Vapiano number 5, plus YOUR CHANCE TO WIN

Vapiano, Westfield Garden City
http://vapiano.com.au/

Vapiano Australia has just opened its 5th restaurant in Australia, and it's the first one located outside a city centre. This Vapiano store is opposite the cinema at the newly renovated Westfield Garden City Town Square. Last night, Marc and I were lucky enough to be invited to try their menu, along with a group of other Brisbane food bloggers.

We given some background information about the Vapiano group. I knew it had an international footprint because Marc and I actually spotted a Vapiano store while we were traveling through Europe. It turns out that Vapiano started in Germany and due to the global love of Italian food, has blossomed across the world since then.

Fresh herbs available for use as garnish

The key approach to dining at Vapiano is its relaxed and flexible attitude. Unique to this restaurant is a post-pay system where you receive a card upon entry, bill all your purchases onto this card and pay the total when you leave. This solves all the awkward problems of splitting bills and trying to grab a waiters attention for payment. You don't have to feel inconvenienced about getting up to buy a second drink or extra side dish because it just gets added to your card tab.

Dinner at Julius Pizzeria

Julius Pizzeria
http://juliuspizzeria.com.au/

Sometimes the best nights come unplanned and unexpected. With a full on work week, Marc and I weren't planning on any social events on our school nights. I suggested heading out for a cheap and plain dinner at Jackpot but in the last moment, heard about this new pizza shop in West End and redirected ourselves there instead.

Julius Pizzeria is by the same guys behind Beccofino in Tennerife, which has the reputation of being one of Brisbane's best pizza joints. I had dinner at Beccofino once back in 2009 and loved it but haven't been back because it's just a bit too out of the way. We tried once and it was too busy so we went next door instead. The best point of difference with Julius Pizzeria for me is that it's in my neighbourhood.

Midam Revisited for Korean BBQ

Midam for Korean BBQ
Pinelands Plaza, 3/21 Farne St, Sunnybank Hills

A month or so ago my daily diet seemed to consist of Korean BBQ. I even got my family involved and convinced my grandpa to give it a try. We originally wanted to go to Hong Depot but it was closed for lunch on Sunday so we went to Midam instead. I actually previously visited Midam with those same grandparents not that long ago but that was for regular dishes so I thought I'd write a separate post for our BBQ experience.

Complimentary sides and salad

Midam has a few BBQ set options and we chose the combination beef and pork for more variety. I also selected a bunch of starters and sides to mix things up a bit.

Mondo Organics for Lunch

Mondo Organics
http://www.mondo-organics.com.au/ 

I'm not one of those people who are obsessed over organic this and superfood that. I do try to eat healthy but I love all kinds of food way too much to be a health nut. Of course, if something is marketed to me as 'organic' I get a positive boost from thinking it's doing good for my body. Mondo Organics is almost walking distance from my home but I'd never been there before because it's not the type of place I can drag Marc to. Luckily I have a team of girlfriends who aren't as narrow-minded in their feeding habits.

Last weekend, Tracy and I tried Mondo Organics for lunch. It can be stressful trying to find a park in West End but Mondo has an area of exclusive parking spaces behind their building. We didn't make a booking but managed to get a table without much drama. There was seating outside but with the heat being so intolerable, I happily took up a table inside where there was airconditioning.

The Palms for Lunch

The Palms Mediterranean Bar and Grill
http://www.palmsbarandgrill.com.au/

I already had one epic adventure at the newly renovated Garden City shopping centre a month or so ago when I had dinner with Kat at Hatch and Co when I couldn't get to my car because the shopping centre had closed. I wasn't prepared for even more drama at my second visit, when I went back for lunch with a group of girl friends. This time, the stress was in the form of parking difficulties. Apparently October is now when people start their Christmas shopping, or maybe lunch on a Sunday is just THAT popular. There were cars lining up to get through the entrances, even the ones far from Town Square. If I thought my previous parking spot was at the exact opposite end of the shopping centre to Garden City's Town Square, I was wrong. This time I surpassed my previous attempt and somehow managed to enter a realm that was EVEN FURTHER AWAY. It was a lengthy trek to get to The Palms and I was nearly 40min late.

My failure to park aside, I was very excited to try this restaurant. The Palms is run by the same guys behind Alchemy, which I dined at once back in 2011 and enjoyed. This new restaurant is more casual but still has a refined touch. The layout is open, with the back portion looking onto the Town Square's water features. Our girls took up a table right near the water and sitting there, I felt like I was at an overseas island resort. That's not an easy atmosphere to invoke by a shopping centre restaurant but The Palms managed very well. On the downside, half the table was in the sun so I'm not sure how that will go over this blistering Summer.

Boom Boom for Dinner

Boom Boom
Cinema level, Myer Centre, 91 Queen Street, Brisbane CBD

I'm in danger of turning Hungry Kittens into a Korean-in-Brisbane food blog but I simply can't seem to stop myself when it comes to Korean food. My weakness of the month has been Korean fried chicken, which somehow manages to be even yummier and worst for our bodies than the already indulgent regular fried chicken.

Complimentary sides

Our recent venture in an attempt to try every Korean chicken outlet in Brisbane was at Boom Boom in Brisbane city. The restaurant is located near the cinemas at the top of the Myer Centre. There are two levels of dining space but the lower story looked kind of deserted so we headed to the mezzanine floor where all the action was.

Sorellina for Pizza

Sorellina Pizzeria
http://sorellinapizzeria.com/

Sorry about the recent lack of blog posts. It's such a ridiculously busy time of the year; add on the fact that I've had some short overseas trips dotted here and there and I just can't find the time/energy to blog. As of today, I've just gotten back from a week in Fiji and I'm tired and sunburnt and finding it hard to cope with Brissie heat. Before Fiji, I spent a week in Shanghai with my parents.

It was a short 6 day blitz through my hometown with first priority to visit my grandparents but second priority to eat. My mum and dad came with me and we covered all sorts of local Shanghainese and pan-chinese dishes. As a result, by the time I arrived back in Australia, I was craving western food very, very much. The thing I decided was most opposite to fried dumplings and stir-fries and the like was Italian food. Specifically, pizza.

Getta Burger for Dinner

Getta Burger
1396 Creek Road, Cannon Hill

Over this past year, Marc and I have managed to transform our quiet 2 bed apartment into a animal-saturated family home. We've had our puppy Odin for just over a year now and this week, welcomed his new sister a balinese kitten by the name of Zaria.

The relevance of this is that pet-related situations lead me to first discover where Getta Burger was and to then try it out. Odin's obedience class was nearby and when we drove past Getta Burger one day, I realised it sounded familiar because I had heard it mentioned on The Urban List. We arranged to eat there last Saturday, on the way to pick Zaria up.

Getta Burger (combined with That Coffee Joint) is the brick and mortar establishment run by the masterminds behind That BBQ Joint food truck. This is where you can guarantee some satisfaction for your burger craving without having to chase a van around town. The shop front is small but there are a couple of cute searing options available. We noticed that most people got takeaway. The shopping plaza it's located in is small but very, very busy.

Crosstown Revisited for Dinner

The Crosstown for Dinner
http://www.thecrosstown.com.au/

In what feels like a lifetime ago, I had breakfast at Crosstown with Kat and experienced one of the best french toasts of my life. Fast forward 2 years (which doesn't sound that long chronologically but a lot can happen in that period) and I got to revisit and try their dinner menu.

Bungle Bungle

Bungle Bungle
Shop 13, Runcorn Plaza, 258 Warrigal Road, Runcorn

I've been very lenient with my Korean food cravings these days, allowing myself whatever I want whenever I want it. The exception has been Korean fried chicken because of my personal belief that no matter how much unhealthy food I eat, there's nothing quite as unhealthy as fried chicken. This month marks the end of my resistance to fried chicken, but only the Korean variety. I've realised (since Seoul Bistro) that this is the only case of fried chicken where benefit outweighs cost because it is just that darn delicious.

I discussed with Jenny which places we should try for Korean fried chicken and we are determined to make our way through the list. The first of our targets was Bungle Bungle, which Jenny had been recommended as the best Korean fried chicken outlet by some other friends. I can't remember where I saw it but one online testimonial I read claimed that Bungle Bungle "is not just a restaurant, but a way of life". That sure hooked me right in.

We thought that this would be more of a takeaway shop than a restaurant but it actually is a full fledged restaurant (albeit a small one) with plenty of indoor sitting space. Of course you can still get takeaway as an option.