ns waffles

Northshore Harbour Cafe | Summer Menu

Location: 297 Macarthur Avenue, Hamilton Reach

Meal: Breakfast / Lunch

Price: $9.50 – $27.50 (Kids menu available)

Overall Experience: 9/10

Food: 8/10

Service: 9/10

ns table

 

We recently had the pleasure of trying out Northshore Harbour Cafe’s new summer menu. The cafe is located at Hamilton Reach, Northshore. We had never ventured out this way and were pleasantly surprised at the location of this cafe on the river side. Northshore Harbour cafe has a relaxed atmosphere and is the perfect location for a weekend breakfast. They have got you covered with  plenty of (free) parking onsite, we all know theres nothing worse than driving around in circles trying to find a park on an empty stomach!

Now lets get to the important stuff – the food! There were many options on the menu which had us spoiled for choice, however we were already won over with the all day breakfast menu! Here are the dishes we tried:

 

ns hashcakes

 

Potato and persian feta hash cakes with smashed peas, poached eggs and herbed hollandaise with bacon. This dish was perfect! The crunchy hash cakes oozing with cheese were complemented fantastically with the herbed hollandaise, the eggs were cooked perfectly and I had to order a side of bacon because, well…. i’m greedy. Initially we got food envy seeing all the other wonderful dishes around us but as soon as we took a bite we knew we had made a good decision!

 

ns waffles

 

Now for something a little different… House made waffles and spiced fried duck breast with sriracha maple and thai basil. This was the dish that had us talking – duck, waffles, maple, sriracha? How? We just had to give it a try. This was a very impressive looking meal which  had our tastebuds equally as impressed. The sriracha and maple made a sweet sauce with a spicy hit, the waffles were soft and fluffy and the spices that coated the duck paired with the other components well – the only downside to this dish was that the duck was a little bit chewy and difficult to cut, however it was still a great meal.

 

ns coffee

Overall we had a lovely experience at the Northshore Harbour cafe and will definitely be back to try out some more of their extensive menu!

View their full menu here

Written by: Charlotte Louise

Seasonal Lunch entree_ARIA BNE

Seasonal Lunch Offer | Aria Brisbane

Location: Aria Brisbane, Eagle Street Pier

Cost: 1 course for $35 or 2 courses for $50

Offer: January

Celebrate Summer along the Brisbane River at Aria Brisbane; with fresh local produce, served up at an affordable price.

Menu: 

Entrée

BUFFALO MOZZARELLA

Fresh fig with pine nuts and currants

Main

MAHI MAHI

Grilled fillet with pancetta, zucchini and sherry vinaigrette

*this offer is running in addition to the regular lunch menu. Available Monday to Friday

To make a reservation, please call ARIA on 07 3233 2555 or visit www.ariarestaurant.com/brisbane.

Seasonal Lunch entree_ARIA BNE

 

12356886_708732335930083_580907894980464568_o

New Shanghai | Queens Plaza

Location: Queens Plaza, Brisbane CBD

Meal: Lunch/Dinner

Cost: $5.50 – $35

Overall Experience : 5/10

Food: 5/10

Service: 5/10

 

There’s nothing better than flavoursome Chinese dishes that take your taste buds on a journey; they give you a sense of culture, a resemblance of the country in which they originate. For me personally, the journey through food is what I love most about being a blogger. Getting to experience so many cultures and the diversity that stems from them, without having to leave Brisbane. A taste of the world right in our backyard. Unfortunately, the meals at New Shanghai didn’t quite take me on a journey. Yes, I went to a restaurant that served food inspired by Shanghai, but my presence stayed at the table in Brisbane.

I was greeted by a queue of hungry patrons waiting outside New Shanghai; some had been waiting for over 20 mins to be seated. I waited in clear view of staff to notify them of my booking, however was not acknowledged until I interrupted and requested a manager. The restaurant as some of you may know, is located in prime real estate (Queens Plaza), so the waits are expected. I would recommend you make a prior booking to avoid long waits.

Now to the menu. Here are some of the options we tried out:

DRINKS – Pina Colada & Mango Punch | Cost: $11

12356886_708732335930083_580907894980464568_o

1795330_708732392596744_2664160056934677997_o (1)

Summer and fruity drinks, a match made in heaven! And heaven is where I went. These two bad boys, sure took me on a trip. The Summer drink of choice. Iced, fruity and delicious. The only thing that was missing was a beach, in fact I might consider taking a blow up pool next time. My mouth is still salivating from these.

ENTREE –  Cold Braised Duck with Brown Sauce | Shepherd’s Purse & Pork Won Ton Soup | Cost $12.70

Starting off with the duck; traditionally this dish is served cold which is perfect for warmer days. The actual dish itself was bountiful in flavours and boasted a perfect gloss skin. Unfortunately the protein was slightly over cooked and was very difficult to eat with the amount of bones that were still left in the duck. Almost every bite presented 4-5 piercing bones; and that is where I drew the line with this option.

The Won Ton Soup on the contrary was pure bliss. The actual won tons casings were silky and light. The soup was delicious with extra chilli flakes and some thinly sliced cucumber for freshness. I have nothing at all to fault with this dish. They were some of the best won tons I have ever had.

 

12362781_708732409263409_5620465686359231189_o 12375027_708732372596746_2636178427261170944_o

MAINS – Zha Jiang Noodles with Spicy Ground Pork & Rainbow Beef | Cost – $10.50 & $19.50

When the Zha Jiang Noodles were placed in front of me I could not help but smile. They looked perfect! I was in for a treat I thought to myself. After mixing all the elements of the dish together, I was far from pleased. My entire dish was tasteless. There was no flavour drawn from what should have been spicy pork; in fact the only thing you could taste was bland noodle. Unfortunately for me, the serving size was quite large too, so I had to eat a huge bowl of flavourless noodles. Not impressed at all. I have said this a few times, but for the best Asian Inspired food, I would still recommend Sunnybank (Not promoting the area cos I live there); but if you are looking for authentic cuisine with flavour then that should be your go-to place. It also costs a fraction of the price without the tedious wait times.

The Rainbow Beef which is made up of thinly sliced beef strips fried and coated in sweet and sour sauce. The flavour of the dish was apparent unlike the first main. However there was not enough sauce for the amount of protein on the plate. The strips which are meant to be crispy were difficult to bite through. We ordered the exact dish a week ago from Market Square at the fraction of the price; so this is definitely not a main that we will be ordering again.

11062158_708732425930074_4552570483901596855_o 12377632_708732355930081_8860969326663353357_o

Yes, I have been very critical of the dishes we ate, but it is integral that I relay an honest interpretation of my experience. If you are anything like me, food is life; it is a source of happiness and equally when a meal doesn’t quite live up to its’ expectations, it creates concern. If you have had other positive experiences at New Shanghai please share them with us. Perhaps this will hinder our choice in dishes for the future.

View their full menu here.

Written by: Aliyah Ravat

12362716_706924386110878_1404887969601649717_o

Christmas Lunch at the Riverview Hotel | VEGETARIAN

Location: Hamilton, Brisbane

Cost: A La Carte Lunch (5 Course)  – $159

MENU CHOICE: VEGETARIAN

Christmas, a time for family, good food and copious amounts of red wine (in my world anyway). After undergoing a $6 million refurbishment, the Riverviews’ Plates Restaurant will be preparing for their busiest day of the year. With a hybrid menu influenced by the Queensland Summer and Traditional Christmas Dishes, their spread is sure to impress. A little off character for me, but I decided to opt for the Vegetarian Menu.

The Menu Includes: 

  • Amuse Bouche
  • Marinated Beetroot with Grilled Goats Cheese and Wild Rocket
  • Christmas Pie with Lentils, Chestnut Potatoes, Mushrooms and Cranberries in a Vegetarian Suet Pastry
  • Pavlova with Fresh Berries, Double Cream and Raspberry Coulis

12362716_706924386110878_1404887969601649717_o

Not only was the marinated beetroot entrée visually pleasant, it was an absolute delight to eat. Light and fresh, but still creamy from the goats cheese. The modern take on the Queensland Christmas.

 

12362806_706924672777516_7715967994800117755_o

Everything about this dish screamed festive! The light, crisp suet pastry and cranberry sauce were heavenly. I would eat that as a snack alone. Unfortunately my primal instincts didn’t much of a liking to the lentil filling. That was not a result of the flavours of the dish but more so the fact that I had Charlotte eating a rack of lamb beside me.

Written by: Aliyah Ravat

 

Next Door Kitchen & Bar | Lunch Menu

Location: Little Stanley Street, South Bank

Meal: Lunch

Cost: $4.50 – $26.50

Overall Experience: 5/10

Food: 3/10

Service: 6/10

 

It is not often that we give bad reviews. But at the end of the day, as bloggers, we have to give an honest opinion. Our articles are honest and a true reflection of our experience and I would not want to falsely recommend a menu that failed to deliver.

Next Door Kitchen & Bar is located in a prime spot in South Bank, only a stones throw from the Brisbane River. The atmosphere is relaxed with an urban feel to it. A perfect location, for a Summers lunch.

We sampled the following 2 dishes on the lunch menu:

SAFFRON LINGUINE

Paired with prawns, scallops, a tomato chilli salsa and preserved lemon. This dish costs 18.50. I would only rate this a 2/10 at most. Yes, it was edible, but it left a foul taste in my mouth. The natural flavours of the scallops and prawns were completely dissolved in a over bearing tomato salsa. The actually linguine itself, was cooked perfectly, but that was about the only positive aspect of the entire dish.

11222118_700706326732684_7164159030007856057_n

CARVED NEW YORK SIRLOIN

Served with a fondant potato, pancetta crisp, truffle butter and cress. It makes me a little sad to see a piece of sirloin over cooked to the point where it is difficult to cut through. Such a beautiful cut of meat, destroyed with just a few minutes of extra time on the pan. Unfortunately, our piece of meat was not medium rare; it was very difficult to cut through and was dry in the throughout the bottom. The dish would have worked well with a thicker sauce as the fondant potato soaked up most of the juices on the plate. As much as we love to promote businesses throughout Brisbane, unfortunately this dish was not worth the $26.50 that it was priced at.

12244726_700706310066019_5304579314919189753_o

Criticism isn’t always a bad thing, it allows for restaurants to make changes to their menus and ensure that future errors in the kitchen are minimised. Perhaps this was an unfortunate visit for us, and things were not going too well in the kitchen. It was kind of sad considering we were the only people in the restaurant at the time. However, if you have had an outstanding experience at Next Time Kitchen & Bar, we would love for you to share it with us and other readers.

I would definitely recommend their drinks though. Perfect on a hot Summers day!

12265967_700706353399348_6646652692955042783_o

View their full menu here

Pappa Rich Brisbane

Location: Wintergarden Brisbane CBD

Meal: Lunch/ Dinner

Overall Experience: 7.5/10

Food: 7/10

Service: 8/10

 

Papa Rich has opened their doors at Wintergarden Mall and has taken off with a bang. With queues out the front, the family oriented, Malaysian Restaurant, offers fragrant, wholesome dishes, right in the heart of the CBD.

Here are some of the dishes on the menu that we tried out:

ROTI CANAI WITH TANDOORI CHICKEN 

Coming from an ethnic background,Tandoori Chicken is something we eat at home at least once a week. The wait time on this dish is 15 minutes longer than most dishes at Papa Rich as it is made from scratch. The chicken itself could have been marinated for a bit longer as the flavours were lacking. The Roti was absolutely perfect. Buttery, and crispy ahh! I love roti canai and theirs would definitely rate high up on my list.

DSCN1891

DRY CURRY EGG NOODLES WITH CURRY CHICKEN

This dish was absolutely amazing. The egg noodles made the dish a healthy, light option against the full flavoured curry. The serving was all very generous.

DSCN1882

PAPPA DEEP FRIED CHICKEN SKIN

To break up our meal, we ordered the deep fried chicken skin, which were heavenly. They were so addictive, I could not stop eating them. These were the real deal, crispy chicken that had a delicious flavour to it. I think they would work really well with a cold beverage.

DSCN1864

View Pappa Rich’s full menu here

 

Burrito Bar | Rosalie

Location: Rosalie

Meal: Dinner/ Lunch

Price: $2 to $50

Overall Experience: 7/10

Food: 6/10

Service: 8/10

The Burrito Bar has recently renovated their store in Rosalie Village. We have previously tried a few other stores, but were not impressed with the quality of food and service. So naturally at first, we were a bit hesitant to check out the  Rosalie Store. I must say, we were pleasantly surprised; the place looked amazing and they definitely redeemed themselves in our books.

Here are the options we tried out from the menu:

QUESADILLAS

Delicious, 12 hour slow cooked pulled pork quesadillas with lots and lots of cheese. Melted cheese is always a good idea. The pulled pork was equally delicious and whole in flavour. This is definitely an option that I will be ordering in the future.

11046800_696866067116710_6467173413630711612_n

BBQ WINGS

Okay so I am going to be 100% honest here. I have previously had the wings from Burrito Bar and was extremely disappointed (mind you I ordered the Chipotle ones). My previous experience delivered wings that were starved of meat and terrible chipotle flavouring. The Bbq Wings had a pleasant flavour and were definitely a step up, however, I did find that the actual wings themselves needed more meat on them.

12183974_696866157116701_2689662109524793570_o

BBQ RIBS

I am a huge sucker for ribs, so naturally I was going to order them over a burrito or nachos. They were served up with delicious, cheesy Mexi Fries…yum! The flavour of the ribs was amazing and they were pleasant to eat. However, the meat was not as juicy as I would have liked it to be.

12189203_696866117116705_8892062707400150011_o

CHOCOLATE NACHOS

One of my favourite desserts of all time. Chocolatey nachos with a serving of ice cream and warm chocolate sauce. Need I say more? I love the crunchiness of this dessert, which left me wanting more.

12238447_696866220450028_921550062110813237_o

Burger Urge

Location: Australia wide

Meal: Lunch/Dinner

Price: $4 – $18

Service: 9/10

Food: 10/10

burgerurge

Starting from humble beginnings in Fortitude Valley, Burger Urge has since grown into a much loved burger place throughout Australia. By the end of this year they  will have their 20th store opened, what an achievement. Opened by 2 brothers, the brand now  invites all burger lovers by offering franchise opportunities.

As a self confessed burger addict, I will admit that these guys are one of my favourites. The staff are always happy, the portion sizing is generous, they taste delicious and not to forget they are also reasonably priced.

So what, is my favourite pick off the menu? Well the New Yorker of course. Featuring a prime beef patty  with American style cheese, crispy bacon, pickles, smoky bbq sauce, garlic mayo, lettuce and tomato. One cannot simply, avoid this baby. Oh, and that bbq sauce…It is absolutely mind blowing with the bacon.

Their fries are also on our radar as some of the best in Brisbane.

burgerurge2

Check out their full menu here.

IMG_20150702_133942

Lunch with a view | Blackbird Bar & Grill

Location: Eagle Street, Brisbane CBD

Meal: Lunch

Price: $10 – $40

Overall Experience: 10/10

Food: 10/10

Service: 10/10

Nothing beats a lovely, warm Winters day overlooking the Brisbane River, spending some alone time and indulging on exquisite food. Blackbird Bar & Grill recently launched their new lunch menu which is packed with flavour. I ordered the Steak Frites and  a Watercress salad, just enough for one.

The Steak Frites was one of the most amazing dishes I have had in a while. The flavours were perfect for a Winters day, buttery and spicy, wholesome goodness. The Shoestring Fries as a side worked a treat at bringing some crunch into the meal. Quite surprising that my amazing main only set me back $24.

The Watercress Salad was lovely and fresh, with pear and walnuts. The combination works a treat offset with blue cheese dressing. Seeing as I was having a lovely day to myself, I made sure I ordered a sneaky wine too. I honestly cannot wait to go back!

IMG_20150702_133942unnamed