- The Laneway
- Public
- The Euro
- Glamorous Wok
- Popolo
- The Survey Co
Saturday, June 30, 2012
024. Birthday Celebrations
About a month ago, I celebrated my birthday by gathering smaller groups of friends together to try out a number of places that had either recently opened up in Brisbane or places I was yet to trial. Below is the list of places that I went to and will be subsequently reviewing.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
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 :)
***
[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.
***
[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/
Friday, May 4, 2012
I don't even know what number post this is but i just had to blog: the best sausage I've ever had in my life so far: The Snag Stand
Okay, so I'm in Sydney for the weekend and I've just stopped my shopping for a bite to eat. Usually when I come to Sydney, I make myself try new places to eat because that's what you do right, when you're away from home. So, I walk into the Westfield Pitt St food court and am completely overwhelmed by the choices. I've been here a few times but never end up having anything because I usually have reservations elsewhere. First of all, this "food court" is pimp. I put food court in inverted commas because this is like the Kings food hall or something. It's quite fancy. I have a hard time deciding on what tl eat because when I'm hungry, I want to eat everything. In situations like this, I opt for classics. In this case, a hot dog place called The Snag Stand catches my eye. A sign on the wall says "gourmet sausages and haute dogs" aka fancy hot dogs. So I go for it.
The hot dog has come from humble beginnings to become a haute dog. Different variations in flavour, spice levels and even textures take the classic pig-in-a-blanket to a gourmet meal fit for royalty (you totally imagined the Queen downing a hot dog didn't you?).
So I'm now faced with the dilemma of what kind of hot dog to get: the Americano, the Greek, the this, the that. Overwhelmed but also rushed by the people in line behind me, I order a Spicy Chorizo dog (and a side salad of half rocket and balsamic and half potato salad). The hot dog is a Chorizo sausage with sundried tomatoes, rocket, grated goats cheese and an aioli type sauce. It was heaven in a soft brioche bun. I, then and there decided I was moving to Sydney due to being sick of mediocre food. The goats cheese compliments the sauce which affectionately smothers the sausage which is hugged by a soft bun that sandwiches this heaven in a food item together. In one word, amazing. It's a little pricey at $9.50 for a hot dog but the quirky ingredients that go on top of said hot dog are well worth the cash. I think I would be a very wealthy lady if I had enough business sense to take some of these Sydney chains and restaurants up north.
Check out The Snag Stand. Just do it.
The hot dog has come from humble beginnings to become a haute dog. Different variations in flavour, spice levels and even textures take the classic pig-in-a-blanket to a gourmet meal fit for royalty (you totally imagined the Queen downing a hot dog didn't you?).
So I'm now faced with the dilemma of what kind of hot dog to get: the Americano, the Greek, the this, the that. Overwhelmed but also rushed by the people in line behind me, I order a Spicy Chorizo dog (and a side salad of half rocket and balsamic and half potato salad). The hot dog is a Chorizo sausage with sundried tomatoes, rocket, grated goats cheese and an aioli type sauce. It was heaven in a soft brioche bun. I, then and there decided I was moving to Sydney due to being sick of mediocre food. The goats cheese compliments the sauce which affectionately smothers the sausage which is hugged by a soft bun that sandwiches this heaven in a food item together. In one word, amazing. It's a little pricey at $9.50 for a hot dog but the quirky ingredients that go on top of said hot dog are well worth the cash. I think I would be a very wealthy lady if I had enough business sense to take some of these Sydney chains and restaurants up north.
Check out The Snag Stand. Just do it.
Monday, April 9, 2012
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.
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?
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.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
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]
***
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
***
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
Saturday, January 7, 2012
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.
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:
Fish Bowl Punch!
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)