Songbirds Restaurant

Last Saturday, we booked into Songbirds for lunch and what a pleasant afternoon we all had. We enjoyed a slow lunch amongst luscious greenery and tuned into the sounds of nature in tranquil surroundings.

Sprout Cafe

Toasted Ciabatta and Trio of Dips...Lovely!

Yum Yum Yum is all i'd wish to say for starters on  this post on Sprout Cafe! Family came down to Brissy for a week long holiday and so the food hunters were treated to a series of 'good eating' in the past week. Sprout Cafe has lovely soft wooden furnishings, dim lighting and the layout so simplistic that the whole dining experience felt casual and somewhat communal. 

Friday night @ The Gabba

Rymill sparkling Chard Pinot & Te Whare Ra Sauv blanc to kick start the night !!

We weren't technically at The Gabba but rather near it...We decided on dinner at The Crosstown Eating House as it has indeed been a very long time since our last visit. On our first visit, Crosstown hasn't had the Uptown lounge bar yet on the 2nd floor and so we were excited to see what the new bar may be like....Things have changed a little....you get your menus, cutlery, salt & pepper etc. on the table all ready for you.

Aria Brisbane

Complimentary Amuse bouche Mushroom Veloute

We had a small gathering of 4 gd'ole friends at Aria for lunch today and boy was it a delightful experience! It is a weekday and we must say that Aria is doing very well, service was busy and we suppose the Lunch Course Specials are indeed attractive deals!

Soul Bistro

We would have liked to have taken at least a shot of this very simple eatery nestled at a corner of Milton Centro, but lunch was a little bit of a rush as we had an appointment to make after. The first time we tasted Chef Terry Leung's creations was way back in June 2006/7 as there was a X'mas promo on at their food & Soul restaurant at Auchenflower. We have been wanting to try his new venture- Soul Bistro for some time now and finally we've made it here....

GPO Cafe & Bar

After a day touring around Toowoomba, we entered the warmth of GPO for our dinner. The setting was simple, lightings were lovely and very cosy indeed, especially under the blaring flames of  a large hanging heater.

Era Bistro

Cru Bar + Cellar

Before the storms came through today, it was sweltering ~ 35 degrees C heat so we made quick decision on Cru Bar to relax, cool off, chill with some drinks and fill up on some nosh. Today, Miss food hunter finally made it out with Mr food hunter and his 2 brothers, the more the merrier!

Pearl Cafe

As it is the 15th day of the Lunar New Year, which marks the last day of the LNY celebrations, we found a perfect excuse to treat ourselves to a nice lunch at Pearl Cafe. My friend had  informed me she had made a reservation earlier and we now understand why it was necessary to do so.

Claret House Wine Bar

We are real big fans of Cru Bar at James street but it is typically overcrowded on weekend nights. Claret House has been on our wishlist for sometime now and last evening, we finally made the decision to journey down Teneriffe. Driving past a busy looking Claret in search of a parking spot, we got a tad worried as we had no reservation but fortunately, we scored one of the two comfortable booth seatings indoors! YaY!

Service from start to finish was impeccable. Attentive but not intrusive. The menu was concise, consisting of nibbles, starters, share plates and mains. The wine list was interesting and it was good to see more uncommon varietals offered by the glass. This evening we started with a D'arenberg Chardonnay, Port Phillp Est. Quartier Arneis (simply love!) and completed our mains with a Durvillea Sauv Blanc (more herbaceous than passion fruit this Marlborough SB is) and a Casa Freschi Nebbiolo.

The Tassie Oysters arrived in no time after the wines were served and boy were they fresh, plump, sweet and creamy! The accompanying rasbperry and shallot vinaigrette provided good acid contrast without overpowering. Not sure whether there was any shallot though.



Indeed Freshly Shucked!

This ain't no Levain sourdough but had that good dense bite and spongey crumb nonetheless and toasted just right. Generous slices served here and we reserved the raspberry vinaigrette as a lil' dip.

Toasty Sourdough missing 1 slice-Mouth faster than Camera!

The Grilled King Salmon was the fish of the day and came with crushed new potatos and salsa verde. The presentation albeit the dim lighting was as good a delight to see as it is to eat. The salmon rich with essential omega-3 fatty acids, was so moist and the delicate texture was near that of a confit trout. All the components complemented the oily salmon to a tee- the salsa verde was different, it had somewhat of a gherkin taste and acidity, even the crushed potatos weren't simple, there were caper berries mixed in.

Pretty in Pink!

The South Burnett grain fed Eye Fillet sat atop kipfler potatoes, semi-dried tomatoes, asparagus and pickled onions.  The steak was delicious and everything cooked perfectly.  The jus had a very strong red wine taste which combined with the pickled onions can become a bit much, I think a bit more butter or cream in the jus would have made this a perfect dish for me.   

Impressed on this first visit and A+ on so many aspects that will most definitely guarantee our return visits!  We will have to balance this out with Cru ;)

Claret House Wine Bar

36 Vernon Terrace

Teneriffe

Closed monday

The Chelsea Bistro

Off to The Barracks today for a simple speedy lunch and we were once again lured back to The Chelsea. The last time we visited, this dining precinct only recently opened and we were there for dinner with friends. Unfortunately, we were placed to sit outdoors again and yes i did overhear a few lunch bookings. We would have loved to sit indoors in the elegant saloon like interior...next time remember to make a reservation!

We started with an Asahi dry and a Redbank sparkling. There is a decent selection of wines and this is where they "double-up" as a wine bar alongside a menu of small nibbles/plates.

What great love for turkey and cranberry sandwiches maybe to Miss food hunter is exactly what steak sandwiches are to Mr food hunter. So bingo...a Steak sandwich for him and a Bruschetta for her was on the order. The salad of endive, nectarine, jamon iberico and buffalo ricotta sounded equally tempting!

The steak sandwich consisted of flat mushrooms topped with melted blue cheese, rocket, steak and grilled onions. It was an OK sandwich.  The meat cut was a piece of round steak which is not one of my favourites as it can be a little flavourless and fibrous.  I like the idea of blue cheese on steak but in this combination, it felt overwhelming and monotoned, which simply didn't work for me. What it really needed was a slice of tomato or some relish to give it a bit of acidity.  Sorry if I appear too critical but I DO love a good steak sandwich!

The Bruschetta of fig, stilton, rocket and aged balsamic had an overall clean simple flavour. Personally, the combination is a classic winner. I am not a big eater to start and lately, i am served portions that are pretty small. I love Levain bread and wished that i had slightly thicker slices in the bruschetta. I literally had 2 small slices, one of which was absolutely thin. I swopped one for Mr food hunters top sandwich slice so the meal could be somewhat satisfying. Perhaps also, another half a fig more and non-yellow leaves??

Our feelings are somewhat mixed about The Chelsea. The menu looks exciting, service prompt and attentive but unlike the first visit, this time we left a little less impressed.

The Chelsea Bistro

61 Petrie Terrace

The Barracks

Opens daily

Bar Petite

We have a tendency to hop on a plane or take a short road trip impromptu when we feel like a little adventure. Newcastle was our chosen 4-day budget holiday end of 2010, which included the Hunter Valley region and Port Stephens. Oh and after the splurge at Hunter Valley, it was not anymore a low-cost trip! Yikes!

Before we post a summarised wrap-up of our trip, we would like to mention seperately Bar Petite, a bar cum restaurant in the heart of Newcastle. We planned ahead for this visit on the eve of New Years, so that we could take a comfortable stroll to the foreshore for the fireworks display after.

We were drawn to this place simply by the gallery photos on their website and truly, Bar Petite exudes this old charm of a bygone era, that of colonial french perhaps, as their name suggests and from evident hanging wall pics of Cambodia and Vietnam. Soft lighthing and table lit candles provided the extra cosy factor.

Food and drink orders are taken at the bar and tabs can be taken. Our dishes arrived promptly, they were to start a Chicken Terrine with pistachios, and mains of Asian Poached Chicken and Beef Short Ribs.

The Chicken Terrine with pistachos was a classic combination and it was the chunkiest we've ever eaten. It was moist and subtly seasoned, somewhat peppery. The baby cornichons and crsip croutes were essential but wished we could have more of each to accompany the good-sized terrine.

The Asian Poached Chicken salad consisted of walnuts, grapes, watercress, bean sprouts and zucchini ribbons. The salad was termed 'asian' more so because of its components rather than the overall flavour. One would expect perhaps a burst of sweet, salt, sour and sometimes spice but the dressing was a simple olive/nut oil dressing. The slivers of chicken that formed the base of the salad tower was moist and plentiful and the mild dressing helped the bitterness of the watercress and sweetness of the plump grapes to come through. This was a very textural salad.

The honey glazed Beef Short Ribs came with coconut rice, chinese pak choy and sesame onion rings. The tender ribs were braised in a star anise and cinammon type stock which was great with the coconut rice but the reduced sauce could have been less sweet.

Bar Petite offers a menu that is not solely asian. We would think modern australian is apt to describe their menu. There is a good selection of wines offered by the glass and cocktails too to fill the night!

Bar Petitie
Shop 5 The Royal
5 King street
Newcasle
Opens daily from 11am to late
www.barpetitie.com.au