Restaurant Review

Mr Tiffin finally made it to 50. The baby of the group, there is always a drawn out wait until he leaps the hurdle of a milestone birthday. Meanwhile, some in the group are powering on to the next one. To mark this significant occasion, four of us had a slap up meal at OTTO… Read more

There are millions of Hong Kong Stories. This is one of them…. Hong Kong is a well known foodies paradise. It has 61 restaurants with one Michelin star or more. Certainly the greatest concentration in the world, given the size of the city. Looking past the flashy accolades, there are the restaurants that reflect the wide… Read more

I may have finished with my job but that doesn’t mean the bar hopping has stopped. Between birthdays, get togethers and PR companies spending before the end of the year, there’s hopping galore! I was invited* to attend the launch of spring menu at the Woolly Mammoth Alehouse and have to say it was nothing… Read more

It’s been a while since I’ve done a Local &/or General story but with my new found freedom, I have been hitting the footpaths of the suburb. The premise of Local &/or General is simple: local coffee shops within walking distance of my TIFFIN HQ in Camp Hill. Jacu Espresso is hardly a new addition to… Read more

I thought my bar hopping days were over. It’s not that I can’t take the liquor. What I can’t take, are the prices. Where are the days of $3 vodka and cheap OJs at White Chairs? It seems that at least some of the crowd I run with are still very much into bars so… Read more

‘There’s a coffee shop around the corner’ said the mechanic when we dropped our car in for a wheel alignment. Given we were in the light industrial wastelands of Mayne, I knew any coffee shop recommended was likely to be called Tuckerbox and serve fairly average coffee. Thankfully, I had done my due diligence and knew… Read more

I thought my bar hopping days were over. It’s not that I can’t take the liquor. What I can’t take, are the prices. Where are the days of $3 vodka and watered down orange juice at White Chairs? It seems that at least some of the crowd I run with are still very much into bars… Read more

I had heard the buzz about NeNe chicken being ‘so good’ and the best Korean Fried Chicken (KFC) around but couldn’t really see a situation where I’d be seeking it out. Cue a Friday night on the tiles and suddenly, NeNe seemed mighty appealing. NeNe means Yes! Yes! in Korean, which is exactly what we… Read more

To be honest, I didn’t know Republic Coffee Traders even existed until I saw a review in the newspaper. Amazingly, it’s less than 2km from home and I pass it on my daily commute but as it’s on a side street, it could have remained undiscovered. Thankfully, it did not. This is a Public Service… Read more

For some reason, I had never been to Brisbane’s German Club. I’m not sure why exactly as I go past it every day on my way home from work. The pork knuckle is legendary. A while ago, Bon Vivant and man about town, John Birmingham wrote a witty piece about the harsh dress code rules… Read more

George’s Paragon is well known throughout Queensland and beyond. Chances are that if you’ve visited Sanctuary Cove, you’ve eaten at George’s Paragon. A big restaurant with an even bigger menu that keeps the punters happy by offering almost all of its meals at half price for early bird diners. It’s such a successful model that George’s… Read more

I’m the first to say that I don’t mind a good burger, as long as I’m not trapped in the US mid-west where it’s the only menu option for weeks on end. There have been many words and column inches written about the current fascination with US Fast Food culture and its all pervasive nature. No doubt… Read more

Lady Marmalade Cafe has been around for several years, started by Brisbane My Kitchen Rules competitors Mal and Bec but has since changed hands to Howard and Sonja Searle. It sits in an absolutely tiny triangular shaped shop right on the tip of the Stones Corner shopping area. The building was once, amongst other things… Read more

After all of my bold promises about visiting cafes whilst we were on holidays, we barely visited any. Mainly due to the fact that every morning I kept saying ‘Look, I can make us a nice breakfast. We don’t need to spend that money – we just blew heaps on the house.’ The planner vs the realist. There… Read more

You’ve heard me complain often enough about crowds and queuing and parking and all the things that come with trying to enjoy breakfast at a café on the weekend. I have previously suggested that one solution is to get up early but I find that a rather extreme measure. An alternative is to take some… Read more

You’ll have oft heard me grumbling about not queuing for breakfast and the dire state of parking in popular hot spots around Brisbane on weekends. Well here’s an idea I hadn’t encountered…getting up early. I recently met up with some friends on Saturday morning to fuel up for a road trip out to the Scenic Rim. Whilst… Read more

Regular readers will know how much I enjoy Malaysian cuisine with its melting pot of spicy noodles, tantalising curries and excellent rotis. There are a few Malaysian restaurants scattered around Brisbane’s suburbs but none that are centrally located. When I was invited* to try newly opened PappaRich in the Wintergarden, I wasn’t at all surprised… Read more

Just before Christmas I had the opportunity to be a tourist in my own backyard when I was invited* to enjoy the hospitality of Hilton Surfers Paradise and visit Luke Mangan’s Salt Bistro. Quite a few years ago, I stayed in Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast in what was one of the first ever… Read more

You face a big issue when heading to brunch these days. No parking. Brisbane must surely be the apartment capital of the universe. Where once there was one Queenslander (house) on a double block, there are now 15 units. Fifteen units with two cars per unit, half of which are parked on the street. Yes, parking… Read more