Melbourne Series - Chin Chin

http://www.chinchinrestaurant.com.au/

We were sitting around at home one day thinking about where we could go to eat, which is a pretty normal activity for us.  As we worked through the list of places we felt like visiting, the talk turned to some of the restaurants we hadn't visited in Melbourne yet.  The talk intensified and before I new it, we were at the computer booking some flights down to Melbourne and had mapped out a clear line of attack.  Four days in Melbourne and each and every meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner mapped out for the entirety of our trip.  Sweet plan.

We'd picked an early flight, one that would get us to Tullamarine airport with enough time to get into the CBD for lunch, but not so early that we had to get up at 4am.  I called it our 'goldilocks' flight as it was juuuuuust right!  The big question when going to the airport is do we drive and park short term (hoping that the car is still there) or cab it, with our eventual decision to cab being the smart move.  There are lots of stories about flights being delayed and baggage being lost, but this is not such a story, in fact we arrived in Melbourne right on time with baggage in tow.

After jumping in a cab and taking a seriously different route to our hotel, we deposited our bags in our huge hotel room and hoofed it towards Flinders Lane, one of the coolest streets in Melbourne and our final destination.  I'd been dying (not literally) to get to Chin Chin for a long time.  Not only is Chin Chin one of the most popular restaurants in the country, it's also over a wicked little bar called the GoGo Bar, a place that I had in fact been to a couple of times.  Amazingly it was much easier to get into the GoGo Bar than Chin Chin, with each time I'd visited the bar noting the ridiculously long queues and absolutely pumping vibe at Chin Chin.

E'cco Bistro - sharing the love with friends

http://www.eccobistro.com/

What can I tell ya, I'm a sucker for the classics!  I'd been heading down to check out Philip Johnson's pop-up burger place, Howzat Burgers (see post here), so often that I got it into my head that I needed to take it one step further and try the latest E'cco Bistro menu.  Not that eating at E'cco bistro is much of a chore, it's been one of Brisbane's best restaurants for as long as I can remember and it's been one of my favourites ever since I ate there my first time.

I've had many memorable meals at E'cco but had a surprising time trying to convince my mate to come along with us for a double date.  CI recanted how he'd been disappointed with the size of the meals and the price of mains the last time he'd been to E'cco, which he also admitted had been a long time ago. Sensing that I'd have better luck with TB, I asked CI to check in with his more culinary adventurous other half, which turned out to be a masterstroke.  TB had never been to E'cco before and had been keen to check it out for a long time, so it was a lock, we were heading over to E'cco Bistro for dinner.

There was just one problem, I'd left it pretty late on a Saturday afternoon to get into one of the most popular restaurants in Brisbane, pretty silly really.  Luckily though the restaurant was able to squeeze us into an earlier sitting (thanks Philip), as long as we got along by 6:30, we were going to be sweet.  SC and I were pretty happy with this earlier starting time but TB and CI found it a bit early, but were just really happy the we'd been able to score a seat.

Cheap Eats - Little Saigon Grill

https://www.facebook.com/lilsaigongrill

For years I've been buying my lunch, usually a cheese and tomato toasted sandwich and a box of vegetables, and sitting in Rowes Arcade in the city while scanning the paper.  It became a ritual for me, so much so that I've been out of sorts ever since Rowes Arcade shut down to be completely remodelled.

While sitting there eating my lunch and reading the sports pages, I would always look across the way and see a little Vietnamese shop doing a roaring trade and think to myself that I should get over and check it out.  Being such a creature of habit though (especially for lunch), I never got the chance to go and get some tasty Vietnamese for lunch before the arcade's closure.

What I never really thought too much about was the shop owners in Rowes Arcade that had to shut up shop and move due to the remodelling.  It wasn't until I saw that Jamie Oliver's 'Jamie's Kitchen' was moving into the arcade that I thought that those little shops might not come back.  With a spot like Jamie's Italian around, rent is likely to be just too expensive.

I was contacted out of the blue by one of my long term followers, who has luck would have it was the owner of that very same little Vietnamese shop that I sat across from every day and wondered about, Little Saigon Grill.  Thanh Tran had taken the move out of Rowes Arcade as a sign that there were bigger opportunities available and Little Saigon Grill had moved to bigger premises in Albert Street.  As a small business owner with limited budgets for marketing, Tranh asked me if I would be happy to come down and check out her new spot and it would be even better if I could bring along some food blogger friends to check out and provide feedback about her new venture.  I was only too happy to help a long time follower and helped arrange a bloggers get together!

Alfred & Constance - A change of seasons and a change of menu!

http://www.alfredandconstance.com.au/

Not just satisfied with changing the Valley forever by introducing some of the coolest spots to eat in Brisbane, the team behind Alfred and Constance continue to evolve and stay fresh. Damian Griffiths and his team know they are onto a winner with the very funky Gastro Pub on the corner of Constance and Alfred Streets in the Valley, but never rest on their laurels.  

For those of you who haven't checked out Alfred and Constance, it's probably about time you thought about it.  A&C is known as a Gastro Pub serving tasty and down to earth food, but it's also so much more.  After lovingly restoring two old Queenslanders, Damien and his team set about creating a series of spaces that so completely fit into the vibe of Fortitude Valley, you would be surprised to know the place has only been open since November 2012.  Since opening, A&C has become a favourite drinking spot in its Tiki bar and a favourite local to hit your sweet tooth with its late night dessert cafe. 

Knowing that you need to evolve to stay ahead in Brisbane's ultra competitive casual dining scene, Damien, along with Patron Chef Jocelyn Hancock have again made some tweaks to the A&C menu.  As we move away from Summer (Noooooooo) and head into Autumn, its no surprise that the new Autumn A&C menu takes on a more earthy feel, yet still adhering to their basic principles of honest, full flavoured food.