Yim Thai

S., and I went here before work one night. We ate dinner and then grabbed takeaway, green Thai curry and something else I forgot. We found the green Thai curry a bit too creamy and sweet, but everything else we had was soliddddd. I'm really sad that they don't do delivery though.

Yim Thai is located in a little shopping centre so there is heaps of parking here. Keep an eye out for Chompers, then you know you're there!

This place!

We couldn't get a table inside because they were all reserved. We had to sit outside.

):<

Also outside was pretty packed.

>:(

I hate metal serving dishes because they get too hot from the food. Here is their menu!

Boo!

S., got these coconut prawns. They were pretty huge and she said they were really good. I'm not a fan of prawns cause they are too much work for when I'm super hungry. Plus I'm stingy so I like to have every piece of meat available. You can see the generous coating of crunchy coconut on there too!

Solid

We also got the curry puffs to share, they are gorgeous little things, look at that perfect tuck! That is the perfection of an Asian auntie, who yells at her useless nieces and nephews. I know that feel because that's what Mama Pham does to me when I try and help her out in the kitchen. The contempt of lifelong skills. I smashed through these in seconds, I freaking love curry puffs, I love their sweet spiciness and mash of vegetables.

Perfect for kids

S., got the scallop and prawn prad prik kin aka a wild ginger and red curry paste stir fry, she could not stop talking about this dish. She got a huge amount of prawns and scallops that were cooked to a perfect juiciness. This is quite a favourite for everyone I've dined with. It comes with quite a large amount of vegetables in with it as well.

!

My honest to god favourite is the crispy pork belly cooked in chilli, coconut cream, young ginger, peppercorns and a ton of veggies, same as all their other stir fry dishes. I love how crispy the crackling is on this dish as well as the soft, melting flavour of the fat and meat pieces. Every time I've gone here, I've ordered this dish!

Hello delicious pork belly

We got som tum as our healthy shared entree. I love papaya salad from any country, the crunch of papaya, sweet cherry tomatoes, salty dried shrimp, the snap of green beans, peanuts, crunch, crunch, crunch! I love things that are crunchy and balanced between multiple flavours, plus its not a seasonal dish so I can get it all the time! The salad had a good amount of heat, enough that we noticed but not enough that we had to stop, it was wonderful! Every time I go here, I get at least two serves of this dish!

Yessss

Also I have been back here twice, for some reason I keep thinking I've already posted this review so I keep forgetting to take more photos. My bad guys, my bad. I went here with L., H., and S.Y, who all agreed it was some of the best Thai food they've had in Brisbane. Then H., went here with her husband and then proceeded to order the worse stuff in the restaurant according to her husband, apparently their jungle curry isn't great.

Yim Thai
Atmosphere: 7, a lovely and well decorated little place. Perfect for a family get together but not quite fancy enough for date night.
Service: 5, nothing stand out.
Food: 8, really good Thai food, just aim for the stir fries rather than the curries. Their som tum is a must!

Sorellina

I love pizza, any way I can get it! So I had to go to Sorellina, rumoured to be one of the best pizzerias in Brisbane! It frequently tops the charts in bloggers lists, Zomato round ups and my friend's recommendations, so off I go!

Parking is horrific here. Sorellina is located in the antiques district of Woolloongabba along Logan road, right near the Gabba stadium. I don't think I've ever gotten a park in that one way street hell. I recommend parking on Jurgens Street and legging it in. 

Looks like a beer hall!

Here is their menu! I went with VGirl and we opted to share the garlic foccacia as our entree. We got these five wedges of surprisingly dense, charry hunks of bread. It was roughly painted with garlic butter but we both didn't like it. The foccacia was actually really hard to chew through! Despite its appearance it wasn't fluffy at all and we had to really gnaw pieces of it off. Both VGirl and I are of the opinion that garlic bread should be like a fluffy sponge of bread soaked in garlic butter, which was definitely not the case of this bread. Hard pass. 

Boo

I got the pork sausage, salami, caramelised onion, mozzarella and parsley pizza. It was amazing, I absolutely loved their crust with its blistered golden brown bubbles, wafer thin edges and charred bottom, you could taste the wood smoke and can I say again, THAT CRUNCH. Ahh that's the way a wood fired pizza should be! The toppings were really good too, the salami had a hot spiciness to it, the dots of pork sausage mince had a nice fennel taste to cut through the pork and the caramelised onions were delicious sweet. VGirl disagreed with me by saying it was burnt, but she doesn't appreciate good food, just free food.

<333333

I talked VGirl into getting this eggplant, tomato, smoked mozzarella, parmesan and oregano pizza. I thought this was equally as good as my pizza, meltingly soft and smokey eggplant, stretchy mozzarella and the fragrance of oregano! VGirl disagreed, mostly because she actually doesn't like eggplant that much barring dip form. She just managed to be persuaded by me in this, she actually wanted to get the mushroom pizza. 

Great toppings

Whatever I took it to work with me cause I had eaten half of my pizza, VGirl had half of hers and kindly gave me the rest of hers since she didn't want it. T., when she had it work gave it high praise, she said it was an excellent pizza, that it was as good as stuff she had eaten in Sicily and that she would bring her family here if they were in Brisbane. High praise from a proud Italian girl!

Sorellina
Atmosphere: 6, an informal pizzeria where you can get tanked and eat good pizza with mates. Not for date night.
Service: 6, solid, the chefs seem to work dually as both service staff and chefs in a pinch.
Food: 9, amazingly good pizza! Ignore that garlic bread though, go straight for any of their pizzas!

Seven South

I was prompted to go to this place by Instagram and one of my work mates who is a food blogger too! Her instagram name is SouthEastEats and she's a big deal. Unfortunately we were on very different shifts so I went straight after nights with a friend of mine called W., and K.,!

Parking is a bit sparse, it's a weird little shopping strip in the middle of suburbia. Leg it, if you're unlucky.

Look out for this place!

I like the look of the place though! Nice, brightly lit cafe with minimalist furniture and lots of little plants everywhere. Steal Zomato's menu!

I got this juice and I have no idea what it is. Just from the picture, I can already say I didn't like it because it is ridiculously fluffy. I hate fluffy drinks.

MINT >:

This was K.,'s meal, fried potato and parmesan hotcakes, poached eggs, avocado aioli, poached eggs and your choice of bacon or hot smoked salmon. She got the hot smoked salmon! They had a lovely fresh yolk on these eggs which I forgot to take a photo of. We were both a bit iffy about the potato cakes due to their lack of all over frying, just a shallow pan fry for these poor things! I want crunchy hash brown type potatos for my breakfast please! I think the salmon could have done with a strong smoke flavour too.

Bwah

W., got this dish, char grilled seasonal greens, kale, salsa verde, haloumi and poached eggs on the side. She wanted a fresh option for breakfast, this just looks like a salad gone rogue to me. She doesn't eat out much besides all Asian foods so she had actually never had kale, haloumi or poached eggs before which was interesting to watch haha. She said that she liked this dish but she freaked out over poached eggs and I ended up eating them. I find a lot of traditional Asian people balk at the idea of eating uncooked eggs, which is weird cause we will eat a lot of weird stuff given the chance.

So healthy for breakfast :/

I got this fancy avo on toast, with spiced pepitas, goats feta, smoked salmon and their pumpkin bread. I will stick my foot down and say that cold smoked salmon is my one true love, not hot smoked! The flavour in hot smoked is too mild for my liking and the fatty texture is all gone when they hot smoke it too. This goats feta wasn't too bad, not super goaty/strong on the taste buds like many can be. My pepitas were actually shelled unlike another breakfast joint I won't care to mention!

Lime!

Seven South
Atmosphere: 8, gorgeous little cafe! I love this kind of design.
Service: 5, nothing special.
Food: 7, nothing was bad, nothing was particularly enjoyable but nothing was poorly done? There is actually very little on the menu that I would say I wanted to eat? Mostly because its predominantly sweets or vegetables and I'm a big breakfast kinda girl. Give it a crack but I wouldn't go back here again personally, a swing and a miss!

The Establishment

Imma start off by saying this is my favourite Italian place in Brisbane because its pretty cheap, has huge portions and I like people watching in West End. I definitely prefer this place for dinners but their breakfast dishes are pretty huge too. It's easy to get to being on the Boundary St intersection opposite the Commonwealth Bank. Park at the Coles and run!

This place!

They have a massive wall of coffee!

Ah!

Here is some of their menu. I honestly forgot to take photos, thinking I had already had them. My bad. Anyway I got a really strong mocha with an extra shot to survive the the drive home.

<3

I got a serve of chorizo scrambled eggs with spinach, mushrooms and a massive slab of sourdough under there. The chorizo was a super fine dice which I wasn't happy about but there was a lot of it so I guess that kind of balanced it out. The eggs were really creamy with a soft curd. I have nothing else to say about this dish because it's something you can easily make at home but it also pretty tasty.

Spot the bread

There was a ridiculous amount of food and I failed to finish my food.

Woah

Dr. S., VGirl, JGirl, and myself went again after we went to the Lifeline Bookfest earlier this year. We wanted something in the area that was also a prime spot to watch the dodgy set of lights where there were numerous close calls with car crashes. Its a traffic light intersection where you CANNOT do a U-turn to get into Coles however, people attempt it anyway with near disastrous effects.

Here is their menu!

We got this freaking huge bowl of chips to start with as per VGirl's requests. Crispy hand cut chips! What more could you want!

Plus aioli and tomato sauce

We got these potato croquettes as well to share between us, I don't think they're on the menu any longer but they were pretty good as well.

Crunchy crunchy!

Next up were the arancini balls filled with mushrooms, pine nuts, parmiggano cheese and truffle oil. These came in a group of three that we split between the four of us. They were super hot and burnt our tongues in our haste to polish them off haha.

<3!

I can't remember who got this seafood fettucine, it came full of scallops, prawns and a super garlicky and bright tomato sauce. Like a ridiculous amount of seafood, we were feeding each other prawns and scallops for the length of the meal. There wasn't just the jumble on the top but also a whole heap inside the pasta nest as well. This giant portion wasn't finished, it was taken home for lunch the next day!

So much

This is VGirl's spinach and ricotta canneloni with a giant serve of balsamic vinegar drizzled garden salad, lots of rocket, tomato, purple onion, pine nuts and capsicum. As usual, VGirl didn't comment very much on her dish, her comment in it's entirety was, "its spinach and ricotta." She's not wrong I suppose, I don't have high expectations of spinach and ricotta dishes, I find it a bit of a bland combination. Too creamy and mild for my tastes, spinach and feta all the way. She liked the huge side salad though.

This blurry blob

JGirl ordered the chorizo and pesto gnocchi with sweet potato crisp, thats the crunchy pile on top! She adored this dish so much that she bought it again the next time we came here. We all had a lot of fun eating the super crunchy, deep fried sweet potato bits but I still miss the fluffiness of sweet potato. The sauce is very rich and creamy while the gnocchi is obviously homemade, so light and fluffy.

<3

Dr S., got gnocchi as well, the zucca! Roasted pumpkin, goats cheese, spinach, pine nuts and sun dried tomatoes, a perfect vegetarian assortment. Dr S., said that she never understood the appeal of gnocchi until she had this dish saying that the ones she had eaten in the past were rubbery and dense. Not like these fluffy square pillows, haha, not a pretty appearance but a great taste, right up my alley!

Shiny

I went again with just Dr S., and JGirl about a week later. We got this garlic bread as our entree. It needed more garlic, you should be able to see it! Not a fan of how they cut the bread as well, it makes it hard to share if you have two noticeably smaller pieces and a jumbo middle one.

Uneven cuts too

I got the jumbo lasagna and side salad, its not called jumbo lasagna, that's just obviously the freaking size of that slab. That's like, what your nonna feeds you when you come over for dinner and she thinks you look too thin. It was delicious, probably one of the best lasagnas I've had ever! Easily detected layers of beef and pork ragu, bechamel sauce, Napoli sauce and parmeggiano regiano sprinkled on top. I did not finish this and so I took the rest of it into work!

Yessss

Dr S., got the sand crab ravioli, a classic Brissie dish I feel! The sand crab ravioli were densely packed with sweet crab meat and covered in a gorgeous buttery sauce of burnt butter and sage. Honestly one of my favourite classic sauce flavours, I loved the piece that I got but compared to my dish, the serving size was underwhelming.

Haha food envy!

The Establishment
Atmosphere: 5, the corner of a busy intersection!
Service: 7, solid, they always check if we're enjoying our meal and top up the water quickly.
Food: 9, really delicious Italian food, cheap, plentiful and with a few more options than your traditional Italian restaurant! Put this one down as my fav Italian place in Brisbane!

Otello Trattoria and Pizzeria

Every time I go to Otello, I have just had plans cancelled by friends, its not the best association. I really only went to Otello because I was running out of places to go to in West End after my fortnightly haircut and massage.

Parking can be a bit of a pain since its West End, park in a nearby street or the local Coles and walk up.

This place!

Here is their menu! I got the diavola pizza, hot salami, mozzarella, capsicum and hot chilli flakes. While the edge of the crust had a very good flavour, I actually didn't enjoy it the pizza. I had quite a few reasons for the because the salami pieces were really stingy for one! They were torn pieces not whole slices and secondly the base!

Mistake

The mozzarella was a really high moisture one and so made most of the base almost unbearably wet and floppy. I despised that wet base, I love my pizzas able to sustain their own weight but this one was a wet noodle flopping around. Blergh.

So wet

I also got the arancini con bologanese, two arancini balls stuffed with bologanese and peas! It had a nice crisp crumb and gooey centre. The rice grains were perfectly cooked.

Two!

Innards shot

I went a second time, while they were running their $10 lunch promo and decided to take advantage of it by buying two mains for lunch! I got their salt and pepper calamari with aioli sauce. The calamari was very tender with an excellent crumbed coating with lots of salt and pepper. I thought their aioli could have been more garlicky but it was still smooth and creamy.

Not bad

I also got a margarita pizza to eat. I wish there was more basil on this pizza, more basil please! I didn't have the same issue with the super wet toppings that I had when I had the diavola pizza the first time around thankfully. The crust was light, chewy with a good wood fire char.

Not bad!

Otello Trattoria and Pizzeria:
Atmosphere: 5, I just sit at the front, I heard there's a back courtyard but I've never bothered heading back there.
Service: 4, a bit absent minded. Both occasions when I went in the middle of the day I had to wait around to be seated, served or had someone notice me at the front counter to pay. 
Food: 6, ehhh its average. Their pizzas are okay, their entrees are okay. You can get better service/food and atmosphere for the same price if you want to eat traditional Italian food in the Brisbane CBD. May I suggest Spaghetti House?

Julius Pizzeria

A*, Manda and I all caught up for the first time in ages, A* and Manda started working in different areas so we didn't get to catch up as much as we used to. A* suggested we go here since she loves going to Julius Pizzeria since its still magically open after her 12 hour shifts end. I booked us in online and off we went! We were very organised and had already decided on what we wanted to eat before we had even entered the restaurant ahaha.

Parking is a bit hard. Julius Pizzeria is located opposite the Sciencentre. Probs park in a backstreet of West End or South Brisbane and leg it.

Here is their menu!

This is the interior

We all agreed on the salame e fontina pizza, or rather, I forced everyone into buying that since fontina is in my top five favourite cheeses for its easy melt and strong, nutty flavour. You can see the crispy edges of the spicy salami below as well as the molten puddles of fontina all over the pizza. The crust was amazing, packed with so much flavour, a slight chew and ample smoky flavour. The funny thing is that this was A*., and Manda's favourite pizza while A*'s suggestion of the Tartufo pizza was my favourite!

Amazing

The Tartufo pizza was our second pick! Mozzarella, smokey bacon, mushrooms and truffle paste, its a match made in heaven! I really enjoyed this pizza because I love all the above, I can't even single out my favourite ingredient out of all those bits. It was a delicious pizza and despite my usually generous nature, I tried to hide my enjoyment of this pizza so I could eat more of it. 

That shadow is me, heavily breathing

Julius Pizzeria
Atmosphere: 7, a busy pizzeria! You can see into the kitchen and see the giant pizza oven at work.
Service: 7, really efficient, always on the prowl and quick to ask if you want dessert or additional drinks. I'm a sucker for that, if anyone asks me if I want another drink, the answer is always yes!
Food: 10, so good! Pizza toppings are ample, crusts are wood fired and delicious. I love this place but I still prefer the crusts at Sorellina. If you want an Italian style pizza with a bit of a modern twist, head here!