MSG Cafeteria: Jamie's Italian and QT hotel, Canberra

Friday 24 October 2014

Jamie's Italian and QT hotel, Canberra

The most exciting thing about Canberra is... *drum roll*... probably what snacks you get on the plane on the way there and back.

In-flight snack: Qantas Economy

Okay, that's playing not fair. There is probably plenty to see in Canberra, but as part of my work trip I had a limited experience (especially considering most stores close by5 pm). After an hour of walking around I finally found the main restaurant district and chose to treat myself to Jamie's Italian.

Jamie's Italian Canberra.

It was quite busy for a Thursday night, I was told by the waitress there's a 40 min wait for a table - this certainly raised my expectations for the place. Finally after 30 mins, I receive a call from the restaurant informing me they had a table ready. Was it weird dining alone? I was a little worried at first but it wasn't too bad.

I'm all about variety, so I chose 2 entrees: Fish Plank (for 1) and Sicilian Tuna Fusilli.

Fish Plank (for 1) - Cured & crispy fish, Italian cheese, pickles & crunchy salad $13.50 per person

As you can probably guess, I was pretty excited about the 'variety'. I enjoyed the slaw, my piece of cured fish; various fried fish fingers with the cheese and pickle nibblies. The mussels and clams were cold, I'm not sure if that was the intention, but their flavours were good. There was some sand in the clams but I've eaten enough clams in my life to not be too fussed.

Crispy fish: mini fritto misto with yuzu mayo; Roasted shellfish

The fish fingers were excellent and made from 3 different fish. I did question the fried salmon finger, as its fatty nature isn't complimented by a greasy coating and more oil. The mayo worked well with the other fish frittos, although I couldn't taste the yuzu.

Beetroot cured salmon; shaved carrot & beet salad with lemon & mint;
smoked mackerel pate, pickle, green chilli, green olive, caper berry

From afar I thought these were some kind of dessert thing, but nope, its the cured salmon!

Sicilian Tuna Fusilli - Albacore tuna slow cooked with tomatoes, garlic, herbs & cinnamon
with crunchy, herby breadcrumbs $13.50 (E)/ $20.00 (M)

The pasta was a little firmer than I would have preferred. I enjoyed the garlic crumbs, they added an interesting texture to the otherwise simple pasta dish.

Unfortunately there I didn't anything spectacular about this meal. This was a little disappointing as I'm a fan of Jamie Oliver recipes. But then again, simple is his style. The service could possibly be perfected (eg if they brought the pasta to me after my antipasto plate - so it wasn't cold by the time I got to it). It was fairly priced though, especially considering its neighbours were charging $20 just for a Pad Thai.

QT Queen @ QT Canberra.

It was 9 pm by the time I got back to my hotel. I wanted to make a quick note on the QT Canberra - replaces the old Rydges Lakeside Canberra - because I really enjoyed it. It wasn't 5 star but I liked the quirky aspects, the clever and well thought out room facilities and decor.