Valentine’s Day Lunch @ Restaurant Two

Valentine’s Day has a special meaning for D & I. It’s not just a celebration of love, but also a celebration of the first step in our journey together. Well, 7 years ago on this very day, D cooked up a storm and proposed. My answer? I’m sure you could have guessed it by now.

The past year has been extra special but also busy because we have a new addition to the family.   We still love eating out occasionally, but the choices are limited to places that are child-friendly and also local to us.

We are thankful to have D’s family nearby and always willing to take care of the little man.   So, we managed to organise for the little man to spend the afternoon with them while we go out and celebrate.

After looking through many restaurant menus, D decided to take me to Restaurant Two. I have not been there before and it was the only Valentine’s menu he came across the meets my current dietary requirements.

Restaurant II is located in the corner of Edward and Alice Street, right opposite the Brisbane Botanical Gardens. It has a modern contemporary look and feel, which makes it a perfect location for special occasions.

I am glad to be able to enjoy this Valentine’s Day lunch in a quiet and relaxing manner 🙂

Smoked Tomato, Rosemary and Buffalo Mozzarella Arancini

Roasted Beetroot Salad with Acidulated Chocolate and Walnut

Tempura Pinkenba Mud Crab, Green Mango, Apple and Peanut Salad and Tamarind Dressing

Crispy Pork Belly, Lemongrass Infused Puree, Dahl and Mango Chutney

Grilled North QLD Lobster Tails, Confit Garlic, Tomato Salsa and Fresh Fettuccini Pasta

Cape Grim Eye Fillet, Smoked Raclette Custard, Onion Textures and Red & Yellow Pepper Sauce

Grilled Mango, Passionfruit Sorbet, Coconut and Macadamia

Chocolate Fondant, Spice Oranges, Vanilla Churros, Almond Ice Cream

Vanilla Mille-Feuille

The food was great, but my favourites are the desserts. The grilled mango, passionfruit sorbet and coconut jelly was refreshing, while the chocolate fondant was rich and oozing out with chocolate. The mille-feuille took me by surprise with the extra light and crispy pastry and not-overly sweet vanilla custard.  Just perfect to end the meal 🙂

 

Koko Black

Like a little kid in the candy store, my eyes lit up as I entered Koko Black! It was a chocoholic’s dream come true. The one and only Koko Black in Brisbane is located in the high end side of Indooroopilly Shopping Centre.

MissC & I headed there after our lunch at Ole Fuego.  I ordered their Ice Chocolate with Salted Caramel ($9). It was rich and sweet but not as chocolatey as I expected.

MissC & I shared the Dessert Degustation ($24).  It consisted of their signature Chocolate Alchemy Cake, Apple Crumble Panna Cotta, Caramel Delice, Chocolate Mousse and Chocolate Ice Cream. The apple crumble and panna cotta was the least sweet option on the plate.  It was a good balance to everything else that was a lot sweeter.  My personal favourite was the Caramel Delice, especially that jug of salted caramel sauce.  The serving was generous and there was even some left over for me to add to my drink!  Give me a spoon and a jug of this and I’m a happy girl!  The chocolate alchemy cake was very rich and definitely not for the faint hearted!  The chocolate mousse was delicious too, but at this point I think we were too chocolate overdosed to properly enjoy it.

I am glad to have finally visited this place as it has been on my wish list for a long time. I really enjoyed everything we ordered and will definitely return.

Ole Fuego

The best thing about the birthday month is the ongoing celebration with special friends in our lives. This year my food journey with Miss Curious (MissC) took us to Indooroopilly Shopping Centre. We went for tapas at Ole Feugo, saving room for dessert at Koko Black.

We ordered several dishes to share. 1. Ventresca – Tuna Belly with Crusty Bread($12). We both loved the bread, it was very crusty as advertised. We don’t normally eat tuna in tin so don’t really have anything to compare this with.

2. Cordero – Slow Cooked Crispy Lamb Belly with Roast Grapes ($15). This dish looked really good on the plate. The seedless roast grapes were really good, I loved it! The lamb belly wasn’t that crispy but the meat was very soft and tender.

3. Pulpo – Grilled Octopus, Capers, Olive Oil and Potato ($15). Yet another appealing looking dish. The octopus was cooked very well and was surprisingly tender. However, I think this dish needed a bit of kick, perhaps a bit of lemon might go well.

4. Hamburguesa – Pork Slider, Pear Chutney, Aioli ($5). This mini burger was quite tasty and flavoursome.

Yet another year passes by and I am truly blessed to have friends that stick by me through thick and thin. Thanks MissC for this special birthday treat. I enjoyed the meal as well as the company!

Gerard’s Bistro

My Supper Club friends & I have talked about going to Gerard’s Bistro for a while and last weekend we finally made it there for brunch.

Gerard’s Bistro is located in the posh and trendy area in James Street in the Valley.  While we were waiting for the rest of our friends to arrive, we couldn’t help but notice the number of luxury cars that drove past.

I studied the menu before going and was quite sure about what I wanted to order.  However I changed my mind when I got there.  Perhaps in this cold weather, the ‘Shakshouka, eggs baked in tomato and red peppers, merguez, blackened onion and yoghurt’ ($26) sounded more like a hearty meal.  The tomato and red peppers sauce was really appetising.  Topped with the sweetness of the blackened onion, the taste was just right.  It was quite a filling dish with the Merguez (lamb sausage).  I definitely made the right choice for the cold weather.

The other interesting dish on the table was the “Bacon and eggs” 63 degree eggs, smoked bacon mousse, maple toasted buckwheat ($19) which was what I wanted to order initially.  I managed to taste the smoked bacon mousse and it was divine!  The big chunks of bacon on the plate looked really inviting too.  I must return again to try this dish.

Baghdad eggs, fried in cumin, garlic, mint and lemon on flatbread with tahini yoghurt ($18)

Breakfast mezze, za’atar flatbread, tomato, cucumber, mint, labne and air dried beef ($18)

Watermelon, apple, pomegranate, mint ($6)

Virgin Mary – tomato, Worcestershire, harissa, lemon ($6)

Overall, I was very impressed with the food.  No wonder they were awarded One Hat in Brisbane Times Good Food Guide 2016.  Well deserved indeed.

Birthday Lunch @ Malt Dining

It’s that time of the year again where you flip over the calendar and turn a year older. In this case, I felt at least half a decade older due to those sleepless nights and early morning. I’m not complaining of course. The look of the little smiling face outweighs any tiredness I felt.

For my birthday we had a little time off. My in-laws had kindly volunteered to babysit while we snuck out for a lunch date. This opened up a whole new dimension of places we could go to as it no longer needed to be child friendly.

After looking at many lunch menus, we decided to go to Malt Dining in the city. We have been there before and the food and service has always been exceptional. Furthermore, they had a scrumptious sounding ‘Taste of Malt’ degustation menu. Perfect!

The ‘Taste of Malt’ consisted of 6 courses, or 5 if you exclude the sorbet which was considered a palate cleanser.  We started with a complimentary bread with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette.

The first dish was the Braised Pork Cheek with Barley Risotto, Grapes and Crackling. The pork cheek was fall-apart tender and delicious. We were very surprised by the grapes (raisin) on the plate. It was sweet and succulent, nothing like what we have tasted before.

The next dish tasted as good as it sounded: Roasted Pumpkin and Chestnut Agnolotti with Truffle Cream, Crispy Bread Tuile. Forget everything else, we would be happy just eating the truffle cream. It was THAT good!

The third dish was a Pan Fried Barramundi with Salmon Gravlax, Confit Leek, Vanilla and Cauliflower Purée, Chanterelle. This was probably our least favourite among the other dishes. There was nothing wrong with the dish, just that we are not that keen on fish in general. The Barramundi tasted very fresh with a good crust on the skin. It went well with the cauliflower purée.

The fourth dish was Wagyu Sirloin, Braised Beef Cheek with Pressed Potato, Bone Marrow, Soubise and Red Wine Jus. It was definitely my favourite dish of the day. It was packed with flavour. The Soubise (onion sauce) had the right sweetness that perfectly balanced the beef.

As a palate cleanser, we were served Pistachio Sorbet. It was light and refreshing to get us ready for the next dish.

The dessert was the perfect finish to the meal. The famous Malt Brownie with Salted Caramel, Chocolate Textures and Pistachio Brittle is a must have for those who visit Malt. It was AMAZING!

Malt was (and still is) one of our favourite restaurants in Brisbane. They even gave me a card when they found out it was my birthday. What a lovely touch!