Bar Revolution in Brisbane - Our Place

I believe that Brisbane is currently experiencing  the Bar Revolution - over the past year The New World  City got quite a few quirky additions to its Winning scene. Think Brew, Super What Not, Dragonfly, Kerbside,  Survey & Co and ... Our Place - a relatively new edition to the Fortitude Valley's party precinct.

Our Place is a bit like Comfort At My Table, but for drinking - homely and cosy, as if you are at your grandma's sitting on a floral-print couch, watching a non-plazma TV and drinking tea...except your Earl Grey has Chambord with a hint of Cointreau in it. Pouring your cocktails from a  tea pot into your friends'   shot glasses is a great way to get drunk on a Saturday  to feel like you are at home having a party, only it's nicer and you don't have to clean up after.

Atmosphere at the Our Place is warm and friendly and the music is great  - what else would you want from a bar?

Where: 299 Brunswick St Mall, Fortitude Valley  

Design: 10/10

Drinks: 9/10

Service: 9/10

The highlight: Tea pots

Disappointment: nothing really..except got a bit too crowded

Splurge: $$

xoxo

Julie

Long Weekend - Tamborine Mountain

I think long weekends should happen  more often in our busy Monday to Friday mundane work lives.
The feeling of getting drunk  staying up till late on Sunday, knowing that you can sleep in on Monday  brings an utter feeling of freedom and happiness.

Going through our Let's Make It Happen list with My Man we took advantage of the warm and sunny weather and headed to Tamborine Mountain to drink wine and eat chocolate to  reward our urban- polluted lungs with some fresh air and enjoy the magnificent nature surrounding us.

The peaceful atmosphere combined with abundance of little cute shops selling hand-made chocolate, fudges and clothes made me think that we were somewhere in Switzerland (or at least the version that I have in my imagination since I am yet to explore the country).

Less than 2 hour drive and you find yourself in tranquil and harmonious heaven! Beware of wine tasting -  even though you are only 'tasting' the wine,  keep in mind that you do it at least 10 times and by the time you finish that last 'full-bodied dry red with a hint of melon'  the mind is not clear (the effect of the mountain air perhaps? ;)) and you  can't suppress a silly content smile on your face.

Oh, and don't forget to purchase a bottle of Moonshine Maddness -  a Coffee chocolate liqueur port made with a fortified wine base. It tastes yummy on the rocks! 

Next on the Lets Make It Happen list is a weekend getaway on the Coast - can't wait to wake up with the view on the ocean waves - perhaps one of the most powerful motivation boosters for me! 

Have a stress-free and productive short working week everybody!

xoxo
Julie

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Comfort At My Table - Sunday Brunch

Last Sunday my Man and I finally paid a visit to one of the unique gems on Cribb Street - Comfort At My Table. The 'oh so lovely' cafe is well renowned for its coquette atmosphere and extensive breakfast menu with a twist.

Having woken up well after midday we were lucky to avoid  the morning rush and get a lovely table inside and ordered our breakfast (God bless the places that serve breakfast until 2 pm on weekends!) hassle free.

It took quite a while to get our coffees, however we were so distracted by Facebook  the cute details in the design of the place that have hardly noticed the wait - it is quite nice to be surrounded by flowers in  vintage vases, cook books, jam jars  and other very homely pieces.

Those who made Brisbane home fairly recently  will probably share the feelings I had - Home Away from Home.

The food was yummy and beautifully presented - the plates, cutlery, cups - everything reflected the concept of the cafe. I would imagine it would be quite hard to get back to the office after having a coffee there during the weekday.

Where: Comfort At My Table, Shop 5,19-23 Cribb St 
Milton, QLD 4064

Design: 10/10

Food: 8/10

Service: 7/10

The highlight: The concept!

Disappointment: a bit slow service

Splurge: $$

xoxo

Julie

The Cove Bar & Dinning - South bank

This weekend my Man and I finally made a  visit to the GOMA  to have a look at some of the Contemporary Art displays. Gazing at the works of art made us somewhat hungry and we made our way to relatively new refurbished precinct at South bank and decided to have lunch at probably the only place we still haven't visited in that area - The Cove Bar & Dinning.

The place boasts prime riverside views and an exquisite bar design. The menu is relatively limited, however we easily made a choice, certainly including the Cove's signature oysters in bubbles, using Moet et Chandon champagne gel, salmon pearls and San Pellegrino emulsion.  

The food arrived promptly, was beautifully presented and was delicious. The oysters were very fresh and had a very special flavour to it.

Even though the food was good as well as  the views and the atmosphere, the place definitely is not going to be on our Favourites list. And the reason for it is bad service. 

The moment we arrived we were promptly seated at our table and then left there totally forgotten, until we had to indicate that we need some help. The staff did not offer us any water, and there was no salt or pepper on our table - we had to ask for those things. The employees were friendly but we were under the impression that they were quite disorganised and not  attentive to their customers. We constantly would get different staff members serving us and in the end when we got to the counter to pay we got very arrogant attitude from the guy who was sorting out our bill.

The service shortcomings left a very 'bad taste in our mouth' and I doubt we will go back any time soon, which is a shame as overall  the Cove is a nice place and I realise the chances are we were just unlucky and should we have come on any other day the service may have been impeccable, but at the end of the day we pay more so for the experience than for food and wouldn't want to risk it again.

Where: Sidon Street, River Quay South Bank 

http://www.covebardining.com.au/ 

Design: 8/10

Food: 7/10

Service: 3/10

The highlight: Oysters - a must try!

Disappointment: Service

Splurge: $$$

By the way, on a side note - you can now temporary enjoy a glass of wine or beer while having a picnic at the newest South bank green area, as alcohol consumption is permitted until 8 pm, so pack your picnic basket and head to South bank to enjoy the Sunday afternoon in beautiful surrounding!

xoxo 

James St Cooking School

Despite my  inability/ unwillingness to cook anything more complicated and time-consuming than a salad I am not giving up on myself (so my Man can still  cherish his hope that one day I will spend hours in the kitchen creating culinary masterpieces) and went for a cooking class at the James St Cooking School. 

Source: VisitBrisbane

The school offers  a wide variety of classes, ranging from BBQ/Sausage making class to Modern French, Mediterranean and even kids' lessons (where were they when I was 7??)! 

Inspired by our recent trip to Kuala Lumpur the choice fell on the Malaysian cooking experience. On one of the weeknights, after a long day at work I made my way to a lively New Farm to find myself at the Cooking School in the company of absolutely different people all united by the desire to learn something new, guided by a very energetic and knowledgeable Chef! 

Source: Courier Mail

The Menu for the night consisted of: 

• Chicken Kapitan  - traditional malay chicken curry
• Nonya laksa
• Satay, beef, chicken & pork with cucumber relish & sweet/spicy peanut sauce

I must admit, cooking for 3 hours, being very hungry after a full-on mental strain for 8 hours in the office was a bit of  a challenge - I constantly wanted to 'try' the ingredients and to 'taste' everything in the process, it took all my will power to refrain myself.

Source: Courier Mail

 The outcome, though, was totally worth waiting, cutting, chopping, frying and all  other million things we did in the process to create an authentic Malaysian dinner, whichI must admit was delicious. No doubt, it tasted even better due to a glass of wine that accompanied the dinner the fact that we created the meal ourselves! 

Besides the full recipes, we got very handy tips and tricks that make the cooking process more productive and  in my case less dangerous! Working in groups was very helpful too, delegating work and sneak-peaking what/how others are doing kept the teams motivated and efficient, besides the participants get a great chance to meet and talk to interesting people in the process and conclude the night with a sit down dinner experience, where everybody gets a chance to taste the dishes and discuss it with the fellow participants! 

Cooking classes are great fun,  something different, exciting and yummy! Will definitely do other classes in a few months  and who knows maybe one day a chef inside of me will come out! 

xoxo 

Lady Lamington - Fortitude Valley

Lady Lamington is a relatively new edition to the famous Fortitude Valley party precinct. Offering breakfast menu, lunch, dinner and last but not least creative cocktails  - Lady Lamington is worth a visit regardless the time of the day you decide to pop in.

Menu is relatively simple and quite limited, however food is beautifully presented and tasty. But what sells the place the most is the decor! The interior design looks posh and a bit 'fairy-tale' like with the atique chandelier, gold-framed mirror and  a pink-lit colour scheme.

Another highlight of the Lady Lamington is a rooftop deck, that is located right opposite the Church (you'd  think that would stop me from drinking alcohol - but it wasn't the case neither for me nor for other patrons who were sipping on their cocktails on a beach-themed stools, enjoying a relaxing Sunday night).

Lady Lamington is a place with a character, boasting exquisite design, quite eccentric but not 'overdone' - just right  to make an  impression and establish itself on the Brisbane wining&dining scene.

I know this will be my place for a lazy Sunday afternoon or a buzzing Saturday pre drinks, ah, and possibly for breakfast the next day!

And did I mention that the service was great - the staff was welcoming and friendly, but mostly important -  our waiter spoke with the inimitable French accent - for that you can forgive a lot! ; )

Where: 483 Brunswick Street
Open For: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, 7 Days

 xoxo 

Jam Jar - : Hidden Funky West End'er

On a lovely Saturday night I took my girlfriends to a place called Jam Jar, situated in the funky West End on the  Boundary Street.

The first word that comes to my mind when describing Jam Jar is quirky, it is a place with the character - unpretentious, but unique and stylish!
It is quite easy to bypass the place and initially the size of the restaurant/bar is very deceiving, as once you enter you only see the first half of the place  - the bar, open kitchen and a piano! We were nearly ready to walk out, thinking the place will be too crowded,  when we we were warmly greeted by the staff and offered to walk further down the corridor to our table. Oh My!- the creativity of the design and the idea of being almost on the 'backyard' of the house has totally blown our minds away!

Source:Hungry Kittens

The menu is very sophisticated and is created with sharing in mind, which is absolutely great when you come with a group and want to try a bit of everything. Jam Jar takes pride in its locally sourced food, promoting its philosophy of 'Food, Drink, Think'. 

'Heroic yet humble, jam jar offers an enticing experience for the taste buds and the mind' - is what the creators of Jam Jar say about  the place themselves, and I can't find a better way to describe it! 

Our food was delicious, beautifully presented and very fresh (special note to the freshness of  the oysters!). Wine was flavoursome and staff very attentive and helpful - what else do you need for a relaxing weekend catch up with friends! 

Jam Jar is creative, and alluring, boasting a unique vibe you almost can't communicate  in words - ultimately you just have to try it for yourself! 

Where: 138 Boundary Street, West end

 When: Wednesday - Friday 11 am  - 11 pm, Sat, Sun - 8 am - 11 pm