Restaurant reviews

Restaurant reviews blog posts

A weekend in Brisbane

Posted by Gary

Hello Reader,

I hope you are well. If you live in eastern Australia, I expect you’ve been experiencing a wet weekend. The Bureau of Meteorology forecasts this weekend in Southeast Queensland to be the wettest this year. I love La Niña, although I don’t love the destruction and mayhem caused by the floods. The last time it rained like this was about seven years ago. I was there for a special event, and it got washed out.

Smoked salmon on a poppyseed bagel. The final meal before leaving Canberra.

The last time I was in Brisbane was Christmas 2021, which is more than 12 months since the time before that in December 2020.

In 2019, I visited my parents and daughters six times. COVID-19 has made a significant difference. I telephone my parents every few days and Group FaceTime my daughters weekly to compensate.

I love living in the 21st century—better communications tools 😊 not to mention flushing toilets and heating.

When I landed in Brisbane, I went to the car rental place to pick up a car. I had asked for a small compact car and discovered a large Mazda BT-50 4✖️4 in the bay. I was taken with the luxury of wireless Apple CarPlay plus many other features.

Mazda BT-50 4X4. I’ve never driven one of these before.

When I got to my parent’s place on Friday night, I was in time to watch the footy with Dad. It was joyful to watch Brisbane defeat Manly convincingly. I also ate about ten of Mum’s jam drop biscuits.1

Travel Moka pot. ABC of travel. Always. Bring. Coffee.

Saturday breakfast

Café 63 at Westfield Chermside

Rather than buy some spinach leaves to cook a steamed egg and wilted spinach leaves2, I went out by myself and enjoyed breakfast at a local café near my parent’s place.

I had intended to eat some muesli and fruit. I saw liver and bacon and went with a plate of potato rösti, liver, bacon, onion rings, poached eggs, hollandaise sauce, and barbecue sauce.

It was pretty filling. The liver would be gout inducing if I went overboard and ate a lot.

Café 63 Liver, bacon, potato rosti, onion rings, poached eggs, hollandaise sauce, and barbecue sauce
Café 63 Liver, bacon, potato rosti, onion rings, poached eggs, hollandaise sauce, and barbecue sauce

Saturday lunch

Aspley Oriental yum cha

We had planned to go to Sandgate for fish and chips. The driving rain, the need to bring Dad’s walking frame, and the general frailty of my parents meant it was easier to drive to the Aspley hypermarket. I could stop the car, engage the hazard lights, help my parents alight from the BT-50 with Dad’s walking frame and then find a car park.

It also meant Mum could indulge her passion for bargain shopping at Aldi. Mum rarely gets to an Aldi, and she prefers the cleaning products from there.

The lunch was okay. As far as yum cha goes, it has almost everything I would need. It had the waitstaff who seemed most interested in getting us in and out quickly, the deep-fried foods, the usual dumplings, and the egg tarts. What we didn’t get were my favourites, i.e., a turnip cake3 and rice flour noodles.

The shopping more than made up for the yum cha disappointment. Mum and Dad are hilarious. Dad goes off with his walking frame, confident he won’t fall. Mum likes to look around. Dad will be off in the distance, and Mum is looking at shoes she will never wear. We get into Aldi, and it’s on for young and old. Mum is piling the shopping trolley with cleaning products like no tomorrow. Then she changes her mind and puts things back after having misgivings. It made me laugh out loud.

Aspley Oriental Yum cha with Mum and Dad
Aspley Oriental Yum cha with Mum and Dad

Saturday dinner

Kinn and Derm, Takeaway dinner

Mum thought I might want to cook. I didn’t. After an afternoon of eating jam drop biscuits and drinking coffee and chatting, I didn’t want to cook. I wanted takeaway Thai food.

One of my daughters and a brother came along, and we all enjoyed chilli jam soft-shelled crab, red duck curry, crispy pork belly, chilli jam crispy pork, and crab fried rice. Mum cooked some noodles, and we were content.

After dinner, Mum surprised us with ice cream and jelly. The jelly had been “leftover” from when Mum had her last colonoscopy. She bought red instead of yellow and couldn’t use it, so we enjoyed it Saturday night.

The food from Kinn+Derm is always delicious, albeit expensive. It was worth seeing happy faces as we cleaned up our plates with yummy food.

Kinn+Derm Soft-shelled crab, crab fried rice, crispy pork, crispy pork belly, and red duck curry
Kinn+Derm Soft-shelled crab, crab fried rice, crispy pork, crispy pork belly, and red duck curry
Kinn+Derm Soft-shelled crab, crab fried rice, crispy pork, crispy pork belly, and red duck curry
Kinn+Derm Soft-shelled crab, crab fried rice, crispy pork, crispy pork belly, and red duck curry
Ice cream and jelly

Sunday breakfast

My Mistress café, Clayfield

I caught up with my eldest daughter and partner, plus my youngest daughter.

I am no longer an Açaí bowl virgin, although I’m sure I’ll become an Açaí bowl convert. I’m susceptible to “brain pain” with cold foods. The taste was okay. I’m grateful for the granola I also asked for with the Açaí bowl. The granola added a delightful crunch to the dish.

My Mistress Café Açai bowl with granola

Thoughts

It’s been a wonderful whirlwind weekend with my parents and two of my daughters. It was good to celebrate, to some extent, Mother’s Day and Dad’s birthday.

The weather was soaking wet, which meant warm and moist conditions and anyone who knows me knows how much I love everything warm and moist.

How was your weekend? Tell me what you did.

Footnotes

  1. Not Mum’s recipe.
  2. My usual breakfast.
  3. Usually not made with turnip. My maternal grandmother made the best turnip cake.

Birthday weekend

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

Hi there. How are you? Welcome to another midweek post. I just had a wonderful weekend in Canberra with my girlfriend. It was great to have someone with me to celebrate my birthday.

We spent a lot of time eating. We also spent time walking and enjoying the glorious weather. I recommend it if you’ve never visited the National Arboretum on a fine sunny day.

Two before ten, Aranda 10 Yards (the evening restaurant)

10 Yards

Entrée

Antipasto Plate for 2

This is a share plate of locally sourced cured meats and cheeses, garden salad, Urban Farm lavosh crackers and pickled vegetables. It was more than enough for two people and would probably be enough for the main meal.

Main meals

We shared the mushroom ragu and a special on the menu, viz., confit chicken Maryland.

The ragu included:

  • Aranda grown mushrooms.
  • Roasted tomato and garlic.
  • Garden herbs.
  • Shallots with Urban Farm pappardelle and pecorino cheese.

The confit chicken Maryland included chorizo sausage with cannellini beans. The borborygmi and the aftereffects that evening were delightful!

These dishes were large and probably too much after the antipasto. I’d probably think about sharing a single main course dish for future reference. Both dishes were delicious; however, I liked the ragu more than the chicken.

Dessert

We shared a single serve of bread-and-butter pudding, ice cream, and butterscotch sauce. More than enough, this was a nice, sweet end to a good meal.

Food 4/5

Service 3/5

Stella’s by the lake

One morning we both enjoyed Eggs Benedict with bacon at Stella’s. Stella’s is an excellent go-to local café for coffee and a solid breakfast or brunch, given the proximity to where I live.

Food 4/5

Coffee 4/5

Cheese

Rather than lunch each day, we indulged in cheeses. A blue, a brie, a cheddar, a Pink Lady apple, Bartlett pear, and crackers. We went with Olina’s Bakehouse cranberry and sunflower seeds.

Cheeses, crackers, apple, and Haigh’s freckles with a glass of Blackwell Shiraz

Aubergine

One evening, we dined at Aubergine. It was nice to dress up a little and enjoy the quiet ambience of this well-known Canberra restaurant.

The five-course meal begins with snacks and ends with petit fours. There was seafood in the form of Murray River Cod and yabby. There was poultry in the form of quail and mammal meat in the form of lamb, including excellent lamb shoulder beignet balls.

The food was delicate and artistic in terms of plating and arrangement. Each dish combined flavours so that each could be distinguished along with the textures of each element. Some were surprising, and all were delicious.

The service was outstanding. It was friendly, informative, and attentive.

Food 5/5

Service 5/5

Birrigai café

This café is located within the IRT Kangara Waters Retirement Village. Given my age, it felt comforting to be here enjoying a breakfast of light, fluffy pancakes, a jug of maple syrup, and a ramekin filled with a red berry compote. 🤣

Food 5/5

Turkish Pide House

Rather than go out, we got a takeaway from this long term established purveyor of Turkish delights. The starting combo box had zucchini balls, potato balls, and börek along with garlic yoghurt. The pizza had pumpkin, rosemary, garlic and feta and mozzarella cheese.

The serving size is always huge here, and I had leftover pizza for another night.

Food 5/5

Ricardo’s café and patisserie

Ricardo’s cafe and patisserie is in Jamison Plaza.

We had granola with banana brûlée for breakfast and an excellent coffee one morning.

One evening we bought pastries for the birthday cake. We enjoyed two creative desserts, which were out of this world good.

Food 5/5

Service 4/5

Final thoughts

It has been a fantastic weekend. Again, I took no photographs because I was focused on enjoying the whole experience.

The food and service ratings I’ve given should be considered in terms of:

1/5 Poor

2/5 Not satisfactory

3/5 Satisfactory

4/5 Good

5/5 Outstanding

Eating in Adelaide

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

There wasn’t a post last weekend. I was with my girlfriend in Adelaide. I did a little cooking, but nothing I want to post about. Instead, I’ll share some thoughts on what we ate when we went out.

Adelaide Zoo Pelicans

Adelaide Central Markets

On Saturday, we went looking around the central markets at lunchtime. The Central Markets in Adelaide are a must-see. There is a good diversity of outlets with something to suit everyone, including those who have specific dietary needs.

I suggested laksa, but I should have gone with the suggestion to enjoy an Italian meal. The laksa was okay, but it could have been spicier. Why is it that I seem to be wearing a white shirt when I feel like eating laksa? Yes, I soiled my shirt while slurping noodles from my chopsticks. You can’t take me anywhere! We went for a combination laksa with chicken, pork, beef, seafood surprise, and prawns. We decided to eat our bowls of coconut creamy noodles and meat outside a vegan laksa outlet. It wasn’t until after we sat down that I noticed how wrong my choice of seating was. Sorry vegans 🫤

We both have a fondness for cheese, and the cheese shop in the markets didn’t disappoint when we asked for suggestions for a hard, soft, and blue cheese. The blue was a Roquefort, the hard was a cheddar, and the soft was a creamy brie. We enjoyed eating some cheese late that afternoon with some lavosh bread. We also had some Beerenberg fig and pomegranate, perfect with blue cheese.

Locavore

On Sunday, we enjoyed lunch at Locavore in Stirling in the Adelaide Hills. The restaurant is known for using produce sourced locally.

While the menu online (Summer menu when accessed on Wednesday, 20 April 2022) differs from what we read on Sunday, the online menu is a good reckoning of what we had to choose from. We started with a dozen oysters (natural), which came with a south-east Asian inspired sauce and wedges of lime. The oysters were plump and fresh. It’s been ages since either of us has enjoyed oysters, so this was a treat.

We shared a piece of pork belly with sweet potato mash, bok choi, and a delicious relish for one of the main course dishes. The second main we shared was fresh gnocchi with a lamb ragout. We also enjoyed a side of rocket leaves, blue cheese, pear, and red onion.

We were seated in the middle of the ground floor dining area. The restaurant also has a mezzanine, or maybe it’s better to call it an upper floor. The restrooms are located up there, and when I went to use the toilet, I noticed the upstairs area was quieter and set for slightly larger tables. There are also outdoor tables too if you prefer that.

The service was quick, friendly, and attentive. We didn’t have to wait too long for our meals to arrive. As we scanned around the room, some patrons looked like regular customers. I’m guessing some of them lived in the area. The conversations with the waitstaff were chatty and friendly.

The drive into the Adelaide Hills is delightful, with some nicely curved roads and terrific scenery. I kept my eyes on the trees, looking for koalas.

If you’re going to be in the Adelaide Hills and need a place for lunch, check out Locavore. I don’t think you’d be disappointed.

Bakery on O’Connell

On Monday afternoon, I was treated to a delicious vanilla slice. Regular readers will know my fondness for this classic Australian pastry.

The walk-in traffic of this place is high. This is an excellent sign for high-quality pastries and coffee. I wasn’t disappointed. We also tried a Nutella heart which was good. Next time, I want to try the apple turnover. I have it on good authority; it’s incredible. I’m also keen to try a genuine Adelaide pie floater.

The company, coffee, and cake, aka the 3Cs, were perfect, in my opinion.

This place is open all the time, every day and all day (and night), including public holidays. Suppose I had completed my training and resident years in Adelaide. This would be the perfect hangout for after late shift dinner and breakfast after night shifts. I can also see myself turning up at 6 am for coffee and a cake before a day shift. The only time Bakery on O’Connell is closed: Christmas eve to just after new year’s day. Perhaps this is when it’s best not to be in Adelaide! 😆

Prezzo Italian Ristorante and Wood Fired Pizza

After some sightseeing, including the museum and art gallery, we felt like eating pizza, so we headed to Hutt Street and stopped at Prezzo.

Check out the review I wrote on Google Maps; it describes how we enjoyed a good pizza and hot chips. I’d eat at Prezzo again.

Muratti Cakes and Gateaux

On Tuesday morning, we went to another patisserie for morning tea. Along with a delicious coffee, we enjoyed a subtle tasting pistachio slice (Three layers of flourless almond and chocolate brownie, layers of pistachio mousse and milk chocolate mousse dusted with pistachio) and a delightfully tart, passion framboise tart (passionfruit mousse and raspberry jam in a butter pastry shell garnished with fresh raspberries). The savoury offerings also look good. I want to go back and try these.

Where are the food photos?

No food photos for this post. I didn’t shoot many pictures at all. We went to the Adelaide Zöological Gardens and saw the pandas and many other animals. The two species I did capture were some pelicans and a lovely cassowary. When we saw the feet on the cassowary, we did wonder what they might taste like as a yum cha meal. 😉

Final thoughts

I loved the time I spent in Adelaide. I’ll be back.

Adelaide Zoo Cassowary

Crumbed chicken and coleslaw in triplicate

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

Hello there. I hope you’re well. It’s been a good week for me. 

I enjoyed spending a few hours with a couple of cohorts of scholars completing their Master of Philosophy in Applied Epidemiology.

For the first (senior) cohort, I shared insights on pathologists and medical laboratory scientists’ critical role in applied epidemiology. For the second (junior) cohort, I spent a couple of hours providing practical instruction while doing my honorary visiting medical officer job at Canberra Health Services. It allowed me to share my fondness for microbiology’s history, philosophy, and value to modern medicine. My next session will focus on the policy piece which attracted me to Canberra nearly 15 years ago.

In other news, it’s been disturbing to see the number of people infected with SARS-COV-2 rising worldwide and reading reports of reinfection becoming more common. 

The SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant is extraordinary as an excellent immunological escape agent. It shows little cross-reactivity with the original virus and other variants. So this means if you haven’t been immunised and you’re infected with BA.1, you are unlikely to be protected against infection caused by different variants. 

Suppose you’re not immunised and infected with the SARS-COV-2 Omicron variant. In that case, you may be infected with other variants soon after you recover. It’s not an argument against immunisation; it’s an argument for immunisation. Some people assume there might be some partial immunity, but it appears to be non-existent.

I have no recipes this week. This week’s feature is that I “enjoyed” crumbed chicken and coleslaw thrice.

Chicken parmigiana at Fenway Public House

On Wednesday afternoon, I went out to dinner with some work friends. I had made a deal with one friend that it needed to be a chicken parmigiana the next time we went out for a meal. The last couple of times, she’s eaten a chicken parmigiana and commented on the addition of ham. MG is from Adelaide, and apparently, the addition of ham is not a feature of the dish in the City of Churches. I expressed that I’d never eaten a chicken parmigiana, so we should both have one next time.

The crumbed chicken breast was tender, and while not as moist as I would like, it wasn’t stringy or dry. The crumb was crispy, and the topping, including the thin pieces of ham, were tasty.

The coleslaw was a little bitter for my liking, and the gravy a little thin and tasteless. I think it needed some monosodium glutamate (MSG).

The chips were nothing to write home about.

Fenway Parmigiana with gravy and slaw

What I like about Fenway Public House is that requesting food and drink is completed using a tablet device when seated at a table. The drinks and food come out quickly, and payment at the end is simple, with each diner paying for their own meal. For a group of workmates, it’s perfect.

Crumbed chicken thigh and homemade coleslaw

Okay, a confession, when I posted this photo on Instagram, a friend who follows this blog pointed out that not all crumbed chicken is chicken schnitzel. I accept the error I’ve been making all these years and will refer to what I ate as crumbed chicken.

The coleslaw was made with red cabbage, red onion, red chilli, spring onion, parsley, and carrot bound with wasabi mayonnaise. I also added some green peppercorns to some instant gravy.

Chicken schnitty with green peppercorn gravy and wasabi mayonnaise coleslaw

Crumbed chicken thigh on Turkish bread with store-bought coleslaw

Tonight’s meal comes after a day of feeling not so much out of sorts, but I feel like only 7 cylinders are firing, and the 8th is losing compression. In many ways, it’s been a good day, but there’s something not quite perfect. 

It could be that I splurged on a sausage roll and feta and spinach triangle for lunch!

This dinner sandwich is simple. Everything was store-bought, and my only effort was in frying the crumbed chicken thigh in vegetable oil.

Crumbed chicken thigh and coleslaw on Turkish bread
Crumbed chicken thigh and coleslaw on Turkish bread
Crumbed chicken thigh and coleslaw on Turkish bread

Final thoughts

  1. Do you like crumbed chicken?
  2. What’s your favourite recipe for coleslaw?
  3. Are you up to date with the COVID-19 immunisations?
  4. Do you enjoy dining out with workmates?

Feel free to answer these questions in the comments box.

A few nights working on Norfolk Island

Posted by Gary

A few nights working on Norfolk Island

I’ve just returned from a short trip working on Norfolk Island. I’ve now had three short trips to the island in three years. While I’m not at liberty to share what I was doing, I can share what I ate!

The first trip was in 2019. The second in 2020 before COVID-19 struck. I also shared some thoughts from my first trip here.

COVID-19 has impacted travel to and from the island, with Qantas taking over most flights instead of Air New Zealand.

Norfolk Pines all in a row!

No butter on Norfolk Island

We discovered soon after landing that there was no butter on the island. Because of COVID-19 freight supplies had become unreliable and there had not been a delivery of butter. While the island is replete with cattle, the cattle are for beef and not for dairy products. Prior to the legislative requirements for the pasteurisation of milk, there was an abundance of fresh milk, cream, and butter. Now, most island residents rely on UHT milk.

This meant my usual travel breakfast of Eggs Benedict was not possible without butter for the hollandaise sauce.

Monday dinner

“The Bowlo” The Bowling Club Bistro
Taylors Road, New cascade Road, Burnt Pine

Local Norfolk Island rump steak with prawns and chips. A steak knife would have helped, but the meat was very tasty and tender. I asked for medium rare, however, it was served medium. Not a disaster, because the meat tasted so good. The prawns were a great addition too.

Tuesday breakfast

The Olive Café
Taylors Road off Taylors Road, Burnt Pine

Fried eggs and toast with tomato chutney. Don’t be fooled, the yellow stain on the toast isn’t from butter.

Tuesday lunch

The Olive Café
Taylors Road off Taylors Road, Burnt Pine

A BLT with some of the best hot chips I’ve ever eaten. The chips taste and have a mouthfeel like they’ve been double cooked in beef dripping.

Tuesday dinner

The Garden Restaurant and Bar
70 Queen Elizabeth Avenue, Shortridge

The pork belly and vegetables were superb. However, the crackling was soft and limp. I enjoyed the sneaky Brussels sprout which you can see under the prism of pork.

Wednesday breakfast

Golden Orb Bookshop Café
Taylors Road, Burnt Pine

Bacon and a fried egg. Again, don’t be fooled by the yellow stain on the toast.

Wednesday smoko

Prinke eco store

36F Taylors Road, Burnt Pine

Prinke makes the best coffee on the island.

Photograph of the definition of the Norfolk Islander word Prinke. Gary Lum. Claire Quintal.
prinke

Wednesday lunch

Juddway
36 Taylors Road, Burnt Pine

A magnificent takeaway crab and prawn roll. Six solid inches of goodness. The bread roll was soft and fluffy and the prawns and crabmeat were fresh.

Wednesday dinner

Bounty Bar & Grill
Douglas Drive, Burnt Pine

Surf and turf! Local Norfolk Island scotch fillet cooked medium rare with calamari and deep-fried prawns. I amazed my work colleagues as I cleaned up my plate including the crunchy and delicious prawn heads and tails. I also scored the deckle meat from another work colleague’s scotch fillet. I had an amazing night.

Thursday breakfast

The Olive Café
Taylors Road off Taylors Road, Burnt Pine

Sitting outside and enjoying fried eggs and toast with tomato chutney again. Yep, don’t be fooled by the yellow stain on the toast.

Thursday lunch

This is a fresh kingfish ceviche made by a local St John Ambulance manager who is also a qualified chef. This was a magnificent lunch and a great last meal on the island.
This is a fresh kingfish ceviche made by a local St John Ambulance manager who is also a qualified chef. This was a magnificent lunch and a great last meal on the island.

Bowling Club Bistro

The Olive Cafe

The Garden Restaurant and Bar

Golden Orb Bookshop Café

Juddway

Bounty Bar & Grill

Prinke eco store

The damage

So, I know what you’re thinking, how much weight did Gary put on over the three nights away?

Would you believe I weighed in at roughly the same weight I left?

I know right! Pretty amazing. God is good. I think it comes down to the amount of standing and walking and other activity. At my regular job with all the teleconferences and video teleconferences it’s like I’m growing my COVID-19 arse like some sort of weird science experiment.

Final thoughts on Norfolk Island

  • Have you been to Norfolk Island?
  • What did you think?
  • Would you be able to cope for three days without butter?
  • What’s your favourite travel breakfast?

Acknowledgements

Work travel always requires support from work colleagues and I am always grateful for their help and assistance.