Memories Treasure Chest

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! ...

My Street Food- Taste of Vietnam, Woolloongabba When you search hard enough, you will eventually find the right place for a delicious banh mi and it is located at My Street Food. One day, after dropping off the Mr in the southside, I made my way there. Parking was horrible as I did not know there was onsite parking. My persistence for parking finally paid off and I am so glad that I came here. As it was still early (mid morning), there weren't any customers yet but you can straightaway sense that they are going to be busy once the rush hour arrives. They were busy preparing fresh vietnamese spring rolls and one of the chef was busy grilling heaps of grilled pork/pork chop! As it was more for 'morning tea', I ordered their M.S.F. lemongrass grilled pork banh mi   ($7.50) and immediately devoured them outside the shop. The grilled pork was flavourful and the overall banh mi was delicious. I did not save any for the Mr but bought some fresh spring rolls (the lem...

Dapur Dahlia, Woolloongabba Yup, another post about Malaysian restaurant as I was not thoroughly satisfied after my visit to Sri Mahkota! This time, Mr had a meeting nearby and we decided to have dinner somewhere closeby so I chose Dapur Dahlia. I have not been to their original location at Mount Gravatt, and they have since relocated to Gabba. It looks fairly new and definitely very clean here.  Malaysian food is known for its diversity as we are a multicultural country and Dapur Dahlia specialises more in Malay style Malaysian food rather than the chinese version. I was excited because I get to try some chicken satay; I usually avoid ordering satay because they could not beat those from home. But I gave Dapur Dahlia a chance and they certainly did not disappoint. The satay sticks were grilled rather than just coated with peanut sauce. It was fairly close to the ones from back home. Their peanut sauce was rather authentic and well-balanced. On that night, they gave u...

The Priory, Woolloongabba I have heard so much of The Priory and the Mr finally had a weekend off from work and we went over there for breakfast. As we were fairly new to the area, we just parked on the next street and walked there, not knowing there is on-site parking. I certainly utilised the free parking on my second visit. You could smell the fresh paint upon entering The Priory. The des ign and la yout are fresh and clean. It was not busy that morning, and we got seated fairly quickly and soo n made our orders. Their menu i s fairly simple with some specials of the day.  The Mr had the 'Eggs Priory ' with the be etroot cured ocean trout and I had the ' P an Fr ied M ushroom s ' as I was craving for mushrooms that day! My chai brewed with m ilk came in a plunger and I quite enjoyed it, although the chai strength can be stronger. Not long a fter, our meals arrived and th ey were pr esented beautifully. I was certainly satisfied with its portio...

Colour Me Flavour, Woolloongabba Back when I was still at work, my friendly superiors invited me for lunch at Colour Me Flavour, which is just a walking distance from Mater Hospital. I was confused by the name of this place when I first received the text message: 'Lunch at Colour Me' thinking whether it could be related to kids' food etc ... After consulting Mr Google, I realised that Colour Me Flavour specialises in modern Indian cuisine, this consolidated when I saw the interior design of this place. The varied lunch options were tantalizing enough that I was tempted to try a few of them. At a price ranging from $15- $16, I think it is relatively good. I was tossing between the pakoras but at the end, submitted to the stuffed naan.  Colour Me Flavour's menu The meal was beautifully constructed, with the lamb shish on a piece of roti, served with some sour cream and chutney. The chutney quite spicy, well balanced by the sour cream. I don't think I ...

Republic Coffee Traders, Woolloongabba Republic C offee Traders seem to be one of the few cafes that open on a public holiday. As mom is super keen to visit a cafe before they fly back to Penang, I took them there and RCT blended well a mong the industrial shops or company in that area. Street parking was plenty that day. They have an all-day menu and I certainly had a difficult time deciding what to have for breakfast! Everything just seems so interesting and attractive. Anyhow, the word ' crusted egg ' caught my attention and I could not steer away from it. Mom and grandma shared the omelette with pulled duck . But first off, a cup of latte for grandma and cappuccino for mom while I had the chai latte. Grandma is certainly keeping herself updated with the current trend of drinking coffee and not h aving her usual ' kopi-o' aka black coffee that she usually get from the hawker stores back in Penang.  Soon after, our meals arrived and they were beau...

Gertrude and Mabel, Woolloongabba I enjoy my days off and one day, I took the time to visit my old neighbourhood in Dutton Park/Highgate Hill and I noted the small little cute cafe around the corner. Parking is available on the street parking and quite ample. Gertrude and Mabel is delicately decorated and I enjoyed the small little details like cloth napkins on the table.   Reading through the menu, there were only 6 breakfast options making elimination fairly easy. Finally I ordered the loukaniko (pork sausages) meal with a cup of flat white. Flat white Loukaniko on ciabatta, smashed peas, goats cheese and lemon mayo - $14 My flat white was quite good, but I was more distracted by my pork sausages meal. Who would have thought that sausages can be beautifully presented like that? I thoroughly enjoyed every element of the meal individually, and even better when I mixed the smashed peas with a piece of sausage with the mayo or the goat's cheese. Yum! The servi...

Moose and Gibson, Woolloongabba It is quite a rare occasion that the Mr would agree for a breakfast with me outside especially on a super hot day! Finally after a few detours looking for cafe, we finally settled on Moose and Gibson. I rarely order cold drinks but I just had to on that day! The Mr had the iced coffee while I tried the iced mocha. They came with ice cream, topped with whipped cream. Trying to be health conscious, I scooped out the cream. :)   Ice Coffee and Iced Chocolate The 'Baked Potted Eggs' were pretty scrumptious! The combination of chorizo, tomato sauce and olive tapenade certainly did not disappoint. As usual, I would like to have more toasted bread, ciabatta in this case to soak up all the sauce! Don't you agree it was a hot day? The butter was already melting...   Baked Potted Eggs - $16.90 Avocado with poached eggs - $13.90 Our other meal was the 'Avocado with Poached Eggs', it was simple and quite satisfying. It was c...

Paw Paw, Woollongabba Lainey and myself had a get together before her honeymoon in Europe more than a month ago. Lol, she is back in Brizzy now and I am yet to blog about Paw Paw. Talking about procrastination! I have visited Paw Paw in the past with SaC and they have certainly changed the menu. Paw Paw certainly did not disappoint. My flat white was good while Lainey's mocha certainly made me envious. Flat White Mocha I steered clear from my usual brekkie options and chose the ' Californian breakfast burrito '.  Californian Breakfast Burrito - $15.90 Toasted tortilla filled with black beans, scrambled eggs and cheddar topped with chipotle sour cream and tomato salsa It was so filling that I could not finish this quite delicious meal! Even though it was a vegetarian dish, the hidden beans and scrambled eggs were certainly quite satisfying. On the other hand, Lainey ordered the ' corn fritters '.  Corn Fritters - $14.90 Chipotle sour...

Pearl Cafe, Woolloogabba After a few hours of browsing the antique shops in the Gabba with my parents, my tummy started to grumble. LOL, when it comes to antique, my dad's receptor in his stomach will retire momentarily.  As I want dad to experience the cafe here, I took him to Pearl Cafe. I have not visited Pearl for quite some time and they have changed their sitting arrangement. More spacious and I like it! Looking at the menu, I sensed some dilemma as my dad is very conservative with his food. I need to find something chinese-oriented and I think that is going to be a dilemma... Dad who rarely drinks coffee or tea, I ordered the lemon and mint drink for him. Oops, too sour but he finished it at the end. Mom had the cappuccino while I had my usual flat white. The best option that I have chosen for dad was the 'fish finger' sandwich! 'Fish finger' sandwich, crumbed local whiting, cos, tartare, dill, fresh lemon - $16 Le...