While we were at Rydges in Canberra, we also decided to splurge a little bit and try room service for once. We weren’t super hungry as we had a big lunch, so we decided to get an entree and dessert that had caught our attention.
We got the Lamb Noisette entree and Lemongrass and Guava Parfait dessert to share.
I have to say, I was both very impressed and a bit disappointed. There are a few reasons for both of these things!
I was very impressed because the food was amazingly delicious. I wasn’t as keen on the Lamb Noisette as Tammy, but she really loved it. The Lemongrass and Guava Parfait though was awesome! This was right up my alley. Check out the photos (I thought I’d try a slideshow for something different):
Lamb Noisette
So this was really good, the lamb was cooked perfectly and the sauce/jus was tasty. The thing that disappointed me a bit about this one though is that it was not as described on the menu and no one advised us of that when we placed the order.
As per the menu (above), the additional features of dish besides the lamb are described as:
Roast beetroot puree, green peas and jus.
As per the photo of the dish (below), we got the jus and the peas, but the puree was potato, not beetroot. It still tasted great and was not a big deal, just a bit disappointing and it would have been nice to be asked: “Unfortunately we’ve run out of beetroot, would potato be ok instead?”
We would have said yes!
Lemongrass and Guava Parfait
I love parfait’s, pannacotta’s, creme brulee’s, and just about anything else soft and creamy (and basically anything else sweet), but this one really hit me, not so much because of the parfait itself but because of what was served with it. Now don’t get me wrong, the parfait had superb flavours and I enjoyed it immensely, but the extra bits on the side, they were the icing on the cake.
They were described on the menu as:
Chantilly cream with a berry and basil salad.
I thought the basil sounded a bit odd with it, but if you are ever in doubt, basil and berries = amazing flavour combination! I loved it! It just added so much flavour and pop to the dish. Combine that with the varied textures from the crunchy crumble and chocolate and for the $16 it cost, I reckon it was awesome!
The Other Disappointment
The one other disappointment I had with room service is that I asked when I called up if there was a tray charge. I had to ask because the menu and hotel compendium did not specify one. I was told that there was no charge. However, upon presentation of the receipt, there was a tray charge. Admittedly, we would have still got it anyway, and the tray charge was much better than what I’ve seen at other hotels, but the fact that I was told that there wasn’t a charge when there was is disappointing. I don’t know whether the staff member misunderstood what I was asking, or if he didn’t know, but it’s not a huge gripe, just one of those things that adds a little hiccup to an otherwise pleasant experience.
Overall
We enjoyed the food a great deal! The entree is quite sizeable, so if you are not that hungry, you probably don’t need anything bigger. Or if you have a sweet tooth like me, you could just go entree and dessert! The food was delicious, the price was competitive and the tray charge was very reasonable. So all in all, no real complaints from me, just a few things that could have been better managed to avoid disappointment.
