Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch or Dinner in West End

I am almost a little reluctant to put this out there, for fear that Jam Jar will be overrun on the weekends like some other favourite Brissie breakfast spots. Alas, I cannot keep this gem from anyone, it would be most unfair. We've had dinner at Jam Jar twice (very yummy), and last Sunday was the second time we've had breakfast/brunch there, and all meals were exceptional! The service is always speedy and super-friendly, and I love the atmosphere of the enclosed, graffitied courtyard. Walking past it on the street front you'd never think this place was here. This is one of our new regular places to go, absolutely love it!
I recommend the Benedict, a fresh juice, and haloumi is a must, of course!
Jam Jar   138 Boundary Street, West End . Ph: 07 38443395
Super cute logo, too!

Ole!

I didn't take any photos because, let's be honest, I was too busy snarfling (this is now a word) down the food. This place has only been open a week, and it did a roaring trade tonight. We just happened to drop in on the way to the theatre. Their website's not quite up and running as yet, but their Facebook is.
This is a Spanish Tapas Bar, and the food was absolutely amazing - every single dish was beautifully put together and unbelievably flavoursome. We had whitebait & calamari, patatas bravas, the scallop and pork dish, and a black sausage and pork belly dish. I drank a delicious red Sangria and they have a small range of Spanish beers in stock. The service was super-friendly and very quick. We mentioned we were in a rush, and the food came about 5-10 minutes after ordering. We were in and out in about 45 minutes, absolutely sated. We will definitely be back to try their Paella, and I will exercise some self-control and take photos next time.
Ole is located at Shop B12 Little Stanley Street, South Bank.
This has very much whet my appetite even more for Barcelona in a few weeks!

Riverside lunch at Aqua Linea, Teneriffe

I haven't done one of these in a while, but I couldn't let this lunch pass without comment. I've eaten at Aqua Linea a bunch of times before and we celebrated my dad's 60th there a few years ago, but this was my favourite meal I've ever had there, I think.

For entree I had the beautiful pork belly - I would walk over broken glass for this! Ton had the pan-fried bug tails which he finished before I had a chance to try them, so be assured that they were also delicious. For the mains we shared this Aussie take on the paella with Moreton Bay bugs and soft shell crab. It was so yummy that it deserves two photos for this post. Absolutely delicious, if you eat at Aqua Linea I definitely recommend this dish!

Red Lantern, Surry Hills

For my birthday dinner this year we went to The Red Lantern in Surry Hills. As luck would have it, Luke Nguyen was there that night and we were able to have a chat with him - very happy to report he's as lovely in person as on his show. The food was absolutely beautiful - taste, texture, to look at, everything. Sadly the lighting in this restaurant is less than ideal, so apologies for the graininess. We also forgot to photograph our entree, but be assured, the dishes were delightful! Photos courtesy of Ton's sister. It's not a cheap night out, but definitely worth it for a special occasion.

Turkish in Brisbane - Caravanserai in West End

A couple of weeks ago we had a lovely meal at Caravanserai at Dornoch Terrace in West End. I have never been to Turkey, so I cannot speak to the authenticity of the food, however, I can speak as to the general tastiness of it. We were a group of 8, so we got the regular banquet for all of us - a mix of vegetarian and meat. The entrees were a mix of dips and what I guess is the Turkish equivalent of Italian antipasti - marinated artichokes, mushrooms etc. The mains included kofta (meatballs), chicken skewers, haloumi, couscous, seafood pilaf and yummy veges and salads. The meat was tender and juicy (unlike another Turkish restaurant I've been to at South Bank that shall remain nameless); seasoned to perfection, with sauces that were full of flavour and just the right amount of spiciness. Sadly I didn't take any photos of the food; I was so intent on eating ;)
I only remembered to snap a few pics towards the end of the night - love the way the (yummy, albeit a little sweet for my taste) Chai latte was presented (right image). The dessert encompassed standard Turkish fare - baklava, Turkish delight, some other things I don't remember but were very tasty. 
We were seated out the back balcony which is lovely and breezy, with a great atmosphere - a little dark for my personal liking, but also cosy.
This is the second time we've eaten here and we will definitely come back. Very handy on-street parking, too.

When in Noosa you must stop by here

Apparently the locals would like to keep this place to themselves, but I cannot, in good conscience, deny anyone the pleasure of dining here, so I must divulge. If you find yourself in or near Noosa Heads, you must take one night out to dine at HUMiD. Sadly my phone camera isn't great, but here's a little peak at our lovely dinner.

Cinco, Old Cleveland Road, Camp Hill

We had a really lovely meal tonight so I thought I have to give this place a plug. The restaurant is Cinco Bistro in Camp Hill, Brisbane. The food is best described as high-end contemporary Australian.
The menu changes regularly, so what's on the website may not represent what's going to be on offer that night, as was the case with us. This didn't bother us much though, as every dish on the menu sounded wonderful and we had a very hard time choosing what to eat.. For entree we had:
Pumpkin gnocchi with pork belly, seared squid in peanut milk - seems like an odd combo of flavours, but they worked together perfectly!
Crumbed chicken liver with beetroot relish - the liver was tender and nicely spiced, complemented by the relish.
Wild mushroom and foie gras tartlett, porcini veloute, port wine syrup - melt-in-your-mouth perfection!
Main courses:
Wagyu beef cheeks with parsnip puree - I've never cooked parsnip before, but I'm going to start now, I am sold based on the puree.
Spatchcock with lemon polenta, asparagus and salsa verde - perfectly balance of the saltiness of the spatchcock with the tanginess of the polenta and salsa.
Duck confit with braised red cabbage, roasted pear, rocket salad - I didn't try this one, but dad loved it.
The desserts all looked delectable, we chose the following:
Pistachio & olive oil cake, rhubarb sorbet, double cream - a light cake, and fruity sorbet
Steamed banana pudding, caramel sauce, nutmeg ice cream - who would've thought you could make ice cream out of nutmeg, but it was very yummy! The pudding was topped with pecan nuts and was beautiful!

We drank Kalleske Pirathon Shiraz 2008 - very yummy!

My only criticisms would be that the tea mum drank was a bag rather than loose leaf, and no vegetarian options. Still, the food was amazing, and great service, so: 9.5/10
I highly recommend that you get your bottoms on seats at this place for a special occasion.

I took a few snaps of the food, but they're are grainy and not sharp, so I apologize, and I'm only posting a couple. Seriously, you gotta go there yourselves!

The spatchcock:

The banana pudding:

A very sociable weekend

Taken on my camera phone without a flash

On Friday night we had dinner at Brents at Toowong with my parents. We had the 5-course "Taste of France" Degustation Menu which was absolutely beautiful. A cured salmon Amuse Bouche; a beautiful duck parfait; beautiful Bouillabaisse; and a very yummy combo of beef cheeks and eye fillet; followed by a cheese platter of a smooth French Blue. Matching wine with each course. The dinner was phenomenal - great food, great staff. My only (tiny) criticism is reserved for the cheese platter - I personally would have preferred 2 types of cheeses instead of the one. I'd rather one 'every-man' cheese, like a smooth Brie, and one more adventurous cheese like a sharp blue or a goat's milk cheese. 9.5/10

Saturday Night dinner at a Vietnamese/Chinese Restaurant in Darra. Fairly run of the mill food, but a nice catch-up with Ton's family.

Today we went to the International Brewers Day at the Archive Beer Boutique in West End. It was a day of great brews and many laughs. This venue is definitely worth a look, they only have Australian-made craft beer, and today we sampled a few crackers. My personal favourites, including their tasting notes as per the above:
Blue Sky Brewery (Cairns, QLD): Smoking Hefeweizen. 5.4% Gold medal winner AIBA 2010 offering a hint of smoked malt and typical German Wheat beer flavours.
Prickly Moses (Barongarook, VIC): Otway Red Ale. A medium to full-bodied Irish Style Ale beer with a light reddish hue. A malt accented beer that finishes with a dyrness from the addition of small quantities of roasted barley.

KKxx