Review: Piaf

Unlike the dramatic french song-bird, Piaf hits a few flat notes. The hype surrounding Piaf since its opening made me look forward immensely to eating here. My sister, my dad and I nipped in for a quick lunch. Piaf is centrally located along the Grey St Precinct. Having eaten at Piaf before my sister recommended everything on the menu.

The service at Piaf is good- efficient and unobstrusive, our drinks orders were taken and the drinks arrived promptly. Wine list is good, but small.

My dad ordered the eye fillet accompanied by potato gratin and roasted onion. He ordered the steak medium, however, it was more well done when it arrived. Despite this , the flavour and the texture was just what he was after. The onion however, was still raw and not roasted- a bit of a let down on two counts there.

My sister ordered lamp rump served with ratatouille and jus. She said she enjoyed the overall flavour but components of the ratatouille, like the eggplant were a little over cooked.

I ordered pumpkin and sage gnocchi, which was dressed with wilted spinach, pine nuts and fetta. The flavour of the spinach, pine nuts and fetta was awesome. However the gnocchi were exceptionally doughy and bland.

In all we had a good experience at Piaf, however, neither of us will be rushing back. The prices have shot up from $16 to $20 per main. Which still makes it totally reasonable for some dishes - for example the steak but not for items such as the gnocchi. My sister lamented that the quality/artistry and flavour of the food at Piaf was better when it was cheaper, with a hike in price sadly it appears that the quality of the food hasn't been maintained

Piaf on Urbanspoon

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/337/1360903/restaurant/Brisbane/Piaf-South-Brisbane

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Review: Sing's Asian Kitchen

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Review: Tuckeria

Best Mexican in Brisbane!
Tuckeria is a much needed addition to the casual food scene in Brisbane. Located on Brunswick Street in the Fortitude Valley, their catch-cry is fresh Mexican! They certainly do not disappoint. Hands down this is the best Mexican i have had. We headed to Tuckeria on a Wednesday night. I ordered a steak burrito with sour cream and black beans, Mr Eat me Brisbane opted for tacos. After a short wait, the burrito and tacos arrived. My burrito was perfect and huge!
The steak was so tender and juicy and the smoky flavours contrasted with lime and coriander worked a treat. The tortilla was so fresh and soft, heaps better then some of the tired dry ones I've had elsewhere. Tacos here are a thing of fresh zingy beauty. Mr Eat me Brisbane, chose the plate of 3 tacos, 2 with steak, 1 with chicken filling. The meat was marinated perfectly and imparted a gentle smoky flavour which complemented the tangy tomato, onion, coriander lime salsa on the tacos.
This was our first visit to Tuckeria, and it certainly won't be our last. Great value for money and friendly service. Tuckeria is a must eat!
Tuckeria Fresh Mexican on Urbanspoon
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/337/1486164/restaurant/Brisbane/Tuckeria-Fresh-Mexican-Fortitude-Valley

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Tuckeria: Fresh Mexican

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Gelateria Cremona

Simply divine gelati. After a stroll through Rosalie, we settled on Gelateria Cremona. I'm a sucker when it comes to a mix of lemon and coconut. To my delight- Cremona had both. Two scoops will set you back $5.80, it was well worth it. The coconut gelati, was dreamy great coconut texture and flavour-not too sweet but delectably creamy. The lemon was sharp and perfectly sweet. The combination was fantastic. I will definitely be back.

Gelateria Cremona
Shop 5, 151 Baroona Road
Rosalie Village

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Thai Palace

Do not eat here.
Very disappointing Thai. Service was fine. However, the food was bland. We had spring rolls (bland, no real filling to speak of) pad thai and pad see ewe. Compared to Thai restaurants such as Silver Charm and Thai wi Rat in the Valley, Thai Palace is extremely average. It is also more expensive, given the quality of the food, it is simply not worth it. Save your money.

Thai Palace
Hawken Village
St Lucia, QLD

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Review: Il Posto


Friday night and the search of perfect pizza and great wine beckoned us to Il Posto. Il Posto is located in the Paddington Central precinct on Latrobe Tce. We arrived to a pumping restaurant a contrast to the rather dead shopping precinct.
The ambience at Il Posto leaves a lot to be desired. It is surrounded by day trading cafes and shops lending a somewhat spartan desolate vibe.

Within the walls of Il Posto this is not the case as we arrive at 8pm to a very busy restaurant. We are advised that there is a 30-minute wait on tables and we are shown to the bar.

Bookings are not taken at Il Posto, so if you are heading out there on Friday/Saturday night, be prepared for a wait. We bide our time with drinks. My "eat me Brisbane" dining team chose beers and tried a ciccolina - a cocktail based on aperol and grapefruit, this was really well mixed - a perfect start.

We were gladly shown to our table, after about a 20-minute wait. The pace at this place is frenetic, the waiters and front of house are flat out and the stress of their urgency isn't disguised, leaving the diner with a great sense of urgency.

It was suggested to us to start with the calamari and a pizza. As there were four of us, we agreed. The calamari - fried baby calamari served with rocket and lemon arrived instantly. We wondered whether another table had mistakenly been given it and it was sent back. However the pace here is fast, and the service is almost too efficient.

Both the flavour and texture of the calamari was perfect, a generous coating of salt and pepper crust, however not so powerful as to overwhelm the flavour of the calamari. I do prefer crumbed calamari to have a crunch to the batter though. This crumbing was more of a damp coating, perhaps due to overegging? Despite this it was moorish, tasty and somewhat satisfying.

Next, arrived the Pizza. We shared the Salame Pizza (salami,
tomato, mozzarella, asiago cheese, salami & roasted red capsicum). This was to die for. The base was everything I want in a pizza, rustic, not too thick not to thin, well crisped yet chewy in the right way! The topping was so well balanced with flavour the earthy salt of the salami being perfectly counterbalanced by the roasted capsicum.

We were all so hungry that we decided to have our own main instead of sharing 3. The menu reads so well at Il Posto, that it is not a place for the indecisive. We all decided on pasta dishes, leaving the traditional Italian contorini for another time (involtini, scaloppini etc).

We decided on the following
linguine allo scoglio
fresh mixed seafood, EVO, garlic, chilli $22.5
tortiglioni con salsiccia
tubular pasta w/ pork and fennel sausage, tomato, smoked mozzarella $19.5
pappardelle all’ anatra
duck & porcini mushroom ragu, fresh parsley, thyme $22.5
Pasta of the Day spinach and ricotta gnocchi with gorgonzola sauce.
The ricotta gnocchi was the standout, sauce was perfectly decadent, however the gnocchi were too doughy. The two other pastas lacked a sense of balance and genuine flavour. For example the duck in the pappardelle, had a five-spice flavour through it which didn't suit the sauce (Mr Eat me Brisbane suspects this is because they used a Chinese BBQ Duck)
In summary Il Posto is a must go to for Pizza. It is the perfect place to catch up with friends for a quick and casual outing over beer and pizza. You wont be disappointed. However Il Posto was not e Italian all rounder we hoped it to be.
Il Posto
107 Latrobe Terrace, Paddington, Brisbane, Queensland, 4064.
(07) 3367 3111
IL Posto on Urbanspoon

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