The Bestaurant for Hot Pot

The Bestaurant
409 Mains Road, Sunnybank

It's winter in Brisbane; that time of the year when for a couple of weeks we get hit with the kind of weather other countries would find mild and fine, but as a QLDer, sends me frozen to the core. The only cure for these painfully chilly nights is hot pot.

I love hot pot and I enjoy all versions, be it Chinese-style sliced lamb hot pot, Korean-style spicy seafood or Japanese shabu shabu. If it's bubbling and interactive, I'm a fan. We do Chinese hot pot at home a fair bit but one night, the mood struck me suddenly and I didn't have any of the necessary ingredients. Going out was the only solution.

Dinner at Atalanta

Atalanta Bar and Greek Restaurant
http://atalanta.com.au/

Greek food is one of my favourites and although I can name a number of reliably delicious options in Brisbane (mostly around the West End area), it always excites me to see new additions to our dining scene. Atalanta opened a while back in Portside Wharf and at first I was wary because I heard some mixed reviews but then my friend Jenny said it was good and I trust her opinion more than anyone else's. We arranged to have a group dinner there last Saturday night.

The restaurant is large and quite easy to find. It's located near the entrance of Portside Wharf, directly opposite IGA. It was busy on a Saturday night and very, very noisy. A large portion of our night was spent yelling "hey? Sorry, what?" and smiling and pretending to hear what others were saying when all we (or at least, all I) could hear was the persistent drone of a very chatty crowd. As the night progressed this became slightly less of a problem, I think because we naturally got louder the more we drank.

Sydney Weekend in May 3 - Dessert at RivaReno Gelato

RivaReno Gelato Barangaroo
http://rivareno.com.au/

After our delicious dinner at Rockpool Bar and Grill, an ordinary couple would've been full and content to give their stomachs a rest. Not us!

Marc knew of a gelato store that had recently expanded and it was getting glowing online reviews. We happened to pass through the area on our way back to the hotel (more accurately we Googled the address and spent an hour getting lost in construction sites but determined to get gelato) and finally came across the shop front.

Sydney weekend in May 1 - Lunch at Izakaya Yebisu

Izakaya Yebisu
10/501 George Street, Sydney

I managed to do that thing again last weekend, while we were in Sydney, where we ate at so many places that I simply got overwhelmed by the amount of blog posts I had to write. The end result is that I procrastinate and put it off and end up writing nothing. This weekend, I'm forcing myself to do some reviews before I forget everything and make it harder on myself.

Crustacean Feast at St James Crabhouse

St James Crabhouse and Kitchen
22 Baildon Street, Kangaroo Point

This was my MOST anticipated restaurant opening of 2016. I heard about these guys around the start of the year when they announced they were opening Brisbane's first American-style crabhouse. Since then, I've been following them religiously on social media and listening out for news and updates. St James opened its doors not that long ago and already, it's generated a lot of hype. All of my friends were talking about it and all the Brisbane lifestyle news forum I followed were raving. I couldn't wait to try it out.

I gave it a couple of weeks for the restaurant to find their footing and for the initial chaos to cool. Tidbits of information were flowing through my food network from people who had tried it or wanted to try it and the word on the street was a) they don't take bookings and b) it's a small restaurant so be prepared to wait. Marc and I are really impatient and have a general principle of not waiting for food. We decided to only go on a weekday when it was less likely to be busy.

Lunch at Madtongsan IV

Madtongsan IV
Market Square, Corner Main Road and McCullough Street, Sunnybank

When I was studying in the city, I was a fairly regular attendee of the Madtongsan franchise. The Sunnybank branch has been open for a long time now but last month was my first time trying it out.

I was starting to come down with a cold and my remedy for sore throat is always, always spicy soup. To some that may seem counter-intuitive but for me chili is the best medicine.

Thai Terrace for Dinner

Thai Terrace
http://www.thaiterrace.com.au/

I was in a burger mood a couple of weeks ago and Marc suggested we try this burger place we saw that had just opened in Rosalie. When we got there, we realised it had already closed down and after lamenting over how fickle and competitive the hospitality industry is, we settled in for some Thai instead.

Thai Terrace is a restaurant I've walked past numerous times and always found inviting but never actually ventured into before. The external wall has these lit up pink window panels that I really like the look of. It's like... a classy lounge bar setting for Thai food.

Dinner at Spaghetti House Trattoria

Spaghetti House Trattoria
http://www.spaghettihouse.com.au/

Marc and I stumbled across Spaghetti House once, many years ago when it was in West End. I enjoyed the food we had that night and kept meaning to go back but things got in the way and suddenly there were all these new other restaurants to try. Before I knew it, Spaghetti House had relocated to South Bank.

Revisits continued to alude me and once we then moved to Sinnamon Park, South Bank was a chore to get to. Last weekend, our group of friends caught up over dinner. When brainstorming for dinner locations, dozens of new establishments jumped into my brain for attention but for whatever reason, I got hooked on the idea of Spaghetti House. It was an irresistible combination of nostalgia, promise of carbohydrates and their limited edition lobster gnocchi that drew me in and blocked off all other suggestions.

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.

Spanish Feast at Toro Bravo

Toro Bravo
http://torobravo.com.au/

Last week my close friend Blossom had a showcase at the RAW artist exhibit. We all hopped along to show our support and afterwards, wandered through the valley for a bite to eat.

Lunch at Woka Woka

Woka Woka
Shop 20-22 Warrigal Square, 261 Warrigal Rd, Eight Mile Plains

Sometimes when I'm bored on the weekend I'll pop over to mum and dad's and see what they have to offer. Their solution to entertain me is usually to feed me and I'm not one to complain about that.

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.

Melbourne 6 - Dessert at Spring Street Grocer

Spring Street Grocer
http://www.springstreetgrocer.com.au/

After our meal at Warra Warra, I found myself craving ice-cream. This might have something to do with the in depth dinner conversation we had about the quality of gelato in Brisbane versus Melbourne. Obviously my Melbourne buddies were adamant that what we considered good gelato in Brisbane was ass water compared to what they had on offer. I got a bit offended at first but the promise of top quality gelato lured me into wanting to try a place they suggested. We headed for a night time stroll through the city and ended up on Spring Street.

As the name suggests, Spring Street Grocer is a gourmet grocery store complete with its own veggie section and cheese room. I had a quick look around but my main focus was on the gelataria, which was outside at the front of the store. Apparently one of the 'disadvantages' of getting ice-cream here was lack of choice in flavours but because I'm very simple with what flavours I like to taste, this wasn't a problem for me at all.

Melbourne 5 - Dinner at Warra Warra

Warra Warra Korean Kitchen
http://warrawarrakitchen.com.au/

After one failed attempt to meet my friend Doc for brunch (I simply couldn't wake up in time), we rescheduled a catch up, this time at the safer evening time slot. We were both in the mood for Korean and he suggested Warra Warra.

Melbourne 4 - Shabu Shabu Lunch at Momo

Momo Sukiyaki and Shabu Shabu
http://www.momoshabushabu.com.au/

Fast forward to the Sunday of our friend's wedding. We were in holiday mood so we probably got out of bed around noon, just in time for lunch. The hotel Marc and I stayed at was just a street away from Chinatown (Little Bourke St) so that's where we headed.

There were restaurants galore but I wanted to make a decision before we became overwhelmed with options. We thought that Japanese sounded good and gravitated towards Momo. Upon studying the menu further, Marc was disappointed that it specialised in hot pot. As an addict of hot pot and all things soupy, I couldn't be more over the moon. Marriage may be about compromise but on this occasion I put my foot down.

Melbourne 3 - Lunch at Carmine's

Carmine's Bistro
http://www.carminesbistro.com.au/

Marc and I did the touristy thing while we're in Melbourne and decided to take a stroll along Lygon Street. Most online articles reported the Italian strip along there to be a bit of a tourist trap with inauthentic pizza/pasta combos churned out for unsuspecting interstate/international visitors. I could picture my true Melbournian friends rolling their eyes at how naive we were but I ignored that mental image and focused on enjoying my day. Marc and I like walking as a means to take in new cities so for us, it was a chance to venture away from our hotel.

I had been to Lygon Street once before with Kat for our weekend away in Melbourne, many years ago. I even spotted Stuzzichino, a cafe we visited at the time. I'm sure lots of things have changed since 2010 but I felt a bit of nostalgia all the same.

Melbourne 1 - Lunch at Laksa Bar

Laksa Bar
108 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne CBD

It's the season for weddings! After Marc and I headed to Noosa for some friends wedding, we spent the following weekend jet setting to Melbourne for another friends wedding. Hey, it's an excuse for me to travel, eat and have time off work so I'm not complaining.

Melbourne is a good stop for us because as the years have gone on, more and more of our friends have dispersed out of Brisbane and moved interstate. The wedding itself was the highlight but we also took this opportunity to catch up with some old friends.

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.

Fen Ku Guilin Rice Noodle

Fen Ku Guilin Rice Noodle
Shop 20D, Market Square, Sunnybank 

Rewind back in time and it surprises me to think that our wedding was now 6 month ago. I'll risk making the ultimate cliche but this year certainly is flying by. I spotted a new restaurant at Market Square, Sunnybank that reminded me of our favourite honeymoon stop. Guilin is one of the most picturesque cities I've been to in my entire life.

While we were there, our wonderful local guide explained to us a few aspects of the local cuisine. He was very passionate about their rice noodles and even gave us historical reasons as to why rice noodles were so popular in that region. Marc and I tried some rice noodles while we were in town and thoroughly enjoyed them. This is why seeing Guilin Rice Noodles offered in Brisbane was very exciting to me.

Dinner at Halims

Halims Indian Taj Restaurant
http://www.halimsindiantaj.com.au/

I'm a bit surprised there isn't already a post about Halims on my blog. If I rewind back a few years, I can recall going to this Rosalie establishment fairly frequently. It left a really solid impression in my mind for tasty and affordable Indian food. Marc and I went for dinner a few weeks ago and so I can now give a recent review.

We arrived on a weeknight and it was quite busy at Halims. We managed to get a table out on the large front deck but later on, we noticed some other diners waiting for a table. The menu is your typical Aussie-Indian affair with special mention of biriyani that we didn't order but I'm curious to try one day.