My birthday dinner at Bar & Grill

If you want a good hearty and comfort meal without overeating and walking out with your tummy bulging out; This is the place to go..

Place: 176 Bar & Grill
Time: 7:30pm, 10th Sept (had to celebrate earlier because E is having his wisdom teeth extracted a few day before my actual birthday, he he won't he able to chew properly)
Occasion: My birthday

My housemates: E & K















First let us cheers to my another year older self!!

The appetiser to share; their 176 Tapas plate

The side dishes we had: Salad, Fries & cooked greens
*note: I didn't order the salad, too much onions = bad breathe and lots of gas ... hahaha
The sides are quite yummy; rockets, pears and cheese + onions do make a nice refreshing salad. The fries are the type that I like, slim, crispy and salty enough. The cooked greens (roasted/steamed/pan fried??) are fresh and crispy as well.

All three of us ordered from their 176 Specialty Steak menu; I had the 176 Mignon (1st pic), but I can't remember what E and K had. Might be a porterhouse and rib/chop... hahaha
There is always a decision to have your steak cooked medium rare, medium or well done. For this place, medium rare would be a better choice. BUT if you are similar to E, who don't like the sight of blood, medium/medium well for the steak. The more thoroughly cooked the meat is, the tougher and less juicy it's gonna be.

Dessert wasn't eye catching enough, then again maybe cus I am a selective dessert eater =P

ooooo Before I end this entry, please remember that the traffic light next to this restaurant has speeding cameras on all sides. It was like having a huge rave party where lights are flashing at that junction on this rainy night.. It is $200 per click for speeding over 10km/hr, so please remember Peacock Road is 50km/hr only, not 60km/hr like the normal roads outside city.

Getting into Photofunia

I'm not a fan of David but I like the tattoo!!!!

Look into my eyes and lets get drunk =P

The Manse; last fine-dining meal before Pigeon went back.

I like the setting of this place, very sweet. A nice place for some peace and quiet dinner.











Cocktails and champagne















I don't know how to describe the meals and I can't remember what was what. There are alot of flavoursome sauces and foam. The little portions of dishes don't leave a big impact in my memories =P but the decorations are cute, especially the last few dishes (round little balls). The pictures consist of 2 sets of degustation; set of 6 and set of 8 + complimentary dishes. I cant remember which is the 6 or 8, so I'll just combine them together... hehehe










































































They update their menu pretty frequently (every season I think), you can check for the latest online. I'm slightly disappointed because it's a french restaurant and there are no escargots... sigh...

Awful culinary experience in Canberra

Looking around for good food in Canberra is definitely not worth the time or effort. I went there on a 3 days 3 night trip via work and the restaurants I had my lunches were awful and bad customer services.

The 1st one that I went to was a French restaurant called "Ardeche". The first complain that I have is my Appetiser Dish; Escargots. What is wrong with this dish?!!! There is a freaking piece of plastic in the sauce section!!



Since I didn't eat the sauce, being nice, I did not sent back the dish or throw a hissy fit. I did mentioned the "extra ingredient" in the dish to the nice young waiter. Next came my mains; a salty stewed beef and fries...

Side track abit; I've got a question...

When you decide to ask a question, you would expect an honest answer of either Agree or Disagree, don't you??

A useful hint to the mature waiter/ who might be the manager or the owner of that restaurant: If you don't like to hear a disagree answer; please don't ask...

The guy behind the counter (circled in blue) has the most awful attitude of a waiter and should be sack for his behaviour. He came up to me after lunch and asked how was the meal? The beef stewed that I had was salty and I replied that the beef was too salty for me. The waiter had the nerve to look at me in disbelieve and replied "Hmm Salty!?" and he walked away.

What Nerve!!??!! If you expect people to praise your food, make sure it has it's basic of flavour = tasty and clean = free from foreign object, to be praise-able!! If you expect compliments; Please expect Criticism as well!!


The next restaurant that I went to the following afternoon was at Tosolini's, an Italian restaurant. The service was awful, you need to stare at the waiters, before one of them is "forced" to come and take your order. Then he returns to tell you that the drink you ordered from the menu is out of stock, which was fine, just ordered another drink then. About 20 minutes later, my food arrived but my drink didn't. I need to stare the second time at the waiters walking passed to ask for my drink.
*Note: hand gestures can't be seen or notice by them either.

What surprised me was the portion size they served; Bocelli, Scuzzi or Caffe Buongiorno even Cafe Primo in Adelaide served larger portions (entree size) for the priced that I paid. Well, at least the pasta tasted good, the side vege that I ordered was nice and crunchy as well.



*Note: At least I didn't have to pay for my meals; the company paid for it... That is the silver lining of my bad experience during lunch in Canberra.

Quizes + Tests = Bored

You Are a Fork

You are truthful, direct, and straight forward. People find your honesty to be a bit piercing at times. You are driven and wildly ambitious. You know what you want, and you take the most direct path to getting it.

What Utensil Are You?

You Are a Vanilla Shake

Vanilla, yes, but definitely not boring. You are subtly complex and deeply sophisticated. You're the type of person who has always been ahead of their time. You don't fall for gimmicks or tricks. You are drawn to what's true.

What Flavor Shake Are You?

You See the World Through Blue Colored Glasses

You live your life with tranquility. You have faith that things will work themselves out with time. You judge all your interactions through the lens of hope. You try to get all the facts before forming your opinion. You face challenges with wisdom. You know that all bad things pass, and you have the confidence to see problems through. You see love as the utmost expression of trust. Your relationships tend to be peaceful and stable. At your worst, you can be cool, melancholy, and detached. You sometimes have to step back from emotionally charged situations. You are at your happiest when you are able to reflect and relax.

What Color Glasses Do You See the World Through?

You Should Learn Swedish

Fantastisk! You're laid back about learning a language - and about life in general. Peaceful, beautiful Sweden is ideal for you... And you won't even have to speak perfect Swedish to get around!

What Language Should You Learn?

Ooooo I saw it...

A side note from the Auge post:

You can buy the Hibiscus (in jar) from the cheese store in Burnside Village... Add you own Champagne to create the same pretty drink

Buenos Aires Brasserie

It was a quiet Tuesday night when pigeon and I popped our heads into Buenos Aires Brasserie. It is an Argentinian restaurant, but was "sentirsi a casa" very Italian-ish feels at home. The waitresses were friendly and one of them gave an aura like one of those friendly chubby Italian mother who welcomes you to their home...

We went into full on Argentinian mode: Argentinian red wine and Argentinian beer. We had olives at the side.











For mains; we ordered Sarzuela for two. It was a selection of seafood; mussels, cockles, squids, octopus, crabs, prawns and fish

What we didn't know was that this dish came along with sides vegetables and baked potatoes (very crispy on the outside and soft on the inside)


*Because we didn't know vegetables was included, we ordered a salad to share; major oops!!


By the time we finished the food, I neither sit properly nor walk. It was very filling, BUT my sugary tooth got the better of me, and hence we ordered a creme brulee to share =P

The chef offered us complimentary Argentinian coffee or tea to us. I was so tempted to try but we really couldn't eat anymore so we politely rejected... sigh... wished they could give a IOU...

I really liked this place; friendly staff and very nice hearty food. Pity J didn't liked it when she went there... Must go again!!