Au Lac

Dickson is somewhat locally well-known as being Canberra's "Chinatown", although there are very few dragons or pandas lurking around. Apart from a few importer-grocery shops, and the legend of a young Jackie Chan having walked its streets, there isn't really much, at least from a superficial glancing, to support this imagination of place. It could be equally argued that American fast-food chains appear to be just as prominent in the commercial area's streetscape.

However, what Dickson does have is Au Lac - one of the city's better fake meat places (along with the nearby Kingsland). Fake meat, for the unacquainted, is a textured soy-based product that can be made into meat-ish dishes, typically by South-East Asian Buddhists. White meats (i.e. fake chicken, duck, or fish) are typically far more convincing than attempts at imitating red meat, and when done well, can even be tasty.

Accompanied by a soothing indoor waterfall (more restaurants should have one), guests at Au Lac ought to order the "Noodle Laksa" for $10 - and within 5-10 minutes they will be presented with a delicious spicy bowl of coconut milk, spice, veges, and radically tranformed soy. Most of the other dishes are OK, but the laksa really is the stand-out.