The Stock Exchange new menu!

I got invited to the Stock Exchange to try their new winter menu! I've never been there before since I don't drink or go out partying/clubbing very often but I have heard about the place before. I do love my bar food after all and truth be told, the times I've been to bars, they have the best service hands down. Also there were a lot of other food bloggers there, it was nice chatting to people so passionate about food! I saw some interesting techniques for taking photos and made some friends.

The Stock Exchange Hotel is easy to find for any Brisbane local so I won't bother explaining where it is. Here is the menu that we tried on the night!

We got the chili squid with sambal aioli dropped off at our table first, the squid was so amazingly tender here and perfectly cooked with not a single hint of chewiness. I found that the chili only added a tiny amount of heat to the dish but it was an attractive addition to the dish. I didn't get to try much of the sambal aioli as it got passed down the table and ended up where the mini chorizos were.

So good!

The sticky lamb ribs were melting tender and when I grabbed a bone to lift it up, I had to work super fast to get my plate underneath it as the meat was already dripping off the bone. The barbecue sauce was finger licking good with a good smoky and sweet flavour.

So perfectly cooked

Jalapeno poppers stuffed with cream cheese! I absolutely love the hell outta jalapeno poppers, I find them slightly spicy with a wonderful sour and crunchy flavour. I got to eat quite a few of them since a lot of people found jalapenos to be too spicy even with the cream cheese to reduce the heat. Just watch it when you're first taking a bite as it is super hot fresh from the fryer.

Bad food blogger, wait!

I was massively torn between the different dishes I could order for my main, I really wanted steak or beef cheeks or pork belly. I wanted everything but the pasta, which I'm 95% sure no one ordered. I went with the steak though because I was here before work and wanted a massive feed before I had to go into work. I got the steak medium rare and it was perfectly cooked, still blushing pink in the centre and had a wonderful caramelised crust. My only complaint was that the fat on the side of the steak hadn't rendered through yet and was a bit chewy as a result. I really enjoyed the meatiness of the grilled oyster mushrooms, also the golden brown chips and the sweetness of the roasted garlic!

Exchange Hotel
Atmosphere: 5, warm and bright pub!
Service: 7, thoughtful, timely and super attentive although they forgot my drink order initially.
Food: 8, solid bar food with huge portions and cheap prices, I'd definitely go here again.

Getta Burger

I've been hearing about Getta Burger for weeks if not months now, the photos on Instagram inspired some of the greatest food envy that I've ever experienced in my life! Those giant, towering burgers, packed full of juicy beef patties, pulled pork, lashings of barbecue sauce and cascading fries down! Be still my foodie heart! Not to mention the price tag! It was love! I knew I had to go here, which is why I dragged Mr J., here for our date before Valentine's.

It's a little bit down the road from the Westfield Carindale, just watch out for a little collection of shops. There's not much else here besides Getta Burger, there's also a Blockbusters, Chinese takeaway shop and a laundromat.

Look out for this sign!

It's only a very small shop front, menu, drinks cabinet and that's about it! Here is their menu on Facebook!

Aw yiss

Mr J., got the Getta Lot, beef patty, double cheese, grilled onions, tomato, lettuce, that BBQ sauce, mustard pickles and mayo! He said it was absolutely delicious and would happily drive from Caboolture to Carindale just to eat that burger. When I told him they were making a Bridgeman Downs shop, he wasn't impressed. He said that it was still just as far for him to go there!

So good

I got the Getta Pig Out! Pulled pork, crispy bacon, double cheese, that BBQ sauce and topped with a side of fries. It was a revelation in burger, so much soft. tender, juicy pulled pork, that lovely crunchy bacon, those fries! I was in heaven and reluctantly shared a bit of my burger with Mr J.

I wish it looked as good as it tasted

Getta Burger
Atmosphere: 5, your local burger place. Get your burger and scuttle back home.
Service: 5, quick and efficient. Nothing spectacular.
Food: 8, oh man, great burgers. Do want.

My recommendations

I was at Danny Boys with Mandy and she said that while looking over the blog with a friend, she said it wasn't super clear what places I did and didn't recommend since a 5 is my basic not food poisoning pass. She helpfully suggested that I make a post detailing my definitive recommendations and keep it updated, so I guess this is what this is. There may or may not be posts attached to these places, its a work in progress!

My tags on the side mean:
Student cheap: a giant sized main for around $10. Suitable for impoverished students who want to catch up with friends at a meal.
Cheap food: main+drink for less than $20. Bargain!
Medium price: main+drink for less than $30-40. Also a bargain!
Expensive as fuck: anything more than $40. What can I say, I'm cheap and I love cheap food hahaha!
RJIE: Random junk I eat. Normally reserved for a post where I've only got to a restaurant for one meal, eaten something I've wanted to share. Normally a bit of a cop out post when I'm stretched for updates ahahaha.

Dishes:
Western style wings? King of the Wings, find them. Best wings in Brisbane. I recommend, all the flavours that they make. Seriously.
Eastern style wings? Yang nyum wings from Seoul Bistro, that earth shattering crunch <3.
Burgers? Plain cheeseburger from Judes on Eagle St Pier during lunch time for the biggest burger you cannot possibly finish or Miel Container for their beef bulgogi burger.
Ribs? Pork ribs from Ribbets. Best so far, but still not impressed. On the hunt for better.
Noodles? XO sauce stir fried handmade noodles from Endless Noodles. They do exquisite hand pulled noodles with a glorious homely quality to them.
Ramen? Taro's Ramen. No doubt. 
Sushi? Kotobuki Sushi. I love them no matter what JGirl says.
Sandwich? Pulled pork from Bread and Meat Co. Damn that's a good sandwich and some fine pulled pork too.
Potato dish? Poutine from Bread and Meat Co, dem real cheese curds.
Doughnut? Salted caramel doughnuts from Chester St Bakery, although the doughnut holes fresh at the Eagle Farm Markets come a close second.
Cheapo pizza? Meatlovers pizza from Pizza Hut with their creamy garlic dip. 
Fancy pizza?: Holloways in West End make the best seasonal pizzas I've ever had.
American style pizza?: T4's Gourmet Pizza and Pasta! So cheap and tasty, plus their toppings range is huge.

Cuisines:
Thai place? 2B Thai.
Yum cha place? New Shanghai.
Vietnamese place? My house, of course.
Korean place? Seoul Bistro.
Malaysian place? Malaya Corner in Sunnybank.
Indonesian place? Sambal Oelek, $10 mains. Yassss. 

Desserts and catch up:
Coffee? LTD Espresso, hands down. 
Cold press coffee? Cleanskin cold press latte with raw sugar syrup.
Not coffee hot drink? Any of the hot chocolate range from the Dark Chocolatier on Ann Street in the CBD. $4.5 for a 12oz cup and no surcharge for soy? Yes please! You can choose your percentage of cocoa and you can really taste the difference. More than 60% is coma-tastic though, I'd be careful if I were you.
Bubble tea drink? Lychee frappe with lychee popping pearls from Little Singapore. Let it get a little slushy and melted for 10 minutes or so and you will thank me. Mmmm that lychee goodness.
Bubble Tea Chain? Sakuraya, where all the hip Asians go. Hazel Tea is very consistent too.
Best pearls for bubble tea? Hazel Tea, wherever you can find them, CBD or Sunnybank.
Bakery? Banneton Bakery.
Asian dessert place? Just Soy Cafe, for all your shaved ice needs as an Asian. Closely followed by Papa Rotti buns, that glorious crunchy sugar-coffee icing is a god send.

Random brands:
Castello White Cheese - creamy camembert style cheese with a hint of blue flavour. Delicious.

Doughnut Time

All aboard the hype train! Doughnut Time has had the most efficient viral marketing on Instagram that I've ever seen. It consists of crazy flavours, bright colours and lots and lots of food bloggers getting on board with it. That being said, its a bit of a difficult place to get to since there isn't much parking around and its a bit expensive. It's sandwiched in between Kwan Brothers and Alfredo's.

Blink and you'll miss it

Here was the menu from the time that I went, they bring out lots of different flavours all the time, so stalk them on Instagram.

Fun names 

Here is the pretty box from them. It fits six doughnuts and they're still $6 a pop each. No discount for bulk buys.

Yessss

Here is the six doughnuts I picked for the first box. There's a few double ups here but I also got another box.

Pretty pretty pretty

Not so pretty is their OG - original glazed doughnut, the doughnuts are quite reasonably sized about 15cm in diameter. This tastes exactly like a jumbo original Krispy Kreme doughnuts. The texture of all the doughnuts is the same, fluffy layers of dough much like Krispy Kremes are. The difference between the lot of them is basically whatever glaze is on top of it.

Not bad

The salty dog was the name of their glorious salted caramel doughnut. It was amazing, tooth achingly sweet but absolutely delicious. I loved it and was licking the sides of the box to get more of that salted caramel glaze.

Salted caramel is my weakness

Here is their Planting the Seed, raspberry and cream! I had a bit of the icing off this one and thought it could have been tarter. Strawberries and cream was what I thought it was and I got this for Dr S., as a result.

Pretty though

Dr S., also requested this Americana doughnut, peanut butter and jelly time! This was a strawberry jelly glaze and the centre of the doughnut was filled with a smooth, creamy peanut butter.

Not bad!

This was the Butternut, burnt butter glaze topped with pistachios, it was sooooo good! That savoury buttery flavour was a perfect contrast to the sweetness of the glaze. I think this was my favourite one after the salted caramel doughnut.

Second best!

Disco Biscuit was the name of the chocolate and Oreo glazed doughnut. It had a sweet milk chocolate glaze and clusters of crushed Oreos on the top. I think a slightly darker chocolate would've been better to offset the sweetness. That being said, I did love my Oreo doughnut!

Oreo~

Doughnut Time
Atmosphere: 5, little hole in the wall in the middle of nowhereish. Blink and you'll miss it locations, not to mention the multitude of one way streets around the place.
Service: 5, passable. The shop is tiny, so they can only fit one person in there and the rest of the place is doughnuts. Expect long serving times for this reason, not to mention restocking.
Food: 5, the doughnuts are fancy Krispy Kremes, glaze is often overly sweet and they're quite expensive. I don't ever see anyone become a regular for this place for those reasons. They are gorgeous little doughnuts and the flavours are fun, but for me, too expensive.

Sweet Treats Dessert Cafe

This is my absolute favourite dessert place. It's super cheap, located on the Southside, the music is great and the drinks are pretty good. I always find myself dropping by when I'm in the area. The only issue is that its become pretty popular since I started going here so sometimes they are all sold out of the good desserts ):!

It's relatively easy to find being on the very corner of the Runcorn Plaza shopping centre! If you can see Little Lamb, head in the opposite direction.

Watch out for this sign!

The restaurant is super cute. It has lots of cute details to catch your eye like the bicycle they have mounted on the wall below!

Cute

Happy hour is always a bonus!

Music to my ears

There isn't much of a view but the lighting inside always makes the outside very blue. Whenever I sit here, I always feel very warm and cosy, like I'm sheltered from the rain outside even if its sunny due to the lighting haha!

Hiding from the world!

Here is the front counter! The ordering area is actually on the far left, I always end up queuing in the middle next to the menu for desserts.

Cute!

This is their big chalkboard feature! It's very cute and has a lot of puns that VGirl and I appreciate. They also very handily have their instagram tag on the wall in case you want to post pictures!

I wish I could draw :/

Their glass display cabinet!

Individually wrapped cakes

Their drinks cabinet always seems to be pretty empty, they always sell out of Blackstar cold pressed coffee really quickly. This was the only day that I saw it there out of the five or so visits I had here, at the time of writing.

How did I get such a wonky photo?

Here are their menus! They sell an interesting assortment of hot and cold drinks as well as Western and Eastern style desserts.

They always have a changing cake and hot drink deal every day. This was the only day I bothered photographing it though.

Bargain!

The first time VGirl and I went there, she got the green tea creme brulee! It had a wonderful crack across the burnt sugar topping and a creamy green tea flavoured custard underneath. The green tea icecream was super creamy, dense, sweet with a strong green flavour.

Yum!

The waffles were amazing! I got them with plain vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of salted caramel sauce. The waffles were so damn good with a buttery, crunchy and sugary crust contrasting wonderfully with the soft, hot, fluffy, sweet insides. The salted caramel sauce could have been a touch thicker and saltier but it was still pretty good.

They always run outta waffles early on

I went again later in the week with Mr D., and A*., after we went to Bungle Bungle. I got the Horlicks drink which is a vanilla malt flavoured concoction of milk, blended ice and lots and lots of Horlicks powder. It was a touchy on the watery side, I love an absolute ton of Horlicks powder in it.

Had better

Mr D., and A*., got coffees and I can't remember what they were for the life of me, the picture looks nice.

Failure of a blogger

This is the berry pannacotta! Vanilla bean speckled deliciousness with berry coulis, strawberry pieces and an absolutely luscious forest berry sorbet. A*., had a lot of fun grabbing the plate and wobbling pannacotta. I enjoyed the lightness of this dessert especially contrasting with the tartness of the fruit provided.

Berry and pannacotta ftw

The regular creme brulee was good but Mr D., said that he had better. He also got the Tia Maria ice cream which he said had a really good coffee flavour.

Crack!

A*., got the tiramisu, they said it was okay but I can't comment because I never tried it and I don't particularly like the flavours of coffee or alcohol. It looks wonderful but apparently was lacking in flavour.

Lovely

You can get these cheap little signature toasts in different flavours. I got mine in green tea matcha butter! Its a square of thick white toast coated in a blended matcha and butter paste and coated in condensed milk. I found it delicious because I love the flavour of buttery toast and matcha too.

Mmmm matcha

Sweet Treats Dessert Cafe
Atmosphere: 10, warm, cosy cafe with wonderful indie music. I really enjoy coming here after a meal and talking to my friends.
Service: 6, pretty good.
Food: 7, pretty good desserts and drinks. The menu is a bit limited but its a nice place to have a chat with friends.

RJIE: Bibim men

There's a giant Hanaro Mart near my butcher in Underwood so I've been having a lot of fun lately buying different Korean groceries and learning new recipes. This is one of the instant noodles that I found to be especially delicious, it's called Bibim men! I 100% picked these noodles because the name is also in Vietnamese, it translates to Korean style dry noodles.

It just consists of a noodle block and a thick red soup paste.

Cook the noodles. Drain off the cooking liquid and run cold water through the noodles until cool.

Add the sauce and mix liberally!

It's an interesting mixture of sweet/sour and spicy flavoured noodles! It's quite balanced and I like having it as a side to a steak or some stir fried veggies. I highly recommend it, the flavour reminds me a lot of a mixture between a sweet gochujang and vinegar mixture. The noodles themselves are quite pale once cooked and have the texture of a thick vermicelli. Mama Pham had a packet of these noodles and thought they were good as well.