[Brisbane] Mizu. Bellissimo.

Mizu
2 Macquarie Street
Teneriffe BRISBANE
Open 7 days a week lunch and dinner
07 3254 0488

Bellissimo Coffee

30 Wandoo Street, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.
Open 7 days a week from 6.30am to 6pm

When I think of having Japanese food, I always think of Mizu first.


Tonkatsu bento box $24

Deep fried panko crumbed pork fillet with Japanese BBQ sauce, fresh sashimi, crispy tempura of prawn and vegetables and rice in a traditional bento box served with dipping sauce, fresh salad and miso soup.


Special lunch bento box $28

Chef’s selection of two daily special dishes, fresh sashimi, crispy tempura of prawn and vegetables in a traditional bento box. served with dipping sauce, fresh salad, rice and miso soup

Mizu serves up really good value lunch bento boxes. Do drop by when you are in/near the lively Teneriffe area. Especially good is the big prawn tempura with juicy fresh prawn encased in the lightest crunchy batter.

The dressing for the salad is tasty and tangy and they sell it by the bottles at the counter.

You can turn up on the weekends and savour Japanese style brekkie and expect to find grilled fish, cucumber or daikon pickle, miso soup, rice, chunks of tasty fried chicken karaage and some seasonal veg simmered in dashi.

Hearty different breakfast which you will find nowhere else.

After lunch at Mizu, we normally pop over to Chouquette for a bit of Parisien patisseries or over to James St for a caffeine fix. There are lots of choices including Campos, Merlo, Caffeine Espresso and the less than a year old Bellissimo (and my current fav).




Most popular blend is the Emporio. It delivers hint of chocolates with a rich and full body while very smooth on the palate at the same time. Very easy-drinking.

Depending on the mood and time of day, sometimes I prefer the darker Italian roast and enjoy the smoky nutty finish on the back of the palate.

Do give Bellissimo a go next time you are looking for good coffee.

[Brisbane] Bread basket, Banetton Bakery

Got all this for only $19! from http://www.jumponit.com/brisbane.

You get New York Deli rye (sourdough and my personal favourite), multigrain (sourdough), brandied fruit (sourdough), two plain croissants, one chocolate croissant and a bar cake (I chose carrot cake).

Wooh, flour heaven and thigh nightmare.

[risbane] Burger Urge, New Farm

Burger Urge
542 Brunswick Street
New Farm QLD 4005
(07) 3254 1655

I can't believe it's taken me this long to write about Burger Urge, it's like a Brisbane institution. It was there long before Grill'd came along and still happening.


Zorba the Greek lamb burger with sweet potato fries

Ground lamb patty topped with onion jam,haloumi cheese, whole egg mayo and pesto on a bed of cos lettuse and tomato. This is a monstrous thing for me to tackle. You'll need the size of Mt Everest mouth to successfully have a bite of every ingredient. I ate my burger with knife and fork for the first time.

The burger is very good, I especially like the squeakiness of haloumi cheese contrasting against the minced texture of patty and crispiness of salad, very interesting marriage of good flavours.


ABC chicken burge with potato fries

Marinated chicken breast, crispy bacon, avocado top with egg mayo on a bed of cos lettuce and tomato. Chicken breast is well cooked, still tender but I reckon the star of this burger is the crispy and smoky bacon which pull everything together. It's delicious heaven everytime you bite into the burger with a crunch and then the salty, smoky bacon hit the palate. Mmmmm.

Al-fresco seating available out the shop-front, however you'll have to eat and endure every pedestrian's stare...

[Bisbane] La Linea Caffe, Coorparoo

La Linea Caffe
200 Old Cleveland Road
Coorparoo QLD 4151
Tel:(07) 3847 6111


Chocolate and macademia cake

The cake is delicious! All the cakes are freshly made on the premise. None of the stodgy and stale ones you get, well, at least me, at most cafes.

Cake base is soft and fluffy, cream icing smooth and light.

Coffee used is Dibella. Great place for coffee and cakes in somewhat culinary desert Coorparoo Logan Rd main drag. Oh, please don't tell me at least there are Sitar and Tomato Brothers. Please........

[Brisbane] Freestyle Tout, Emporium

Freestyle Tout
Emporium
50/1000 Ann Street
Fortitude Valley, 4006
Tel: [07]3252 0214

After lunch at Guzman, we strolled to Freestyle Tout for our sweet fix.


A Little Bit of Queensland; macadamia white chocolate slice with caramel sauce &
white-chocolate-caramel-macadamia ice cream


Warm Flourless Chocolate Cake; with chocolate sauce, mixed berries, raspberry sorbet & chocolate sail

All desserts at AUD$15.90.

[Brisbane] Guzman Y Gomez

Guzman Y Gomez
Emporium
1000 Ann Street
Fortitude Valley QLD 4006
P: (07) 3188 1701

Website: Guzman Y Gomez



Takeaway joint with al-fresco seating.

Soft tacos, 3 for $10.50

Filling of your choice, black beans and salsa in soft tortilla. My favourite is the spicy chicken guerrero.


Burrito $10.50

Spiced and herbed rice, cheddar cheese, black bean, filling of your choice and salsa rolled in soft tortilla.

Black beans slightly hard, They could do with longer cooking times.


Frozen margarita $8.50

I love the frozen margarita! It doesn't matter if it came from a pre-mixed cocktail, its strong enough for me and crazily sweet which I like.

I still miss El Polo Loco in the US :-(. I just wish at least Taco Bell would come. There is Mochachos which originates from South Africa in Westfield Garden City which I haven't try. I just couldn't go past Hanaichi. Think I'll make an effort next time.

[Brisbane] Soman, not for the faint-hearted

Soman
18 Sunny Ct Shop 22
Sunnybank, 4109


Duck pieces (head to tail -_- ") in spicy sauce


Steamed spare-ribs in gluinous rice

The only three or four items on the menu not spicy. You can probably tell from the picture the glutinous rice was not even cooked.


Pumpkin in salted duck egg yolk sauce


Steamed and deep-fried mantou

The dishes were all pretty average. Spicy was VERY spicy and the dishes were swimming in oil (except the mantou and the steamed spare-ribs of course). I was gagging after 4 bites. Tons of food left and had no intention of doggy-bagging the leftovers.

Having said that, the flavours were not bad, it will be agreeable to those who like spicy and can stomach super oily food.

[Brisbane] Kim Thanh on Hardgrave Rd, Westend

Kim Thanh
Address: 93 Hardgrave Road West End Q 4101
Phone: 07 3844 4954

Opening Days: Monday to Sunday Public Holidays (Fr. R:5:30pm)

Web: http://www.kimthanhrestaurant.com.au/kimthanh/default.htm

I can't believe its taken me this long to write about Kim Thanh.

They have been operating for 20 years, obviously got a winning recipe in hand.

Located at the far end of the complex, it's hard for me to go past Trang's aromatic herbal duck noodle soup.

Been to Quan Thanh probably twice, not really impressed.

We walked up to Kim Thanh eons ago saw the huge dark dining room with little patrons. That really put us off considering we went past very busy Trang and Quan Thanh. We had no clue of Brisbane dining scene then.

Its not until I saw Gastronomy Gal's post on Kim Thanh that made me decided to give it a go.

GG did a fantastic write-up detailing the restaurant's history, personnel and their approach to food. It certainly sparked my interest.

On the day we went, for lunch, there was only one server (probably the owner himself) manning the entire huge dining room. Fortunately, there were only four tables of us. Still, he was running around the place like a headless chicken ALL the time.

Above is grilled pork vermicelli salad. The grilled pork is delicious and nicely marinated but a tad less than lukewarm. I understand restaurant wanting to part cook some food ahead but they just need to make sure they reheat thoroughly. I would have sent this back if the pork was tough.

We ordered grilled pork vermicelli but came grilled beef version. It was sent back and promptly replaced by the pork version. I must say the beef version looked and smell incredible! You can see from the picture the beef was still pink, I bet it was perfectly cooked. But alas, we don't eat beef. Pass.

Duck noodle soup

I half expected the duck noodle soup to look similar to Trang's but instead came a bowl of clear soup with some roast duck pieces drowned in a sea of chives and green onions. I was disappointed, who wants to eat roast duck simmered to death in soup :-(.

I needn't have to worry about putting bland muscle pieces into my mouth. One sip of the soup and I am in duck heaven! The soup was clearly made from lots of duck bones, probably from unsold duck from previous day but boy did it pack a punch. The duck pieces was moist and still flavourful but I hated the chives though. It would have been just fine with some green onion toppings and lettuce leaves.

Salt and pepper calamari

The serving was huge, calamari was tender but batter was a let down, its was soft and soggy.

Springroll was tasty, again not heated through. But its ok as there is no taste of it being previously frozen stuff. If they heat them further, they would have been burnt.

Ecclectic cafe on the Hardgrave stretch.

It would be a toss between Trang and Kim Thanh if we go to Hardgrave Rd from now on, no longer being a no-brainer on Trang.

[Brisbane] Mos Burger arrives in Brisbane!

Mos Burger has finally arrived!

Its found its first Aussie home in Sunnybank Plaza. Next to HSBC by the roundabout.

Oh, it's a Japanese burger chain if you don't know it already.

Opened on 1 April and now having a trial sale, so only six items were on the menu. Of these five were beef burgers done in different ways like, vegetables with thousand island dressing, cheese burger, the classic Mos with meat ragu sauce, I can't remember the other two. And then there is the ever popular chicken teriyaki. My favourite rice burger with seafood patty is on the menu but unavailable at the moment.

Since readers are irritated with pixelated face, I will leave the photos untouched from now on.

So if your face is shown in my photo and you want me to take it down, please drop me a line.



Saturday morning at 1100ish, second day of trial sale, there was a line but its moving fast. Just that there is a wait for the food. We ordered chicken teriyaki set with chips and iced lemon tea and a beef burger with salad. Chips was hopelessly soggy and drink was bland but the burgers were very good. The food came after about 20 minutes wait. Bearable.

The burgers are smaller than Macca's so it might not be enough for the average Aussie. You might need to order two. But with burgers this good (if they keep up the standard), I don't think there will be any complaints.

There is also an outside seating area. I can't wait for the rice burgers to come on! Though I am somewhat disappointed with the very limited menu compared to Mos Burger in other countries.

[Brisbane] Piefection

Piefection
1373 Logan Road,
Mt. Gravatt Central
Qld 4122

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

From the top, chicken and vegetables $4.80, lamb and rosemary $4.95 and JD BBQ pork rib pie $4.95.

The family's favourite has got to be the JD bbq pork rib pie. Punchy sauce and tender meat, it' a winner!

Chicken and vegetable pie did not work for us because bell pepper of any sort is an unwelcome vegetable in this household. But flavour is good and all the pies are chock full of fillings.

But the least favourite has to be the lamb and rosemary pie. We find the meat dry and the sauce tasted a bit bitter and dry (? can I say it this way cos that's how it felt) probably from rapid reduction taken further than ideal.

All in all, we still find the pies are nicer than others we have tried before. The pie crust is nice and light and filling is generous.

You can opt to have mushy peas and mashed potato to go with your pies to make a more filling meal.

[Brisbane] Coorparoo markets

Coorparoo Markets click for details




Everything looks fantastic. I love their mini pudding/cakes, absolutely decadent. Princess gets all excited whenever she sees the stall and refuse to leave empty-handed.

Very well-stocked deli, everything you would expect to see/find in a fine deli and more. A wonderful additon to the market.


Boutique coffee stall.

My absolute favourite at the market. Wide range of Greek sweets and delicacies. Not to be missed if you were in the market.

I am at the market after school drop-off, early-ish and found this stall closed some times. I would get a couple of croissants from them if they are open when I visit.

Level 1, you will find mish-mash stalls, selling everything from handbags to handmade soaps to kitchen stuff to old records and more.

Greek sweets from 'Mad about Greek'.


I especially love the shortbread crescent.


Hazelnut eyes and pistachio nut bread from Mama Marilena. These are great for nibbles, in front of tv, computer or any other time. Princess find them too hard cos she's at the stage with wobbly tooth.

[Brisbane] Cafe Latino

Don Churro/Cafe Latino
Shop 1 / 973 Logan Road
Holland Park

UPDATE 12/3/2011

I went down to Holland Park local shops just now and found Don Churros had been replaced by Greedy Monkey Cafe. They are offering coffee for only $1 a cup.

The signage says Cafe Latino but the website says Don Churro. I don't know which is which. No matter.




Cheese empanada $6

Despite the picture showing a side serve of salsa. I only got a lone empanada. My guess is the salsa is extra $$. Fried to death, so much so that the cheese inside had split and the dough was rock hard. For that kind of price, you expect much much more.

It didn't help I had to wait friggin 25 minutes!! for a deep fried piece of dough with sad split cheese filling. There was only one customer waiting for his coffee and churros before me.

Princess took one look at the inside of this thing and said,'it's ok mommy, I am not hungry, you can have it all.'

Yes, the girl has skill :-(. Grrrrrr.

This patron came in some 10 minutes after me and got his order BEFORE me.

Geram. I had to ask twice about my order. First time one server said, 'oh', walked back to the kitchen and never be seen again. Second time, another server didn't even answer me and walked back into the kitchen. I think my order was forgotten, just like the empanada was left in the fryer too long, forgotten too. Answer girl, I need some answers. Maybe she didn't speak English, only Latino. Heh.

Princess refused to eat the churros and the chocolate sauce. Normally we'd fight for every single bite.

She said,'this is NOT chocolate sauce,' and made a face at me while throwing the hard oil-soaked churro back into the bag. Hey, the kid is happy even with cadbury, she's isn't picky normally.

I tried to eat two sticks of churros with a glum face before finally giving up. It was to be Big King's dessert that night. Hohoho.

I am sure there are fans out there. Just not suiting our palate. We still like the churros at Eumundi market and QVM best.

Hasta la vista. Not.

[Brisbane] Caffe e gelato Milany

Caffe e Gelato Milany
53 Racecourse Road, Hamilton, QLD 4007
p: 3268 2082
website: http://www.gelato-milany.com.au/

Browsing through bargains sites like Jump-on-it, Spreets, Cudo etc has been my daily ritual. You can totally expect massive savings on most deals offered.

As soon as I saw Milany's offer of paying just $9 for $19 worth of spending in store, I can't click to buy quick enough. Only one voucher is allowed per person and I bought another one under husband's name :P.


Decor is a bit ........ What's with the drape across the ceilings? Is it a new trend I don't know about? Well, what do I know, I ain't no interior designer.

Lots of flavours on offer, the most interesting being 'pink bubblegum'. I didn't try it though but I might.

Apart from ice-creams, there are some dessert options in the chiller for non ice-cream eater. Really, they exist?? Get-outtahere. The cakes and pies looked good though. Just, nobody seems to be interested.........

Cute 'Pinocchio' for the kids. Princess ALWAYS want lemon and I chose watermelon cos you're allowed to choose two flavours.

Mini banana split (I chose pistachio and 'Milany' which is butterscotch. YUM)

I hadn't had banana split for, um, too long. Nostalgic much. It was the in thing to order when I was maybe five. Back then I never get to order because I hate bananas (slimy, sticky, ewwww, hated it as a kid) and also ice-cream was considered luxury item in the house let alone paying hiked-up restaurant/ice-cream parlours prices. No chance.

Tacky decor aside, the gelati is great! Princess declared Milany as her favourite gelati shop in town. Nuff said.

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Yesterday, Samantha Perkins said... in my Melbourne post in 2008(!!!)really(?), people still interested???! Seriously, I am honoured :-)))):-

I notice you pixelate people's faces in most/all your street photos.....why?
Umm, lets see, I have not gotten their permission to publish their faces, some specifically requested me to do so and I don't want getting no lawyer's letter saying I have invaded these people's privacy and asked me to compensate them with $2 million or even $200!.

You do realise it's okay to take shots of people in public places?
Yes, its one thing to take photos in public and another to publish it. Really, it's ok to publish without these subjects permission/knowledge?? I don't know.....I am not familiar with privacy law and am not taking any chances.....

Sorry no offense, it's the first time I've seen anyone do it. It makes me think those people are wanted criminals or perverts :P
None taken. I did it when I saw other bloggers do it. And if these people are crim/perv, all the more to show their faces rather than hide it!!!