029. Birthday Celebrations: Popolo Italian Kitchen and Bat

Editor's Note: So I have been particularly tardy in the last few months with blog updates and subsequently may or may not have photos which accompany the next few updates. I sincerely apologise if the lack of photographs that accompany posts tarnish your food-bebe experience. 

South Bank recovered in spectacular style post-flooding by introducing Brisbane to many wonderful new food fares. Popolo Italian Kitchen and Bar is one of my most highly recommended newcomers to the Brisbane scene. It is perched in prime position along the river with cute little lawn chairs out the front for everyone to sit and chill and the place itself is cute, warm and inviting. 

I have been to Popolo several times for lunch and dinner and it has never disappointed. The tapas style of eating has exploded in Brisbane and I LOVE it. It's a smart *cough* cheeky way of trying other peoples' meals without them actually being other peoples' meals. Genius! Popolo offer Italian tapas - the word is used interchangeably between cuisines nowadays. I cannot stress how amazing the Lattonzolo e pesche; Kingaroy suckling pig with spiced peach compote, anchovy sauce is. I have ordered it every time I have dined at Popolo. I was never an anchovy fan until I tasted the sauce with the pork. Two ingredients I never thought possible made oh-so-well. 

If you get the chance, a lunch time sitting is a beautiful casual affair whilst a night time sitting will show you a picture perfect view of Brisbane. 

023. Lyrebirds nest together for a beautiful meal: Uccello

First of all, you may have seen the post below was a little out of the ordinary in terms of formatting and whatnot. That's because I've just downloaded the Blogger app for my phone so I will be posting more via computer and phone. So please, excuse the formatting and lack of numbering :)

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[Editors Note: alas, my blog as been corrupted by Internet gremlins and thus my photos have disappeared :( ]

My visits to Sydney without a doubt, ALWAYS include a new food adventure. I visit Sydney quite often and it is always surprising me with new gems. On my most recent trip a few days ago, I had dinner with a colleague at one of the Ivy's many restaurants, Uccello. 

I love the Ivy. I've only ever been to the main bar a few times but it never fails to impress. It certainly is a place of prestige among the suits of Sydney with their flashy bars and expensive drinks. So I definitely had high expectations for their restaurants, especially as Uccello is a 'hatted' restaurant. Boy did Uccello deliver.

Firstly, I felt sooo bad for being late to the reservation. Our flight had landed a tad late therefore resulting in us being late to check into the hotel and late to arrive at Uccello. But the maitre d was so lovely and ushered us straight to our table without a look of judgement or disgust (as I would expect a classy establishment would). The waiter was exceptional; warm, friendly and catered to our needs very efficiently. 

As we had pretty much just stepped off a plane, we were starving and went straight for the mains. I ordered the Roasted spiced Pyrenees lam rack, Sicilian minted cous cous, almond and currants and my colleague ordered the Pan roasted Kurobuta pork cutlet, brussel sprouts, pancetta, pumpkin puree and sage jus. First of all, both dishes came out so much quicker than expected. The restaurant itself was probably at half capacity, even still I expected a longer wait. Secondly, lovely presentation. The food looked inviting. As I went for my first bite, my colleague was over the moon about her dish. "Best pork ever" she exclaimed and I think she only had one bite so far. It certainly looked and smelt awesome. Although my lamb was superb, I take my hat off to the minted cous cous. It was divine. So many flavours, it complimented the lamb so so well. I just wanted to keep eating the cous cous. Beautifully fluffy with an array of textures from the soft, sweet currants to the crunchy almonds, it was a perfectly balanced meal. 

So by the time we were finished, we were actually quite stuffed (the started bread and a glass of bubbly usually help with that). But there's always room for dessert. Unfortunately, we were way too excited for dessert to take photos but you will just have to try for yourself. I ordered the Rhubarb strawberry tiramisu with almond praline and it was phenomenal. Not your average tiramisu, this was a fountain of flavours. Loved every bite. I think I nearly cried when I physically could not finish it. We were intrigued by the biscuit-y base of my colleagues dessert and the waiter was even kind enough to ask the chef for us. Wonderful service!

Uccello in Italian translates to bird. Lira Uccello is lyrebird. This beautiful little lyrebird of a restaurant can surely take you away to a far away food heaven. 

Website: http://merivale.com.au/uccello/

021. Bye Bye Baia - Baia The Italian

A few weeks ago, some friends and I went to Sydney for a weekend away and to go to the Mardi Gras parade; eating and drinking our way through a super fun weekend. We were due to leave on a Sunday midday flight so had enough time to squeeze in a harbourside breakfast before we were to leave.

So we sauntered down the road down to Cockle Bay and found a sleek looking Italian place called 'Baia The Italian'. The place looked fancy, staff well dressed, and who could resist an Italian accent anyway? The girls agreed (and our one male friend was happy with the location being in front of a bikini photo shoot) and so we walked in. 
Looks aren't always what they seem. The place looks nice, the staff look nice, even the food looked nice. Below is my friend Tash's Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon and Apple Scented Hollandaise sauce. Looks nice right? 

But the place leaves a dry taste in your mouth and this is when looks don't matter. As with any food establishment, drinks are ordered and served first, and that we did. Our drink orders were the usual coffee, tea and juice, which seemed to take a lifetime to arrive. Our food, a further 45 minutes. Bear in mind this is breakfast we're talking about, not a slow cooked lamb ragu or anything. Breakfast aka sausages, toast, grilled tomato etc etc. And the place wasn't even half full! The lengthy wait on breakfast made us on edge; we had a flight to catch very soon. I had asked several times on the status of our food and was rudely assured 'it is on its way'. As if I were not allowed to know when my food would be ready. And when our meals finally arrived, we collectively agreed that the food was definitely not worth the wait.

One of my beliefs is that a meal should not require extra condiments unless they are supposed to have them. A chef has not done his job if what he cooks gets drowned in sauces that are not meant to accompany the meal he makes. I ordered the scrambled eggs with smoked salmon. I'm not sure if it was just me, but it seemed as though they had put maybe one slice of smoked salmon into the eggs. Did they manage to omit the salt and pepper too? It was completely tasteless and so I asked for some hollandaise sauce to try up the flavour. The hollandaise sauce was akin to watery mayonnaise, with less flavour. No 'apple scent' whatsoever. I think Coles branded hollandaise has more flavour.

Our meals were not overly complicated which added to our gripes on how they managed to take so long to deliver. Again, I stress this was BREAKFAST. And to top it off, my friend Khalil found a piece of metal from a metal scourer IN his scrambled eggs; definitely not what he ordered. Tasteless food coupled with bad service really leave a sour taste in your mouth. I'm not a huge breakfast person but I fail to understand how such simple meals can take so long to serve. Completely disappointing end to a wonderful Sydney weekend. 

020. Ooh La La - La Via

[Editors Note: First of all, I sincerely apologise to the 5 or so people who actually read this blog for the lack of posts. Various things in my life have taken my attention away from this blog, but fear not for my love of food is oh so ever strong]
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Recently I took one of my closest friends out for her birthday to a beautiful little Italian place called La Via on Little Stanley Street, South Bank.  We only decided to go there as we wanted to go somewhere in South Bank that neither of us had been before. Turns out La Via was a wonderful choice.

First of all, the staff were amazing. So much so, I actually emailed La Via to commend them on their service. I'm not a huge wine drinker and I don't know too much about how to pair wines with food but the waiter recommended a beautiful one to go with my pizza. 
Secondly, the pizzas. Oh my god. There is a reason they promote themselves as having the 'Best Pizza in Brisbane' and it's not to toot ones proverbial horn, they really were amazing. I had the 'Wagyu bresola, roast garlic, truffle oil and parmesan' pizza. Four key ingredients on a handmade pizza base that tasted like a million dollars in my mouth. It just shows that the combination of simple, fresh ingredients can really create a gourmet meal. Some pizza places try to sell their pizzas as being 'top quality' by over complicating with extra unnecessary toppings but La Via strips it all back down to a simple mix creating an enjoyable pizza. And it's not particularly hard to get pizza wrong, but it seems as though it's hard for places to really get it right.  La Via does just that.

I highly recommended La Via for a delicious, beautifully created pizza. Now I just need to go back and try the rest of the menu. 


Website: http://lavia.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laviasouthbank

017. That's Amore: Alimentari on Adelaide

Alimentari on Adelaide is a cute little deli come cafe on Adelaide Street in the city. What I like about this place is not just the food, but the deli/corner shop within the cafe itself. Selling Italian staples like San Pellegrino and pasta sauces, you can do a quick grocery shop whilst you wait for your meal.

I've been here a few times for a quick casual lunch (sandwiches, salads etc) and it hasn't disappointed. I finally had the time for a bit of a longer lunch and ordered food that wasn't pre-made. 

Prawn salad, steak sandwich, mushroom risotto and potato and sweet potato chips

My companions had positive feedback about their meals. The potato and sweet potato chips were complimented by a creamy garlic aioli. My dish was the mushroom risotto and unfortunately I was less than impressed. This dish lacked the depth of a usual risotto; it did not have the thick consistency of what a risotto should be and was to be quite honest, completely flavourless.

I would still come back to Alimentati, despite the abysmal risotto because their quick lunch options are on par and you can pick up a few deli goods while you're there. Just skip the risotto. 

Website: http://www.alimentarionadelaide.com.au/