Author Archive
April 4, 2011 | 
Author Thank you to those who came along to the progressive dinner a couple of weeks ago. It was a lovely evening filled with delicious food and wonderful company.
A second progressive dinner is lined up for Wednesday April 6th. Hope you can make it! Details are below.
—————————————————————————————–
West End Central was closed for 7 weeks due to flooding. They experienced a lot of issues trying to reopen and felt helpless that they couldn’t get the electricity back on and were unable to provide work or income for their staff. In addition they weren’t able to order from their suppliers since they had no business to run. One shop unable to operate has affected so many, the staff, their suppliers, the people those suppliers employ. When the electricity was finally restored after 6 weeks, a big storm hit Brisbane and there was more flooding in the car park that shorted out their newly repaired switchboard.
The businesses of West End Central are now back and operational. So to show support I am gathering a group of willing eaters to have a progressive dinner at some of the West End Central restaurants.
Where: West End Central – Boundary St, West End
- 1st course – Tapas at Suburban Cafe
- Main – Viet Hoa Cafe Restaurant
- Dessert – Freestyle Tout
Cost: Everyone pay for their own food & drinks.
RSVP: As soon as you can for booking purposes. You can post a comment here or find me on twitter @monkyliciousemail monky [a.t] bellygood.net
UPDATE: Interview on 4BC Radio – March 22nd 2011 [5MB download]
West End Central was closed for 7 weeks due to flooding. They experienced a lot of issues trying to reopen and felt helpless that they couldn’t get the electricity back on and were unable to provide work or income for their staff. In addition they weren’t able to order from their suppliers since they had no business to run. One shop unable to operate has affected so many, the staff, their suppliers, the people those suppliers employ. When the electricity was finally restored after 6 weeks, a big storm hit Brisbane and there was more flooding in the car park that shorted out their newly repaired switchboard.
The businesses of West End Central are now back and operational. So to show support I am gathering a group of willing eaters to have a progressive dinner at some of the West End Central restaurants.
Where: West End Central – Boundary St, West End
- 1st course – Tapas at Suburban Cafe
- Main – Orexi Greek Cafe
- Dessert – Freestyle Tout
Cost: Everyone pay for their own food & drinks.
RSVP: As soon as you can for booking purposes. You can post a comment here or find me on twitter @monkylicious email monky [a.t] bellygood.net
If you cannot make it, I encourage you to think about dining at these restaurants, or any of the other restaurants that were affected either directly by flooding or by powercuts. Some of them are still not open yet. But will be soon! Jellyfish and Moo Moo dining have been closed for an even longer amount of time. Jelly fish was completely under water!
If you know any other flood affected restaurants please let me know and I will add them to the list.
- Freestyle Tout - West End Central - Corner of Browning, Melbourne and Boundary Street, West End 3255 3288 - http://www.freestyletout.com.au/
- Suburban Cafe - West End Central - Corner of Browning, Melbourne and Boundary Street, West End (07) 3161 0858 - www.suburbanwestend.com.au
- Viet Hoa Cafe Restaurant – West End Central - Corner of Browning, Melbourne and Boundary Street
- Jellyfish Restaurant – Reopens March 22nd - Boardwalk Level, Riverside Centre, 123 Eagle St, Brisbane Queensland - PH: (07) 3220 2202 – http://www.jellyfishrestaurant.com.au/ Also check out these photos of flood damage and rebuild: http://www.jellyfishrestaurant.com.au/pg11/flood-update.html
- Moo Moo Wine Bar & Grill - Port Office Building, Stamford Plaza, Brisbane City. 3236 4500 - http://www.moomoorestaurant.com
- The Groove Train - Riverside – Reopens March 25th - Boardwalk Level, Riverside Centre, 123 Eagle St, Brisbane Queensland – 1300 GROOVE - http://www.groovetrain.com.au/
- Rosalie restaurants - The Fishery, Rosa Mexicano, Salt, Fish Lovers, Flute, Blu Grotto
- Cafe San Marco – South Bank
- Wang Dynasty – South Bank
- QPAC cafes/restaurants – South Brisbane
- The Fox Hotel - South Brisbane
- Alchemy - http://www.alchemyrestaurant.com.au/
- Tognini’s Milton - http://www.togninis.com/bistrocafedeli.html
- Red & White Cafe - Shop 2, 165 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane - (07) 3255 3441 http://www.redandwhite-restaurant.com.au/
While I am not known to go out drinking a lot I do love a good cocktail. So I’ll admit to you that when Eliza (Gastronomy Gal) tweeted last year that she was going out to sample some of the entries in the World Class Australia cocktail competition I closed my eyes and wished really, really hard that I was going with her. It didn’t work. BUT because she’s gorgeous and loves me I was given the chance to go along with her recently to try out the creations from QLD’s round two winners.
Round two – QLD’s Best Seasonal Cocktail. The brief is simple, create a cocktail using fresh seasonal ingredients. Ketel One vodka and Tanqueray No. TEN gin.
I was running late so sadly cannot report back about the 3rd place winner – Marco Nunes from Canvas in Woolloongabba (A beautiful bar by the way – try the cheese and champagne soaked apricots!). But you can head over to Eliza’s blog to see his summer cocktail.
My first stop was Laruche in the Valley to meet the second place winner. We spoke to Tara Steele about her love of jam making, in particular peach jam which is an ingredient in her cocktail the “Devonshire Gin Jam”. It’s served in a jam jar with red and white tartan fabric. You could describe it as an adult’s lemonade, with a couple of spoonfuls of her homemade peach jam, lemon juice and Tanqueray No. TEN. Then a sprig of fresh rosemary which fills your nose as you drink and transports you straight to an afternoon picnic in a garden. This was my favourite cocktail of the night, easily swayed by the beautiful scone (CWA recipe of course), cream and jam that accompanies the Devonshire Gin Jam.
Tara Steele with her Devonshire Gin Jam afternoon tea – I’m sure you can tell which pics I took myself… with my iphone… in the darkness of the bar. 
From Laruche we took a leisurely walk down to Kerbside, tummies filled with baked goods and jam, ready to meet 1st place winner Chris Denman. If you have been to Kerbside you’ll know about the white wooden garden swing. You can sit there gently swaying while your toes brush against the green astro turf that the swing sits above. This is where we were sitting while Chris explained the inspiration for his award winning “Aristocrat’s Punch” was sharing drinks over summer at gatherings with family and friends. Sipping our grapefruit pink cocktails out of dainty tea cups was a lovely way to share the moment and chit chat as the evening came to an end. An icy punch is a perfect drink with friends in the summer heat and I even ordered one for my birthday drinks at Kerbside a couple of weeks later.
Chris Denman with his Aristocrat’s Punch – now on the menu at Kerbside Bar.
I had a great night getting to meet the bartenders and try out their cocktails. Australia’s best cocktail bartender will be sent to to represent our country against the world! To read more about World Class check out http://www.weareworldclass.com/. There are three rounds to determine the state winners and the theme of round three is “The Gentleman’s Cocktail”.
Fresh off the plane with a tummy filled with only a Qantas savoury muffin I was grateful that the car-park gods had granted us a space. While there are lots of sights to take in around The Rocks in Sydney I’d have time for that for later when I knew I would be making my way very slowly back to the car clutching my belly full of deliciousness. Right now we had to move at a brisk pace to get out of the frosty wind and also because I was starving in anticipation of the meal ahead.
Sake is Shaun Presland’s baby. You might remember him as the charming sushi ninja from season 2 of Master Chef Australia. Actually I’m pretty sure you would remember him from that moment you seductively whispered “feed me” to your television. Your partner probably then said “what did you say?” after which you told him to shut up, all the while with your eyes glued to the screen.
Before I start showing you the food we ate, the food which I wouldn’t stop talking about for all through our time in Sydney and for days after we got back, the food that I keep dreaming about, and the food that I plan to eat and make everyone I know eat once they open their Brisbane restaurant in the next month or so (YES! You heard me!)… actually I’ll just show you the food now.
Starters:
Sashimi tacos – Two petite tacos, one tuna and one salmon, topped with a chilled tomato salsa accompanied by two Kozaemon Junmai ‘sake shots’. This was one of the highlights of our meal and I believe I had these when I was at Nobu in Melbourne too (Shaun Presland was previously at Nobu). I had to share this with my husband, but I really wish
I hadn’t.
Seaweed Salad – 5 different kinds of seaweed with bonito infused vinaigrette. I loved the different colours and textures of the seaweed.
Salt & Pepper Tofu – Fried with a crispy coating with some chilli and spring onion, this is one of my favourite ways of eating tofu.
Chicken Wing Gyoza – Chicken wings stuffed with a gyoza filling of garlic chive pork mince, which are then fried and served with a dipping sauce. My two favourite foods, dumplings and chicken wings, combined into one glorious dish.
Wagyu new style – thin slices of wagyu beef lightly seared with hot oil and finished with ginger, chives and yuzu soy. Beautiful flavours and wagyu that melts in your mouth.
Kushi Katsu – wait for it.. fried panko crumbed…. PORK BELLY! I highly recommend that you eat this because it’s the best thing that anyone has ever katsu’d.
Mains:
Popcorn Shrimp – bite sized pieces of prawn cooked in a tempura batter and mixed with a spicy creamy sauce. These were incredibly moorish and even Issy, who has an allergy to prawns, kept eating them.
Miso-cream scallops – pan-seared scallops with baby corn, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms and yuzu miso-cream. I loved the miso-cream sauce and are a perfect match for the beautifully cooked scallops. I was also pleasantly surprised that the baby corn actually tasted like young fresh corn.
Miso-butterfish – grilled with pickled radish. My husband and I have been in love with miso-grilled fish ever since we had the miso black cod at Nobu and Sake certainly does not disappointed with their version. The flesh is tender and the miso marinade just works so well with the fish.
Sushi Maki & Sashimi:
Just to save time and repeating myself, all of the sushi and sashimi we ate were fantastic and I would happily order all of them again.
Kingfish Jalapeno – Thin slices of Hiramasa Kingfish in yuzu soy topped with thin jalapeno slices and coriander. The jalapeno doesn’t really add spice to the dish but gives a contrasting crisp texture to the silky slices of kingfish and cuts through the flavour of the yuzu.
Nixon – grilled eel, cream cheese, cucumber and tempura crunch with avocado slices on top.
S Express – Tempura scallops, spicy mayonnaise, cucumber, seared salmon on top with witlof and sweet sauce. For us the witlof tasted really bitter so we just ate the sushi maki.
Dessert:
Just because I can’t say no to dessert and I love cooked banana we ordered the banana harumaki – banana shiso and caramel spring rolls with raspberry apple dipping sauce. I think in hindsight I should have chosen something else. I liked this dessert but we had just had some beautiful fresh tasting sushi and sashimi and it seemed a shame to end it with something fried. Next time I’ll have the green tea cheese cake with vanilla fruit jelly… Mmm.
Here’s my Bang On! cocktail – Shochu, apple & rhubarb syrup, watermelon & vanilla sugar.
And so that is all the food that I ate with my husband and Issy (yes only three people ate all that food).
I am eagerly awaiting the opening of Sake’s Brisbane restaurant and I have been telling anyone who cares to listen about it. Maybe I will see you there, I’ll be the one not sharing my sashimi tacos.
Lefkas Taverna
Cuisine: Greek
170 Hardgrave Road
West End QLD 4101
(07) 3844 1163
Lefkas Taverna is a lovely little place in West End with simple, delicious Greek food. I’ve known about it for years but sadly don’t get to go there very often. Hubby and I recently took his sisters there for dinner and Claire has now told me she goes there all the time. Part of me is overwhelmed with jealousy while the rest of me is happy that she gets to enjoy their yummy food all the time (I’m possibly also a little bit hungry just thinking about it all).
So back to the food. What seems to be our standard ordering procedure at Lefkas is to start with the bread and dips.
One of the dips MUST ALWAYS be skordalia (a beautiful garlicy potato dip). The other dip in this picture is the egg plant dip.
Next we MUST ALWAYS order grilled Haloumi Cheese.
And you really should make sure you order enough for at least one piece for each person so no one has to share.
Now I’m almost always torn between getting the lamb cutlets or having calamari. So if you find yourself in a similar predicament you should be prepared to use your awesome skills of persuasion to ensure that someone else orders what you want and lets you share. This is is usually the reason why I bring my husband to restaurants with me. I mean, my husband and I love each other so much that when we go out to dinner together this seems to always work out for us.
Here is a picture of the beautiful, lightly floured and fried calamari.
And here is a picture of the Paithakia – Lamb cutlets served with lemon potatoes and Greek salad (As a word of advice, I usually get the lamb and let someone else get the calamari… it’s easier to steal.. I mean… share the Calamari from someone else… hehehe).
And here are some very tasty chicken souvlaki skewers.
Last time I was there you could also buy tubs of the dips to take home. This is very handy when you realise you are sitting at home and start craving some skordalia and bread. Just like right now…
The Buffalo Club
Cuisine: Molecular Gastronomy
Level 1, Cnr Wickham & Brunswick Sts
Fortitude Valley
Ph: 07 3216 1323
I knew it would make our wallets lighter, so while I have been curious about the goings on at the Buffalo Club I have let it lie on my “to eat” list for quite some time, much to the joy of my husband whose happiness is inversely correlated to the amount of money I spend. But as you can tell, since I am writing this and you are reading it, that we have made a visit, handed over our money and feasted. Thanks for this opportunity goes to the Doctor who invited us there to celebrate his birthday (Happy Birthday!).
The dining room sits perched over the centre of the valley with a floor to ceiling window giving you a view of the bottom of the Brunswick Street Mall. Bookings are essential and so is a good 2 to 3 hours spare to enjoy the many courses put before you. The menu changes even day to day and once you are seated you will find it in a crisp envelope before you containing the evening’s menu (for us, a 13 course degustation with a few extras in between).
It made me feel like we were all about to embark on a secret mission and sealed within were our instructions, for our eyes only and maybe they would even self-destruct soon. Maybe I am about to break the first rule of Buffalo Club, but here it is, what we ate.
Appertif – Something to get your taste buds going and your appetite ready and wanting.
Taster – This was made of Manchego cheese but had the texture of a prawn cracker. I could have eaten a whole bowl of these.
Hickory – Wild Rice, Garlic, Tomato, Onion, Shallots, Basil, Pollen
I could smell the pollen as soon as this was put in front of me. I loved the texture of the puffed rice and the thin slices of garlic and onion. The flavours went together so well as we found with pretty much every course.
Smoked Beef Jerky – Lime, Chili, Cilantro, Onion, Peppers, Avocado
Upon pieces of smoky beef jerky was lime, chili, cilantro, onion, peppers and avocado in either gel, paste or powder form. As I took bite after bite I was getting a different flavour each time. Do not underestimate the tiny drop of lime gel which packs a lovely citrusy punch.
Opah – Soy, Honey
Very thinly cut slices of Opah (a kind of fish) are shallow fried and then dotted with dabs of soy gel and honey. The mix of salty and sweet really complement the crispy pieces of fish.
Ocean Trout – Nasturtium, Smoked Roe, Fennel, Kettles, Onion, Yolk
A beautiful piece of fresh ocean trout is surrounded by ingredients in various forms again. I loved the crispy bits of onion and the tiny kettles (little potato chips, yes like kettle chips). I really loved the fish and I know there are 13 or so courses, but I could have eaten more of this.
Evidenced by the end result:
Long before we’d ordered the food or our drinks, the word Iberico on the menu excited more than one person at our table (though there was an obvious Iberico lover in our presence). And while I loved every course and we all knew going in that the food would be of the molecular variety, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for our dear friend when his beloved Iberico came out in dust form. So I guess it was just a lesson in realising that not everything is going to be as expected when experiencing this kind of dining.
Iberico – Olive, Treviso, Walnut, Pawpaw, Endive, Beetroot, Sunchoke, Roquette
As the night progressed I would try to taste each individual component on it’s own first before combining flavours.
Foie – Marshmallow, Cello, Tamari, Almonds
The almonds were coated in tamari and nice and salty.
Calotte – Black Truffle, Gnocchi, Artichoke
A tender cut of beef with the most amazing gnocchi. The gnocchi were the size of a bean and sadly there were only 3 on the plate. This plate was all but licked clean.
Duck – Honeydew, Mandarin, Cashew, Aubergine, Yuzu
Yes, that is a honeydew jelly cube on the left in green.
Rib – Celeriac, Vanilla, Pumpkin, Pinenut, Pea
The meat was very tender and contrasted nicely with the crunch of the pinenuts and peas. The vanilla custard somehow worked with everything. I think we were all very happy that this delicious piece of meat was not made into a dust.
Time to cleanse the palate.
Palate cleanser – Passionfruit foam, papaya sorbet, grape, grapefruit and blood orange frozen in liquid nitrogen
Manchego – Quince, Porchini, Cress, Garlic, Brioche
A cheese course, beneath the crispy piece of Manchego cheese was more cheese.
Goats Curd – Strawberry, Goats Milk, Pistachio, Millet, Olive Oil
Buffalo Yoghurt – Date, Citrus Rind, Apricot, Sour Meyer, Carrot
Coconut – Chocolate, Caramel, Custard
In a heavy glass bowl came one of my favourite dishes and the last of the evening. These things combined, make one great dessert. If I could have, I would have happily licked this one clean.
This was not just chefs freezing and liquifying different ingredients because they can and throwing it on a plate with a $145 price tag. Each dish had flavours that were matched and complementing sometimes even combining to create a different taste sensation all together on your palate. The ingredients on paper seem so simple but on your tongue it’s another story.
This is not just a meal, it is an experience. You may or may not visit more than once. I would go back if there was an occassion for it and a bit of money to spare. I will always remember this meal and the adventure of textures and flavours that it was. Bring good company with you, eat everything and savour every mouthful.
And just to finish the night off, some chocolate stamped with the Buffalo Club logo and edible sachets of Campari sherbert.
My new hubby and I were wandering the streets of Byron Bay on our honeymoon looking for a good coffee and yummy breakfast to start the day. Not being very familiar with the area I picked a nice little cafe that looked busy and popular, hoping that was a sign of good things to come. This has been in my book for a while as a good way to pick a place to eat. If there is a busy restaurant and a deserted one, pick the busy one. It sits next to the rule that if there are two Chinese restaurants and one is filled with Chinese diners and in the other there isn’t one in sight, pick the one the Chinese are eating at. Following my own advice turned out to be a great decision.
The tables outside sit on a little raised deck. We found a cosy table in the corner, with the warm winter sun smiling upon our backs. We were presented with Mohka’s “Egg Book” listing all our choices for breakfast. I was happy to find at the bottom of one of the pages, the perfect breakfast for me. The ‘Breakfast Tapas’ with a little bit of everything I like.
The Breakfast Tapas
Free range poached egg, grilled haloumi, spinach, avocado, springs smoked salmon and organic sour dough toast.
Plus, I couldn’t resist adding a side of fried potatoes to my meal, and yes it is even more delicious than it looks.
This was my favourite breakfast during our week at Byron. I wish I had made time to go back again. The potatoes had lovely crispy bits, a nice naughty treat with my breakfast (I was on holidays after all, and no more having to make sure I can fit into the wedding dress). The sour dough was nicely toasted and a good thickness. As I sat there making different combinations of food for each mouthful I enjoyed telling myself that the avocado and spinach was balancing out the fact that I was eating haloumi for breakfast. Such a happy start to the morning.
My newly wedded husband chose a Spanish omelette for his breakfast. There were lots of delicious bits of chorizo, potato and onion and topped with more of that tasty sour dough bread and a bit of tomato relish. Even after eating my own breakfast I still couldn’t resist stealing some of his.
It was a lovely little place to have breakfast and breakfast service was at a good pace, though if you are down in Byron hopefully it means you are taking a nice laid back break and are enjoying a relaxing pace. The beach is only a few minutes walk away too, very convenient for taking a lovely stroll to walk off breakfast. I can’t wait to go back.
Jellyfish Restaurant
Cuisine: Seafood
Boardwalk Level, Riverside Centre
123 Eagle St, Brisbane Queensland
Ph: (07) 3220 2202
www.jellyfishrestaurant.com.au
Standing along the Brisbane river on a brisk night I drank in the sight of the Story Bridge lit up on my left and the Kangaroo Point cliffs reflecting off the water to my right. But the Jellyfish Restaurant sat behind me and like a siren drew me closer, convincing me it was going to be much nicer waiting for my guests inside and to order a sweet cocktail and start poring over the menu.
We started with some cocktails.
Deciding on entrees was difficult because I wanted to try all of them. In the end we managed to pick just three.
Flash fried squid, spiced watermelon salad, curry leaf, lime $24 – Tender pieces of calamari fried with a spicy curry coating. This was a hit with 2 out of 4 of us, but hubby and I didn’t fancy the curry flavour. The watermelon salad really cuts through the spice and evens it out.
Seared scallops, Jamon Serrano, truffled cauliflower purée, chicken jus $24 – Fresh scallops, though only three and we had to do some creative splitting to share it evenly.
Softshell crab $25 – This was a special entree of the day and my favourite of the three. Full of flavour and I’d probably have a whole one to myself next time.
We had such a lovely dining experience right from the start. The staff were all very friendly and we soon discovered that they really do know their fish. Jellyfish boasts that their aim is to source and serve a school of 8 fish daily and have an understanding of each fish and be able to recommend to diners the best way to cook the fish and a sauce to complement it. You can either choose one 200gm fillet ($28) or choose two (400gm) for $38. There are also some whole fish ($36).
Amongst us we decided to get 2 of the 400gm fish plates, plus another fish and a lamb main. WhiWe most certainly ordered a little too much food but I made sure I left room for dessert.
For one of the two fish plates hubby chose the Goldband Snapper cooked tempura style with a Vietnamese sauce and the second fillet was the Mahi Mahi grilled with a Nori buerre blanc.
For the second, Froggy chose the Barramundi oven baked with a lemon and shallot sauce. She then asked the waiter to suggest a good fish to accompany the barramundi. You can immediately tell that the staff know the fish well. He asked whether she preferred stronger fish flavours and from her answer was able to suggest that a good complementary fish is the Goldband snapper.
I chose the whole Suzuki Mulloway, crispy fried with a Japanese soy and spring onion sauce.
All the fish were excellent and the sauces really did accompany them well. The whole Suzuki Mulloway was lovely and probably a bit too much for me to eat on my own after entrees and sides. I think it would have been good if there were more crispy bits all over the skin instead of just at the bottom. The sauce was lovely and it was like eating a nice Japanese grilled Unagi.
Jellyfish also has a range of mains which include other seafood and meats for those guests who don’t necessarily want fish.
Froggy’s Mr. Fireworks ordered the Cressi grain fed lamb rack, ratatouille, pumpkin purée, curry spiced jus. Tender lamb on a lovely ratatouille base that was perfect comfort food for the cold weather. The sauce was quite strong on its own but when eaten with the lamb and pumpkin it was a good combination.
There are also some salads and sides and I particularly love the 5 types of potato sides ($6). We made Froggy display some restraint and limited her to two types of potato only. The creamy baked potato and shoe string fries were the potato of choice. The baked potato was very soft and creamy but we would have preferred if it had more saltiness or just something else to liven up the creamy flavour.
After all that I did say that I had room for dessert and we ordered two, even though it was obvious the boys hadn’t planned this far ahead in the meal. Froggy and I ate most of the dessert and I’m glad we did.
The Orange crème brûlée, minted orange salad, black pepper biscotti, vanilla ice-cream comes out flaming and had the perfect amount of orange flavour, not too overpouring as some citrus desserts can be.
I ordered the Cashew nut semifreddo, fresh raspberry, Persian fairy floss which was really beautiful. The cashew nuts gave the dessert a good texture and the persian fairy floss had a nice soft nutty flavour and melted in my mouth.
We really enjoyed the food and the whole evening the staff were very friendly and attentive. We will definitely visit again. Jellyfish is also in the latest Entertainment Book (2009/2010).
The Crosstown Eating House
Cuisine: Sharing plates, Australian
23 Logan Road
Woolloongabba, Brisbane
Ph: (07) 3162 3839
The Crosstown Eating House opened up less than a month ago on a little stretch of Logan Road in Woolloongabba I am now considering calling the greatest place on earth. Well maybe if Chouquette and Salon move there too.
One one side of the dusty, roadworks laden street is Pearl with the great cakes and breakfast and directly opposite is the Crosstown.
Several weeks ago staff at Pearl told some my friends that a friend of theirs was setting up shop across the road. This sort of thing excites me and fuels my curiosity. Hubby, my sister and I were early and were still waiting for four more of our party. We went in to wait and were led to the courtyard. A cosy little “outside” area turned into an inside space. You’re on the verandah and through the window is the bar where a friendly face is offering you drinks and nibblies. I immediately fell in love with Crosstown. It feels like your neighbour or a good friend has invited you over for a drink and a nice meal and now you want to move in with them.
They don’t take bookings, but invite you to just rock up. It’s that whole friendly neighbour thing again really. And bring friends of course, that’s highly recommended.
After we were all seated our table were made ourselves busy trying to decide what to eat. After trying to stop ourselves from ordering one of everything per person, it was explained to us that the idea behind the menu was to share. I noticed that they had to explain this to other diners as well after they experienced similar dilemas to us. It might save them some hassle in the future if they print the explanation of sharing plates on the menu or tell guests when they are seated. After all that though I think we did almost order everything on the menu. Only a few of us wanted lamb cutlets or oysters but everything else we shared in our feast. We had managed to order just the right amount of food with room for dessert.
Before I show you all the food, just to save me some typing, EVERYTHING was good.
Meat Balls and Sauce ($14) – I suggest you order some bread to dip in the sauce left over at the end.
Prawns and white anchovy mayonnaise ($15) – the prawns had a sweet flesh and the mayonnaise was a great complement with a light anchovy flavour.
Steak and horseradish ($15) – tender steak in a lovely horseradish sauce, another one to save for dipping bread into.
Lamb Cutlets ($4 each) with a lovely tomato relish. There is enough to load heaps of relish onto your cutlet.
House shucked oyster ($3 each), very fresh oysters, why did I only have one?
Lamb Shoulder and Pasta ($25), was what I am certain was handmade pasta as it was so soft and the sauce with tender pieces of lamb shoulder was delicious. This was one of my favourite dishes and one of the more substantial sharing plates.
Spatchcock and outside stuffing ($28), was again one of the more substantial sharing dishes and also one of my favourites. The meat was moist and full of flavour. The “outside stuffing” was pieces of bread with herbs and not all soggy as “inside stuffings” can be sometimes.
Whiting fillets and tomato ($16) nice pieces of seasoned whiting.
Mushrooms and toast ($12), an absolutely wonderful mushroom dish. A nice mix of mushroom types in herbs, garlic and olive oil with crusty slices of toasted bread. Another favourite.. how many can I have?
And then we had room for dessert. My sister and I were a little overzealous when it came to dessert and ordered 3 of the 4 available, but it was totally worth it.
Mini Ice-cream Cones ($8), 3 mini waffle cones with vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice-cream sitting in a pot of granola for dipping. This has to be one of the cutest desserts ever. You would think that because there are three that you should share, but you really don’t have to and you probably won’t.
Jam drop and chocolate chip walnut cookies ($4), 2 very big cookies, perfect for your coffee.
Chocolate Pear Pot ($9) a little chocolate pudding/souffle with pear down the bottom and a side of pouring cream or custard. Very rich and good for chocoholics.
Favourite dessert time and the winner is the Strawberry Sanga (sandwich) ($9). Two slices of sponge cake for bread, with marscapone cream and strawberries, cut and arranged club sandwich style drizzled with strawberry sauce. How can you say no? Don’t say no.
I think I have worked out what I would order if I ate there on my own but I know it’s probably food for two. I had a really wonderful meal here and of course it had a lot to do with the company too. I will definitely be going back to my new home away from home. Maybe I’ll see you there some time.
Posted in Brisbane, Dessert, Italian, Modern Australian, Sharing Plates | 
Tags: Brisbane, Dessert, Modern Australian, Sharing Plates | 
3 Comments »
Desi Dragon
Cuisine: Indian Chinese
1/60 MacGregor Terrace
Bardon, Brisbane
Ph: 3369 9558
I enjoy trying new things when it comes to food and I have never had Indian influenced Chinese food before. I took a look at the menu in advance and was intrigued by the notion of Szechuan potato fries and salt and pepper paneer. I had been working up quite an appetite before dinner and the first entree was the Szechuan potato fries ($7). I don’t know why I’ve never heard of potato fries with a szechuan sauce before but they were very tasty. Not very spicy at all though. I wondered if I was enjoying them so much because I was really hungry but everyone else confirmed that they were indeed good for eating.
Next up was the Chicken Saiwoo ($10), buffalo wings tossed in a sweet chilli and shallot sauce. The sauce was sweet but again not spicy. Regardless I was a little disappointed that I had to share the four pieces of chicken.
Our dinner guests had ordered the Happy Dragon Platter for 2 ($19), an entree platter with two buffalo wings, a bowl of Szechuan fries and also paneer and pea wontons and lamboo tikki (some lamb and bamboo rissoles, get it?).
The salt and pepper paneer ($9) was really strange as it was neither salty nor peppery. I was expecting something similar to a nice piece of deep fried camembert but the paneer did not have much flavour and the batter did not add anything to the dish.
When we ordered our mains we asked for them to be served with medium hotness but I’m not sure if the waiter misheard us or underestimated our ability to consume chilli. If only he knew that I have always suspected that one of us sleeps with a bottle of mega death chilli under his pillow (ahemyangcough). The only dish that was a bit spicy was the Chicken Manchurian ($25), chicken dumplings tossed in a soya garlic shallot sauce.
The goat shank Szechuan style ($28) was my favourite dish. The meat was so tender and went beautifully with the herb sauce.
The chilli chicken ($25) was good, though again not spicy. There were dried whole chillies in the dish but I avoided biting into those. I also realised after a few bites that there were whole peanuts in the dish and somehow I survived without my allergies affecting me.
For a fourth main we had a designer main, where you match a meat (or paneer, tofu or vegetables) with one of their sauces. There is a choice of six sauces, Szechuan, chilli garlic, hunan black bean sauce, satay sauce, sweet and sour or ginger and lemongrass. Hubby likes to bring balance to the world by eating the foods I can’t, so he ordered chicken with the satay sauce ($21). He finished most of it off so it appears to have met his love of all peanut foods.
To accompany our mains we had some plain egg fried rice with chicken ($14). I really liked their fried rice, it wasn’t too greasy. One bowl was just right for the four of us after entrees and four mains.
We were much too full to try any dessert but I was very curious about the crisp honey sesame noodles with ice-cream ($7). Our dinner was finished off with the presentation of a small wooden chest which contained a bounty of fortune cookies and of course our bill.
It was a little pricey and I’m not used to paying a lot for Chinese food having been brought up in a family where no one likes to spend a lot of money on food mum and dad tell you they can make at home. But I don’t think mum has ever told me she can make Szechuan style goat shank and it was an adventure trying something new. An exciting night out for a foodie.
