Foundry Records

I got invited to Foundry Records and I do believe this is the first and only time I've been unable to find a friend to come with me, so solo ThatSeriousGirl trip it is! I had no idea what they sold for breakfast when I went there as I couldn't find anything online about them!

I ended up parking on Brunswick Street and legging it to Wickham Street since there isn't a huge abundance of parking down that one way hell hole to Chinatown.

The sign is pretty distinctive

This place!

The interior is very much cool brick cafe!

Lots of photos to buy

Usually there's live music here!

Music here was great

They sell a lot of really cheap CDs and vinyls from local bands as well as popular alternative/indie artists from around the world.

I was sorely tempted checking out their collection of music

They also sell band shirts!

So comfy

This is their bar/counter area!

I spy drinks!

This is a little cosy corner full of comfy couches. I did not sit here of course because I like to creepily watch the door when I eat.

Nice

They have probably the coolest looking menu I've ever seen. It's in the shape of a disc. On the other hand, there's only bread on the menu. 

So cool

Drink wise, I just grabbed myself a soy flat white. It was beautiful, silky smooth, strong with no overly bitter flavours and balanced enough flavour wise that I didn't need sugar.

Solid coffee

As you know, I'm a pretty solid brekkie eater so I went for the biggest thing on their menu the Cheesus and Mary Jane toasted sandwich with smoked ham added inside. The combination of tomato, cheese and ham is a classic one and this one was pretty good with a nice stretchy cheese, smokey ham, ripe tomato and a dark rye bread. I didn't eat my pickle as it was way too salty and there were already quite a bit of rock salt used as a garnish.

Foundry Records
Atmosphere: 10, super cool atmosphere for lovers of cool music.
Service: 5, counter service but the barista was super chatty with everyone there.
Food: 5, toast is toast. This would be a wonderful place to set up shop if you need to get an assignment done.

Wilson's on the River

This was my first invitation of the year! Off to Wilson's on the River, brand spanking new seafood restaurant. They just opened up a few weeks ago along Coronation Drive in Milton. So new in fact that they still hadn't got a website up and going or parking approved. Parking in Milton is a massive pain in the ass due to its 2P regulations. Apparently they will get onsite parking pretty soon!

I went with my friend E., from work! She drives a massive truck car and she lovessssss seafood!

This place!

The interior is absolutely lovely! It's in an old converted Queenslander that's been split in multiple buildings now and they've been super busy sprucing the downstairs for dining and upstairs for a champagne bar. It's the bright white Queenslander near all the office buildings in Milton along the river, it's been quite a few other restaurants in the past so I don't doubt it has a very familiar appearance for everyone Brisbane based.

Lovely!

We sat beside the window and spent a lot of time perusing over the menu before the head chef came out to introduce himself and have a bit of a chat to us. Then the general manager came up to talk to us about the history of the place which I recounted in a nutshell earlier.

Mama Pham would enjoy this place

The first entree that we recieved and arguably the best in my eyes were the Harvey Bay scallops with apple and onion puree, black pepper caramel shards and a truffled cauliflower timbale. The scallops were perfectly grilled, large, sweet and creamy. The apple and onion puree was also perfectly balanced and a tart contrast to the super creamy texture of the timbale, think the creamiest scrambled eggs you've ever had. The only issue I had with these was the huge size of the caramel shards, I found the flavour overwhelming as there was so much of it in one mouthful. I think a bit of a finer crumble would have been preferable.

My fav, defs get it!

This was a super close tie to being my favourite, it was a butter poached Moreton Bay bug, mango salsa, fermented black beans and a chive and sage butter sauce. The super soft, succulent, meaty sweetness of the Moreton Bay bug had me seriously wondering why I don't eat more of the stuff! We were both scraping the plate with this one, everything was delicious from the sweetness of the mango to the salty hit of the funky fermented black beans to the buttery herbaceous sauce pooled under the supple pasta.

I now love Moreton Bay Bugs

This was the Thai coconut milk broth mussels with kaffir lime. I didn't really like this one as I found that the Thai broth lacked the fragrant aromatics that Thai cuisine is characteristically known for. It was a very mild broth and it took me a few sips before I decided whether or not I liked this. E., loved it and said it was her favourite since it combined her two favourite things, Thai and seafood! I've got to say I'm really traditional and love bread with my mussels to soak up the sauce. The chef told me that this was one of their most popular dishes as it was something new and interesting but very mildly spiced so perfect for most people!

Spicier for me thanks!

This was my least favourite dish, I really disliked everything about it, the name of the dish as well as the execution. It was called a Tasmanian salmon ceviche, cured with sea salt and white wine vinegar, dressed with a Glasshouse Mountain honey and pineapple dressing. The slices of fish were very ragged, each slice a different shape and size to the one beside it. There were even some holes in the slices and I felt like this was a terrible way to treat such delicious fish. There wasn't a particularly strong sour flavour from the vinegar and when I've had ceviche in the past, it's been gorgeous hunks of fish cured in some type of citrus juice and a jumble of crunchy and refreshing things like onions, chili, tomato or coriander! It's normally a super fresh and light dish, which I find this dish isn't.

I'm sorry for you salmon ):

This was the Fremantle octopus served grilled over a bed of baby zucchini, red cabbage and radicchio and topped with a green chili jam. I really liked the green chili jam, I love the punchy sweetness of it and I found the octopus well cooked, quite tender but not as tender as the one I had from the new defunct Char Char Yiros that still remains my gold standard. If you get octopus so tender you think its chicken aside from the suckers, you're doing a great job. E., said that she really enjoyed this dish despite not liking octopus.

 A beckoning curl says come on by~

The chef dropped by and asked if we were getting full yet. We said no and so bring on the reef and beef! We got half a Moreton Bay bug grilled with garlic butter dripping off the side, a thick Diamantina Angus tenderloin cooked to a perfect medium, salt and pepper calamari, prawns on top of a cracker of a crunchy potato pieces and sauteed spinach. Remember what I said earlier about Moreton Bay bugs? I double down on that and say this is the best one I've ever had, it was the length of my forearm and I wear a size 9 1/2 woman's shoe! It was so, so, so juicy, pure white succulent meat that I dragged through the garlic butter pooled under the rest of the food! The steak was perfectly cooked as I said and so tender, it cut through like butter! The prawns were also perfectly cooked, juicy and bursty. I think I need to stop saying things were perfectly cooked, because it all was!

Omg yassssss

We got the black truffle risotto with soft boiled egg, three jumbo grilled prawns and a scattering of toasted black rice aka inedible shards of rice that were everywhere. I don't like risotto and this one wasn't an exception, it was cooked to risotto prime standards with a chalky hint in the centre of each rice grain, well separated grains of rice, a buttery pool lightened with a hint of citrus and a strong truffle aroma and flavour. That doesn't mean I like it though, risotto just isn't my thing! That being said if that sounds up your alley, I'm sure you would love this dish.

Shotgun gooey egg

It was time for another main but I made a quick break for the upstairs champagne bar to check out the fixtures and view!

Hella fancy nice

I can imagine leisurely sipping champagne or for me, fancy mocktails as I turn my nose up at the city workers below me!

Brissie river, why you so brown

There's also an upstairs dining area!

Gorgeous otherwise though

Our last main was the angel hair pasta with spanner crab, cherry tomato, broccolini with crunchy garlic and a lemon, olive oil and fresh basil sauce. I thought it was delicious! I loved the large pieces of fluffy white crab meat scattered throughout the pasta. I thought that the pasta itself was more like a noodle but it was still tasty. I loved the freshness of the lemon, crunchy garlic, basil and olive oil sauce! While E., disliked it, I would solidly order this again due to how much I enjoyed this dish.

Omg so good!

There were a few desserts but E., and I were seriously gunning for the passionfruit and mango semifreddo and the hazelnut creme brulee. We were absolutely ecstatic when our waitress told us that's what we would have. The biscuit was a touch on the thick side but packed full of macademia pieces and white chooclate, it was still a bit soft so it was easy to bite through. I was stuffed but I pocketed them for the road since E., was too full to eat them. The creme brulee had a wonderful crunchy sugar top that I smashed through with a spoon. The creme brulee had large chunks of hazelnut pieces and a super smooth frangelico and hazelnut flavoured cream. This has got to be the best creme brulee I've had in a long time!

Omg sooooo good!

On the other hand I wasn't as impressed with this dish. The semifreddo had a good flavour to it and was complemented well by the sourness of the passion fruit, the golden toastiness of the coconut and I felt that the mango was too sweet. I prefer my fruit sour and sweet! I prefer the contrast from that a lot more.

Not bad though

Wilson's on the River
Service: 5, solid 10 actually but they know I'm a food blogger so yeah.
Atmosphere: 10, lovely place and a great place for a fancy dinner.
Food: 9.5, everything was well cooked, super flavoursome, great quality and I'd go here with Mama Pham. If you think I'm picky with food, you KNOW Mama Pham is worse!

Lord of the Wings

I'm trying to post my massive archive of 2015 posts, so bare with me as I get them out of the way now that we've hit 2016 and part of my New Years Resolution is to get back on track with my blog! 

VGirl, JGirl and I decided to go out for dinner one day, so long ago I forgot why we went! Anyway, we wanted to eat some type of American food and we also needed to do some quick shopping so off we went to Lord of the Wings in Westfield Carindale Shopping centre.

Uhh, parking is easy of course. Park in the shopping centre, the GoHealth Club/new food court end and then walk in. Here is a link to where their menu can be downloaded.

The decor is very similar to a bar set up with high tables and stools, there are also lots of little booths if you prefer a more restauranty feel.

We sat in a booth, VGirl prefers this

JGirl and I decided to split everything, because we're generous girls and JGirl is student poor. The first thing we got was a serve of eight bone in wings, cause bones are where flavour lives, in classic BBQ. Tiny little wings just about as big as that dipping sauce of blue cheese sauce, they were cooked perfectly tender. The sauce was nothing spectacular. I've heard a lot about these "life changing" wings and I don't get the hype to be honest. I wish that places with lots of sauce choices let you try sauces before you settled on an order, or is that just me? How can I commit to one out of sixteen choices when I haven't tried most of them? Ice cream places let me try their stuff before I buy ):

Oh how the mighty have fallen?

VGirl got the garden salad, it's pretty sad because that's one of the few things she can eat beside every single appetiser. She says she enjoys salad but I don't see the point of going out to eat salad? This was a simple garden salad of lettuce, tomato, grated carrot, purple onion, raw button mushroom, cherry tomatoes and a drizzle of ranch dressing. She wolfed or should I say cowed hahaha it down in about a minute. The girl eats fast.

Inhaled.

JGirl and I split this pulled pork and coleslaw burger as our meaty main, figuring that with everything else we needed to squash it down a little bit more. Don't ever split a pulled pork burger by the way, not if you want to leave the place with your clothing intact. You think eating a pulled pork burger is messy? Try ripping a brioche bun, a notoriously soft bread, then the lusciously wet pork and the fiddly bits of coleslaw spilling everywhere. Solid pulled pork burger, I must say.

On another note, I think it's funny that the pulled pork and slaw burger on the menu has a picture of fries in the background. Then there is a disclaimer in each photo that the burgers don't come with sides. Like, "please excuse our food porn, we were doing it for the 'grams." I get it man, you do you.

I could be a hand model

We got sticks and rings to share between the three of us, deep fried mozzarella sticks, onion rings and a side of both Thousand Island dipping sauce and the same classic barbecue sauce that's on our wings. The onion rings were pretty greasy but still better than the atrocity I had at 8 Bit Burger earlier this year. The mozzarella sticks were disappointing, I pulled apart the sticks, gleefully awaiting the spectacle of endlessly stretchhhhhhhhing cheese and got nothing. Even fresh, mouth burning out of the fryer hot and they still didn't do their thing.

I recognise that BBQ sauce!

I got the traditional poutine, because VGirl loves potato chips more than she loves me and I love poutine, it's in my top 10 foods. Don't ask me to rank the loves of my life though, its just a loose list that changes whenever I'm eating a food that's on the list. Anyway, I wasn't a huge fan of this poutine, mostly cause they had clearly shoved the whole thing in a skillet and shoved it in the oven to heat up the cheese so the chips lost their crunch. FOR SHAME.

POUTINE?

Lord of the Wings
Atmosphere: 5, vaguely bar like enterprise. I dunno why there are so many groups here.
Service: 5, permabusy teens, enough said.
Food: 5, passable but I wouldn't go back here again. There's cheaper, larger portioned American food joints in Brisbane, don't bother with here.

Habitat Restaurant and Bar

I finally decided to go to Habitat with friends after my night shifts! Then we went again for W.,'s birthday! This place is right beside the Coles in Woolworths, I highly recommend parking there and walking across to it.

This place!

This is an outdoor seating area of theirs, perfect for night time drinking or catching up with friends.

Cushions, cushions everywhere

The inside looks more like a standard bar.

So many stools

I don't get the point of this spot, more cushions but how are you supposed to sit on them?

Wat.

They had these lovely little leather booths, for some reason the upholstery reminds me of caramel coloured padded room material.

Super comfy though

Here is the menu! They had an interesting selection of condiments for their table, olive oil, raw sugar, salt flakes, Huffman's hot sauce and a pepper mill.

Salt dishes weird me out

I got an iced latte! I kinda like the glass, it looks like its based off a chunk of bamboo. I like the layered effect of the coffee but I can't remember too much about the drink itself, not even a month later and I'm mind blanking :/

Looks good though!

D., came along since L., was on night shifts with us and he grabbed the Habitat feast plate, roasted tomato, mushrooms, bacon, choice of eggs, chorizo, black pudding, zucchini fritter and sourdough. He finished everything and said it was pretty good. I had everything else on the plate on everyone else's meal so I'll go through bits in other meals.

Not a bad looking plate

L., got the little Critter Fritters, zucchini fritters, red pepper jam, pumpkin mousse and lots of coriander garnish. I thought this was a bit of a weird pick for her since she normally goes for sweets and stuff without eggs or bacon. I guess this counts? She was a bit mixed between thinking this was a stingy serve but she also doesn't eat very much for breakfast so she was actually full.

Interesting

H., was obsessed with the name of this dish below, that's what I'm Guaccan about. I warned her off it, you know she picks the worst option on the menu. I was dubious about it because I feel like avo on toast should have something salty like feta or goats cheese to balance it out. This version of avo on toast came with sourdough, mashed avocado, dukkah, red chard salad with raspberry dressing. She said the dressing was quite sour and she would've liked something salty to go with the avocado.

Hmmm~

V., got the Andele Andele Paprika! Basically a breakfast burrito made with scrambled eggs, black beans, roasted capsicum, avocado, chorizo and wilted spinach. She ate everything but the chorizo and I was confused as to why then she fed me some. It was sort of like a chorizo flavoured breakfast sausage, quite greasy and fatty.

I still don't like Mexican food :/

I got the Squeaky Scotsman, black pudding, sweet potato bubble and squeak, brussel sprout chips and poached eggs. I remember being disappointed that there was so little black pudding on the dish considering its the main component. Its a very visually striking dish considering the elements but I would have liked more black pudding! The bubble and squeak was very crunchy which I enjoyed. 

Looks great though

The second time I went here I got the Rosie Cheddar Cheeks, a Vegemite and cheddar roll, crispy bacon, poached eggs, rocket and macerated tomato. I didn't feel like the Vegemite and cheddar flavour was particularly pronounced in the roll, I was expecting the scrolls you can get at bakeries where you can see layers and layers of oozy cheese and thick Vegemite. The bacon was great as was the freshness of the tomatoes to counteract the saltiness.

Blurry much ):

Manda got the Bah Bah Little Lamb burger for lunch, she waited impatiently for about 20 minutes for their lunch service to begin. As soon as that clock hit 11.30am, she grabbed hold of the waitress and put in her order! A minced lamb burger with red pepper jam, rocket, pickles and a cucumber yoghurt dressing, she also got a side of waffle fries with it! She said it was a really juicy and delicious burger, she was a happy lady.

Habitat Restaurant and Bar
Atmosphere: 8, its a lovely place. There's lots of spots where you stake out a place with friends.
Service: 5, uhhh a bit lacking, I don't know why they couldn't take Manda's lunch time order earlier :/
Food: 5, pretty average. I was always a bit let down by what was on the plate. The names of the dishes are cute though. I wouldn't go back here again.