Eating places

Sari Rasa

A modest little Indonesian joint inside one of the malls on Cavenagh St, Sari Rasa might be the only Indonesian "restaurant" in town. There's plenty of places to get satay, lontong and such at the markets, but this is a nice place to sit down. The food is padang style (pre-cooked and ready to serve in bain maries) and one makes a selection from the variety on offer.

At my last visit I tried beef rendang which had a delicious sauce but the meat was slightly dry, not quite falling apart at the prod of a fork; fish curry, which was made with chunks of unidentifiable white fish in a broth with strong notes of chilli, lemongrass and tamarind; and sambal eggplant, whole grilled baby eggplants which are then halved and served with a mild chilli paste. There was also on offer chicken curry, spicy chicken, a green bean dish, twice cooked eggs and a lamb curry, and the usual suspects of fried rice and fried noodles.

The inside is a bit dark, and the plastic tables rather reminiscent of a cafeteria, but the serving ladies were so nice and the food adequately delicious, it was well worth the trip into the city.


My friend's kitchen

My first thought was, what a strange name for a Vietnamese restaurant! The logo is an evil looking smiley face, and dazzlingly bright flower patterned melamine bowls and plates make the place even a little weirder. The position is great though, with the tables look out onto busy Mitchell St, making it a perfect people watching spot. 

The menu is pretty standard and reminds me of those really old style Chinese restaurants catering to Western tastes. There aren't any really dishes that I usually love to eat at Vietnamese restaurants - spicy Hue style beef noodles, rice noodle salad, grilled lemongrass pork, prawns on sugar cane, etc.. Instead there was like the same "satay beef, curry beef, beef with black bean sauce", followed by "satay chicken, curry chicken, chicken with xyz sauce", which was a bit disappointing.  Pho was the only "authentic" thing on the menu but we decided to share a few dishes instead.

The fish with chilli and lemongrass was reasonable - a huge plate of pan-fried fish simmered in a spice paste along with red capsicum and celery hearts. The vegetables & tofu dish was a bit boring but perfectly edible, with the fried tofu being the highlight (slightly sweet exterior with a soft silken centre), which made me wonder where they got such delicious tofu in Darwin.

With no drinks other than the standard cans and bottles, I was left wanting my three coloured ice...


Boatshed cafe 

This is a funky cafe on the Cullen Bay main street, considered a "posh" area in Darwin. As one drives into the Cullen Bay precinct, there are all these new-looking modern apartments that just look so out of place in Darwin (especially when I live in the slightly decrepit northern suburbs!) The cafe is decorated like the inside of a boat, the high ceilings lending an airy feel. The tables spill out onto a verandah overlooking the marina, and it's all very cosmopolitan (would not be at all out of place in Sydney).

The coffee came in a large cradle-worthy bowl, which reminded me of the bowls I used to drink at La Petit Creme in Darlinghurst. It was very decent coffee too (Grinders), among the best I've had in Darwin. I had the big breakfast, which really was big enough for two with a pile of bacon, two sausages, scrambled eggs, a whole grilled field mushroom, two halves of roast tomato, a handful of baby spinach and two massive slices of toast. I think that was enough protein to last me for the next week!