Verve Birthday Dinner

Verve Cafe and Bar
http://www.vervecafe.com.au/



Another year goes by, another birthday, another notch up the age ladder. This past year marked my milestone of no longer getting asked for ID at bottle shops. It took me a while to notice this trend but once I did, I realized it wasn't every now and again but every single time. A sad, sad development.



That aside, I decided this year I'd be celebrating my birthday with a hand plucked select group of close friends in Brisbane. Gone are the years of splashing out invites for huge parties - probably another indication of my getting older.

Ginga Sushi Bar

Ginga Sushi Bar
http://www.gingarestaurant.com.au/southbank/



Sunday lunch after a big night out (breakfast was skipped due to being queasy)... Marc and I decided we'd go to Southbank and definitely find something there. However, once we arrived at Southbank, inspiration did not suddenly strike. Indeed we walked up and down the precinct before deciding on the Burrito Bar. Unfortunately it was not open nor did it open at 11am as stated on their trading hours sign (we gave it a good 10min before giving up). Conveniently next door was Ginga, which was my second choice.



After living in Brisbane for double digit years, it's strange that I never tried Ginga Sushi Bar. I had heard good things about it though. We were literally one of the first customers through the door but the ring of seats around the sushi train area filled up rather quickly.

Red Lotus

Red Lotus
http://www.red-lotus.com.au/



Saturday night. Rainy. Half drunk. In need of food. Marc and I are the absolute worst combination of people for deciding on what to eat. We're both 'anything goes' and 'whatever' which is great when there's someone assertive who knows what they want to eat but not so great when neither of us can come up with a single prominent idea. After lots of stuffing around, we figured we'd brave the rain and head to the valley where there was bound to be something good.



The only thing we both really KNEW we wanted was a place that also sold alcoholic drinks, but not swanky $100000 drinks. The first place we came across that met this criteria was Red Lotus. It looked inviting enough and we were sick of being drizzled on so we eagerly stepped in.

Tank Restaurant and Bar for our 2 Year Anniversary

Tank Restaurant and Bar
http://www.tankrestaurant.com.au/



Neither Byron and I are the 'anniversary' types; in fact, we didn't even know how long we'd been together. After stretching our poor memories trying to remember how many Christmases we'd spent together, we worked out it was 2years around the start of this year. Since there was no official date, I plucked a free weekend out of my calendar and decided this would be a fine time to celebrate life and love with food, drinks and more.



We started our night at the Tank Restaurant and Bar. It's officially on Tank Street but after walking up and down Tank Street for a bit, we Googled the place again and read that it was located within Santos Place, which is this courtyard type deal sandwiched between 2 buildings. It can be accessed from Tank Street but you kind of have to know what you're looking for.