The Ocean and Pure Berlin Collaboration: The 4 Hands Dinner

http://www.theocean.hk/#home & http://www.pure-berlin.com/en/about.html

Service and luxury begin long before you enter the front door of The Ocean restaurant over in beachside Repulse Bay.  It's a little known secret that I'm about to expose, but there is a limousine service available from the newly opened restaurant by fine dining restaurant group Le Comptior.  With a fleet of Tesla electric motor vehicles, the group combines luxury and an environmentally friendly approach that is reflected in the group's food philosophy.

Since my first visit to The Ocean, which was a little bit of a mixed bag (see post here), we've been over to Chef Agustin Balbi's fine dining seafood restaurant a couple of times.  It's fair to say that we've come to love the inventive styling of Chef Balbi and his dedication to creating delectable and creative plates of food, centering on seafood.  

So it was great excitement that we travelled from our apartment courtesy of the limousine service to the special collaboration event planned by Chef Balbi and the way-out-crazy-dudes from Pure Berlin.

If you've never heard of Pure Berlin, then your probably not alone, but the avant garde concept group  out of the German capital are looking to establish Germany as the next international culinary trend destination.  Chief idea maker of Pure Berlin and food designer Miles Watson (actually a Kiwi) had decided to take their ideas on the road and the collaborative meal at The Ocean was a stop on the tour.

The FoodMeUpScotty Top 10 of 2015 - Best Restaurants

Food Me Up Scotty 2015 Top Ten

It's hard to believe that my first year in Hong Kong is at an end.  It was exactly twelve months ago today that I hoped off the Qantas flight and stepped into my new life in Asia's most dynamic culinary city.  There are only a handful of cities around the world that truely have a reputation as being an epicentre for the culinary pursuits and Hong Kong just happens to be one of those few.  As a food blogger, that has meant that I've been like a kid in a candy store.

I've had time to reflect on my first twelve months and the amazing restaurant and dining experiences in which I've managed to partake.  While there have been well over a hundred restaurants I've checked out in my first year, there have only been a handful that I've repetitively revisited throughout the year, one of which has made my list.  

As you'd expect from a food capital, Hong Kong is home to many restaurant guides that have helped identify the standout dining establishments.  The Michelin Guide, the SCMP Top 100 Tables, the Hong Kong Tatler are all well known guides that mostly get it right but sometimes get it very wrong, with one of my favourite restaurants of all time losing it's Michelin Star.  I have to say that I'm excited to be living in a city that is part of the Michelin family, but I've also come to understand that the guide is fallible.

Giando - simple ingredients for classic Italian

http://www.giandorestaurant.com/

I'd been certain that I'd picked poorly when deciding to check out Giando Italian Restaurant and Bar, absolutely certain.  We'd felt like Italian and while there are some great Italian restaurants in Hong Kong, there are as many pretty ordinary ones too.  It was a case of picking a restaurant that looked OK from their web site, then spending an hour reading mixed reviews about Giando, leading me to contemplate cancelling and looking elsewhere.

Originally located at Fenwick Pier at Wan Chai, Giando had recently moved to the ever popular Star Street, which was familiar territory to me and was the final deciding factor to keep my reservation.  My scepticism about my decision came back though once we walked into the dining room, which was so new, it still smelled of paint and construction.  It was also the weirdest looking space I'd seen in a restaurant for a while, with lots of pokey spaces set up with tables around a larger central area that held a huge central table.  What seemed so weird about the interior was that it looked like a throwback from the 70's with loads of exposed light brown brick.

By the time we were seated and perusing the menu's, I'd reached the conclusion that I'd made a terrible mistake and there was no way I'd enjoy the meal.  There was nothing that really jumped out at me on the menu and I really struggled to find many options that appealed.  A small positive seemed to be the white truffle specials on offer, which seemed to be the only shining light in an otherwise uninspiring menu.

Mercedes Me - Luxury showroom and fine dining restaurant?

https://www.mercedes-benz.com/hk/mercedes-me/store/

As far as luxury brands go, Mercedes is one of the most enduring and well known brands on the planet, especially if you're a car nut.  I've always been more of a Beemer guy and BMW is my luxury car of choice.  But the world of luxury car brands is a competitive beast, and many of the well known brands are looking to expand their base with more accessible entry level cars.  It seems that Mercedes is taking another approach to help their luxury brand become a little more accessible with the introduction of the Mercedes Me concept.

Partnering up with Maximal Concepts in Hong Kong, the crew that run Mott 32 (see post here) and Blue Butcher (see post here), Mercedes Me is one of the first concepts stores that blends a Mercedes showroom with a full restaurant.   Located very conveniently in the Entertainment Building in Central (underneath HMV), the restaurant slash showroom is noticeable with a stylised logo that is both serious and whimsical at the same time...  Oh, and don't forget the flashy Mercedes vehicle that on the night of our visit was the safety car from Formula 1 Grand Prix.

I'd been keen to get into the restaurant for a while, and had been stymied by trying to book in on a Friday and Saturday night, it seemed that Mercedes Me was doing well enough that you couldn't book a decent time on a popular night.  As it turned out, we were able to secure a table as a 'walk in' early on a Sunday night, which suited me just fine.  Not knowing what to expect from a restaurant in a car showroom, I was impressed with the fit out.  I shouldn't have been surprised by the lux fit out that combined a very modern restaurant with a homage to one of the most recognisable car manufacturers on the planet.

Zurriola - a game menu that fell short

http://www.zurriola.hk/en/#/home

You know those times when you have no idea what you want to eat?  If you're like me, you can spend hours and hours just looking over restaurant menus to see if anything 'grabs' your attention and gets you out of your lethargy to make a booking.  There's no rhyme nor reason for me selecting a dining spot sometimes, it could be a particularly appetising photo on a web site, or an interesting and different menu, or even just a cool name.  Our visit to Zurriola was based simply on the fact they had a winter 'game' menu with venison on offer.

Winter in Hong Kong brings a couple of very appealing options, it's obviously truffle season, and I don't really need to explain what's so great about that!  But it's also 'game' season, which means pheasant, wild boar and most importantly venison.  If you've not had venison before, it's a very strong flavoured red meat that is quite simply delicious.  Venison is usually deer, but throughout history, it's been a general term used for game and at one time or another has referred to hares, wild pigs and goats.  It also happens to be one of SC's favourite things to eat (after bacon, truffle and duck fat).

Zurriola is a Modern European style restaurant, which means that it takes a bit of a contemporary view of traditional dishes.  I'd been quite excited about visiting, after reading some local HK blogs about how amazing the place was and in particular, one blogger thought the tasting menu was amongst the best in Kong Kong.  Located at TST, we were again struck speechless by the skyline that was recently rated as the best in the world.  We were seated at a table that afforded us the most incredible views of the island and our only regret was that it was raining outside, otherwise the balcony windows would have been open.

Taipei - Mume an Aussie in Taipei

https://www.facebook.com/mume.taiwan/

I keep hearing about how the Taiwan food scene is changing and rapidly evolving, and glossy articles like this one (Taiwan: The world's next foodie travel destination), would certainly have you believing the hype.  You might ask why a Hong Kong blogger is paying attention to the food scene across the South China Sea, but with a best mate trying to break into the food scene, and regular visits to the tiny island, there's not much to wonder.

My first visit was a bit of a bust to Taipei, I really thought the food scene was over inflated and the restaurants I visited average at best.  Not so on my most recent trip, where I managed to get into hotshot restaurant RAW (see post here) and it's closest rival Mume.  Mume is part of the new style of restaurant globally that has taken it's inspiration from restaurants like Noma, looking to capitalise on fresh local produce and cutting edge culinary art.

Mume is run by a trio of young gun chefs from around the world, including Aussie chef Kai Ward who had worked at arguably Australia's best restaurant Quay in Sydney.  Kai, along with Richie Lin and Long Xiong have taken their combined experience operating around the world to bring a slice of European style and combined it with local produce to try to create something unique in Taipei.

London - Smiths of Smithfield by John Torode

http://www.smithsofsmithfield.co.uk/

One of my foodie observations is how the zeitgeist has changed over the last decade, with the super star chef front and centre in people's consciousness.  This has almost certainly been driven by the transition of the chef moving out from the kitchen and into the television studio.  One cooking show in particular has taken the world by storm, and that show is Masterchef.  The original Masterchef kicked off in the UK before the concept was picked up by other markets and at last count, there were fifty countries that run a version of Masterchef!

While the concept started in the UK, the Australian version is credited with helping to transform the show, providing a more glamorous approach that, for me, was a little too heavy on the drama and was less about the food.  One of the great ironies of Masterchef is that the Australian version is hosted by an ex British chef living in Australia (Gary Mehigan) and the UK version has an ex Aussie hosting (John Torode) - go figure!

I was recently in the UK for work and looking for a place to check out, and my boss recommended a little place called Smiths of Smithfield, one of his favourite steak restaurants run by Jonty Rhodes.  I thought is strange that an ex South African cricket star would run a steak restaurant in London, but hey, the South Africans are well known meat lovers.  It wasn't until I made the reservation and had a look at the web site, that I realised that I'd heard wrong and that Smiths of Smithfield was actually run by none other than John Torode!  I felt like an idiot :)

While I'd done my fair share of solo dining in London (The Square, Marcus, Maze Grill), I was actually able to convince one of my colleagues to come along and check out Smiths with me. Hailing from the US and an avid meat lover, bringing KH along to visit a steak restaurant seemed like the right thing to do.  However, trying to find the place, especially for a couple of tourists, turned out to be a little harder than expected and there was a lot of walking involved to find the funky restaurant in Charterhouse Street.  Not an issue for me, but a huge one for KH, who'd been recovering for ankle surgery, who took a little extra time to find the joint.

Twenty Six by Liberty - worth the wait

http://www.twentysix.hk/

What makes a restaurant desirable?  It's a question that many a restauranteur and chef has probably asked themselves a million times!  Long wait times to secure a table is often a measure of desirability, but is that all? Perhaps, but perhaps not!  I've entered waiting lists for many restaurants that have ended up being a let down, simply because of the elevated expectations by having to wait.  Equally, I've secured a table in restaurants with only a few hours notice, which have been incredibly desirable (luck plays a part!).

I've been lusting over Twenty Six by Liberty for a little while, ever since I came across some photos of Executive Chef Bjoern Alexander's take on modern cuisine.  The German born chef has an eye for the dramatic and his food presentation is nothing short of gastronomic visual porn. Having started his career in legendary American Chef Thomas Keller's French Laundry, before continuing onto countless two and three Michelin-starred restaurants, Chef Bjoern had created level of desirability that I'd not felt for a little while.

I will admit that my desire to check out Twenty Six by Liberty was fuelled by the fact that the place is nearly impossible to get into!  I'd tried without success to make a reservation on a Friday or Saturday night, and it wasn't until I tried to book on a Tuesday night that I managed to secure a seat.  I wasn't really sure if I felt like the ten course tasting menu mid week, but figured I could just about manage it :)

London - Marcus ten years on

http://www.marcus-wareing.com/#

The very first Michelin Starred restaurant I went to was the two star Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley in Central London.  It was also my first trip to Europe, and to say that I was excited was an understatement.  At the time, London was the epicentre of global cuisine and Marcus Wareing was in the top 100 restaurants in the world.  It was a lock - I was going to have the best meal of my life!

But I didn't...

Now, I'm not saying that the meal was bad, far from it, it just wasn't the mind blowing and life changing experience that I'd built it up to be.  Sure, the service we received was outstanding, in fact, up until that point, I don't think we'd ever really experienced service at such a professional level.  It's just that the food was good, and I was expecting great.

Fast forward a bit, quite a bit in fact.  I was travelling back to London, this time solo for work and had a free day to hit a few restaurants, one of which was lunch the Square (see post here), followed by dinner on the same day, at Marcus.  Now, Marcus was the new name for Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley and while still located inside the Berkeley Hotel, the restaurant had taken on a slightly more casual approach to dining.  Oh, it was still rated as a two Michelin starred restaurant.

I was keen for redemption, would I find it?

NUR - nourishment, love and science come together

http://www.nur.hk

Every once in a while, you experience something so unexpected that it instantly forms a lasting memory.  The tasting menu at NUR has left an indelible impression, one that has me comparing the meal to one of my top five ever....  Big call for sure, but there it is.

Let me tell you a little bit about NUR.  

The chef and founder of NUR has an interesting background: inspired and tutored by culinary legend Raymond Blanc, Nurdin Topham's life changed when Blanc prepared him a tomato dish which was a revelation, tasting like nothing Chef Topham had tasted before.  So much flavour, yet so light and balanced, the dish inspired a life changing decision, one that led to ten years in Blanc's two Michelin Starred Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, as well as a qualification as a natural therapist. 

The inspiration for NUR came once Nurdin was able to eat at Rene Redzepi's world famous NOMA in Copenhagen, which led to an internship at Redzepi's Nordic Food Lab, where he immersed himself in artisanal food production, science and fermentation.  Wanting to open his own restaurant, but never thinking that Hong Kong would become home, it was a chance meeting with a HK chef that led to the  opening of NUR.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Bread Street Kitchen - Gordon Ramsay in Hong Kong

http://diningconcepts.com/breadstreetkitchenbar/

Gordon Ramsay is arguably the biggest name in the food industry. With a catalogue of restaurants that span the globe, as well as a number of well known TV programs such as Hell's Kitchen and Masterchef USA, Ramsey seems to be everywhere.  But Chef Gordon Ramsay is a polarising figure, his huge popularity is matched by his detractors, including another famous UK chef, Jamie Oliver.

With an incredibly interesting background that included time as a (semi) professional football player that culminated,  then ended when injuries took a toll while trialling for Scottish powerhouse Rangers.  Ramsay started his cooking career by accident after initially enrolling in Hotel Management.  It wasn't until Ramsay found himself cooking for culinary legend Marco Pierre White that a passion was ignited that would one day take him to the top of the culinary heap.

After almost three years of equal parts learning and terror, Ramsay tired of the 'rages and bullying' from Pierre White, which ironically would become the most recognisable traits in Ramsay himself, and moved on.  It was time spent with legendary French chefs Albert Roux, Guy Savoy and Joel Robuchon and a number of years in France that really honed Ramsay's skills in the kitchen.  Further enhancing his skills as a restauranteur, Ramsay went into several partnerships for a few years that helped directly gain Michelin Stars, but it wasn't until 1998 when Gordon opened his own restaurant, called Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, that things really started to heat up and by 2001 Restaurant Gordon Ramsay had gained it's third Michelin Star.

You know how the saying goes - the rest of course, is history!  So now I've caught you up with stuff you probably already knew.  

The coolest restaurant name in Hong Kong - Madam Sixty Ate

http://madamsixtyate.com.hk/

With so many restaurants in Honkers, one of the fun games is trying to figure out which are the best to dine at.  Sure, there are restaurant guides, like the Michelin Guide and Open Rice, but it's often word of mouth where the absolute surprises come along.  We were heading out as a team for a farewell lunch for one member of the team who was leaving for greener pastures and wound up at one of the best surprises I've had in Hong Kong so far.

Usually when we go out for a team lunch, it's one of the many local restaurants in Central but this time we went just a little further afield to Wan Chai.  With a couple of options to get from Central to Wan Chai, which includes walking, we took the tram that runs along Des Voeux Road and moves into Johnston Road.  It was my first time on one of the skinny little trams that I've seen hundreds of times.  Yep, they get crowded and while it was marginally faster than walking or the MTR, it was a bit of an experience....  Not sure I'd do it in the middle of summer though.

Once we jumped off the tram we made our way to the restaurant, which had the funky name of Madam Sixty Ate.  Like a lot of restaurants in Hong Kong, Madam Sixty Ate is not on street level, but up on level one.  As we made our way through a little bit of an entry area, past the bar, we came to the main dining room, which was surprisingly large and very airy.  The high ceilings and open spaces provided a really pleasant vibe, which was helped by the open kitchen area with chefs busy at work.

The Catbird Seat Bistro - sitting on top with a great view

http://catbirdseatbistro.com.au/

A lot is going to be written about Chef James Culberg's new East Brisbane bistro, the Catbird Seat Bistro.  Mainly because it's really good, but also it's literary heritage screams out to be written and talked about.  A phrase coined out of the Great Depression, the catbird seat often is used to describe someone who is in an enviable position.  The phase gained notoriety in the 1940's after a short story by American novelist James Thurber, probably better known for his humorous short stories and cartoons.  The phrase peaked around the time of Peter Sellars classic film, the Battle of the Sexes, a film based on James Thurber's the Catbird Seat, but has largely faded to obscurity.

I usually keep my ear to the ground but I only found out about the Catbird Seat bistro once a twitter follower connected and asked if I'd checked it out (thanks Troy from Awickededge).  Jumping straight online to check out the menu, I wondered how I'd let that one slip by, the menu looked excellent, just the sort of food I really love.  I immediately made a mental note to get along as soon as the first opportunity presented itself, which happened to be the next available Saturday night with my usual dinner buddies, CI&TB.

You might have recognised the name of Catbird Seat Bistro owner and chef, James Culberg.  James has led some of Brisbane's coolest restaurants over the years, most notably Piaf (see post here) and Sardine Tin, which are no longer around. James was also responsible for some of the best meals around that I've eaten while in charge of The Survey Co (see post here) and Aquitine Brasserie (see post here), which are still going strong.  James as made the Catbird Seat Bistro a family affair by partnering with wife Erin, who's responsible for front of house.

The restaurant is located on Stanley Street East in a little strip of shops that is transforming, quite quickly, into an extension of the Logan Road 'Gabba food precinct.  We had arranged to meet CI&TB at the restaurant and arranged our trip to perfectly coincide with our reservation time.  We normally arrive before any of our usual dining companions, but for the second time in a row, were guzumped for the better seats by arriving second, so maybe not such perfect timing after all... There was plenty of off street parking nearby, but we did have a short walk along Stanley Street as we didn't know exactly where the restaurant was.

Iceworks - the changing face of Paddington dining

http://www.iceworks.com.au/

I love being surprised.  It's a pretty awesome feeling when you take a punt on a restaurant and it pays off handsomely.  Very early on in my blogging adventure, I started to look outside my normal comfort zone for dining spots, which led me to check out Iceworks in Paddington.  It wasn't just any old night either, we'd decided to take a punt on Iceworks on New Years Eve (see post here).  It was a bit of a departure from our usual NYE dinner celebrations, which are normally at more established restaurants.  Like I said, taking a punt can have a big payoff and in this case, it was a meal that was quite unexpected and one to remember.

As is often the case, things change and we were invited along to check out the changes at Iceworks, which included a new team looking after the restaurant, a new chef and a brand new menu.  Nowadays, it pretty common for restaurants to invite along bloggers and regular diners to check out new menus and provide feedback.  Its a great way to engage and reward regular diners and an excellent way to promote the business, but getting bloggers in can be a double edged sword!  There is a bit of pressure on to get it right and if it goes wrong, there is a potential for it to be very public!

We are quite familiar with Iceworks, we've not only dined there before, but we used to live just up the road and had walked past the location many times before.  For residents and those with great memories, you might even remember when the location actually housed real Ice Works, I'm pretty sure it was called the Ithica Iceworks and did a great job of supplying ice to Brisbane residents. We'd arranged to arrive around 6:30pm, so didn't really have time to walk, which with the warmer wether would have been lovely - but not to be.  Forgetting that there was plenty of parking underneath the restaurant, we parked around the corner and ended up walking a bit anyway!

Singapore Series - Bacchanalia - uber cool dining

http://bacchanalia.asia/

I'd been in Singapore a few days and was starting to get a 'lay of the land', in fact, given my normal propensity to get lost in suburban Brisbane, I was on geo-positional fire.  I have to say that my cause was helped by one of the most amazing public Mass Transit Systems I've come across, it's so simple to get around Singapore on their 'MRT'....

The day before, I'd enjoyed a great NYC style burger in db Bistro (see post here) and was given a Gourmet & Travel magazine to read through, which just happened to have the The Peak Annual Restaurant Award winner profiles.  I was looking for some great restaurants to check out and thought it quite serendipitous.  Flipping through the magazine, one restaurant jumped right out at me with its cool and familiar name.  Bacchanalia (similar to our own Bacchus) has just picked up Best New Restaurant for 2014, which meant that it was now on my 'must visit list'.

Suspecting that Bacchanalia might be hard to get into, I called for a reservation and was pretty stoked to get in straight away.  My call to the restaurant had me connected to an expat Aussie and we got to chatting for a while and made a note to catch up with him when I hit the dining room.  A short MRT ride to City Hall, which was the closest MRT station saw me in the heart of old Singapore and brought back memories of my first couple of visits to Singapore more than 20 years earlier.  It didn't seem to have changed as much as other parts of the city that I'd visited so far.  It was a weird experience!

Urbane - there's a reason why it's so good

http://www.urbanerestaurant.com/

There are very few restaurants in a city that have the ability to completely challenge the way you think about food. I feel very fortunate to live in a city where there are two restaurants that have proven themselves capable of standing on the world stage and saying 'look-at-me'.  I've been giving a lot of love to Esquire over the last twelve months (see posts here), so I thought it was time to give Brisbane's other degustation-only restaurant a return visit.

I have a semi regular dinner with some work buddies (past and present) who love to come along and share in my food adventures from time to time, and when asked where we should go for our next restaurant, I had no hesitation in choosing Urbane.  One of our recent excursions for a degustation fell a little short of expectations (see post here) and I wanted to ensure that we didn't get a repeat experience.  It was a risky gamble given my last experience at Urbane with the usually impeccable menu having a couple of items that didn't quite hit the heights that I've come to expect (see post here).

Urbane is one of a handful of Two Hat and Two Star restaurants in the country and officially listed as our top ranking restaurant in the Gourmet Travellers top 100 restaurants, currently sitting at #12.  Urbane has always had a reputation for securing the freshest young talent around which stretches all the way back to Ryan Squires (of Esquire fame) and 2012 Good Food Guide chef of the year Kym Machin.  That trend has continued as the fine diner secured the services of Argentinian wonder chef Alejandro Cancino, who has worked in the world's 4th best restaurant, Mugaritz in Spain, and before hitting our shores Alejandro had picked up the UK's Young Chef of the Year in 2008.  Committing to a life in Australia, Alejandro had bought into Urbane and as new co-owner was able to pick up the 2013 Qld GFG chef of the year and Gourmet Travellers best new talent - phew, all before the age of 29.

The Long Apron - Regional perfection

http://www.spicersgroup.com.au/restaurant/long-apron

I'm pretty well versed with the dining scene in Brisbane and it's surrounds and feel extremely lucky that I have some of the best restaurants in the country just a short distance from my front door.  I guess you could say I'm very comfortable knowing that at any time I can quite easily hit a fine dining restaurant for a meal.  I have to admit that lately I've been getting a little restless with my dining choices, sure, there are some amazing dining options, but sometimes there is a little 'sameness' about them.  To 'spice' it up a little bit, I've been going further and further afield from my CBD base and I've been discovering some amazing restaurants and meals.

My best mate the Big Boy, who lives overseas now and I only get to see a couple of times a year, was recently back for a week.  It's been our custom to book into as many nice restaurants as possible when he's back so he can get a reminder about how great Australian food can be.  We generally take him to our favourite restaurants, which this time included Hatch & Co, Gerard's, Rogue Bar and Bistro and  of course Esquire.  There is no doubt that these are all amazing restaurants and the Big Boy loved them all, but there was still that notion that there was a bit of 'sameness' about the experiences.  We thought it would be time to 'spice' it up.

The idea actually came from SC and it was a beauty.  We'd been hearing for a long time that there was an amazing restaurant up at Spicers Resort at Montville called The Long Apron.  Our plan was to make a day of it, drive up to Montville mid-morning and arrive in time for lunch, then drive home through Maleny and stop off for some gelato.  We'd been toying with the idea of doing a day trip to visit the Long Apron for years but given my propensity against driving long distances, I've always avoided going.

Mondo Organics - fine dining with a very healthy attitide

http://www.mondo-organics.com.au/

Quite often, when I am lacking inspiration or simply have no clue where I want to go for dinner, I hop onto one of my favourite resources sites, which normally sets me right.  While I love most food, the style of food that I feel most at home with is fine dining.  There are a couple of resources around to get some inspiration about where to eat out but I constantly find myself coming back to the Australian Good Food & Guide (AGFG).

Each year the AGFG produces a list of the finest restaurants in the country and awards them coveted Hats and then lists out the best restaurants in the country.  If you've ever wondered what the Hats rating system is all about, you can check it out here, but the AGFG takes it's lead from the Michelin standard, where AGFG inspectors are anonymous and their identities kept strictly confidential - this ensures the highest level of integrity when determining who is best.  

The 2014 AGFG list of 'Hatted' restaurants came out just a few weeks ago and Mondo Organics was again awarded with a coveted Hat.

So, during the week I really felt like having a fine dining experience from a restaurant that I'd never been to before, which is getting increasingly difficult in the Brisbane area.  Of the forty five hatted restaurants in  the South East, I've been to most of them but there is one in particular that I've been dying to try for a long time, but have just never made it to.  When I'm looking for a spot to have a nice dinner, I usually make out a list of two or three restaurants and then pick one of them.  For the last few years, Mondo Organics has made that list but never quite made it to the number one spot, until now.

Reserve Restaurant Milton - Fine dining on the city fringe

http://www.reserverestaurant.com.au/milton.html

It's becoming increasingly difficult for me to try new restaurants in the Brisbane CBD, especially restaurants that are fine dining.  In fact, in the last few years there has been a move away from fine dining into more casually focussed dining.  While there is nothing wrong with high end casual dining, there is a lot to be said about the unique experience that you get from a great fine diner.

It's interesting though, sometimes there are things that literally just 'stare you in the face' and you don't notice.  Reserve at Milton is just such a place.  I've driven down Coronation Drive hundreds of times and said to myself that I must check out Reserve, it looks great.  Time and time again I've sat in my unit struggling to think of somewhere I can go to get a great meal that I have not visited before. Well, this time when it was SC who was in the drivers seat while we were driving past, I bit the bullet and got straight onto my iPad and made a reservation.  Thought into action!

I find it hard to believe it but Reserve at Milton has inhabited the space at the heritage listed Cook Terrace for almost two years.  It really doesn't seem that long ago that Joseph Alexander was the restaurant that I drove past and regularly ignored.  There has been high end restaurants occupying the space on Coronation Drive since 1984 after having a somewhat mixed history since being built in 1888.  Originally a set of Terrace houses, I can only imagine what it would have been like living on the Brisbane river in one of those majestic and massive terrace houses during the 1800's.  If you could have afforded it, I'm sure it would have been quite special.