Canberra's top chefs reveal their favourite places to eat in the capital

It’s fair to say that Canberra’s dining scene has transformed in the last decade.

To meet the demand of a hungry capital that knows good food, new venue openings have been as ubiquitous as the political debates taking place on the hill.

With no one source of truth on the best places to eat in Canberra, author Chris Hansen has crowd-sourced the problem in his new book Chefs Eat Canberra.

We’ve picked Chris’s brain to discover where Canberra’s best chefs actually eat.

Andy Day of Canberra’s awarded wine bar Rizla makes a beeline for the banh mi at the bright yellow food truck, Little Phat Rolls in Braddon. He loves the balance of ingredients they bring to their dishes. With a penchant for Vietnamese, Andy also recommends Vietnamese Bakery and Cafe on Isa Street in Fyshwick. It’s an unexpected choice that’s packed with tradies during the day but serves up generous portions of the classics done to perfection.

Mork, of new Thai hotspot Minima, recommends a Canberra institution and can’t go past the parrot fish with ginger and shallot dished up at Dickson’s Ruby Chinese Restaurant. Mork’s brother and business partner, Benn, places his trust in the breakfast Shawarma from the rogues at Rebel Rebel.

Gus Armstrong of pioneering restaurant eightysix digs the casual trattoria vibes of Italian & Sons, where simple flavours come together into Italian perfection with their margherita pizza. And a surprise ring-in, Gus gives a shout-out to Canberra fast food chicken chain Kingsleys, whose famous marketing line “unbelievable chicken, awesome chips” pretty much sums up your 20s if you grew up as a millennial Canberran.

The venue manager at Corella, Brady Scholes, can’t go past the red burger truck that lives at Capital Brewing Co, Brodburger, a place where your choice of cheese can make or break your burger. Brady is also partial to a Canberra classic, the Tak Kee Roast Inn at Dickson.

Dash Rumble of Such and Such is enticed by the marketing promise of “hot noods in your area”, and can be found gobbling down the Laotian-style dried beef jerky at Sen Noods, but Dash gives her top nod to the bahn mi from Ms Ba Co, a food court Vietnamese located in Majura Park with lunchtime queues running up to 20 metres long.

Aiden Fong from Laotian restaurant Champi is all for the refined Japanese at Raku.

Their perfectly cooked sushi rice in the nigiri and maki rolls keeps him coming back. Aiden is also partial to the laksa at Asian Noodle House. Folklore has it you’re not a Canberran until you’ve downed a jumbo laksa from this low-key Dickson restaurant.

Erkin Essen, owner of Kingston restaurant Pomegranate, is on the Rebel Rebel bandwagon … who isn’t, really? Erkin loves their prawns with bay leaf butter. Or when Erkin is looking to take it down a notch, he’s chowing down on dumplings at Ginseng in the Hellenic Club, where weekend yum cha is the order of the day.

Damien Brabender, of fine dining venue Otis, can’t go past the apple tarte tatin at eightysix and swears by the freshest seafood in Canberra at Japanese restaurant Ureshii in Greenway, where he recommends the snapper carpaccio with white soy.

For your ultimate guide to eating out in Canberra, according to Canberra’s best chefs, Chris Hansen’s new book Chefs Eat Canberra is available in venues all across Canberra or on the Chefs Eat Canberra website for delivery to your door.

Original Article published by Tenele Conway on Riotact.