019: Oh I love a good buffet: Sofitel Seafood Buffet (Thyme 2)

Thyme2 at the Sofitel Brisbane is home to a very classy and popular seafood buffet. Offering endless prawns, freshest of fresh oysters and quality cooked mussels, it is a seafood lovers dream. The restaurant itself is a delicately embellished, French inspired, stylish venue. The waiters and waitresses speak snippets of French to you as they deliver exceptional service. 

I recently went to Thyme2 for a work Christmas lunch. Being Christmas, the theme was all around. 

 Chocolate fondue fountain

 Macaroon baubles with glass snowflakes 

Moet & Chandon Christmas bauble

Unfortunately, I did not take photos of the food, it was simply too good to stop and take a shot (above photos were taken after lunch, food baby in tow). As with every seafood buffet I go to, first stop is the seafood. I loaded up my plate with a heap of prawns, fresh oysters and some deliciously cooked mussel. The oysters and prawns were seriously fresh. You can really taste the difference when seafood has been out for a while or when its so fresh it tastes like it just came out of the sea; this was the latter. There were mains from Modern Australia, India, China all with enough dishes to satisfy even the pickiest people. There were more than enough desserts on offer; the chocolate fondue fountain with marshmallow sticks and apple jelly cups were popular among my work cohort. This is a wonderful buffet and I would highly recommend going. Visit the adjoining bar for a suite of delectable cocktails and premium high end liquor. 

Website: http://www.sofitelbrisbane.com.au/thyme2/brisbane-restaurant.html

018. Fly into Dragonfly: Dragonfly

Dragonfly is an underground restaurant/bar that opened a few months ago on Edward Street (where Rosie's used to be). There is a distinct lack of quality nice Chinese restaurants in the CBD and it's refreshing to see that I now don't need to go to the Valley or Sunnybank for a good dim sum feed because Dragonfly delivers.  The first time I heard of the place was through a friend who enthusiastically informed me of their (then) up and coming dim sum Wednesdays. All-you-can-eat for $18.95. As a food aficionado, I was keen to try everything because it was a new venue As a person of Asian decent, this appealed to me because of the price (you Asians know it).

On the first week of the promotion, there were no restrictions on the type of dim sum you could order and quantities and so my friends and I took it as an opportunity to sample every dish on the menu. The food was fantastic, authentic and fresh. BBQ pork buns were a hit as well as the Japanese Gyoza. Unfortunately, since the launch of dim sum Wednesdays, restrictions have come into place as well as a restricted menu (for obvious reasons aka people like me and my friends taking all you can eat literally!)
The following photos are not from all you can eat Wednesdays but from a lunch time dining date and an after work special:

 Calamari salad, Japanese Gyoza, Pork Dumplings, Pork Spring Rolls

Fish Bowl Punch!

I highly rate the dim sum. The fishbowl punch is a definite winner at $30 for a bajillion drinks! The only downfall is that being in the city, I found that the prices were suited to the city-folk, however, the decor and cocktails do make up for it.

Website: http://dragon-fly.com.au/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dragonflybris