Lady Marmalade

www.ladymarmaladecafe.com

I haven’t been to Stones Corner in absolutely years. It used to be the place to go for cheap discounted clothes stores however these have been on the way out for a long while, so I was interested to know what was left behind? Apparently not much, it all looks very rundown and shabby, however there are still a few interesting finds, particularly a clothes shop called Miss Savage (I purchased a dress) and the cafe Lady Marmalade. 

Lady Marmalade is actually run by a certain two My Kitchen Rules contestants, both of whom were there when we went for lunch. It is located in a weirdly shaped corner shop, which doesn’t leave much room for a large number of tables (they are all located outside in the street), nor a “proper” kitchen. The decor is totally cool, with random oddities such as a peacock perched up near the ceiling, mismatched tables and chairs and exposed brickwork. 

A Night In India

www.anightinindia.com.au

Back in my uni days, I lived in Toowong and recall getting takeaway from A Night In India. Nowadays I am reliving the uni life through L as he is still studying and so we headed out for a big group dinner to this well known Indian restaurant with his uni mates.

The decor is rather shabby, as it is with a lot of Indian restaurants, and it was really dark indoors. It was also really hot inside, as they didn’t seem to have their airconditioning turned up. 

Their menu is large, and has an extensive selection of vegetarian dishes, not that I was going to order one. As we were with a large group, the waitress allocated us all individual numbers so we could receive our meals and pay with ease, which was quite smart I thought. They have no problem with split billing which is awesome. 

I ordered a Butter chicken ($17) and a garlic naan ($4), whilst L ordered a goat vindaloo (also $17) and a keema naan ($5) with raita ($4) and shared meat samosas with a friend for entree ($7).

Samosas

Dodgy Cupcake Efforts

I wish I was amazing at baking cupcakes like some of the writers of the blogs that I read. Okay, so I have so far not put in much effort towards achieving my dream, however I am getting there and would like to share a couple of photos of the first cupcakes that I have baked. 

Yes, they look fairly sad however I am still slightly proud of them. 

Vanilla cupcakes with basic glace icing... I had a massive fight with the icing and got very angry

Chocolate cupcakes with choc buttercream frosting... first effort at piping anything.. very sad

Madtongsan

On Valentine’s Day, L and I met my little sister in the city for lunch. We knew we wanted to eat at somewhere in the Elizabeth Arcade however didn’t really know where. We originally intended to eat at CityWok which is on the corner near the Charlotte Street entrance, however they have renovated their restaurant in the last six months or so and have a different menu... Everything is now Taiwanese cuisine whereas they used to have Singaporean items and also a Vietnamese menu. 

We decided on a whim to walk into Madtongsan. Korean cuisine is definitely not something I am familiar with, my previous experience has been limited to a Korean BBQ restaurant we used to frequent on the Gold Coast. So, we took a little while to decide what we wanted to eat, and I had a somewhat confused look on my face for the whole time whilst ordering, which I am sure the waitress found amusing. 

Breakfast Creek Hotel

www.breakfastcreekhotel.com

On a lovely Sunday evening, we headed to the Brekky Creek Hotel for what else but for a nice fat steak. The Breakfast Creek Hotel is reknowned for their impressive steak menu and we’ve been there with family a couple of times. You can either eat in the Spanish Garden Steakhouse which has table service, or you can eat in the Beergarden where you order from a counter and receive a buzzer to go and pick up your meal.

The problem we’ve found is if you book a table in the Beergarden, there is absolutely no one there to take you to your reserved table at all, and you have to try and flag someone down for them to point you in the right direction. Of course, this is something which you wouldn’t experience in the Spanish Steakhouse.

We find that the steaks aren’t exactly cheap, but they tend to be cooked well and there is always a great pub atmosphere which is why we like going back to the Brekky Creek.

Aqua Linea

www.aqualinea.net

L and I have been engaged for over a year now, and we are starting to suss out a few potential places for our wedding reception to be held. Also, it was the weekend before Valentine’s Day (a romantic dinner was in order), so we booked a dinner at Aqua Linea at Teneriffe. 

Aqua Linea has a lovely view of the Brisbane River and has obviously recovered quickly from the flooding in the area. We were seated indoors facing the window outwards to the river, so it was certainly the romantic setting we were after. I would have to say the decor is a bit outdated and could do with a sprucing up.

The service we experienced was an odd mix. The maître’d was a jolly sort of fellow who was a bit toooooooo enthusiastic, but uncomfortably so. He brought us the wrong wine by mistake, our waiter forgot to take our order for a while and then our entrees took a while to arrive. It did get better though towards the end of the meal.

Oishii Sushi Bar

L and I have been to Oishii Sushi Bar at Sunnybank twice now in the last few weeks for lunch. Oishii specialises in “Contemporary style sushi” according to their menu.

Both times we have been there, it’s been reasonably crowded, so it’s obviously a local favourite, and it’s also highly rated on Urbanspoon. There is a large outdoor seating area as well as indoor seating. Soft drinks, teas and Japanese beverages are available on a “help yourself” basis from the fridge indoors. 

On the menu is a range of appetizers, such as yakitori, edamame, karaage and takoyaki as well as various assortments of tempura vegetables and seafood, and then a large range of sushi and sashimi. Further along the menu, are an assortment of “Oishii fusion” sushi, and then a range of hot rice and noodle dishes.  

The first time we went, we sampled from the Oishii fusion area of the menu as well as ordering some rice dishes. I ordered the Torikatsu don ($11.00) which is crumbed chicken on rice topped with egg, and L ordered Unatama don, barbequed eel cooked in sweet egg sauce ($15.50). 

Freestyle Tout Emporium

www.freestyletout.com.au

L and I have consumed so many calories at Freestyle it’s not funny. Usually we visit the Freestyle at West End however seeing as we were out for dinner in the Valley, we decided we just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to visit Freestyle at Emporium.

There was a short line at the door however we were soon seated. There wasn’t a spare table in the restaurant which is testament to how popular Freestyle is. If you want to eat dessert in Brisbane, then this is the place to be.

L ordered his usual Creme Brulee (seriously, he never orders anything else, and I demand to know when it’s my turn to order it!). This was accompanied by fairy floss, mixed berries, raspberry sorbet, vanilla bean icecream and biscotti. The brulee was perfectly set and the fairy floss was an interesting sweet touch. The raspberry sorbet was a bit sour for my liking. 

Mecca Bah

www.meccabah.com

L and I had a sudden urge for baba ganoush and decided to visit Mecca Bah, being a Monday night, there wasn’t much open as usual.

We’ve visited Mecca Bah numerous times over the years and have always enjoyed the food there, but tend to visit on quieter nights, seeing as you can’t book a table we never really want to risk visiting on a Saturday night and having to contend with the masses.

We were seated promptly indoors, being the only tables available... Yes it was a Monday night but it was still reasonably full and there weren’t any tables available outside at all. I did notice the furnishings have deteriorated over the last couple of years... chairs are looking a bit grubby and the light fittings and cushions are a bit dirty, but if you aren’t looking with a microscope like I tend to, you won’t notice these things. 

The Chelsea Bistro

www.thechelsea.com.au

I decided to treat L and I to a nice lunch out on one of my days off and after a bit of researching on Urbanspoon, decided that The Chelsea Bistro looked lovely with some interesting menu choices. 

The Chelsea Bistro is the first place we’ve visited in the Barracks complex on Petrie Terrace, as it is not really on our side of town at all, however we noted a few of the eateries within and decided we’d have to definitely make the effort for a return visit. 

Upon arrival, we were greeted straight away and were led to a table indoors, thankfully not being seated outside as it was a hot day.