e'cco

I've eaten at e'cco quite a few times, but for some reason I hadn't made it back there in the last couple of years. So when a friend from London and I were trying to find a restaurant that would let us bring along a few good bottles of wine, e'cco was the first place that popped into my head.

The room at e'cco hasn't changed much since the last time I visited. If you haven't been, there's a bar on the right hand side as you walk in, most of the tables are to the left and you'll find the kitchen at the back of the room. Despite the high quality food on offer, the restaurant still has a casual bistro feel to it, with wooden chairs and no tablecloths.

We sat down and our waiter opened up the bottle of 1997 Gardet Cuvee Charles Gardet champagne which I'd rustled up. In the meantime, we'd started on the hard task of choosing what to eat for dinner. The menu is fairly compact - there were 7 starters (including a soup) and 6 mains. I was surprised that there were no specials, as I'd had some great specials at e'cco in the past.

The starters included star anise cured salmon terrine, herb mascarpone, avruga caviar, croutons & green tea salt; grilled quail, salad of orange, witlof, bocconcini & pecan dressing, and grilled sardines, roast kipflers, watercress, smoked eggplant, capsicum & olive salsa. Each of the starters are $24.50, other than the soup of the day which is $14.50.

I was having a hard time picking between the salmon terrine and the sardines. I'd almost decided to go for the terrine, but changed my mind at the last minute and ordered the sardines instead. I'd never had sardines at a restaurant before, so I thought e'cco would be the perfect place to start.

I was pleasantly surprised when the sardines arrived - I'd been expecting the tiny sized ones you see in tins, but these were much larger - not far off the size of a small whiting fillet. It was a good starter - there were 4 or 5 sardines, sitting on top of the watercress and smoked eggplant, with the kipflers and salsa arranged around the edge of the plate. I enjoyed the delicate flavour of the sardines, as I'd been expecting a much stronger, fishier flavour. All the ingredients on the plate worked well together - I particularly liked the smoked eggplant and the kipflers. My only minor gripes were 1) there was too much watercress for the size of the serving (which I ended up leaving on the plate) and 2) there were slices of raw red onion that weren't mentioned on the menu (unless somehow they were part of a deconstructed salsa).

My wine buddy ordered the seared scallops with curry-spiced cauliflower, wild rocket, raisins and flaked almonds. When the dish arrived I was impressed with the size of the scallops - they were three of the biggest scallops I've ever seen. Although the raisins ended up being left on the plate, the rest of the dish got a vote of approval, with the scallops well and truly the star.

The Gardet champagne (which I hadn't come across until recently) was lovely - its good weight and power really stood up to the starters. If I kicked off every meal with a 12 year old bottle of vintage champagne I'd be a very happy camper.

I knew we were drinking a red with main course, which limited the menu choice to some extent. Mains at e'cco include roast spatchcock, sweet corn risotto, tomato pickle, chilli & spring onion; seared ocean trout, shaved fennel, zucchini flowers, pickled red onion & soft herb beurre blanc; lamb loin, scorched tomatoes, sumac croutons, Persian feta, sugar snap peas & olives, and chilli & fennel spiced pork belly, eggplant relish, bok choy & crispy garlic. All of the mains are $42.50.

Neither of the red meat dishes on the menu really jumped out at me, so I opted for the pork belly instead. Pork belly is one of my favourite meats, so I was really just looking for an excuse to order it. As it turned out, we both really enjoyed the pork belly - the pork itself had been subtly flavoured by the chilli and fennel, and was lovely and tender. However my favourite part of the dish was the excellently crunchy, salty top layer of the pork belly. I didn't realise I'd ordered two dishes in a row featuring eggplant, but the eggplant in this dish took more of a back seat to the other flavours. The thin slices of crispy garlic and the bok choy added some contrasting textures to the dish. All up, a great Asian-influenced dish.

With our mains we enjoyed a bottle of 2007 Le Cent Cornas La Geynale from the Northern Rhone. This is a shiraz made by Vincent Paris, one of the leading Rhone winemakers, with grapes sourced from the small La Geynale vineyard. Although there aren't too many bottles of 2007 Australian shiraz I'd attempt to drink with pork belly, this turned out to be a terrific match. Initially it was wonderfully spicy, which really worked well with the flavours on the plate, but over time the lovely fruit started to shine through. Although this wine won't be commercially available in Australia, if you're interested in a bottle or two, let me know. I will be putting a few away in the cellar.

We didn't have time for dessert, after spending too much time nattering on about wine, but there were six on the menu, including grapefruit & mint granita, lemonade sorbet & rose foam (which I would have ordered) and a strawberry & basil crème brûlée with vanilla madeleines. Each of the desserts are $16.50.

Although the food at e'cco was very good across the board as usual, e'cco is also a wine destination. Without a doubt it has one of the best wine lists in Brisbane - I could easily write a post entirely about the gems on the list. However e'cco also allows diners to bring up to four bottles of wine, at a corkage charge of $10 per bottle. As far as I know, e'cco is the only one of Brisbane's top 5 or so restaurants which allow you to bring your own wine. Personally I think it's an excellent policy, which means you can enjoy a special bottle or two from your cellar (as we did) or choose to drink from their own wonderful selection.

Service during the night was attentive, although a bit cold. I've had friendlier service at e'cco in the past, but our wines glasses were topped up without fail during the night and our meals came out in good time, with a nice pause between courses to allow us to enjoy the vintage champagne.

e'cco has now been open for 14 years, and has for much of that time been in the top handful of Brisbane's restaurants. If I had to pick a restaurant that summed up Brisbane, it would be e'cco - a relaxed, understated room, excellent ingredients cooked to perfection and an attitude to wine which is two steps ahead of its competitors.

Sorry there are no pictures - the low light meant that my photos came out far too grainy.

What does all this mean? e'cco consistently serves up some of the best food in Brisbane, has a brilliant wine list and even allows you to bring your own bottles - it's one of Brisbane's must visit food & wine destinations

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - Good
Ambience - Relaxed, casual feel, but can be noisy
Value for Money - Good
Wine - Brilliant list or BYO
Vegetarian - Great

e'cco
100 Boundary Street
Brisbane 4000
P - 07 3831 8344
W - http://www.eccobistro.com/

Tibetan Kitchen

During my uni years, the Tibetan Kitchen in the Valley was one of our tried and trusted dinner spots. It was BYO, the food was tasty and it was cheap - it ticked all the important boxes. There were countless nights when we'd occupy a room there from about 7pm until very late, popping out every few hours when the wine had run out for resupplies. Now that I think about it, the restaurant was probably lucky it didn't have too many tables of diners like us.

Anyway I hadn't eaten at the Tibetan Kitchen for years and there's now one at Petrie Terrace as well. We headed in to the Petrie Terrace restaurant a Saturday night for dinner.

The Tibetan Kitchen on Petrie Terrace is in a building that used to be occupied by Romeo's, one of Brisbane's iconic Italian Restaurants. Although a few Tibetan decorations have been added to the room, there's still an Italian feel to it. The food however is well and truly not Italian. Here you'll find Tibetan, sherpa and Nepalese food - with about 60 items on the menu, there's plenty to choose from.

The large menu also means it takes a while to work out what to eat. The entree section of the menu had a few standout dishes - namche ko momo (steamed Tibetan style dumpling with coriander, ginger & garlic served with homemade chutney - $6.90), sekuwa (chicken or lamb marinated in yoghurt, fresh ginger and garlic curry sauce, served with salad - $7.90) and aloo chop (potato patties with Nepalese herbs & spices, covered in chickpea batter and served with homemade chutney - $6.90). There are also a few soups on the menu, including the tempting dhaal soup of lentil, tomato, ginger, garlic, onion and vegetables with fresh coriander ($6.90).

In the end I settled on a serve of tipan tapan, partly because of the catchy name. The menu told me that tipan tapan was a traditional Nepalese snack, prepared with fried chicken or beef, potato curry, crispy rice and a spicy sauce. This turned out to be a substantial snack - there was a good amount of both the chicken and potato curry, which had been scattered with crispy rice (the crispy rice looked very similar to rice bubbles). It was tasty enough, but the real winner on the plate was the spicy sauce, which had a good, hot chilli kick to it.

We also had a serve of the aloo chop (4 pieces), which had obviously been freshly made. The potato filling had a lovely flavour to it - we could pick out fresh ginger and chilli. The round patties had been well cooked, and were matched with a spicy, peppery sauce. Again, this was a very filling starter.

There's a very wide selection when it comes to main course - chicken, lamb, beef, goat, prawns and fish all feature on the menu. The Tibetan Kitchen is also a good spot for vegetarians, with 15 non-meat options. The more interesting main courses were the shakpa (stew of lamb, potatoes, vegetables, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and dumplings cooked with fresh coriander and curry sauce - $15.90), bakra ko tihun (goat curry on the bone with pumpkin & squash) and the jhinge macha ra aduwa (prawns cooked in a lime, ginger & coconut milk curry, topped with fresh coriander - $17.90).

I ordered the khasi ko masu, described as traditional Himalayan vindaloo - pieces of lamb cooked in a Nepalese curry sauce, topped with coriander ($15.90). Expecting that this could be a pretty fiery dish, I ordered it medium. There was plenty of lamb in the curry when it arrived, and the sauce had a good chilli zing to it. I also enjoyed the fresh coriander sprinkled over the curry, but if you order this dish, you really need something else to accompany it - it was all meat and nothing else.

Luckily for me, my wife ordered the somar (tofu curry). This was a Nepalese style curry with sour cream, coconut milk, capsicum, garlic, ginger, fresh coriander and green chilli ($13.90). The somar was made with pieces of silken tofu, and it was an excellent dish. It was a beautifully fragrant curry, with lovely delicate flavours that really complemented the tofu. I quickly got a bit bored with the plate of meat before me and shifted my attention to the delicious plate of tofu.

Unfortunately the place was fairly dead the night we were there. Although we arrived at about 7pm, there was only one other table of guests in the restaurant. Only two more tables of diners came in during the night, so it would have been a very slow night for the restaurant. It's also a fairly big room, so it felt a bit deserted.

Tibetan Kitchen is both BYO (wine only) and licenced. Staff were very friendly throughout the meal, although I found it a bit odd that one of the chefs came to the table at the start of the night to take our order.

All up, the Tibetan Kitchen is a good spot for a big group dinner, where you'd get the opportunity to order a wide selection from the large menu. It's solid, reliable food, rather than anything spectacular, although both the vegetarian meals were ordered were excellent.

What does all this mean? A huge range of tasty Nepalese and Tibetan food at good prices - BYO drinks and a big table of friends to get the most from the menu.

food bling ratings
Food - Good
Service - Good
Ambience - Tibetan & Nepalese clash with the Tuscan feel
Value for Money - Great
Wine - Small selection or BYO
Vegetarian - Great

Tibetan Kitchen
216 Petrie Terrace
Brisbane 4000
P - 07 3367 0955
W - http://www.tibetankitchen.com.au/

Grill'd

Unfortunately for the last 3 years or so, hamburgers have been wiped out from my essential food groups. Surely it can't be that hard to source gluten-free rolls for a hamburger? Apparently it is. Other than Raw Energy (who make amazingly good, healthy hamburgers) I haven't come across anywhere around Brisbane that actually serves gluten free burgers. That was until I got the tip to mosey along to Grill'd.

To say that I was pretty happy when reading through the menu at Grill'd is an understatement - I was over the moon to find out they'll do any burger with a gluten free bun. I know it probably sounds a bit lame to be so excited about eating a burger, but I had 3 years to make up. I've been repaying my delight by becoming a very regular customer of Grill'd at Rosalie ever since.

Now don't think that Grill'd only does food for crazy, fussy, gluten free types like me - they have a range of burgers for everyone (even vegetarians!).

You'll start off by choosing a bun - panini, traditional burger roll or gluten free. All buns at Grill'd are baked daily, and a gluten free one will set you back an extra $1.50 (small change as far as I'm concerned).

After you've picked your bun, you need to decide on a filling - beef, chicken, lamb or vegetarian - all up there are 18 burgers to choose from the menu.

We've slowly been working my way through the menu, and here's my thoughts on what I've munched away so far:

Crispy Bacon & Cheese - lean beef, crispy bacon, tasty cheese, salad, relish and herbed mayo ($9.90). As much as I hate to admit it, I ordered this with distant memories of greasy, yet so tasty bacon double cheeseburgers from Hungry Jacks. As you'd expect, this tastes way better than anything I ever had at Hungry Jacks. I thought this burger worked really well - none of the fillings overpower the others, the bacon was actually crispy and I really enjoyed the relish.

Mustard & Pickled - lean beef, Dijon mustard, dill pickle, tasty cheese, salad & relish ($9.90). If we're sticking with the fast food analogy, I suppose this would be the equivalent of the golden arches' quarter pounder. I wasn't the biggest fan of this one - there were so many pickles on the burger that, combined with the mustard, you couldn't really taste anything else. Luckily that's easily fixed by just removing a few pickles. Order this burger if you're a fan of big, robust flavours.

Baa Baa Burger - lean lamb pattie with avocado, tasty cheese, salad, relish & herbed mayo ($11.50). This is my pick of the burgers so far. Although I'm in the middle of a major avocado fad at the moment, this burger is spot on - the relish, avocado, cheese and lamb pattie all combine so well together. I think the Baa Baa burger is going to be hard to top, but I'll keep trying.

Field of Dreams - grilled field mushroom, roasted peppers, basil pesto, tasty cheese, salad & herbed mayo ($10.50). This is my wife's favourite burger and I have to admit it did look very tasty. There's no vegie pattie on this burger - just a giant grilled field mushroom and the pesto gives the burger a real lift in flavour.

Garden Goodness - veggie pattie (which is vegan) with beetroot, tasty cheese, avocado, salad, relish & herbed mayo ($9.90). This one only gets an average score - my wife wasn't that impressed with the vegie pattie, which was a bit underwhelming in the taste department.

So I've still got another 15 burgers to try before exhausting the menu. You'll need to bring your appetite - the burgers are large, and it can be a challenge to get the whole thing into your mouth. But if you're ravenously hungry, their thick chips are very good ($4.30). You can order a little pot of herbed mayo, tomato relish or sweet chilli mayo to dip your chips in (70 cents extra). Out of the sauces, the tomato relish is my favourite, although I wish they had an aioli.

Grill'd seems to be popular with a good cross-section of the community - kids, teenagers, families and uni students. I've found the staff at Rosalie very friendly, particularly on my last visit, when I was just there with our 3 month old bub.

Although I've only put the contact details for the Rosalie store below, check out the Grill'd website for other locations around Brisbane.

What does all this mean? Quality burgers with fresh, tasty fillings that are light years ahead of their fast food cousins - the perfect emergency lunch.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - Good (order at the counter)
Ambience - Very casual
Value for Money - Good
Wine - Very limited selection and a few beers
Vegetarian - Good
Gluten Free - Top Shelf

Grill'd
19-21 Nash Street
Rosalie 4064
P - 07 3367 1555
W - http://www.grilld.com.au/

National Vegetarian Week

Is your diary looking a bit on the empty side this week? Well then its time to pencil in some more veges! This week is National Vegetarian Week, and the aim is to encourage Australians to lower their meat intake by making a "Pledge to Try Veg".

No need to convince me on that front - my wife is a vegetarian, so I eat 4 to 5 vegetarian meals a week. If you're interested in finding out about eating more vegetables, then have a look at the Vegetarian Week website. There's plenty of information on the website, including the benefits of a vegetarian diet, recipes and details of cooking demonstrations during the week.

When it comes to vegetarian food in Brisbane, I hate to say it, but I think we lag a bit behind the rest of the World - good vegetarian restaurants don't really seem to have caught on here. The best vegetarian restaurant I've been to is The Gate in London, which serves excellent food. We used to live just down the road in Hammersmith, so we were very lucky to be able to wander down there for dinner.

If you're looking for good places to eat vegetarian food in Brisbane, then your local Indian or Asian restaurant is usually a good start. Otherwise, these are my wife's favourite places to eat vegetarian food - restaurants that actually make an effort to plate up something a bit more exciting than "risotto of the day":

Era Bistro - South Brisbane
Songbirds - Mount Tamborine
Azafran - Annerley
Berado's - Noosa
Absynthe - Gold Coast (will prepare a vegetarian degustation with advance notice)
Tandoori King - New Farm
Urbane - City (currently closed)

National Vegetarian Week
28 September to 4 October 2009
W - http://vegetarianweek.com.au/

Des Alpes

Next time it's a cold, wet, miserable winter night, Des Alpes is the perfect restaurant to visit for some homely, warming food.

Des Alpes is a Swiss restaurant on Blackwood Street at Mitchelton. It's basically in my neighbourhood, so I've eaten there a couple of times in the last few months. My most recent visit was just last week, on a cold, rainy night.

Entrees at Des Alpes include walliser suppe (Swiss style tomato soup with cheese and cream glazing - $7.50), Bundnerfleisch mit nussbrot (thin slices of Swiss style smoked beef, served with homemade bread, butter, pickles and sour cream - $12.50) and a country terrine made with chicken, pork, walnuts, mushrooms, herbs and wrapped in bacon, served with homemade red wine jelly ($11.50).

Knowing how filling the main courses are, we skipped entrees. I'd ordered the Zurich geschentzeltes (sliced veal in mushroom cream sauce - $25.50) on my last visit, and enjoyed it so much I had it again. This dish is served as half a plate of the sliced veal, with the other half full of Swiss rosti potatoes. The rosti potatoes are delicious, and they're a perfect way to mop up the mushroom sauce from your plate. My only complaint was I ran out of rosti potatoes (because they tasted so good).

Other main course options are kassler (smoked pork tenderloin served with sauerkraut and mild pepper sauce - $25.50), monsieur Roquefort (pork fillets topped with red wine poached pears and blue cheese - $26.50) and fillet Des Alpes (three pork and beef fillets topped with homemade béarnaise, herb and pepper sauces - $26.50). All of the main courses are served with the lovely rosti potatoes and a green salad for the table to share.

If you want to give cutlery a skip for the night, then there are a few different fondues to enjoy. The cheese fondue is served with pieces of baguette to dip into melted Swiss cheese, with garlic, white wine and kirsch ($10.50/person for entree or $19.50/person for main). Then there's the meat fondue, where you can dip slices of beef, pork and veal fillets in beef stock. The meat fondue is also served with a variety of homemade sauces, mixed pickles and rosti potatoes ($27.50/person).

Given that it was particularly cold outside (at least by Brisbane standards) we ordered the chocolate fondue for dessert to share amongst the table ($12.50/person). The fondue burner was brought out to our table, followed by a pot of gooey looking melted chocolate. The chocolate fondue was served with marshmellows, meringues, almonds, strawberries, apple and grapes. We were all given fondue forks and proceeded to cover everything in the thick chocolate. As someone who generally doesn't eat a lot of fruit, this could be the perfect way to convert me - although I'm sure coating tiny bits of fruit in thick chocolate probably wipes out any health benefits. Apart from its taste, a fondue is a great communal way of eating, that gets everyone at the table involved in the food.


If you really want to go fondue crazy, then your table can order the three course fondue party - cheese fondue for entree, meat fondue for main and chocolate fondue for dessert ($44.50/person). But be warned - if you have a big table wanting to eat fondue, you'll need to give Des Alpes some advance notice.

Des Alpes goes out of its way for diners with special dietary requirements. It's the only restaurant I've been to in Brisbane that has separate vegetarian, gluten free and dairy free menus. There were loads of gluten free options for me to enjoy.

Service was extremely friendly on our visit, and all our food came out without any noticeable delay. Des Alpes has a small wine list, but you can also bring your own wine, with corkage $3.00 per person. There's a small bottle shop a few doors up Blackwood Street.

Des Alpes is all about generous, warming Swiss and European food. Sure it's not cutting edge cuisine, but sometimes we all need a plate of hearty, tasty food, which is Des Alpes' forte. Des Alpes has been operating as a family business since 1993, so it must have plenty of dedicated customers.

What does all this mean? Good value, homely, generous Swiss food, with BYO wine and friendly service.

food bling ratings
Food - Good
Service - Good
Ambience - Relaxed, homely, European feel to the room
Value for Money - Good
Wine - Compact list or BYO
Vegetarian - Great
Gluten Free - Great

Des Alpes
47 Blackwood Street
Mitchelton 4053
P - 07 3355 9627
W - http://www.desalpes.com.au/

Lab Bar + Restaurant

I've eaten at the Lab Bar + Restaurant a few times over the years and generally speaking the food has been dependably good. I also had memories of a good wine list, so I headed back there for dinner recently.

The room was pretty noisy when we walked in. If you haven't been before, there is a big, impressive looking bar which takes up one wall, with the tables located between the bar and the windows on George Street. Unfortunately our table was right against a big pillar and a large wine storage cabinet. I had the wine storage cabinet right next to me. Pretty bizarre place to put a table if you ask me, but it kept me entertained checking out the wine for a couple of minutes. Not exactly great ambience though.

We ordered a couple of glasses of wine to start. I had ordered a glass of the Pewsey Vale gewurztraminer, but the waiter started to pour me a glass of a different gewurztraminer. He didn't show the label of the bottle to me before pouring, just poured it straight into the glass. After I spotted it was the wrong wine, the waiter apologised and told me they wouldn't charge us for that glass. He came back a few minutes later with a glass of the wine I had ordered as well. Not the greatest start to the night, but at least it was handled well.

For entree I ordered the pan seared calamari with avocado salsa, baby cos & tomato gazpacho ($19). I really enjoyed this dish - the calamari was cooked perfectly, it looked great and was a good combination of clean flavours. The gewurtraminer was a great match.

We also ordered an entree of asparagus served with egg and truffle salad. This dish was ok, but the asparagus had been crumbed, and I thought the batter & crumbs overpowered the delicate flavour of the asparagus.

I had Bangalow pork cheeks with sweet potato and apple for main course. It was a cool night, and this dish turned out to be delicious. The pork cheeks were meltingly tender, and served with some excellent, crunchy crackling. Good pork crackling is something you don't come across on restaurant menus very often these days, which is a shame. For some reason, pork crackling just isn't "fashionable". I don't care if its fashionable, I just love crackling. Although it sounded a fairly simple dish, the salty/sweet contrasts between the crackling, the pork cheeks and the apple really made this an excellent main course.

My vegetarian companion ordered a cauliflower tart with rocket & figs for her main. Unfortunately the filling of the tart was runny in places and obviously hadn't been cooked quite enough. It tasted lovely, but the texture let it down. Also, the tart was served with a ratatouille that wasn't mentioned on the menu. Sadly, the robust ratatouille didn't sit with the delicate flavours of the tart and figs. Mystery ingredients which aren't listed on the menu are one of my pet annoyances, especially when they just don't complement the rest of the dish.

The wine list at the Lab is good. There is a strong selection of wines by the glass. And if you're looking to really spend some money on wine, have a look through the cellar list, which includes the likes of Yquem and Chateau Mouton-Rothschild. With our main courses, we had a glass of Curly Flat pinot noir (an excellent wine) and a glass of Jimbour Station Ludwig reserve merlot. It's great to see more Brisbane restaurants supporting the Queensland wine industry.

For dessert we ordered one of the ginger creme brulees, which was served with lime sorbet and a pineapple & coconut macaroon. The creme brulee was excellent. The "macaroon" turned out to be a slice of deep fried pineapple.

None of the desserts jumped off the page at me after my excellent main course, so I decided to order the Lab kitchen churned sorbet & ice cream with tropical fruit. The ice creams included lychee & honeydew melon (I couldn't pick the other flavours), which were served with pineapple, grapes and kiwifruit. It was ok, but not in the same class as the creme brulee.

Overall the food was a bit hit and miss. My main course and entree were both very good, as was the ginger creme brulee. But overall, the food lacked the consistency across the board which would really have turned it into a memorable evening.

Service during the night was very friendly, but a bit slap-dash at times. Again, more consistency with service would have added to our night out.

Finally, vegetarians will find the Lab good value. There is a separate (although small) vegetarian section on the menu, and the vegetarian meals are significantly cheaper than the other main courses.

What does all this mean? A good selection of modern-Australian food and a great wine list, but lacking a bit of consistency in both the food and service.

food bling ratings
Food - Good
Service - Ok
Ambience - A classy dining room, dominated by the impressive bar
Value for Money - Good
Wine - Great
Vegetarian - Ok

The Lab Bar + Restaurant
Hotel Conrad
Corner George Street & Stephens Lane
Brisbane 4000
P - 07 3306 8647
W - http://www.conrad.com.au/treasury/restaurants/ryans_default.htm

Euro 2008 - Switzerland

As a result of the games last night, I've had to skip to Switzerland. Unfortunately, Switzerland, although having another game to play, are now out. Not exactly what you hope for as a co-host of a major tournament, but that's football I suppose. It was a pretty cruel way to lose, with Turkey scoring the winning goal in the 92nd minute of the game.

But if you're a Swiss supporter, don't despair, as there are a couple of places in Brisbane where you can enjoy food to remind you of home.

One such place is Des Alpes at Mitchelton. I haven't eaten at Des Alpes, but I have a few friends who love the place. Entrees at Des Alpes include bundnerfleisch mit nussbrot (thin slices of Swiss style air-dried beef, served with homemade bread, butter, pickles and sour cream - $12.50) and truite fumee (smoked river trout served with salad, sour cream dressing and toast - $12.50). For mains you can try out Zurich geschnetzeltes (sliced veal in mushroom cream sauce - $24.50) or kassler (smoked pork tenderloin served with sauerkraut and mild pepper sauce - $24.50).

But no Swiss restaurant would be complete without fondue, and at Des Alpes you can take your pick from cheese, meat or chocolate fondues. And if you really want to go over the top with fondue, you can have cheese fondue for entrée, meat fondue for main and chocolate fondue for dessert ($40.50 per person).

Des Alpes also has separate gluten-free, vegetarian and dairy free menus, which allows plenty of choice for everyone. The restaurant is both licensed and BYO.

If it's a Swiss deli you're after, look no further than the Swiss Gourmet Delicatessen at West End. I've walked past this deli hundreds of times over the years, but I don't think I've ever been inside. The deli sells cheese, cured & smoked meats, pâté, chocolate, salads, pastries, pasta, oils and loads of other goodies. The Swiss Gourmet Deli also offers a pretty reasonably priced catering service if you're in need of finger food for a party.

Des Alpes Swiss Restaurant

47 Blackwood Street

Mitchelton 4053

P - 07 3355 9627

W - http://www.desalpes.com.au/

Swiss Gourmet Delicatessen

181 Boundary Street

West End 4101

P - 07 3844 2937

E - swiss@swissgourmet.com.au

W - http://www.swissgourmet.com.au/

Jakarta Indonesian Restaurant

Its been a while since I've eaten at Jakarta - I haven't been in for dinner since the restaurant moved from Paddington.

Anyway it seems to be going well in New Farm. I went along on a Saturday night with a few friends and the place was pretty much full, which is usually a good sign.

Once I opened the menu, I realised why it was full. The food is cheap. The entrees are between $3.90 & $6.90 and the mains range from $10.50 to $16.90. If the food's good, the place will always be packed at those prices.

Satays are my big weakness when it comes to Indonesian food, and I just couldn't go past them for an entree. If you can resist the call of sweet, tasty satays, then other entree options include Lumpia Sayur (vegetable spring rolls - $3.90), Perkedel Kentang (potato & corned beef fritters - $5.50) and a variety of soups (such as ox-tail - $5.90).

The chicken satays ($12.90 for eight) were absolutely delicious. They were not the biggest satays you've ever seen, but the chicken was tender and perfectly cooked. Once you've covered them in satay sauce, it's pretty hard to stop eating them. Luckily they were gobbled up by the rest of the table pretty quickly. We also had a serve of the Perkedel Kentang and one of the mixed entrees ($6.90).

When it comes to main course, there's a wide selection, covering satay (of course), vegetable & egg dishes, chicken, meat, seafood and rice/noodle dishes. Some of the more interesting sounding ones are Telor Belado (specially cooked eggs in red chilli sauce - $10.50), Ayam Rica Rica (I didn't ask what Rica Rica is, but it sounds good - $14.50), Ikan Bakar (whole sole marinated and char grilled - $19.50) and Semur Sapi (sauteed beef, tomato and fried potato in an Indonesian stew - $14.50).

We had five main courses between us, and some of them were particularly good. The Rendang Sapi (beef rendang - $14.50) was probably the star of the night, with its rich flavours and meltingly tender beef. Knowing how good beef rendang usually is, three of us tried to order the Rendang Sapi, but table rules prevailed and we ordered a few non-rendang dishes instead. The Opor Ayam (marinated chicken cooked in lightly spiced coconut milk - $14.50) was recommended by the waitress and was another distinctively flavoured dish. The Gulai Kambling (Indonesian lamb curry) was fine, but didn't have the wow factor of the beef rendang or Opor Ayam. We also had a serve of the mixed satay ($14.90) which didn't last long (nor did the satay sauce).

Steamed rice is $2 per person, or you can try the Nasi Kuning (yellow rice) instead for $3. If you want a couple of Indonesian side dishes, there's Acar (mixed vegetable pickles - $3), Serundeng Kentang (roasted peanuts and potatoes - $3) and sambal (hot chilli sauce).

By this stage of the night we were struggling to finish off the last few bits of the main courses, so dessert wasn't an option. If you manage to get through mains and are still feeling peckish, then its time for an Indonesian dessert. Some of them sound great - Es Cendol (a drink of tear drop shapes of rice jelly, served with brown sugar syrup, jack fruit and coconut milk - $4) or longan, lychee and rambutan with crushed ice ($4). If you really want to try something new, there's always the Es Cincau - diced grass jelly in cocopandan syrup - $4.

Jakarta also has Indonesian food for sale, in case you get hooked and want to take some home. It's both licenced and BYO wine. Corkage is $2 per person, and there's a bottle shop about 20 metres away, which is pretty handy.

Service throughout the night was friendly and efficient. Our waitresses were happy to make recommendations, which turned out to be delicious. The restaurant is decorated with Indonesian touches, and has a fairly casual, relaxed feel to it.

Jakarta is definitely worth a visit, especially if you've never tried Indonesian food before. The food is not only delicious, but its priced extremely well. We walked out paying $25 each, including corkage, and had loads of food. No complaints from me after a dinner like that.

What does all this mean? Tasty and interesting Indonesian food at crazy prices, with relaxed, friendly service.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - Good
Ambience - Casual, with Indonesian touches
Value for Money - Top Shelf
Wine - Licensed & BYO
Vegetarian - Good

Jakarta Indonesian Restaurant
2/702 Brunswick Street
New Farm 4005
P - 07 3358 5715
W - http://www.jakarta.com.au/

Restaurant Vue

Restaurant Vue is the in-house restaurant at the Boonah Valley Motel. We stayed here for a couple of nights recently, and thought we'd give the impressive looking restaurant a try for dinner.

It's a pretty enormous restaurant. There are seats inside, and also a big outside deck. It was a bit cool on the night, so the deck had been closed in with those clear plastic shutter things.

Anyway, we sat inside, where there was also a combustion fire going. The first thing we noticed on the menu was that cocktails were $8. $8 for a cocktail is a bargain in anyone's language, so we ordered a couple of those. They were a bit hit and miss, but at $8, who cares?

I was planning to leave room for dessert, so we ordered a bowl of the hand cut potato, sweet potato and eggplant chips with aioli ($6) for an entree. This turned out to be an absolutely enormous bowl of the various chips. The aioli was good, but we didn't get close to eating all the chips. This dish was great value at the price.

There is a compact wine list, including wines by the glass, at reasonable prices. I ordered a glass of pinot noir with my main course. I was amazed to find out it was served cold. I know some people like to slightly chill red wine in the warmer months, but it wasn't remotely warm weather, and this wine wasn't just chilled, it was cold. Of course the flavours of the pinot were completely masked by the temperature at which it was served. If restaurants are going to serve red wine cold, they should at least check with the customer first. I didn't order any more red wine after that glass. I should have stuck to the cocktails.

Next was main course. There were some interesting sounding mains, like tempura salmon in sea salt with purple wakame ($25), prawn, pumpkin, opal blue, salmon and black sesame tortellini ($17) and marinated char grilled lamb rump with Israeli cous cous, green olives, preserved lemon and eggplant ($25). There are a number of gluten free options, which are clearly marked on the menu.

The roasted duck breast on fig and mandarin salad with orange blossom and cinnamon water and warm chickpea falafel ($25) took my fancy. I don't see mandarin in many main courses, so I thought I'd give it a try. Unfortunately the dish wasn't as good as it sounded. Although the duck had been spiced with some lovely flavours, I found it overcooked and a bit tough. When it comes to duck breasts, I enjoy them when they are just cooked, still pink, juicy and tender. The fig and mandarin salad was ok - the figs in particular were a good match with the spiced duck. The falafel turned out to be a giant size and seemed to overwhelm the rest of the ingredients. It was also a really floury consistency once you broke into it. Overall, this dish just didn't work for me. I think a smaller portion of each of the accompaniments would have worked much better. With less mandarin and a much smaller, chunkier falafel, the flavours and textures would have been more balanced. A good idea, but not quite carried off on the plate.

Vue Restaurant has a separate vegetarian menu, which is always good to see. We ordered the halloumi with with falafel and fig & mandarin salad from the vegetarian menu. This was basically the same dish I had ordered, but with halloumi instead of the duck. The halloumi turned out to be a great match with the mandarin segments - the salty, squeaky texture of the cheese a perfect foil for the juicy, sweet mandarin. Again though the falafel was very powdery and overwhelmed the other ingredients due to its size.

We were both a bit disappointed with our mains, but decided to give dessert a run. We ordered the trio of house made ice cream tasting plate with sides of figs, rosewater Turkish delight and fresh berries ($8.50). Other desserts include pumpkin brioche bread and butter pudding with double cream and vanilla bean ice-cream ($8.50) and poached nectarines in amaretto with buttermilk puddings, fresh passionfruit and Italian meringue (also $8.50).

Our dessert turned out to be a winner. We had fresh figs at a few places in Boonah, and they were delicious every time. The ice cream flavours tonight were Midori, rosewater and mango. All of the ice creams were beautifully made, but the rosewater was the standout. A lovely delicate flavour, churned into an extra creamy ice cream - I could have eaten about 4 scoops of it. The Turkish delight was also good, its customary chewiness providing a good contrast of texture to the ice cream, figs and berries.

Other than the cold glass of pinot, service was excellent throughout our meal. There were only 2 waitresses for the entire restaurant, but they were both friendly and efficient, and no-one seemed to be waiting for meals.

The servings at Restaurant Vue are big, and prices are good. But our main courses didn't quite hit the mark. Maybe we just made bad choices for mains (after all we did almost have the same dish). It's certainly an ambitious menu.

Restaurant Vue is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was doing a good trade with the locals on the night we were there. Hopefully there will be more restaurants like this popping up in country towns all over Queensland.

What does all this mean? Big servings, good prices and an ambitious menu, but some dishes don't quite hit the mark.

food bling ratings
Food - Ok
Service - Good
Ambience - Modern, stylish interior and outside deck seating
Value for Money - Great
Wine - Compact selection
Vegetarian - Great
Gluten Free - Great

Restaurant Vue
Boonah Valley Motel
3908 Boonah-Ipswich Road
Boonah 4310
P - 07 5463 4738
W - http://www.boonahvalleymotel.com.au/restaurant.htm

Kim Thanh

My search for great Vietnamese food most recently took me to Kim Thanh at West End.

The first thing you notice when you step inside Kim Thanh is just how big the room is. It's enormous. The next thing I noticed was the noise. We ate here on a Friday night, and it was very busy. The noise didn't worry me at all, I only mention it because its not the kind of restaurant where you should plan on a romantic dinner for two. On the other hand, if you're going out for a big group dinner, its perfect.

Once you sit down, you'll see that the menu is just as big as the main dining room. There is certainly no shortage of options, covering both Vietnamese and Chinese meals. My quick count of the items on the menu came to just under 200, and that's not including the specials up on the wall. So there's no excuse for not finding something tasty.

Anyway, we were here to eat Vietnamese. The Vietnamese entrees include spring rolls with salad or rice vermicelli ($6.50/$6.90), Vietnamese pancake ($6), deep fried quail ($6), rice paper rolls ($11.50) and a variety of rice noodle salads.

We ordered the bbq pork with rice vermicelli ($8.90) and the deep fried spring rolls with rice vermicelli ($7.90). The bbq pork was of the traditionally deep fried variety, chopped into chunks which were served on top of the salad. It was ok, without being memorable. On the other hand, the spring rolls were very good, filled with tasty vegetables. The salads were served with a fish sauce dressing (which is optional for the vegetarian salad).

There are so many options for main course I won't even try and summarise them all. The Vietnamese section of the menu covers seafood, pork, beef, chicken, duck & vegetables. The dishes which tempted me were the combination seafood steam boat ($38.50), braised scallop with kai-lan ($13.80), chilli prawns in hot pot ($13.80) and the crispy skin chicken, fried kai-lan and special sauce ($10.50).

I ordered the braised prawns with kai-lan ($13.80). This was a pretty generous serving, with clean flavours, so as not to overwhelm the prawns. The crunchy kai-lan was a good match with the stir fried prawns (of which there were plenty). I'd eaten so much of my salad for entree that it was hard work finishing off this main course. I probably enjoyed my main course more than the salad, mainly because I don't come across kai-lan as a star ingredient very often.

We also ordered the mixed vegetables with rice noodles in tom yum soup ($6.90), which was delicious. It was a huge serving, and although it wasn't chock full of vegetables, it was extremely tasty. The tangy, spicy and hot flavours all combined well to make this dish a winner. Even though we were both full by this stage, I kept slurping away at this soup right up until our meals were cleared away.

Service at Kim Thanh is of the efficient, no-fuss variety. We had hardly ordered when our entrees came out, and we had no trouble catching a waiter's attention whenever one was needed. The staff however were very concerned at the start of the night when my wife showed up at the restaurant by herself, offering her the use of the restaurant's phone to find out where her non-existent date was. Apparently they weren't entirely convinced when she explained I was just at the bottleshop buying some wine.

On the basis of this visit, Kim Thanh offers dependable Vietnamese food, with the option of ordering off an enormous Chinese menu as well. It was very popular with big groups on the night we ate there, so be prepared for a bit of noise. Kim Thanh is both licenced and BYO, and there is a bottle shop about 20 metres away, which is pretty handy.

What does all this mean? A big Vietnamese and Chinese restaurant, serving a huge menu of well-priced food, with no-fuss service.

food bling ratings
Food - Good
Service - Good
Ambience - A big, fairly noisy room, with not a lot of decor
Value for Money - Great
Wine - Licenced and BYO
Vegetarian - Great

Kim Thanh
93 Hardgrave Road
West End 4101
P - 07 3844 4954
W - http://kimthanhrestaurant.com.au/kimthanh/

Kathmandu Kitchen

We have been holidaying at Kingscliff for a few years now, but have never eaten at Kathmandu Kitchen until a couple of weeks ago.

Kathmandu Kitchen is at the Northern end of the strip of shops on Marine Parade at Kingscliff. There are tables inside and out. It was a lovely summer evening on our visit, so we made the most of it and sat outside.

The menu is pretty compact and there are 4 entrees to choose from. We ordered a serve each of the Nepalese samosas ($7.20) and the sekuwa ($9.20). The other entrees are Tibetan spring rolls ($5.90 for 2) and momo - steamed Tibetan spiced beef mince dumplings with fresh tomato and coriander sauce ($8.50).

The sekuwa, a Newari special, was a great start to the night. The menu lists these as char grilled tender pieces of lamb, marinated in yoghurt, ginger, garlic and coriander. The lamb was tangy and rich, matched perfectly with some raita and a small salad. It was so good, I had to clean up the whole plate. It's always good to stumble across something as tasty as this to kick off a good meal.

The samosas were tasty and served with a sweet chilli sauce, which did actually have a bit of a kick to it. Although the samosas tasted good, they would have been even better if the pasty was a bit crunchier. Nevertheless, so far so good.

There are some tantalising options for mains here, including the duck curry (duck breast in star anise & lime with vegetables - $23.90), jhinga machha ra masala (fresh green prawns, lightly sauteed in a spicy coconut cream sauce - $22.90) and goruko masu (Kathmandu spiced beef - $17.50).

The menu also has a vegetarian section, covering mismasko tarkari (lightly wok fried vegetables, spiced and served with cashew nuts and a creamy curry sauce - $14.90), dhal ($10.90) and stir fried organic tofu and vegetables with ginger, garlic and herbs in a sweet chilli or soy sauce ($15.50).

If you are feeling particularly hungry, or really want to get the full Nepalese/Tibetan experience, you can order one of the three naan breads ($3 to $4.70), cucumber & yoghurt raita ($4.50), mango chutney ($3.60) or sambal ($2.20) to accompany your meal.

I had the kukhurako masu (chicken curry - $17.50) which was described on the menu as boneless chicken cooked in the traditional Tibetan style. This was a rich curry, with tender chicken pieces. Although I'd ordered it with medium heat, it was pretty mild on that front. It was a good dish, and I couldn't stop soaking up the sauce with rice - it was so tasty.

However good the chicken curry was, the saag ra chij ($15.90) was in a different league altogether. This was wok fried spinach with feta cheese, spiced with garlic and nutmeg in a creamy curry sauce. Its presentation was amazing - a bright green colour that can only come from fresh spinach. The sauce was perfect - fragrant, fresh and light, with hints of nutmeg and chilli. The best part of the dish though was that the sauce complemented, rather than overpowered, the spinach. Needless to say, this all disappeared off the plate. It was one of the best spinach based dishes I've tasted anywhere.

Kathmandu Kitchen is byo, and there is a bottle shop about 20 metres down Marine Parade at the pub, so you don't have to walk far in search of a few beers or a bottle of wine.

Service was friendly and attentive throughout the night. All up, we had a great meal, with the sakuwa and the saag ra chij as the standouts. As with all the good Kingscliff restaurants on Marine Parade though, it's a very good idea to book on a Friday or Saturday night, or you might have to settle for take away.

What does all this mean? Delicious, tasty Nepalese and Tibetan food with relaxed, friendly service.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - Great
Ambience - Relaxed and casual - inside or out
Value for Money - Good
Wine - BYO
Vegetarian - Good

Kathmandu Kitchen
2/106 Marine Parade
Kingscliff NSW 2487
P - 02 6674 5746
W - http://www.kathmandukingscliff.com.au/

Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n

I've already done one post about Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n at Paddington.

We had a great dinner there, and headed back with a group of 7. On our second trip, the food was equally as good. The sherpa chicken main course was particularly tasty. But the service was terrible. We waited almost half an hour just to get some wine glasses, after asking 3 times. Things didn't really improve on the service front.

So be warned, although the food at Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n is great, and it's ridiculously cheap, you might spend a while here on a Friday or Saturday night if you're in a group. If you've got plenty of wine and you're not in a hurry, then its happy days I suppose.

Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n
72 Latrobe Terrace
Paddington 4064
P - 07 3369 7272
E - katnc@optusnet.com.au

Huong's

Huong's has been in West End for ages and serves my favourite Vietnamese food in Brisbane. I've probably eaten here more times than in any other Brisbane restaurant. It doesn't look much from the street, but once you walk up the narrow stairs to the first floor, you'll find some great Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese food.

The decor is tidy and is a step above many suburban Asian eateries. Service has improved over the years and is now friendly and usually quick. Huong's is popular with a younger crowd, and there's usually some decent music playing in the background.

Although their Vietnamese food is great, there is only a limited selection, because the menu also covers Thai and Chinese.

On this trip, we started off with two serves of the san choy bow ($5 per serve). I love this and order it almost every time. It usually comes out about 2 minutes after ordering. The san choy bow is tasty, with a great crunchiness from the lettuce leaf in which it is served. I could eat these all night.

We also had one of the rice noodle salads with fried tofu ($9.50) which is a fantastic salad. Other than the rice noodles, this salad is served with carrot, cucumber, mint, beansprouts and lettuce. Once you pour the dressing over the top, this is a clean, crunchy and tasty salad. In my book, it's the perfect Brisbane meal.

When it came to mains, I also had a rice noodle salad with pork balls ($9.50). All of the rice noodle salads are essentially the same, just with different toppings. Other than the tofu and pork balls, you can also order spring rolls, pork chop, lemon grass beef or sugarcane prawns with your salad. I would have to say that the pork balls weren't the greatest, and certainly not as tasty as the lemongrass beef which I usually order. Anyway the salad itself was terrific as usual.

Our other main course was the pad kapoa, or Thai stir fried tofu with green beans, bamboo shoots, fresh chilli and sweet basil ($14). This was tasty and fresh but had a real chilli kick.

If you are looking for other Vietnamese options, there is a good range of soups, a selection of make your own rice paper rolls (which are delicious) and a few chef's specialties. Almost all of the Vietnamese dishes are around the $10 mark or less, which makes them excellent value.

If Vietnamese isn't your favourite, then there are also Thai soups, curries, stir fries, noodles and salads. On previous visits I've found the Thai curries to be particularly good. And finally there are also Chinese dishes to round out a fairly wide-ranging menu.

Huong's is BYO and there are a number of bottle shops nearby. If you are looking for something that's non-alcoholic, try one of their iced teas, which are delicious.

For me, Huong's strength is its Vietnamese food, which has proved over the years to be clean, fresh and tasty. It's also exceptionally good value - you can have a Vietnamese entree and main course for less than $20. Huong's is definitely worth seeking out on your next visit to West End.

What does all this mean? Excellent, clean Vietnamese food at rock-bottom prices, with plenty of Thai and Chinese options.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - Good
Ambience - Fairly traditional Asian surroundings
Value for Money - Top Shelf
Wine - BYO
Vegetarian - Great

Huong's
83A Vulture Street
West End 4101
P - 07 3844 6701

Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n

Ever found yourself sitting at home, wanting to go out for dinner to somewhere new, to eat something different? That's exactly where we found ourselves before heading out to dinner at Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n at Paddington.

I knew there was a Nepalese restaurant in the building (which used to house Casa Mia) but hadn't managed to get there for dinner. We were met with a friendly face at the door and quickly shown to our table, which was in a pretty busy walkway for the restaurant. But we weren't there for anything special, nor were we expecting silver service, so it was fine.

Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n is obviously popular with groups, and has a number of private rooms that you can book. One in particular was right next to our table, with a low floor and cushions to sit on. The group in that room were having a great night.

It's BYO, with a $2 per person corkage charge, which probably explains the attraction for big groups. Within a couple of minutes of sitting down, out came a bottle of cold water, glasses were poured, and an ice-bucket for our bottle of white. So far, so good.

Anyway, we had come here to eat something different. So what food do they serve? The short answer is Nepalese & Himalayan.

We started off with a choila poleko ($7) - "grilled beef marinated with garlic, ginger & spices turned in mustard oil, served on a bed of lettuce, shallots & Spanish onion, with lemon dressing." I wasn't sure from the description if I should be expecting a salad or some kind of Nepalese san choy bau. It came out on a long plate, and was basically served as a salad with plenty of chunks of grilled beef. It is one of the tastiest salads I have eaten for a long, long time. I will definitely be back for another one. The meat had obviously been marinated, there was a good, but not overwhelming chilli kick and the dressing had a fantastic citrus tang. It was the perfect salad for a Brisbane summer night, washed down with a glass of white wine.

We also had a serve of the vegetable pakoras ($7). The pakoras were tasty, but not in the same league as the choila poleko. They also could have been cooked a tad longer for more crunchiness. Maybe I was just being overly harsh on them because my salad was so good.

Other starters include samosas, spring rolls (vegetable or meat), momas (steamed dumplings) and dhal soup. All the starters are $7. At that price, you might as well order a few.

Once we had finished our starters, the wait staff were very keen to bring out our mains. We were even asked before finishing our starters if we wanted the mains to be cooked "now". They eventually got the hint that we weren't in a hurry, but the mains came out without much delay.

I went for the phari masu - diced goat cooked with pumpkin, garlic, ginger, cumin and fenugreek seed ($14). After my tangy, clean entree, this was at the other end of the food spectrum - rich goat meat served in a thick sauce with pumpkin and spices. Again, it was very tasty. I don't often get the chance to eat goat in Brisbane, so its always worth a try when it does pop up on the menu. I think if you do order this dish, make sure you also order something a bit lighter, like some vegetables. The richness of the dish makes it a struggle to eat it all yourself.

We also tried the aloo kofta - mashed potato & vegetable balls cooked with vegetables & coriander seeds, served with a tomato sauce. This dish was a hit, and the perfect accompaniment to my goat. Although the koftas were fairly filling, the dish itself was very fragrant and had a real clean texture to it. It was delicious.

There are plenty of mains to choose from. Vegetarians are well catered for, with kauli mattar (cauliflower, potatoes & peas), channa ko tarkari (chickpeas & potatoes) and rajma ko tarkari (kidney beans, potatoes & mushrooms) some of the dishes on offer (all $11).

The menu also covers a good range of fish (like the jhol machaa tareko - simmered in tomato sauce with mustard seeds - $17), chicken (sherpa chicken - cooked in a creamy sauce with coriander, lime leaf and lemon - $14), lamb and beef (goru ko masu - slowly cooked in cardamom, cumin, coriander & cinnamon with tomato gravy - $14).

You also have the option of banquets or platters (which appear to be terrific value) if you want to get a good cross section of the menu. Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n does a small range of desserts if you still have room for more at the end of the meal.

The restaurant is sparsely decorated with traditional ornaments, which gives it a bit of a rustic feel. However, given its popularity with groups, Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n is not the place you would be heading for a romantic night out. On the other hand, its perfect for a group of friends, or a tasty dinner when you are looking for something other than your local Thai, Chinese or Indian.

Finally, you've probably noticed already, but the prices are fantastic. Not only are the prices great, but the servings are more than generous. Our dinner for two was $43 including corkage, and we didn't finish our starters or mains.

I will definitely be going back, next time with a group of friends into one of the private rooms. With food like this, and its BYO appeal, Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n is the perfect place for a great night out.

What does all this mean? Very tasty Nepalese & Himalayan food at rock-bottom prices.

food bling ratings
Food - Great
Service - Good
Ambience - some traditional Nepalese ornaments
Value for Money - Top shelf
Wine - BYO
Vegetarian - Great
Gluten Free - Good

Kathmandu Newa Chhe'n
72 Latrobe Terrace
Paddington 4064
P - 07 3369 7272
E - katnc@optusnet.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