Il Centro Restaurant and Bar

Il Centro Restaurant and Bar
http://www.il-centro.com.au/



Cruising around the riverside, it's pretty hard to miss Il Centro. I have been to Cha Cha Char and because they're direct neighbors, it was instinctive for me to have a peak at what Il Centro had on offer. One thing I noticed from a while back is that they put a lot of emphasis on their pastry chef. Now, I LOVE desserts and when I read that, Il Centro instantly got a place on my list of 'restaurants to visit'.



This was a couple of years ago... the fact is, I have MANY restaurants I want to try and when an occasion comes about, I tend to blank out and stick with what I know and love. Yesterday marked the end of my exams for semester 1. In recognition of my current 'Italian craze', I thought that it would be the perfect time to FINALLY try Il Centro.

Thai Mountain Restaurant

Thai Mountain Restaurant
8/21 Goggs St, Jindalee



I've been told that I once went past this restaurant and said "this place looks good - we must try it".  The thing is, I don't actually recall saying that because I don't even remember noticing this restaurant before but Charlie had mentally cataloged it as somewhere to take me. What a nice guy. We went there spontaneously one weekday evening and it was surprisingly busy. If you're familiar with the area, you'll know we don't have a lot of fancy shmancy restaurants so anything that managed to GRAB THE LOCALS get elevated to 'potentially awesome' in my books.



The restaurant is small. There's a bit of outdoor dining space but the night we went, it was FREEZING so I didn't even think about sitting outside. The first thing I noticed is that the staff wear really cute 'costumes'. Really cute.

Capri Cafe and Bar

Capri Cafe and Bar
http://www.capricafe.com.au/



It's official: my craving for Italian food is insatiable. I keep thinking that it's about time I started getting in the mood for a different type of cuisine but nope... pasta is on my mind. It's an affliction.

It so happens that Charlie has also caught the bug. With him it's more specific: seafood pasta in a creamy sauce loaded with chili.

We set out one day with this in mind. I wanted to try Arriva in New Farm but it wasn't open for lunch. Neither was Ciccio's (one of our favorite pasta bars). Finally, in a state of near-despair, we remembered Capri in the Emporium. Charlie had actually been there before but for some reason, thought it was a Spanish restaurant. I had never been there but was pretty sure it was an Italian restaurant. I think I was right in the end.

Six Degrees

Six Degrees
4/30 Station Rd, Indooroopilly



I have a 'thing' for boutique. Boutique clothing stores, cafes etc. Six Degrees was recommended to me as a place that had a bit of an artsy, cozy vibe. That made me think of Three Monkeys, which I love, so it definitely got me curious.



I had driven past Six Degrees a few times before I ate there and I was doubtful because from the outside, it looks like such a plain (but pink) building. As soon as you walk inside though, you can make out the little booth seats, artwork on the wall and the special kind of clutter that makes you feel comfortable rather than messy.

Cream Patisserie Boulangerie

Cream Patisserie Boulangerie
http://www.creamstyle.com.au/



I may or may not have mentioned this before but before I moved from the East side of Brisbane, Cream was my favorite cafe. Hands down. It opens till late on most nights and that was great for me to go on spontaneous 'cake runs' (great for exam-time sugar fixes).



The cafe sells its own desserts and pastry items and from my multiple experiences of breakfast, lunch, coffee and sweet goods, it is consistently good. Notable favorites have included: their tiramisu (which got my mum addicted to tiramisu as a whole), chocolate sour cream cake and eggs benedict (my first ever eggs benny was had at Cream). They do an awesome hot chocolate that is so thick, you have to spoon it out.

Pork Wontons in Chili Coconut Broth

Pork Wontons in Chili Coconut Broth
Home Cooking



This recipe was really loosely based on one from "Feed me now" by Bill Granger. When I say loosely, I'm 'not at all really'. I saw his recipe and was very close to following it but got distracted.

The change-of-mind trigger for me was that I bought a bunch of bok choi and it was much too much to use in the broth alone. I also didn't have chicken mince like I thought and so it clicked in my head: pork mince + chopped bok choi = wontons. Bill Granger's recipe was for spiced chicken meatballs basically so you can see where the deviation lies.

The Purple Olive

The Purple Olive
www.thepurpleolive.com.au



I've been in the mood for Italian food a lot. In a recent cookbook splurge, I picked up Jamie's Italy and the descriptions and photos are just stunning. I have dreams about pasta. It's incurable.

Being of Oriental heritage, I unfortunately don't have an Italian grandmother to lovingly create pasta dishes for me on a whim. The best I can do is make my own lazy versions (canned tomato + mince with store-bought dried pasta shapes and loads of Parmesan) or drag someone out to a restaurant with me. The someone is not strictly necessary but I'm not a huge fan of eating by myself.

As I was researching the supply of Italian restaurants in Brisbane, The Purple Olive came up a number of times. I had heard of the place before through a friend. I can't remember if she went or if she had a good time but assumed that if it didn't drill into my head, at least it wasn't any negative feedback.

Obsession Restaurant Bar

Obsession Restaurant Bar
http://www.obsessionchinese.com.au/



Isn't it great when you stumble across a great shop, bar or restaurant by chance? This rarely happens to me. Almost every time I dine spontaneously, the experience is less than memorable. That probably goes some way in explaining why I'm adamant about pre-planning everything. EVERYTHING. Yes. I'm one of 'those' people.

The other day, I had a moment of 'go with the flow' and we were in Southbank just wandering around, looking for somewhere nice to eat. I was ready to dive into Ginga sushi train but Charlie said he was in the mood for 'anything but sushi'. After more wandering, we suddenly stopped in front of a restaurant and I thought 'oh! I've never seen this place before'.



I think Obsession is relatively new. It's located next to Viet De Lites so either it wasn't there when I ate at Viet De Lites or I didn't notice.

Mussels and Linguine with Creamy White Wine Sauce

Mussels and Linguine with Creamy White Wine Sauce
Home Cooking



I had a LOT of mussels left over from the paella (serves me right for getting 1kg bulk lots of anything) and I didn't want them to die on me so I decided to whip up another simple mussel dish.

This idea is not original, obviously. Mussels with cream, wine and chili is a polygamous marriage made in heaven. I was, however, inspired by the little leaflet I got with the mussels. They suggested steaming the mussels with white wine and serving them with the residual stock + some crusty bread. I decided to do essentially the same thing but with pasta instead of bread.

Mixed Paella - loaded with pumpkin, chorizo, pork, prawns and mussels

Mixed Paella
Home Cooking



If you think this was another cooking venture driven by an episode of MasterChef Australia, YOU GUESSED IT! However, in my defense, I didn't blindly follow their recipe but overall, improvised and did my own (superior) version.

This has ended up being The Most Expensive recipe I've ever followed, largely due to the fact that I didn't have saffron at home. I went out and bought one of those tiny test-tubes with a few measly saffron threads: $14 for 10mg I think. When I came home and used them, I dropped a few threads on the counter and panicked for a few seconds before I spotted them again. Cannot believe each thread is around $3...