High Tea at Miss D Cafe

Miss D Cafe
http://www.missd.com.au/



Last weekend, my dear mummy and I took a drive to an obscure cafe in Tarrigindi for high tea. I used to have an obsession with high tea. I recall that last year, or was it 2 years ago, I aimed to have high tea at every single establishment that offered it in Brisbane.

Obviously that never happened.

But anyway, I can at least tick Miss D off my insubstantial list of 'been there's.

The Chocolate Cottage

The Chocolate Cottage
10475 New England Highway, Highfields



What happens when you live in Toowoomba and you've run out of new places to eat? Drive further out.

Mochi discovered this cafe called The Chocolate Cottage about 15min out from Toowoomba CBD in an adjacent town called Highfields.



I know that on the scale of Brisbane, 15min is nothing. In fact, it would be considered 'close-by'. In Toowoomba, 15min feels really out of town.

In fact, I believe Byron actually said to me "I can't believe we're driving all this way for breakfast".

That's what happens when you live out rural - your perception of reality gets screwed.

Anyway... despite his grumbly, Byron did drive us 'all the way' to Highfields on a recent Saturday morning.

Domino's New Free Range Chicken Pizzas

Domino's New Free Range Chicken Pizzas
http://www.dominos.com.au/



Ah... Domino's pizza brings me way back. I remember as a kid, mum and dad would take me to Domino's as a little treat. We'd order Meatlovers in Deep Pan. That was our 'usual'. And we'd eat it steaming hot in the back of the car. My parents were of the opinion that pizza was best eaten IMMEDIATELY, not a minute later.



Times have changed. My favorite flavors are now vegetarian. I prefer Thin 'n' Crispy as a base. I NEVER have time to order and eat pizza out - it's gotta be delivered or nothing (those online orders/iPhone Apps help).

Cheesy Corn and Bacon Muffins

Cheesy Corn and Bacon Muffins
Home Cooking



I was doing my 'how do I use up as many existing pantry ingredients in one recipe' scan when I found a recipe for corn muffins in Woman's Weekly Bake. Ok, so it didn't encompass as much as I wanted but it was a good base. I took that recipe and beefed it up with extra meat, extra cheese and extra goodness.

How can a muffin with both bacon and ham possibly be bad?


These muffins were originally going to be a contribution to a party but there weren't enough for everyone to have at least one so I figured it was better etiquette to not bring any.

Ortiga Restaurant

Ortiga Restaurant
http://www.ortiga.com.au/



Last night I had one of those dining experiences that must be shared right away. Most of my posts are written up to a week after the fact but this time, I just can't wait that long. Although I didn't get much sleep last night and I'm tired and I'd rather be online shopping, I've got to document the memory before it fades and I start omitting details.



I know I say this about lots of restaurants but Ortiga has been on my 'must visit' for a long, long time... ever since the day I first saw it when I had dinner nearby at Mint. Mint is long gone but I still remember seeing the legs of cured meat hanging in the restaurant and thinking "I want to go there". At the time I hadn't made the connection that Isis used to be in that exact location but I soon learned that Ortiga was the follow-on.

Wagaya Brisbane

Wagaya Brisbane
315 Brunswick St, Tcb Centre, Fortitude Valley



I was real freakin' excited when I heard that Wagaya had opened up in Brisbane (tidbit of info courtesy of Mochi). The only time I'd experienced Wagaya was at Sydney, when I was young, with a hoard of friends, and the whole touch screen thing blew my mind.

I can't say I've changed much :).



The thing that drew me to try Wagaya Brisbane was still the touch screen menus. This time, it wasn't 'just' the novelty... after all, it wasn't anything I hadn't tried before. Since I'd had a taste of this concept in Sydney, whenever I was at a restaurant being ignored by waitstaff, I'd find myself fantasizing about there being a touch screen menu so I could order without the hassle of human contact.

L'Arte Cafe for Brunch

L'Arte Cafe
Shop 2, 185 Riding Road, Hawthorne



Mochi and I grew tired of gracing popular, in-demand brunch spots. Two weekends ago, we decided to try somewhere a bit more obscure. I don't know how she finds out about these places but L'Arte was suggested and I thought it sounded good.



Due to it being East of the CBD, I somehow got it in my head that Hawthorne was an 'Eastern Suburb' and therefore close to Carindale. Not at all... it's much more inner city than that. My car is still being repaired so I had to get mum and dad to weave their way through unfamiliar territory until we found the cafe.

The Vita-Wheat Lunch Slice Challenge!

The Vita-Wheat Lunch Slice Challenge!
Home Cooking



I was trawling through Twitter recently when I found 'The Cook's notebook' had announced a competition featuring new Vita-Wheat Lunch Slices. This unexpectedly planted a seed in my brain and I found myself craving Vita-Wheats all day. Come grocery time, I couldn't resist popping a packet of the Pumpkin, Sunflower and Canola variety into my trolley.



So whilst I wasn't originally planning to enter, I subconsciously started plotting ideas for toppings. When I came home for lunch today I rummaged through my fridge/pantry for all likely topping candidates and lined them up on my bench: salads, tuna, cheese, spreads... anyhow, this is what I've come up with and this is what I had for lunch today.

Sofra Turkish Cuisine in Toowoomba

Sofra Turkish Cuisine
164 Margaret St, Toowoomba



I've mentioned already that it's getting harder and harder for me to find new restaurants to try in Toowoomba. I'm slowly exhausting everything this town has on offer. This is why the opening of a brand spanking new restaurant will pull me in like a moth to flame.


Byron first mentioned Sofra to me while the space was still being fitted. By the time Mochi and I were planning a catch-up dinner, it was open to the public and ready to roll.

Chocolate Lace Cookies

Chocolate Lace Cookies
Home Cooking



A work mate of mine held a garden party at her property last weekend. The theme was 'Cocktails and nibblies' so I decided to bake something as a contribution. I flipped back and forth through our baking books and finally settled on these chocolate lace cookies from the 'Women's Weekly Bake' cookbook. The original recipe can be found here.

Mappen Menya Ramen

Mappen Menya Ramen
Shop 86, Sunnybank Plaza, Sunnybank



I heard rumours of a new ramen place in Sunnybank. First from Mork, then from Mochi. I thought they were talking about Hakataya but nope, I was behind on the goss as usual and there was actually another one that opened more recently.



After convincing mum and dad to try this place with me, we drove to Sunnybank plaza around lunchtime on a Sunday.

Olive Branch Lounge Bar and Restaurant

Olive Branch Lounge Bar and Restaurant
www.theolivebranch.com.au/



We were SO EXCITED to spy a Toowoomba restaurant we hadn't been to before. Mochi and I were having Thai one day and thought 'hey... what's that?'

Olive Branch looked like a bar slash cafe from the outside but when we decided to eat there one night, we discovered it was more like a fine dining restaurant.

Pourboy Espresso for Breakfast

Pourboy Espresso
http://www.pourboy.com.au/



A car accident on the weekend lead to an emotional breakdown, which lead to good ol' mum rescuing me from Toowoomba. I spend a day recuperating and regaining sanity in Brisbane before feeling sound enough to head home on Tuesday. No way would mum be making another round trip to Toowoomba to take me there, once was tedious enough, so I was sent to the city to catch the coach.


That gave me some time to kill around Brisbane CBD. I felt a bit tortured about what to do... on one hand, I was still too fragile to have much of an appetite. On the other, 2 hours spent doing nothing is a long 2 hours.

Amaretti Cookies

Amaretti Cookies
Home Cooking



This post is really dated but I figured the sooner I put it up, the less 'old' it'll ultimately become. I was going through a baking rampage one week and these cookies are a by-product of that fever. I love almond meal products and happened to have some so I started looking up almond meal recipes.


This recipe for amaretti cookies popped up in Mochi's 'Women's Weekly Bake' book. For those who haven't seen it, it's like a textbook-sized baking bible. There were plenty of recipes contending but I went along with the easiest.

Encores at the Empire in Toowoomba

Encores Restaurant
http://www.encores.com.au/



Ok. So. Byron and I started doing date night. After nearly 3 years of togetherness, we thought it'd be a good idea to introduce this to prevent the weeks from getting too monotonous. However, we soon realized that while our intentions were good, living in Toowoomba made things tricky. We are close to exhausting every single restaurant in Toowoomba.

... and then, Byron recalled Encores. He had a Christmas work function there last year and from what he could remember, the food was half decent.


We drove there after work on Friday and though I got dressed up and curled my hair, I felt more like a pensioner than girl on romantic dinner. It was 6pm and the sun was still in the sky. In theory, we could have left the house later but a routine of eating straight after work means your stomach objects to waiting that long. I'm ashamed to admit that Encores wasn't even open when we arrived but the waiter was kind enough to let us take a seat and start ordering drinks.