Cup vs Mug

"Would you like that in a cup or a mug?"

If you are asked this question when ordering a coffee, it can generally tell you the calibre of the cafe.  I can't recall being asked this once in Sydney, but it's quite common up here in Brisbane.  Something that needs to be phased out for sure.  Who really wants to drink a bucket of coffee, apart from a lot of Americans?  I feel that a good coffee is one of the small pleasures in life, to be enjoyed like a ritual, rather than a quantity-over-quality guzzle. 

Kylie Kwong @ the Irish Club

If they ever held the Food Olympics, then Kylie Kwong and Matthew Evans would definitely be our representatives because they are such true champions of good food.  Went and saw Kylie last night at the Irish Club in Elizabeth Street, hosted by the cooperative "Brisbane's Better Bookshops".   Kylie was up here doing a slew of events in Brisbane, all of which were slightly out of my current price range (breakfast at Riverbend and drinks/canapes at Mary Ryan's; both circa $100).  So I was delighted when I came across the advertisement to see Kylie for a mere $15 at the Irish Club.   Was somewhat puzzled at first by the Irish Club venue, but at $15, I didn't miss a beat and booked tickets pronto.  The venue was actually a pleasant surprise - the event was held upstairs in a lovely, open and ornate hall.  There was even a bar.  Bonus.  Second surprise of the evening was when John Birmingham was introduced as the interviewer (of "He Died with a Felafel" fame).  Bit of a random personality for the theme I thought, but I'm quite a fan of John, so I rolled with it. 

The true star was of course Kylie herself.  I've seen Kylie quite a few times before in her restaurant, Billy Kwong in Sydney - but it was inspiring to listen to her talk about her current passion for sustainable food and supporting those who produce it.  She was comfortable being on the centre stage and talking about her career and family life; coming across very much as a "true blue" Aussie having a yarn with blokey farmers in their fields, but still retaining a deep connection to the Chinese culture that she grew up with.  I was also interested to learn that her venture with Bill Granger (hence Billy Kwong) only lasted one year together (Kylie bought Bill out post the year and the restaurant is now celebrating it's 10th).  Maybe it was all that white?

Kylie's new book "It Tastes Better" looks great, but I'm already under mounting pressure about the quantities of books I accumulate, so I thought I'd better let sleeping dogs lie on this one.  But I'll continue to support Kwongy (as Neil Perry affectionately calls her) by either relishing her fabulous duck at Billy Kwong or maybe even snacking on her goodies available at the Eveleigh Markets one day.  Photo courtesy of Kylie's website. 

Bar Barossa

Want a slice of South Australia in Brisbane?  That's what we were up for as we headed to Bar Barossa, last Friday night.  The concept is a wine store (the Purple Palate), with a wine bar next door.  It's located in a bit of no-man's land, up the far end of Queen Street.  We were having a drink first at the Hotel Orient and this was a close option for dinner.  As a side note, I was impressed with the Orient - it had everything I look for these days in a pub (i.e. good beers on tap, roomy, not so loud that you have shout and music I actually knew).  It reminded me a bit of the Beresford in Sydney, so I was happy to discover it's joys.  Back to the wine bar.... 

The bar is nice and open, with lots of glass and a modern feel.  It was busy, but luckily Al had booked  us a table.  The wine choice was extensive (as to be expected) and it took us a while to leaf through all the wine menus to actually find some food hidden there.  The focus is obviously the wine, but the food was pretty good.  The highlight was the oysters we had as entree - one variety had crab meat on top (pictured above) and these were a real tasty treat.  The menu overall has a French influence - I had the pork belly with polenta and du puy lentils, which was nice, but the pork wasn't as flavoursome as I was hoping.  The boys had steak frites, which were cleaned up, but I didn't hear much raving.  Al went the vegetarian pasta option (despite nearly breaking the vego drought on the steak frites) and I think she made the right move to hold out for a more appropriate moment. 

And of course - the wine!  Al and I had the Daisy Hill Pinot Noir, which was very drinkable.  I can't recall what Kris ordered, but he had two glasses, so it must have been good.  We probably didn't do the wine that much justice to be honest, given that two of us were designated drivers.  We'll have to re-think that strategy if we decide to come back. 

Bar Barossa
545 Queen Street
Brisbane

Green Oven: Whole-of-Soul-Food

Been house hunting around the Alderley region lately and have stumbled upon the Green Oven on Samford Road. This place is a bit of a laid-back gem. It's not bold and brashy, but a great little cafe, which does food well and serves good coffee. We've been for lunch a couple of times and they have loads of delicious goodies like lasagnas, pies, quiches and sweet treats. But the real hit was breakfast. It's a simple menu featuring good produce - largely including organic eggs and spelt bread. Clint & I both had the special, which was Boston bacon beans on cornbread and it was just fabulous (see below).

This area in Alderley is apparently about to undergo some serious re-development around the train station and I think it's well past it's due date.  Most of the shops are pretty decrepit or empty - I guess there's no point doing up your shop if the whole precinct is about to change.  The Green Oven itself is an unobtrusive space in amongst all of this, but still has a nice vibe with some rustic and retro furniture.  Hopefully the cafe will still be there post the re-development.

The Green Oven
28 Samford Road
Alderley

Sunnybank: Little Hong Kong

Sunnybank has a lot of memories for me from Griffith Uni days, being just down the road from campus. Back then it tended to involve late night foraging for hot dogs, lollies and slushies from the Bevan (aka 7-Eleven) and the odd Asian meal caught after a movie. The Bevan is still there, but the real reason to go to Sunnybank is because it's a food mecca for anyone looking for tasty Asian food at good prices. The place is always heaving and it's really hard to get a park. We ended up down a side street behind the marketplace.

We felt like noodles, so headed to Little Hong Kong, which is right in the middle of the chaos. I ordered the lan ho vegetable dry noodle and Clint went for the duck & ginger noddle combo. We technically had enough food for 3 people, but somehow we managed to consume most of it ourselves. The noodles were great with a tasty sauce - I didn't really get too much of the duck, but Clint looked like he's enjoying it below, so must have been pretty good too. We'll definitely be heading back here when we're down this part of town - there are so many places that look worth a try when you're cravin' Asian food.

Matthew Evans @ the Avid Reader

Last night I attended an event at the quirky Avid Reader bookstore in West End. They were hosting Matthew Evans, who southerners may know from his food critic days for the Sydney Morning Herald or more recently, from his Gourmet Farmer show on SBS (a channel which apparently only 2% of the population watch - scary fact revealed on the night). Matthew was there to promote his new book, called "The Real Food Companion", which he hopes to show us "how to ethically source, cook and eat real food".

The bookstore didn't have a lot of space for people to mill around in beforehand while they served nibbles and drinks courtesy of Food Connect (a local food cooperative promoting sustainable produce), but their outside space in the courtyard was better suited to the simple seating arrangement for later on. Matthew spoke really well - just like a bloke you might know down the road, who happens to have a real passion for re-discovering the taste of great food, which we may have lost in the ultra-convenient, mega-supermarket, bottled-water-from-Fiji kind of world we live in today. Did make you feel like you should get home pronto and plant those herbs you've been saying you were going to plant for the last 5 years, shop at the farmers market you pass each weekend and search the net scouring for local butchers who might be enthusiastic if asked about the meat they sell. I did have home made pumpkin soup for dinner that night (albeit pumpkins from Coles), so I think that counts somewhat.

I love it when two of my favourite pastimes combine - books and food! Here's to discovering more independent bookstores in Brisbane. Photo care of SBS Gourmet Farmer website.

The Gunshop Cafe

This cafe has been touted the "best cafe in Brisbane" by Delicious magazine for 2009, so there was definitely Dickens-esque great expectations in our visit here. Given that Sydney has such a well renown vibrant cafe scene, I was also keen to compare the "best of" call that Brisvegas could boast to the southern cafes. And I wasn't disappointed. The Gunshop Cafe could rub shoulders with the best of the Mexicans.

The cafe spans what looks like two rustic brick shops in the West End. It was mid week, so we were pretty much guaranteed a seat, which I hear is rare as hen's teeth on weekends, with queuing typical (sounding very reminiscent of Bills in Sydney). The service was really friendly and fast and the menu had loads of items that I wanted to order - brioches, smoked fish, Toulouse sausages, to name a few. I ordered the potato feta hash cakes and Clint couldn't go past the brioche with caramelised banana-bacon combo. I'm loving feta in anything at the moment, so the hash came up trumps and wasn't too rich. The brioche on the other hand looked nothing but rich and Clint polished that off quick smart.

The only small drawback I could point to was the coffee - could have been hotter. But hey, I'm grasping at straws here. I think the vibe would probably be more buzzing on a weekend, but it was still a great breakfast spot I'd visit again. Naturally though, I'll need to sample more Brisbane breakfasts before I can properly comment on whether it's "the best".