Memories Treasure Chest

Banoi, Bowen Hills This was a last minute decision to go to Banoi that day. I had a call from my specialist that I had to be admitted into hospital the night prior to my delivery. Guess what was my first question? Can I go out and have dinner first before I admit myself? Luckily the bed manager said it is okay. Lol! So together with Mr, we went to Banoi at Bowen Hills because there was a deal at Eat Club. It was busy on a weeknight and glad that we made a booking. Feeling very ravenous as I had to fast from midnight, we ordered quite a bit. For entree, we ordered their ' Imperial Spring Rolls ' which are made of crab and prawn. It was crunchy, crispy and indeed very moreish. Next up, we tried their soft shell crab rice paper rolls served with crab sauce (spicy tomato relish). I thought this was okay as it was quite dry and I was not too fond of the crab sauce. As for our mains, I had the lemongrass beef vermicelli salad and I was impressed. The beef was ...

Les Bubbles, Fortitude Valley Date night don't come often enough once you have kids! We had a free night as Grace had a sleepover at her grandparent's place. So we decided to visit Les Bubbles to check out their steak and unlimited fries. Parking is always horrendous in the Valley, yes those street parking. We eventually found somewhere about few streets away and walked down to Les Bubbles. I was surprised that they are quite busy considering it a Wednesday night. Menu is straightforward because there is only ONE MAIN to choose from and with the entree, you can choose either the Camerbert OR the bone marrow. As Mr has not tried the bone marrow before, we chose this to share. It came with some mustard, pickled radish, parsley and preserved lemon. You do need the acid to cut through the gelatinous and fatty bone marrow. It wasn't too bad but it is not something I would keep ordering in the future. After our entree, we were given salad to start with. It was a simp...

Alcove Cafe and Deli, Wilston It was a spe cial Monday because t hat Monday wa s the last Monday Grace will be our only child. She knew that she would have a sibling soon but I don't think she unders tand how a new addition will change her life quite signific antly. As she normally goes to childcare the rest of the week, I wanted to have breakfast with her and w e chose Alcove. Parking can be quite a ch allenge in this area but eventually manage to find some street parking. It is a counter service, so Mr had to order once we knew what to have. Unfortunately there is no kid's menu ava ilable so we tried to order somethi ng that she may have.  Mr o rdered the ir ' Alcove Br eakfast ' that came with po ached eggs and the usual lots. We would like to change to scrambled eggs but unfortunately they only make either poached or fried eggs. In the end, Mr went with the fried eggs hoping that Grace would have some. The rest (bacon, haloumi and sweet potato mash...

Malay House, Underwood I think I may have found my favourite Malaysian restaurant in Brisbane! I have heard of Malay House but because it is located in Underwood, it is quite a travel for us to visit there. Thankfully opportunity arises and together with the in-law we went there for lunch. It was already quite busy even though we arrived fairly early for lunch. Sharing the meals between four adults, I chose some signature Malaysian dishes to share. Firstly, the chicken satay. The marinade of the chicken satay was quite close to home and feels almost like the ones from home. The chicken was tender and not dry at all. The dipping sauce - peanut sauce was good. Next up was the Hainanese chicken rice and I was blown by it. I think this place serves the best Hainanese chicken rice in Brisbane. I know it is a big call but you have to try it to judge it and let me know. The chicken pieces that they gave us included thigh and breast meat; and they were so tender. What's a go...

Ben's Vietnamese, Woolloongabba Ben’s Vietnamese has been in Princess Plaza for years and it has not changed at all since my last visit (when I had my farewell lunch with colleagues prior to my maternity leave for Grace). This time together with Mr, we visited Ben’s for lunch. Quite a bit has changed in this complex and I have noted some new restaurants and bakery, which I am sure will attract the staffs from Mater Hospital. I was craving for pho so we ordered their combination beef pho, and it did not disappoint. The broth was hearty and it was generous in terms of the beef and noodles.  Our next dish was the grilled pork vermicelli salad and yum, it definitely hit the spot for me. The sliced vegetables were fresh, and I was not worried at all consuming them while pregnant. The grilled pork was so flavourful and tasty and could have eaten more on its own. Yum! We used the Entertainment Voucher in this visit, making this lunch an even better dea...

Than Nuong Charcoal Vietnamese Restaurant, Woolloongabba There was a deal from TheFork app just before Mother's Day and I grabbed this deal of 50% discount for Banquet menus at Than Nuong. Together with the in-law, we celebrated Mother's Day on that Saturday night. As the discount was only applicable to the banquet, I enquired upon arrival whether we could have 2 of Banquet 1 ($40pp) and 2 of Banquet 2 ($60pp) so that we could have a variety and thankfully, they did. Entree of Banquet 1 : spring rolls, deluxe chicken wings and prawn rice paper rolls Entree of Banquet 2 : soft shell crab, chargrilled quail and grilled local scallops with fresh lime Soft shell crab Chargrilled quail Grilled scallops The entrees of both banquet were simple and satisfying with the exception of the chargrilled quail. As you can see from the picture, it was really charred. The quail was overcooked and relatively dry. Otherwise, every thing else was just moreish! ...

MD's Italian Kitchen and Bar, Fortitude Valley Has anyone heard of the EatClub app? If not, I recommend downloading this app in your phone ASAP as this is where you can get some last minute discounts/deals from various restaurants! As I was lazy to prepare dinner one night, I stumbled upon a 40% discount for MD's Italian Kitchen and Bar. Together with Mr, we made our way to the Valley/New Farm trying to locate this restaurant. As always parking in New Farm can be challenging and after a few rounds, we managed to find one. As we walked into the restaurant, it felt rather empty for such a big restaurant. There were about 4-5 other patrons that night. Service was prompt and attentive that night. As we were pretty hungry, I was keen to eat. To start with, we had the garlic ciabatta ($12) with balsamic. They were toasted nicely but I thought the garlic flavour could be stronger. Our next entree was the arancini balls ($18). The crumbed surface was crispy and the flavou...

Roti Place, Brisbane CBD Roti Place in the city has recently relocated to Charlotte St, replacing the old Little Singapore that was previously there. I have been to the old Roti Place years ago and it did not leave much impression on me then. However, I have heard good things about it recently and Mr and myself visited it after my doctor's appointment. Being Malaysian myself, I do have some high expectations of Malaysian food in Brisbane. Roti Place boast in specialising in making roti in their open roti kitchen and I had to try their basic roti - roti canai ($5.50). It comes with one piece of roti with a side of curry gravy. As I was sitting opposite the open kitchen, I managed to see the skilful girl making the roti from scratch. The roti was not too bad, my serve was not particularly crispy or flakey unfortunately. I think the one at Pappa Rich was much more flakey and crispy. The curry gravy was quite nice and spicy. As I have been craving for Prawn Noodle So...

Koto Sanpo, Brisbane CBD The second restaurant that we recently tried in FudoDori was Koto Sanpo. I am a big fan of anything match a and was excite d to be checking out this place. We arrived early around their opening hour of 11.30 am and the y were already quite busy. We were seated and after brow sing their extensive menu, Mr went to the counter for our order. As we were there for lunch, we ordered savoury meals rather than their sweets or desserts. But first up, a drink of match a is a must and for a basic mat cha latte, there are options of white chocolate, yuzu honey, rocky road or even c aramel matcha latte . I think it is best to try their basic matcha latte and it came in a rather huge ceramic bowl. I could not fault their mat cha latte at all. The latte was creamy and most importantly, not overly sweet and there ' s still hint of bitterness of matcha which is how I like mine.  Now for our main meals, Mr tried their chicken karaage curry ($15.80) and surpri...