Roti Chenai

Roti Chenai
Address: 52/53 1000 Ann St, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 (EMPORIUM)

Z and I share a great love for curry and roti and our favourite Malaysian curry and roti place in Australia would have to be Mamak in Sydney. The buttery fluffy roti bread that is golden and crisp on the outside, what is there to not love about it? And when that perfect roti accompanies with the flawless curry that is of just the right consistency and spices, it is match made in heaven...

However, it is unfortunate that whilst Mamak opened up several franchise around Sydney, it has not made the move to Brisbane and as result, we have been on the hunt for the perfect that perfect roti to replace Mamak.

Hence, when Roti Chenai opened up in Emporium and started getting good reviews, it gained our interest and attention and we looked for opportunity to try it out ourselves.

Thankfully, the gods were in our favour and we managed to chance upon a discount deal opportunity which allowed us to pay Roti Chenai a visit at fraction of what it would normally cost (not that Roti Chenai was expensive to start off with anyway, a meal that will set you back around $20pp).

For our meal, we went for the chicken curry and the dhal curry. Both arrived very fast (within 10-15 minutes of us ordering).

Now in terms of the roti, I have to say that I am a little bit disappointed. Whilst the roti remains very delicious and soft, it was a bit dense and not as fluffy as I would have liked (most likely because the roti was pre-made and not freshly made as you would have at Mamak in Sydney).

The chicken curry had a great flavour. However, I did find that it was too spicy for me (mostly because I had an inflamed throat). The dhal curry however was absolutely delicious! The consistency was nice and the flavours and the spices are well balanced - it was perfect for me to dip my roti into the curry to soak up that amazing flavour.

All in all, it was a great experience at Roti Chenai and I look forward to going back to try some of their other dishes too.

Recommended: The dhal curry

Ciccio's Pasta Bar

Ciccio's Pasta Bar
Address: 471 Adelaide St, Brisbane QLD
https://www.facebook.com/pages/CICCIOS-PASTA-BAR

One of my good friend in Brisbane recommended Ciccio's Pasta Bar to me as she works close by and it is one of the places that her colleagues and her go to enjoy nice long lunches on a not so busy day.

A few others I have spoken to have also commented that years ago when it first started, Ciccio's handmade pasta was simply beautiful; however, most haven't been back for a few years and feel that their comment may no longer be valid.

On that basis, a few friends and I set out to Ciccio for catch-up and to give their pastas and pizzas a go.

Ciccio is located on the cusp between the CBD and the Valley. The decor of the restaurant is simplistic and modern and the waitresses are quite friendly and generally helpful. Whilst it's not first-date material, it is quite casual and relaxed and I do spot a quite a few lone diners there for their evening feed.

On the evening of my visit, my friends and I decided to go down different paths, whilst one decided to try the braised beef cheek (which has been recommended by other people who've tried it), the others decided to give the pizzas a go.

The speed of which our food was delivered was very prompt. However, my good impression of the restaurant quickly faltered when the food arrived.

Whilst everything looked appetizing, improvements were direly needed in particular to flavours.

The pizzas for one were charred down the bottom (although this at least assured us that it came out of a wood fired oven) and I will agree that the base would be very delicious had I not have to scrap off the char dust on the bottom. Although my friend disagreed with me and thought that pizza with char dust has character and she enjoyed the pizza base very much.

The topping I have found to be much too sweet, the 'meatballs' were tiny and had a particularly funny flavour (I am not sure what sort of herbs they put in it, it was just overwhelmingly sweet).

As for the beef cheek, although the pasta was quite tasty and flavour of the dish was good, we did discover a small piece of plastic in amidst the pasta.

We did take it up with the waitress and whilst she was very apologetic, she also never came back with an answer of how the piece of plastic ended up in the dish.

It just felt sad that we paid around ~$20 for the pizza and almost $30 for the homemade pasta and it really didn't feel like it was worth the money we paid.

In summary, maybe what we experienced was a one off and we may not have picked the right dishes, but I certainly won't be going back to Ciccio's in a hurry.

Recommended:...not really

Saj & Grill

Saj & Grill
Address: Corner Of Grey Street And Tribune Street, South Brisbane, QLD 4101
http://www.sajandgrill.com.au/

Saj and Grill is one the first eatery I visited when I first hit Brisbane and since then, I have been going there on a regular basis. It's a little hole in the wall with a few casual tables and seats which takes up a small area on the pedestrian walkway.

It is probably the most reasonably priced food spot in the Southbank strip (and possibly the friendliest as Dan the barista always got a big smile for everyone) and hosts not only great sajs but also fantastic coffees (Dan also serves that).

For a tiny little restaurant, Saj and Grill do host an impressive range of food from saj to wraps to salads.

Now before Saj and Grill, I've actually never heard of 'saj' before. According to Google, 'saj'is actually the metal dome that flat breads are cooked on (see the dome in the photo above) and further research shows 'saj' as a traditional Lebanese dish where the bread is cooked in a dome shaped oven and then infused with herbs and can be filled with different toppings.

Comparing notes with a couple of friends, the most popular dishes would have to be either the lamb saj or the garlic chicken saj. Everyone I spoke to have a good word or two to say about it. However, as I don't eat lamb, I often go for the garlic chicken saj or the zaatar special.

As I like to describe it, the zaatar special is the vegetarian saj which you get herbs with cucumber, tomato and olives (basically, all the good stuff).

However, whilst the zaatar special is nice, the garlic chicken saj would have to be my favourite. It's filled with the strong fragrance of garlic and taken with a mouthful of chicken, mushroom, herbs and the flat bread, the flavour just carries through and you are left salivating for the next bite...

Saj and Grill is one of the places I frequent for lunch and whilst they can be a little slow in the busy hours, it is still worth the visit.

Recommended: The coffee and the garlic chicken saj

Kind Living Cafe

Kind Living Cafe
Address: Shop 1, 25 Maple St, Maleny QLD 4552
http://www.kindlivingcafe.com/

Visit to the Kind Living Cafe came about as Z wanted to have a healthy brunch instead of the normal high cholesterol but yummy stuff that we normally have. This place was his bid to prove to me that a healthy vegetarian brunch can be both rewarding for the body and the palate.

Kind Living Cafe is located on Maple St (the main strip) in Maleny; it is just a few doors down from Colin James Fine Foods, which is famous for its ice-creams, coffee and cheeses. Hence, when Z took me past Colin James, my heart gave a lil whoop and I thought his vision of healthy living has included ice-cream in the menu!

Of course, it was just me being delusional...

As a result, when we reached Kind Living Cafe, I was being sulky and was practically looking for every fault possible with the place. However, despite my best effort, the decor at Kind Living Cafe was pleasant and spotless. There weren't many people in the shop and the lady behind the countered greeted us with a warm smile.

The menu offered a decent selection (about 6-7 dishes for brunch). The price was on the expensive side, but given that we were getting organic products, the slightly elevated price is probably justified.

Anyway, on that day I ordered the mango banana pancake and Z went for the Kofte balls with salad.

The wait for the food was a little bit long, but given there was only 1 person running the shop and that I wasn't particularly hungry, it was tolerable.

When the food did finally arrive, I was however very impressed with the presentation. The mango pancake looked sensational!

I took a bite into the cocoa-laden pancake and the fragrant of mango, banana and cream filled my senses. It was delicious! It was almost like a dessert for me. This is definitely my kind of healthy food.

Z's Kofte balls and salad was also very tasty. The Kofte balls were filled with nuts and the salad provided the much needed crunch in the dish.

The only drawback was that we did find a strand of hair in one of the Kofte balls, which marred our visit to Kind Living Cafe. The owner was very apologetic, but all she did was heat up and replate what was left on the plate and served it back to us. Given that we paid around $20 for 3 Kofte balls and salad, I was at least expecting a replacement Kofte ball...

Kind Living Cafe, that's definitely a call for improvement!

Recommended: The mango pancakes

Cafe DOV

Cafe DOV
Address: 130 Victoria St, Potts Point NSW 2011
http://ti0438.wix.com/cafedov

Cafe DOV is one of my favourite places for brunch in Sydney when I visit. It has great coffee, great food, friendly waiters... the only problem is that unless you live in the Eastern Suburbs, it's a bit of a pain to get to.

However, every time I went, the trouble is all worth it in the end when I sit down for my brunch. I have never sat outdoors, but the indoor is dark and cosy (fantastic for a sleepy Sunday morning brunch).

The waiters are always very friendly and attentive, they've even let me get away with ordering kid's menu once (as I wasn't particularly hungry and didn't want to pay for a full meal that I was going to leave behind).

In terms of food, I have tried a few things there. The specials on the chalkboard inside is always worth having a look. This time round, my friend ordered gluten free toast with spinach, egg and bacon and I had the kid size blueberry pancake with ricotta.

The wait for the food was a little bit long, but given how busy it was and that the waiter came back with our coffees quite promptly, we were happy to sip on lattes and chatter away whilst we waited for the food.

When the food did arrive, the flavours and the presentation were spot on. The blueberry pancake definitely was my favourite of the two meals that day, with the fluffy pancake and the balanced sweetness from the syrup to the ricotta and the blueberries.

DOV Cafe definitely gets thumbs up from me and I will be looking forward to going back the next time I visit Sydney.

Recommended: The coffee is pretty fantastic

Odyssey Cafe & Bar - The Greek Club

Odyssey Cafe & Bar - The Greek Club
Address: 29 Edmondstone St, South Brisbane QLD 4101
http://www.thegreekclub.com.au/

Reviews of The Greek Club have often been mixed. Whilst some rave on about the wonderful and service they've received at the restaurant, others have told me horror stories of what could barely be described as food. Given so much contention on the establishment, I decided to embark on a journey to find out for myself whether or not The Greek Club is worth the praises and/or indeed, the negativity.

To help things along, it was fortunate that I managed to secure the Urbanspoon deal and The Greek Club offered 50% discount on my meal. As result, I set out on a Monday night on my own to enjoy the ambience and the food at the Greek Club (on my own mainly as result of Z refusing to go 'try' places with contentious reviews).

Either way, that was how I ended up on the veranda of the Greek Club, by myself, with a book in my hand and two extremely friendly waiters.

The dining area at the Greek Club is separated into two section, the indoors, which is big enough to host events and parties and the outdoor veranda, which overlooks Musgrave Park. Given the choice, I would highly recommend to sit outdoors as it does have a much better view and you won't have to deal with the rather old fashioned interior design.

On the night of my visit, I was feeling particularly hungry and ordered the spanakopita for entree and the beef stifado which the waiter recommended. Now, as I am not an expert on Greek food, I had to quickly google "stifado" and results returned indicated a meaty stew with onions - a lot of onions.

The spanakopita was served rather quickly and it was simply heavenly. The pastry was golden and flaky and the spinach filling inside was ample and not too oily. The size of the dish was also quite decent, the three slices of spanakopita would have been sufficient for a small meal.

I had a feeling that the chef that night was definitely timing my meal. Cos my stifado was not served until a good 15 minutes after the eager waiter (over friendly and eager at some point who kept on checking on me to see if everything was okay) collect my plates for the entree, giving me sufficient time to digest and savour the spanakopita.

When the stifado arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. It was well-sized in proportion (the dish was MASSIVE) and it came with heaps and HEAPS of beef and onions.

The dish was fragrant and the beef was well cooked and soft that I could almost break it apart with my spoon.

I sat in the Greek Club for ages trying to finish the massive meal and ended up taking most home (which basically was another meal in itself).

I understand that there might be varying experiences at the Greek Club, but I would definitely go back for more of that spanakopita!

Recommended: The spanakopita

Gunshop Cafe

Gunshop Cafe
Address: 53 Mollison St, West End QLD 4101
http://thegunshopcafe.com/

I hit the Gunshop Cafe with a few friends over the weekend after many months of procrastination. I have always been interested to try the place as I see lines on the weekend for brunch every time I go past. However, given that the Gunshop Cafe does not take order before midday on weekends meats that you'd either have to go early or line up (and I am not a fan of lining up for food, especially when I am hungry).

Anyway, a couple of friends decided that to overcome the problem of lining up, we were going to have a really late brunch (mostly lunch) and made a booking for just past midday. 

The Gunshop Cafe is located close to the Coles intersection in West End, of close proximity to The Burrow and across the road from Coles shopping center and Mu'ooz. Getting there by public transport is quite easy with 199, 196 and the Glider bus stops close by.

The restaurant itself has three sections, the outdoor, the inside and the back yard. Whilst the outdoor section is great for people watching, you also have to deal with the passing pedestrians and people lining up. The indoor hosts an array of really cool decorations, ranging from interesting head busts to nest-like hanging lights. However, on a busy day, the indoor section tends to retain all the noise and can get pretty loud. The backyard is somewhat better in terms of noise but the decoration pales in comparison.

On our visit, whilst we heard many good things about its toulous sausages, unfortunately, it was sold out by the time we ordered. Hence, we decided to go for smoke bacon, poached eggs, tomatoes, hollandaise and sourdough, prawn omelette with wakame seaweed salad and avocado on toast with quark.

The smoked bacon with poached egg was probably the table's favourite. 

The bacon was crispy and the eggs are done to perfection with runny yolks and all. Most impressively, the bread - as my friends described - was as crispy as the bacon!

The avocado toast with quark was pretty nice too, however the portion do tend to be on the small side.

I had the omelette and I had to say that whilst it didn't quite live up to my expectation, it had some redeeming factors.

Whilst the egg was soft and fluffy and the flavor well balanced with the mayo and the wakame seaweed salad, the prawns were difficult to find in the omelette. There were also suppose to be toasted panko (which is like breadcrumbs). However, there wasn't very much panko on my plate and I was hoping that the panko would provide a different texture than the fluffy eggs.

On the other hand, the use of wakame seaweed salad, eggs and wasabi was pure genius. The combined flavor left quite an impression on me and gave me some new ideas for my simple home meals.

All in all, whilst it was a pleasant visit and that the Gunshop Cafe definitely has some delicious food, it is somewhat on the expensive side. I would go back for its bacon, eggs and toasted and I remain curious of its toulouse sausages, the omelette was rather disappointing for the price paid.

Recommended: The toulouse sausages