Meykadeh

It was Saturday and I needed to find somewhere for dinner. After our trip to Melbourne, and the amazing variety of restaurants down there, I was feeling a bit disillusioned with the usual restaurant suspects. After ruling out the standard Thai/Chinese/Indian/Italian/Vietnamese etc places, I spent an hour or so Googling some new places to go.

To be honest I was hoping to find something completely new, like a Caribbean or Congolese place, but no such luck. Then I came across Meykadeh at Jindalee. I was expecting it to serve giant plates of meat, but was pleasantly surprised after reading through the menu on its website. So we booked and jumped into the car, off to Jindalee.

It's not the easiest place to find - Meykadeh is tucked in a bit of an odd spot in the Jindalee Home Maker Centre. We tracked it down eventually, but once we walked in the door we were made very welcome. A man who appeared to be the owner greeted us, and showed us to the table. The restaurant is all one room, with a bistro feel - white windows and mismatched wooden tables, without tablecloths.

The young waitress quickly brought us a bottle of water and the menus. The menu at Meykadeh is a prime example of why restauranteurs really should put a bit of thought into what they hand out to their diners. This is how the menu begins:

"A meykadeh is a meeting place. A place to relax, talk, eat well and drink.

Welcome. Please take as much time as you wish. There is no minimum spend, nor will you be rushed while you enjoy your coffee or Poor Man's soup."

I don't know about you, but that's exactly what I want to hear when I walk into a restaurant. Sure the restaurant wasn't full on the night we were there, but the staff were incredibly friendly, and there was no hurry throughout our meal.

After looking through the menu, the mazeh/starters really caught my eye. Here are a few of them:

KuKu-yeh Sabzi ($9) - a mixture of eggs, sauteed coriander, dill, spring onion, parsley, lettuce, crushed walnut and barberries, served with homemade garlic yoghurt.

Falafele-Aadas ($9) - lentils mixed with onion and fresh coriander, served with tahini sauce.

Nano-Paniro-Sabzi ($9) - Persian feta with mixed fresh herbs and walnuts;

Morgo badam ($9) - chicken and almond with homemade mayonnaise;

Masto-bademjam ($9) - smokey, slow-barbequed eggplant mashed and combined with homemade yoghurt, finished with caramelised onion, garlic and mint.

Although it was a tough choice, we ordered the falafele-aadas, nano-paniro-sabzi and morgho badam. All of the mazeh were served with barbari naan, a delicious bread (similar to Turkish bread) that was served warm in a small covered basket.

It didn't take long for the mazeh to arrive at our table, and they were all well presented. I'd have to say the best of the three was the falafele - they were fantastic. Many falafel I've had over the years taste only of garlic, but these had a more delicate flavour, and had been perfectly cooked.

The other two mazeh weren't far behind the falafele. The nano-paniro-sabzi was simply plated up - about 6 or 7 large cubes of Persian feta, some fresh walnuts, sliced radish, basil leaves and some parsley. Drizzled over the feta was a herbed dressing. These were all simple ingredients on the plate, but the combination was a winner. By the end I was scraping the last little specks of feta and dressing off the plate.

The final mazeh was the morgho badam. This was a mound of chicken pieces covered in a creamy mayonnaise, that had almond pieces mixed through it. I enjoyed it as a contrast to the other dishes, although it didn't have the same wow factor.

After enjoying the mazeh I was looking forward to the mains. Although most of the mazeh were vegetarian, when it came to the mains, they were mainly meat (with only one vegetarian option). Here's an idea of what was on offer:

Kabab-e Barg-e Bakhteeyari ($28) - char-grilled lamb backstrap with onion, bell peppers and grilled tomato, served with saffron rice & sumac;

Maheeche va Ghorme Sabzi ($28) - lamb shank & aromatic herbs with red beans and dried lime braise on steamed saffron rice;

Fesenjan-e Tahere ($22) - pomegranate and walnut stew with meatballs served with saffron rice;

Kabab-e Shandiez ($34) - marinated lamb rib chops, char-grilled and served with Barbari naan and fresh herbs.

Although the grills sounded good, after having a massive mixed grill plate at Achelya in Melbourne the week before, I was looking for something different, and ordered the Fesenjan-e Tahere (I was fairly sure I'd never had a pomegranate & walnut stew before).

The fesenjan-e tahere was brought out in a boat shaped silver dish - on one side was the stew itself, and the other contained the saffron rice. There was also a small salad on the end of the "boat" which seemed fairly unnecessary to me (but may well be very traditional). The stew was a dark colour, and contained plenty of small meatballs. Although it had a very rich flavour, the tanginess of the pomegranate helped to cut through the richness & lift the overall flavour of the stew. The rice itself was fantastic - a very long grained rice that was extremely fluffy, and didn't cling together. I was wondering how they had managed to cook the rice in order to keep the individual strands from joining together. Overall I enjoyed the fesenjan-e tahere, but would have probably enjoyed a few more dishes with it, to contrast the rich flavour of the stew.

We also ordered the fesenjan-e Bademjan "Khadijeh" ($22) - a stew of pomegranate and walnuts with fried eggplant, served with saffron rice. As we expected, this was basically the same as the dish which I had, but served with eggplant instead of the meatballs. It was the only vegetarian main course, so we didn't have a lot of other options when it came to ordering.

The menu also contains a number of salads, a few of which sounded delicious. Overall, I really enjoyed our dinner at Meykadeh. It certainly ticked the box of something new for dinner, with the added bonus of friendly, welcoming service and a good looking dining room.

If you do go to Meykadeh, I strongly recommend going with a bunch of friends, and ordering a good selection of dishes both from the mazeh and the mains, to share around the table. That's probably the best way of enjoying the food on offer at Meykadeh.

food bling ratings
Food - Good
Service - Great
Value for Money - Good
Ambience - Relaxed, wood table-bistro feel
Vegetarian - Ok
Wine - Limited selection, but appeared to allow BYO

Meykadeh
Shop 22 Jindalee Home Maker Centre
34 Goggs Road
Jindalee  4074
P - 07 3715 7776
W- http://www.meykadeh.com.au/

Treacle

I'd previously tried to visit Treacle at the Grange for dinner, only to find it booked out. This time we headed back for breakfast. Although it was really busy on the Sunday morning of our visit, we managed to grab a table on the outside terrace.

Menus were brought to our table promptly, along with a bottle of water and a couple of glasses. So far, so good. The breakfast menu is pretty comprehensive, which means you should be able to find something that takes your fancy, no matter which way your tummy is grumbling.

After checking that they had gluten free toast (which they did) I ordered the zesty avocado on sourdough with bacon, halloumi cheese and two poached eggs ($16.90). I keep meaning to order more avocado dishes for breakfast, but usually forget when it comes to the crucial moment.

When my breakfast arrived, it was a good serving - two slices of toast smothered in "zesty" avocado, layered with rashers of bacon and halloumi slices, with two poached eggs sitting on the top. There was also a decent sized pile of rocket on the side of the plate, which remained untouched. I enjoyed most of the dish - the eggs, bacon and halloumi were all cooked perfectly, but I wasn't so keen on the zesty avocado. It tasted a bit like a guacamole (which is fine) but the pieces of raw red onion in the avocado mix overpowered everything else on the plate. Towards the end I began scraping the avocado off the toast, and found it more enjoyable.

My wife ordered the ricotta pikelets with lemon curd and berry coulis ($14.90). Unfortunately these were disappointing, mainly because the pikelets didn't taste like much ricotta (if any) had made it into the mix. On top of that, $15 for three large-ish pikelets with a bit of lemon curd isn't exactly great value.

We both ordered flat whites, which I found a bit weak compared to my daily Merlo fix, but were otherwise ok.

Other breakfast options include Treacle's home-made muesli with natural yoghurt and honey ($9.90), gypsy pocket filled with double smoked ham off the bone & Swiss cheese ($14.90) and
free range eggs Benedict on organic cornbread topped with fresh hollandaise, which is served with sautéed spinach and roast tomato ($13.90), double smoked ham off the bone ($14.90) or
Treacle's homemade salmon gravlax ($14.90).

While service was friendly throughout our meal, we waited a very long time for our breakfasts to arrive at the table. It was almost an hour after we had sat down when our meals were served. In my book, that's too long to wait for a couple of breakfasts.

Overall, if the service had been better, our visit to Treacle would have been so much more enjoyable. As it was, we waited too long for the food to arrive and when it did, our breakfasts didn't blow our socks off.

Treacle is also open for lunch and dinner. The lunch menu in particular looked good, and we'll have to pop back to try it out. (Sorry there are no photos - I only realised my phone battery was dead when we sat down at the table).

What does all this mean? A wide ranging breakfast menu that should keep everyone happy, but our visit was held back by slow service.

food bling ratings
Food - Ok
Service - Poor
Value for Money - Ok
Ambience - Relaxed suburban cafe/restaurant, with a sunny outside terrace
Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - Ok

Treacle
Shops 2-3, 8 Days Road
The Grange 4051
P - 07 3352 4144
E - info@treaclecafe.com.au
W - http://www.treaclecafe.com.au/

The Plough Inn

I can't remember the last time I actually ate at The Plough Inn. Come to think of it, I might have never eaten there at all. At least that was until recently - I was going to see the Pixies at the Convention Centre and Southbank just happened to be a convenient spot to grab a pre-Pixies dinner and drink.

Thinking that we'd be able to eat fairly quickly, I decided to meet my fellow Pixies fan at the Plough Inn. I arrived at about 7.30pm, and there was a decent crowd outside, but I wouldn't say it was crazily busy. I grabbed a G&T at the bar and sat along the side of the pub (in between plenty of overseas tourists) with a magnificent view of a few guys setting up for the markets the next day.

Luckily I didn't have to sit there too long before we ordered dinner. The dinner menu covers salads and steaks, as well as a few other main courses such as grilled barramundi ($24), oven baked king pork cutlet ($26) and a pumpkin & feta stuffed field mushroom ($22).

I was fairly keen on devouring a steak before the concert, but baulked a bit at the prices. I'd been expecting to be able to grab some kind of steak in the $15-$20 range, so I was surprised to find the cheapest cut of beef was a Barcoo grain fed 400g T-bone at $28. Other options include a Tey's 250g eye fillet ($34), Tasmanian premium 300g rib fillet ($32) and a Rangers Valley 400g grain fed rump ($30). All steaks are served with corn on the cob, a choice of steakhouse fries or roast baby potatoes and mushroom, Diane, pepper, garlic cream sauce.

I ordered a Beef City 350g grain fed sirloin, cooked medium rare. We ordered our steaks just before 7.45pm, thinking there would be plenty of time to enjoy a leisurely steak and few cool beverages before the Pixies hit the stage just after 9pm. How wrong we turned out to be. While there was plenty of time to enjoy leisurely beverages, the steaks were another story. After chasing them up twice, the steaks were eventually ready just after 8.30pm. I thought it was a bit unusual that it took the kitchen over 45 minutes to serve two sirloin steaks with a cob of corn, chips and a small green salad.

My steak was probably a little over-cooked, but not far off medium rare. The chips were fine and the corn was ok. Unfortunately we had to gobble down our meals, so I didn't even get to touch the green salad.

For a pub at Southbank, our meals were fine. Whether or not they were good value is another issue. There are now so many pubs around Brisbane that serve steaks (and other meals) for over $30. I don't mind paying over $30 for a steak at a pub, but I expect the resulting piece of beef to be something memorable. Although both our steaks were fine, I wouldn't put them in the memorable category.

While we waited a long time for our steaks, the drinks service in the meantime was friendly and snappy, which meant that by the time the steaks finally arrived, we were both well and truly in the mood to enjoy the Pixies.

The concert itself was fantastic - I'd been waiting a long, long time to see the Pixies live, and they didn't disappoint.

food bling ratings
Food - Ok
Service - Poor
Value for Money - Ok
Ambience - Plenty of outdoor seats, but not much of a view
Vegetarian - Limited selection
Wine - Ok

The Plough Inn
Stanley Street Plaza
South Bank Parklands
South Brisbane 4101
P - 07 3844 7777
W - http://www.ploughinn.com.au/

Chopan Charcoal

I only recently found out about Chopan Charcoal restaurant at Milton, thanks to a review by Tony Harper in the Brisbane News. Apparently the restaurant opened in 2006, but until last weekend I'd been completely oblivious to the existence of an Afghani restaurant in Brisbane.

I'm always very keen to try out new cuisines, so it only took us a week or so to pay Chopan Charcoal a visit. It's in a bit of a tricky spot for parking, on the corner of Milton and Baroona Roads at Milton, but it's extremely handy to Milton train station.

Chopan Charcoal has a fairly small dining room, but the walls are smattered with Afghani decor. I'm also guessing that the low level music in the background was Afghani (which added to the overall atmosphere).

We were greeted by a friendly waitress, shown to our table and given menus. The menus look excellent from the outside - they have a very cool picture of a horseman in traditional dress on the front cover. Once you open up the menu, you'll see it's divided into entrees, salads, kebabs, kormas, pastry dishes and desserts. There are also pictures of a few dishes inside the menu.

A few options on the menu were listed as no longer available, and most of the prices had been changed at some stage along the line (some with liquid paper). Sure the presentation of the menu could be a bit better, but I didn't really care if the food was going to be good.

The only entree which looked gluten free was the chapli kebab (spiced beef patties) which I promptly ordered. The other entrees at Chopan Charcoal are bulani (savoury pastry filled with potatoes & herbs) and samosa (savoury pastry filled with spiced mince & served with chutney).

Shortly after our orders had been taken, the waitress popped out to let me know that due to a large order of chapli kebab earlier in the night, they had run out. So sadly no entree for me.

My wife ordered the bulani ($9.50). When these arrived at the table they looked and smelled delicious. There were two slices on the plate, and the dish consisted of a thin pastry filled with potato and herbs. The pastry was so thin, you could see the green herbs inside. The bulani were served with a small pot of yoghurt and although I didn't get to try any, my wife enjoyed them - the herbs were fresh and the pastry was crisp. Judging by the amount of bulani we saw going to other tables it was a popular entree.

By this time, and after having the flavours of the bulani waft my way, I was starving. Fortuitously I had ordered the mixed kebab plate ($24). When this arrived at the table, I was glad I hadn't ended up getting an entree, because I would have struggled to finish my main. The mixed kebab consisted of one each of the chopan kebab (lamb pieces on the bone marinated in spices), shaami kebab (minced lamb with ground garlic & cherry tomatoes), chicken kebab and teeka kebab (lamb backstrap marinated in spices). The four kebabs had been cooked over charcoal and were served on a large square plate, on a bed of rice, with a green salad on the side.

This turned out to be a lot of meat, and would be a great dish to share around the table. My pick of the kebabs was the chopan kebab, which had a delicious flavour from the marinade, but the shaami kebab wasn't far behind. As this dish isn't served with any sauce, a small pot of yoghurt would make a good addition.

My wife ordered the burani banjan - eggplant cooked with fresh tomatoes, garlic & onion and served with yoghurt. The burani banjan was also served with a side dish of white flat bread. Without a doubt, this dish was the star of the night. Eggplant cooked well is one of my favourite foods anywhere, and this dish was excellent. Normally I'm not a big fan of a lot of onion, but the slices of onion in this dish were meltingly soft and had picked up a lovely flavour from the eggplant. I tried to steal as much of the burani banjan as I could, because it was a fantastic accompaniment to my kebabs. By the time we'd finished this dish there wasn't even a drizzle of the sauce left on the plate, as it had all either been stolen by me, or was mopped up by the flat bread. If you do visit Chopan Charcoal, make sure you order the burani banjan.

Other main course options include karahi (BBQ lamb pieces with tomatoes, eggs & herbs), qabuli (rice with lamb pieces, carrot, sultana & meatball korma), lubia korma (red kidney beans cooked in tomato sauce with selected spices) and mantoo (steamed pastry filled with spiced minced lamb).

At this stage of the night we didn't have any room for any more food, but if you are after something sweet there are a few dessert options, including firni, an Afghani custard served with toasted almonds.

Service was friendly during the night, and fairly relaxed. Although we didn't wait very long for either course, you get the feeling that care is taken with the food at Chopan Charcoal and nothing happens in a hurry.

Chopan Charcoal is BYO and there's a bottle shop handily located in the Baroona Road centre next door. Be warned though, the wine glasses are tiny, so you'll find yourself topping them up every few minutes.

I'm always excited to come across new cuisines in Brisbane and Chopan Charcoal didn't let me down. Although it's a fairly rustic setting, I'll definitely be back with a few friends next time, in order to share a good selection from the menu around the table. Chopan Charcoal is also very good value - our meal was $46.50, so it's not going to break the bank balance even after a few visits.

What does all this mean? Tasty grilled meats and rich vegetable dishes add up to a night of exotic Afghani food, that's both BYO and great value.

food bling ratings
Food - Good
Service - Good
Value for Money - Great
Ambience - Rustic feel with Afghani touches
Vegetarian - Good
Wine - BYO

Chopan Charcoal
Corner Milton & Baroona Roads
Milton 4064
P - 07 3367 2212

Taro's Ramen Cafe

I'm the first to admit that I don't eat a lot of Japanese food. It's not that I don't like it - it's just not very gluten free friendly.

Recently Taro's Ramen Cafe opened in the city. As I knew that Taro Akimoto (the owner) wrote a blog all about ramen, I was expecting the food to be fairly authentic. If you haven't eaten ramen before, here is what Wikipedia has to say about it:

A Japanese noodle dish that originated in China. It is served in a meat or fish based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as sliced pork, dried seaweed, kamaboko, green onions and even corn. Almost every locality in Japan has its own variation of ramen, from the tonkotsu ramen of Kyūshū to the miso ramen of Hokkaidō.

(If you're keen to read a bit more about the different types of ramen, surf your way over to Rameniac, which is a massive source of information about ramen).

From the street, Taro's doesn't look like a Japanese eatery - the first thing you see is a big snack/sandwich bar - although once we stepped inside we soon found the compact ramen menu. Taro's offers the following ramen dishes:

Tonkotsu Ramen (noodles in hot soup -$14.80) - rich stock made from 100% Bangalow sweetpork bone. Cooked for over 16 hours and topped with charsiu (pork), nori (dried seaweed), egg & shallots. Served with pickled ginger and Takana pickles.

Shoyu Ramen (noodles in hot soup - $13.80) - a triple soup blend of vegetable, chicken and dried seafood broth, flavoured with aged soy sauce and topped with charsiu, nori, egg, shallots.

Tsukemen (cold noodles with hot dipping soup - $14.80) - Triple soup stock with dried seafood powder and topped with charsiu, nori, egg & shallots (ask for hot water “oyu wari” to dilute and drink up the soup at the end).

Hiyashi Ramen (cold noodles with cold soup - $14.80) - the stock is made from dried seafood sourced from Kataoka-san of Tokushimaya and topped with charsiu, egg, tomato and fresh salad.

Both my friend and I ordered the Tonkotsu ramen. After finding out I was a coeliac, Taro kindly offered to make an alternative version for me, based on salt instead of soy sauce and containing rice noodles. I decided to take him up on the rice noodles, but kept the soy sauce in the broth.

After ordering at the counter, we popped outside to the shady courtyard, which was surprisingly cool on a very warm day. The tables were almost full, which is usually a good sign in my book. Our ramen arrived shortly afterwards in large bowls, with equally large Japanese-looking soup ladles. Both our bowls of ramen were served with a side dish containing benishoga (red ginger) and takana (pickled mustard greens).

The stock itself was very rich, and had a cloudy appearance. Swimming around in the stock were the noodles, nitimago (half a soft boiled egg), charisu (a thin slice of pork), fresh shallot slices, a piece of nori and some sesame seeds.

Although the stock had a very rich flavour, it didn't overpower the other ingredients. The pork was especially fantastic - although it was only a thin slice, it had such a beautiful flavour - sweet and slightly cured. The nori was unlike any nori I'd tried before - it actually tasted like the sea and was amazing salty and tangy. The egg still had a slightly soft yolk, and a strong soy flavour. The ginger was also memorable - it's refreshingly tart, tangy flavour really cut through the rich stock.

It's not surprising that the ramen tastes so good. Taro's uses quality ingredients - Bangalow sweet pork, nori flown in from Tetsujin Nori (an organic nori harvester in Shichigahama, Japan) and the ramen noodles are freshly made in-house.

If for some reason you get tired of the excellent ramen, Taro's also sells chicken karaage and a few sushi rolls (as well as sandwiches).

If you're looking for something new for lunch in the city, Taro's fits the bill perfectly. It's certainly a much tastier option than many other tired establishments around the city that serve pedestrian food at much higher prices.

Food bling, Brisbane ate as a guest of Taro's Ramen Cafe.

Taro's Ramen Cafe
Ground Level, Boeing House
363 Adelaide Street (corner of Wharf Street)
Brisbane 4000
P - 07 3832 6358
W - http://www.taros.com.au/

Timmy's

Timmy's is in a fairly quiet spot at Southbank, away from the traffic which can be a bit noisy at some of the eateries along Little Stanley Street.

It is one of my favourite breakfast spots in Brisbane. The breakfast menu is fairly compact, but everything we have tried has been great. Today I had the eggs on toast and added some bacon ($15 with gluten free bread). The poached eggs were beautifully cooked, spilling all over my plate once they were broken. I thought it was a bit stingy to only serve one piece of toast, but they soon brought out another piece at my request.

Our table also had the ricotta & blueberry crepes, served with lemon sauce and ice cream ($12). I didn't get to try any, but they looked delicious and quickly disappeared off the plate.

We also had a "made up" vegetarian breakfast of toast with grilled tomato, sauteed field mushrooms and baked beans ($9.50). Again, it was delicious. The menu is set up so that you can add things to your breakfast, including an Irish potato cake, bratwurst or smoked salmon. So that should keep even the fussiest diner happy.

In the past we've also had the fruit plate with natural yoghurt and honey. At $5 it must be one of the best value fruit dishes on any breakfast menu in Brisbane. And if you are after something a bit different for breakfast, give the coconut crumpets with lemon curd a try ($6) - you won't be disappointed.

The coffee is Merlo, and made with Barambah organics milk. To be honest, that is my favourite coffee combination, and you can taste the difference when good coffee is made with Barambah milk. A flat white will set you back $3.50.

There seems to be a bit of a trend in Brisbane cafes now to serve toast without any butter. I find it odd. Who eats dry toast without butter? Timmy's was another example, with our meals coming with dry toast. A serve of butter only came out when we asked for some. If cafes are trying to appease people who do like dry toast, then surely it can't be too hard to bring out a small side serve of butter? At some places (not Timmy's) by the time you track down a waiter, ask for some butter, and then wait for it to arrive, you might as well have just eaten your breakfast in the meantime. Anyway that's enough ranting about butter.

Whilst we haven't had a problem with service in the past, this morning it was a bit slow. There were only 5 or so tables of diners, but even with 4 floor staff and a barista, our coffees hadn't arrived by the time we'd finished our breakfasts, and we had to ask where they were. They came out eventually, but we couldn't see how they had taken so long, nor was an explanation offered. Perhaps they just forgot. Anyway the coffee was good, and we weren't in a hurry.

Timmy's can get busy for weekend breakfasts, so if you are going in a group, it's a good idea to book ahead. They also do lunch and dinner, which I am yet to try, but if those meals are up to the standard of our breakfast, it will be worth the trip.

Next time you are at Southbank for breakfast, make sure to drop by Timmy's for their great breakfast offerings. They serve gluten-free toast, so its also a great spot for Coeliacs.

What does all this mean? Tasty, inventive breakfasts served with good coffee.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - OK
Ambience - Clean, modern lines, with outdoor seating on the deck
Value for Money - Good
Wine - Licenced if you really need a stiff drink at breakfast
Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - Good

Timmy's
Shop 4B, Galleria Complex
240 Grey Street
Southbank 4101
P - 07 3846 0322
E - timmys@timmys.com.au
W - http://www.timmys.com.au/

Kim Lan

Looking for a quick, tasty meal in the Valley? Then look no further than Kim Lan.

Kim Lan is on the Chinatown Mall, towards the Wickham Street end. Its nothing fancy, but the food is tasty and fresh. There is an extensive menu, covering both Vietnamese and Chinese.

I've eaten here many times over the years. Its not exactly the place for a romantic night out, but if you are looking for a quick dinner, a snack before a concert or just couldn't be bothered cooking, then give it a try.

We usually go for the Vietnamese dishes, particularly the salads, which are great value at $8-$9.

I couldn't find a take away menu, so I can't give you a run down on the whole menu, but even if you are looking for something a bit different, the menu will accomodate you.

And at Kim Lan, if you order a lemon iced tea, what you get is real tea, cold, with a slice of lemon and a bit of sugar. It tastes much better than the stuff straight out of a bottle. If iced tea isn't your thing, then its BYO. There is a bottle shop on the other side of Wickham Street at the bottom of the mall.

There are seats inside and a few outside. Be warned though, inside can get a bit noisy with groups on Friday and Saturday nights, as its not a particularly big room.

Finally, the staff are friendly, food comes out fast and the prices are extremely good.

What does all this mean? No-nonsense Vietnamese & Chinese BYO at great prices.

food bling ratings
Food - Good
Service - Good
Ambience - Not much
Value for Money - Top Shelf
Wine - BYO
Vegetarian - Good

Kim Lan
Shop 5, 12 Duncan Street
Chinatown Mall, Brisbane
P - 07 3852 1878

Gum Do

Gum Do is a very reliable local Chinese take-away. Actually, after eating Gum Do takeaway many, many times we're yet to have a bad meal.

Ok, so it doesn't look like the swankiest place from the street. But you aren't here for the atmosphere or fancy fit-out. Although there are tables and chairs at Gum Do, it really is a take away place.

There are all the usual suspects here, with a few chef's suggestions to spice things up.

To start off with, try some spring rolls (6 for $4.20) or maybe a BBQ pork wonton noodle soup ($6.50).

Given that the takeaway containers here are always struggling to keep their lids on, we usually skip the entrees and head straight for the main course.

Favourites off the menu include chicken in chilli sauce ($8) which has a little bit more bite than usual Chinese take away or beef with ginger & shallots ($8.50) that always has a good ginger tang and is packed with fresh vegetables.

There is also a great selection for vegetarians. Vegetable hofan $7.50) comes in an enormous container, full of noodles and veges and could easily feed 2 people, or at least leave you with a good stash of left overs. Other tried and tasty vegetarian options are Chinese seasonal vegetables in garlic or oyster sauce ($6.50) and the vegetable Hokkien noodles ($7.50).

And that's not to mention other dishes such as salt & pepper squid ($9.50), crisp skin chicken ($8), king prawn omelette ($11.80) or the scallops with garlic ($13.50).

Unfortunately there are lots of very average Chinese take aways in Brisbane. Gum Do isn't one of them. Their food is fresh, tasty and ridiculously good value.

Be warned though, they only take cash. But you can't go wrong at Gum Do.

What does all this mean? Tasty, fresh Chinese take away at prices you won't believe.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - N/A
Ambience - Its take away, forget about the ambience
Value for Money - Top Shelf
Vegetarian - Great

Gum Do
31 Blackwood Street
Mitchelton 4053
P - 07 3355 7506

Wild Pepper

Wild Pepper is a pizzeria in the busy strip of restaurants on Hardgrave Road at West End.

There are tables inside and out. If there are large tables of hungry pizza eaters, like on the night we were there, inside can get a bit noisy. So if you are there for a quiet night for 2, sitting outside might be the better bet. The surroundings are modern, clean and casual.

To kick off your meal, try one of the pizza breads - herb, chilli, jalapeno, pesto or garlic - which are all $10.

We gave the starters a miss, and went straight to the pizzas. There are a good selection of vegetarian, meat and seafood pizzas. If you are looking for a more traditional Italian pizza, then go for the "Margarita" (no its not a cocktail, its a Margherita) with tomatoes, basil and parmesan, at $9 for a small, $12 for a medium or $15 for a large, or a Pepperoni with pepperoni, green capsicum and chilli at $10/$13/$16.

If you're not one for traditional Italian toppings and are looking for something a bit different, you won't be disappointed. Try the "David's own" with red kidney beans, salsa jalapeno chili, guacamole, sour cream and cherry tomatoes at $14/$17/$20 or the Roast Chicken with chicken, roasted pumpkin, feta, pine nuts, spinach and harissa at $15/$18/$21.

Aside from the standard menu, there were also two special pizzas available on the night we were there. Unfortunately, we didn't see the blackboard until we were walking out (and weren't told about them when ordering) so we missed out on those.

Best of all, they offer all their pizzas with gluten free bases for all those Coeliacs out there. Although the gluten free bases aren't as crisp and thin as a real pizza, its great to be able to order any pizza off the menu. Gluten free pizzas only come in one size, and are charged at the large pizza price.

I went for half an "Oscar Wild" (Italian sausage, caramelized onion and parmesan) and half a Chilli Prawn (prawns, basil and chilli). Both halves were really tasty, topped with fresh ingredients. The Oscar Wild was particularly good - the salty sausage, sweet caramelised onion and tangy parmesan combining well. We also had a small Margherita, which was excellent. Simple, but crisp and tasty. Sometimes its hard to go past a good Margherita.

There are also salads on the menu. We ordered the pumpkin salad ($8) with our pizzas. The salad was enormous and was listed on the menu as baby spinach/rocket, roast pumpkin, pine nuts & parmesan. Unfortunately it was absolutely caked in a seeded mustard dressing. There was so much mustard in it, that after a few attempts at scraping off the mustard from the spinach and pumpkin, we just gave up. If you are ordering a salad with your pizza, it's probably best to order something other than the pumpkin one, unless you haven't had your mustard fix for the year.

Finally, if you haven't had your fill of pizza for the night, there are also dessert pizzas. We had eaten more than enough, so didn't even consider one. But if a banana or strawberry dessert pizza is your thing, then dig in.

Wild Pepper is BYO, and there is a bottle shop right next door, which is extremely handy. Serve was adequate and relaxed.

If you are looking for tasty pizza at good prices, then Wild Pizza is definitely worth a visit. And if you are a Coeliac, then you'll find it's one of the few pizza places in Brisbane where you can have just about anything off the menu. You can also order the pizzas take away if you are lucky enough to live close by.

What does all this mean? Tasty, fresh pizza at very reasonable prices.

food bling ratings
Food - Good
Service - OK
Ambience - Modern casual
Value for Money - Great
Wine - BYO

Vegetarian - Great
Gluten Free - Top Shelf

Wild Pepper
75 Hardgrave Road
West End
P - 07 3844 1262
W - http://www.wildpepper.com.au/

Era Bistro

Era is a great example of what can be done with food in Brisbane. Era offers a choice of venues.

First there is the cafe, if you are after breakfast or brunch. If you're planning on having a glass of wine with your brunch, then there is a wine list to accomodate you.

Next is the bar, where not only is there a great selection of wine and beer, but the tapas sound delicious. It would easy to get stuck here for a few hours munching on tempura soft shell crab or peking duck pancakes with hoi sin sauce.

But we were here for a celebratory dinner, so it was the bistro we were after. Calling Era a bistro is probably a bit of a misnomer. The food is definitely a higher standard than what you'd expect from a bistro. As far as I'm concerned, its some of the best food I've had in Brisbane this year.

Its a fairly modern, stark room. There isn't much of a view of anything, other than the road outside. So no-one is going to be there for the amazing views. But don't let that put you off, because the food is something else altogether.

After choosing a couple of glasses of wine, a selection of bread were brought out to the table, which is always a nice touch. Then it was time for the entrees. I had the seared scallops, braised oxtail, cauliflower & feves with braising jus ($22). It was one of the more interesting sounding options. It was a good entree, although I am not convinced that the scallops really paired well with the oxtail. The oxtail was a big, rich flavour, which completely overwhelmed the scallops. Each part of the dish was declicious, however the overall taste was a bit disjointed. My dining partner, a vegetarian, had the warm salad of baby beets, goat cheese, wild rocket & blood orange ($18). This was a terrific dish, which had us scraping up the beetroot and goats cheese. If anything the other parts of the salad were a bit hidden by the mass of rocket, but the taste was excellent.

Time to order another glass from the great wine list, then on to main course. I asked our friendly waitress about how the tasmanian ocean trout, Queensland red claw & baby vegetables ($31) was cooked ‘en Papillotte’. After being told it basically meant they were all cooked together in a plastic bag, which didn't sound particularly appetising, I still went ahead and ordered it. I am glad that I did, as this dish was spectacular. The trout in particular was beautifully succulent, its delicate flavour not overwhelmed by the other parts of the dish. Overall this was a very clean, bright seafood dish. It really was memorable. Our other main course was the artichoke & mushroom pithivier with wild mushrooms and cep consomme ($26). This was a much richer, earthier dish that was very good. There was a great depth of flavour with all the mushrooms and a good contrast of textures from the artichoke.

So far, the night was progressing very well. It was unfortunate that it was let down by our desserts. As it included a number of my favourite dessert items, I went for the
white chocolate semi freddo with roasted strawberries & balsamic and glass biscuit. The semi freddo was ok. The strawberries however were just overpowered by the balsamic, which tasted really thin and just too vinegary. I quickly swapped my dining companion for her lemon verbena scented crème brulee, mandarin sorbet and coconut tuile, which was better. The creme brulee itself was of the good, shallow variety with a great crunchy top.

Service throughout the meal was excellent. Our waitress was very friendly and approachable, but also highly knowledgeable and professional. She had the perfect knack of being at our table when required, whilst otherwise leaving us to enjoy the high quality food.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the wine list, which in my opinion is great. There are plenty of wines by the glass (from $6 for a fino sherry to $19.50 for Louis Roederer NV) and also a whole page of local and imported beers. The wine list here should keep everyone happy. It has a few fairly safe choices, but there are some great options for the more adventurous, such as the Salomon gruner veltliner ($49) or the Pérez Cruz reserva carmenère from Chile ($64). The mark ups aren't as noticeably unreasonable as some other CBD restaurants.

And if, at the end of the night, you haven't had enough wine, then check out the great Era bottle shop. Pick up a few bottles that you didn't get to try during your meal and you'll get 10% off with your restaurant receipt.

All up, Era Bistro is a very welcome addition to the Brisbane food scene. If the quality of food can be kept consistent, Era should quickly attract a solid following. We will certainly be back to graze on their tapas menu with a few glasses of wine.

What does all this mean? Very good modern Australian food, washed down with an excellent wine list.

Food Bling Ratings

Food - Great
Service - Top Shelf
Ambience - Modern, Minimalist
Value for Money - Good
Wine - Great

Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - OK
Other - Entertainment Book, Great Bar

Era Bistro
104 Melbourne Street
South Brisbane
P 07 3255 2033
W http://www.erabistro.com.au/