Sunday, May 20, 2012
Last Post.
I am moving to a new home! You can now find all my writing, photos and other stuff at Lemon Shack Travels. As such, this will be my last post on this particular blog. Ciao!
Friday, May 6, 2011
Breakfast in Bulimba: Riverbend Books
Sam and I both had the morning off yesterday, so we ventured to one of our favourite places in Brisbane for breakfast - the lovely suburb of Bulimba. Bulimba is best characterised by the gaggle of mums in workout gear who seem to always be crossing the road, with a pram in one hand and a giant coffee in the other. Its a relaxing little place where lots of families bring their kids on the weekend, but there's just enough action and we can always find something new to do or buy or eat.
On this particular day, we chose to eat at Riverbend Books. We always shop here, but have never eaten at their self-proclaimed tea-house. I was drawn in by their menu on sight, so we ordered at the counter and sat down on the sunny deck. I chose the Stuffed mushrooms with bacon, spinach, semi-dried tomatoes and goats cheese crust ($14) and Sam had the Corn fritters with triple-smoked bacon, fresh avocado and ricotta ($15). He also had a milkshake and I chose one of their organic juices - orange and passionfruit.
Our food took a little while to arrive, but when it did I was terribly excited to try mine. It looked delicious - three little mushrooms piled high with all sorts of exciting things. They tasted as good as they looked, with just enough stuffing so that the mushroom wasn't completely overpowering.
Sam's corn fritters were different to how I anticipated - I like really thin, crunchy fritters and these were more like pancakes. They were yummy though, with the bacon and very generous avocado perfect, although definitely necessary matches. Nontheless, I think Sam had a little bit of meal envy.
Only downside to our meal with that Sam's milkshake didn't arrive until he was three quarters through his meal (and after I had asked after it). We are cursed on the milkshake front obviously - when we were in Cairns last week we ordered two milkshakes and they took, literally, FORTY FIVE MINUTES to arrive. I asked after them twice and was told basically I'd just have to wait. Seriously. Cursed.
Anyway, would highly recommend Riverbend for both books and eats! There are lots of things on their breakfast and lunch menus I will definitely be going back for, the prices are very reasonable and they have a great philosophy, buying their produce from local markets and bakeries and trying to use organic food when they can.
Riverbend Books & Teahouse
193 Oxford Street
Bulimba QLD 4171
On this particular day, we chose to eat at Riverbend Books. We always shop here, but have never eaten at their self-proclaimed tea-house. I was drawn in by their menu on sight, so we ordered at the counter and sat down on the sunny deck. I chose the Stuffed mushrooms with bacon, spinach, semi-dried tomatoes and goats cheese crust ($14) and Sam had the Corn fritters with triple-smoked bacon, fresh avocado and ricotta ($15). He also had a milkshake and I chose one of their organic juices - orange and passionfruit.
Our food took a little while to arrive, but when it did I was terribly excited to try mine. It looked delicious - three little mushrooms piled high with all sorts of exciting things. They tasted as good as they looked, with just enough stuffing so that the mushroom wasn't completely overpowering.
Sam's corn fritters were different to how I anticipated - I like really thin, crunchy fritters and these were more like pancakes. They were yummy though, with the bacon and very generous avocado perfect, although definitely necessary matches. Nontheless, I think Sam had a little bit of meal envy.
Only downside to our meal with that Sam's milkshake didn't arrive until he was three quarters through his meal (and after I had asked after it). We are cursed on the milkshake front obviously - when we were in Cairns last week we ordered two milkshakes and they took, literally, FORTY FIVE MINUTES to arrive. I asked after them twice and was told basically I'd just have to wait. Seriously. Cursed.
Anyway, would highly recommend Riverbend for both books and eats! There are lots of things on their breakfast and lunch menus I will definitely be going back for, the prices are very reasonable and they have a great philosophy, buying their produce from local markets and bakeries and trying to use organic food when they can.
Riverbend Books & Teahouse
193 Oxford Street
Bulimba QLD 4171
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Sydney Eats Part 2: Celebrity chef sightings and the like...
On our final night in Sydney, I made us a reservation at Rockpool Bar & Grill, Neil Perry's restaurant in Sydney's CBD. Our flight was at 9PM, so we arrived early at 6PM and were shown in to the magnificent dining area. This place is like an incredibly chic medieval church, with high ceilings, marble pillars and, my personal favourite, an enormous wine glass chandelier. As you do. (I've taken these photos from other sites as I didn't have my camera with me - foolish. You can access the sites at the links below.)
We sat down in the front of the restaurant and began investigating the food and wine menus. Our menu was printed with the date, as the restaurant changes its menu daily to serve the most seasonal produce, which I find charming. I particularly enjoyed the "Rockpool Bar and Grill House Rules" printed inside the cocktail menu, which included such advice as:
Don't bring yourself into prominence before a crowd at the bar. Be polite and approachable, but let them advance to you;
Gentlemen, don't interrupt or join any conversation, but if it is general you may seem interested;
Leave your attitude, with your hat at the door; and
Remember, nothing is on the house but the roof.
We skipped over the wine menu, after discovering numerous bottles upwards of $1000 and one particular drop from the 1940s priced at I think it was around $11,000. No biggie, just a casual night out... Seriously, what?! What if it didn't taste any good?!
Anyway, Sam had a beer and I settled for water. After much deliberating, I decided on the Waygu Bolognse with Hand Cut Fettucine ($25) for my meal, with a side of green beans with creamy anchovy, toasted almonds and chilli and lemon dressing ($9). Sam ordered Wood Fire Grilled Sausages with Grilled Peppers and a Warm Lentil Salad ($29, I think). While we waited with anticipation, we were provided with sourdough bread and butter for the table. This bread literally blew my mind. This sounds ridiculous, but it was the best bread I've ever had. It was crunchy on the outside and beautifully soft and full of yummy sourdough goodness on the inside, and it took all my willpower not to just fill up my belly with bread.
Our meals arrived at the perfect time after we had ordered them (not so quickly that we couldn't chat and enjoy the atmosphere, but not so long that we started looking around for them). Mine was delightful - not that typical creamy, comfort food like most bolognse, but much richer and tastier, so the small serve seemed enormous. The beans were also delicious - the almonds and the dressing matched them perfectly. My favourite kind of food is just that - where you can taste every single ingredient and understand why all of them are there and together.
Don't bring yourself into prominence before a crowd at the bar. Be polite and approachable, but let them advance to you;
Gentlemen, don't interrupt or join any conversation, but if it is general you may seem interested;
Leave your attitude, with your hat at the door; and
Remember, nothing is on the house but the roof.
We skipped over the wine menu, after discovering numerous bottles upwards of $1000 and one particular drop from the 1940s priced at I think it was around $11,000. No biggie, just a casual night out... Seriously, what?! What if it didn't taste any good?!
Anyway, Sam had a beer and I settled for water. After much deliberating, I decided on the Waygu Bolognse with Hand Cut Fettucine ($25) for my meal, with a side of green beans with creamy anchovy, toasted almonds and chilli and lemon dressing ($9). Sam ordered Wood Fire Grilled Sausages with Grilled Peppers and a Warm Lentil Salad ($29, I think). While we waited with anticipation, we were provided with sourdough bread and butter for the table. This bread literally blew my mind. This sounds ridiculous, but it was the best bread I've ever had. It was crunchy on the outside and beautifully soft and full of yummy sourdough goodness on the inside, and it took all my willpower not to just fill up my belly with bread.
Our meals arrived at the perfect time after we had ordered them (not so quickly that we couldn't chat and enjoy the atmosphere, but not so long that we started looking around for them). Mine was delightful - not that typical creamy, comfort food like most bolognse, but much richer and tastier, so the small serve seemed enormous. The beans were also delicious - the almonds and the dressing matched them perfectly. My favourite kind of food is just that - where you can taste every single ingredient and understand why all of them are there and together.
Sam's sausages were, again, the best I have ever tasted. Really full of flavour in a way that you go "Oh! That's what this food is supposed to taste like!". He didn't love the lentil salad - I thought it was nice, but I guess it's hard to make lentils overly exciting.
For dessert, we ordered Salted Caramel. I'm going through a salted caramel phase at the moment - I made salted caramel semifreddo with salted praline recently (oh, clever me!) and I am hooked. I anticipated in coming out as a little pudding, maybe coated in chocolate like the one they had on Conviction Kitchen - but when it arrived, it was a little glass full of lollies! Like little wrapped up toffees. They were nice enough, but not what we expected or really wanted as a dessert! Next time I will go the Hazelnut Macaron Banana Ice-cream Sandwich. :)
All in all it was an amazing meal though, and everything I wanted from a Neil Perry restaurant - including, to my upmost shock and excitement, an actual SIGHTING of actual Neil Perry himself!!! I had calculated the likelihood of him being there as nil, considering all his other restaurants and important celebrity chef goings on, but we were talking about him/what he looks like and Sam goes "Yeah, I know, he's the one with the ponytail. Isn't that him over there?" I replied, not even turning around, "No don't be silly, you obviously have him mixed up with someone, he couldn't possibly be here." But sure enough, there he was, Mr Neil Perry himself. As an added bonus, he knew someone at the table just across from ours, so I could stare adoring at him for a full ten minutes. The fact that he could have been in the restaurant and we not even see him just further intensified my delight at this whole situation. Needless to say, I find celebrity sightings rather overwhelming.
This concludes our culinary adventure to Sydney! I would highly recommend such an undertaking - we had a lovely time, tasted some incredible food and surprisingly didn't blow the bank. :)
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sydney Eats Part 1: Duck burgers, cider and Zumbo magic!
At the end of March, my wonderful boyfriend and I abandoned our responsibilities and our basil plant (it's okay, it survived) and headed south for five days. After two nights in the lovely Blue Mountains town of Blackheath (possibly our favourite place in the world) to visit my charming cousins, we headed to Sydney; Sam, to speak at a conference on patient-centered care, on which he is rather the expert, and me, to eat as much delicious food as possible. In honour of the very exciting return of Master Chef (and more specifically, of Adriano Zumbo) last night, I thought I would share with you my small culinary adventure.
On the evening of our arrival, we headed to Newtown to meet our lovely friend Nicola. Newtown is my favourite place in Sydney, we spent a few days there last year eating and wandering through it's amazing weird shops. Being in this very trendy and neato suburb, I was keen to sample some sort of exotic Asian fusion type food I'd never tried before that I could tell everyone about - this sort of thing seems somewhat lacking in Brisbane. However, group consensus was to something we have coming out of our ears in Brisbane - a burger joint.
There are about five burger shops on the main street in Newtown and on the recommendation of our hosts we selected Moo Gourmet Burgers. Sam and I both order the Duck and Bacon burger. Yes, that's right, a duck burger. This burger also featured lettuce, tomato, homemade mayonnaise and most interestingly, orange jam. I have borrowed the picture below from eatshowtell to give you an idea of the glory of this burger. Needless to say, it was delicious. I also enjoyed an organic ginger beer.
The next day, Sam was off to his conference, so I decided to venture to the lovely suburb of Balmain, with the sole intention of visiting the patisserie of Adriano Zumbo, the crazy and incredible patissier made famous by his crazy stunts on Master Chef, most notably, his macaron tower. I caught the train and then the ferry (feeling very worldly of course) then walked up Balmain's Darling Street, taking pictures and enjoying the sunshine, but all the while a deep sense of anticipation growing inside me.
Darling Street is pretty long and pretty uphill, so I stopped at this little cafe for brunch. This avocado and mushroom combination left me feeling healthy, satisfied and a little bit cool for ordering such a chic meal - everything you want from a brunch, really.
After my yummy toast, it was time. I ventured a little bit further up the road to Zumbo's. The patisserie is a teeny tiny little shop with exactly enough room for the staff, the food and a huge queue of people longing for macarons.
But, if you wait, quietly and patiently, the tiny glorious masterpieces will soon be revealed. For me, actually, the line was too short, as when I got to the front I still didn't know what I wanted the most. Eventually, I decided on hazelnut layer cake (it had a fancy clever name but I was a bit overwhelmed at this point and forgot it). I also picked out one of each flavour of macaron they had that day - rose, musk, salted caramel and more unusual, mango and macadamia and apricot and rosemary.
Some foolish folks were standing outside wolfing down their Zumbo delights on the side of the road, but I carried my little bag all the way back to the hotel so I could savour every bite in air-conditioned bliss. The hazelnut cake looked like this:
I cut it down the middle to reveal SEVEN layers of goodness: the dark chocolate icing, a hazelnut mousse, a rice crispie type thing, more mousse, hazelnut cake, MORE mousse and a biscuity base that was sort of like an Anzac cookie. It was H-E-A-V-E-N.
The macarons were delicious also. My favourite was the salted caramel. Wasn't the biggest fan of apricot and rosemary, but it was really interesting to try and DID actually taste exactly like apricot and rosemary. All in all, the experience was rather a success. :)
On the evening of our arrival, we headed to Newtown to meet our lovely friend Nicola. Newtown is my favourite place in Sydney, we spent a few days there last year eating and wandering through it's amazing weird shops. Being in this very trendy and neato suburb, I was keen to sample some sort of exotic Asian fusion type food I'd never tried before that I could tell everyone about - this sort of thing seems somewhat lacking in Brisbane. However, group consensus was to something we have coming out of our ears in Brisbane - a burger joint.
There are about five burger shops on the main street in Newtown and on the recommendation of our hosts we selected Moo Gourmet Burgers. Sam and I both order the Duck and Bacon burger. Yes, that's right, a duck burger. This burger also featured lettuce, tomato, homemade mayonnaise and most interestingly, orange jam. I have borrowed the picture below from eatshowtell to give you an idea of the glory of this burger. Needless to say, it was delicious. I also enjoyed an organic ginger beer.
After the burgers, we ventured to a hole in the wall bar called Corridor to sample Nicola's current favourite beverage, Rekorderlig Cider. Although I am not typically one to spend $14 on a drink, I was particularly curious about a drink that looks like beer (thus, street cred I normally miss out on because I entirely dislike beer) but tastes like strawberries and limes. Yummo. Despite it's deliciousness, I only got about half way through the 500mL bottle (was still pretty darn full from my duck burger experience) so Sam chivalrously downed the rest. Anyway, the moral of the story is, try the cider amigos. You will not be disappointed. There are also pear, mixed berries and apple flavours for those of you wanting something a bit less girly sounding. You can find out where to get it, here.
The next day, Sam was off to his conference, so I decided to venture to the lovely suburb of Balmain, with the sole intention of visiting the patisserie of Adriano Zumbo, the crazy and incredible patissier made famous by his crazy stunts on Master Chef, most notably, his macaron tower. I caught the train and then the ferry (feeling very worldly of course) then walked up Balmain's Darling Street, taking pictures and enjoying the sunshine, but all the while a deep sense of anticipation growing inside me.
Darling Street is pretty long and pretty uphill, so I stopped at this little cafe for brunch. This avocado and mushroom combination left me feeling healthy, satisfied and a little bit cool for ordering such a chic meal - everything you want from a brunch, really.
After my yummy toast, it was time. I ventured a little bit further up the road to Zumbo's. The patisserie is a teeny tiny little shop with exactly enough room for the staff, the food and a huge queue of people longing for macarons.
But, if you wait, quietly and patiently, the tiny glorious masterpieces will soon be revealed. For me, actually, the line was too short, as when I got to the front I still didn't know what I wanted the most. Eventually, I decided on hazelnut layer cake (it had a fancy clever name but I was a bit overwhelmed at this point and forgot it). I also picked out one of each flavour of macaron they had that day - rose, musk, salted caramel and more unusual, mango and macadamia and apricot and rosemary.
Some foolish folks were standing outside wolfing down their Zumbo delights on the side of the road, but I carried my little bag all the way back to the hotel so I could savour every bite in air-conditioned bliss. The hazelnut cake looked like this:
I cut it down the middle to reveal SEVEN layers of goodness: the dark chocolate icing, a hazelnut mousse, a rice crispie type thing, more mousse, hazelnut cake, MORE mousse and a biscuity base that was sort of like an Anzac cookie. It was H-E-A-V-E-N.
The macarons were delicious also. My favourite was the salted caramel. Wasn't the biggest fan of apricot and rosemary, but it was really interesting to try and DID actually taste exactly like apricot and rosemary. All in all, the experience was rather a success. :)
Saturday, January 15, 2011
BrisStyle Handmade Ark Flood Appeal
We are currently in Vietnam, about a quarter into our trip. I just wanted to touch base to let everyone know about a great flood appeal for you creative types called the BrisStyle Handmade Ark Flood Appeal. As you would know if you're not living under a rock, Brisbane (and lots of other places in Australia and the world for that matter) recently experienced serious floods and lots of people, including friends of ours, have lost their cars, businesses and even their homes. Our garage was flooded but a friend managed to get my car out so other than a few suitcases and a microwave we're okay - lucky to live on the third floor! Anyway please have a look at BrisStyle's Flood Appeal and think about making a purchase.
Friday, December 31, 2010
What you missed on Glee...
Here are some pictures of things that have happened in the 25 days since I last blogged.
We did a musical! Zombies!! The Musical in fact.
I made lots of new besties in Zombies!! The Musical and we sung a song about a moose drinking juice.
I went to Kylie Kwong's AMAZING restaurant in Sydney, Billy Kwong. Please go there.
Christmas happened. I made Sam this cutesie stocking and took millions of family photos.
Anyway, on Tuesday, we are heading overseas for six weeks in Vietnam and India! I am super excited, I've already done two 'practice packs', we got our foreign cash today (and are now Vietnamese millionaires) and almost everything is check off my list!
While we're away, I will be using our travel blog at Travel Pod. You can access it here and subscribe to email updates if you're particularly interested in our adventures. Otherwise, you will hear from me in a couple of months!
Ciao and Happy New Year!
We did a musical! Zombies!! The Musical in fact.
I made lots of new besties in Zombies!! The Musical and we sung a song about a moose drinking juice.
I visited my lovely cousins in the lovely Blue Mountains.
I went to Kylie Kwong's AMAZING restaurant in Sydney, Billy Kwong. Please go there.
Christmas happened. I made Sam this cutesie stocking and took millions of family photos.
Anyway, on Tuesday, we are heading overseas for six weeks in Vietnam and India! I am super excited, I've already done two 'practice packs', we got our foreign cash today (and are now Vietnamese millionaires) and almost everything is check off my list!
While we're away, I will be using our travel blog at Travel Pod. You can access it here and subscribe to email updates if you're particularly interested in our adventures. Otherwise, you will hear from me in a couple of months!
Ciao and Happy New Year!
Monday, December 6, 2010
I Love Suitcase Rummage!
Yesterday, before Zombies!! The Musical rehearsals, I finally got a chance to venture to the Suitcase Rummage in King George Square. As I'm sure everyone but me knew ages before I found out about it, the Suitcase Rummage is basically a big market where anyone can bring a couple of suitcases full of whatever they want and peddle their wares. I've been trying to go to one since about August, but was always working/rehearsing/doing something way less fun than going to the Suitcase Rummage.
Anyway I finally got there yesterday and it is completely awesome. Every kind of person you can image lugged big suitcases into the city and to set up shop and I got a few fabulous finds.
Awesome old tin ($5), butterfly brooch ($3) by Sarah from Love and Two Guns and an extraordinary box of extraordinary buttons ($10).
A brain brooch ($14)! I have been hanging out to get my hands on one of these for ages! Made by Simone from Your Organ Grinder. She also makes hearts and lungs and other bits in jars. Very cool.
A moustache on a stick ($2). Why not?
This is another picture of the buttons. They really are very cool.
I am off to Wynnum under the guise of buying a Zombies!! costume so hopefully will be reporting back with more fabulous stuff for which I have no need and probably cannot afford. :) Peace!
Anyway I finally got there yesterday and it is completely awesome. Every kind of person you can image lugged big suitcases into the city and to set up shop and I got a few fabulous finds.
Awesome old tin ($5), butterfly brooch ($3) by Sarah from Love and Two Guns and an extraordinary box of extraordinary buttons ($10).
A brain brooch ($14)! I have been hanging out to get my hands on one of these for ages! Made by Simone from Your Organ Grinder. She also makes hearts and lungs and other bits in jars. Very cool.
A moustache on a stick ($2). Why not?
This is another picture of the buttons. They really are very cool.
I am off to Wynnum under the guise of buying a Zombies!! costume so hopefully will be reporting back with more fabulous stuff for which I have no need and probably cannot afford. :) Peace!
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