Bucci Ristorante: James St

Just minutes away from the tackiness of the infamous Fortitude Valley, which is notorious for Brisbane's not so classy night life (don't get me wrong, there are great places in the Valley, but they are tucked away in the dominance of the beer stunk nightclubs)you can find yourself wandering around luxurious boutiques, spas and trendy restaurants of a quirky James Street, which has turned into an independent precinct.

On a Saturday night my girlies and I went to check out the newish exquisite modern Italian  restaurant Bucci (my IPad keeps  autocorrecting the name to Gucci, only reassuring me of the Italian class of the venue).

Thinking we are amazing chicks, we rocked up without a dinner reservation on a Saturday night to be greeted by a very polite manager with a sexy French? accent: 'Sorry, ladies, we are fully booked for tonight'... but guess what.. he went on saying ' but let me see, what we can do'  - just like that - no arrogant attitude, no  "Who do you think you are, coming like that?" glance, just a sincere desire to welcome unexpected guests.  "There is a table, that I can give you , ladies, until 7:30 pm, which will give you about an hour, our kitchen is pretty quick, so you definitely will have time to enjoy your dinner, and then you are more than welcome to have the digestives and desserts at the bar." 

Just like that we got the dinner 'problem' solved. The service was impeccable - attentive - but not intrusive. The wine glasses were never empty, the food arrived promptly. 

The food was absolutely delicious. This is definitely not your usual Italian with extremely creamy sauces and plates overloaded with pasta. No wonder Bucci is synonymous with light contemporary Italian cuisine using freshest ingredients. 

We started with Assagini - a fancy word for starters to share - ordering Burata Tartufata - Stretched curd cheese from Vanella cheese factory with crisp pancetta, truffle honey, blueberries & walnuts - just the description alone sounds deliciously mouthwatering - the flavour definitely got all my taste buds working, feeling the combination of sweet and sour, soft and firm.

Not surprisingly, the mains were no less than delicious as well, after all  Bucci is the brain child of a head chef Shaun Malone and the executive chef Spencer Patrick- both well known in the culinary world. 

Next time you a wandering around James Street, pop in to Bucci, but make sure you make a booking ;)

Design:   9/10

Drinks:   8/10

Food: 9/10

Service: 10/10

The highlight: The concept, and the food

Disappointment: If I have to come up with one - the coldness at the bar

Splurge: $$$

xoxo

The Foreigner

Three Monkeys: West End

With my  crush for  West End and its funky eateries oddly enough  The Three Monkeys has never been a topic of a discussion in the Foreigner's Diary..and yet, it just seemed unnecessary to bring up  a West End Iconic coffee place that is so well known to the Brisbane crowd that even I have known about it for a while.

The Three Monkeys has been around since early 90s if not earlier, and  the menu probably hasn't changed much since, and the options perhaps are not as exciting and sophisiticated, as expected, but, realistically, who cares when there are all these cakes! :

• the place is open 7 days week from morning till late,
• the selection of teas and coffees is great and a Chai Tea is to die for... and the size of the bowl easily replaces dinner,
• the prices are more than reasonable
• and the most important reason for every 'respected' Brisbanite to  pay a visit to the 3 Monkeys - the ambience and the vibe of the place!

If you have been there before you may as well not  waste your time reading any further, as the rest of the post is dedicated to me raving on about the utter cuteness and uniqueness  of the West End Monkeys. 

To put it simply - Three Monkeys  is  a calm place. On the days when the world is particularly evil to you and you hate everybody   3 Monkeys  is peaceful and kind, even when the rest of the humankind is not , nobody there seems to be worrying or rushing - it is one of the few places in Brisbane, where you can come alone get yourself a bowl of cofee and get immersed in reading 50 Shades Of Grey a book ...
 

Design:   9/10

Drinks:   8/10

Food: 6/10

Service: 9/10

The highlight: Ambiance!

Disappointment: The food is on the ordinary side

Splurge: $

xoxo

The Foreigner

Green Papaya

During the cold winter nights (yes, I do think it is cold in winters in Brisbane) the utter laziness prevents me from  leaving my apartment exploring distant precincts  in our city, forcing me to look for interesting places in my own neighbourhood.

 Green Papaya is in no way a newbie for the Brisbane locals,  having  been operating for many years, but a visit to this Thai & Balinese restaurant in Woolloongabba was a debut for me -  and I definitely wasn't  disappointed. 

Having made a booking for 6:30 we rocked up 20 minutes late(rude, I know!) - starving - to find our reservation under the name  July -smiling to myself I thought,  IT is July now after all now, isn't it?

After being seated at the lovely table in a quiet corner of a restaurant we ordered our food. We decided to go with entrees and one main to share.. just so that us, little piglets, can order two desserts in the end!

The service was very attentive and non- intrusive. The restaurant got quite busy by 8 pm, with no single table available - but it was still rather quiet and tranquil. The food was tasty - we went for the Balinese grilled fish  with Secret (??) sauces - and the chef has definitely not let us down.

Both desserts were delicious - in fact we finished every tiny bit of it , which made me to wake up early and walk(!) to my yoga half - asleep, hoping that the sticky rice coconut ice cream with the mango gelato will be burnt off!

Design:   7/10

Drinks:   7/10

Food: 8/10

Service: 9/10

The highlight: close to home! & a dessert

Disappointment: The secret sauce on the main wasn't that special

Splurge: $$$

xoxo

The Foreigner

Brew CBD

Friday in the CBD is usually a day when everybody is Out & About, having 'catch up' lunches, coffees, and wines.  On a normal fifth day of the work week Queen street turns into a nightmare with crowds of people strolling along, window shopping, while you are running around like crazy bumping into every second jovial pedestrian.
Finding a decent, fairly quiet place for lunch in the CBD under those extreme conditions can be a bit of a challenge. And if the eatery serves tasty food, good coffees, wide selection of drinks and does not rob your bank account - you have discovered a hidden treasure! And Brew is undoubtedly the one!

Brew is one of those hidden gems that you will never find unless you look for it, and even if you do, you have to be curious enough to walk down the alleyway to find yourself inside a tiny coffee shop, funky, but minuscle with just one or two tables...Now, don't turn around just yet...paraphrasing a famous quote, the best things come to those who keep walking - going through the back door you will suddenly find yourself in a fairly spacious seating area with a few cosy couches, low tables and wooden benches - unique interior with its own, unconventional character.

Brew is always busy, particularly on Friday nights, hence the recommendation to start Friday afternoon 'beer o'clock' early and secure a convenient spot. The lunch menu is quite limited, but will be able to cater for the majority of the city dwellers with a selection of toasted sandwiches, salads and a couple of mains.

 My today's experience at Brew, however, was only limited to a 45 minute lunch catch up with  a girlfriend (big thanks to her for suggesting the place!) and consisted of a Green Salad and a Roibos Ginger Tea ( I am heaving a healthy month, in case you are wondering).
The food was nicely presented, fresh, slightly blunt in flavour but salt & pepper easily fixed the issue - overall lovely nutritious lunch, quickly served and of a decent size. Service was quick and attentive, despite the business. Overall only positive things to share, so you can safely head to Brew for your next coffee/lunch or after-work drinks!

Design:   9/10

Drinks:   8/10

Food: 7/10

Service: 9/10

The highlight: It is a hidden funky gem in the CBD!

Disappointment: Somewhat limited menu

Splurge: $$

To all  the fellow Office Plankton Workers: Happy Friday and xoxo

Julie

+4C inBrisbane with Mulled Wine and Hot Choco!

Before you keep reading any further, I have a confession to make: this post is being typed while the QLD and NSW inhabitants  have their eyes pinned to the screens watching closely the Maroon and Blue teams  competing for the State of Origin tonight, if only the person who approved my visa knew that!.To my excuse I follow the score online ad drink my hot tea out of the maroon mug! 

Anyway, as many of you  freezing living in Brisbane would know, it is 4C - pretty cold winter, even to my standards, and I am from Ukraine! 

All I want to do is to RUN AWAY TO THAILAND   stay in drinking hot chocolate and  never leave my warm bed.

Such  a passive waste of my young years has reminded me of a wintery drink, that will keep your bones warm and your mind relaxed - Gluhwein or Mulled wine. 

Mulled wine tastes great and needs to be consumed with caution, as heated alcohol  is very effective!, unless the motivation is to get drunk so as not to feel any cold all together, in that case feel free to drink untill the RSA authorities would have felt ashamed for you being so irresponsible with the alcohol consumption. 

Next time you are contemplating with the choice of the evening drink try the Mulled wine: 

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 10 cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1/4 cup brown sugar or honey
• 1 roughly grated nutmeg
• 1 orange (roughly chopped)
• 1 roughly chopped apple (skin on)
• 750ml light, fruity red wine, such as a merlot (or any other cheap wine as it will all taste like cinnamon and fruit!)

Method

1. Heat cloves, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg,  orange and apple in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add water. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Add red wine and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Strain and divide among serving glasses.

The main point is not to let the wine boil - other than that feel free to experiment with the ingredients. Prior to serving Mulled Wine in make sure nobody is allergic to any of the ingredients!

Considering that Queensland is bound to be a Sunshine state mulled wine is not a commonplace here, but if you are too lazy to make it at home, you can get a couple of glasses (or maybe a few more?) at the  Woolloongabba hotel.

Hope you are  keeping warm!

xoxo

Julie

FIT Brisbane: RBWH Run, Mind Body & Spirit, Rock Climbing

Since My Man left on a long 5 week business & leisure journey 8 days ago (and, no, I am not counting!) I promised myself to become  a tiny bit more disciplined and get doing things that have been in the "Let's Make It Happen List". The hardest bit is to actually start, so here we go:

•  Exercising - you would have already read my ramblings about my Yoga classes at the Australian School of Meditation & Yoga, but at one point my enthusiasm burst out into signing up for the Royal Fun For Research (am still wondering if I was in sound mind) to raise money for clinical research at the RBWH - it's an 8km run or a 6km walk - and unless I break up with wine & chocolate  get serious with my running routine I will have to do the latter. 

They say you need to start small. The first step has been installing a 'Magic' App on my phone

 - I had a Moment of Revelation when I heard a woman from the Magic App informing me in a stern teacher - like voice the distance, speed, pace and calories burnt - what an Intelligent woman has moved in my phone (mental note: I wonder if the Stern Teacher can be substituted with Ryan Gosling's voice?)

Today I even went to the Mind Body & Spirit Festival after my Yoga class and discovered the 'best quality" supplements, juicers, blenders, 'healing jewellery', met avoided  mind readers, life coaches, fortune tellers - I left the place wondering Why there are still sick and unhappy people on our Planet  - the answers to all your problems have been been found long ago and can be ordered online with the Today Only 20 % Discount  . 

Sarcasm away, the Festival was unexpectedly big with a multitude  interesting stalls and great products!

• Mountain Climbing - we are finally doing it! - next Saturday (fingers crossed it doesn't rain!) - very excited for the Riverlife adventure at the Kangaroo Point Cliffs - next week's blog will feature photos of clumsy me hanging on to the Safety rope attached to the top of the Cliff. 

Happy New Financial Year and a positive Monday for tomorrow! 

xoxo

Julie