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.

Gyradiko for Lunch

Gyradiko
http://gyradikobrisbane.com.au/

Gyradiko started popping up on my Instagram feed and every photo that people uploaded of the food simply looked jaw droppingly irresistible. I love gyros wraps. I love chips. Gyros wraps with chips INSIDE the wrap?!?!? Genius!

I don't find myself at James Street much and when we went there last Saturday, I was reminded of why. Parking is such a pain. Marc and I bickered non-stop as we each thought we had a better idea about where to go.

Once we finally managed to score a parking spot, we located Gyradiko without much drama. It's decent-sized for what is essentially a takeaway shop. There was a line but it moved fast. Marc and I ate there at one of their many outside tables but I noticed most people grabbed their wraps and left.

Long overdue Revisit to Lefkas Taverna

Lefkas Taverna Revisit
http://lefkas.com.au/

Ask any Greek person in Brisbane for their favourite Greek restaurant recommendation and 9 out of 10 will mention Lefkas in the mix. It's reputable, authentic and conveniently right near my house. I visited once back in early 2011. Why has it taken me so long to make another trip? This is part of the curse of being a food blogger. The constant call of new restaurants hinders me from repeating many wonderful experiences. I wanted to go back to Lefkas, I really did, but it wasn't until dad came over one weekday that I had a reason to go. My dad's a lover of food but he doesn't have the confidence to venture much beyond his comfort zone. I know that Greek isn't that unusual or exotic to most people but for him, it was an exciting new taste journey.

As mentioned, this was a weekday lunch and because my parents work on a farmer's biological clock, they do everything early and we got there just after 11:30am. I think we were the second group of people at the restaurant; I was surprised we weren't the first.

Product Review - Ilias the Greek for Greek Sweets

Ilias the Greek
http://www.iliasthegreek.com.au/

One need only glance through my food log of Greece to see just how much I love baklava. It's one of my absolute most favourite desserts of all time, and I have tasted a LOT of desserts. There is definitely a difference between great and poorly made baklava and I'm always happy to taste test. Recently, the lovely folks at Ilias the Greek posted me a sample of some of their top products to try.

Eurotrip 15 - Food Walking Tour through Chania

Chania Food Tour
http://www.athenswalkingtours.gr/chania-food-tour

I was contemplating whether I should just skip this post because it's so similar to the one we did in Athens. In fact, I found out about this one through the Athens tour (it's run by the same people) and I enjoyed that one so much, I didn't even hesitate to book the Chania version. What I didn't count on was that there would be a few redundant food elements because after all, we were still in Greece.

I'll run through the food quite quickly. We started off at a coffee bean roaster just to smell and take in the aromas. Later on, we were to actually sip coffee with loukoumades (something I had tried earlier in Athens).

Eurotrip 13 - Athens Food Walking Tour

Athens Food Tour
http://www.athenswalkingtours.gr/Athens-Food-Tour

This tour was awesome because we began to experience it before the actual tour. What do I mean by that? Well, part of the tour inclusion was a lunch ticket to a tavern in Athens.

Lunch we had pre-tour

Marc and I decided to use it the day before the tour because we were roaming in that area. It was a delicious and hearty lunch with breads and dips, salad, our choice of mains and dessert.

Eurotrip 12 - Greece

Greece

Athens

Marc and I flew from Rome to Athens and spent a couple of nights there before moving along. Athens was much like what I expected. It's a sprawl of old and new with scatterings of ancient ruins throughout. There's definitely an element of messiness but I found it endearing rather than threatening like the dark side of Paris or Naples.

We partook in a half day tour to check out all the necessary sites (Acropolis and whatnot). Another half day was spent on a walking tour to explore the culinary aspect of the city. This was much more to my liking and is blogged about here.

My impression of food throughout Greece is that it's very fresh. It was all a welcome change after Italy where we carb-loaded at every meal. Greek food comprised mostly of grilled meat (protein) and salad (veggies). It was about time we had some greens in our diet!

Lunch at Char Char Yiros

Char Char Yiros
http://www.charcharyiros.com.au/

I always thought of Char Char Yiros as being only a takeaway store but my friend Nina told me that their meat platters were to die for. I decided to give them a try a couple of weeks ago when Marc's folks came to visit. We went to Char Char for lunch and were pleased to find they had onsite parking. Marc and I normally dread trying to find a park around that dining hub so it was a relief to not have to spend ages hunting.

Char Char must have revamped since I last went there (which might have been just for a yiros x years ago) because it definitely seemed more like a proper little restaurant than a takeaway joint. It's still a small space though, and most of the tables are outside.

Dinner at Hellenic House

Hellenic House
32 Russell Street, South Brisbane

Marc and I made it into Hellenic House on our second trip there. The first time, we had made a booking yet somehow, administrative oversight led to the entire restaurant being occupied by a private function that night. I thought I was walking into some weird gypsy dance hall but it was just someone's theme party. We were turned away by bouncers at the front door, which put a real damper on our mood.

Nonetheless, we persevered and made a second booking, this time assured that the restaurant was indeed operating as normal. As we made our way up to Hellenic House again, we crossed our fingers that there wouldn't be a repeat of the first incident.

As its name suggests, the restaurant does ressemble a house, and it's perched on the top of a mini hill. At night time, it looks almost foreboding with the front columns casting long shadows down below. Hellenic House did not become any less bizare the closer we got.

Sydney Weekender 5 - Lunch Feast at Xanthi

Xanthi Bar and Restaurant
http://xanthi.com.au/

Whilst our trip to Sydney wasn't planned around any 'foodie' destinations, I did very much want to check out the food offerings at Westfield Sydney. I knew there were a bunch of newish restaurants there and that the food court itself had a notable selection. We wandered up after 1/2 a day's worth of shopping and had a look around. The food court reminded me of the big shopping centres I visited in Singapore and Malaysia that had all kinds of fast food stalls offering quirky things ('Haute Dogs anyone?') rather than standard Maccas and KFC. I was tempted to stop there but we went up a floor to see what the restaurants were like.

Kat and I were tossing up between Chat Thai and Xanthi. Chat Thai has a hot reputation and there was a queue to get in. I do want to try it one day but on that occasion, my desire for Greek food won out and we went into Xanthi instead. I'd actually read up about it online and saw lots of rave reviews. They also had a lunch special that sounded enticing.

Lunch feast at Little Greek Taverna

Little Greek Taverna
http://www.littlegreektaverna.com.au/

This restaurant has been on my radar, but elusive, for a couple of years. I've actually been once before back in 2010 (and blogged about it) but on that occasion, my friends and I only tried the wraps and a couple of sides. Whilst they were good, we weren't blown away. I received so many comments from readers insisting that there was more to Little Greek Taverna that I knew I had to go back. Online reviews were largely positive and everytime I walked past the restaurant, it was packed. Surely there was something I had missed on my visit.

I tried to eat there at least 3 times after that and each time, was turned away because I didn't have a booking and they were full. On another occasion, I called to make a booking but they were already booked out. I'd almost given up when a sudden craving for Greek food stuck.

Post-OVO Cirque Du Soleil Dinner at Byblos

Byblos Bar and Restaurant
http://www.byblosbar.com.au/brisbane/

A couple of weeks ago, my good mate Duncan suggested we all head to the new show by Cirque Du Soleil. I had seen OVO posters all over the streets but it never really registered. I'm not sure why though because it's exactly the kind of thing I would enjoy. As a generalization, I'm impressed by any remarkable feats of human physical achievement. Male artistic gymnastics is one of my favorite (and only) Olympic events to watch.

We got there early in time for a couple of drinks before settling into the show. It was incredible. I felt like a kid seeing magic tricks performed for the first time ever. My mouth was basically dropped open during the entire performance. There is a tremendous amount of talent on that stage, representative of years of dedication and training. The lighting and costumes were phenomenal and the showmanship was engaging and amusing. Even the music was live orchestral! If you haven't been to one before, I would definitely recommend it.

Lefkas Taverna

Lefkas Taverna
170 Hardgrave Road, West End



Living in Toowoomba has made me very deprived of Greek food. When my good mate Howl came back to Brisbane, I snagged him for a dinner appointment and decided against many other fancy, blogable places and chose Lefkas instead.



Lefkas Taverna is one of those restaurants I've always wanted to try while I was in Brisbane but never did. Though I used to dine at West End almost on a weekly basis, it's located in what I know as the 'Other Part' of West End. I rarely drive past it. I think it happened once, on the way to Caravenserai, and I remember thinking 'oh, so THAT'S Lefkas... it looks so packed!'

Little Greek Taverna

Little Greek Taverna
http://www.littlegreektaverna.com.au/



Being the West End junkie that I am, I walked past this place a few times before finally getting the chance to eat there. I make it sound like it's really difficult and exclusive because in a way, it is. One time, we were reading the menu outside to see why this place was so popular when a waitress came over to politely inform us that if we didn't have a booking, there was no point in looking at the menu anyway.



Well, a couple of weeks and numerous haloumi cravings later, I made sure that we gave it another go. This time, it was real late on a weekday and there was 1-2 tables free. Late on a weekday and the waitress still had to look around before confirming that yes, there was a small space for us to squeeze in.

Kafe Meze

Kafe Meze
www.kafemeze.com.au



Now that I don't go to uni in the city, I only go there to transfer buses. An exception was sometime last week where I tried to organize a change of name certificate. Why? Long story short, I need to get a new passport because I'm going to Shanghai in September. I have a current, unexpired Australian passport but for reasons unbeknown to myself, this is insufficient proof of who I am. Or something. So I need more paperwork. This kind of admin BS makes my blood boil but in the words of my mum's boss 'People out there just need to make their existence justified'.

While I was in the city, I thought I'd make a vacation out of it so my friend Hien and I decided to grab lunch nearby. I suggested West End and used the time I spent waiting in the Births, Deaths and Marriages queue to Google inspirations for where I wanted to eat. I was leaning towards Greek and tossing up between Lefkas and the Little Greek Taverna.



When Hien picked me up, he stated that he already had a place in mind and would refuse any other suggestion. That outcome didn't even occur to me. I have this selfish expectation that my food destination is purely a product of my own choosing. In any case, his pick was Kafe Meze, which is also Greek so we were happy all round.

Melbourne Day 2: Lunch at Stalactites

Stalactites Restaurant
177-183 Lonsdale St, Melbourne CBD



No holiday is complete without some kind of misunderstanding with directions. Kat only had one compulsory objective for the trip: buy a mug from a Greek shop. We didn't know where the Greek district was. She remembered it being Lygon St but my food knowledge told me (correctly) that this was the Italian district. I wanted to check out Lygon St anyway for completeness sake so we made our way in that general direction.



We ran into other tourists who pointed out the general direction but then subsequently got very lost.

Ouzeri at West End

Ouzeri Mediterranean Restaurant Bar Cafe
http://www.ouzeri.com.au/



To facilitate the year passing quickly and eventfully, a couple of uni friends and I decided to attempt dining out on a weekly basis. I short-listed some places I wanted to go and Justin chose Ouzeri as our first venture.



We went on a Tuesday evening. It was really early so there were hardly any other diners. Ouzeri is one of those restaurants that to me, is a landmark within West End. I was aware of it long before I got all these recommendations for it. Ouzeri has an expansive outdoor dining space that encompasses a corner block. Lots of blue and white checkered table cloths (love it :D).

Orexi Cafe and Grill

Orexi Cafe and Grill
7/220 Melbourne St, West End



When you're in the final leg of exams during a uni year, you find yourself grappling at any excuse to have a party. I endured 2 exams last week and never mind the fact that I have another 4 or so to go... the end of 2 exams is cause for celebration.

I grabbed one of my foodie mates and rather than argue over what we wanted or be completely indecisive (as is usual), we were both in the mood for GREEK.

There are plenty of Greek restaurants in West End and so that's where we headed. The idea is that if nothing caught the eye, West End is chockas with other dining options anyway.

I'd heard bout this new place called Cafe Orexi that opened up where Cristos used to be. My friend and I had actually eaten at Cristos before so we thought - may as well give this new lot a go.

Ottoman Cafe

Ottoman Cafe
http://www.ottomancafe.com.au/



Turkish cuisine is great for sharing. Not only does the food itself have a tear and share nature (eg Turkish bread and dips) but usually, Turkish restaurants have a busy, cozy and warm atmosphere that encourages bonding over food.



One of my 'to do' lists contains places I prefer to go to with a group. One of them was Caravanserai in West End, which I have heard excellent reviews about. We were going out for dinner last night and I was bent on Turkish food but since it was raining and we didn't know where Caravanserai was, we chose instead to dine at Ottoman Cafe.

Kapsali Greek Restaurant

Kapsali Taverna
http://www.kapsalis.com.au/



One time when my grandparents came to visit Brisbane from Shanghai, I took them to a restaurant in Southbank. It was good but oh-so-expensive when you're used to Chinese dining prices. I didn't know that that restaurant had closed down/moved but in its place is Kapsali.

A friend from uni decided to have her 21st birthday party at Kapsali and when I read that it was in Southbank, I was surprised because I've never seen it before. It's actually located in what they call the 'central shops' - near Boost Juice and New Zealand Natural etc. Not hard to miss really but somehow I managed to.