Three Mothers

Having been somewhat disappointed with Zen Yai lately - our former favourite - we've been looking for a new Thai place in Civic. Last week, having quickly downed a gin and tonic at a clearly private-school-graduate establishment a.k.a. the Hippo, we got hungry, as always (ha ha ha), and decided to try our luck at the Three Mothers.

So, we walked across Garema Place and into a busy and noisy little restaurant, bustling, shall we say, with reasonably happy-looking customers and staff. Blocks of bright fuschia, yellow and green silk (some with the King of Thailand meets Andy Warhol-esque prints) lining the walls grab your attention before anything else - and keep grabbing it throughout the evening.

We were after something quick and straightforward - so had a tofu larb as the veggie option and the panang nua for the carnivore. The menu is extensive (and dishes seem at least a couple of dollars cheaper than the more up-market Thai options in Civic - i.e. Zen Yai and Lemongrass) although somewhat repetitive. What we mean here is that the same sauces, combinations of veggies and herbs make an appearance under different subheadings of 'chicken', 'beef', 'vegetables' - not that there is anything wrong with that... Nonetheless, what we ordered was fragrant and delicious. The presentation could have been more snazzy, although we did appreciate the hand-carved piece of radish in the shape of a rose. For a quick Thai meal before catching a movie, Three Mothers is a good option.

In the Beginning...there was Lemongrass

Hello there.

This blog has emerged on a whim from a dinner at Lemongrass in Civic last night where we - myself and my partner - decided that we should use our expensively developed observation skills, cultivated palates, and withering wits to write about our experiences trying to feed ourselves in Canberra.

We are aged somewhere between 25-35, and seem to spend a lot of our spare time collecting, preparing, and consuming food and/or drinks. The plan is to relate our experiences eating in and eating out, and otherwise being consumers of markets, supermarkets, bottle shops, restaurants, fastfood joints, food and booze industry media, in the ACT, or whereever else we might happen to visit. We call Australia home, although we were both born elsewhere. One of us is also a vegetarian, who nonetheless enjoys cheese and a good omelet.

Anyway, introductions aside, last night we went to try the Thai restaurant in Civic, Lemongrass, after years of devotion to Zen Yai, its competitor futher down London Circuit. Having a bit of loyalty to the latter, I at least, had a critical eye, noting divergences from my old favourite. On the whole, Lemongrass did not disappoint, if though it didn't have the same feeling of comforting familiarity. The food was excellent (a vegetarian Pad Thai, and a spicy beef salad), if slightly more expensive than Zen Yai, and the staff were a little too keen to move us along to manage their bookings. Generally, the place also had an older crowd than Zen Yai - more fifty year old plus senior manager types dining with similar looking friends or their kids - than Zen Yai's 20-somethings dressed up for a night out. Overall, it was all very adequate, but didn't really do enough to really make me want to reconsider entrenched habits the next time we feel like Thai.