Bare Bones Society for Brunch

Bare Bones Society
http://barebonessociety.com/

Moving to the west of Brisbane, the restaurant I was most keen to try was Bare Bones Society. It has been on my radar for a long time but always felt too far away. Now, it's barely 5 minutes drive so there were no more excuses.

I've been to Bare Bones twice now for weekday brunch. They're also open for dinner on Friday nights with a changing menu. The restaurant is smack bang in the middle of the Homemaker Centre in Jindalee, so there are lots of parking spots.

Melbourne 7 - Brunch at Trunks

Trunk American Diner
http://www.trunktown.com.au/

It's shocking to think that I've taken a month to blog only 4 days worth of eating in Melbourne.  I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise considering how much we ate but I'm somewhat relieved that I'm up to the last post for this particular trip.

We had checked out of our hotel and it was about 3hrs till our return flight... just enough time for a spot of brunch.

Brunch at Bistro C, Noosa

Bistro C
http://www.bistroc.com.au/

While we were holidaying in Noosa, a good friend who grew up in the area recommended we try Bistro C. On our last morning, Marc and I checked out of the hotel in time for brunch and we headed over to Hastings Street.

Bistro C is located in the strip called "On The Beach" and is accessible from either the boardwalk or the street side. It was a Sunday morning with beautiful weather so the cafe was predictably quite busy. Luckily there are lots of tables so even though we were put in a waiting list, the actual wait was surprisingly short. I was ecstatic that we were seated outside with views of the ocean. It doesn't get any better than this.

Breakfast at Morning After

Morning After Espresso and Eats
http://www.morningafter.com.au/

It's just my luck that seemingly, once I left West End, it becomes the suburb to sprout dozens of new dining establishments. Morning After opened almost immediately after we moved away. I saw mentions of it everywhere online and made a special trip back to the old hood to try it.

Jenny and I met up for breakfast on a Sunday. For whatever reason, I was awake and active super early that morning and when we got there, most other cafes etc were closed and Morning After was buzzing. By the time we had finished, there were queues for tables. I appreciate that this place is relatively new and very busy in the weekend rush but the service felt efficient and organised.

Breakfast at Seven South

Seven South
92 Hyde Road, Yeronga

Nina and I met up for a long overdue catch up last Saturday. We decided to brunch at new cafe in Yeronga, Seven South. As I drove towards it, I realised the surroundings looked very familiar. I had previously been to their neighboring cafe Anesis.

There's ample street parking, even on a weekend. I liked the layout and look of Seven South with its expansive outdoor dining area and bright and open indoor space. We started sitting outside but as the weather got a bit drizzly, we moved on in. It was busy when I first got there but by the time we had finished up it was absolutely packed. There were groups of people waiting for a table.

Lunch at Goodness Gracious Cafe

Goodness Gracious Cafe
250 Oxley Road, Graceville

The good thing about moving out west is that I finally get to try a lot of cafes and restaurants that have been sitting on my 'to visit' list but never bothered to go to because they were too far away. Now, I live in the 'far away' and whilst it's vastly inconvenient for anything in town, there are some notable gems in this part of Brissie.

One cafe that I'd been following on Instagram for aaaages is Goodness Gracious in Graceville. Jenny occasionally passes it on her drive and commented that it is always busy. The photos they posted looked amazing so I was keen to give it a try. Yesterday, Marc and I were both home with nothing to do so we headed there for lunch.

Little Clive for Brunch

Little Clive
http://www.littleclive.com.au/

It's been just over a month of living in the Western suburbs and my frequency of dining out has markedly decreased. I find it's too much of a hassle to drive into town where all the nice restaurants are so the only time we do manage to do that is when there's another errand to tag on so that it is geographically multiple birds with one stone.

Leading up to Halloween, I had some errands to run in the Annerley district so we coordinated one of those outings with a group brunch date at Little Clive. We arranged to meet at 11am on a Sunday, which is peak brunching time. I don't know if it was easy/difficult to get a table because Marc and I missed the exit onto Clive Street twice and ended up in the Gabba and had to do a giant loop. By the time we got to the cafe, our crew had already secured a table.

Brunch at The Duck's Nuts, Bundall

The Duck's Nuts
Sorrento Shopping Village, 23 Bundall Road, Bundall

A couple of weeks ago, Marc and I found the perfect opportunity to head down to the Gold Coast. It was mixing business with pleasure but since the 'business' part was all to do with him, I went there purely to have a good time. My day started with breakfast at The Duck's Nuts, a cafe a friend recommended. After half an hour of coffee leisure time, Marc joined and ordered lunch. I'm averaging out our meals to be 'brunch'.

I haven't had much prior experience with Bundall. Geographically it's somewhere between Surfer's Paradise and Broadbeach but slightly more inland. The Duck's Nuts is located along the Bundall Road edge of Sorrento Shopping Village. It's small so you need to be looking for it. I quite liked the courtyard seating especially the tables that backed onto the street.

Falalalah for Lunch

Falalalah
193 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane

I was devastated, absolutely devastated when I saw Hong Depot being torn down. It was something of a West End icon to me and even before I became a local, I enjoyed delicious and filling Korean BBQ feasts at this corner establishment. Admittedly more recent trips have been less optimal (I count one case of severe food poisoning and many cases of overspending), I always have fond memories of the owner Alex Hong and when you put face to business, it's always a sad thing to see a venture go down.

Just before we left on our honeymoon, I spotted new signage being set up at the site of Hong Depot. It appeared to be predominantly staffed by Koreans so I entertained the idea that Mr Hong hadn't gone bust but instead had decided to reinvent himself and his restaurant. Of course that's quite a narrow-minded assumption because there do exist more than one Korean restauranteur in Brisbane and according to a friend of mine, this new establishment is run by someone else.

Ponycat for Breakfast

Ponycat
693 Brunswick Street, New Farm

I hit the ground running at work after our holidays finished and it was work, work, work for the first fortnight or so. Gradually things eased off a bit and I had myself some free days to rest and explore. On one of these occasions, I headed to New Farm for brunch. A long, long time ago (I'm talking years) I had tried to visit Ponycat with a friend but it was full and we didn't want to wait. That was on a weekend and we all know how competitive inner-city cafes can be for weekend brunch.

This time, I was there on a weekday and there wasn't any trouble getting a table at all. The cafe is small but I noticed a lot of the patrons ordering takeaway. I requested a soy latte upon seating and then started to peruse the menu.

The Rare Pear for Brunch

The Rare Pear
http://therarepear.com.au/

As much as I loved eating local specialties throughout China, by the end of our trip I was desperately craving "western food". Almost as soon as we landed, I scheduled a brunch outing with Jenny.

Green Bees for Healthy Takeaway

Green Bees Organic
http://www.greenbeesorganics.com.au/

I suppose it shouldn't come as a surprise that wedding prep involves lots of running around like a headless chicken. I was getting my hair done and suddenly it was time to do something else and I needed lunch and lo and behold Green Bees appeared before me.

I literally drive past this cafe every day as noticed it as it was being set up so the curiosity was always there. It looked quite busy so I was willing to give it a try.

Racecourse 63 for Lunch

Racecourse 63
63 Racecourse Rd, Hamilton

Another day another lot of wedding errands to be had... I'm pumping out these posts in haste because for obvious reasons I'll be busy in the coming days. Last weekend we had to make an emergency visit to the airport DFO to find Marc appropriate footwear. I hate outlet shopping because the crowds really stress me out so to make a painful event more bearable, I figured we'd have lunch at Racecourse Road on the way.

The original plan was to eat at Hosokawa but it was closed on the Sunday so we headed into nearby Racecourse 63 instead. It looked to be a happening cafe so I was confident we'd get some good food.

Miss Bliss for Lunch

Miss Bliss Wholefoods Kitchen
http://missblisswholefoodskitchen.com.au/

Although I'm technically in pre-wedding diet mode, I love eating out as much as I always have. How great is it then that there are diet-friendly cafes and restaurants out and about? The first of these I visited is a new local gem, Miss Bliss Wholefoods Kitchen in West End.

Miss Bliss is known for 'bliss balls' sold at various Brisbane markets. They've now expanded to providing all types of wholesome treats at a beautifully fitted cafe location on Vulture Street. I was worried I couldn't find the place but it's quite large and stands out at the popular intersection. Despite being new, it was also fairly busy when I visited which I take to be a good sign.

Siam Pung for Lunch

Siam Pung
69-79 Boundary Street, West End

I've finished my Bali posts and can get cracking on my backlog of unpublished Brisbane reviews. If you've been bored about all this "irrelevant overseas stuff" stay tuned because I have tonnes of local restaurants to talk about.

The first of these is Siam Pung, which is Thai dessert cafe local to me. It's the sister cafe to Siam Samrarn, a very popular Thai restaurant in West End. I visited Siam Pung a long time ago, probably earlier this year.

Bali Day 3 - Nalu Bowls at Shelter Rooftop Garden Cafe

Nalu Bowls at Shelter Cafe
http://www.nalubowls.com/

After an exciting morning of white water rafter along the Ayung river, Jenny and I were dropped back to our villa with hours to spare before dinner. We decided to head out for a spot of shopping and caught a cab to Legian.

Bali shopping, at least in this district, was fairly underwhelming to me. There were lots of nice boutique shops but prices were akin to non-sale Australian prices. After some fruitless browsing, we were left with a ravaging thirst and sought out a cafe refuel.

Gold Coast - Grocer and Grind for Breakfast

Grocer and Grind
Shop 1, 1 Sunshine Boulevard, Gold Coast

Last Friday I went on a wonderful excursion. There's nothing quite like getting up at 5am on a freezing winter morning to drive your fiancé to the Gold Coast for a breakfast meeting. The thought that I could've have been in bed instead was like a knife through my heart. I perked myself up with the bribe of having breakfast out once we got to the coast.

Blossom used to live at the Gold Coast and I remember her recommending Grocer and Grind as one of her favourite cafes. I looked it up and it was walking distance from Marc's meeting venue so I parked my car and made my way there.

Gauge for Breakfast

Gauge
77 Grey Street, South Brisbane

I was very excited when I heard a new cafe had opened up in my neighborhood, by the brains behind Sourced Grocer no less. When reviews started popping up online, I was intrigued by the photos and menu descriptions I saw. Black garlic bread? Buckwheat waffles? Curiouser and curiouser.

I arranged to have breakfast at Gauge last Saturday morning with my old friend Pizza from Toowoomba. We hadn't made a booking but it was fairly early so there wasn't any drama getting a table. Gauge looks sophisticated inside and out with neutral tones and clean, contemporary lines. It's full table service so I sat down, ordered a coffee and perused the breakfast menu.

Strauss for Breakfast

Strauss Cafe and Bar
http://www.straussfd.com/

Long gone are the days when I attended uni in Brisbane CBD and had a vast array of food outlets to decide between at each lunch break. Even though the elderly recluse in me hates crowded places, I can't help but feel envious of the suited city workers who have coffee meetings at glamorous corporate cafes.

I got a taste of this last Tuesday morning when I headed into town for a course. There was something going on in my building so I left early with the intention of having breakfast in the city. I did a quick Zomato search on the bus and decided to try Strauss. Walking through the city, I felt like a country bumpkin on excursion 'the Big Smoke'.

Weekend at Byron Bay - Belongil Bistro for Lunch

Belongil Bistro
http://www.belongilbistro.com.au/

Last weekend, Kat and I spent a glorious 4 days down at Byron Bay for a yoga retreat. I do like to practice yoga casually and for someone who's brain buzzes as relentlessly as mine, yoga is great not only for the body but also the mind. There's about a million things going on in my life right now that I have varying levels of control over and it was starting to get quite overwhelming. Big thanks to Patty at Mana Yoga Retreats for a trip I can't recommend highly enough. I didn't realise until I came home that this weekend was exactly what I needed to get my mind and body back into balance.

Most of our meals at the retreat were catered for and eaten at the accommodation. However because the weather was a bit temperamental, Patty arranged for us to have two meals, a breakfast and a lunch, out at the local cafe.