Ever noticed how sometimes, the side-attraction is better than the main event? Movie previews, for instance; they’re always entertaining, sometimes even better than the damn movie. Superhero sidekicks are another; they’re always really spunky and have way better one-liners. And people: who doesn’t enjoy eating raw cookie dough more than the final, baked product?

I had a bit of the sidekick syndrome recently at The Melbourne Hotel in West End. We started with the Black Olive, Persian Fetta, Sweet Onion and Rosemary Pizza Bread ($9.90). A mini pizza came out that was large enough for a meal itself. This was terrific. The onion had been caramelised perfectly, and paired so well with the olive and fetta. The crust was thin yet doughy, and there wasn’t a greasy drip or spot to be found anywhere on the pizza. D and I both loved this starter.

I also had a glass of Pinot Grigio ($8), and D got a Little Creatures. Top marks for having Little Creatures Pale Ale on tap! It’s about time more places served draught craft beer.

D ordered the pork belly, which came with a broad bean risotto, roasted sweetened apple, and jus, for $27.90. Our first bite was pretty life-changing. The edge of the pork belly piece was ooey-gooey, sweet, sticky, and required barely any chewing. The accompanying risotto was superb – I’d say one of the best I’ve ever had. It wasn’t very cheesey, yet still had a very rich and flavourful taste.  The roasted apple slices were a unique twist that I loved, and went so well with the pork and risotto.

As D got further through the pork belly, I swooped back for another taste. This time, I was pretty disapointed. I was expecting rich, molten pig fat to pass my lips, but instead I chewed my way through a pretty dry piece of meat. The rest of the piece was the same story. The only saving grace was the remaining edges, which were still tasty and soft.

My own meal (the Peppered Crusted Tuna, $30.90) suffered a similar fate. The Tuna came with stir-fried snow peas, bok choy, capsicum, sprouts, and udon noodles, all in a teriyaki sauce. The stir fry was sensational. The vegies were fresh and cooked perfectly, the noodles weren’t slimy, and the sauce that coated everything was finger-lickin’ good.

The piece of tuna on top was not. When I ordered, our waitress told me that the tuna would be cooked medium-rare, and I said I was happy with that. What arrived was very cooked. Anyone who knows tuna knows that this bad boy should be pretty pink inside. This piece of tuna was grey. I had a glimmer of hope when I saw a flash of pink in the middle of the fillet, but this was pretty short-lived.

Now, in defence of The Melbourne, the menu doesn’t describe the tuna as medium rare or seared at all. But, the waitress did tell me it would be medium rare, and it most definitely was not. Again in their defence, D and I have both never had pork belly before. I’ve heard, however, that it’s supposed to have a crackling-like shell, and be very rich and succulent all the way through.

The Melbourne Hotel dishes up a menu that puts a lot of pubs and bars to shame. The standard steaks, ribs, and chips are there, but there’s also the delicious-sounding Chorizo and Chilli Penne, Roasted Pear and Prosciutto Salad, and New Zealand Black Mussels. It’s also a pretty nice space – the outdoor area, where we sat, felt secluded and quiet yet still had the fun and relaxed vibe of inside. The service could not be faulted either; Beth, our waitress for the night, was professional, friendly, and very knowledgeable about the menu.

The servings are also excellent value for money – the meat is big, the vegies are big, the sides are big. And for the most part, the food is very good quality.

I want to rescue these meats from a lifetime of sidekick syndrome. C’mon, pork belly. Stop living in the shaddow of a grain. Come into the limelight and wow us with your 100% melty goodness.

The Melbourne Hotel

Restaurant and Bar

10 Browning St, West End

(07) 3840 9888

http://www.themelbournehotel.com.au/

A-Dawg and D would like to thank The Melbourne Hotel for feeding us

There are certain life changing experiences that we all encounter. It’s often a fairly typical list: your first job; your first home; travelling the world; having a child; falling in love. These are all amazing things that surely impact on our lives. After you experience any of these, you often feel wiser, richer, and filled with the knowledge that this life is truly worth living.

People, add Sandcrab Lasagne to that list.

My life surely changed as I sat at a table at Il Centro recently, admired the fantastic riverside CBD view the restaurant offers, and took my first bite of their specialty dish.

Dear. God.

What happened next? I’m not even sure I remember. I just hope I was ladylike about it and didn’t pass out on the floor moaning, like my tastebuds wanted me to. This sandcrab lasagne is amazing. At $39.50 for a main serve ($26 for entree), it’s terrific value. The thing is huge – I spied an entree sized version at another table and it was also a decent size. But once you bite into this bad boy you will be glad you went for the full serve.

It’s so simple: a thin layer of pasta sheets sandwhich a mass of delicate, tender, flavoursome crab meat. A small dab of a sweet tomato sauce on top provides a slight acidic contrast to the creaminess, and it’s all swimming in this fantastic ‘crustacean sauce’. The result is a creamy, rich, meaty, comforting dish. It sounds incredibly rich – and I’m sure the ingredients are - but it’s very moreish and not at all sickly. There only seems to be two layers of pasta, which I think saves it from being a heavy and stodgy dish.

Across the table D was pouting. He had serious food envy. Rest assured he loved his wagyu steak (~$48) - it was one of the night’s specials and came with a layered vegetable bake and broccoli – but as he put it, “anything would taste like crap next to that lasagne”. His steak was fantastic though; it was perfectly cooked, full of flavour, and absolutely huge. The vegetables were a generous serve too. My photos don’t really do these dishes justice; and please, readers, before you scoff and leave me some disparaging comment about the photo quality, I know they’re bad. I took them on my phone, because frankly I’d rather not whip out an SLR in the middle of an anniversary dinner with my beloved.

We’d also had some sourdough bread with truffle and grana padano butter and green olives ($7), and were thoroughly fascinated with the truffle butter. We sat chewing and savouring each bite for ages, trying to figure out all the flavours in the butter. There were cheesey, nutty, and salty tastes. I can’t believe it is butter, basically.

Drinks were a wine for me (Antonutti Pinot Grigio, $11 a glass), and beer for D (Little Creatures Pale Ale, $8). And yes, $11 was the cheapest glass of wine on the menu, although I found the beer and spirits to be very reasonably priced.

The service at Il Centro was good: friendly, professional, yet relaxed. The ambiance is similar to that too; it’s clear it’s a fine dining restaurant, but any sort of stuffiness or stiff formality is absent. And how’s this for brownie points (pardon the pun): right before we left, our waitress presented us with a plate filled with little petit fours, with ‘Happy Anniversary’ spelled out in chocolate sauce. And no, they weren’t asked to do that. Rest assured we quickly got over our surprise and scoffed them down – the little purple macaroon was my favourite.

Please go to Il Centro immediately and tick ‘Sandcrab Lasagna’ off your bucket list.

Il Centro

Restaurant

1 Eagle St
Brisbane QLD 4000
(07) 3221 6090

www.il-centro.com.au

Case in point: Jeremy’s in the city. I first passed by this little wine bar/restaurant about a year ago and loved the look of it – the bar in the centre of the room, the low couches, the intimate little tables, the fairy lights covering one of the back walls. There’s something very ‘Melbourne’ about Jeremy’s: it looks chic and cool, but also warm and inviting at the same time. I also loved the menu, which was well-priced (dinner $20-$35, breakfast from $10), and featured such yummy dishes like gnocchi in a blue cheese sauce, dukkah spiced lamb, and salmon with champagne hollandaise.

And so, “oh, we HAVE to go to Jeremy’s soon” became a regular weekly phrase flying out of D’s and my mouth. A year later, finally this happened:

D: “I booked Jeremy’s for tomorrow…”

Me: “Awesome.”

D: “Guess who answered the phone?”

Me: “Who?”

D: “JEREMY.”

Cue my eyes bugging out, D nodding solemnly, and us both whispering, “Jeremy? He exists? You mean there is actually a Jeremy?”

Anyway. Jeremy was absent on our visit, but a very polite and professional waiter was there instead. You know what else was there? Cloth tablecloths. You know I’m a sucka for them.

Breakfast is served until 2pm on Sunday, and the menu is quite extensive, featuring both light and heavier options. I went with Jeremy’s Muesli, which was a blend of  ”fruits, nuts, grains, sliced banana, skim or full cream milk and honey cinnamon yogurt” ($10.90). D ordered the Ricotta Hotcakes, which came with date cream, poached pear, and a spiced sauce ($15.90). He also got a flat white ($4). I’m much stronger and don’t need caffeine in the morning to be a charming person, so I abstained.

My muesli was a very generous serving of natural oats, with nuts, dried apricot, fresh banana, and just a little bit of yoghurt. I was expecting toasted oats, so this was a surprise dish – the consistency of it in fact reminded me of a chewier, thicker bircher muesli. Despite my surprise, I really enjoyed this healthy dish. It was simple, yet very flavourful. I would have loved just a little more fruit, but only because there was such a huge amount of oats – I couldn’t even finish it, which is unheard of.

Meanwhile, across from me, D was thoroughly cleaning his plate. Two fluffy, perfectly cooked hotcakes were served with a generous dollop of thick cream dotted with dates, and a large piece of poached pear. The cakes had soaked up a lot of the spiced syrup, and that, coupled with the date cream, had me expecting a very dessert-like dish. But to our surprise, the spices balanced everything out and downplayed the sweetness. The contrast of sweet and spicy was amazing – I haven’t tasted flavours like that before. The date cream was delicious – it was so thick it looked like a scoop of ice cream, and had a lovely chew.

D’s flat white was also very good. The service from our main waiter was brilliant – he was so polite and really made the whole experience feel a little posh. Our only complaint was that we were sort of left sitting there for a while after the meal, with no offer from them to bring the bill.

I loved Jeremy’s, and will definitely be going back for dinner. It’s a romantic little spot, but would also be great for a few quiet drinks. Get there – it’s something that shouldn’t be put off.

Jeremy’s

Restaurant and Bar

93 Albert St, Brisbane CBD

(07) 3210 6529

www.jeremys.com.au

D and I went to Ceylon Inn in Rosalie (not ‘say-lon’, as we thought; our waitress corrected us and said it was ‘sigh-lon’. Got it) recently for a romantic (ew) dinner. We picked the Indian restaurant because it is rather sexy. It’s honestly got to be one of the most attractive restaurants on the Nash St/Baroona Rd strip. Lighting is very dim inside, save for very large and warmly-coloured lamps. There’s exotic-looking furniture, warm-coloured paint on the walls, and a simple terracota tile on the floor. It’s romantic, but in a very cool, Eastern way – i.e., you could take your best mate there no worries. It’s so sexy and dim-lit in fact, that I could not get a single decent photograph. Blurry photos, hurrah!

We started with naan. Of course we did – let’s face it, most of us only get Indian for the naan, am I right? We went with a Kashmiri Naan ($5.50), which was stuffed with dried fruit, coconut, and nuts. I usually love this flavour of naan, but the dried cherries in it were a little weird. The very sweet, almost maraschino-like cherry seemed at odds with its low-key coconut, nut, and date friends.

I got a Vegetable Hatu curry (peas and potatoes cooked in garlic, ground onion, cashews and coconut milk, around $17), and D went with the Ceylon curry with chicken (around $19). I enjoyed mine, although I couldn’t really taste the cashews and coconut milk that was the base; I suppose I was expecting a richer flavour. D’s curry was also fine; the flavour wasn’t mind-blowing, but the meat was tender and well-cooked. A generous serve of rice accompanied our curries.

D also tried a mango lassi ($4.50). The drink was refreshing with a tang from the yoghurt; it would have been an ideal match for a hot curry, had we had the balls to order one.

Service was excellent at Ceylon Inn; despite the girl correcting our pronunciation (this is a bit rude, right?), she was very sweet, friendly, and polite. She checked on us during the meal, but wasn’t pushy or hovering. Prices at Ceylon are a little bit higher than your average Indian restaurant, but I think it’s worth it given the ambiance. Admittedly, I have had better Indian elsewhere, but the surroundings at Ceylon are really just gorgeous. It’s hard to find a lovely place to eat dinner at for under $30 a head, but Ceylon have managed to do it.

It’s the perfect place for a ron-day-voo.

Ceylon Inn

Indian Restaurant

165 Baroona Road

Rosalie

(07) 3505 0990

(also at Toowong, Kenmore, Graceville, and Bulimba)

http://www.ceyloninn.com.au/

Now, D (that’s the missus, for you new readers) does a lot of things for me, three of which include being generous; making me smile; and being helpful. Funnily enough, Southern Spice also displayed these qualities too.

D offered to drive to this mysterious (to us), far-off suburb – and there’s the helpfulness coming in. Once we were seated, Abhishek, a manager, came over and helpful assisted us with the menu. He suggested I try the Spirited Lassi, an original cocktail that has Baileys added to a mango lassi. I wish that we had been served by Abhishek right from the begining – when we arrived a different waiter had rather flatly showed us to our table, then left us waiting for several minutes without menus.

We ordered the ‘Spice Meal for Two’ ($56.90), which included Mysore Masala Dosai, any two curries, one rice, one naan, pappadoms, and a serve of Raita.
We selected the Lamba Korma and the Vegetable Dopiaza as our curries, and the Garlic Naan.

The Dosai is a specialty of south India, and is a thin rice and lentil crepe served with broth and chutneys. I’d never had a Dosai before, and I loved my first one: resembling a massive crepe, it was crispy, hearty, and filled with a delicious spiced chutney. It tasted rich but wasn’t sickly or oily, and I loved the accompanying coconut chutney, onion chutney, and the sambar, which was like a hearty vegetable broth.

My Spirited Lassi paired wonderfully with the slightly spicey Dosai. It had the familiar tang of a usual lassi, but with a creamy kick from the Baileys. D very generously (there’s number two!) let me slurp down most of it. Speaking of generosity, that Dosai was huge. I couldn’t imaging tackling a whole one myself, especially when I had the curries and naan to contend with.

The naan was tasty, but a bit different to what I’ve had in the past. I really loved the garlic filling, but found the naan to be a bit oily for my liking. Unfortunately the pappadoms had similar problems – the oil actually glistened on the puffy fried disks.

The Lamb Korma was fantastic. It had to be the most tender lamb I’ve had in awhile. I find that a lot of Indian and Asian places overcook lamb, or use a cheap and tough cut, but Southern Spice’s lamb was absolutely terrific. My vegetable curry was also tasty and was full of fresh vegies, although I would have liked more of a ginger flavour.

The ambiance of Southern Spice isn’t the best, but that’s not really their fault -when you’re right on such a busy road, there’s not a lot you can do about the heavy traffic noises.

I could not fault the service I received from from Abhishek and Prashant during our visit. Their politeness, consideration, and swift service – and, alright, they were handsome – made me smile.

And as for D making me smile? Earlier in the night I had been telling Abhishek how much I enjoyed the Spirited Lassi. D, wanting to be the ever-helpful guest, cheerily chimed in with:

“It’s way better than the laksas we’ve had from other Indian places!”

Thank you, D and Southern Spice, for a delightful evening.

Southern Spice
Indian Restaurant

2000 Logan Road, Upper Mt Gravatt

(07) 3343 5435

www.southerspice.net.au

Thank you to Southern Spice for dinner and the delicious laksa

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day and I can say that Salt is one of my favourite breakfast haunts. I will first declare Salt is my ‘local’ and I’m often found at this lovely little Rosalie eatery – mainly for Breakfast / Brunch. While it’s not as cheap as my other local fave, Sassafras, Salt’s breakfasts are massive, man-size, meals. 

The coffees are also massive! If you ask for a large, it comes in a bowl. Personally, it’s a little too big for me and I can never get through one of these large coffees without the last half becoming cold. Don’t order the large unless you can drink half a litre of coffee quickly!   

As I’m mainly there on weekends, I have sampled most the weekend menu and there are some clear favourites. Cyprian Grilled Haloumi Cheese (pictured) is a lovely mix of piping hot seared slices of haloumi on top of a good-sized mound of avocado, tomato and fetta salsa, served with toasted Turkish bread and chilli tomato jam. I cannot tell you how well these elements all come together and make this amazing breakfast.  

Great is also the Breakfast Pizza, which comes with three generous squares of ‘pizza’ topped with a divine mix of chorizo, shallots, tomatoes, fetta, avocado and bacon topped with leafy greens and a yogurt dressing. Warning, it took two of us to get through it!  

Other greats are the Potato Gallette, which is a hand made hash brown served with salmon (or bacon) and poached eggs with a side of turkish served with a creamy zingy hollandaise sauce. It’s been on the menu for quite a while but is a great variation on Eggs Benedict. 

I’m not a big omelette fan however the sand crab version currently on the menu certainly looks tempting!  

If you’re looking for something sweet, the Caramelised Banana Crepes are a great option. These delicately wafer thin crepes are served decadent toffee tasting sliced bananas served with double cream and ice cream.  

Salt has a relaxed atmosphere with great comfy bench seats and large leather couches inside with smart black tables, and interesting artwork. Best bet is take an inside seat on a warm day, but dinner on the outside terrace when it’s cooler. Word of warning – the place is always pretty busy on a Saturday and Sunday morning but you shouldn’t have to wait longer than 10-15mins. If it’s a special occasion or a large group, I strongly suggested booking.  Staff are efficient and service is super quick – I waiting no longer than five minutes for my breakfast. 

Salt is a must try for breakfast.  

Salt

Restaurant and Cafe

Shop 2
5 Nash St 
Paddington 4064 QLD

Phone: (07) 3367 0775  

Here are some suggestions on how you can treat your mom (damn straight I still spell it MOM) this Mother’s Day:

1. Satisfy her belly and sanity at Brett’s Wharf. The Hamilton restaurant is offering a Mother’s Day lunch, along with roving magicians and face painters to keep the little ones entertained. $105/$40, plus the mommas receive a free gift! http://www.brettswharf.com.au/news/mothers-day

2. Challenge stereotypes at Hillstone. Maybe she wants to hit a few rounds of golf while Dad eats pretty cakes, huh? Do either one at the St Lucia golf club’s restaurant for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. By the way – the views at this place are seriously gorgeous. Phone 07 3870 3433 for bookings, or visit  http://www.hillstonestlucia.com.au/

5. Hot Chocolate Marbre with Crunchy Honeycomb and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Yeah, that’s pretty much all I have to say. Oh, and Alchemy. City. 12pm-3pm. $85. http://www.alchemyrestaurant.com.au/

A dear friend of mine is utterly obsessed with pilots. No trip to the airport is complete without her feverishly clutching at your arm, loudly whispering, “Look! There’s another one! Another pilot! DO YOU SEE? DO YOU SEE THE PILOT??” She has a similar obsession with bouncers, but that’s another story. Anyway, in her mind, it seems there’s a rule that all pilots must be good-looking.

Choo Choo

It’s the reverse situation with sushi trains. For some reason, there’s a rule that they have to be butt ugly inside (with the exception of maybe Hanaichi in the CBD). At the end of the day, I don’t really care because I freaking LOVE sushi and would bust some heads to get my fix. But still – as I sat in Hanabishi recently for lunch, I couldn’t help but think (as I glanced around the clean yet uninspiring room at the uncomfortable chairs, the garish lighting, the tired serving plates, and all of the cats waving madly) this could be a lot nicer.*

Hanabishi California Roll

But, let’s face it: it’s cheap, it’s tasty, and it’s usually a form of take-away, so who am I to get on my high horse about ambiance at a sushi train. Speaking of the sushi – I tried a California Roll, and a Salmon Roll. Both were tasty – the California obviously wasn’t using prime chunks of real crab or anything, but the avocado was fresh and the rolls held together well.

Hanabishi Salmon Roll

The Salmon Roll
was also good, although some might snort at the idea of canned salmon in a sushi roll. I don’t know why, but I quite like it. Again, these little guys held up well against the wrath of my chopsticks.

Hanabishi is very well priced, considering it is the more upmarket inner-city Barracks centre. From memory, plates start from about $3.50. The sushi is good value, although not the best I’ve ever had (but take this with a grain of salt, as I only had two plates). Plus, they’re fully licensed. You can also order a variety of Japanese dishes from the menu, like sashimi and tempura vegetables, as well as more heartier meat-based dishes.

Pilots, bouncers, and people nicknamed ‘wagon’ (don’t ask) aside – I have my own rule about sushi trains too, which is that they’re always worth a shot.

Hanabishi

Sushi Train and Japanese Restaurant

The Barracks Shopping Centre

61 Petrie Terrace, Petrie Terrace
Open for lunch and dinner, seven nights a week
(07) 3367 3889

*I recently looked at The Barracks website and Hanabishi looked different – so, there’s a chance they have renovated since I visited. If so, many apologies!

Rediscover your Mojo at Cloudland

Like a little Austen Powers ambience with your meal?  Step right into Cloudland and be astonished. Right there on Ann St is an amazing oasis of wonderment, where I enjoyed a delish lunch recently with a girlfriend who has become such a regular, she parks herself there to read while she eats.

Being of the vintage that I am, I remember the original Cloudland, all polished wood dance floor, massive dome entry and kitsch decor.  This new incarnation is not so much a hark-back as a borrowed name on nouveau kitsch decor.  Honestly, I don’t know how it works with all its mixed themes, hotch potch of colour schemes and random seating arrangements, but it really does!  It’s a feast for the eyes and you could return many times and still notice something new.  Pastels mix with earthy tones, PVC with silk, candles with bamboo and it all seems to – I don’t know – make sense!  There’s a waterfall, an opening rooftop, chandeliers, upstairs, downstairs, private nooks, open spaces. It does my head in to think of the design brief!

Cloudland Tomato Salad

But what really sold me was the food.  The dishes I ordered really grabbed me by the tastebuds and I find myself craving them even now, a couple of weeks later! Am I talking about something otherworldly or laced with addictive substances? No!  I’m talking great freakin’ salad here! I had what’s normally a pretty standard caprese salad – tomatoes, bocconcini and basil – but it was actually fresh buffalo mozzarella, three or four different and exotic tomato varieties, soaked in a dressing you could drink. I also scoffed down the Seared Atlantic Salmon with a tomato, green bean and olive salad with tapenade, part of the Express menu specifically designed to feed rushed ladies-who-lunch (and gents!).

Salmon and salad

Dessert was dreamy! Two delectable, sugar-coated donuts and creamy, homemade ice cream.  Alas, the menu has now changed so you’ll have to make do with the Schezwan sugar crusted doughnut injected with choc chilli bomb, fresh coconut salad and coconut bubbles. Poor thing.

If you really want to push the experience, visit the bathrooms!  Not your regular cubicle/basin fare. From the unbelievably effective hand dryers to the ambient, moody lighting, you might want to order your meals delivered there.  Ok maybe not, but you definitely have to take a peek.

The only off-putting part of my visit to Cloudland was that the wait staff didn’t wear uniforms.  Considering the lengths and fine detail the designers have gone to, to ensure the look and feel of the place, you would think the human element would be factored in as well.  Still, the staff members were attentive and knowledgeable, and I couldn’t fault the service.

Park over in Chinatown across Ann St and hand your ticket to Cloudland staff when you pay for your meal. They’ll validate it and save you a pretty penny;  all it’ll cost you is $8.

Cloudland

Restaurant, Bar, and Club

641 Ann St

Fortitude Valley

(07) 3872 6600

www.cloudland.tv

Gina Lofaro ‘aka the wordmistress’ is a professional copywriter whose mind wanders constantly to where her next taste sensation may come from.  Between dining out and creating literary marketing masterpieces for online and offline clients, Gina can be found on twitter at wordmistressAUS or online at www.wordmistress.com.au.

Tognini’s has been somewhat of an institution for deli-lovers in Brisbane since the nineties. The other night I was lucky enough to attend a sneak preview of their re-vamped Spring Hill location. What was once a humble (albeit fantastic) deli has now grown to be a bit of a casual restaurant and bistro. Tognini’s Spring Hill will also now open their doors on Sundays, giving us yet another excuse to go out for a late Sunday breakfast (with brekkie dishes like French Toast with Chocolate Sauce ($12.50), and Parmesan Toast with Bacon and Spicy Tomato Salsa ($12.50), I don’t blame us).

The refurb has turned the deli into a very cool and sleek venue, with a centre counter that is reminiscent of a chic bar. In the centre of the bar is a charcuterie cabinet (don’t worry, I had to google it too), which holds a wonderful array of fresh meats that might tempt even the strictest vegetarian.

Mark and Narelle Tognini spoke with passion of their recent visit to Turin in Italy, and the restaurants, delis, and food they experienced that inspired them to transform Tognini’s Spring Hill into more of a bistro. “The kitchen will never close!” Mark declared, referencing the location’s new later opening hours for dinner. The licensed bistro will now stay open for dinner, offering such yummy dishes as Grilled Quail in Vine Leaf with Pistachio Sauce and Labne ($24.50), or Scallops with Oloroso Sherry, Asparagus and Migras ($16.50).

I sampled a few of their ‘sputini’, which are small, tapas-style dishes. The Polenta Chips with Sour Cream and Sea Salt ($8) were soft and fluffy with a crispy shell; while the Scallops with Smoked Pancetta ($14) were the clear favourite. Perfectly cooked, these little guys were perfectly contrasted with the saltiness of the slightly crisp pancetta.

I’ve been very cheeky and haven’t taken any pictures. You’ll just have to go see the new Tognini’s Spring Hill for yourself when it re-opens its doors tomorrow. Meanwhile, I’ll keep trying to turn my ‘ehs’ into ‘sis’ – possibly with the help of a little dolce.

Tognini’s Spring Hill

Bistro Cafe Deli

Springhill Marketplace

Cnr Turbot & Boundary St
Spring Hill
(07) 3831 5300

www.togninis.com