The Rare Pear

It was a pleasant cool day to be seated alfresco at The Rare Pear. It may not be a cafe with views being right next to busy Logan road but on a sunday, the roads were nicely quiet. We were greeted and served by an energetic and polite waiter who brought us bottled water promptly and both breakfast and lunch menus obligingly upon request.

Passione Gelateria & Dessert Bar 2

After brunch at The London Club we proceeded 2 doors away to Passione Gelateria as we wanted very much to try their other flavours. We saw an advert at the door promoting Ravioli either crab or spinach & ricotta on sundays...hmmmm!

For desserts, we ordered a trio of Passionfruit, Tiramisu and Chocolate Mint. We found the sorbet too sweet for our liking though there is evident high pulp content. The tiramisu and chocolate mint were creamy but relative to other gelaterias, these were alot milder in flavour.

We also had our pick of chocolate and meringues from the display cabinets. The chocolate nibbles we selected were from top left clockwise; Dark chocolate i) Mango creme, ii) Brandy and  iii) Rum chocolate truffles. The mango creme was really sweet but the liquer truffles were good with the bitter chocolate shell. Passione's boutique chocolates are outsourced.

In addition, Passione offers a fair selection of cakes and other Italian treats like the Cannoli. Personally, we wouldn't go out of the way for their gelati. There are favourites much closer to home!

Passione Gelateria & Dessert Bar

Shop 7 36 Vernon Terrace

Teneriffe
Opens tuesday to sunday till late
http://www.passione.com.au/

The London Club

Our very first visit to The London Club was probably a good year back, on the inaugural day of the Teneriffe festival. Honestly, we don't remember what we had then but we didn't recall it to be a bad experience and so we made plans for a revisit with a friend this very day for brunch.

Phuong Trinh

Just a quick lunch at one of our frequented Vietnamese restaurants in Inala- Phuong Trinh. Unfortunately, both of us picked dishes that we don't usually order but have tried a good couple of times, and they have turned out rather unsatisfactory on this visit.

Ned's Cafe

A planned trip to the west end markets to pick up some fresh produce was cancelled, this past weekend due to the wet weather.  Instead we decided to have a lazy saturday breakfast out.  Ned's Cafe is a place we have tried a long long while ago and we left pretty satisfied the first time.  It is situated out in Yeronga Shopping Village and when we arrived the car park was jam packed as there is also a very popular bakery there too (post to come).

Malaysia Makanan

Malaysia Makanan offers a menu resembling that of Little Singapore. Additionally, there are many other shared dishes in the form of a single select protein or vegetable in your choice of sauce, several of which are inspired from Thai and Peranakan cuisines. There is also a daily lunch specials menu with dishes starting from approx. $9.

The Nook off Hawthorne

A last minute decision to catch a movie at the Hawthorne cineplex left us with only a few choices where to eat.  The Nook off Hawthorne is directly attached to the cinema and was the perfect option for us as we were in a bit of a rush.  The Nook is somewhat hidden behind the cinema in a courtyard.  Although the space is moderate for a cafe, there is minimal seating so best plan for takeaway during busier times. Instead of the popcorn & candy bar, why not grab a decent cuppa coffee or a milkshake or one of Nook's delicious home-baked treats like the carrot cake or apple pecan to take in with ya??

Bavarian Bier 2

Here are a few additional dishes from a recent dinner at Bavarian Bier. Despite it being a monday night, the restaurant was packed to the brim! We had to settle for high stools at the bar area in the end. Mr food hunter had the Bavarian Tasting Platter this time as the Munich Brewers Platter was just too much to ingest as per 1st visit!

The rest of the folks had each,

A Pan-fried Cone Bay Barramundi fillet on creamed corn peas & spinach with chive oil & baby herbs.

Thai Aroy

Miss food hunter used to live around the corner from Thai Aroy and we visited once when they first opened doors several years ago. We remembered the dinner to be good. Since Thai was on the cards, we thought this may be a good opportumity to return for a sunday lunch with the family.

Sushi Kotobuki

We were on our way to Balmoral and thought it was perfect opportunity to stop by at Kotobuki for lunch having read many good reviews on this little sushi cafe. It really is a tiny outlet with several 2-seater tables within the confines of the cafe space and a couple more on the outside. All the tables were occupied when we arrived, it was seriously busy with dozens of take-away patrons too and so we lingered for a while for the next available table. There is a glass cabinet of ready-made sushi rolls, which is convenient for on the go.

Goong Korean BBQ

Goong is one of many popular korean bbq joints around the south suburbs. We were just after a simple meal and it was good to see a poster of lunch specials displayed 1-level below the restaurant entrance.
Immediately, we spotted both of our favourites on the lunch specials and went ahead quickly with our orders.

Sassafras

My dear friend Jo!

It has been ten long years since i last caught up with my college friend and Sassafras was the choice pick for a simple lunch and a very long session of catching up! Miss food hunter has been to Sassafras near a dozen times now and then there was several months of absence and now finally, a chance for a re-visit. Miss food hunter enjoys the simple, homey, well-cooked food in this kind of a rustic, quirky setting of mis-matched tables and chairs. There is also a leafy back courtyard. And for these reasons, Sassafras has become the go-to 'easy-dining' cafe for all Miss food hunter's guests and *ahem* confined only to weekdays to avoid the massive weekend crowds.

A Salt & Battery

A Salt & Battery is where we head to usually for good fish & chips and it is also a very convenient location for us. It was a busy sunday lunch hour with quite a few tables of bigger groups and therefore, the dishes took quite a while to be churned out.

Mr food hunter had the Single Combo which consisted of crumbed calamari, crab claw, a piece of battered Cod and chips. Perfectly cooked, no complaints, all ingested and washed down with a bottle of citrus pink MASH drink!

Ristorante Tartufo

For lunch yesterday, we met up with a friend and headed towards The Emporium without actually having a set place in mind. We perused the menus of a few restaurants and was drawn to Tartufo quite instantly. So there we were settled very comfortably in the middle of this expansive restaurant.

Lure on Latrobe

We are big fans of the breakfast at Lure and today, despite the warmth of the weather, we looked past having to sit alfresco in this lil' converted rustic QLD-er and settled quite comfortably under the shades for a forseeable satisfying lunch. Indeed, we went away pleased with our decision!

The Moray Cafe

Usually when we head to Moray street, it is Little Larder that we visit. This time around we decided that we ought to try out the neighbouring Moray Cafe. It was a warm afternoon and so we opted to sit indoors right under the A/C ha! There is plenty of seating alfresco and all under a leafy tree!

Ho Chia Food Bar

Just a short post on this really tiny eatery in Sunnybank Plaza. Miss food hunter loves the idea of "Economy Rice" well that is the term used at least in Singapore. The term is used to represent rice meals that offer good value, plenty of variety and what's more...you choose what you fancy to eat! There are quite a few of these places around the sunnybank, calamvale area and we think they are mostly Taiwanese in origins. There is one in particular that we frequent to and is yet again another smallish shop adjacent to Welcome Fresh Food Supermarket @ Shop 91.