House of Hygge

Camdog is a devout Danish person. She is obnoxiously patriotic, she's the kind of person to proudly declare her Danish heritage at any possible moment. We received a container of those Danish butter cookies at work, she tells us they are made in Copenhagen from DANISH BUTTER.

DANISH

Number one restaurant in the world is Noma and its head chef!? Rene Redzepi FROM DENMARK.

Stolen from wiki

What does she also bring to work parties? My spinach dip you say? No, its RISALAMANDE, Danish rice pudding.

Stolen from Nordic Living

The Sydney Opera House? Designed by a DANISH PERSON.

Stolen from the Sydney Herald

So when I said there was a new Danish restaurant in town, she said she would go with me before she even knew what was on the menu or where it was. When I said it was near the West End vet, it was easy for us to get to. The other funny thing is that her parents and brother had all separately come to this cafe before she had even told them about it. Also there is a ton of street parking nearby, mostly up the hill.

*To be honest, Camdog only said the first bit about the butter cookies and some rando actor. She also told me some other facts but they turned out to be all incorrect when I was finding the photos.

Their coffee!

They are dog friendly!

Yay

Camdog was tickled pink when she heard of their name. She tried to explain what "hygge" meant, its kinda like a cosy feeling/relaxed vibe, like when you spend a rainy day indoors reading a book, or when you just relax with friends with a few brewskis late at night. According to her, its synonymous in Denmark for that feeling, you describe the situation as "hygge". Google says it means enjoying the good things in life and warm atmosphere so her descriptions were pretty spot on eh?

A description

Yay!

Here is their menu! Here is a legible version of the menu.

Camdog went absolutely nuts when she saw this chocolate. Its apparently a super thin chocolate spread that you can eat with bread. She bought home a box for her dad to eat.

?_?

Flowers at every table

We got there a bit early to have their lunch which is what really wanted to eat since we wanted to have their smorrebrod and risalamonde combo, they had like four different toppings on their risalamande besides the traditional sour cherry and almond combo! Camdog is a fiend for remoulade to the extent that her family have been fined by Australian customs for attempting to sneak it back into the country.

Anyway, she got the smashed avocado, mushrooms and balsamic vinegar onto of a dense rye bread. She said the taste took her back to Denmark and her best friend Lara's mum's rye bread, the perfect start to the day. We both agreed that the best way to have avo on toast is if people presmash it for you, none of this fanned bullshit.

!!!

I wanted something a bit more substantial so I got the Monte Cristo toastie, shaved leg ham, seeded mustard, swiss and havarti cheese, sharp dill pickles on top of toasted Turkish bread. They apparently coated it in egg wash before frying it but I didn't realise notice any difference. I had in mine like a savoury French toast style toastie, which really sounds amazing doesn't it? Those crispy, frilly edges would have been amazing. The flavour combination reminds me exactly of what I do at home when I have toasties so I was very happy.

Mmm bread

House of Hygge
Atmosphere: 7, brightly light, small cafe. Probably higher if you're Danish, cause Camdog was estatic.
Service: 5, friendly but unwilling to part with their remoulade even when Camdog wanted to buy it.
Food: 8, portions are a touch on the small side but delicious anyway. Defs would go back to try some more of their food or to see what a snapshot of Denmark is like!

Kitchen Inn

S* and I usually gossip like crazy during our walk to our cars. We hadn't seen each other in quite a while so we decided to go out to dinner together. S* promised me that this place had the best noodles in Brisbane and she regularly made the trip out to Calamvale from Kangaroo Point just to eat it. So with that in mind, I had to go didn't I?

Steal the menu from Zomato. The restaurant is on the corner of the Calamvale shopping centre, so there's lots of parking! Just don't do what S* did and park on the wrong road. She ended up parking on the road above the shopping centre and had to hop off the rocks to get down.

I got teh C special, I have no idea what it stands for but it tastes delicious! Some type of strong black tea with condensed milk to sweeten it. I really enjoyed this and would drop by for this to takeaway if I'm in the area! On googling, I found it its red tea, evaporated milk and brown sugar mixed in.

<3

S* told me buys the same thing each and every time she goes here. She tried it once and has never gotten anything else since then. It's the kolo mee special! Homemade wheat noodles, barbecue pork, pork mince and prawns. The noodles are the same as the one in my dish, super long, springy, with a slight chew to their texture, they were amazing! The toppings were very generous as well, to the extent that S* ended up taking half of it home, the bowl was endless!

It comes with this generic vegetable soup.

Ah yes

I got the braised pork rib and chili kolo mee, there was a ridiculous amount of dried chili in this dish! I ended up pulling out almost 20 pieces of red chili out, thankfully they just added a good smokiness to the dish and a bit of spice too! It had a thick, dark sauce that coated the noodles very well. I have no idea what you call this cut of pork, Google tells me they're called rib tips! Those knobbly, chewy, white gristly bits are well beloved of most Asians out there.

Mmm pork

I got the fried chicken, juicy, covered in a light battered and brined to perfection. They came with a solid chili sauce and I ate nearly all the plate by mself!

$8 bargain

Kitchen Inn
Atmosphere: 5, your local Asian takeway. 
Service: 5, nothing special.
Food: 8. solid food. Super cheap, huge portions and delicious. Defs go here again.

Barefoot Barista

Jubi bought an apartment down in Palm Beach! She finally invited me over between her hectic schedule working part time and studying full time for her Masters! We took a walk through the main strip and on her recommendation, went to Barefoot Barista.

This place!

We managed to sneak in towards the end of the lunch rush and pretty much had the place to ourselves. We sat out the back and got right into catching up.

Lots of dark wood

Here is their menu! Jubi got an iced latte, she said it was nice and strong.

Solid

I got this Berry Nice One smoothie, raspberry, blueberry and coconut two ways smoothie. I didn't like it, I found that it tasted very bland and that I had very large chunks of ice blocking my straw.

?_? why toasted coconut

I ended up going for lunch rather than breakfast. I got their pulled pork, charred corn salsa, chipotle mayo and coleslaw board. I really enjoyed this meal, except I somehow never expected it to be DIY tacos? I was expecting more of a burrito bowl kinda thing. I also suck at wrapping tacos, I end up getting bits everywhere. The pork was really juicy and went really well with the smokiness of the mayo. I really enjoyed the freshness of the corn salsa and now I make it all the time for my work lunches haha. I did find that the amount of taco shells I got, was not enough! Maybe that is because I put so little filling in them :(

Great!

Jubi got the Sunday Roast salad, chicken breast, roasted pumpkin, peas, rocket, radicchio, cos lettuce and a mustard dressing. Jubi loves roasted pumpkin and so was disappointed when she received this because she wanted a lot more pumpkin than the one she received. She said that the chicken breast was a touch dry and was disappointed in the size of her dish, since mine was much more substantial.

Light

Barefoot Barista:
Atmosphere: 7, I like bright spaces and dark wood haha. Its a good spot to catch up with friends.
Service: 5, I don't recall it.
Food: 7. only because I liked what I had meal wise but not drink and Jubi had the opposite opinion. So a bit mixed. Definitely give this place a shot though.

Limon Restaurant

Without a doubt, Limon is my local. More so than Seoul Bistro was due to its proximity with my home. Just a quick nip down the road for a place where we will always have a table, an excellent feed for a cheap price and where everyone we bought has had a good time. I have probably been here about six times, most of which I have stopped taking photos because I end up ordering this same thing. I've also tried nearly everything on their menu. The only thing I don't like about the place is parking is limited.

Limon has an extremely dingy sign, its not neon but watch out for fairy lights and you'll be right.

The interior is a simple little affair, lots of red patterned table tops that can be easily assembled for more seating space! Here is their menu!

With our powers combined!

This is the start of every meal I have there. Their very excellent dips platter! So from the top going clockwise its baba ganoush, a lovely smokey number, cecik, yoghurt, garlic and cucumber, hummus, the king of dips and then cemen, a spicy and salty capsicum and walnut number. My favourite is usually baba ganoush but I actually love the cacik here, its amazing with their bread. The dips platter is a meal in itself basically!

The dips!

For an extra $2 you can get it changed from regular Turkish bread to wonderful cheesy garlic Turkish bread. That's not even a choice, it's such a bargain! The Turkish bread here is baked on site and has a wonderful crust and fluffiness. I love Turkish bread so much, it's the leading reason for my fear of braces, the fear that I might not be able to eat bread afterwards with braces insitu.

The bread!

These are the sigara bogregi, little filo pastry wrapped herb, feta and ricotta cheese delights. I wish they were just bigger, but they have a lovely crunch from being deep fried and the salty creaminess of the cheeses is lightened with the taste of dill and mint. I'd just like a bigger serve please, like an entire bowl of them.

We sat outside, pardon the lighting

This was one time when we just got a vegetarian mezze platter for sharing because we weren't that hungry for some reason. It has haloumi, a fresh garden salad, mixed olives, baba ganoush, hummus, cacik, falafal, stuffed vine leaves and tiny sigara bogregi. Its basically a very good entree for a couple haha.

Noice

I really love this lamb cutlet dish, the lamb is frenched beautifully with not a skerrick of meat left behind, there's a perfectly medium rare lollipop of tender lamb meat with a gloriously puddle of creamy mustard sauce that I slather onto the mashed potato and spinach that the lamb rests upon. For a meal that's basically meat and three veg, its a cracked of a dish. I could drink that sauce down, sometimes I buy an extra serve of sauce and just drown my potatoes in it. The lamb cutlets are small, but when are they ever really tomahawk steak size?

<3

I have no idea what this is. I have a feeling the menus changed since I've last been. I can guess what it is from the photo, but you can too. So that's all I have to say on the matter.

What is this even? Lamb?

VGirl's favourite dish is this falafal plate, six blobs of falafel, Turkish bread, tabbouleh and cecik. This has since been revamped a bit but the idea is still the same. My pick for best falafel in Brisbane is still for King Ahiram in West End but these aren't bad either.

VGirl's fav

Oh man, the Limon style Istanbul kebab is not something I can take lightly, I can NEVER finish this in one sitting. Chips, Turkish bread, a fresh garden salad, haloumi, marinated lamb with capsicum and onion. You get it initially and mock the tiny serving of meat before taking it all home in a takeaway container.

#dying

We failed hard. It makes for a fine second dinner too, might I add!

Failed!

I loved this giant lamb steak with mustard sauce, rice and salad that used to be on the menu. I'm super sad that it's been removed as it was my favourite dish. It was this giant hunk of meat that they grilled to perfection, so tender! You shall be sorely missed giant lamb steak.

Miss you babe.

This is a picture of one of their specials from ages ago, a veggie stack. VGirl was very excited because she never gets the option of a vegetarian special. She hoovered it up and has pined for it ever since.

!!!

Limon Restaurant 
Atmosphere: 5, nothing fancy, brightly lit inside despite its dark interior and big enough inside for lots of people.
Service: 7, really good service actually. Even single time I'm here, the waiters are super friendly and happy to explain anything. 
Food: 10, I love this place. My family go here all the time for good reason! 

Popolo Italian Kitchen and Bar

VGirl has an Italian's love of arancini! She always orders it when we go out because it is nearly always vegetarian and its deep fried, two of her basic dietary requirements. So we have been meaning to go to Popolo Italian Kitchen and Bar in Southbank for quite the while but balked at both parking and the price. We scored one of like four parks nearby having gone straight from our respective works, car pooling at VGirl's and then legging it the rest of the way. Southbank is a menace for parking!

Here is their menu! It has a nice view of the Brisbane river, but it can make it quite chilly at times. Luckily they have giant space heaters everywhere to warm things up.

I invested all my points in food photography

This is their tre formaggi aracini, aka three cheese aracini with roasted pumpkin puree, the three cheeses were taleggio, gorgonzola and parmesan! As a result these aracini were super cheesy with a delicious long stretch that I forgot to photograph. The best part for both of us was the roasted pumpkin puree, I don't know why but when you mix cream and pumpkin it makes this intense kinda mac n cheese sauce feel. We were both fighting over the last bits of puree and I think VGirl may have licked the plate to get the last of it.

Highly recommended!

For once, I wasn't a butthole and got a vegetarian main so VGirl could try some. I got this ravioli con zucca e ricotta, basically pumpkin and ricotta filled ravioli, tossed in a brown butter and sage sauce topped with amaretti crumb and more roasted pumpkin puree. We both liked the silkiness and thinness of this fresh pasta used in their ricotta. I always love a good butter and sage sauce and this one wasn't sitting in a pool of it which is nice. I didn't like the amaretti crumb, it was really sweet and we both didn't understand its inclusion. The pumpkin puree was the same as in the arancini!

Solid!

Haha, I guess if you're vegetarian prepare for pumpkin? VGirl got the pan fried gnocchi, which came with parmesan shaved over the top and more pumpkin puree! She said she liked the lightness of this gnocchi and still was enjoying the pumpkin puree haha.

Golden crust!

Popolo
Atmosphere: 5, we got there super early around 6pm so I can't really say. Its near the river and seems like a good spot to have dinner with friends. Not sure how the noise carries though?
Service: 5, we got our food! Nothing else to say really.
Food: 7, pretty good! Everything we had was pretty tasty but I don't think I'd go here again strictly for the price. We can get cheaper Italian elsewhere!

Purple Olive

It was T.,'s birthday recently! She decided to go the Purple Olive and so there were quite a few of us girls and boys from work who attended her birthday dinner. I had to nip off pretty early on as I had night shifts to go to but it was pretty fun to have a chat with everyone outside of work.

Park on the side streets of James Street's main strip and proceed to leg it to the restaurant! Here is their menu.

I got there late like 45 minutes late because I forgot how bad traffic was coming into the city at that time. Everyone was still happily chatting away though so I managed to get my order in at the same time as everyone else. I decided to go with the special of the day, gnocchi with brown butter sauce, crispy sage, roasted pumpkin bits and shavings of parmesan. The gnocchi were soft and fluffy. I was a bit sad that the brown butter sauce was so bland, it needed a good whack of salt to make it more delicious. There were very small pieces of sweet caramelised pumpkin but I wanted a lot more! It was a delicious entree but I was starving and was definitely a very entree sized entree.

Special of the night!

I got the espresso milkshake as I knew I was going to have to leave for night shifts straight after. Considering it was supposed to be moderately fancy with icecream and cream, it just tasted like a cold milky coffee and not a particularly strong one at that.

Expresso shake!

T., got these zucchini fritters, they were coated in a very little batter. That's all I have to say, they were cooked. I don't see the point of getting this dish, it needs a sauce or something.

Tongs!

W., got this pizza, it was proscuitto and mushroom. He said it was quite salty from the ingredients used. There were only four slices so I didn't bother asking for a slice.

Uneven toppings

I got this quattro fromagi pizza, your classic four cheese pizza with a topping of rocket and it also had proscuitto added on top. I definitely agreed with what W., said, I found this pizza quite salty due to combo of the strong cheese and the proscuitto. Even with the rocket, I found it to be quite salty and I'm a girl who loves her salt. The crust on the pizza is pretty good though.

I've had better

These were the spaghetti con polette della nonna, Nonna's meatballs with spaghetti basically. I think L., ordered these and we were concerned at the giant size of the meatballs that they would be over cooked or even worse under cooked. They were okay, that's kind of all we had to say, not dry, not moist, not salty but not super bland? They were a solid average.

?_?

Purple Olive
Atmosphere: 5, intimate setting as you can see from my dull lighting. 
Service: 6, I was pretty happy that they allowed me to split the bill since I left early. 
Food: 5, I didn't enjoy anything I ate here barring the gnocchi, I felt the portions were quite small and overpriced. I was still hungry on leaving here despite having been the only person to eat an entree, an entire milkshake and a main pizza. I didn't get anything else because I knew I would eat at work later and had already paid about $40~ dollars for an unfilling dinner :(