New Zealand Series - Bistro Gentil

http://www.bistrogentil.co.nz/

I was looking forward to heading back to New Zealand for a holiday, it had been an exciting year to date, which included changing jobs and moving to HK.  As exciting as the year had been, I really needed a break and what better way to do so than a short ski holiday. Of course when I travel anywhere nowadays, I'm always considering the food angle and looking for the very best local dining.  I was a little bit dubious that I would find something amazing while travelling to Wanaka, a town in the South Island of NZ with the total population of 5,037.  Boy was I wrong!

Checking into our cute little bed and breakfast, Wanaka Haven, we immediately asked our host, Steve, for some local recommendations and without missing a beat, Bistro Gentil was mentioned.  Never one to delay, we asked if Steve could get us in for dinner the night of our arrival.  A quick call revealed he couldn't, the place was full, which was quite a promising sign.  Asking for the next available sitting, we were able to secure a reservation a few days in.  No matter, some skiing would have us anticipating the meal even more.

The FoodMeUpScotty Top Ten

Top 10 restaurants in Brisbane

I've been writing about food and restaurants in my blog for over two years now and it's been a heck of a ride.  I'm often asked what my favourite restaurants are or for recommendations of places to eat and I always find it difficult to limit my choices, there are just so many great places to eat in our fair city! 

My time as a Brisbane blogger is almost over, I am moving to Hong Kong (I will have already moved if you're reading this after the 10th of January).  I've had quite a bit of time to reflect on Brisbane's restaurants, especially as my time in the city comes to an end and I've decided that I will put together a list of my Top 10 restaurants.  Some you might agree with and others, you probably won't, but it's my list and each of the restaurants on the list is special in its own way.

There are many elements and factors when considering my favourite restaurants, having a top quality chef is part of the story, but equally important are service, diversity of menu and that all important 'X factor'.   A good indicator for me is repeat visits, if I want to go back (and go back often), then all the elements have usually come together and for me, thats what makes a top restaurant.

It's been a painful process and I've had to leave out some amazing restaurants, some that would have easily made a top twenty list, but I have had to limit my choices to ten....   So here it goes, here is my top ten list.  

Sake Brisbane - Sunday funday champagne and sashimi

http://www.sakerestaurant.com.au/

Now that we're getting into the warmer months, I bet you're looking for a cool spot, hopefully with river views and a nice breeze. Someplace that you can sit down, chill out and have a fabulous Sunday-funday.  I'm guessing it would be even better if there was some relaxed tunes and the type of refreshments that just work on those hot summer afternoons.....

As part of the recent #G20 global flavours, I was invited along to such a spot and spent a completely relaxed and chilled Sunday afternoon in one of the best dining spots in Brisbane.  Sake Restaurant is arguably the best Japanese restaurant in Queensland (tied with Sono Portside and Wasabi) and turned out to be the perfect spot for a quiet Sunday afternoon leading up to Brisbane's own global event.

With a coveted Good Food Times chefs hat, you're always guaranteed to have a sensational Japanese meal at Sake, which has a lot to do with the way Executive Chef Shaun Presland has set the place up. Teamed with Head Chef Daisuke Sakai, Sake Brisbane distinguishes itself from its sister restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne with its use of regional produce that, in my opinion, is the best in Australia.

Farewell Tour - Gerard's Bistro

http://www.gerardsbistro.com.au/

There are very few restaurants that burst onto the scene and make an impression in the same way that Fortitude Valley’s Gerard’s Bistro has done.  In a very short space of time, Gerard’s has done what very few restaurants have done….

Chefs Hat – check (currently One Brisbane Times Good Food Guide Hat)

Gourmet Traveller top 100 list – check (currently 88 in Australia)

Gourmet Traveller 10 ten in Brisbane – check (currently #4)

Gourmet Traveller best new talent – check (Ben Williamson )

It would be foolish to understate the impact and influence that Gerard’s Bistro has had on the Brisbane dining scene.  It’s helped radically transform the fine dining paradigm.  No longer did amazing restaurants need to charge $50+ for a main course;  silver service was relegated to yesterday’s news; and share plates became the norm….

All because of Gerard’s Bistro.

A collaboration between Brisbane’s well known Moubaraks and wonderkind Chef Ben Williamson, it would also be a mistake to think Gerard’s was an overnight success.

85 Miskin Street - the Degustation and the friends

http://www.85miskinst.com.au/

There was a moment when time stood still.  It was only for a few seconds, but in those precious moments, the world around me disappeared. 

I’d just read an article, one of my favourite restaurants, run by one of the city’s nicest blokes was shutting down……  How could this be possible, Brent’s was my go-to special occasion spot, a place to spend birthdays and anniversaries!  As I read on, the details became clear, not closing, just changing – a new look and a new feel.  The world swam back into focus and I was able to breath again.

Brent’s became 85 Miskin Street, with head chef Brent Farrell deciding that a change was in order.  No longer a white linen fine dining restaurant, 85 Miskin Street became more than a special occasion place – it transformed into one of my regulars.  Not surprising though, Brent’s been cheffing for about twenty years and in that time, he’s learnt a trick or three.  With a plan to make his well-known restaurant a little more accessible, the risk paid off when Brent was rewarded with a 2015 Brisbane Times Good Food Guide Chefs Hat.

Now, I have to make a confession here.  In the last twelve months, I’ve eaten at 85 Miskin Street so often that Brent and I have become friends.   I’m unashamedly a fan of his cooking and rate a number of his dishes as the best I’ve eaten anywhere in the world.  In fact, three of my all time top ten meals were eaten at Brent’s and 85 Miskin Street! 

As a consequence, I’ve been banging on about the place for so long, some friends finally took the hint and joined me for dinner.  What transpired was a degustation for the ages.

Prive249 - The chef and the challenge

http://www.sofitelbrisbane.com.au/prive

Unique.Dining.eXperience

That’s what I’m chasing and I think it’s what you’re chasing too…

There are a lot of great restaurants around our fair city of Brisbane but as great as our restaurants are, there are very few unique dining experiences or UDX.  As much as it pains me to admit, there can sometimes be a little bit of sameness in our restaurants, especially when you eat out a lot.  Every now and then, something comes along to excite and tantalise the tastebuds, but after a while, even the exciting becomes the norm.

Whether it’s catering to a mass market or just not feeling inspired to try something new, I think our chefs have the inspirational spark to do the amazing, if only they are given the chance.

At least one chef in Brisbane is looking to shake off the shackles and try something new.  Prive249 is one of Brisbane’s few Hatted Restaurants and it’s an incredible white linen and silver service fine diner.  Chef de Cuisine and culinary wiz Josh Okorn is responsible for producing beautiful and award winning food that was good enough for European dignitaries during the recent G20.  He’s also a man in chains, just waiting to break out!

G20 Global Flavours - Il Centro

http://www.il-centro.com.au/

http://www.visitbrisbane.com.au/global-flavours

Well, the G20 has been and gone and it went of without a hitch, pretty much.

It was interesting living in the CBD and watching the city clear out and on the Friday and Saturday of the event, Brisbane was indeed much like a ghost town....  During the day. At night, the city came alive with all of the dignitaries and city dwellers out and about seeing what was going on.

However, there was more to the G20 event than the leaders of the world coming to our fair city to discuss, well I'm not really that interested in what they discussed, but there was more going on than met the eye.  Given that the eyes of the world were on Brisbane, it's was (and still is) a huge opportunity for us to showcase our fair city and all that it has to offer.

In conjunction with Brisbane Marketing, many of Brisbane's best restaurants have joined the party by participating in a month of foodie celebrations.  Global Flavours is the culinary celebration of Brisbane's international-standard cuisine and local produce.  I'd been asked to help promote this once in a lifetime event by doing the tough job of visiting some of the restaurants that are involved - yeah, I know, but someone's gotta do it.  You can also get involved by visiting one of the city's participating restaurants and enjoying the best that Brisbane has to offer during the month of November.  See the complete list here.

G20 Global Flavours - Restaurant 2

http://www.restaurant2.com.au/ 

http://www.visitbrisbane.com.au/global-flavours

If you're in Brisbane and you've not heard about the G20, then you've probably been in a deep coma in one of the City's fine hospitals.  For most of us who have been hearing about it non stop, or if you work or live in the city, have been involved in many briefings about the event, it could seem like its big and scary event.  

There is more to the G20 event than the leaders of the world coming to our fair city to discuss, well I'm not really that interested in what they plan on discussing, but there is more going on than meets the eye.  Given that the eyes of the world will be on Brisbane, it's a huge opportunity for us to showcase our fair city and all that it has to offer.

In conjunction with Brisbane Marketing, many of Brisbane's best restaurants have joined the party by participating in a month of foodie celebrations.  Global Flavours the the culinary celebration of Brisbane's international-standard cuisine and local produce.  I've been asked to help promote this once in a lifetime event by doing the tough job of visiting some of the restaurants that are involved - yeah, I know, but someone's gotta do it.  You can also get involved by visiting one of the city's participating restaurants and enjoying the best that Brisbane has to offer during the month of November.  See the complete list here.

My first stop of the #GlobalFlavours trail was one of Brisbane's most iconic dining spots, Restaurant 2 on Edward Street.  The classic fine diner by David Pugh is perhaps one of the best known and most loved restaurants in Brisbane and a restaurant that I've been to many times (see post here).  In one of the most beautiful old buildings on the corner of Edward and Alice Streets, the botanical gardens are the backdrop for the 'Two' dining experience.  With massive windows, reminiscent of New York park dining, Restaurant Two delivers on style and substance.

Melbourne Series - Nobu, the Global Japanese

http://www.noburestaurants.com/melbourne/experience/

When I am travelling overseas, I have a general rule when thinking about which restaurants I'm going to check out.  If the restaurant has an outlet in Australia that I can easily get to, then I'll pass and eventually get to the Australian version.  So, when I was in New York last year and listing out the restaurants I wanted to check out, the original Nobu was on the list, but quickly discounted.  After all, I was in  Melbourne often enough...

I've walked by Nobu at the Crown complex dozens of times in the last couple of years and each time I've stopped at the front, looked at the menu, thought about walking in, then gone somewhere else. This trip to Melbourne was different, I finally stepped through the front door for that long awaited visit.  It came about after a tweet..  I was in town for a conference and as lunch time approached, I'd sent a text out asking if anyone wanted to come to Nobu for lunch with me and my mate LS jumped at the chance.  I knew LS was up for a great meal as we'd grabbed dinner in Singapore earlier in the year at Jaan (one of Singapore's top restaurants.)

Nobu is recognised as one of the worlds great restaurant chains and was established by renowned Japanese chef Nobuyuki (Nobu) Matsuhisa.  With two restaurant brands, Nobu and Matsuhisa, Nabuyuki is a chef that is instantly recognisable to millions around the world.  With many incredible accolades, including many Michelin Stars and James Beard Awards, and an AGFG Chefs Hat, Nobuyuki was named one of the 11 Most Influential Chefs of the Decade by Madrid Fusion (2009). Nobu is actually the collaboration between Nobuyuki and Hollywood heavyweight, Robert De Niro with the first Nobu opening in New York City in 1994.

I was pretty excited about finally getting along to dine at Nobu....

Tartufo - this time its all about the Pizza

http://www.tartufo.com.au/

A couple of months ago, I started an adventure to try to find the best pizza in Brisbane (see posts here), but after eating a little too much pizza in such a short time, I paused for a moment.  After going without pizza for almost two months, I started to get that feeling in the pit of my stomach that can only be resolved with a dose of pizza.  Not just any pizza, margherita!

So far in my travels, I've had some great pizza with my favourites being Sorellina (see post here) and Beccofino, which to date had been my favourite by quite some distance.  It was time to get some hatted pizza and by that, I mean get some pizza from one of Brisbane's best restaurants, Tartufo.  I've been to the Tony Percuoco restaurant a heap of times and rate it as one of the best Italian restaurants around but it's only been relatively recently that I became aware that Tony had moved into another great love of his life - pizza!

Being a native of Naples, the home of the margherita pizza, following in the footsteps of the most famous pizzerias in the world, Brandi, Da Michele and Trianono Tradition, it was only natural that a pizza oven would grace the floor at Tartufo.  With a view of using only the freshest ingredients of the highest quality, Tony aims to be accredited through the 'Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana' (AVPN), an association dedicated to the protection and veracity of the 'true Neapolitan pizza'.

We'd been trying to get in to see Gone Girl for a couple of weeks, so we'd had a plan to get in to Tartufo right on pizza opening time of 5:30, so we'd have enough time to eat and then get over to the CBD for the movie.  Surprisingly, we were able to score a park on the street, right out the front of the Emporium, the Valley complex where Tartufo is located.  

Tukka Restaurant - Australian fare done fancy

http://www.tukkarestaurant.com.au/

Wow, it feels like ages since I've sat down at the computer to write about a foodie adventure!  I guess having shoulder surgery is just about the only thing that's stopped me from both eating out so much and then writing about it!  After about ten days of being in a shoulder sling, I've been able to cast it aside and can finally get cracking with some needed catch up posting!

Casting my mind back to the weekend before my surgery, we finally decided to hit up one of Brisbane's more unique food offerings.  Until recently, Tukka was pretty much the only restaurant in Brisbane and one of the few restaurants in the country that based their menu around traditional Australian produce.  I'd had some brilliant experiences with Australian cuisine at Josue Lopez's GOMA restaurant (see post here and here) and I was really keen to see what head chef Bryant Wells was doing at Tukka.

It seems like Tukka has been around for a very long time. SC and I had walked past Tukka hundreds of times over the years and wondered what it would be like.  It's also one of the few restaurants in the Australian Good Food Guide's list of hatted restaurants that we'd not been to. Head chef Bryant Wells has done an amazing job promoting native ingredients to the Brisbane dining scene and it was time for us to get on in and see for ourselves.

We timed our visit to Tukka with a couple of big events around Brisbane, a Broncos game and the Future Shorts Film Festival, so Tukka was pretty quiet when we arrived for our 6:30pm reservation. With a choice of seating that took in the whole restaurant dining area, we chose to sit outside the main dining room on the side deck, which was actually a little bit warmer.  Shortly after we were seated and given our menus by the restaurant manager, we noticed that he'd had to leave the restaurant in a hurry (we later learned that there was a family emergency), so it looked as if Tukka would be down one experienced hand for the night.

Dell'ugo South Bank - another one bites the dust

http://www.dellugosouthbank.com.au/

I'm not really a sentimental guy.  In fact, I've pretty much been pragmatic about most things in my life and while I sometimes mourn the loss of a restaurant here and there, it's normally a case of the free market in action.  Where I start to feel a touch of outrage is when when my sense of fairness is triggered, which happened recently with the news that South Bank restaurant Dell'ugo would be forced out of its Grey Street home.  You can read the article here, but essentially the Italian fine diner is being moved on because it didn't meet the future mix of traders that South Bank see in the well known restaurant strip's future.  That's ten years of history to be wiped - sorry, you need to go.  Outrage!

While Dell'ugo is not one of my favourite restaurants around, I have been a few times, both to the South Bank restaurant and their older and slightly more traditional establishment over at New Farm (see post here).  Given the news that the restaurant would soon close it's doors, I thought that I'd better get back over to South Bank, check it out and hopefully have a great parting memory.  Oh, and also hopefully, spark just a little outrage about the injustice.

South Bank has not always been a 'happy hunting ground' when it comes to dining out, with about a fifty percent success rate. I've had some amazing meals (Stokehouse) but I've also had some terrible experiences (Fifth Element).  We'd arranged to have a Saturday night meal, which has been one of the common factors in not having a great experience, it seems as if the very high volume of diners pushing through South Bank really does effect the quality on the night.  It had been a cold and rainy Saturday, but the weather cleared enough for us to walk from the CBD to South Bank, a walk we always enjoy.  

Festival Series - Gerard's Bar launch of the James Street Food and Wine Trail

http://www.gerardsbar.com.au/

There is so much cool stuff going on in Brisbane it really is hard to keep up with it all.  July has seen the fun that was the Good Food Month which included the Night Noodle Markets as well as the annual Regional Flavours festival at South Bank.  The fun and frivolity doesn't seem like ending anytime soon with the third annual James Street Food and Wine Trail kicking off from the 31st of July to the 3rd of August.

The James Street Food and Wine Trail is a way to share in the celebration of all that is food and wine from one of Brisbane's top food precincts.   There will be fresh produce stalls, cooking demonstrations from live pop up kitchens, tasting corners and family fun zones to tease and tantalise the tastebuds and excite the soul.  Run by the James Street collective of bars and restaurants, the Food and Wine Trail is an event not to be missed.

You can check out the details here

Good Food Month - GOMA Harvest: Art, Film + Food

http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/visiting-us/Places_to_Eat

July just keeps getting better and better.  Good Food Month is a relatively new addition to the Brisbane calendar but it's already transformed the Brisbane foodie landscape.  Not only are there amazing festivals, such as the Teneriffe Festival (see post here), Regional Flavours and the Night Noodle Markets but a raft of top restaurants holding special Good Food Month events.  With so many amazing opportunities during the month, and no real way to get to them all, I've had to bee a little choosy about which ones to go to.

I started off the month heading to the Young Chef Dinner at E'cco (see post here), where some of the state's top young chef talent put on a show and demonstrated why Brisbane is fast becoming a recognised foodie destination.  One of the chefs doing-his-thing on the night was GOMA Restaurant's young gun Josue (Josh) Lopez, who has shot into the spotlight in the last few years with his creative take on native Australian food.  Winning a coveted Chefs Hat from the Brisbane Times Good Food Guide has only reinforced what an up and comer Josh is.

One of the highlights of Good Food Month was the alignment with the QAGOMA's Harvest: Art, Film + Food exhibition. Taking advantage of the food based exhibit, the restaurant, which is normally only open during daylight hours, has decided to open on Friday nights for the duration of Good Food Month.  Facebook buddy and aspiring Martha Stewart style domestic goddess and blogger, Digella arranged for a night at the museum (without Ben Stiller) for a group of Brisbane foodies and I was stoked to be part of the group.

Black Hide Steakhouse - the newest Gambaro restaurant

http://blackhidesteakhouse.com.au/

I'd known there was going to be a new steakhouse opening up in Brisbane's Caxton Street and I'd heard that it was going to be set up by the Gambaro family, most famously known for their seafood restaurant.  What surprised me when I saw the restaurant take shape along one of Brisbane's oldest party streets was the name, Cut Steakhouse and Tapas. Now, if you're a meat aficionado or love your steak restaurants, you might have become very excited indeed.  That name is very well known around the country and the world - firstly Sydney has it's well know 'The Cut bar and grill' (see post here) and internationally renowned chef Wolfgang Puck has 'Cut' (see post here).

I'll admit to being a little disappointed when I realised that neither of these two institutions was coming to Brisbane, in particular 'Cut by Wolfgang Puck'.  It wasn't long after opening that the Caxton Street version of the Cut changed it's name to the Black Hide Steakhouse by Gambaro.  

I'm definitely a huge carnivore and I was always going to get along and check out the Black Hide Steakhouse, but it wasn't until the recent Brisbane Times Good Food Guide list of new hatted restaurants that I was sparked into action.  Not too many steak restaurants in Brisbane have chefs hats, so I wanted to get in and see if the Black Hide was indeed better than some of my other favourite steak joints (see list here).  

We'd decided to get along for a mid week visit, knowing that Caxton Street can get a little crazy on the weekends.  While it's close enough for us to walk, we hopped in the car and cruised over to the Barracks, where we could score a free park (as long as we were less than two hours).  Black Hide is only a quick stroll from the Barracks and we were soon standing out the front of a very masculine looking restaurant.  The wood facade gave the restaurant a modern feel, which was reinforced once we walked inside to the modern looking fit out, with big bar down one side and dining tables, the other. The feeling of masculinity only increased once we realised that apart from one waitress, SC was the only female in evidence.

Good Food Month - Young Chef Dinner

http://eccobistro.com/

If you're a foodie and/or you love eating out, then you'd be pretty excited about the Good Food Month, a time for celebrating the amazing restaurants and chefs we have in our beautiful riverside City.  For the last couple of years, the Fairfax Group have expanded their well known Good Food Guide from Sydney and Melbourne to include Brisbane.  This is not only recognition that Brisbane has arrived on the national scene, but has been there for a long time.

The month of July is filled with many different events, sponsored by Brisbane restaurants, which highlight just how fabulous the produce, incredible talent and dedicated the foodies are.  One of the first events in Good Food Month was the Young Chef Dinner, this year held at Brisbane's iconic chef Philip Johnson's E'cco bistro.  The dinner was a six course degustation prepared by the six finalists of the Good Food Guides Young Chef of the year.  

You'd imagine that a meal prepared by Brisbane's best and brightest up-coming and already here chefs would be pretty special, and you'd be right.  Festivities kicked off with welcome from E'cco's Philip Johnson and the Good Food Guide's Natascha Mirosch and a brief introduction to the young chefs, before the culmination of a day's (and lifetime's) hard work kicked off.

I've eaten at E'cco many times in the past and it was great to see the venue decked out with white linen and share tables, and every spare nook and cranny filled with diners, all with anticipation in their eyes.  I was really happy with our table, which was at the front near the kitchen and had the proud mothers of Ben Devlin of Esquire and Braden White of Ricky's on the Sunshine Coast.  Sharing the meal with the proud mothers was a fantastic experience and gave us a pretty unique view of the meal.

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!

Sono Portside - tastes of Japanese

http://sonorestaurant.com.au/

I love Japanese cuisine but probably don't indulge as often as I'd like, so when I was offered the opportunity to get in as a guest and check out the six course tasting menu, I accepted with a gleam in my eye.  My last memory of Sono Portside was an extremely positive one (see post here) and I was more than ready to come back for a return visit. Sono at Portside is a little outside of my normal stomping grounds, so I had to jump in the car and scoot over after work.  I was running a bit late but luckily, the traffic was pretty light and I made it on time.

If you've not heard of Sono, then it's possible you are new to Brisbane or possibly living under a rock!  Located over at Portside, Sono has been one of the few authentic Japanese fine dining experiences in Brisbane, which has been recognised by achieving a chefs hat by the Australian Good Food Guide.  It's often thought of as a special occasion dining spot because of it's beautiful and timeless fit out and incredible food, but as I'd find out, its also a regular spot for many locals.

We started off the night in the bar area where I met my dining companions for the night, most of which were foodies I'd not met face to face yet (but had through the social sphere).  We spent a little while getting to know each other over a few drinks while we waited for our full compliment to arrive and once our last guest arrived, we were shown to our table.  On my previous visit to Sono, it had just been a standard table for two, but I was excited to learn that we'd be dining in one of the private rooms which was a traditional low table. It also meant that we had to get our shoes off, so there was a mad scramble while we all bent over (mostly elegantly) and prepared for entry.

Tartufo - classic Italian

http://www.tartufo.com.au/

It was a Sunday night and we had absolutely no idea what we wanted for dinner.... None.  Sometimes it's like that and SC and I just look at each other and shrug our shoulders.  You would think that it would be easy to grab a bite to eat with so many great restaurants just a short walk away but sometimes 'analysis paralysis' in.  To sort ourselves out, we went for a walk and it just so happened that we walked towards the Valley and did a menu shop.  You know what I mean, walking up to interesting looking dining spots, casually glancing at the menu and seeing if anything jumps out.

Restaurant after restaurant passed us by as literally nothing looked interesting to us.  Eventually we made our way to Emporium and after walking a complete circle around the little Valley precinct we found ourselves standing in front of Tartufo.  A quick glance and a short nod and we were walking through the front door and asking for a seat.

It had been some time since our last outing to Tartufo, in fact it was incredibly over twelve months since we last walked through its doors (see post here).  That last outing to the Tony Percuoco's incredibly well regarded Italian fine diner was a beauty and we'd had a great time.  It was a contrast to our first visit, which had been disappointing to say the least and we were hoping that our latest visit would herald another winning meal.

I'm not sure if had been a conscious decision to head to Tartufo but I had been talking about the fine diner earlier that week. A fellow foodie asked if I'd seen Queensland's top ten wildest desserts in which Tartufo's chocolate fondant had featured heavily.  Tony Percuoco Tartufo is used to awards, informal and formal and has consistently been recognised with chefs hats and Gourmet Travellers stars.  

Alchemy - A new season and a new round of goodness

http://www.alchemyrestaurant.com.au/

Whether by accident or by design, it seems as if seven is a lucky number for one of Brisbane’s most enduring and acclaimed restaurants.  Alchemy Restaurant’s Brad and Angelica Jolly have been weaving their magic at their riverside fine dining establishment for seven years.  To celebrate the changing of the season, Head Chef Brad Jolly has put together an astounding new menu, which I was fortunate enough to be invited along to sample.  And what better way to celebrate seven years, than with a seven-course degustation?

Brad Jolly has been one of Brisbane’s most influential chefs for many years and incorporates his philosophy for exceptional service with the highest quality produce into everything he does.  It’s a philosophy that has been refined throughout his career, working alongside culinary giants such as  the original superstar chef, Marco Pierre White, Eric Chavot and new king of the kitchen Jamie Oliver.  It’s this search for perfection that has made his French inspired Modern Australian restaurant one of my favorite restaurants to dine in our fair city.

There are a few restaurants in Brisbane that I consider old favourites and Alchemy has been right up the top of that list for a long time.  What I've loved about Alchemy is the level of consistency that Brad and the team have been able to produce over the years.  There have been many nights where I've come home from a long day from work, taken one look as SC and we've marched across the road for a nice stress relieving meal. There have also been those important work dates or even more important lunch meetings where I've needed to impress and Alchemy has always been there, on my side.