I know I am late to the game. Kokomos have been open for a few months now but I have never gotten around to trying it until last night. I had heard that it was ‘pricey but tasty’ so when we spotted their island banquet option, it was a good excuse to try it out.
Island banquet 8 most popular dishes ($49.00) you can add a key lime pie to the banquet and at $1.00 pp, why wouldn’t you?
Salt and vinegar taro chips. The taste of vinegar isn’t too strong; nice and crispy but there were more interesting things to eat.
Mullaway ceviche coconut, ginger, cherry tomato, Thai basil, tostadas.
Fried chicken bun bread and butter pickles, hot sauce. Succulent crispy hot chicken with all the right trimmings. I was really sad when I finished the bun and had none left.
Prawn toast lime and sweet corn, smoked chilli mayo.
Lamb ribs sweet and sour glaze, puffed wheat. This was so tender and had a really nice glaze.
Udon noodles seared beef rump cap, egg yolk, crispy eschalot, kombu butter. I might be biased because I really love udon noodles, but this dish with its egg yolk creaminess reminded me of a creamy pasta dish without the heaviness. So delicious!
Iceberg salad pickled red onion, sunflower seeds, creme fraiche, dill. I thought it sounded boring because it had iceberg lettuce, but surprisingly this dish works!
Smoked beef rib molasses glaze, puffed rice, roast eggplant puree. Another really tender protein.
Rotisserie Huli Huli chicken lemon butter gravy. I loved the flavours of this chicken; the meat was juicy and the lemon butter provides just the right amount of tangy flavours.
Dishes were coming thick and fast, it was almost a shuffle game to fit everything on the table. Just as we adjusted plates and cups to move out of the way for one dish, another dish would appear almost straight away. We were served all the savoury dishes within the hour, but I would have liked a slower pace.
We really enjoyed everything and it was hard to choose a favourite but the pick of the night would have been between the fried chicken bun or the lamb ribs, but the udon noodles were a close second.
Key lime pie – this was a pretty decent serve per person and I did enjoy the unusual green colour. The base by itself wasn’t very nice but the pie with cream altogether had a nice balance of sweetness, creaminess and tart flavours.
Added on top Yes, my greedy eyes couldn’t help but order a few more items that weren’t included in the banquet.
Lobster lollipops kombu, sesame bonito mayo ($18.00 4 pcs). This was disappointing and fell really flat. You couldn’t really tell it was lobster and as tasty as the mayo was, it didn’t save this dish at all. I wouldn’t bother ordering this again.
Pecan pie burnt butter ice cream ($10.00). I didn’t think this was sweet enough and instead, I was getting bursts of salty flavours. The ice cream reminded me of a creme brulee with the torched sugar crust. I would not order this again.
It was a shame that the extras we ordered were a disappointment but if you stick with the Island banquet and it has those dishes, you can’t go wrong.
The staff were friendly and attentive, although there was some confusion with the dishes as one of us had dietary requirements but it was eventually clarified. I can imagine this place getting loud as the nightlife and bar begins to take over, but on a weekday we were not rushed, could talk comfortably and enjoyed our food.
Venue: Kokomo’s
Address: 1 Genge St, Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: (02) 6171 2092
Yes, I ate there last night and wrote this post quickly out of spite because TimmyC didn’t think I could get it done.
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.
You really need to get yourselves to one of these events if you’re lucky and fast enough, December is already sold out and the next one is in February (now that is sold out also!) . Each month has a different theme and November’s dinner focused on one of the main islands of the Philippines- Luzon.
Lolo and Lola November pop up dinner ($65.00pp).
Check out how fluffy that bun is and how beautifully whipped that butter turned out.
Habhab “Lucban” noodle dish with chicken, vegetables and spiced vinegar. We were encouraged to eat this with our fingers, needless to say it got messy really fast.
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 
I love the funky interior setting of the cafe, the natural light through the windows makes it the perfect place to take food photos.
Brunch is ready!
Large flat white ($4.50). TimmyC said it was a nice smooth coffee but not the nicest one he has ever had.
Vermont Chai infused tea recommended with soy ($5.50). I didn’t think the taste of chai was very strong but it was very milky and frothy.
Pressed French toast blueberry custard, lemon yoghurt, macadamia ($17.50). There is an ever so slightly crunchy exterior of the French toast before you hit the squishy soft almost pudding-like centre. I like the subtle sweetness on the surface of the toast but I felt that the blueberry custard didn’t add anything except for visual effect. We really enjoyed the yoghurt + fresh blueberries + toasted macadamia combo.
How soft and squishy does that French toast centre look!
Eggs Benedict Christmas ham, smoked hollandaise, rye muffin, poached eggs ($16.90) + Teddy’s hash brown ($4.50). I think the Teddy’s hash brown makes everything better; add it to your benny, whopper, heck even your oats! I love how it was crunchy on the outside and soft and potatoey on the inside. TimmyC substituted the Christmas ham for Pialligo Estate bacon which accentuated the smokiness of the hollandaise. The rye muffin was a little tough to cut through but I really enjoyed this breakfast.
The eggs were cooked perfectly.
This hash brown is what you need in your life right now!
Double points to Teddy Picker’s for an awesome extensive tea menu and their collaboration with local businesses such as Tea Garden Co and Red Brick Espresso.
They sell massive chicken pot pies! I want this is Australia.
Pierogi – Polish dumplings in bacon and caramelised cabbage ($13.00). We chose ‘pork and chicken’ and ‘cheese and potato’ dumplings. I loved the added touch bacon and the caramelised cabbage but a dollop of sour cream would have been awesome. I preferred the pork and chicken between the two dumplings flavours.
Crunchy kale new season kale crisps with slivered beetroot, crumbled goat cheese and plum dressing ($13.00). Technically it was described as ‘crispy kale’and crispy it was but it was cooked beyond being edible. As soon as I saw this, I knew the kale was over done and would be terrible and I suggested that my friend take it back but he just ate some of the goats cheese and avoided the kale leaves.
Blintz and mushrooms mushroom ragout with re-fried potato blintz and sour cream ($13.00). I found the blintz a bit bland by itself and it definitely needed the sour cream and the delicious mushrooms. It was nice to share this with others but I wouldn’t order just this for my main.
Veal schnitzel Polish style pan-fried, crumbed in sourdough rye, served with mashed potato and beetroot salad ($17.00). I didn’t mind the schnitzel but in comparison to other dishes, I probably wouldn’t order this again.
Pork knuckle mash, baked apple, caramelised cabbage and salad ($24.00). Don’t be put off by its size, it is mainly bone; most people should be able to finish it easily. I liked the tender meat and the baked apple was a nice pairing. It is definitely a hearty meal during the colder months.
Ricotta fritters cinnamon tossed ricotta dumplings with chocolate soil and mulberry sauce. yum ($10.00). We all decided that we had enough room to squeeze in one dumpling each (conveniently there were 5 doughnuts and there were 5 of us). I was really surprised how light and fluffy they were and probably could have had the whole plate to myself. It wasn’t until after we finished eating the dumplings did we notice that there wasn’t any chocolate soil but it didn’t need it. These were definitely worth ordering!
Served hot and fresh, I think you could convince anyone to stay for dessert with you.
The next time I come back, I would order the pierogi, pork knuckle and ricotta fritters.
Full menu available Thursday to Saturday
First came the ‘stuzzichini’ or finger food and then the food never stopped coming. It was truly an Italian feast.
Stuzzichini
Assortment of bread rosemary or garlic Tuscan flatbread sea salt schiacciatina with Sicilian extra virgin olive oil ($9.00). This was beautiful bread served warm. There was enough flavour on the bread already but I really enjoyed dipping my pieces into the EVOO.
Zucchini flower stuffed with buffalo ricotta and served on a pea puree ($6.00). The zucchini flower was cooked perfectly leaving a crisp delicate batter over the flower encased with a well seasoned ricotta filling, all without bring oily.
Suppli stuffed with asparagus and tallegio cheese ($16.00). During my first bite, I thought the filling was a bit bland and I wished it came with more sauce but the second bite- BAM! I got hit with a strong taste of cheese. Tallegio is a stronger cheese than I’m used to with a sharp taste and I’m not sure everyone would like it.
Beef carpaccio truffle oil, testun barolo cheese and micro herbs($19.00). I love a good beef carpaccio; it is a fine line to balance the flavours of the beef, oil and cheese. There was a lovely flavour from the oil but it almost over powered the beef and the cheese.
Swordfish carpaccio with pomegranate and fennel. The first thing I could taste was the delicious oil and then it had a subtle dish aftertaste. I liked that it was paired with the sweetness of pomegranate but I found all the flavours were too subtle for me and I preferred the beef.
Pizza ~ are currently only available on weekends
San daniele tomato, fior di latte, proscuitto crudo, rocket, shaved parmesan, and cherry tomato ($26.00). This was the first pizza that I tried and I fell in love. I really liked the base, the way it was cooked and the mozzarella was perfecto.
Capriciossa tomato, fior di latte, ham, artichoke, olive and mushroom ($25.00). I loved the flavour combination but I think I preferred the saltier notes in the San daniele with the proscuitto and parmesan.
Regina margherita tomato, buffalo mozzarella, parmesan and basil ($20.00). Just when I thought the San danielle was the best, I then tried the classic marghertia; the most simple pizza and this was my absolute favourite hands down. Every ingredient had to be at its premium because there wasn’t much to hide behind. I would have loved a little more even basil placement though.
Pasta
Now I love cheese more than the next person but man this was intense. I’m glad that I only had a small portion because the cheese flavour almost became monotonous and I am most surprised that I’m saying that (TimmyC would be shocked). I think I would have loved it if it had pieces of speck or some cured meat to go with it. These wheels of cheese are replaced every 3-7 days.
House made ravioli with spinach and buffalo milk ricotta in burnt butter and sage ($28.00). I am usually sold on anything in a burnt butter sauce with sage and I would easily order this next time I’m here.
I wish there was a tad more sauce to this pasta but I loved the crispy sage leaves.
Squid ink seafood pasta. The chef had been working on new dishes for the upcoming winter menu (to be released soon) and this was one of them. After all the heavy rich cheese dishes, this had a refreshing chilli bite and I really enjoyed the crunchy texture on the top. They import what they think is the best squid ink pasta from Italy but I think the star of the dish was the accompanying seafood.
Dolci
The two ‘gripes’ that I’ve heard from others about Molto Italian were about the prices and about the noise. I know that Canberra’s dining scene can seem more expensive on an international scale as well as interstate, but all along the Kingston foreshore it seems to be next level. I had written my impression of each dish before including the prices from the menu in my blog, but I felt that the prices were fair considering their import the best produce in their opinion to ensure quality authentic ingredients. We were lucky enough to have an early start before a busy lunch period but I didn’t notice a noise problem. This might be at night when the foreshore gets crazy busy.
I would not have enjoyed as many dishes if I was coming with friends unless I invited 5+ people. Through this invitation, we were able to taste a large variety of the menu as well as preview some upcoming dishes from the winter menu and I am able to say that I enjoyed almost all the food that we were lucky enough to experience. I am excited to go back and try their upcoming winter menu.
TALES OF A CONFECTIONIST 