Harajuku Gyoza for Dinner

Harajuku Gyoza Indooroopilly Location
http://harajukugyoza.com/find-us/indooroopilly-shopping-centre/

I still remember the buzz when Harajuku Gyoza first opened up in Fortitude Valley even though it must be many years ago now. Everything about it sounded appealing to me, from its limited menu of dumplings and beer (with such a perfect combination, what else do you need?), the quirky cartoon dumpling and the late night dining hours. The Valley is a tricky location for me though. It's just that bit too far for me to walk to and it's impossible to park there. When I was a spring chicken, I might have popped in after a late night but 'late' for me is now 8pm so that's hardly going to work. In the end, I just never got to go...

... until Harajuku Gyoza opened in Indooroopilly that is! I was recently sent a couple of vouchers to try the dumplings at the new store location and of course, I was very happy to do so. It took us a while to get there; one night the wait was quoted at 30min so we ended up going to Laksa Hut instead.

Chester Street Bakery for Dessert

Chester Street Bakery and Bar
http://www.chesterstreet.com.au/

I'd heard about Chester Street Bakery on the food blog circuit since it's been on the Talk of The Town Urbanspoon page for what feels like months. I kept trying to find friends to go with me but no one baited so eventually I gave up. Thankfully, the food Gods were in my favour. Last week, I got an invite from the lovely guys at Lucid Media to try the new dessert offerings at Chester Street Bakery.

I asked Jenny to come along with me because we share the same extreme enthusiasm for sweet treats. She had also been to Chester Street for dessert not that long ago so I figured she would have good recommendations.

Morrison Hotel for Dinner

Morrison Hotel
http://www.morrisonhotel.com.au/

Leading up to my jaw surgery (i.e. 4 weeks of eating mush), I've got a bit of a 'bucket list' of food going. What it's supposed to be is a chance to chew some delicious food before I can't chew anymore. What it's actually become is an excuse for me to eat junk food non-stop and plan daily meals out. Fatty habits aside, a good steak was definitely on my bucket list so I was glad when Howl suggested this for dinner last Sunday night.

Habitat for Dinner

Habitat Restaurant and Bar
Cnr of Boundary St and Edmondstone St, West End

Despite Coles West End being my local grocery store, Habitat (which is located opposite Coles) caught me completely unawares. I started seeing all these mentions of 'Habitat West End' through social media and found myself thinking "where on earth could it be?" Finally, the most recent time we got back from Coles, Habitat was lit up and blaring with activity so I could hardly miss it.

I arranged to try Habitat with Kat last Friday night for end of week drinks and dinner. It was a sudden decision so we hadn't made a booking and since I got there first, I sussed out the scene for availability of tables. The place looked packed and staff were running around completely overwhelmed by the volume so the best I could do was leave my name and number down. I wanted to get some drinks while I was waiting but I wasn't sure if the bar was ok to go straight up to... plus, it was a struggle to push through the masses and even reach the bar. I hailed down another girl who took my drink order and then miraculously, found a table for me. It was a little outside table but to be honest, I preferred this because whilst the inside area looked nice, it was too noisy for this old lady. Besides, we were kept cosy by the big outdoor heaters.

Bull Bar for Dinner

The Bull Bar
Basement, 85 Elizabeth Street, Brisbane CBD

I know it's going to be a good weekend when Howl comes to visit. We kicked off last weekend's festivities with a big feast on Saturday night. Marc and I got there late so most of the guys had already finished eating. I hadn't eaten since a 10am 'lunch' that morning so I was starving.

The Bull Bar is located downstairs from Elizabeth arcade in an underground space. The last time I was here, it sold almost exclusively Korean fried chicken and there were only a couple of small tables. Now it seems huge and the menu is overwhelmingly comprehensive.

Take the Pizza Caper's INFERNO CHALLENGE

Pizza Capers New Inferno Range
http://www.pizzacapers.com.au/inferno/

I was super excited when Pizza Capers contacted me to try their new Inferno range. There are a couple of squee-worthy factors in play here. First off, Marc and I love Pizza Capers and it's our go-to gourmet pizza order. When Pizza Capers started offering delivery services, I was over the moon because this catered to my dual weaknesses of gluttony and laziness. Secondly, we love spicy food.

A fun form to see if you can take the heat

It's been a disappointing fact of living in Australia that people seem to be put off by chilli in their meals. Obviously, I'm not speaking for everyone but growing up, there was a distinct lack of spicy fast food options. More recently the likes of Nandos and Guzman Y Gomez have brought more lively taste bud options to the fast food circuit. I, for one, find this a very welcome change.

Passiontree Velvet for Macarons

Passiontree Velvet
http://www.passiontreevelvet.com/

When I was a care-free uni student, I lived between the CBD (where I studied) and Westfield Carindale. I was constantly exposed to clothing and food stores and daiily window shopping was the norm. Now, on my rare days off I can't be bothered to drag my tired bum to either catch public transport or drive and fight for parking at a shopping precinct. Shopping centres are a new novelty to me.

The recent times I've made it to Indooroopilly and Carindale shopping centres, I've been like a kid in a candy store; mouth open and glaze-eyed trawling past all the shiny renovations. To be fair, I do still go to Carindale every now and again because my parents live there but enough time had passed since my last visit that a whole new dessert store popped up.

Laksa Hut for Dinner

Laksa Hut
27 Station Road, Indooroopilly

I've visited Indooroopilly shopping centre twice in the past week, which is more than I have done so in the past 5+ years. It certainly has changed a lot with all the renovations they're doing. My first meal there was at Oliver and Co for lunch on my lonesome. This time, Marc and I were planning to have dinner at Harajuku Gyoza but we were quoted a 15-30 minute wait. 15 minutes is just doable for 30 minutes is more than I'm willing to wait to be seated and I just couldn't be bothered to take a gamble. We walked down the road to Laksa Hut instead.

I've eaten at Laksa Hut a number of times when it was located in Toowong. As a poor uni student studying at St Lucia campus, it was such a good meal stop. Cheap, large meals with fantastic flavours. Now, I'm pretty sure this is the same Laksa Hut in a new location but don't quote me on that.

Domino's New Brekky Pizza

Domino's All Day Breakfast Pizza
http://www.dominos.com.au/ 

I've long thought of breakfast as my favourite meal of the day. It's not that I enjoy getting up early in the mornings, much the opposite, but the types of food represented on breakfast menus just seem yummier. Who doesn't like the thought of crispy bacon and eggs? What about pancakes, waffles, creamy avocado and salmon? Because breakfast and brunch is intended to kick off the day, it's packed with nourishing, homely and warming ingredients to give us that boost we need. Nowadays, with life being so hectic it's no wonder that many cafes are offering all day breakfast menus. We don't just need an energy boost first thing in the morning, we crave it constantly.

Domino's Pizza had recently jumped on board with the consumer demand for breakfasty ingredients by creating a new All Day Aussie Breakfast Pizza. As the ad shows, the premise is extremely appealing. Just picture seasoned scrambled eggs, crispy rasher bacon and smoky barbecue sauce all presented in easy to grab pizza slices.

Dessert at Cowch

Cowch Dessert and Cocktail Bar
http://cowch.com.au/ 

This must be one of the fastest hype-to-try reviews I've done in a long time. By that I mean in the space of a week, I first noticed this dessert bar with a group of girlfriends, heard everyone talking about it in person and on the internet (unrelated sources, I might add) the next day, and then went on to try it for myself a day later. At least my curiosity didn't have too long to develop.

We were considering having dessert at French Martini but Lilly mentioned that she heard there was a new dessert bar in Southbank. I quickly piped up that yes, I had seen it and everyone was talking about it and we were both keen to try it right away. Marc was less enthused because he wanted to get back to Origin but we overpowered him.

Dinner at French Martini

French Martini
http://www.frenchmartini.com.au/home.html

A friend of ours, Lilly, was going back to Taiwan so we caught up over a farewell dinner. It was State of Origin night so everyone was keen to avoid any restaurants that would force us to travel through blocked streets and congested traffic. We ended up meeting in Southbank Parklands.

Brunch at Moose and Gibson

Moose and Gibson
http://www.mooseandgibson.com/

I first heard about this place through the interwebs when I got back from Europe but it's taken me a long time to allocate a suitable weekend to visit.

Marc is not really a brunch person and his often gloomy attitude about it makes me much rather go with my girlfriends. Tracy was more than up for the task and we met up at 11 last Saturday for the perfect combination of meal + gossip.

Chocolate Fondue at Theobroma

Theobroma Chocolate Lounge 
http://www.theobroma.com.au/

A couple of months ago, I got myself into a coupon frenzy and bought maybe 4 or 5 in one hit. One was for a chocolate fondue experience in Southbank. I'm not even hugely into chocolate fondues; my rationale is that chocolate tastes just fine without being tainted by fruit (I realise I sound like such a child) but somehow, the photo that Theobroma presented totally won me over.

Plenty of time passed before I was actually able to use my coupon because I had no one to go with. How sad :(