It had been years since I had been to Rubicon and after the fantastic meal I had the other week, I wondered why I stayed away for so long.
There was a choice of four, five or six course degustation and we decided on six courses (surprise surprise) with a few extras. When we had the ‘Design your own degustation‘ explained to us that we could choose any six items on the menu it threw all reasoning out the window. It meant I could have 6 Wagyu steaks or Timmy could have all the desserts but the whole table had to decide on the same 6 courses, so we had to compromise.
Amuse bouche~ orange, rhubarb and walnut.
Extras~
Toasted garlic, chive and parmesan ($1.50). This wasn’t as delicious and moreish as Sizzler parmesan bread (I swear they use some sort of addictive drug to make that), but it came out very fast and it was at a bargain price.
Oysters with smoked bourbon sauce, bacon, shallot, pecorino ($4.00 per oyster). Not my favourite as I found the sauce overpowering the other ingredients. It had too much going on and I couldn’t even tell there was an oyster in there with all the other textures.
Design your own degustation 5 courses($80.00 pp).
Yellowtail kingfish sashimi, green nam jim, lime, yuzu, coriander, coconut, cress. This dish had a perfect balance and pairing of flavours. This was definitely worth ordering.
Scallops, confit chicken, bacon jam, apple, calvados. I LOVED this dish and I was surprised as a lover of scallops, for me the chicken stole the show on this one.
Roasted pork belly, celeriac remoulade, crackling, apple. Classic pairings that work really well together; the pork was incredibly tender.
Green beans and snow peas, tarragon and lemon dressing ($9.00). This was my attempt to eat more vegetables during the degustation but I really could have skipped it. The snow peas were just a touch over cooked and I wasn’t a huge fan of the dressing.
Duck confit, ginger miso roasted mushrooms (swiss, king, oyster, enoki), braised cabbage, duck brik. I was a little disappointed with this dish as I wanted more saltiness to the duck, the mushrooms to be more flavoursome and the brik outer layer to be crisper. In hindsight, I probably would have skipped this course.
Shoestring fries, smoked paprika ($9.00). I know this sounds simple, but it was delicious because it was served ridiculously hot with the right amount of seasoning. YUM! Also the perfect side to the rib eye.
Chargrilled Wagyu rib eye, onion, boulangere, asparagus, horseradish, sauce bearnaise. YAY! This was really delicious and cooked perfectly. BOO! I was starting to get uncomfortably full and forced myself to finish it. I probably would have enjoyed this more, earlier on in the degustation.
Cooked perfectly to my liking.
Palette cleanser~ carrot and green apple sorbet. I wouldn’t have been able to tell this contained carrot except by the colour.
Dessert~ they let you choose different desserts (phew!)
Caramelised apple tart, sablé, butterscotch, creme fraiche sorbet. This was definitely not what we expected as we thought the tart would be made from pastry, not sablé. The base was really hard in comparison to the apple and we found ourselves having to stab our spoons in the base just to break it. It had a beautiful butterscotch sauce but we felt it just wasn’t the same calibre as the savoury dishes we had chosen.
Spiced rum and honey panna cotta, drunken fig, sauternes jelly, hazelnut, earl grey ice cream. I liked the sound of spiced rum and honey in a panna cotta but oh my! This would have been considered a fire hazard with how much rum was in it. It was so intense, we didn’t even finish half of it, albeit it was the biggest panna cotta I have seen.
Even though we didn’t completely love our desserts, we had a fantastic time and I look back on my savoury courses fondly. The service was friendly and attentive and I definitely look forward to going back soon.
Venue: Rubicon
Address: 6A Barker St, Griffith ACT 2603
Phone: (02) 6295 9919
Entrees~
Frico a typical dish from the Friuli region of Italy. Paper thin layers of Montasio cheese & potato, oven roasted to form a heavenly, crunchy, chewy morsel ($10.00). We were all curious to see what this would look like and was surprised to see it so flat despite the description. I think the reason why I enjoyed it so much is that it reminds me of the crunchy part of a lasagna- think a thicker parmesan wafer.
Margherita bufala pizza bufala mozzarella, Agostinis’ spice & basil ($22.00). Their pizza bases are really good with good quality toppings. We really enjoyed this.
Mains~
Lasagne al ragu classic Italian lasagne with slow cooked wagyu beef, sandwiched between handmade pasta sheets & topped with grated Reggiano Parmigiano ($25.00). I was very disappointed with my lasagne, it had no flavour. Frankly, I’ve had better lasagne from my supermarket.
Fusilli funghi corkscrew shaped pasta with mushroom ragù with scamorza cheese & thyme ($22.00). The most flavoursome out of all the pasta dishes on the table but I thought it needed a lot more sauce and ingredients to cover the pasta as some mouthfuls seemed like I was eating plain pasta.
Spaghetti alla marinara vongole, prawns, fish, vino bianco, cherry tomatoes, chilli, garlic & parsley ($28.00). This seriously lacked flavour. No salt, no chilli, no garlic; it was just bland and disappointing. The spaghetti felt a tad too thick and it was over cooked therefore it almost had the consistency of tinned spaghetti. Shame, I had high hopes for this dish.
Desserts~
Gelati choice of 3 flavours – vanilla, coffee liquor, chocolate peanut butter ($10.00). They had some strange choices (cherry salted caramel?) but we opted for these flavours, which were very nice. It is probably best to clarify the flavour choices as we thought there was a cherry flavour and a salted caramel flavour, not one flavour with cherry and salted caramel combined.
Agostinis’ tiramisu made to order… savoiardi biscuits, freshly brewed coffee, mascarpone & chocolate mousse ($12.00). This definitely made your eyes widen as your hit that base that started to pool with coffee. Being made to order meant that there were some crunchy parts of the tiramisu which I thought was a bit odd. My friend and I ordered one each and if you add the part that I had eaten with the part that she had eaten, we wouldn’t have even finished one portion. It was too strong, too much mascarpone and too OTT.
We were congratulated on our honeymoon by several servers who came to check on us, we had written it was a special occasion when we 
We really enjoyed our dinner but there were too many dishes to go through, so I’ll just comment on the exceptional ones that I adored or really surprised me.
Mackerel on a spinach and parsley leaf
Buttermilk fried chicken with pine salt – My oh my! Could this possibly be the best fried chicken I have ever eaten? It was moist and succulent while having a really crunchy exterior with the perfect amount of seasoning. I would have fought TimmyC for his piece if he didn’t finish his serve before I did. Apparently, you can also order this at the bar and it is a menu favourite.
It was lovely to receive bread and butter with a serve of smoked salt (not pictured) to add to our liking. I’m glad it was only a small portion as we had many more courses to get through. 
Duck, Morel & Ginger Consommé and Hundred Year Old Madeira – I have eaten a lot of courses in my life (my hips don’t lie) but I have never had a liquid course, so I thought it was really interesting when the server came to our table with wine glasses and two bottles. We were given a nip of the 100 Year Old Madeira and it sure did warm the chest and clear the nostrils; it is incredible to think that it was aged for so long. We were then given more Madeira with a generous swig of duck consommé and it transferred the broth into a rich soup with lots of depth without the harsh alcoholic burn.
Wheat cakes
Dulce de leche truffle a decadent truffle with the world’s favourite filling.
Digestive these were oh so delicate. TimmyC had his first and said the outer layer instantly melted away, leaving the liquid centre to ‘burst’ in his mouth. I then tried mine, I was in the middle of asking him how long does it take to burst when my eyes just widened. There it was!
Just getting our photo with Isaac McHale in the kitchen of The Clove Club while the other chefs patiently wait to get back to work- no biggie (omg omg omg!)
Upside: it is all pre-cut and equally portioned for your convenience with a paper dividers; it’s the original cheesecake so you can dress it up however you like it (I had mine with berries, passionfruit, my friend added Nutella) and it tasted like I never left 
XO FC wings marinated in butter milk with kewpie mayo ($10.00). I love chicken wings and if you fry it, I will come! These were really crunchy while remaining succulent and I love mixing the mayo with their modified sriracha sauce.
Steamed dumplings minced prawn and pork with spicy soy vinaigrette ($16.00). These were so delicious, we ordered another serve just before we started on desserts. A delicate steamed parcel in a beautiful spicy soy which made it very hard to share with other people.
Small plates~
Asian bolognese stir fried udon in XO chicken ragout with a 60° egg ($18.00). This dish was the sole reason I came back to XO, I’ve been having dreams about this ever since I had it the first time. I think it is genius to use udon!
Shallow fried tofu shallow fried tofu seasoned soy and candied ginger ($16.00). I can see how this was supposed to be a simple tasty dish with a ridiculously soft tofu but I found it underwhelming in comparison to the other dishes.
Hiramasa Kingfish miso cured with pineapple relish, wasabi nori, spelt and freeze-dried raspberry. Kent was nice enough to treat us to one of their new dishes on the menu, this would have been $18.00. It was interesting to have the Kingfish served in cubes, the curing processing apparently makes the flesh ‘tighter’ and it gave the dish a very meaty feel. This is a dish where you have to eat all elements together; the wasabi nori had a kick but the pineapple made it very sweet and it seemed like we were eating a sushi without rice.
Larger~
Crispy lamb ribs tossed in a sticky plum sauce ($28.00). A popular favourite amongst the table, it is a little messy to eat. Ditch the chopsticks and just use your hands.
Sides~
Desserts~
Pandan panna cotta gula melaka syrup and sesame tuile ($12.00). The panna cotta isn’t really sweet and all the sweetness comes from the intense syrup. The texture was super smooth which was a good contrast with the crunchy tuile.
They might have turned down the volume dial on the music but they still play the music that I love. The staff was attentive and everything came out a timely manner.
Salted caramel chocolate shake ($6.00 excl tax). It was okay, it had a very thick texture which made it hard work to suck up the straw, but we much preferred the creamy soft serve.
Even their booths are covered in this cute material.
I really wanted a cute cheeseburger with the iconic Hello Kitty bow but we had just come from lunch so all I could squeeze in was a cute milkshake and a waffle for an afternoon snack (don’t give me that look).
The Pancake Milkshake ($8.00). This had little chunks in it and yes it tasted and felt like a pancake milkshake with maple syrup. I don’t know if it is worth $8.00 for the size, but I didn’t want a lot and it didn’t disappoint in flavour.
Cinnamon waffles apple pie ice-cream, salted caramel ($8.00). I was pleased to see that it was freshly made and was hot and crunchy, while a lot of cafes I have been to serve a warmed pre-made one or even worse, from frozen. The fact that it was in the shape of Hello Kitty’s head topped with a cute bow was just a super cute touch. I really enjoyed the apple pie ice-cream that went really well with the salted caramel sauce. A perfect sweet treat that isn’t overly sweet or filling.
Grill platter grilled pork belly marinated with sweet BBQ sauce + grilled chicken marinated in lemongrass, garlic, soy
Again I would definitely recommend booking, this feast only happens once a month and man, the restaurant was packed when we arrived. I didn’t know what to expect and no one really explained anything to us, I just knew that there wasn’t going to be any cutlery which meant I had to tie my hair up, clean my hands and wear something with lots of patterns so you couldn’t tell how much food I dropped on myself.
I am loving the penmanship.
Adobo in four different ways pork, chicken, mushroom and snake beans. When I was browsing the menu, my eyes lit up when I saw adobo and in FOUR WAYS! It was hard to choose a favourite but being a big meat-eater I loved the pork and chicken, although the mushrooms were definitely a close second. If you have never eaten adobo, you need to change that immediately.
Sinigang confit of salmon in hot tamarind broth with okra, radish and cherry tomatoes. This was unlike anything I had eaten before. The broth had strong sour notes which really made the tomatoes and radish taste very sweet, while the salmon seemed really rich and fatty without a strong fishy taste. As we ate the salmon, the broth became almost creamy and contrasting flavours weren’t as sharp.
Inasal grilled chicken maryland marinated in garlic, lemongrass and vinegar with vegetable atchar salad. I could happily eat this for the rest of my life. The chicken was succulent with a fantastic marinade, while the punchy pickled vegetables kept it all refreshing. A real perfect balance of flavours displaying real skills from the kitchen.
Kare-Kare Filipino stew of fork tender beef cheefs, honeycomb tripe and vegetables in annatto peanut sauce. The scaredy cat in me gave away most of my tripe but the happy girl who was enjoying everything so far kept a little bit to try, it had a really unexpected texture as it was super soft and reminded me of bone marrow. The description did not lie, this was definitely tender beef! Unsurprisingly, Lolo and Lola’s stews are always amazing.
Check out how tender that meat is.
Filipino fruit juice as a little refreshment between courses.
Lechon slow roasted pork belly served with garlic liver sauce and petite pomelo salad. Lechon is definitely a must have dish when you have a Filipino event. The pork had a perfect crunchy crackle, the meat was succulent and it was a generous serve that defeated me towards the end. Having pieces of pomelo gave the dish a refreshing touch.
Salabat brewed ginger tea with honey. This reminded me of a Chinese tong sui and took me back to my childhood and home cooking. The tea was perfect on a cold winter’s night. As you sipped the tea, you could feel the tingle of a ginger ‘burn’ on your tongue and down your throat.
Bibingka souffle interpretation of the classic coconut rice cake served with salted egg creme anglaise. Luckily we all had a different stomach for desserts and we had no trouble finishing this. I don’t love salted egg but the anglaise had just enough that you could tell it was salted egg without being overwhelming and I almost licked my shot glass clean. The souffle itself had a fluffy delicate texture that was a perfect end to a stunning dinner.
I can honestly say that I loved every dish. Kim from Lolo and Lola was describing how Filipino food is unpretentious and it really was just fantastic food with fresh ingredients and well-balanced flavours.
Peter Pipe’s pickled lemon lemonade lemon juice, lemon brine, lemon sugar, soda ($14.00). My mouth is watering just thinking about this drink again. Man it was intensely lemony and tangy.
Complimentary~
Starters~
This is truly a work of art.
Rice & Flesh saffron, curried kangaroo, red wine and amaranth ($38.00).
Savoury Porridge garlic and parsley butter, grilled abalone, pickled beetroot and fennel ($36.00). The texture of the oats along with texture of the fennel reminded me of the snail porridge from 
Mains~
Chicken cooked with lettuces grilled onion emulsuion, oyster leaves and spiced parsnip sauce ($58.00).
Specials~
That marbling- WOW!
The triple cooked chips were really crunchy.
Desserts~
Want a bite?
The beautiful pineapples slowly being spit roasted while being basted every now and then.
Chocolate bar passionfruit jam and ginger ice cream ($30.00).
The Lamington cake raspberry jam, toasted coconut, rum and vanilla ice cream ($30.00).
A little something something~
We found the service to be very attentive, efficient and friendly. I wouldn’t wait for a special occasion, just come here and experience fantastic food.
Venue: Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
Gnocco fritto. This is like a deep-fried pastry topped with prosciutto but I found the pastry a bit too oily for me.
Heirloom carrot, hummus, mint and almonds. Who knew I could enjoy carrots so much? This was a perfect pairing of flavours and with all the pasta and meat, it was good to have a salad somewhere in there. I love the sweetness from the cranberries, apples and carrots.
Four cheese risotto with radicchio and balsamic. Man I love a cheesy good risotto, it was a shame I had to share.
Pappardelle with parmesan and local black truffle. I felt that the truffle didn’t have as much of an effect because it wasn’t infused in anything. It was a nice simple pasta and the perfectly cooked egg yolk bursts to make a rich sauce.
Pumpkin and mascarpone tortellini with hazelnuts. This ladies and gentleman, was exquisite. I really do love things that involve a pumpkin parcel pasta with burnt butter sage combo and this has to be the BEST rendition I’ve ever had. Hands down! Before they change the menu you HAVE to try this. The filling is silky smooth, the pasta thickness is perfect and the sage is super crispy.
Rag pasta with lamb and rosemary ragu. I loved the sauce, the pasta, the whole thing. This was a very close second pasta choice for the table. 
Ghetto beef with rocket and salsa verde. I had tried this before where the beef was really dry and the rocket leaves were limp, I couldn’t tell if this time was much better or I was just really hungry. Be aware that the beef is rather quite pink, one of my friends didn’t eat it which meant more for us!
Whole lamb shoulder with sides. Wow! This was incredible! A wonderful lamb roast served with chimichurri sauce and a really smooth mash potato and jus. This was apparently a 1kg roast and we almost finished the whole thing.
One of the downsides of being in a busy restaurant is the wait. Sometimes there was a 15-20 minute wait between dishes, which left us a little frustrated and hungry and in turn we ordered more food hoping that something would come to the table soon. Despite ordering so many things, we had very little wastage. I knew we were testing the time constraints of our sitting (2 hours) but we asked if we could have dessert with a hopeful look in our eye. The waiter checked to see if there was someone waiting for our table but he came back happy to report we could squeeze in our dessert first.
Strawberry cheesecake. I loved the soft creamy textures with strawberries. I didn’t realise that there was granola at the bottom for the ‘base’ until I dug a little deeper but there was a strong saltiness to it that I didn’t enjoy.
Choc mint fudge sundae. If you love the choc mint combo then this is definitely for you, it was like an after dinner mint on the palette. There was a really good brownie somewhere in all that.
Caramel popcorn sundae. I felt that the signature dish of the restaurant was superseded by the other desserts. It is a nice combination but this wasn’t our favourite this time.
Banoffee pie. That caramel wasn’t too sweet which meant that this wasn’t OTT. A great way to finish the meal.
Frozen margarita. The description didn’t give much away but this tasted like lemon meringue. It was very delicate and was the pick of the desserts. You have to try this!
Even though there was a wait from the kitchen, the front of house service was fantastic, efficient and attentive. I keep telling everyone about my experience and it excited me so much I pushed it up my backlog of posts to write about because I wanted you all to know about it too.
TALES OF A CONFECTIONIST 