Let me start with a disclaimer, their current Head Chef is leaving this coming week.

My dining companions had recently sampled the redundant Autumn menu and were keen to try the newly launched Winter menu. So we booked in on the first night.
I arrived early and was promptly seated and poured a glass of the Chandon Brut bubbles. A light, fresh, dry sparkling to awaken the palette. My companions soon arrived and we discovered that all diners were there for the degustation launch. Our starter of brushettea with heirloom tomatoes and sweet basil was promptly served. I’m not a basil fan, but the sweetness of the tomatoes and basil was a great start. We were soon served the Chandon Chardonnay, heralding the arrival of our second course, Artichoke ravioli. Though the artichoke was too subtle for me, the sweetness of the red onion and semi-dried tomatoes worked well with the ricotta. I was looking forward to the potted prawns with the caramelised shallot parfait, and I was not disappointed.

Salmon is also far from the top of my list of favourites, however, the salmon mousseline with the rich tomato and taragon coulis was terribly complementary. Turns out I quite like buckwheat as well, as was served with the final main dish of glazed duck breast, also served with a rich shitake mushroom broth. Divine! To finish our meal we were served a triple cream brie with crackers and crisp breads. Finally a rhubarb and ginger jam pie was served, with a remarkably robust portion of ice-cream that refused to melt. A wee dram of port accompanied our dessert. Strangely though, tea and coffee were not part of the meal and needed to be ordered and paid for separately.

Overall, a wonderful dining experience. Lovely warm, inviting atmosphere with friendly obliging staff. I would recommend following chef Sian Bressolles to her next venture. Saying that, McMahon’s is highly recommended and worth seeing what their new head chef serves up. I would suggest Friday and Saturday nights warrant booking ahead.

132 Alice Street
City QLD 4000
(07) 3853 6000

My friend has a penchant for Greek and Turkish food, so she went seeking a tasty quick Sunday dinner.  Reluctantly, I agreed to go to Ahmet’s at Southbank.  A few weeks ago we had a delightful meal with great service at the Bulimba restaurant, but I’m yet to have a good one at the Southbank Ahmet’s.  I was hopeful…

A busy Sunday night trade dictated we wait for a few minutes for a table for our party of 3.  A drink order was promptly taken, an Efes beer and I had a LL&B, and we were left to peruse the menu, notably different to their sister Ahmet’s.  As we were all quite hungry and my female companion is quite the fan of breads and dips, we ordered the beetroot dip and pumpkin dip to be accompanied by garlic Turkish bread as our starter.  I was tossing up between the Moussaka and a Vegetarian pide (pid-eh), my companions ordered the Karides (Prawns) and Pilic Sehrazat (chicken) and I settled on the Moussaka.

We sat and waited and sat and waited, finally I summoned a waitress to check on the progress of our entrees, meanwhile joking that our mains should be served soon.  Not 2 minutes after the first waitress walked away a second delivered our joked about mains.  We then had to explain that we no longer wanted our entree…much to my dip-loving companion’s dismay.  She did however request a piece of bread to accompany her meal, only to be told that was not possible as bread was only sold in baskets…The Prawns looked lovely, with 2 golden fried croquets and a small side salad.  My moussaka was accompanied by a small salad with a lovely zesty dressing and turkish rice.  My other companion’s chicken dish while very tasty seemed to be lacking something:  no potato, no rice, no bread, not even a vegetable…

We had previously decided to have dessert elsewhere, though I had noticed the usual suspects – turkish delight, baklava, ice-cream and Turkish fairy floss.

I would have to say another disappointing experience at Ahmet’s, and made moreso by the fact we had not long ago had such a great experience.  WHilst our many servers were adequate, they weren’t particulary accommodating.  I believe there are other better options available nearby if you are feeling like Turkish..but I suppose to each their own.

South Bank
07 3846 6699
Shop 10/164 Grey St South Bank

Bulimba
07 3395 8600
136 Oxford St Bulimba

For a birthday treat, my brother, friend and I headed to Lure at The Coro for their degustation.  It came highly recommended and was a slightly more affordable option than my other choice, which shall remain nameless.

The decor struck me as a tad eclectic, and our table was situated in a too well lit spot.  As with most, everyone in the party must have the degustation, so our first course was delivered promptly.  The Seafood Chowder with a piece of lemon myrtle bread was delightful, rich, creamy, thick and full of seafood pieces AND without a mussel in sight.  After clearing our first course the second came out very quickly, the bug salad was again lovely with good portions of bug.  The accompanying Pinot Gris was perfect.  I found my piece of coral trout as the third dish to be a little undercooked, however the grilled prawn was bursting with flavour.  I was getting concerned my brother may not be satisfied at the end of  the meal, and this was further cemented when our Eye fillet was served.  Possibly a 100gm piece of steak cooked to perfection.  Note:  the steak is automatically served medium, so if you prefer it dry and burnt you’ll need to let the kitchen know.  The Geoff Merrill Cabernet Sauvignon was matched very well and probably my favourite of the night.  I don’t pretend to know a lot about wine, but I do know what I like and I liked this one.

Finally our Chocolate Assiette, a selection of 3 chocolate desserts, was served and found to be quite rich for all of us, though the cheese platter and tea helped ease our taste buds. 

I actually thought the dishes were served too close together and felt I needed to scull my wine to keep up, or waste it.  I was quite correct in my concerns about the meal satisfying my brother, so men with big appetites beware!!  Our meal wasn’t as relaxed as I had hoped.  However, the food was lovely, the service: professional.

A side note:  the female toilets are like none I’ve ever seen, the glass frosts up when the door is latched, but is otherwise quite transparent and slightly off-putting, as is the fact the cubicles feel to be out in the room and aren’t housed within a toilet “room”.

Our weeknight visit was quite, however I would suggest reservations for a Friday or Saturday  night seating.  I would definitely consider returning to Lure, but would request a table near the window and less well lit.

The Coro (Street Address)
28 McDougall Street
Milton, Brisbane QLD 4064

07 3369 9955

Before you even walk in the door this restaurant already has one huge thing going for it…it’s in Paris, just a stone’s throw from the Eiffel Tower!

When planning our trip to Paris I was looking for a nice romantic place to have dinner and La Varangue had such great reviews and was walking distance from our hotel so I booked us in online.  The restaurant is not at all flash but the chef/owner Phillipe is funny and friendly and the food absolutely, deliciously French.  I had goat’s cheese toast for entree and chicken with pepper sauce for main while Shane chose escargot for entree and Foi de Lapin (rabbit) for main.  Desserts were getting scarce by the time we were ready for them and Phillipe was offering shared desserts to other tables but we were lucky enough to have one each.  Chocolate Gateau for me and Citron Tart for Shane.  O.M.G!!!!!  Everything was perfectly cooked and I can honestly say that it was one of the best dinners I have ever had.

When the bill came we were shocked to find that including drinks, it came to 60 euro.  Absolute bargain!

Phillipe is very French.  During the few hours we were in his restaurant, he was funny, charming, bossy and arrogant.  My favourite moment was when he chastised a couple of tourists who poked their heads in the door to see if he was still open for dinner.  He told them no, they were too late, then a minute later felt guilty and chased them down the street to bring them back.

It’s been a couple of years since this trip but a quick check of Trip Advisor shows that it hasn’t changed and I’d highly recommend a trip to Phillipe’s place for a great meal.

http://www.lavarangue.fr/

Europa Cake Shop
81 Acland Street
St Kilda
03) 9557 5877

European Pastries, Coffee

Looking for a tasty treat while hitting Acland St St Kilda? Europa Cake Shop may be the choice for a guilty treat and coffee.

We stopped by on a spring Sunday afternoon and the place was absolutely packed with locals, “local” tourists (read people like me who have ventured out to St Kilda for the day) and overseas tourists who seem to have flocked to the mecca of Acland St.
Clearly popular, the window front was well pawed making getting a good photo a bit more of a challenge.

The jam doughnuts caught Nick’s eye, Nicks mum the brandy snaps. My heart was sent on trying their cannoli which I have become quite fond of since moving down to Melbourne.

As I mentioned the place was very busy and I found the staff behind the counter  coming across as a little flustered. They were friendly but clearly had a job ahead of them so they did not waste any time with dilly dally.

Thankfully we were able to find a small table in the corner to enjoy our coffee and cakes.

Nick found his doughnut had a tasty filling however the texture and flavour was a little “bready” and not as sweet as he had expected of a doughnut.

The glaze was nice and went well with the total package.

With my heart set on cannoli I was glad to see a nice tray of custard filled treats waiting for testing.

The custard filling was divine and rich with a nice texture, sadly the pasty was not crisp and felt like it may have been made the night before.

It was nice but when it comes to cannoli there is some bloody good competition in Melbourne.

Nick’s mum enjoyed her brandy snap and reported that it was one of the best she had tasted.

The coffee was good and served very quickly.

Overall it was a nice experience but if you are looking for perfection you may want to explore some of the other choices available on the strip. That said everyone has their taste and preferences so this may be your ideal haunt. Given that it’s doors are open late into the night, it may be a great place for that “on the way home” stop after a night on the town.

Overall Europa Cake Shop is a good choice, and there are still a number of treats to try before a final verdict.

My suggestion would be to give it a whirl when you are next in the area.

George

Hacienda Mexican Restaurant
75 Station St
Fairfield
03) 9489 7524
Mexican Cuisine

Hacienda Mexican Restaurant has been an “icon” of the Station Street strip of Fairfield for many years and on the recommendation of a friend we gave it a try.

Hacienda is a cozy space with the traditional Mexican restaurant theme with the frozen drink machine taking a feature spot on the eye line as you enter. Oh yes, they are licensed and you can BYO wine as well. There is an OK selection of beers available.

Having arrived around 8pm I was starving and keen to get stuck into a nice Mexican meal…

I had read previous reviews that the service can be “variable” but I was pleased to find the waitress was pleasant and helpful when explaining the menu choices. We were comped some corn chips and dip as we waited for our meals to arrive.

Only a few minutes after hearing the microwave “bing” our meals were served.

For my meal I had opted for the chicken chimichanga.
I was disappointed to say the least. While tasty the serving size looked like it had come from the kids menu. Even the the rice (the cheapest filler on a menu) serving was small.
Meal finished in 5 minutes, I was left hungry and feeling ripped off after spending $15 for my choice.

Nick opted for the nachos. Also tiny, also microwave “fresh”.

For a perspective point of view, the plate you are seeing the size of an entree plate.

Nice flavour but again, only enough to feed a speed addicted mouse.

I suppose on a positive both of our meals where served with the condiments matching the Mexican flag. Viva La Mexicana!

Starving we opted for desserts hoping they may help reduce our growling stomachs

Sadly nothing to say here other then scooped out ice cream and something from the Sarah Lea selection.

It seems we must have come on an off night. For a different perspective the guys @ Gluten Shmooten seemed to have a better time then we did.

My personal thoughts are if you are looking for a good Mexican feed may I suggest giving Hacienda Mexican a swerve and trying something a bit less economy minded. Surely Taco Bills cant be as bad as this?

I’ll let you know.

George

Koreana New Korean BBQ
58 Victoria St
Richmond
03) 9421 1002
Korean Restaurant

Tucked away just 200m from the North Richmond train station is “Koreana” New Korea BBQ, a little dollop of Korean on the “great asian eats” strip of Victoria St Richmond.

I have always liked Korean food, especially Korean BBQ but I usually stuff up the cooking so I am left with char grilled meals that even my dog would not touch. Thus I will go, but normally avoid the whole BBQ experience.
One of the nice aspects of this restaurant is that they actually do the cooking for you right at your table.

Now before we get into the mains tho, a introduction to New Korean BBQ.
I suppose the essentials are moderate prices, BYO wine only, beers start @ $6 and it’s important to make a booking on busy nights.

For me the food is fantastic but due to problems with the staff the experience is somewhat of a let down.

Variably helpful with english skills slimmer then the sliced beef, the staff project an image that is pretty disorganized.
Nobody will stop if you flag them down and every time I made eye contact trying to get help they would look the other way or even worse, smile and do nothing.

We were going to a movie after our dinner and the whole process of paying the bill was painful to say the least. Thankfully we made it to the movies but missed the tram we where planning to catch and had to grab a taxi.

If you can tolerate the hit and miss service, well you are in for a great eat. May I suggest book on a week night and give yourself plenty of time.

The entree’s on offer are tasty.

I love the Korean pancakes. They come in vegetarian and seafood and are great.

We also had the gyoza, and calamari tempura as I was starving and as the restaurant was filled to the brim with what must have been “bring your screaming secretary” night I was worried the food would be slow to come out.
Thankfully it was not.

For mains we opted for one of the three meat BBQ’s.
Our’s included teriyaki chicken, pork belly and fillet steak.
($45 for the plate you see)

This is presented with Kimchi, spicy chili cabbage, sweet caramelized potato, cucumber pickle and lettuce.
I gather the idea is to put some meat into a lettuce leaf add some of the extra’s and enjoy. I did

We are big fans of kimchi so we also had the kimchi fried rice. ($10) If you like chili this is a great variation on the standard fried rice and the added egg on top gives it that “authentic Korea” feel.

Thankfully we were full as the dessert menu is crap and the secretaries had just popped another bottle of champagne bringing the noise level up to a point where I was not able to hear my partner across the table.

Overall the food here is good, but as I have tried to convey the service here is very hit and miss.

From a food perspective I give it a thumbs up. As for the service, well you may have a tolerance threshold higher then mine but really I don’t think I am that much of a princess…

George

Three Bags Full
56 Nicholson St Abbotsford
03) 9421 2732
Breakfast Brunch Restaurant

Looking for a great breakfast beyond the typical “Eggs Benedict” that is almost a little too standard these days? Go no further then Three Bags Full for a great brunch treat.

Created by Nathan Toleman of Apte and “Liar Liar” fame, Three Bags Full has proven as a popular choice so don’t be surprised to see a line when you turn up for your breakfast.

We arrived on a Saturday around 11:30 and our wait was around 20 minutes. Don’t just join the line tho, be sure to catch the eye of the waiter/waitress with the clipboard as this is your ticket to getting a seat. If you are not on the list, well your wait could be for quite some time.

A great tip shared to me was to arrive before 9:30 if you are really keen to walk straight to a table.

Waiting for a seat you have a great opportunity to check out the warehouse feel and some of the tasty treats that are prepared for those that prefer a quick coffee and cake. Plenty of art and the people watchers will enjoy the selection of cool kids, hung over locals, and “ladies who lunch” who seem to have discovered that the local trams are able to deliver them to breakfast (and a change of pace).

The coffee was great with the standard options and some interesting twists I had never heard of.

Of interest to me was in inclusion of “Clever Coffee Dripper” coffee. While expensive @ $6 for a serve, the taste is amazing and the flask of coffee delivered lasted me the whole breakfast.
The waitress who explained it to me was very enthusiastic and even brought over the complete kit to help explain how it all worked.
While a little technical for me, certainly something I could not be bothered to do at home, the coffee was amazing and I was able to taste the flavours as described on the iPad education sheet that was delivered with my coffee. Geeky and tasty.
A match made in computer club
For a great review of Three Bag Full’s coffee be sure to check out Back Seat Baristas’ blog.

Suitably wired our food came after about 20 minutes (Note that the line was still leading out the door so these guys were absolutely cranking!)

I chose the House Cured Salmon that was served on a pea, fetta and corn fritter with avocado, rocket and a dill sour cream. It was fantastic and I would be happy to have the same again on my next visit.

Nick went for the Pumpkin Fritters which came with prosciutto, creamed persian feta and a salad of rocket and oven roasted cherry tomatoes.
I was able to edge in for a taste and have to give it a thumbs up. I liked the hint of salt in the fetta that brought out the pumpkin fritters without taking over.

Nick’s Mum, Maureen chose the Turkish Pide with tomato, pesto, bocconcini, parmesan and rocket.
While I did not try it, Maureen reports it was great and would be happy to have another.

Overall a great breakfast with the meal rounding out to less then $20 a head for each of us including coffee.

Highly recommended.

George

Just had to add.  Check out these amazing photos of Three Bags Full over @ Expresso Melbourne. Absolutely stunning and really capture the atmosphere!

My dining companion has long been wanting to go to the Ship Inn for a meal, dinner or lunch, not fussy.  So, one lazy sunday, after some retail therapy in the city we wandered over to Southbank, for lunch at the Ship Inn.  With indoor or outdoor seating, a sunny day was to be taken advantage of.  A bit of confusion with ordering, table service, counter service?  The waitress informed us it was table service and that lunch was served until 5pm!!  How very civilised!!  So we order a glass of wine each, me the Sauv Blanc and my friend the Pinot grigio.  I ordered the lamb rack (Corrish lamb from Goondiwindi, thank you very much – am an old Gundy-girl myself) and my companion the pork ribs.  The menu has a small number of options for each meat, some pasta and salad options too.

The food took slightly longer than I thought, that starter we neglected to order was much rued!!  Though when it did arrive, it was a good sized portion and quite nicely presented, though the rack pretty much just slapped on a rectangular plate…what else can you do really…?

I guess overall it was ok, maybe we would have had a different experience if we were there earlier in the day or for dinner.  The confusion over service and the delay in receiving our meals was a little disappointing.  Though we had an Entertainment book voucher, so we get off a bit more lightly and that helped ease the disappointment.

Well, almost desperate to try my first degustation, I was happy to go nearly anywhere, I even booked 2! places with the view to cancel one.  Being that we could only do a weeknight, Montrachet in Paddington was the place!!  And what a place!!!

Friendly, knowledgable, casual yet efficient service, a very enticing menu and great company made for a fantastic night. 

The amuse bouche was a roquefort creme broulet – a rich, creamy, flavoursome delight.  A teeny, tiny portion was more than enough.  This was followed by a salmon gravlax with a touch of goats curd.  A light and satisfying delight.  3rd course was a prawn and scallop pasta in a tomato based sauce with cognac, bursting with flavour, the bite on the cognac evident in every mouthful.  The chicken and foie gras boudin was very interesting in texture, accompanied with a light red cabbage and cassis sauce, a great combination.  The course I was most looking forward to was the rack of lamb with a mushroom ragout and truffle gnocchi.  And it didnt’ disappoint.  Perfectly cooked (very pink the middle – beware if you like them cooked through)!  We then had our choice of cheese, some interesting options.  I’m not a great cheese fan and 2 of the 3 were not to my liking.  However, my companions thought they were delicious! Then of course:  dessert.  It was a tough decision, the tussel over potentially THE best creme brulee or something new and different coffee and mascarpone cheese cake with caramelised banana and kahlua crème Anglaise.  I DID chose the classic and wasn’t disappointed!!  I’ll try something different next time…promise. 

This degustation is not matched with wine.  So we settled on a French Pinot Blanc.  A lovely summer wine, light and fruity.

This restuarant is small and very popular, so booking is strongly recommended.  The degustation took us a little over 4 hours, so don’t chose this option if you don’t have the time.  The meal and wine were both very reasonably priced, $95ea for dinner.  The wine list contained a very extensive selection of French wines, which seemed to be quite reasonably priced. A selectionof Australian wines is also available.

[rating5/5]