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Noosa Boathouse | Noosa Food & Wine Festival

Venue: Noosa Boathouse

Chef: Shane Bailey

Events @ Food & Wine Festival

  • Spend the afternoon taking in the beautiful views of the Noosa River whilst learning the tricks of Adriano Zumbo’s creations. The intimate affair will be held on Sunday the 21st of May at 2:30 pm. Cost: $195 book  online.
  • For feast of reef and beef, join chefs Nick Holloway (Nu Nu, Palm Cove) and Sunny Gilbert (Austin’s,Mount Erica Hotel, Melbourne) as they team up with chef Shane Bailey at the Noosa Boathouse for the ultimate three-course Beef and Reef lunch with matching Dal Zotto wines. Friday 19 May, noon, $145, book online.

If you followed our insta-story coverage, you would know that our visit to the Noosa Boathouse was the last booking on our itinerary. I was kind of stalling time to share it with you all as I am a firm believer in saving the best for last. Our experience at the waterfront dining hub was extraordinary. The atmosphere is relaxed yet still sophisticated and plays the perfect host for all wonders that the Noosa River has to offer.

We opted for a shared feast to try out different aspects of the menu.

To start off with we had a Charcuterie Plate with cured and smoked meats, olives and grilled bread. An absolute stand out on this board was the inferno paste. It was hot, but the good kind of hot. It made my mouth sing with flavours on its’ own, yet when paired with olives it brought out and entirely new flavour that alike was intriguing. Even if you aren’t a chilli fan, that paste will change your mind.

For entree we started off with the Cedar St Buffalo Mozzarella with watermelon, wagyu bresaola and local figs. My absolute favourite dish of the entire evening; It left me with a whole new way of looking at the marriage between watermelon and cheese; It works a damn treat. There were slight underlying flavours of pepper on the watermelon which were subtle yet bold at the same time. The elements to the dish were extremely simple, yet when combined were very effective.

Baked Wild Caught Scallops was the second dish we tried out. It had sea urchin butter as well as sweet, sour apples. The scallops were buttery, cooked to perfection and worked well with the crunch and sweetness from the apple. The freshness of the produce was quite evident in this dish.

Our mains were an absolute treat. The Slow Cooked Beef Cheek in every way paid tribute to the produce used. The meat broke down into a tender mash with the touch of a butter knife. It made my heart sing with joy. Paired with a fresh tamarind dressing and paw paw salad, the dish was light, flavoursome, full of varied textures and wholesome all at the same time. There was absolutely nothing I could fault about the plate that was put in front of me. A true labour of love.

At this point, we were extremely full but still went on to try out the Grilled Fish which was served on a bed of spiced Mediterranean vegetable pearl cous cous and house made yoghurt. The flavours held within the cous cous were bold yet complimented the freshness of the fish.

To end off the evening, we were treated to a Beetroot and Chocolate Brownie with salted caramel ice-cream. The combination of beetroot and chocolate in a single brownie makes for a perfect match. The brownie was moist on the inside but rich and decadent. The salt from the ice cream balanced out the sweetness from the chocolate and cooled the palate at the same time.

It was an honour trying out the menu at the Boathouse, a showcase of remarkable local produce. I would also like to make mention of the team at Noosa Boathouse, they made us feel extremely welcome, and took the time to explain the menu to us even though the venue was packed with diners. A wonderful experience all round.

Organised by: Tourism Noosa

Written by: Aliyah Ravat

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Brisbane Good Food Month

Brisbane Good Food month is due to return again in July and we have a round up of all the exciting events coming up. Good food month promises to delight your taste buds with a number of dining experiences including Brisbane’s Young Chefs lunch and a twist on old festival favourite, hats off dinner, now known as hat Swap. There are some new additions this year including Laneway! Streetfood! Music! which is sure to be a whole lot of fun.

Our favourite – the Night Noodle Markets will return for 12 nights from July 19-30 making Southbank’s Cultural Forecourt come alive. Other events include:

Good Food Month Launch After Party

July 17th, 7:30pm, Stokehouse Q ($50pp including beverages and canapés)

For the first time, the afterparty of the Brisbane Times Good Food Month launch will be open to the public. Soak up the spectacular Brisbane atmosphere at Stokehouse Q with delicious food, music and fun.

Hat Swap

July 27th, 5:30pm or 8:30pm ($165pp with matched wines)

Join Melbourne’s Embla head chef Dave Verheul and Gerard’s Bistro head chef Ben Williamson who are coming together for the first time as part of Brisbane Good Food Month for an exclusive collaborative dinner with matched wines.

Laneway! Streetfood! Music! Presented by Beer the Beautiful Truth

July 28th, 6:00pm, Secret Location ($50pp incl 4 beers & 3 food items)

Check out this laneway celebration of cold beers and delicious street food created by Australia’s best chefs. A diverse menu will be on offer, served in a secret city location. At just $50 a ticket – which includes food, ice cold beer or cider and live music – this event delivers unbeatable value.

Escape to Halycon House

August 25th, Halycon House ($2000 package per couple, overnight stay)

Discover the stunning coastline of Northern NSW with an all-inclusive luxurious escape at Halycon House. With no detail spared, enjoy luxury car transfers, welcome drinks by the pool, and an exclusive dinner with Paper Daisy Chef, ben Devlin. Then wake up the next day with Yoga followed by  champagne breakfast and finish the day with a bespoke seasonal cooking class with a special guest chef.

For more info on all events visit www.goodfoodmonth.com

Info provided by The Cru Media

 

 

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Peppers Hotel and View On Little Hasting | Noosa

So you’ve probably seen a similar post pop up through our newsfeed every year. Peppers Hotel, Noosa is our go to place to stay for Noosa Food & Wine Festival.

We always opt for a spacious 2 bedroom apartment, that way Charlotte and I can have our bathrooms when we get ready (cos you know that’s essential), and it always helps having a super comfy bed when you come home after a long day of eating good food and drinking amazing wine.

The hotel is located only a stones throw from Hastings Street, oh and if you are lazy like me, well you can catch a buggie up and down the hill. I love how the view from our room always overlooks a slice of forest, which for me personally is a dream come true. And to add to my getaway experience, Laguna Lookout is only a short 1.3km hike from the hotel. So all you early risers, definitely check it out!

If you are staying at the hotel, make sure you pop into View Restaurant. We had the pleasure of dining with Executive Chef, Andreas Nielson last year and got to first hand witness his passion for food. In fact, our dining experience at View made me re-fall in love with food all together. If you do have other plans for your evening and dinner is not on the cards, try out the buffet breakfast. We went absolutely crazy with it. I love how they have added gluten free bread options as well as an array of fresh fruit and chia pudding. Oh and there’s both soft and crispy bacon.

Yeah, that’s what I am talking about.

View all their rooms and rates here

Over Noosa Food & Wine Festival, View on Little Hasting will be showcasing Queensland’s fresh seafood with a dinner created by Brisbane chefs Ben O’Donoghue (Billykart) and Jake Nicholson (Blackbird Bar & Grill), 2016 MasterChef winner Elena Duggan and View’s Andy Wilcox. The dinner will take place on Saturday the 20th of May at 6:30pm ($140, book online). 

Organised by: Tourism Noosa 

Written by: Aliyah Ravat

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Fresh Natural Asian | Noosa Food & Wine Festival

Venue: Fresh Natural Asian

Chef: Rida Dael

Events @ Food & Wine Festival :

  • Six courses served with your choice of beer or wine from Rogue Wines on Saturday 20 May, 2pm, $70, book online.

Noosa’s newcomer, Fresh Natural Asian, took us by surprise. The venue has been open for a short 4 months but the tastes and flavours that came out of that kitchen well surpassed places who have been open for decades. Fresh Natural, as its’ name states, only uses the best of ingredients; Even a single dish on the menu is evident of this. There is no use of deep fryers or microwaves. Essentially, it’s the closest you will get to natural, delicious food that’s good for you. The menu is entirely gluten free and stems from varied destinations in Asia namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. It’s not your ordinary Asian take out wish dim-sims, let me assure you of that.

To start off with, we got to try the Satay Madura, a Malaysian dish of chicken skewers with peanut sauce. The chicken was fresh and perfectly succulent, and the peanut sauce was freshly made. You could taste every bit of flavour through the dish making it a memorable experience. The skewers are apart of the lunch special on offer at the venue, priced at $9.50.

The next dish that we tried was Otak-Otak, and Indonesian dish that I have never actually heard of (and I live in Sunnybank). The beauty of Fresh Natural, is that it takes you ona journey through Asia, but it truly is a journey that you have not taken before. The Indonesian dish is made up of steamed, minced fish in a banana leaf with peanut sauce. I absolutely loved it, it was unlike anything that I have ever tasted before.

To further our trip to Asia, we then paid a visit to Thailand with a Miang Kham dish. This dish was absolutely spectacular. Simplicity at it’s finest. Instead of glute wraps, betal leafs are used with an array of accompliments that together create a delicious feast. There were hints of peanut sauce, garlic, chilli, ginger, lemon and the addition of chicken. In fact from my entire tasting at Noosa, this would have been my favourite dish and yet it was so simple.

And then came the side that completed my life. We stayed in Thailand with the Papaya Hijau, a green papaya salad. I have been searching for a salad like this for years in Brisbane and nothing has come close. I ended being a bit selfish and finishing off the dish by myself (soz, not soz).

By next Noosa Food & Wine Festival, I can so see this venue being the next ‘it’ place. It ticks all the boxes, local produce, that takes you on a journey yet at the same time, offers the healthiest of options. You have my recommendation. P.S, Brisbane needs a place like this.

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<3 Gluten Free

<3 Dairy Free

<3 Refined Sugar Free

Organised by: Visit Noosa

Written by: Aliyah Ravat

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Noosa Food & Wine Festival | Our Itinerary

It’s that time of year again where we get to team up with Tourism Noosa and Peppers Hotels, showcasing the best places to eat, play and stay this Noosa Food & Wine Festival. If you followed us on Instagram last year, we got to spend a night in Noosa and tried all the best dishes that were on offer for the festival (yap 14 dishes, in 24 hours to be precise). This year our itinerary is a bit more spaced out; We will be there for 3 days, so even more wonderful dishes to share with you. So make sure you check out on Insta page and we will try and let you live the moment with us through insta-story.

So here’s our itinerary for the weekend:

Friday 05-05-2017

  1. Time: 1pm – Experiencing exotic, North African flavours at Sirocco Noosa Restaurant. Executive Chef, Brad Webb teams up with Travis McAuley from Helenic Republic showcasing local produce with paired wines (Event Name: Flights & Flavours, book here).
  2. Time : 2pm – Check into accommodation at Peppers Noosa (Our fave place in Noosa , plus we get espresso martini kits).
  3. Time: 7pm – Trying out Noosa’s newest restaurant Padstow’s with local seasonal produce and craft beers. They will be offering a 3 course meal for the festival which can be booked here.
  4. Unplanned – But if it is anything like last year, we will probably end up drinking our weight in alcohol.

Saturday 06-05-2017

  1. Time: 8:30am – View on Little Hastings breakfast (Peppers Hotel) plus meet with Executive Chef Andreas Nielsen (We got to have dinner with him last year, he is so lovely).
  2. Time: 1pm – Lunch at Fresh Natural Asian (Never been here before, so it would be good to try), soaking up healthy East-Asian dishes. They do have a reasonably priced ($70) event on during the festival which offers 6 courses. Book here.
  3. Time: 7:15pm – Dinner with a view at Noosa Boathouse. They welcome Adriano Zumbo for a magical affair during the festival.
  4. Unplanned – Make friends

Sunday 07-05-2107

  1. Time: 8:30 am – View on Little Hastings Breakfast

Wow that’s a lot of eating for two girls in only a few hours. But make sure you follow us on Insta-story for more and we will have a write up when we get back.

Organised by: Tourism Noosa and Peppers Hotels

Written by : Aliyah Ravat

 

 

 

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Gelato Messina opens in Brisbane

Name’s Aliyah and I’m delayed AF. But rather late than never right? So, Gelato Messina has finally arrived in Brisbane, Yipee! Ya’ll alreay knew that though, cos I am about 4 weeks late with this post (soz, been napping). Given that I had known this was going to open a year  before it actually opened, one would think, I would have planned my posts a bit more efficiently. I’m sorry, I really am (not).

Enough waffling, Australia’s best Gelato shop now calls South Brisbane Precinct home. Located below the Melbourne Residences, Messina is only a stones throw away from the Cultural Centre and South Bank Dining Precinct. I am so damn glad that they have finally opened up here, no more driving all the way to Coolangatta for a scoop of coconut & lychee goodness.

*warning – Images look sexual AF

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Find them at : 109 Melbourne Street, South Brisbane

Images supplied by Brisbane Food Lovers photographer, Lewis Lotherington

Written by: Aliyah Ravat

 

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Channel Nine’s Family Food Fight | Applications Close 12th May

Does your family have what it takes to spice things up in the kitchen? To you, food is a family affair; Creating delicious food comes naturally to you, It run’s in your blood.

Channel Nine is playing host to their newest TV show, Family Food Fight and they are looking for people just like you!

What They Are Looking For: 

  • Family of 4 ( Varied dynamic: Mum, Dad, Son & Daughter, 4 Sisters, Mum, Dad, Grandma, Auntie, Twins and their partners, ie related and have a passion for food).
  • 1-2 of the people in each family that are seriously strong and creative cooks with a broad range of knowledge for other cuisines outside of their cultural background.
  • Open to people who have experience working with food, be it in Restaurant, Kitchens, Cafes, food stalls etc.. They just CANNOT be qualified Chefs or professionally trained.

What Is It: 

  • It is a competition against other families and they will be competing for a large cash prize as well as the title of Australia’s greatest Food Family
  • Filming will take place from around July to Aug
  • Filming will take 7 weeks
  • Each person within the family will be compensated with a fee while they are participating in filming
  • Filming will take place in Melbourne – all flights and accommodation are paid for by production

Casting process ends Friday the 12th of May.

Application for can be found here 

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Miss Bliss Pantry Opens in New Farm

Miss Bliss Pantry

Location: 76 James Street, New Farm

Opening Hours6.30am – 3pm on weekdays and 7am – 2pm on Saturday and Sunday.

A new addition to the Miss Bliss Family, The Pantry is set out in a revamped shipping container offering on-the-go meals and quality coffee. It’s your little, humble escape away from the suited jungle only a few streets away. Alike, the food is wholesome and nutritious; Here you will find:

  • Homemade banana bread
  • Seeded spinach savoury loaf
  • Smashed avo on toast
  • Fresh soups and salads and more.

<3 Vegan Friendly

<3 Gluten Free

<3 Refined Sugar Free

<3 Dairy Free

Information supplied by Miss Bliss Treats

Narrated by: Aliyah Ravat

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Les Bubbles Introduces Their New Bar Menu

Ola! Some news for ya’ll. Underground bar, the Bath House at Les Bubbles  has launched their new menu. Aligned with their Parisian theme, the menu features select French favourites including whole-baked Camembert as well as a charcuterie board  for those amongst us who like to share (not me).

**The images you are about to see may cause a state of hangry-ness


Information Supplied By: Doughnut Time Group Marketing

Narrated by: Aliyah Ravat (who should have never decided to write this whilst hungry)

maggeandmattlifestyletv

ARE YOU AUSTRALIA’S NEXT HOME BAKER? | GREAT AUSTRALIAN BAKE OFF APPLICATIONS

It’s back on. The Great Australian Bake Off is in search of finest home bakers to take part in the next series. Is pastry your passion? Do you find yourself living for shortbread and stressing over the your cake rising? If so then this is your calling.

How to Apply: 

You must include a photo of yourself and two of your best bakes, and IF YOU CAN, send us a video of yourself (the video is NOT MANDATORY). Apply early, don’t leave it to the last minute!

If you are successful, you will be contacted and asked to attend a baking audition in your state.

Apply here 

Applications end midnight 24th Feb

Information supplied by : Freemantle Media

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The Croft House Brisbane

The Croft House is located at the Sebel Hotel on Charlotte Street and offers breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks. The restaurant is dedicated to bringing you the best local produce, focusing on authentic Modern Australian, share platters, specialty drinks, and a large selection of craft beers.  We recently visited the restaurant to try out their dinner menu – after hearing some rave reviews we were looking forward to trying the menu for ourselves.

 

Starters:

Pulled pork and potato croquettes – before visiting the croft house I had seen these delicious looking things pop up on various foodie social media accounts and heard nothing but good things about them so I was excited to give them a try. They did not disappoint! The coating was crunchy and golden and the filling of pulled pork and potato was amazing – to put it simply! These are quite large and because I am greedy I ate all of them. If you plan on having 3 courses it may be a good idea to share these so you can save space at the end for the textures of chocolate dessert – you don’t want to miss out on that!

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Marinated Binnorie goats cheese – this starter was simple but delicious. The cheese was fresh and tangy and tasted delicious spread over the bread sticks. This is a nice, light option to start with.

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Mains:

Darling Downs 150 day grain fed bavette steak – sweet potato, cafe de paris butter, lemon and watercress – The steak, where do I even begin with this succulent piece of meaty goodness? Perfectly cooked (medium rare) with the buttery-ness and sweet. Every bite left me wanting more.

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Ricotta gnocchi – assorted mushrooms, wild mushroom cream, sage and brown butter. This has to be the best gnocchi dish I have ever tasted! I am a huge fan of mushrooms so naturally this dish stood out for me. The flavour combination was perfect and not once did the dish get boring (sometimes I find that gnocchi can be quite bland after a few mouthfuls). The gnocchi itself was light and fluffy and deceivingly filling.

 

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Dessert:

Textures of chocolate – bittersweet mousse, chic fudge brownie, peanut butter malto and espresso ice cream. This is The Croft House signature dessert and we can certainly see why, each mouthful of this dessert was a surprise with many flavours and textures throughout. The mousse was rich and creamy and was accompanied perfectly by the malto, ice cream and brownie. We would definitely recommend that you save space so that you can try this masterpiece!

 

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For more info on The Croft House click here

Address: 95 Charlotte Street, Brisbane, 4000

Opening hours:

Monday – Friday 6:30am– Late
Saturday – Sunday 7:00am–Late

 

Written by: Charlotte Perrigo

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Big City Eats | Food Trucks

Get excited because some of the best food trucks in Brisbane have come together to start a movement! The Brisbane Food Truck Alliance have worked together to bring the people of Brisbane foodie events by the trucks, for the people. The alliance are working collectively to help lower site fees, have a stronger voice with the council and have a stronger buying power with suppliers – this means that they can do more events and we can have our favourite truck eats more often!

The project kicks off next week where we will see a different food truck parked at the top of the city each weekday at lunchtime for Big City Eats.

Location: 50 Margaret Street (between William and George Streets, 11am – 2pm

Starts Monday October 31st

MONDAYS – Jaffle Shmaffle & DannyBoys Rockstar Sandwiches
TUESDAYS – King Of The Wings & The Dapper and Chic
WEDNESDAYS – Micasa Food Truck & That BBQ Joint
THURSDAYS – Rolling Stone Mobile Woodfired Pizza & How We Rolls
FRIDAYS – The Bone Lorry & Pizzantica
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Info provided by King of The Wings