The Pancake Post

The Pancake Post
Home Cooking



When I started writing this blog, I thought about putting up an entry on pancake and subsequently dismissed it as 'too boring'/'too easy'.

Today, nearly 3 months later, I've decided that I've got enough photos/recipes/variations to write up a decent post on pancakes after all.

Govinda's Vegetarian Restaurant

Govinda's Vegetarian Restaurant
www.brisbanegovindas.com.au



Since my current obsession is with all things healthy and vegetarian, it's not surprising that a sign for 'all you can eat vegetarian buffet' sparked my interest. Last week, I suggested trying that place but Charlie and I were too scared that it'd be some weird hippy place. In a cowardly attempt to avoid risk of brain-washing cults, free love orgies and being smothered in dreadlocks and hemp, we steered clear.

Today, I was in the company of a much braver individual. This friend had also seen the sign but she had gone one step further and went up the narrow stairs to see what the restaurant alike. Assured that it was more 'Indian-influence' than hippy/vegan, we decided we really wanted to give it a try.

Vegetable Balti Curry

Vegetable Balti Curry
Home Cooking



I don't have to say it again but I do love curry. Curry + vegetables = vegetarian curry = I'm enjoying my food guilt-free because it's healthy.

This post will be pretty short and sweet because there wasn't a lot of cooking or preparation involved. Perfect for mid-week after work meals.

Even though I've had a shockingly bad experience with supermarket bottled Indian curry sauce, I gave it another go. Due to laziness. And due to the fact that I didn't want to buy a million ingredients to use for the one dish.

Jellyfish Restaurant

Jellyfish Restaurant
http://www.jellyfishrestaurant.com.au/



Despite having a constantly-updated mental list of 'MUST VISIT RESTAURANTS', I still manage to blank out. I couldn't decide where to go for dinner on the day of my birthday and luckily for me, a good friend came to the rescue and suggested Jellyfish. It's apparently new but established by the same people responsible for Brisbane's reputably 'best' steak restaurant, Cha Cha Char.

I've had amazing experiences at Cha Cha Char so I became instantly curious about Jellyfish.


It's located on Eagle Street Pier, the most collective strip of fine restaurant in Brisbane. Charlie specifically booked an outdoor table. I'm normally very wind-phobic but the weather last night was lovely. Brisbane doesn't boast of the world's best views (by far) but all the same, it was nice to look out at the story bridge skyline.

DIY VERSION: Korean Hotpot

Korean Hotpot
Home Cooking



Be prepared to read about the most unauthentic Korean hotpot you'll ever come across. It's true that I have had a fair amount of Korean soup dishes from eateries around Brisbane. There's no perfectly good excuse for getting it wrong. In truth, we weren't aiming to recreate any particular dish we've eaten in the past. I didn't even do any research on how to go about replicating a genuine soup base rarara.

The thing is... the hotpot was good. You just put in whatever you've eaten that you have enjoyed. My photos below are just suggestions - same as restaurant menu photos and Korean instant noodle packets. They are all suggestions.

Mirasoul

Mirasoul
http://www.mirasoul.com.au/



Mirasoul gets a special post because I had my 21st BIRTHDAY PARTY there this past weekend!!!

I chose it after reading many recommendations and I'm so glad I did. As a function venue, it was so easy to get things organized (Kim, the function coordinator was absolutely fabulous and amazing). I did catering and had a bar tab with them - all went super smoothly and the place had a great vibe Saturday night.


The week beforehand, my friends and I went to Mirasoul to suss the place out. We took advantage of the AWESOME 2-for-1 tapas deal on Tuesday. This post will mainly talk about the food and dining experience. Remember though, for any function that you might have, I can' recommend Mirasoul highly enough. It was just GREAT.

Beccofino

Beccofino
http://www.beccofino.com.au/



It's not unusual for me to make up semi-ridiculous excuses for going out for dinner. For this reason, Charlie and I are still celebrating an 'anniversary' every month. Yesterday marked 10 months and due to some strange coincidence, also the 1 year anniversary of our first date together.

This first date actually involved a dinner at Joseph Alexanders. Ideally, we would have returned there - making it soppy, cheesy and appropriate. Unfortunately, they don't open on Sundays so we were left to hunt for other restaurants.

My birthday party happened this weekend and one of the presents I got was 'Nigella Bites' by Nigella Lawson. I love her books even for bedtime reading and when I was leafing through the pages, I came across this divine chili linguine recipe. This gave me an intense pasta craving and consequently, I found myself scouring online resources for good Italian restaurants in Brisbane.

Prawn Laksa

Prawn Laksa
Home Cooking



My current strategy for keeping a stable diet involves consuming minimal carbs at night. I figured I wouldn't need the energy rush anytime past 7pm so breakfast time would be break, muffins, muesli and dinner would be protein and veggies.

This is easier said than done, especially when you're in the mood for something heavily spiced. It just so happens that flavorsome food (like... Indian, Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian) all 'go' with rice and don't quite work without it. I contemplated making a green curry or massaman curry but even thinking about eating spoonfuls of that stuff without rice was enough to overwhelm me.

In the end, I thought a decent compromise was to make Laksa and use up some of the vermicelli in my pantry. Although this is not technically a 'carb-free' dish, it's still quite light and you can go easy on the vermicelli like I did.

Viet De Lites

Viet De Lites
http://www.vietdelites.com.au/



Whenever it's available to me, I'll grab a copy of 'Dining Out'. If you're wondering, this is basically a collection of advertisements for central Brisbane restaurants. Even when I have 2 copies already, I'll go on and take another one to leaf through.

I have a feeling a new issue comes out every season or maybe every half a year. It tends to feature the same old restaurants over and over again and the pages have become very familiar to me over time (especially for the restaurants that don't bother to change their ads).

It's always really refreshing when I spot newcomers. One such place is Viet De Lites. This restaurant is contemporary Vietnamese dining, located in South Bank Parklands.

A Night in India

A Night in India
http://www.anightinindia.com.au/



Today, it was declared (between Charlie and myself) that A Night in India was our MOST FREQUENTED restaurant/eatery IN BRISBANE.

This is quite astounding. You have probably noticed by now that we eat out a fair bit. It so happens that our food cravings tend towards Asian (Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean being the regular) or 'ethnic' which is a term I use to broadly cover anything that's heavy in spices (Thai, Indian, Turkish).



Indian food is constantly on our minds... or in our stomachs... or whatever.