Campos Coffee , Gasworks Newstead

Unless you live a boring suburban life and never get out of your outskirts Queenslander haven't been around the city in the last 2 months, you definitely would have heard about all the buzz around the new 1,1 $bn development at Gasworks.

With a brand new Woolies and trendy Market Food Company stocked with gourmet foods, the area is now the 'IT' place to do your grocery shopping - in case you didn't know that groceries shopping can be done in style - trendy mummies with branded prams, 'suited up corporates, and LornaJane clad fitness girls sipping on LornaJane smoothies (yes, I a referring to the new Active Living Room Cafe opened at the Lorna Jane Gasworks store - welcome to the Lorna Jane Cult!) - they all shop at Gasworks.

Source:goodfood.com.au

Gasworks also boasts a selection of casual cafes, restaurants, take-away eateries and coffee shops, speaking of the latter - the new Campos Coffee definitely beats the coffee competition. It is amazing how the Campos brand conquered Australians' hearts - I don't think I have heard anyone so far saying they dislike their coffees. Brisbanites love Campos, and I am one of them.

Source:www.camposcoffee.com

 With my unhealthy addiction to love of coffee I couldn't go past Campos Coffee  once it opened its doors at Gasworks  and I have been back many times since. Regardless of the time and day of the week Campos is always buzzing with people - office workers, mummies, ladies of leisure, retirees and freelancers.

If you are wondering why, the answer is simple - coffee is delicious, staff are friendly and helpful, service is efficient - what more do you need from a coffee shop?

Design:   8/10

Drinks:   10/10

Food: 5/10

Service: 8/10

The highlight: Coffee

Disappointment: Food options are limited - so won't be good for a breaky

Splurge: $

xoxo

The Foreigner

Bonsai Botanika

Bonsai Botanika is a new Asian edition to Elizabeth Street in the CBD. Offering Japanese-style food as well as organic coffees, loose leaf tea, hot chocolate and 'to-die-for' brownies Bonsai Botanika is a pretty unique place thanks to stylish design in the best traditions of the current trend of the eclectic mix of modernism, earthiness and retro - think wood, grass, organic produce and retro milk jars.

Source:brisbane.concreteplayground.com.au 

A successful combination of a restaurant and a coffee shop - all in one place keeps the place buzzing all day long till late in the evening even on a weeknight.

I have been to the place 3 times, first was during the pre-official launch.  The service was incredibly slow and the staff had no idea what they were doing, but the food was yummy - being a newbie on the block I cut them slack and showed up again to test the waters in about a month after opening.

Source:omggimmenow.blogspot.com

This time the place was packed with a very diverse crowd - students gossiping and posting selfies on Instagram  doing their assignments while overdosing on caffeine and sugar loaded frappuccinos,  ladies sipping on their wine, groups of friends enjoying delicious japanese food and couples sharing desserts, feeding each other from cute tea spoons...

Source:www,visitbrisbane.com.au

We shared a bowl of soup, which was huge enough to feed My Man and myself and if we had a cat we could have brought some for her too! The laksa soup was delicious, so was the flour-less chocolate brownie - in fact I have been craving the dessert since, however the service has still been slow and slightly disorganised, although the staff have been incredibly friendly and polite, which, combined with a heavenly dessert made me come back for more!


Last time I only had a tea and service was superb: friendly, efficient and no fuss.  In fact I was one of those annoying bitches customers who changes the order 3 times and nothing was a problem, my  requests were accommodated with a smile and the Aussie 'no-worries-mate attitude', which means I will be back.... to order 3 chocolate brownies.

Design:   9/10

Drinks:   8/10

Food: 8/10

Service: 6-7/10

The highlight: Design and brownies!

Disappointment: Service is not streamlined

Splurge: $$

xoxo

Foreigner

Shucked Coffee House, Newstead

Shucked Coffee House tucked away on one of the little streets in Newstead is one of the places I keep recommending all the time whenever someone asks me about a 'cool' place to go for breaky.

Source:beanbrewding.wordpress.com 

Source:theweekendedition.com.au

You will understand what I mean by cool, once you visit the place - it's just so different to your average cafe! If you get a a table in the outside area you probably will end up sitting on those terribly uncomfortable but very cool chairs, eating from a tiny but 'oh, so adorable' table admiring the relaxed atmosphere of Shucked - and  it does not matter how uncomfortable the chair is, because the food is amazing, the stuff are friendly and welcoming and the vibe just makes the time stop, forcing you to sit back and relax with your cup of aromatic coffee. 

The menu will not disappoint either - quirky, creative and utterly delicious, food comes out well-presented and very 'seducing'. When I go to places for breaky I like to pick something that I can't be bothered to cook myself at home, in that sense Shucked is perfect hardly anything on the menu would be your average breaky dish, even the staples will have an unexpected twist.

Source:urbanspoon.com.au

Shucked is a place that you need to visit for yourself to really appreciate what is so special about it, so I wont be posting too many photos, all you need is Just Show Up!

Oh, and case you are not a breakfast person, you need to rethink your life philosophy they do lunch and evening cocktails as well!

Design:   9/10

Drinks:   8/10

Food: 9/10

Service: 9/10

The highlight: Atmosphere and food

Disappointment: Outside chairs are not comfy, but not a deal beaker and definitely create a cool vibe!

Splurge: $$

Website: http://shucked.com.au/ 

xoxo

The Foreigner

Foreigner's Come Back

I haven't been blogging for a while.. By a while I mean since I turned into a housewife and started cooking dinners and washing socks  July 2012!

Even though I have fairly enjoyed 'family' life (and no, I am not married and neither do I have kids so I am exaggerating just a bit the dramatic changes in my life trying to explain my long absence) along with its quiet evenings, home-cooked meals, TV shows with a bowl of sweets,  I really missed my scribbles and expressing my thoughts  about Brisbane life in my darling blog.

 I had a few people asking me about the blog and I thought I had no idea someone was actually reading it I should really get back into it and start putting my greatest finds on the pages of the Foreigner's Diary again. 

Since the last post a lot has happened and many new places have opened, and many more are due to appear on Brisbane's arena - as someone said to me recently 'It is exciting times to be living in Brisbane now!'. I could not agree more, for the last couple of years there have been tremendous changes to the New World's City.

I have been living in Newstead for over a year now and since then the area has become incredibly trendy, not that I am implying any connection here .On a serious note, the exciting Gasworks development has really made the area the 'Place to Check Out' and it looks like there is more to come.

This is where I will start my Foreigner's Diary 'come back' and here it comes ...

xoxo

The Foreigner

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

Spring (CBD)

Continuing the topic of the CBD dining let's talk about Spring... and I don't mean the season, even though I wouldn't mind a bit of warmth and sunshine in our Brisbane lives...Spring is that restaurant that has created a lot of buzz since its opening a few months ago  and many of you have heard of.

My first visit to Spring was not long after its opening. The design and unusual interior decorations sculpted heads and arms resting on the nearby table definitely made a pleasant impression -white crisp colours,  lots of light, wood, fresh pastry and salads displayed in glass cabinets and fancy bottles of wine prominently displayed, sneakily unveiling the action happening in the kitchen - an exquisite design with a twist, yet 'cosy' and welcoming and not at all intimidating. For a moment I felt like I was back in Europe in one of my back then favourite cafes.

During my fist visit the food  was good, but nothing too impressive. What deserves special credit is the service. While I was eating a nasty insect landed its tiny body in my salad and died right in between the spinach leaf and a piece of beetroot - the waitress reacted in a glimpse of a second and my dish was replaced promptly, which I haven't even requested as the appetite was gone as the wine tasted too good!

Anyway, this week I had to pick a place for a dinner in the CBD with a special person - a lady who was partially responsible for my  move to Australia 3 years ago -  sure thing I wanted to go to a nice place, where we would be able to enjoy good food, pleasant atmosphere and be able to have a decent conversation without having to shout to beat the crowd noise (and I wanted all that on Friday, when  the majority of the city workers start drinking at 3 pm!). After  a careful consideration  a google search at work  the choice fell on Spring!


My guest approved of my choice and we had a lovely time chatting for a couple of hours while enjoying our meals. Again, food was good, but nothing over the top exciting - maybe I am becoming spoilt or choosing not the best things off the menu, this time I went with the Salad with Pumkin and Haloumi cheese (it sounded a lot more fancy on the menu, but you get the idea) ? Service was attentive and the  coffee was yum!

Overall - a lovely experience, and definitely a unique place in the CBD.

Design:  10/10

Drinks:  9/10

Food: 7/10

Service: 9/10

The highlight: The atmosphere

Disappointment: The line to the ladies!!

Splurge: $$$ 

xoxo

Julie