REVIEW: The Book Kitchen

See the black dog on the left there? He's a groodle and his name is Gus and he's a good boy.

Oops! How can it be two weeks since my last post? I'll tell you how. I went to Sydney! And then I got sick. But...I went to Sydney! For my birthday! And I had one of the best birthdays of my 20 something years. That's right, 20 something. That gives you an indication of how old I might be, since I'm not willing to say outright what something in the 20's I am. But you shush your mouth! I'm 20 something, goddamn it!

The wonderful industrial yet cosy interiors.

As far as chronology goes, this is the second restaurant I have to review from my Sydney jaunt but I wanted to do this one first. The morning after the night before, we were a touch shady and boy, was I looking forward to breakfast. Hold up..."boy"? What am I, a mid-western choirgirl? Um, no. Anyway, moving on.

Book lined walls.

My lovely friend who lives in Sydney took me to one of my favourite Sydney suburbs, Surry Hills. Alliteration for the win! Surry Hills is full of so many lovely cafes with a great food scene and this little café was no exception. The Book Kitchen sits on Devonshire Street, which is pleasantly busy, making it great for people watching from the tables outside. A table inside also seemed a great place to sit, with the book lined walls and great bustling atmosphere but on this sunny Saturday, we nabbed a seat in the cool winter sun.

Action shot.

Service was prompt with water and menus delivered quickly and drink orders taken swiftly. We ordered a hot chocolate ($4) and a pot of TBK Chai Leaf Tea ($5.50). There were tragically no marshmallows for my hot chocolate and after Felix, few other hot chocolates please me without marshmallows. What's the bloody point. Still, it wasn't horrid and it did the job. The chai tea was delightful - wonderfully spiced, milky and sweet - it hit the spot.

Looks the goods...wasn't the goods.

After drinking our hot drinks, we were ready to order. The waitress was so accommodating and thoroughly knew the menu. There were many tempting choices with lots of vegetarian options, which I'm really learning to notice as I move away from such meatcentric eating. We ordered two dishes and decided to share. There was a caramel milkshake on the menu however the kitchen was heartbreakingly out of caramel, so I got a chocolate milkshake ($7). The texture was very thin and the flavour was not very strong but the canister was cold and the serving was big. Check out where it ranks on The Cassie Cakes Milk Bar.

The meals arrived quickly and together and were presented invitingly! First, the Trio Corn Fritters - Poached Edd, Avo Salsa, Rocket with Roast Tomato ($20), plus we got extra Haloumi ($6). The haloumi was good and I'm glad we ordered it, but it was nothing on the Greek Festival haloumi. But for café haloumi, very good. Maybe the haloumi tempted comparison but the fritters...stand aside! No comparison came close. These fritters were so tasty, the corn was juicy and sweet, they were friend well and along with the avocado salsa and egg poached to perfection...mouth party. Please get the fritters if you come to The Book Kitchen.

For our second meal, we ordered the Slow Cooked Greek Beans - Rich Tomato Sauce, Poached Eggs, Salsa Verde, Pancetta and Sourdough for $19. The waitress kindly got our beans sans pancetta. The beans were tasty and firm to the bite, as though al dente. The toast was delightfully buttery, scooping up the beans with a hunk of buttery sourdough was an absolute treat. The eggs were also stellar and as with the Corn Fritter, just perfect. I love a well poached egg - the whites firm and the yolk runny.

The food at The Book Kitchen was top, everything was well cooked and well seasoned, balanced and tasty. The drinks were okay, not the best milkshake or hot chocolate but the chai tea was spot on. With such great food, backed by friendly and quick service, The Book Kitchen is really a wonderful brunch spot. It was such a pleasant café. Highly recommended.

Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Price: 3.5/5
Atmosphere: 4/5

Hot Chocolate Slice

A slice that re-imagines a hot chocolate with marshmallows. A cinnamon biscuit base with dark chocolate mousse and a vanilla marshmallow top...

Delicious Hot Chocolate Slice!

This post was supposed to be up 2 weeks ago, but first I messed up my timings and forgot that refrigeration was required. Then it was Paniyiri and I needed to get that post up before the sweet, sweet honey-puffs faded from memory. Back when I thought this slice up, it was a rainy cold almost-winter like morning. I had intended a bright and easy raspberry concoction but with rain falling, I felt like curling up with a hot chocolate and watching some Netflix.

These are the ingredients required for the base and mousse 

And this is all you need for the marshmallow.

And being the creative type I am, I parlayed this into the wonderful chocolatey slice you see on this page. With a cinnamon biscuit base, like a cookie you'd dip into a smooth, velvety hot chocolate which is evoked in the rich, dark mousse layer. And anyone who's got an iota of taste will know the best bit about hot chocolate is the marshmallow so of course, there's a thick cloud like layer of marshmallow.

This is the hot chocolate mix when the yolks are being stirred in, don't be alarmed by the texture as once you've stirred in the cream later on...

...it becomes smoother like this.

I give you Hot Chocolate Slice!

The base gets covered in mousse and the mousse gets covered in marshmallow. Circle of life.

This is the progression of the marshmallow. Looks a lot like egg whites.

I love hot chocolates. I'm not sure if I've said this before to you, but I don't drink coffee. I love the smell of coffee and have been known to borrow my friends coffees and huff on them like glue. Not that I've ever huffed glue, but I suppose it would be similar to huffing on coffee.

Ahh layers.

But I've just never graduated to coffee. Love the smell, hate the taste. When I was in Thailand recently, I accidentally ordered a milk concoction from Dairy Queen. I was so excited to see a Dairy Queen since you hear about them so much on American TV shows and movies, so I ordered what I thought was a caramel milkshake but it ended up having coffee in it. What a sad time that was in my life.

Birds eye view of slice. HEY! What's that bird doing in my kitchen!? Oh I am funny.

I do like going out to cafes and in fact, I will say to people "Do you want to go get a coffee?". It just sounds more grown up. But I will always get a hot chocolate. And it's so heart breaking when cafes don't have marshmallows. What's the point. Well, the point is delicious hot chocolate but it's always better with marshmallows.

That's a nice cut.

Now so you don't make the same mistake as me, I had better tell you that this slice makes some time to make. You won't be waking up on a rainy day, make this and be eating it within an hour. Both the chocolate mousse and marshmallow layers require refrigeration setting time. I suppose now that I'm writing that I can see that some people might be confused by the title of this slice, Hot Chocolate Slice as it's served cold and not hot, but them's the breaks. It delicious and it really does taste like a hot chocolate drink.

That bloody bird is still in my kitchen!

Please don't be put off by the total time required to make this slice. The prepping and cooking of the ingredients is very quick and the rest of the time, the slice is just sitting pretty in the fridge, requiring no input from you.

Love me some marshmallow.

The mousse in this slice is really cocoa-y and dark. It's not too sweet either, with most of the sugar coming from just what's in the chocolate...plus a tiny bit extra. But this means that the mousse is well balanced with the marshmallow topping, which is sugary sweet. And the cinnamon biscuit base with desiccated coconut is the perfect texture and taste to go with the soft layers of mousse and marshmallow.

Slice in the foreground, slice in the background. 

The slice has layers in order of softness. The varying textures are part of what makes this slice so enjoyable.

All gone!

Hot Chocolate Slice

Prep time: 20 mins 

Cooking time: 20 mins

Refrigeration time: 8 hours

Total time:  8 hr 40 mins 

Servings: 12 big slices 

Cinnamon Biscuit Base

1 cup self raising flour

3/4 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

150g melted butter

Dark Hot Chocolate Mousse

80g butter

1/4 cup cocoa

300g dark chocolate, broken in small pieces

3 eggs, separated

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 1/2 cups cream

Vanilla Marshmallow

1 cup caster sugar

1 cup water

1 tablespoon gelatine powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cinnamon Biscuit Base

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C
2. Brush the sides of a 16 x 25cm slice pan  or dish and line the base with baking paper.
3. In a large bowl, add the flour, coconut, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir until combined.
4. Make a well in the centre and add the melted butter. Stir until all the ingredients are moist.
5. Turn the mixture into the prepared slice and press into the bottom, to the edges.
6. Bake for 12 minutes ,until golden.
7. Set aside to cool.

Dark Hot Chocolate Mousse

1. Melt the butter, cocoa and chocolate in a small pan until it forms a paste.
2. Turn the heat off and add the 3 egg yolks and stir vigorously, then set aside off the stove. Do not be alarmed if the mix is lumpy, it will smooth out once the cream is added.
3. Whisk the egg whites, gradually adding the sugar, til stiff peaks form.
4. Fold a large dollop of the chocolate mixture through the egg whites, then fold through the remaining chocolate mixture.
5. Once the egg whites are folded through, fold the cream through.
6. Pour the mousse onto the cinnamon biscuit base and smooth the top.
7. Refrigerate for 4 hours until completely set.

Vanilla Marshmallow

1.  Add sugar, water and gelatine in a small saucepan over a low heat and stir until all the gelatine has dissolved.
2. Increase heat to medium and simmer for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Once it has cooled for 5 - 10 minutes, add to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on high for 9 minutes. Mixture should double in volume, become white and form stiff peaks.
4. Fold in vanilla extract.
5. Spoon marshmallow on top of the set mousse and smooth top.
6. Refrigerate for 4 hours until completely set.
7. To serve, cut with a knife heated in hot water and wiped dry. 

REVIEW: Gauge



Gauge doesn't have any signage, which is how I usually start my posts, so here's some dinosaurs instead.

South Brisbane is an odd place. In between the bustling food scenes of South Bank and West End, South Brisbane is something of a dead zone. Or at least it was. In the last year or so, a revitalisation has come upon the locale with the opening of Fish Lane Bistro, Julius Pizza, Two Tree Café and probably many others that I can't think of right now. The latest to open is Gauge, a concealed little venue on Grey Street. The café has no signage, nor a website or phone number. However, you'll know you're there once you walk inside.

The cool, casual space.

The use of space is very clever, given the size of the café it has to be, with communal seating in the centre and intimate nooks by the walls. Together with the low-lit lighting, the space felt warm on a rainy day. The elevated kitchen gives the whole café a view of the serious business going on behind the pass. I was excited for our early morning breakfast at Gauge.

Amazing hand modelling.

As the first ones in, we had our choice of tables and we choose an intimately lit table for four. The music sounded like it came from my own playlist and with the warm feeling, the vibe was felt really comfortable. The waitress took our drink orders and since I don't drink coffee, I tried the hot chocolate for $4.50. For the price, it was a bit small but there was nothing wrong with it in terms of taste. For those who do drink it, the coffee ($4) was by reports superb.

The open kitchen.

One of the reasons I was so excited to try Gauge was their innovative menu. Two of the three chefs, Ollie Hansford and Rob Wood, are both ex-Stokehouse and the third, Cormac Bradfield, is head chef at Sourced Grocer. Their combined experience has created one of the most exciting breakfast menus I've ever seen.

Somewhat outshone by the other dishes, presentation wise. Just as delicious.

First up was the House Sourdough, Heritage Bacon & House BBQ Sauce ($9), which was simply a bacon sandwich. But oh what a sandwich. The sourdough is made in house and tastes so fresh. Sourdough how sourdough should taste. The BBQ sauce was tangy and the amount of bacon was generous.

Next, were two orders of Soft Eggs on House Sourdough with Heritage Breed PIG ($16). Not sure why pig is in capitals on the menu but maybe it just wants to shout. As one of the diners is gluten-intolerant, the chefs kindly put the bread for that dish on to a separate plate for me, as I was dying to try this amazing bread. The butter is obviously churned in house as well and there is nothing better than good bread and butter. I was like a PIG in mud.

Look at those eggs! Don't you just wanna break them open?!

The eggs on the dish were the chubbiest soft eggs, begging to be broken open. The bacon was generous again, personally I like my bacon done a touch more though. The dish looked so inviting and for that, I credit those eggs.

Art.

I was pretty tempted by the Cucumber Kimchi, House Seeded Bread, Soft Egg, Cured Pork Cheek, Skyr & Confit Heirloom Tomatoes for $18 and right now, typing that out, I can't believe I didn't get it. But I didn't lose out either. I ordered the Sourdough Waffle, Almond, Artichoke Custard, Bee Pollen & Freeze Dried Honey ($16). What was placed in front of me was a fine dining breakfast. It was a piece of art. It was like a landscape. And it tasted amazing. The almonds were candied and the waffle was crisp and sweet. The pairing of the custard and waffle was bliss. I really would have liked more of that custard. The freeze dried honey was not my thing and I found it inedible. With the rest of the meal being so wonderful, it was very forgivable.


Some delightful pastries in the morning sun.

At the moment, Gauge is open for breakfast and lunch (7am - 3pm). Given my experience at breakfast, I can't wait to try their lunch items and I'll be one of the first one in line when they open for dinner in the coming months.

Food: 4/5
Service: 4.5/5
Price: 3.5/5
Atmosphere: 4.5/5

REVIEW: Spring Hill Deli and Produce

This is like two photos for the price of one, cos you've got the café front but then the reflection of the cars too. What a bonus!

You know when you go out to eat and you are so looking forward to it? You build up a picture of what it's going to be like and you start dreaming your order, cos if you're anything like me, you've been pouring over the menu for hours previously. But so often, reality doesn't live up to dreams. Well - twist! - Spring Hill Deli was NOT one of those places!

Splendid health, indeed.


This café has of course been on my list for ages, one of the many foodie haunts of Brisbane that I never seem to get around to. My lovely friends now know I will always have a list of places I've been pining to go to, so we agreed to meet the one sunny Sunday. I arrived first and having anticipated a busy and packed café, I was pleased to be seated straight away. The interior of the café was sunny and airy with a genuinely pleasant mismatched, rustic farmhouse feel created in part from the large rooster mural painted on the wall.

Nothing beats chocolate.

As I waited, I ordered a hot chocolate ($4.5) and I'm so glad I did. The hot chocolates are made from 70% organic chocolate, pure spice extracts and Maleny Cow's Milk. All of those things together are like a big, warm hug in a mug. I was soon joined by my breakfast buddies and much hot chocolate envy was had.

The Everything Juice.

The menu at Spring Hill is the perfect mix of classic and contemporary with so many tempting options, it was hard to narrow it down to a single choice. We somehow managed though. First to arrive from our order were the drinks. The fresh juices are customisable and for $7, we got what we dubbed an Everything Juice which consisted of orange, ginger, carrot and apple. It was fresh, delicious and tasted so tangy.

Caramel fudge milkshake.

Somewhat predictably, I ordered a Salted Caramel Fudge milkshake ($7). It was pretty good, with a good texture, wouldn't have hurt to be a touch thicker. The flavour was obviously from real, homemade caramel but not all that fudgey. Since milkshakes get ranked around here, this one sits at number three, bumping Chester Street down to fourth. Check out The Milk Bar for all the rankings.

The Maple Bacon with a side of avocado. Mmmm crispy bacon.

The food came out in good time and we got stuck in. Two orders of the Maple Bacon, Spinach, Haloumi, Cherry Tomatoes and Caramelised Balsamic on Toasted Sour Dough ($19) were served. We got one without the cherry tomatoes but with a poached egg ($2) and the other with a serve of avocado ($4).

And the Maple Bacon without cherry tomatoes, with a poached egg.

Both were delicious. The bacon was crispy and the haloumi was nice and salty. Plus, it came with three decent bits of haloumi. I thought it would have been nicer if the cherry tomatoes had been cooked, rather than raw. The side of avocado was generous, which is a good thing cos I get really ticked off when you get ripped off on the extras.

Yummy shashuka. I love the choice in breakfasts these days.

My middle eastern breakfast obsession continued with the Israeli Shashuka - Spicy Tomato Sauce with Poached Eggs, topped with Feta & Parsley, served with Toasted Sourdough ($17). Um, one word...yum! The portion was absolutely massive and that goes a long way with me. But big portions mean nothing if it doesn't taste good. Fortunately, this shashuka tasted amazing. I tried to show restraint for all of two minutes before I smashed the lot.

Lovely farmhouse feel.

The service at Spring Hill was attentive, quick and friendly. Just what you want on a Sunday morning. I felt really welcome and comfortable there. Good food, good drinks and good service - I can see why Spring Hill Deli is a favourite on the Brisbane scene. I will be back!



Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Price: 3.5/5
Atmosphere: 3.5/5

REVIEW: Felix Espresso & Winebar



This way for goodness!

Anyone who doesn't think Brisbane is cool ought to pay a little visit to Burnett Lane. Tucked into a little nook and up a narrow staircase is the very cool Felix Espresso & Winebar. I met with some girlfriends a few weeks ago for a before work breakfast. Walking in, I was surprised at how small Felix is, with only room for around 15 people. However Felix uses the space it does have well, with a split level dining area, seating on the lower level and espresso machine and kitchen up top. There is also a wonderful mural of the sky on one wall which is lovely to gaze at while you sup.


Head in the clouds.

With such a small space, the menu is quite small but Felix focuses on organic and whole foods with some raw items appearing on the menu too. So it's very much about quality over quantity. Even though the menu is limited with less than a dozen items on the menu for both breakfast and lunch, there are a selection baked goods as well as a few extra items on the specials board.


Yeah, I'm not sure about you Green juice...you taste good but you look strange.

For drinks we ordered two juices, a fresh squeezed orange juice and a green juice with kale, mango and orange, both $8. The orange juice was tart and delicious. I've never been brave enough for green juices, I just can't get over the look of it but I did try a little of this one and it was very nice. I may be brave and take the plunge soon. A coffee was $4 for a large cup and was reportedly very, very good. Another was ordered after the first.


Oh lordy. Will you look at this? This is the milk hot chocolate.



This is the dark chocolate version.

The hot chocolate at Felix is something to rave about. I had a juice but after tasting some of one of the hot chocolates, I couldn't help but order one for myself! They come in both dark and milk chocolate at $4, which is pretty awesome. They are smooth, they are velvety and just...uh. So good. Felix is now where we get our hot chocolates all the time! If you go, I can't impress highly enough the importance of getting one of these.

The healthy choice, chia and fruit.

The food followed quickly after the drinks with the Cup of Chia Topped with Raw Coconut Cashew Cream and Fruit ($6) sticking closely to the healthy theme. It serve was pretty generous for the price and the coconut cashew cream was delicious. The fruit was fresh with a good mix of berries and apple. It all went well together and tasted like springtime on a spoon.


That's French mustard, I'll have you know.

The toasted sandwich de jour was Ham with Gruyere Cheese Served with Mustard and Pickles for $10. It looked a little lonely on the large plate but was stuffed full of both ham and cheese. As someone who has scored the city looking for a simple toasty, it was good to see it on the menu. The diner was happy with her choice as well.


That's a lotta avocado.

I am always partial to a good avocado on toast for breakfast and the Avocado on Olive Toast with Lemon ($6) was hard to pass up. It too was dwarfed by the size of the plate and I almost grumbled about there being only one piece but when I remembered it was only $6, there really wasn't much to complain about given the prices for most inner city breakfasts. The avocado was fresh and the bread was good.

If it comes in a little pan, you know it's a good sign.

The ordering game was won by the lucky recipient of the Shakshuka and Eggs with Sourdough ($11). I just love it when things come out in little cast-iron pans. I'm so glad that it's a popular way to serve food. This particular dish came out all hot and full of spices with an egg on top. I was most jealous.


The coloured glass cast a lovely glow throughout the restaurant.

Overall Felix was a win, a cute café that's tight on space but big on heart. As I said, I've been back many times to get more of their delicious hot chocolates and would also like to give their salad range a try. It's a great spot to catch up with friends before work.

Food: 3.5/5
Service: 3.5/5Price: 3.5/5
Atmosphere: 4/5



Brisbane Food Blog
Brisbane Food Blog