Queensland Restaurant Review: Canteen, Noosa Junction 5-7 January 2011

This unassuming cafe at Noosa Junction is always crowded during the peak summer period and by rights, should always be crowded.  Whilst not on the main drag at Hastings Street, and without the view of Gympie Terrace, it would be easy to over look this little gem at the junction.  However consider this: Canteen serves really fresh, honest food, has a lovely vibe and is littered with attentive but casually friendly staff.

The menu isn't huge but has a number of yummy-sounding breakfast and lunch options.  We made at least 3 visits over 3 days to this little beauty, having tried many others on Hastings Street.  By why queue for something inferior?

Over the course of the 3 visits we ordered several breakfast and lunch dishes:

Bircher muesli trifle.  I'm not sure why I don't make this for myself at home BUT I AM GOING TO START! Awesomeness disguised as a healthy, tasty treat:

Poached eggs with mushrooms, rocket & goats curd:

Big breakfast of poached eggs, bacon, chorizo, mushrooms, rocket, roasted tomato & tomato chutney. Heavenly flavours, although my dining companion noted the tomatoes were a little overdone.  We could overlook the overdone when the rest was so good:

Fried eggs with bacon, rocket & tomato:

[I am pleased to report that all the eggs were soft & runny]

Tomato tart tartin with goats cheese and caramelised onion (although truthfully, I couldn't taste any goats curd in the dish) which was beautifully presented and contained gorgeous, dark green rocket which was bursting with peppery-freshness (unlike some other recent destinations who chose to serve the older, yellowing variety):

Thai beef salad with cucumber, snow peas, coriander, tomato, cashews & nam jim dressing... A party of flavours and textures in one divine salad:

The kids shared the calamari with aioli (and I ate their orange & fennel salad):

and slurped chocolate milkshakes which contained illegal amounts of vanilla icecream & chockie sauce:

We all shared the chippies which were crunchy on the outside, soft & fluffy on the inside:

Oh.  And the coffee.  Very good indeed.  Apparently if you buy a coffee or juice you also get 1 hour of free internet too. 

Our visit to Noosa this year was short but personally I'm very glad we spent so much time at Canteen.  We'll definitely return next time we're in Noosa.

Canteen Cafe

Shop 24-6 Sunshine Beach Road

Noosa Heads, 4567

Ph:  07 5447 5400

 

Open 7 days: 7.30am-5.30pm, Closed Xmas Day and New Years Day

Sydney Restaurant Review: Cafe Sopra, Walsh Bay: 7 December 2010

This is one of my favourite restaurants, full stop.  I love everything about Cafe Sopra.  I love the big blackboard, the seemingly endless menu and the range of choices, including salads.  I love that unless you're seated right near it you need to stand up and move closer just to see what's in store for that day and by necessity, to give a polite smile to the diners near the blackboard.  I love the small deli-come-fresh-food grocer on the other side of the restaurant which provides much of the fresh produce for the restaurant (or is that the other way around?).  I love that occasionally you can indulge in some celeb-spotting. And I love the food and wine.

We sat down, pre-theatre, and ordered caprioskas.  They were sweet, limey and not at all alcoholic tasting, which is just about perfect (and dangerous) in the mild weather that day.  Like drinking summer.

Quite often I have trouble choosing something from the blackboard, as there are so many delicious-sounding dishes. Tried and true or new?  Talk about first world problems!

In order to achieve a win-win situation with my other two dining companions (who are large, fit men with decent appetites) we decided to order a few entrees and share.  First cab off the rank was the parma ham with fresh figs to celebrate summer.  The figs were sweet and honey-like, the ham deliciously soft, salty and creamy.  We were off to a perfect start.

Then came the stuffed zucchini flowers with Italian cheeses.  OMG!  I failed to ask what cheeses those babies were stuffed with but I suspect one of Sopra's current faves, gorgonzola, was invited to the cheese-stuffing party.

We also opted to share the salad of shaved baby cabbage with reggiano & aged balsamic on the recommendation of our very charming waiter.  And he was right, despite its lacklustre look.  It was simple but oh-so-good.  The crunch of the baby cabbage was a perfect marriage with the salty reggiano & sweet balsamic.  When my dinner guests weren't looking I reckon I scoffed half of this salad.

As were were sharing starters (and some were high in cals), the dish I chose for my main was an old fave: the white anchovy salad with asparagus, tomato & vino cotto.  It was, as always, perfect.  The salty but comparatively creamy white anchovies, the fresh slightly acidic, but ripe tomatoes and the sweetness of the vino cotto and the asparagus, capers and touch of basil all combined into the perfect summer salad (okay, okay, I exorcised the raw onion).  I felt like I was eating summer.

My companions ordered the smoked chicken & sweet corn risotto with pecorino.  It tasted fantastic, its just a pity the presentation was a little lacking.  Cafe Sopra do food so well I was surprised by the look of this dish, especially since we eat with not only our mouths, but our eyes:

My mate did polish off the whole dish however so I guess that the proof is in the eating.

My other companion ordered the whole baked trout with mint and marjoram.  It was declared to be one of the best fish he has ever tasted.  I loved my salad but had immediate dish-envy.

After all that food we were, to coin a phrase, as full as a fat lady's shoe.  However, I'm so glad we ordered the dessert of lemon sorbet with strawberry puree and prosecco.  It was like heaven in a glass and would also make an entirely wicked cocktail.  All those bubbles. All that pink!  Frothy strawberry-lemony perfection. How could you not be happy with this to finish the meal? 

I thought our night couldn't get much better, but as we said a fond farewell to one of my favourite Sydney restaurants and waddled over to the Sydney Theatre, a limo passed us and the occupants emerged just as we entered Sydney Theatre.  Jake, next time I recommend you skip room service and dine at Cafe Sopra at Walsh Bay instead.......

Cafe Sopra @ Fratelli Fresh
16 Hickson Rd

Walsh Bay 
ph. 8243 2777 (no bookings, so we recommend getting there early to avoid queuing)

Monday - Friday 11am - 7pm

Saturday, Sunday 10am - 7pm

customerservice@fratellifresh.com.au

Gold Coast Restaurant Review: Little Beans, Nobbys Beach 2 January 2011

I was a teensy bit excited about discovering some of the cafes in the Naked Guide given my initial success with Vintage Espresso.  Even though technically I discovered Vintage Espresso all by myself, without the Naked Guide.  Whatevs....  The Naked Guide promised a whole lot of hidden gems in tucked away places on the Goldie that only the locals would be lucky enough to know about and I was keen to try them out.

The take away Merlo coffee I bought from Little Beans earlier that day was piping hot and promised proprietors who knew their stuff.

I arrived with my good friend and 2 slightly sick & cranky kids who desperately needed a change of scenery away from the tv & nintendo screens. 

We sat on a lounge with a coffee table between us and the vibe was relaxed and friendly.  A nice start.

The lunch menu was a bit sparse and didn't offer anything I was interested in, so I went the Vego Nosh, comprising poached eggs, avocado, mushroom, roast tomato, potato rosti & toast.  I figured since this cafe was listed in the Naked Guide the toast situation would be higher than the usual standard.  The kids both ordered bacon & eggs. My mate ordered the Little Beans Special Salad with roasted beetroot, baby beets, roasted walnuts, fetta, baby watercress, mustard greens & house dressing.  That would have been my second choice.

Bacon & eggs was fairly basic:

...however only one out of 4 eggs was runny.  Shame.  And the packet butter was molten.

Next came the Vego Nosh (with a strawberry on top. What the?).  I was relieved by the sight of my half roasted tomato.  Excitedly, I cut into my poached eggs and BOTH yolks were hard.  Gah!  I had to trade a soft poached egg with a generous child in exchange for post-breakfast gelato. The things I do.

Sadly, the packet potato rosti also disappointed.  It was so deep fried that it there was no soft potato on the inside, it was oily and crunchy all the way through.  Like a big, fat, oily, packet hash brown.  Wait a minute.  It was a big, fat oily, packet hash brown. More potato crisp than potato rosti.

The mushies, spinach and avocado were all fine so I concentrated on those.  My toast was also sub-par due to the fact that it was merely bread whacked on the grill so lacked the necessary crunch that toast should have (in my opinion anyway).  It was just like bread popped on the grill for a minute or two.  Funny that.

My friend's salad was lacking in the volume of baby watercress that she had expected and the bed of mustard greens (rocket) had seen better days and was starting to yellow (as was the watercress).  I know that it's really hard to keep lettuces perky for more than a day in the heat of summer in Queensland, but I don't think food businesses should use this as an excuse, particularly when we're paying $17.50 for the privilege of the salad.  More disappointment unfortunately.

The atmosphere was relaxed & friendly as was the service, however I don't think I'll return. Maybe for a take away coffee. Or I noticed that the cafe is now open some nights and has live music, so perhaps with its relaxed vibe its a better spot for a few drinks & some late night groovin'....

Little Beans Cafe & Lounge Bar

5/ 2215 Gold Coast Highway, 

Nobbys Beach

Ph: (07) 5572 0844

Gold Coast Restaurant Review: Yellowfin Restaurant, Broadbeach 30 December 2010

If this restaurant wasn't on twitter and I hadn't tweeted with Staci, then I probably wouldn't have tried it.  Yellowfin Restaurant is just around the corner from the main restaurant drag at Broadbeach and looks somewhat less dressed up than some of it's swankier neighbours.  However, you should never judge a book by its cover and before arriving I had checked out their website and seen the seafood that was on offer, which looked fresh, generous and tasty.

We arrived with kids, ordered the food and didn't have to wait long.  Our American waitress (whose name I have now since forgotten, sorry!) was breezy, smiley and helpful.  Sadly Staci was on cocktail duty at 1two3 Restaurant that night, which sounds like an excellent excuse to try 1two3! 

It didn't take long for our our entree (and kids meals) to arrive.  Ace, I love that.

The dozen Hervey Bay scallops were plump & juicy and the sun dried tomato topping was a lovely accompaniment and didn't overwhelm the flavour of the scallop.  Our 8 year old even declared them to be delicious.

I ordered wild barramundi with a chickpea salad whilst hubby ordered battered squire with balsamic salad.  We asked what a squire was and our lovely waitress informed us it was like a baby snapper.  Hubby apparently heard "snapper" and ignored the "battered" bit.

The barra was wonderfully moist with the crispiest skin I've ever eaten and I'm a big fan of crispy skin fish.  The chicpea salad (with tomato and eggplant) was lovely with hints of cumin & other middle eastern spices.  Although I love my greens, I think the dish could have done without the broccoli, or at least been served on the side.  The greens were a little overwhelming and the flavour didn't really marry with any of the other flavours in the dish.  So I'm going to say that a little bowl of broccoli on the side would have been preferable. 

When hubby's dish arrived he was surprised that it was battered, but as I mentioned, the waitress had described it as being battered.  It's not something I'd ever order in a restaurant.  Too much battery batter, too much like fish & chip shop fare for me.

However once hubby could peel back some of the batter and dig into the bed of balsamic salad, he was swooning.  Swooning! 

The kids ordered calamari & chips and neither could finish their serves.  They were generous and the calamari was fresh and piled high.

So: never judge a book by its cover.  Yellow Fin Dining may not be as glitzy or cool as some other Broadbeach restaurants, but it does serve beautifully fresh, well cooked seafood, with generous portion sizes and lovely service.  A good honest Gold Coast Restaurant that I'd be happy to return to with the family.

Yellowfin Seafood Restaurant

6/20 Queensland Ave.
Broadbeach Q 4218

Ph: 07 5504 5335
Fax: 07 5504 5336
Function enquiries - justine@yellowfinrestaurant.com.au

Gold Coast Restaurant Review: Crema Espresso, Main Beach 1 January 2011

 The morning of 1 January is traditionally not a time when I'd get up and "seize the day", however I was keen to embrace the New Year with energy, enthusiasm and a healthy attitude.  3 months on the Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation program also helped with a positive mindset and eliminating excuses not to exercise or be healthy.

JFDI was the mantra of the day. Just Friggin Do It!

So despite the wind, the rain and the special fine sand that was whipped up by the rain to land with a *sting* on ones lower legs, we walked for 40 mins in the rain before we could take no more.  We were drenched and in search of food, water & shelter.

We ducked into Crema Espresso on Tedder Avenue, Main Beach. We'd had good coffee there before  and were keen to repeat our previous, positive experience.

I ordered poached eggs, tomato, toast with a side order of spinach, whilst hubby ordered eggs benedict with smoked salmon.  It was too late in the day for coffee for me, but hubby ordered a latte.  It almost never seems to late in the day for him to drink coffee.

My eggs tasted a little like the vinegar they'd been poached in.  And a few words on the tomato.  When the menu says "Eggs poached...with tomato and toast" I had imagined my tomato being a plump little half tomato (at least), either cooked on the grill or roasted.  Even a whole, halved cooked tomato perhaps.  But a slice? Granted, it was cooked.  But what was on the plate was a stingy portion (garnish?) and certainly not enough to warrant a mention on the menu.  Pfft.  It's not like tomatoes are $20 a kilo around these parts.  I think they're $4 a kilo, retail at the moment. Double pfft.  And I know it's nit-picky, but my spinach had a slightly dodgy yellowish bit in it.  Don't the staff see that?

The toast was simply toasted multigrain with butter already on it.  I like to butter my own toast, if at all, but perhaps I should have thought of that when ordering.   The choice was white or multigrain, which is a bit ordinoire.  It would be nice to have turkish or a little sourdough to get the toast party started.

The eggs benedict was better. No complaints there.  But see in the photo?  There is a garnish of tomato.

The latte, was apparently a thumbs up.

Would we rush back?  Hmm.  The coffee is good so we may grab a take away coffee there again, however I think there are some other cafes on Tedder that we'll try first before we hurry back.  Or maybe we'll just take a flick through the Naked City Guide to the Gold Coast and discover a few more hidden gems.

Crema Espresso
27 Tedder Avenue
Ph: 07 5526 4858