Ginga - average at best

We visited Ginga on my Birthday, after roaming aimlessly around South Bank and deciding on Japanese.

Really disappointed.

Edamame was over cooked. The shell was falling apart.

When I enquired as to whether someone had an iPhone charger that I could place my phone on the staff looked at me like I was crazy.

Staff weren't attentive, I had to keep asking them to come over, very stand offish.

We ordered bento boxes and with the amount of cheap, fresh and delicious Japanese places around Brisbane you would assume you woulf get something decent for $30.
The teriyaki chicken was very dry and mine was partially cold. The tempura tasted oily and the dipping sauce has little flavor. Miso however was nice and so was the scallop.

I wouldn't eat here again, especially with so many other nicer places around South Bank.

 

Cha Cha Charming

Cha Cha Char lives up to all that I have heard. It's a nice restaurant, with great, attentive service and fantastic food.

You will notice that half the pics I have here have already been slightly demolished. The meals were so scrumptious I kept forgetting to take pics!

We chose a bottle of New Zealand (of course, I'm ever patriotic) pinot gris, and by we, I mean Sean chose us a lovely bottle of wine!

We were given a complimentary tapas plate.. not sure what it was now but it was a nice gesture.

The wait staff were lovely, and always filling our wine glasses. Maybe that's why I liked them so much? Luckily they ensured my water glass was always full too.

So we started by sharing an entrée of half a dozen oysters, done in pairs in different ways. There was the 'natural oyster' with lemon, a wagyu oyster which was topped with minced chilli wagyu... surprisingly nice, I liked it considering I don't enjoy mince or much chilli! And of course your kilpatrick oyster, done to perfection. Could have easily gone another half dozen! Or three...

For my entrée I had the scallops with chorizo and mash. Equally as delish as the oysters. Scallops melted in my mouth and I even enjoyed the chorizo and mash which aren't usually high on my list!




For my main I went for the crab ravioli with morton bay bugs. As far as I was concerned that was all that was on the menu. I know it's a 'steak' restaurant, and don't get me wrong, I love steak. But put something like that in front of me and I'm gonna choose it! It did not disappoint. The pasta was perfectly cooked, the filling amazing and the morton bay bug perfection. Needless to say I was pretty impressed with my meal.

Not sure if I need to put a disclaimer on about drinking half a bottle of wine and perhaps my senses being partially blurred here.. however I do think if I had it again minus the bottle of wine I would still be just as impressed.

Sean, of course, went for a steak. He was impressed, and the man knows his steaks! He even liked the sides that accompanied his meal. Maybe that was the wine too?

Sean was most impressed with the ceiling fans.. they ran on a connected belt across the ceiling. Not entirely sure why this was impressive but men like strange things so I guess we will just put it down to that!

We mmm'd and ahhh'd about desert before finally deciding on the choice we both knew we would eventually come to, yes we would indulge. I chose the toasted marshmallow with warm poached pear... mmm it was like being at a camp fire but without the cold wind, wet ground and with poached pears... perhaps not so much like being by a camp fire at all.

Worth a visit if only for the crab ravioli and oysters!

Kokoro Bento, South Brisbane deliciousness

I discovered this new little Japanese place while hunting down the IGA in South Brisbane.

Now, by now, if you read my blog, you will know that I LOVE gyoza. So maaannn was I happy when I stumbled across this place and they do 4 delicious steamed gyoza for $3.50! They are already cooked too so you don't even have to wait for them. Convenient and delicious AND cheap!

They have a wide variation of fresh sushi rolls,  priced at $2.50 or $3.00 depending on the fill. The soft shell crab, and tempura prawn are my faves however their salmon avo, teriyaki chicken and surimi rolls are all just as good.

The tempura prawn udon noodle soup is also one of my faves and they do it very well. They have your usual selection of Japanese meals - noodles, soups,  curries and rice meals. All really reasonably priced - under $10.

The staff are lovely and efficient, you grab your own condiments, (yes the soy and wasabi is free) along with your choice of eating utensils and off you go. I haven't actually sat down to enjoy a meal here, I always get takeaway, however it looks nice and if I had time I would sit and stay but the burdens of work are forever dragging me away.

It has quickly become busy but with fresh food like this at great prices, I shouldn't really be surprised at all! My new local lunch spot :)

You can find it down an alley, 32 Cordelia Street, South Brisbane QLD 4101. Behind the convention centre. Hopefully they will get an online presence soon as they will continue to grow!

Samui... Yoga... Bliss

I am getting super excited about my trip to Koh Samui!

It's only 17 days away now, time will fly with only 7 days of work left and then a week in NZ!

I just found this amazing Yoga studio in Koh Samui, VIKASA. It looks gorgeous. An open air studio on a hill top over looking the ocean. I doubt I will ever make the 9am class (holidays are for sleeping in) but will try make the 6pm class a few times. I  might even make an effort and wake up for a 9am class. With views like that it would be worth the lack of sleep!

I also looked into going to the Samui Aquarium and Tiger Zoo but have since read some bad reviews so perhaps not. The draw of holding a baby tiger is so strong though!! I love little, cute, cuddly things!!

I want to head out to the National Parks too and go snorkelling, they will be beautiful... ahhh...

I will stop there before I mumble on about all the things I want to do and where I want to go!

Ann Gyoza Bar

Gyoza is yummy! Nice and soft and fresh but pan fried and crispy too! You’d hope so though, considering it is a gyoza joint.  It comes out on a sizzling plate, with onion and capsicum garnishes. The waitress then pours the sauce over the top, a delicious citrus, soy.  We went for the chicken and vegetable

You do have to wait a while for the dumplings to cool, which if you’re like me and impatient to eat your food, it’s hard work.

Only note would be that I thought there would be more varieties. There was no beef or duck which I would consider to be staples.

We tried the crab claw balls – they were good and then the chicken teriyaki karage. Teriyaki sauce was delicious and if my Mum was there, she would have told me off for classily dipping my finger in the bowl to get extra sauce!

We also had the edamame, which unusually, was served cold.

Staff were attentive and the décor is very Japanese, that dark wood feel their restaurants often have.

Cheap meal though, worked out to $17 each for three of us, and we were all full to pop by the time we were leaving!

I'm 25, it's not my fault

I would be lying if I said I'm happy to be turning 26 on Sunday. I'm not sad as such about it but it just sounds so much older than 25.

Plus when you're 25 you can get away with heaps of stuff. It's like 'I'm 25, it's not my fault' and people are like 'well that's okay then, understandable considering your age.' Try doing that when you're 26.. Not gonna happen! I have 6 days to use this excuse.

At least in the last year I have kicked some goals. I finally made it to America, somewhere I have wanted to go for a long time and had the best trip ever. I also moved out of sports marketing and into hospitality marketing when I was head hunted for my latest position. An industry I have wanted to get into for years.

I am however, quite upset about these lines that seem to be appearing on my forehead. I don't like them very much and although everyone says that can't see them, I can. So I think I might look at getting a fringe haha.

Otherwise turning 26 isn't all that bad. It's just another day. And thankfully it's not a work day!

Locked out.. AGAIN

I am so good at locking myself out, I should have at least 2 sets of house keys. Although that wouldn't help me in this situation.

I tend to lock myself out these days as I have started taking the ferry to work. So I have no need for my car key and therefore the thought that I don't have my house keys doesn't even cross my mind until I get home again in the evening, spend an hour shuffling through my ridiculously cliche handbag which is overfull with crap I don't need or use, and finally conclude that yet again I don't have my keys. Usually this ensues with a slight panic my phone is dead and I can't contact my housemates to see when they will be home. Luckily for me, 90% of the time they are not far away.

This time however is different. This time I'm just dumb.
I thought I would surprise my flatmate with a pretty sparkly Christmas tree as she is here for Christmas on her own from Scotland. So I put the tree up (mandatory singing of Aaron Neville) and realized I'd left the lights in my car. In my haste to get downstairs, get the lights (I live on the 5th floor, car in basement) and have them set up before my Flatty got home so I could have the lights off and the tree sparkling away I forgot my house keys. I thought what do I need.. Car keys, phone. Got them. Walked outside, hopped in the lift and suddenly realized I couldn't swipe down to the basement to get to my car as low and behold, I had forgotten my house keys.

Of course tonight is the one night Flatty #1 isn't home - he making an appearance at Stereosonic.
Flatty #2 is finishing her shift at the hospital and should be home in the next 20mins as I write this. However I have already been here an hour. Luckily there's a couch and free newspapers in our lobby! !