EAT STREET MARKETS | macarthur avenue central, hamilton

Eat street markets boast an international variety of market style food ranging from your standard German sausages to delectable paella to funky Japanese pizzas. My friends and I went out one Saturday to check this place out and we were certainly not disappointed. The markets has two big hangers that hosted almost 20+ food stalls with cute litter fairy lights on the roof for ambiance. There was so many food stalls and not enough stomachs to be able to try everything - I really wanted to try the paella and also some of the Asian cuisine. But alas, not enough stomach for so much food!

It's definitely great for grabbing a big group of friends and having a casual Saturday (or Friday) night out.

PEARL | Logan Rd, Wolloongabba

Nicole and I went to brunch one Saturday morning with the original plan of heading to The Crosstown Eating House. However, to my dismay, I discovered that it has recently rescinded it's usual offer of breakfast and is now back to a strict lunch/dinner menu only. We walked up and down trying to find another cute cafe to try out taste buds on and there were a few littered amongst the high end decor stores that seemed utterly delectable.

We ended up choosing Pearl which has also been on my wish list for a while. It was easily the busiest out of all the little cafes. It offered both inside and outside (dog friendly) seating. I was pretty disappointed with the menu to be honest - it was very limited and the price was rather expensive for what is essentially a scrambled eggs and toast type selection. I ordered a mocha and Nicole ordered a freshly squeezed orange juice. They came quickly but I was disappointed in both the size and the taste (Nicole concurred). Nicole ordered a zucchini & preserved lemon fritter, house cured salmon, goat curd and poached eggs. I ordered an omelet, crisp artichoke, tomme de chevre, sage oil and fresh lemon. The dish was average. For what it was, it was rather expensive. Nicole's dish, although much bigger, in proportion was nothing spectacular for the price we paid for it. 

A little bit dry, a little bit sour and a little bit pretentious, Pearl Cafe was definitely nothing worth the hype.

PAW PAW | corner of Potts St and Stanley St, Woolloongabba

Ever since going to Foxy Bean I spied this cute little cafe across the street and have been wanting to go. My friend and I went one rainy morning and to reminisce about workplace glories/blues. I love the openness of the cafe with the side facing the street as open glass windows that span from roof to floor. It lets in a lot of natural light that adds to the green and golden bamboo wallpaper and the wooden furnishings. We got seated near the window and ordered drinks: Nicole ordered a latter and I ordered a Charlie's White Peach and Passionfruit juice. 

Although brunch hadn't officially finished, we ended up ordering from the lunch menu instead. Lucky for us, we got to try out the new Paw Paw menu which was released only about 1 week ago. I ordered the Paw Paw Burger  (prime beef with roasted field mushroom, avocado, swiss cheese, rocket and smokey BBQ sauce on a toasted bap, served with shoestring fries) and my friend ordered the Grilled Fish (grilled fillet of snapper with a mango salsa and smashed fried potato served with aioli). The dishes came out a bit longer than I expected (or was i just hungry?). 

My burger was great! So big that i had to split it half and eat it like a open grill instead. Prime beef pattie was rather dry and tasteless. The highlight was probably the field mushroom and shoestring fries. The next time I'm going, I'm definitely ordering something from the brunch menu.

16TH ON PARK | Park Rd, Milton

The following is an extremely belated post. The lovely girls from my church took me out for high tea at 16th on Park (after hearing me complain that in my 23 years of feminity, I have never indulged myself in a girly high tea with the girlfriends). I honestly can't remember how good the food tastes but the photographic evidence suggest that is was a splendid afternoon!

The patisserie, cakes, sandwiches and tea were all exquisitely executed. We have a lovely time being girly - talking about our lives, discussing the future and giggly about memories shared. What more could you ask for than Sunday afternoon cake and tea with your bestest friends?

SHUCKED COFFEE HOUSE | Creswell St, Newstead

I've been wanting to try this place out for a very long time but have never found the right time or people to come along with me! One particular drizzly Saturday afternoon, Oliver, Rach and I ventured out into Newstead to try this funky cafe out. Parking was easy for once (thank goodness!) and free - which made the  dining experience that much more pleasant. The coffee house spans over two spaces - one that is quintessentially cafe styled and the other is like a teen crash pad. The cafe is fitted with a 60s wallpaper with equally decade appropriate tables and chairs. It's quite small and cosy so if it may get crowded on a busy Sunday morning. 

Rach chose for us seats on the bunker side. To me, it looked like a mechanic's garage that had random bits of furniture littered across it with some teenage delinquent's graffiti art on the far wall (but that's not to say that I didn't like it!). It lacked textiles and warmth but I guess if you wanted that sort of feel, you could easily just step through the door (and do a time warp) into the main cafe area.

It didn't take us long to decide on what to eat. I ordered The Three Monks (eggs benedict with hollandaise sauce & spinach with mushroom), Rach ordered Harry's Hash (sweet potato hash with poached egg, wilted spinach & tomato relish) while Oliver did not deviate from his carb-loaded norm and ordered the pasta special of the day- spaghetti cabonara. I ordered a lime and lychee fruit shake and a Rach ordered an OJ. 

I loved my lunch- the hollandaise went well with the eggs benedict, spinach and mushroom. It was looked with not too much oil and it was just the right about of sauce/oil for me. I would definitely come here again- and maybe try out another dish from the breakfast menu!

ANOUK | Givens Terrace, Paddington

Ellen and I had our monthly catchup lunch at Anouk. Now I've been here once before and sad to say it did not win me over despite the raves on numerous reviews, websites and also from friends. I was hoping this time would be better.

We came late Sunday afternoon for lunch and it was great to see the crowds gone for once. We got ushered to a table on the corner (ironically the same table that I sat the last time) and ordered our meals. After much deliberation, I ordered the open steak sarnie with haloumi, bacon, egg, onion, beet jam and sweet curls and Ellen ordered maple and tamarind wagyu beef, israeli couscous, salty lemon, apricot and almonds. For drinks I had a mango, passionfruit and pineapple juice and Ellen a skinny cappuccino. The drinks came out quickly. They say that the juices at Anouk is their signature but although my juice was really refreshing, it wasn't a particular standout compared to any other cafe in Brisbane. I forgot to ask Ellen how her coffee was but there was no complaints from her end do the table so I'm sure it wasn't too bad!

They said that the meals would take longer then expected but who was timing? I didn't realise it was a longer wait than usual but that could also be due to the fact that I had wonderful company and great conversation to pass time! The highlight of my dish would be the sweet potato chips which were absolutely delicious and addictive. The steak was a bit of a miss being overdone, dry and tasteless. The bacon, eggs and haloumi was so so- I've had better (cf Flute Fine Foods). Although the quality was not worth $20, the amount certainly makes up for it!

NATSUMI SUSHI | Underwood Rd, Rochedale South

I came here for a quick eat before I went out to watch The Great Gatsby. I did not know this place existed until Daniel introduced it to me. It's mainly a takeaway store with only a few limited seating. It's a self-serve restaurant where you look at the menu and place your order at the counter. The menu was comprehensive (although it boasts a lot of poorly worded/translated works and even more number of spelling errors) with all the usual things you could expect at a Japanese restaurant - sushi, sashima, udon, katsu don, yakitori etc etc. We ordered a bit of everything and as it was a Friday night, it took a while for the dishes to come out (especially with the every growing number of people coming in and ordering takeaway). 

When the dishes came out, I was surprised how delicious it was for what quintessentially is a takeaway shop. The angry crab sushi rolls were DELICIOUS and I would definitely go again just to eat that. My udon was a bit of a let down though as they piled on the jap mayo so all i could taste was mayonnaise - so disgusting. All in all, it was a good place for a quick cheap Japanese eat but if you are looking for class and a bit of ambiance - id suggest you look somewhere else.