Sunday Steak night at the Boatshed (Regatta Hotel) an early father's day

We decided to take my father in law out for a night, an early Father's Day celebration. The man is of few words and simple tastes--steak and steak.

Over the years we've taken him to sample everything from $100+ offerings to $10 pub counter meals. This time we decided to venture out-- away from the south side of Brisbane and try somewhere he'd least expect--The Regatta Hotel. 

Let's see, my last memory of the Regatta was stumbling home along Sylvan Rd at 1am or there about towards my dinky unit at the other end of Sylvan Road collecting a few twigs, leaves and other debris along the way. 

Recently when we drove past we noticed how nice the Boatshed looked and hubby and I are total suckers for presentation. So we booked online and took Dad way out of his comfort zone (the border of which is somewhere in Robertson). 

First impressions are definitely impressive-- especially considering my past memories. High ceilings decorated by rowing boats (Boatshed, I get it), splashes of green and a sparkly view across the river definitely gets you in the mood for some casual, relaxed and good feeling fare. 

Boatshed--get it? 

What impresses more is the open kitchen with the flames from the grill and a clever touch to push the dry aged beef by displaying it. Something I've seen done at higher priced menus like Moo Moos. This place is definitely winning over places such as the Norman and Morrison Hotel so far.

Open kitchen and grill 

Showing off the produce 

Menu offerings were pretty standard and what you'd expect at a steak house. We ordered the oysters, fried bugtails and heirloom tomato salad to start with.

I was hoping the food would stack up to the presentation of the restaurant and it was well...surprising.

Firstly the oysters... they were fine, sweet, fresh ... but was it really necessary to serve them on what look like ground up urinal cakes? That blue.. just toilet blue and the fact it was in crystalline form (for the record i know its salt). Yikes. 

Oysters and urinal pellets

Rest of the entrees were just meh--bug tails were overcooked and the thick coat of batter didn't help. Could have been prawns for all we know. The little coloured bits to the side was the salad that was described on the menu, a more adequate name may have been 'garnish'. Don't bother with the char siu? sauce in the middle, that's a sin for me already--char siu is restricted to meat only, not seafood, plus it wasn't really char siu just coagulated soy sauce with sugar and possibly vinegar.

Fried Bug Tails

The heirloom tomato salad was well, everything the menu said it was provided the definition of salad is very loose. Lucky my mother in law wasn't there or she would have gone on about how this was definitely not a 'salad'. You can't really go wrong with this flavour combination--sweet juicy non acidic heirloom tomato offset by crumbly feta and a sweet balsamic glaze. Though if you have a plate at home and is capable of cutting tomatoes in half, I think you have a good chance replicating this at home.

Heirloom tomato 'salad'

Finally we get to the steak. All 3 plates arrived at the same time and looked delicious, however was awhile before I could eat mine as 2 staff couldn't figure out which was the Wagyu Eye of  Rump (ordered by me) and which was the Sirloin (ordered by Dad). In the end we just assumed they placed the right piece of meat on the right plate (based on what sides were there) . At least they had hubby's order down pat--I mean the bone on the meat was a dead give away its the OP Rib on the bone.

 Sirloin? 

OP Rib on the bone 

Assuming I was eating the Wagyu Eye of Rump the meat was not as highly marbled as I expect but still juicy and lots of meaty flavour--cooked well too, a nice medium rare. Delighted to find only 1 bit of sinew in there though Dad couldn't say the same for his--had a bit of tough time chewing. Hubby's signature OP had quite a bit of gristle close to the bone but the flavour was there once again. 

As hubby put it 'as long as they cook it right it should be good'-- both of us agreed that the meat was definitely of good quality for the most part. 

Medium Rare 

Great sauces (we tried the pepper and whisky and the mushroom) --definitely didn't seem like it was mixed from a bag of Gravox like some places (cough Caxton). Chips were a hit with hubby but the potato was well, a potato--Morrison's potato is still the favourite. The salsa.. I just ate around that, wouldn't have cared if it was there or not. 

The Boatshed definitely makes an impression as moderately priced steak place.  However the entrees lack lustre and the fare just doesn't seem as generous as other similar venues such as the Morrison. But.. At the end of the day though, isn't it all about that piece of meat?

 

Chow House

Friday night in Fortitude Valley and someone has to have an accident on Ann St.. All I can say to that is ugh. So hubby and I decided to stay in the Valley rather than battle the traffic for our Friday night meal.

We settled on Chow House since it was one of those places that you walk past and it seemed busy and you go 'we should try that some day'.

Alarm bells should have started going off when our waitress showed us a table smack bang in the middle of the entrance, weird set up but at least I have a view of the cake cabinet--a look only affair--$9.00/slice and rest of the restaurant--nice, simple, inoffensive decor.

A quick glance at the far-away specials board outside told me there was confit duck available--interesting since i thought this place was asian themed? But waitress plonked down water, menus and darted off to serve-----no other customers and hang around the register. Hey if you wanted to sell specials, shouldn't you a) have a board that people can see or b) train your staff to introduce the specials? clearly not special enough so we'll move on and we won't ask.

Cake Cabinet average $9/slice

Hubby was in a hungry and happy mood so no complaints from him so far. He had to try the chilli coriander bread with the peanut dipping sauce. I am not letting that man order bread again--- if you ever had toast with peanut butter, thats what this tastes like.

Peanut butter and toast. Wait, it's chilli coriander bread with peanut dipping sauce

Thankfully the spicy thai pork street sausage was a save, juicy and herby porky flavour. The tapioca dumpling dumplings could have fared a lot better without that bed of salad.

Pork Sausages, it's there, somewhere

Tapioca dumplings, you do get 4, hubby ate one before a photo could be taken

Inside of tapioca dumpling 

That ubiquitous, confused and poorly dressed salad. I get fusion cuisine, i'm not a fan but does mixing the pre packed salad leaves bag from Woolworths/Coles with the 'Asian Salad' bag also from Woolworths/Coles constitute acceptable fusion? At least keep the Woolies asian dressing, it would have been better than what dressing was on the salad. Sadly the salad was on everything: the warm twice cooked (dehydrated) duck salad, the bedding to bulk up the meagre but tasty tapioca dumplings, and fill the empty void next to the chicken rendang in young coconut.  Smaller plates may be a better idea, oh wait no, then you can't charge $29 for a salad or $25 for the equivalent of a chicken thigh and half a coconut with 1 tablespoon of rice.

Chicken Rendang in Young Coconut and Woolworths Salad

Twice Cooked duck (jerky) with pancake and Woolworths Salad 

We didn't have a big table and room was pretty restricted once all the food was on the table. Nobody came to refill our water bottle, no one came to clear plates--we ended up stacking our own plates as we were done to make more room. The staff were too busy congregating around the register--and ..moving around...and back to the register.  Must be something about that register.

There must be something about that register

Flavours were acceptable on all the plates (except for the salad, yes I even accept the peanut butter bread). However, I think Chow House needs a reno or at least a home improvement.

Exploring--London Fields

We were feeling adventurous this Sunday and I was promised I could have anything I want. So I just had to try this new place that's opened in West End. We don't or haven't explored West End for a long time but I had to try it after hearing the sous chef hailed from Gerard's Bistro and the owners were also behind Public (of Kentucky Fried Duck legend)

Place was easy to find, stands out among the offices, ware houses and soon to be developments of this end of Montague Rd. Sure it seems a bit random and middle of nowhere but this may not be the case for much longer if all the developments go ahead. 

We weren't sure what to expect but was immediate impressed by the decor-- polished concrete offset by wood panelling, rough white paint  and high ceilings --exudes same type of feel as public but a much more relaxed, 'pub like' feel.

Indoor dining space-London Fields 

Didn't make a reservation because we thought it being Sunday night should be no problems. However, did seem quite busy or were expecting to be quite busy so we were put up at the counter next to the open kitchen. To be honest--best place ever, we could see all the action in the kitchen and it definitely made for interesting viewing. I know cos hubby hardly looked at his phone. 

Best seat in the house 

Not too many items on the menu but standouts were clams, bone marrow, sweet bread-- all testament to the nose to tail approach I guess and things you don't see too often. Of course we just had to try it and weren't disappointed. All the food was seasoned well---half the time we have to reach for the salt grinder but not in this case. Bone marrow was melt in mouth gooey deliciousness, I had to fight hubby for it. The flavour of the clams and broth was great but I found lots of sand in the clam meat which was a disappointment. 

Clams 

Roasted bone marrow 

For mains we decided to forego the share plates of the lamb shoulder and pork knuckle as they did seem quite substantial and we wanted to try more of the menu. Settled on the barley risotto with winter veggies, sweet breads, sides of cauliflower and since hubby didn't get his fries at campos--I left him have it here.

Risotto was different, not as cheesy as we expect but not short on buttery flavour (bowl glistened at the bottom). Barley was different but does get a bit taxing to chew after awhile though the veggies were sweet and skilfully cooked (nice texture and retained al the colour, no wilted bits in sight). 

Winter vegetable risotto 

Sweet breads were delicious but did find a nice hunk of pink in one when we cut it open. We asked the waiter if it was cooked well enough as the pink did not look very appetising. Query promptly and politely addressed and we were informed that it's the 'gland' and completely normal. Hubby wouldn't' trust it so went and did a google and all was ok.

sweetbreads

My favourite of the night was the roasted cauliflower. On the back of the cauliflower dish at Gerard's Bistro I had to try this one, especially since cauliflower never makes in to my grocery trolley. That may have to change because it seems cauliflower is delicious when roasted. I'll google a recipe and how to later but it is something i want to eat again and again. The pairing with yoghurt and pickled onion to me was genius-- definitely made a difference to the dish.

Roast cauliflower with yogurt, sultans and picked onion

As for the fries--well they're fries. Hubby made me promise I wouldn't let him order fries anymore as to be honest, we really can't tell the difference between any pomme frittes or McDonalds fries. 

London Fields was a great find, we'd definitely be back but probably would be selective about what time so we don't run into the mass crowds that are sure to congregate here in time. 

I love finding new places to eat, please leave a comment if there's any places you'd like me to try or visit.

 

Campos Coffee

One of our favourite spots for brunch is Campos Coffee. It's an oldie and a goodie, even with all the new cafes that are popping up around Brisbane. We always return to Campos even after trying new places because it just always seem to be the perfect combo of great service, coffee and an ever changing, seasonal menu.

There was one time where we abandoned Campos for a good 6 months because of one awful experience (watery lentil soup?) back in 2013 where we thought the place even changed ownership but after returning in 2014, we haven't looked back. 

Hubby's favourite is the fries with garlic aioli --I'm not much a chips fan but I have to agree this is a really satisfying, flavoursome bowl of chips. Today though, we left off the chips and our treat was the Banofee slice. 

Banofee slice

I have no issues eating dessert first, especially if this is the 2nd last slice left in the cabinet. Not overly sweet with a nutty, caramel banana base. And I definitely appreciate the extra effort to take it into the kitchen to plate before it came out to us. Perfect with a perfectly brewed coffee. On this note, the Campos coffee can be a bit strong for some people (even for me at time)--but it's perfect to have with this.  

Smashed avocado is always a favourite with us and since they change their versions of smashed avo every month, almost guaranteed we'll get a smashed avocado every time we come here. 

Smashed avocado,  coconut milk, chicken curry and poached egg. 

This combination of coconut, curry etc didn't appeal to me on the menu, just seemed strange! But hubby insisted on trying and I'm glad he did. Interesting having curry with avocado but it somehow works with the curry being more of a soy flavour rather than a curry.

Other dish we tried was the black olive gnocchi -- of course we'd try it, basically anything i have no chance of making we'll try. Both of us thought it was yummy, chewing fluffy gnocchi but the olive flavour was very subtle. The table next to us ( can't help over hearing) thought it was bland, also made the comment the capsicum should have been evenly shredded and mixed throughout rather than large pieces. I thought that was a bit of an overkill. Touch critics all round. 

Not their most spectacular menu ever but does still meet the Campos standard. Can't wait for the September menu to see what they can do with spring ingredients. 

Black Olive Gnocchi with roasted capsicum

 

Midweek in Montville

Public holidays are great, even when they're in the middle of the week--just to break up that working week.

There are some public holidays which I feel I've squandered at home doing nothing, or doing too much e.g.housework and chores which deters from me being able to enjoy the day. Forever chasing that 'productive use of time'.

Hubby and I decided that this break was well earn and we shall make the most of it. We opted to travel north rather than south like we usually do and ventured into the Sunshine Coast hinterland.
The drive is a lot longer than what we anticipated--about 2 hours or so, but we finally arrived at our destination--Montville.

Our first stop is not the township it self but a dam/lake just on the outskirts--our target like usual is food driven. A friend of ours had visited a cafe called 'Secrets on the lake' and we thought we'd give it a go.

Well no surprise, it was on the lake. Gorgeous old timber structure and the place was abuzz. We couldn't get a table and got ushered out in a hurry with a flustered ' we're fully booked, have a wander and then come back'. No names taken, no further explanations. A nice table let us know that they were about to leave but got interrupted half way by the waitress with 'we have someone waiting for this table'. Must be the nice weather, setting and holiday mood because we were patient enough to wait and went for a wander around the place--warning, there's not too much to look at--water and trees don't make the time go fast.

Entrance to the Secrets on the Lake cafe. 

We wandered back in and a nice gentleman let us know that a table was ready, how they managed tor remember I have no clue as there were multiple groups milling around. It was worth the wait, we were seated right on the edge with a nice view.

View from the table

Service was slow and a bit flustered but it was obvious they were possibly a lot busier than anticipated. Some tables really looked like they were enjoying a long lunch complete with wines, desserts. Or maybe it was the demographic , hubby and I were the youngest by at least 2 generations.
The menu options were slightly on the heavy side for us for a lunch, so we opted for the 'light lunch' option of a charcuterie board and a burger.

Big happy moment when the meals came, very generous portions, especially the board which was heaped full of meaty goodness. It was nice that the baguette and crisps were warmed and soft as well.
Burger was a bit intimidating with a knife through the middle, it's an open burger which I actually thought suits us fine since some big burgers always beg the question 'how do you eat it'.

charcuterie board with various meats, home made pate, olive tampenade etc 

Funny part is, hubby's beef patty was about half the size of the one that the table next to us got. I think it really was a busy lunch service and supplies were running low. We had a laugh, under normal circumstance don't think we would have seen the funny side.

Lunch may have lasted a lot longer had it not been for this guy(below)--he was eyeing and coming close to my leftovers a bit too much for my liking. Yes I know, it's great to see wildlife close at hand but birds and I don't mix. We left satisfied and ready to do a bit of walking around the township.

I was hoping we could see  the waterfall nearby but apparently its a 2 hour walk. The Montville main street is really quiet charming, lots of interesting little shops for you to look through, maybe not buy from. Don't take my word for it, I just have a fear of collecting junk (stuff). Few cafes in town, many offering devonshire tea with scones and cream,  but  we were too full to try.

I did wander into then fudge shop and had to buy a few pieces--it's a novelty for me as I've never seen so many different kinds of fudge. Unfortunately just a bit too sweet and grainy for me. Deeply regretted especially when I discovered the chocolate shop.

Fudge shop on main st

This was our first day trip in awhile and I do  have to say it turned out pretty well. I don't think we'd visit Secrets or the fudge shop again, if we venture into the region again we'd be aiming for tasting the menu at the Spicers resort (they were closed this time)

It's the Qui-ffin!

Latest food trend is crossing various types of pastry with each other. There's the cru-ffin (croissant x muffin), the Cronut (croissant x doughnut)--none of which I've tried.

Still doesn't meant that I can't hop on the band wagon. Especially on a Monday when there's no excuse not to make use of the kitchen. So after very subtle hints from hubby and my subconscious that raisin toast all day, every day for breakfast is wearing thin and a bid for me to find a savoury breakfast I can pack in my bag and hubby can eat in the car... The Qui-ffin was born.

I bought a new muffin tray just for these. Base recipe is below from taste.com.au:
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/1389/savoury+mighty+muffins
And followed the recipe to a 't'  if by t it means extra zucchini , capsicum (come on trying to be healthy here), bacon and then extra t spoons of flour or cheese since the mixture looked funny at the end--sot surprising since all the extra stuff I put in.

The end result: I present to you 12 Quiffins, so called because it's eats like a quiche, but it's muffin shaped. Perfect for quiche on the go.... Hubby thought it was a great idea he always liked to eat quiche.

So to all these 12 little wonders are a new invention/food trend, not a failed savoury muffin.  Must admit, they're not so bad, a nice break from raisin toast at least.

Quiffins

Sunday Brunchday

Two meals are sacred for hubby and myself--Friday night dinners (extra special for me) and Sunday brunch/breakfast-- our quality time.

Sunday brunch is our quality time--the one day of the week we don't wake up with an alarm clock. We can wake up, roll over and get up when we want to. It's our time to sit at a cafe, drink our coffee and indulge in some yumminess and the weekend paper--especially perving not the super real estate that one day (or never) we will eventually afford.

This Sunday though, rather than our usual 'us' us became we--meaning entourage of mother in law, father in law and visiting sister of woman hitler i mean mother in law. No really, she's not that bad.
Since driving is an insurmountable task to the lady, she naturally requested that 'we' go to Sirromet Wineries.

I've been there before, when there were no grapes and there are no grapes since now since I know this because I went at the same time last year. But I do see Facebook posts of brunches at Sirromet, they looked great so I have no objections to trying this.

Let's be honest, Queensland wineries have not been known to be fantastic. Personally i'm amazed grapes ca grow this heat without turning into sultanas. Sirromet however, has done well whether on part to the business acumen or the actual product.

We rocked up , parked our car and for a frightful moment thought here was no breakfast to be had when we approached the cellar door. Then it dawned on us that Restaurant Lurleen's, perched higher up does indeed serve breakfast.

Restaurant Lurleens 

It's a beautiful place, with a beautiful view. Stone, wood, view of rolling green hills and floods of natural light-- it's spectacular especially on a drowsy Sunday morning. Sitting down at a table with white linen tablecloth and served by waitresses in chef's whites seem a bit too formal for a Sunday but not completely out of place, especially when you look at the price of the breakfast menu.--$22 for eggs benedict.


Mother in law did her usual spiel of 'high calorie intake when you eat out' followed by 'I wanted to come here because my friend said the big breakfast was delicious' etc. People, this is a woman who went to a steak house and said 'It's not good to eat meat'. The aforementioned big breakfast as well as buttoned mushroom dish was ordered to be shared between my in laws and the auntie.

Put it this way, the big breakfast was a rather big (small) disappointment. Coagulated scrambled eggs and possibly tinned baked beans. I think coffee club could do better for less. Don't have a photo as I couldn't halt the seniors so I could take a photo.

Hubby and I had the salmon 'stack' and eggs benedict. Yes the eggs benedict with bacon is just as lonely as it looked on the plate--no amount of photo filters can hide how much white there was left on the plate. The bread underneath that pile of bacon (greasy, lukewarm) was soggy and compressed to soggy biscuit by the time you got to it.

Eggs Benedict, bacon costs extra 

The salmon stack was not exactly a stack in a traditional sense, organised pile? There is definitely a strong (salty) favour to the salmon-- but with semi ripe avocado, Coles? semidried tomato and saltier fetta-- I'm not sure if out of the packet smoked salmon would have been a bad substitute in this case.

House smoked salmon stack

If you could taste the meal then it would be a wonderful brunch. Maybe just coffee and a plain toast next time to have with the view.

View from the restaurant, the best accompaniment to the meal. Pity you can't taste it

There are other options at Sirromet--an italian/tuscan inspired place and the cellar door with a cake cabinet and cafe style options. Maybe those would be better but I'm in no hurry to try, especially with those prices.

It's Friday!

Well actually it's not Friday today but I'm reminiscing about the Friday just past. Remember that Friday song by Rebecca Black? If not here's the link below:

https://youtu.be/kfVsfOSbJY0

The song is ..well annoyingly catchy but Fridays are AWESOME. I can't explain it, there's something about Fridays, no it's not the weekend because I work on Saturdays. Or maybe it's Fridays used to be date night? (prior hubby days) 

Fridays mean eating out, Fridays mean that rush when I walk out of work and Friday night dinners are always a treat. 

Last Friday--thanks to me leaving work later due to obligatory work drinks ( I really just went for a free can of coke zero--not kidding) hubby met me in Fortitude Valley. Instead of the usual 'what do you want for dinner' discussion where we (I) narrow choices progressively while we are stuck in traffic he simply said 'western or asian?' to which I replied 'western'. 

That is the process by which we arrived at Gerards Bistro. Both of us have been here before but on different occasions with different groups of people--i.e. we never came together. 

Gerards Bisto is in James St New Farm-- way to hip and cool for us (me thinks). It popped up a few years ago and for awhile I thought it wouldn't make it in Brisbane--but alas its proof that 'exotic' can survive with the right packaging. 

My memory of the last dining experience was --hunger. I last ate at Gerards with a group of girl friends-- and for some weird reason everyone hushed up when it came to ordering except with the chorus of 'I'm not that hungry'. I didn't want to be the only one who was 'absolutely starving' so I settled to join in the chorus of 'I'm not that hungry'. So my last experience really was a tease--half of a delicious scallop is NOT better than no scallop at all. 

Hubby dined last with a group of friends who were half drunk before they got there---so naturally 'not that hungry'. Hubby liked the food--maybe that's why he wanted us to go there tonight where we are both (sadly) familiar enough with each other to admit we are 'absolutely starving'. 

Menu has changed since the last time but atmosphere, decor has not. Staff professional albeit not the warm and fuzzy type. We were seated promptly at 6pm and offered all the usual and necessary explanations of 'share plates, specials, drinks menu, water (tap or sparkling)' 

Menu remains spice and very true to its google description of 'Dishes from Africa, Europe and the Middle East in a chic dining room with a 3D timber wall.' 
We ordered 3 small plates and 2 large plates -- we actually ordered 1 large plate to start but at the recommendation of our waitress we added a vegetable dish (subtle upsetting? maybe not, maybe we looked REALLY hungry). But we're glad we ordered that extra plate, otherwise we will never seem to be able to fill our stomachs at this joint. 

Our small plates: quail eggs, tuna and octopus were yum. Each one you could taste the use of spices and the presentation was modern, clean without being too clinical. Favourite plating was the quail eggs--isn't it cute its little eggs in a nest of twigs/onion

soft boiled quail eggs, sweet onion, dukkah

Yellowfin tuna, smoked bone marrow, pickled artichoke, tendon 
I'll be honest--I couldn't find the marrow, artichoke or tendon 

Octopus --always a favourite with hubby and myself, loved the tenderness with the  (hopefully intentional) charred bit of tentacle. Green strawberries? whatever it works. 

coal-grilled octopus, green strawberry, chilli, butter, almond and smoke 

Our big plates came out and they were at least (marginally) bigger than our small plates. Cauliflower and pomegranate was what we added at the suggestion of the waitress--to be fair--i secretly wanted to try that one. Definitely a worthwhile addition--spicy roasty cauliflower and sweet slight acidic pomegranate. 

Fried cauliflower, tahini, ras el hanout, smoked almond and pomegranate 

Suckling pig, fossilized pear, Jerusalem artichoke, and walnuts 

The suckling pig I'm surprised hubby ordered. Since he had a nasty experience with suckling pig in Hong Kong a few years ago (not the restaurant or the pig's fault, rather a dodgy taxi driver and poor ventilation in hotel room) he pretty much flinches at the mention of suckling pig. Best thing on the plate hubby reckons, is the fossilised jerusalem artichoke which I guess is what a potato chip would be if it was an artichoke? 

We finished up our meal by 7:30pm, plenty of time before our 8pm deadline. I can't help notice though that despite ordering 5 plates we were still not overly content. Maybe it's the food's fault that it was so flavourful we wanted more, but it could also be that the servings were small, especially for 'bistro' which also made it seem pricier. 

Gerards Bistro was definitely worth returning to but in the future we may just have to keep in mind it's probably not the place to go if we wanted to be greedy.