Archive for September 2014

Home Archive for September 2014

The Coop Espresso Bar | 110 Eagle Street, BRISBANE CBD QLD 4000

The Coop Espresso Bar is one of the new kids in town to join the coffee scene. This hole-in-the-wall (no, literally) cafe attracts mainly the suit-and-tie type from the surrounding offices on Eagle Street, offering fairtrade coffee alongside a range of freshly baked pastries and something slightly more substantial such as quiches and jaffles. On a recent visit, I had the smashed avocado with Persian fetta, lemon and dukkah and a 12oz latte all for under $10! Although the coffee was not one of my favourites, I have to admit that the for a quick, simple breakfast on the run, it was a bargain.

Total Bunnie Dollars Spent: $9.70

The Bronuts!!!

So, just as I was supposed to start eating healthy, I received an express post envelope last Friday afternoon which contained two vouchers to try out the new Bronut introduced by Donut King. So, I tried to come up with an excuse not to use the vouchers, but the those devilishly good-looking delicious doughnuts pictured on the vouchers were staring right at me and I caved in within seconds.

On Saturday morning, I cunningly suggested to the other travel bunnie that we should have something healthy for breakfast so that he would feel like some midday munchies a later on. And sure enough, by 11am we found ourselves standing at the counter at Donut King. The bright pink and yellow signage brought back so many memories. When I was a lot younger, I worked at a gelati shop on the Gold Coast and there was a Donut King right in front of the shop, so every time when dad picked me up after work, I'd buy a donut for him as a thank you present. Oh good old times.

So there we were, both holding a double stack of sweet, sweet delight toped with delicious chocolate pieces, just nomming away. I'm going to be honest here and disclose the fact that I was unable to finish my bronut despite my very best attempt.

I failed the challenge, but can you snack like a man and finish a bronut?

*Disclaimer: the bronuts and milkshakes we devoured were sponsored courtesy of Donut King. The bronuts are available for a limited time only.

Brown Dog Cafe | 54 Logan Road, WOOLLOONGABBA QLD 4102

Continuing on from last Friday night's healthy eating plan, the other travel bunnie and I decided to have a rather healthy, non-greasy breakfast. So, when Brown Dog Cafe came to mind we were out of the car park within 10 minutes.

Brown Dog Cafe in Woolloongabba is a cute corner cafe with a yellow and very humble looking exterior (and interior for that matter). The food on offer at Brown Dog Cafe is perhaps as simple as its appearance, so simple that the cafe doesn't even have a commercial kitchen, but nonetheless our experience on Saturday morning proves that the cafe is capable of providing palatable breakfast fare. Apart for the pop-art feature wall of a spider-man dog, the cafe's Hawaiian-shirt-wearing wait staff also add a colourful touch.

The other travel bunnie initially wanted a caramel milkshake, but we were told that they unfortunately didn't have enough milk to make one, so he ordered a flat white ($3.50) instead and I had an iced latte ($4.50). The flat white was beautifully made and tasted very smooth.

Our breakfast arrived shortly after. The other travel bunnie's goat's feta, tomato, avocado & basil on grain toast ($14) looked very appetising with the vibrant colour contrast. The fresh taste of juicy tomato and basil reminded us of something that you would get from a water-front Mediterranean eatery in the dry summer heat. I had the free range scrambled eggs on toast ($9) with additional avocado ($2). The eggs were extremely creamy and the toast was well buttered, with just a touch of salt & pepper, it was the perfect, simple breakfast.

Total Bunnie Dollars Spent: $35.00

What I saw at the media preview of Zara Gold Coast

On Thursday I was fortunate enough to be invited to a media preview of the newly opened Zara at Robina Town Centre on the Gold Coast. I first fell in love with this Spanish clothing and accessary retailer a few years ago when I visited Barcelona. From then on, every time I travel to a city where there's a Zara, I would make sure that I paid it a visit to satisfy my shopping cravings.

So as you can imagine, I was beyond ecstatic when I received the invitation to the first Zara store opened in Queensland! At 7.45am (more than an hour away from the official opening time), there was already a queue of excited shoppers ~~patiently~~ waiting outside. As if I wasn't already over the moon when I saw the spacious store which occupies almost 1,700 square metres of commercial retail space, the team at Zara were so considerate that they have engaged Blackboard Coffee to provide breakfast catering for the event, which included delicious cronuts! It was like I had died and gone to fashion heaven (as Carrie Bradshaw would say) where unlimited foodporn was within close reach.

Zara Gold Coast opened its doors with the Spring/Summer 2014 collection from Zara Women, Men and Kids (OMG, you need to check out the Baby area, everything is so cute) and the store will have its racks refilled with new stock twice a week. Needless to say, after the presentation by the merchandisers, I went C.R.A.Z.Y. It was like I had lost the plot and I didn't know where to start. I literally wanted to buy everything in the store. That's the thing I love about Zara, you can go crazy in Zara and stock up on the current trends and look super stylish without having to feel as though your next week's food plan consists of only bread and water.

Zara has indeed steadily increased its presence in Australia since its arrival in 2011, and with the successful launch of Queensland's first store, this international fashion retailer is also set to continue its expansion in Australia with additional stores in both Perth and Sydney, which means by the end of this year, Zara will have 13 stores across Australia. And rumour has it, Zara has also found a home in Brisbane on the Queen Street Mall! But until then, I'll be making my fortnightly visit to the Gold Coast!

*Disclaimer: I was invited to the media preview of Zara and received a welcome present but had developed my addiction for this fashion house's goodies LONG before then!

Noritor | 151 George Street, BRISBANE CBD QLD 4000

Having wandered past Casino Towers countless times before on our travels around the CBD, I decided the other night that the other travel bunnie and I would stop into Noritor for a quick sample of their Korean cuisine.

It had just gone 6pm, the city had been hit by a short and sharp thunderstorm and the restaurant was quite which meant that we could stroll in and take our pick of the tables. Given that I had been busy running errands earlier in the day, I wasted no time in ordering hot stone bulgogi ($13.90) and spicy kimchi pancake ($8) with the other travel bunnie going for his Korean safe food, a hot stone bibimbap ($14.50) with an interesting twist being the addition of teriyaki chicken. The food literally arrived within ten minutes and I have to say we were both pleasantly surprised. The bulgogi was served in a stone bowl which retained the dish's heat meaning that each spoonful that I poured over the accompanying rice bubbled away all the way into my tummy. The other travel bunnie's dish was the star with the teriyaki chicken was soft and cooked with just the right amount of sweetness. Even the kimchi pancake was the perfect balance of spicy and sour carb goodness.

I found Noritor quick, convenient and yet another good option of Korean food in the CBD. Don't walk by this place again – check it out.

Total Bunnie Dollars Spent: $43.90