Guzman y Gomez, Carindale

With the grand opening of the new wing at Westfield Carindale, a new dining precinct was unveiled. Among the many new eateries, Guzman y Gomez stands out with their bright interiors, loud music and the long lines of people that wind down and outside the eatery during the peak lunch periods.

With a few stores opening up around Brisbane in the recent weeks, Guzman y Gomez is fast becoming a popular destination for Mexican food that bursts with traditional mouthwatering flavours.

As always, J and I shared a chicken nachos. The meat was marinated and tender on a bed of crispy nacho chips. Although there was a lack of sour cream, the juicy tomatoes and guacamole were enough to cause a flavour-some taste explosion in the mouth when served with the chicken on top of a nacho chip. 

The hard shelled taco is my favourite dish to order when coming to a Mexican joint. Guzman y Gomez did not disappoint in terms of crunch, flavour and taste. When eating a hard shelled taco, I have always found it to start cracking or break unceremoniously half way through. However, the tacos at Guzman y Gomez stayed intact through the entire meal. I ordered one steak and one beef taco, with the steak taco being more delectable than the latter.

J ordered a spicy steak burrito which is rolled in a soft tortilla with a helping of rice, cheddar cheese, black beans and tomatillo salsa. While stealing a few bites from his meal, I found the burrito to have the perfect ratio of meat, rice and beans. The steak was juicy and tender bursting with a spicy tinge that complimented the savoriness of the rice and beans.

Guzman y Gomez with it's upbeat and bright atmosphere, is an affordable Mexican food joint that will cater to any hungry tummies out there. They even have a membership card if you find yourself gravitating back to their eatery time and time again.

In love and food,

Vivi

Saké, Eagle Street Pier

Nestled on the waterfront of the Eagle Street Dining precinct, Saké is a chic, earthy and intimate restaurant that offers contemporary Japanese cuisine. A fusion of traditional ingredients with a twist.

For starters, we had sashimi tacos which consisted of tuna or ocean trout sashimi with chilled tomato salsa in a miniature taco, which was washed down with Kozaemon Junmai sake shots. The sashimi was fresh, mixing delectably with the tomato flavours. 

The tuna tataki salad was tossed with satoimo chips and tataki which was sweet and crisp, cleansing the palate.

The prawn tempura pieces were rolled inside out with torched spicy mayo and spicy tobiko. The sweetness of the spicy mayo heightens the flavours of the prawn tempura, leaving you wanting more. 

With a penchant for soft shell crab, the spider maki did not disappoint. The spicy tobiko, chives, cucumber and mayo fused beautifully with the soft shell crab, sending the spider maki to sushi heaven. 

With dessert essentially being the most important part of the meal, I ordered a deconstructed Russian cream which is in essence, buttermilk panacotta with raspberry coulis. 

The staff at Saké are attentive and extremely knowledgeable in every aspect of their dining and drinks menu. As a contemporary Japanese restaurant serving fresh sashimi and delectable sushi, Saké is a fine dining restaurant that would make a great place for celebrations. 

In love and food,

Vivi

Geláre, South Bank

Situated in the dining precinct of South Bank, Geláre is an amazing modern cafe that offers ice cream, drinks and to die for freshly baked Belgian waffles.

When J and I decided to try out Geláre, I was eager to try their premium ice cream which is created as a fuse of American and Italian style ice cream, blending in the creaminess and strong intense flavours. However, upon entering the cafe, I was taken away by the mouth watering smell of their waffles. The waffles at Geláre are light, fluffy, crispy and fresh. Being freshly baked, they smelt absolutely delicious. I ended up ordering waffles with added cookie dough ice cream, fresh cream and waffle syrup. The fusion of the light crispy waffle and the creaminess of the cookie dough ice cream melted together into dessert heaven.

J ordered an affogato, which is a shot of hot espresso with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Although the flavours of the coffee was strong, the melted ice cream made it creamy and sweet.

On Tuesdays Geláre offers a half price deal on their waffles, an offer too good to resist. This cafe is definitely a destination to try if you're out dining in South Bank and need a place to relax with some coffee and desserts.

In love and food,

Vivi

Carolina Kitchen, Cooparoo

Hidden on a corner in the middle of suburbia, Carolina Kitchen is an American style joint that boosts to have food for the soul. Specialising in hoagies, ribs and wings, this joint is quite popular with the locals.

With an American style decor, Carolina Kitchen is quite small, seating approximately 10-15 people. The restaurant itself is not fancy, but more of a place where you can feast, pig out and get sauce all over your fingers to your tummy's delight.

J and I decided to have a try of everything saucy and meaty so we order a rack of ribs, buffalo wings and a side of New York fries.

The New York fries were simply amazing. The fresh crispiness of the chicken salted fries topped with melted cheese, salsa and sour cream was like a hot hot hot sibling to nachos. But I personally think anything would taste good with melted cheese, salsa and sour cream.

The buffalo wings were seemingly succulent, although J and I could have gone up a notch in the chilli scale. The blue cheese dipping sauce that is traditionally accompanied with the buffalo wings worked with the palette to build up a burst of flavour.

The BBQ ribs, slow cooked in Carolina Kitchen's special sauce, was tender falling off the bone quite easily. Their BBQ sauce was bursting with flavour and dripping in delicious sauciness. The highlight of the meal however, was definitely the New York fries.

Being very affordable, Carolina Kitchen is worth the visit if you are in the area, or just looking for a big saucy meat feast. The buffalo wings and ribs were extremely appetizing, definitely one of the better BBQ joints that Brisbane has to offer.

In love and food,

Vivi

Ribs & Rumps, Marina Mirage

Situated on the pier overlooking the waters at Marina Mirage, Ribs and Rumps is the destination for delicious, mouth watering meat, meat and more meat.

As a growing steakhouse franchise in Australia, Ribs and Rumps is renowned for its mouth watering steaks, juicy ribs and flavoursome buffalo wings, all served up on a wooden board in large man-sized portions.

J and I ordered buffalo wings as an entree. These wings were smothered in a tangy BBQ relish, which quickly made the tongue salivate for more as we polished them off.

Half a rack of pork ribs, half a rack of lamb ribs, a 220g rump steak, fries and a very satisfied stomach. The rump steak was char grilled to a perfect medium rare with the meat being very tender and juicy. The ribs were slow cooked and then grilled with a zesty sauce leaving the meat tender and soft, falling right off the bone. Both meats were filled with finger-licking flavour that leaves your palette wanting more.

With friendly and fast service, Ribs and Rumps has your stomach filled with mouth watering deliciousness. This place is perfect for those with a hearty appetite and for those that may want to try the challenge of eating their way through a 1kg man-o-war rump & fries and a full rack of juicy ribs & fries.

In love and food,

Vivi