Gold Coast Fling 4 - Dinner at Goha

Goha Korean Restaurant
160 Nerang Street, Southport

Anyone who's followed this blog at all this year would know that whilst the main cuisine of Brisbane 2014 is Southern American, the main food of Cora 2014 is most definitely Korean. My interest in Korean cuisine has exploded this year and I will never say no to the offer of a Korean meal. While we were staying at the Gold Coast recently, we met up with Blossom and a couple of her friends. She is Korean and knew just the place to take me for Korean BBQ. Best of all, it was all-you-can-eat at a very reasonable price.

After some thinking, I realised that this premise sounded very familiar. It turns out that my highschool friend Bee mentioned her parents owned an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ at the coast and when I inquired, it turned out to be the same place.

Oshin Japanese Restaurant for AYCE Sukiyaki

Oshin Japanese Restaurant
http://www.oshincity.com.au/

One of the things Marc and I missed the most about travelling through Europe was Asian food, or more specifically, Japanese food. Sushi shops were seen around the place but generally overpriced and crap quality. There are pleasures in life that I wouldn't have trouble giving up but sushi and sashimi is not one of them.

Upon coming home, it should be no surprise then that Japanese restaurants featured heavily on my must-visits. I was in town for one reason or another a couple of weeks back and stayed to have dinner with Marc. Because I was being such a cheapskate after Europe (holiday sent me broke), he suggested some kind of fast food, but I had just got a job offer and felt like a reward. It's very typical of me to want to spend money before I even officially earnt any. In any case, I suggested Oshin.

Top Hot Pot

Top Hot Pot
Shop 43, Sunnypark Shopping Centre, Sunnybank

As the weather gets progressively colder, I'm finding it more and more difficult to function. Even getting out of bed seems inconceivable at times and doing chores and other necessities is practically out of the question. To boost motivation to drive myself home to Toowoomba late Friday night, I talked Marc into having hot pot for dinner.

Hot pot is a bit like fro-yo for me. I could have both all throughout the year but the cravings are definitely season dependant. When the weather is hot and sticky, I could live off frozen yoghurt. When the reverse is true, there's nothing more suitable for dinner than a steamy, bubbling hot pot.

Sushi and Skewer Buffet at 2012 Cyber City

2012 Cyber City
245 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley

Byron recommended this place to me in passing, a couple of weeks ago. He was a regular at 2002 Cyber City and was mighty excited to discover that the owner had opened up another restaurant behind it. It took me a while to figure out exactly what he meant... whether 2012 had replaced 2002, whether it was another of the same restaurant in a different location etc.

It turns out that 2012 Cyber City is right near 2002, only you enter from Brunswick instead of Wickham. The style of restaurant and cuisine offered is totally different. Whilst 2002 is very casual and has Chinese cheap eats, 2012 looks flasher and offers Korean BBQ and sushi. There's also a swanky-looking bar near the entrance that made Marc stop and think "are we underdressed?" before he spotted a guy inside wearing a singlet and realizing they had no dress code.

All you can eat Hotpot and BBQ at Little Lamb

Little Lamb
Shop 22/23 Runcorn Plaza, 254 Warrigal Rd, Runcorn

Mention 'hotpot', 'charcoal barbeque' and 'all-you-can-eat' in one sentence and you're bound to spark my interest. Even though I'm an advocate for clean eating and trying to stay healthy rarara, there is an undeniable appeal to being able to pile your plate with food from a vast selection, gob it down and then, get up and do it all again.

As soon as I heard about Little Lamb, I started baiting friends to go. Unfortunately, my immediate clique is unenthusiastic about travelling beyond the Brisbane CBD and Zone 1 suburbs and the thought of anything Sunnybank and beyond seems almost other-worldly. The circumstances under which I went to Little Lamb would sound strange to anyone who isn't aware of just how crazy I am about food/restauranting. Last night, Byron and I decided to catch up over dinner and we ended up driving down to Brisbane and back over the span of 5 hours (with a 1:4 ratio of eating to travelling time).

Cairns Day 2 - Seafood Buffet at Coco's Restaurant

Coco's Restaurant at The Sebel, Cairns
http://www.sebelcairns.com.au/dining/cocos-restaurant/

Day 2 in Cairns should be nicknamed as The Day of Over-eating. We had a sizable meal at Ganbaranba and more food/drinks at Lure. By the time we arrived back in Cairns from Port Douglas, we were getting ready to head out for more food; this time, a buffet dinner.

There's something about travelling that makes my metabolism speed up because despite the prior ingestive efforts, I was starving when we got to the restaurant. It was a unanimous group decision to mark our last dinner in Cairns with a big celebratory feast. I hadn't been to a buffet restaurant in so long that the novelty of self-serve and all-you-can-eat flooded back. I was child-like in my excitement!

Thailand 6 - Eve Restaurant for Buffet Breakfast

Eve Restaurant
http://www.hansarbangkok.com/eve

Hotel breakfast buffets are one of the greatest perks to staying at a nice hotel. Our first morning at Hansar was limited because we had to leave for a day tour to the Tiger Temple. What was impressive was that Eve (the restaurant where buffet breakfast was served) didn't open until after we had to leave for the tour. I was starving and offered to pay for breakfast from Cafe Boca but the lady at the counter announced "no! I can't let you pay" and made a quick phonecall before inviting us into Eve. They opened early just for us!

We had a rushed breakfast that morning where I scoffed my face and absorbed in the luscious array of food around me. I started queueing up items in a "must try tomorrow" list.

The next morning, we had the luxury of a slow, relaxed breakfast. Much better! I stuffed myself silling trying a bit of everything. Below is a combination of food I had over the 2 days.

Eve had a few islands of food. What drew my eye first were the cakes and danishes. Adjacent to that was the selection of breads (with obligatory conveyor belt toaster), a cereal bar and fresh juice.

The island in the centre of the restaurant housed fresh fruit, cold cuts and cheese, hot Asian-style dishes (many of which seemed suitable for lunch/dinner) and a customized porridge section.

A couple of popular breakfast items were curiously absent: bacon, sausages and eggs. What Eve offered instead was to cook these fresh to order.

Ham and cheese omelet

On the first morning, I ordered a ham and cheese omelet. It came with a couple of potato nuggets and some ketchup (I added the hash brown myself). Despite the perfect cooked-from-a-machine appearance, it didn't taste half bad. The next morning, I went with the eggs benedict. That was pretty good too.

Watermelon, pineapple and papaya

The fruit was top notch, but I could say that for almost any food establishment in Thailand. I guess it's just a country that is blessed with great fruit!

Dahl and roti, pandan chicken, stir-fried mushrooms and rice noodles

I dabbled in the Asian hot food section just to try the different things. The dahl and roti were quite nice; overall, the dishes were tasty but much too heavy for me to have at breakfast.

Walnut bread, mini choc croissant and waffle with maple syrup

My favorite offerings at Eve by far were the bakery items. The banana bread was superb. I think I'm something of a banana bread coinnoseur and this was amongst the best I ever had. I think I had 2 mini slabs each morning I was there.

 Banana bread, mini choc croissand and custard danish

The mini chocolaite croissants were also divine. In fact, I believe it features on 2 of my photos. I discovered these on my second morning and regretted missing out on them the first morning. My favorite bread was the walnut rye.

Eve Restaurant had a solid selection of breakfast items. It isn't the biggest hotel breakfast buffet that I've experienced, nor the most exuberant. The standard of food was above average and in my opinion, the bakery items were a standout.

Weis Restaurant for Seafood Buffet

Weis Restaurant
http://www.weis-restaurant.com/



When I mention I have a food blog and that I live in Toowoomba, the first question on most people's lips is 'have you been to Weis Restaurant?' I suppose it's the only restaurant of any fame in Toowoomba... but up until last week, my answer was sadly 'no'.



Amusingly, I was going to go to Weis on my birthday back in March this year but decided it was too dear. How I ended up going last Friday was: we tried to go to Sizzlers (yes, I do want to go to Sizzlers at times, don't flame me please) but the queue was too long so we went to Weis instead. Basically a similar fling but more upmarket.

NZ Trip - Skyline Restaurant

Skyline Gondola Restaurant and Luge
Brecon St, Queenstown



Queenstown was the last major city that we stopped at during my recent trip to New Zealand. My mum organized a ride up the gondola to the Skyline restaurant for a buffet dinner.



I'll start by mentioning that the view was spectacular. We hung out on the top floor and snapped many photos. After working up an appetite, we headed to the restaurant.

Qi' Lin Oriental Cuisine in Toowoomba

Qi' Lin Oriental Cuisine
http://qilin.com.au/restaurant/home



Okay... I'm officially embarrassed by the frequency of buffet outtings described in my blog posts. Am I a pig? A hobo? Just plain incapable of enjoying refined food in small quantities?

Whatever the case may be, when asked 'buffet or ala carte?' at Qi' Lin last weekend, Byron and I didn't even hesitate: Buffet.


We justified it financially... because, well, buffet means greater variety and we figured that for any variety at all with 2 people, plus rice and drinks, it'd end up close to buffet cost anyway. The inner truth is that my inner child just loves the idea of helping myself to potentially endless plates of food. It's not exactly cooking for myself but there is a certain interactive element.

Thyme2 Restaurant for Breakfast Buffet

Thyme2 Restaurant
249 Turbot St, Brisbane CBD



I'm getting to be somewhat of a regular with hotel buffet breakfasts. On this occasion, we were staying at the Sofitel where Thyme2 Restaurant is located. The prospect of a nice, all-you-can-eat breakfast on Sunday nicely counter-balances with the dread of having to wake up and check out.



We were seated without hassle and didn't even bother getting comfortable at our table before making a bee-line for the food islands.

Fables Restaurant at the Gold Coast for Buffet Breakfast

Fables Restaurant
Cnr Gold Coast Highway and Laycock Street, Mantra Legends Hotel, Surfer's Paradise



Sunday morning buffet breakfast... 4 words that make perfect sense to me.
Mum and dad got up early, went for a stroll and were ready for breakfast.
I got up much later, didn't do anything, and was ready for breakfast.



We were staying at the Mantra Legends so it was easy enough to head downstairs. What we didn't take into account was the huge queue of hungry coast-goers waiting to get a table.

Shinara Grill and Lounge in Sydney

Shinara Grill and Lounge
Shop 1, 338 Pitt Street, Sydney City



You know you're in trouble when you attempt 2 or more buffet meals in one day. We had a (wonderful) buffet breakfast at The Corn Exchange and were yet again tempted by the all you can eat buffet lunch when we walked past Shinara.



I have a few feeble points of defense. I should remind you that we were trying to kill time at this point and I thought a buffet would be a good means of achieving that. Secondly, the lunch time buffet price, per head, was less that what we would have expected pay ala carte at another establishment. Finally, I liked the decor. I thought it was cute.

Buffet Breakfast @ The Corn Exchange Restaurant in Sydney

The Corn Exchange Restaurant
Four Points by Sheraton, 161 Sussex Street, Sydney City



Being the planning-extremist that I am, I find it very worrying when I don't know EXACTLY WHERE I'M GOING FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH AND DINNER for holidays that are supposed to be food holidays. I tell myself 'I'll research it closer to date' and even think 'maybe we'll just wing it and find something amazing on the street' but my biggest fear is that I'll settle for a cafe/restaurant only to learn later on via the internet that there was something AMAZING just around the corner. If only I had done my research!



This was my fear for Sunday breakfast in Sydney. I was too lazy/busy to find somewhere to go but I knew that breakfast is very important to me and I would be extremely disappointed not to make the most of that eating slot.

Breakfast Buffet at Cafe Forte

Breakfast Buffet at Cafe Forte
http://thecafeforte.businesscatalyst.com/



An indulgent Sunday breakfast is one of life's great pleasures.

My biggest dilemma these days is deciding to cook up a big feast at home or go out for something nice (minus washing up).

Yesterday, we opted for the later and headed out onto Margaret Street knowing that there would be at least one cafe along the way that had something good on offer.



As predicted, we spotted a sign for a buffet breakfast at Cafe Forte. It was only $10 with $5 from every order donated towards the flood relief efforts.

Mundo Churrasco

Mundo Churrasco
http://www.mundochurrasco.com.au/



I was privileged with the task of helping a good mate of mine find somewhere to host his birthday party dinner this year. After tossing through some mighty fine suggestions (Lefkas Taverna, somewhere I've always wanted to go, just barely missed the cut), we ended up selecting Mundo because he just couldn't get past the notion of a meat buffet.


I've had a few experiences with churrasco before, both in Australia and overseas. The concept originates from Brazil and the idea is you sit at a table whilst waiters come around with giant skewers of grilled meat and they shave some off for you. Churrasco is limitless and is guaranteed to appeal to anyone who enjoys their meat. When I had it in China, there was also a salad bar with greens, desserts and so on but every restaurant is different.

Genghis Khan Mongolian BBQ Restaurant

Genghis Khan Mongolian BBQ Restaurant
480 St Pauls Terrace, Fortitude Valley



Last Friday was a big day for me. It was my second attempt at the practical driving test. The pressure was on because I really NEEDED to get my license. I'm on placement about 40min from home, outbound, and it was a real task for me to get lifts from mum (she works in the city). I failed my first go because of real unlucky circumstances and I passed this time round because I was super lucky enough to have a nice examiner.

It's been the biggest burden off my shoulders.

To celebrate, we all went out for dinner Friday night, with the intention of heading out to a birthday party afterwards.

Breakfast at Four Winds, Gold Coast

Four Winds Revolving Restaurant
2807 Gold Coast Hwy, Surfers Paradise



A while back my parents went on a weekend away at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, down at the Gold Coast. They had tonnes of fun and told me about this breakfast buffet at the top of the tower which they wanted to show me when exams were over.

Hotel lobby

Now that time has finally come. The Four Winds restaurant does lunch and dinner buffets daily but breakfast is only on Sunday. Bookings aren't required so we rocked up when they just opened, at 7am.

Sizzling Mongolian BBQ House

Sizzling Mongolian BBQ House
144 Indooroopilly Rd, Taringa



This was a spur-of-the-moment decision a month or so ago. We were driving through St Lucia in search of food and suddenly, Sizzling Mongolian BBQ House sprang to mind. I'll be honest and say that I haven't heard nice comments regarding this place but sometimes, I take no heed and just do as I please.



We arrived there for dinner and the place seemed kind of quiet. There are plenty of tables but most were vacant seats. What hooked me in was the guy in the window frying up food on the big stone hotplate. Disregarding any reservations that I might have had, I went on in.

Gold Coast: Food Fantasy

Food Fantasy
http://www.conradjupiters.com.au/



I really hate buffets. I hate Sizzlers. The idea of 'all you can eat' scares me. I mentally associate normal buffets with poor quality and lack of freshness. There's a novelty appeal but appeal only takes you so far. Sometimes, when I've accomplished a milestone (e.g. end of exams), I'll feel like going 'all out' and doing a buffet. Otherwise, I'm happy without.

Having said all that, on the first day of our Gold Coast holiday, Charlie decided we'd be having the buffet at Food Fantasy for lunch. I didn't argue because I was STARVING. The other time buffets appeal to me is when my stomach feels like it's eating itself. Food Fantasy is located within Conrad Jupiters. I've eaten at several restaurants around the 2 Conrad casinos (Jupiters and Treasury) but never at Food Fantasy.