you didn't mind the sulphur cockatoos, which were crowding around like pigeons, hanging around).

Meal: Lunch
Date Visited: 4 June 2010
Rating: ****
Address: King George Terrace, Canberra, Parkes ACT 2600, Australia
Website: http://www.porkbarrel.com.au

Chairman & Yip Restaurant

Chairman & Yip Restaurant

After attending a reception with heavy hors d'oeuvres, myself and the rest of my colleagues weren't quite in the mood for a large, heavy meal. One of the locals suggested Chairman & Yip Restaurant, where some good appetizers could be had.

Heading over, we were seated and proceeded to order (for the six of us) two rounds of three appetizers. A very nice duck pancakes, amazing scallops (served in a scallop shell), and dumplings (with a very good and spicy sauce).

Meal: Light Dinner
Date Visited: 3 June 2010
Rating: ****
Address: 108 Bunda St., Canberra City Australian Capital Territory 2601
Website: http://www.thechairmanandyip.com