NT Part 3: Where to Eat in Darwin

My last instalment of posts from my trip to NT. I'm not going to compare food to Sydney's standard since Sydney has everything whilst Darwin has hardly anything. Just going to compare it to Darwin itself (not that I had a lot in Darwin, but I tried my best with the limited time I had).

Mindil Beach Sunset Market

Camel burger: camel meat patties w/ homemade tomato sauce, Danish feta slaw, brioche bun-$11

  

Really wanted to try something exotic (since you can get croc patties from time to time in supermarkets). This one took a while to make as most people were ordering croc burgers and they cooked most of those before they plated them. First time having camel, but it kind of tasted like slightly flavourless beef. It was a bit dry, and wished there was more of that slaw. Brioche bun wasn't very milky and also a bit dry. This store is just something fun to try. The buffalo burger was a bit spicy even after one bite of it from my friend's burger.

Deer, camel, emu, buffalo, kangaroo, duck, crocodile + some veggies w/ flat rice noodles

so many exotic meats!

veggie choices

cooked right in front of you

This place is a pretty cool concept. You choose what you want, and pay for the weight. It's min $23.90 for 350g for dinner, and got less than that so got a bit ripped off...Reaslied after I finished eating there were scales so you could see how much it weighs...

Meat and veggies were cooked well. They steam the veggies and cook the noodles separately, then combine everything together at the end with the meat. It was a bit saucy, but still delicious. Good to satisfy those Asian stir fried cravings.

There's heaps and heaps of these cafes on the Eastern Coast (i.e. Sydney and Melbourne), but it seems like there's only this one in Darwin CBD. Things are a lot more pricey compared to your typical cafe for those who live in Syd, but I love my cafes, so still willing to try it.

cafe

Poached eggs, pulled pork, baby spinach, artisan toast, chimichurri hollandaise-$22

a bit over poached...

hidden pork under

Normally this dish would be max $18, but it's their signature dish here. Would have liked a bigger piece of toast to soak up all the egg yolk and hollandaise. The pork was really tender and moist, and full of flavour. The hollandaise had a lovely kick to it, and gave the pork more flavour. I think more spinach would have helped to make it not as rich. It's still a dish worth trying.

The juice of the day: green apple, celery, kale, green capsicum, lemon, $8 I think was average. It kind of splitted, so all the heavier elements sank to the bottom, and the juice wasn't mixed well to begin with. A bit too much foam as well. I guess for Darwin, there's not much competition, but I would've said it's below average for Sydney peeps.

I'm a MasterChef fan, and love see going to past contestants restaurants or food places if they end up making one

One of the best Snapper's I've had. The snapper was deep fried perfectly, with the flesh inside super moist and falling off the bone, whilst not overly coated in batter. Didn't have that gross greasy feeling you normally get after eating deep fried fish/chips. Opted for 'Rachel's special sauce' even though I can't eat chilli.  Kind of like a sweet and sour/tangy sauce. It was a good amount of heat to the point where I could still eat the fish, but really needed some water after (there wasn't any milk to buy lol). There was bread to help dull down the spice. The Loved the chopped veggie toppings on it as well.

Beef Donburi-$13.90

Was craving some rice, so decided to come here for a quick lunch. The price and portion was actually quite decent for Darwin. The beef was average. It also came with miso soup, so this meal ended up being really filling.

Darwin Show

Walked past this at the Mindil Night Markets but already had a burger that night. Went to have a crocodile patty at this place for $7. Took a while for them the bbq it, around 10mins, and it was quite burnt. Way too oily for a patty, and couldn't really taste any crocodile in the patty. I know crocodile tastes like chicken, but there is still a distinct difference...

Savannah's Bar & Restaurant

For a place in Katherine, compared to Sydney it's the middle of nowhere, so I won't compare food to Sydney standard. This place can cater for large groups, and it was a nice night meeting with other opthals/optoms in the area. The have ample seating inside and outside with a really relaxed vibe. Got a lemon lime bitters (around $6-7) while waiting for the food. This place is know for waiting a long time for your food, and with a bi group, it took over an hour for the food to come, but we were warned by the people who live here.

Roast pork, poached pears, asparagus-$34 (from memory)

It was a massive portion of meat which I guess accounted for the price. First few bites were good, but afterwards it got way too salty, and other porks on the table were also really salty. Normally you exampect the crackling yo be the saltiest, but the salt when right though the whole piece of meat. The skin wasn't full crackled either, so was a bit tough and chewy. Loved the spiced jus, but like Manu says, 'Where is the sauce?' There definitely wasn't enough sauce/acidity to balance out the dish. Poached pears were lovely, but would've liked something to freshen it up. Mash was decent, can't really go wrong with it right?

Crocodile spring rolls-$20

Recommended by an opthal, I decided to share this with a friend. Loved the thin filo style pastry wrapping the crocodile, with hints of sweet chilli flavour inside. The spring roll was more soft than your typical crunchy one. There was also a bit of a vinegrette so didn't feel too oil. First time having crocodile spring rolls, so was pretty exciting.

Mataranka Motel and Caravan Park

Grilled local barramundi-$28

They have barramundi feedings everyday, not sure if this barramundi was from the ones they feed, but it tasted quite fresh (so hope it was, since they said it was local...). The fish had a kind of tomato-ey sauce to it. They had sides which you could get, but I wanted to take this back to my room to watch TV so didn't get a lot of salad/mash/chickpeas. The chips had decent amounts of potato with a nice aioli.

There you have it! Hopefully I got down most of the places I went to eat in NT. For breakfast, I just had bread, cereal, veggies or fruit. Some groceries are cheaper, but most are more expensive compared to Sydney, but buying breakfast saves a lot more money (and is healthier) compared to eating 3 meals a day outside.