BrisVegas Challenge

As per my other blogs, Kath Times 23 and The Sleepydumpling's Big Adventure, I am opening up this blog to you, my readers to challenge me to blog about any subject!

However, as this blog is about Brisbane, I'd like to keep it somehow related to Brisbane, so please keep that in mind when issuing your challenges to me.

So, if you live in Brisbane, and want me to share/talk about something you love, raise an issue about Brisbane, or even talk about your event/business, issue me a challenge.

OR, if you live elsewhere and have questions about Brisbane, or would like to know more about anything in particular, again, issue me a challenge.

I am sure you can come up with something for me to get my teeth into.

My Home Town...

I came across this beautiful video entitled "Brisbane In May" a few days ago, and have been meaning to post it.

Brisbane In May from Rhys Day on Vimeo.

It captures my beautiful home town perfectly, and features some locations that just fill me with warmth for this gorgeous city.

Enjoy!

Brisbane Twestival

I just bought my tickets to go to Brisbane Twestival next week.  

Twestival is an event organised by the Twitter community across the world for each of their cities, to be held on February 12, which will raise money for Charity:Water.  

Each Twestival is different, but the point is to bring the Twitter community of each city together for an evening of fun to help a good cause.

Brisbane Twestival will be held at Metro Arts in Edward Street on Thursday night, and is will have bands, theatre, art auctions, stalls, raffles and goodies for people to enjoy.  There is also a Facebook event if you want to have a look there.

I'm really looking forward to going along.

For those of you who don't know about or use Twitter, it's a form of microblogging, where you post up to 140 characters per "tweet" or update.  I love Twitter, and tweeting as it is called, has brought me so much cool stuff in my life.  Lots of famous people tweet, the most prolific of which would be Stephen Fry (@StephenFry).  If you want to have a look at my Twitter account, I am @sleepydumpling.

Kung Hei Fat Choy

As well as being Australia Day tomorrow, it is also Chinese New Year.  And if you wish to celebrate the wonderful multi-cultural country we are, open to new experiences and celebrating diversity, perhaps instead of eating lamb (which I can't do anyway, I'm allergic) you could go for a Chinese meal somewhere.

On Friday night, I went with a group of fabulous friends to Ben's Chinese-Vietnamese Restaurant at Woolloongabba.  All this weekend they are having special celebrations for Chinese New Year, with a special banquet for $39.95, lion dancing, fire crackers and lucky door prizes, as well as their usual karaoke.  I normally hate karaoke, but I got a few laughs out of Friday night's efforts.

Ben's is a favourite restaurant of mine in Brisbane, the food is absolutely exquisite there.  Their salt and pepper squid is like no other - soft and tender, super fresh with a delicate seasoning that just compliments the squid perfectly.  They didn't have it on the banquet on Friday night, but they had salt and pepper quail instead, which was seasoned with almost the same thing.  Divine.

I have to say I've never had a bad meal there, and I've been there a lot.  The service is always prompt and friendly, the food as I mentioned, divine and the prices are reasonable.

One of the great things about Friday  night for us was that we won the lucky door prize at our table.  A $40 gift voucher for the restaurant and a bottle of champers.   What I really liked was the lovely presentation of the gift voucher, in this lucky envelope.

Bag Yourself Some Memorabilia in Brisbane

If you're here in Brisbane, I REALLY urge you to go to this auction on the weekend for the Brisbane Arts Theatre.  Here's the story from Channel Ten news last night:



It's Brisbane's oldest Arts theatre, and a real icon up there on Petrie Terrace.  It would be wrong for it to just disappear.  Not to mention that there are some total gems among the stuff to be sold.

Thanks to Girl Clumsy for getting the word out.

Christmas in Brisbane

It's here already! Yes, it's December again and Christmas has hit Brisbane in a big way. The decorations are up, the sales are on, the Queen Street Mall is chock-a-block and it's storming all the time.

I spent last Christmas in the US, so I kind of have to re-acquaint myself with a Brisbane Christmas. Last year I had a white Christmas, and did all that warm fuzzy American stuff you see on the TV specials. It was lovely.

On my way to work the other morning, the sky was beautiful and as I came up to Reddacliff Place, I snapped a couple of shots of the Christmas tree and Treasury Casino. Here you go:





Purty isn't it? I am told that last year they had advertising all around it. Yuck, I'm glad that isn't the case this year. Instead, just Santa's mailbox at the bottom, which I posted my Christmas cards into on Wednesday and the Aussie ones were delivered the following day. Not bad Australia Post! Er... I mean... SANTA.

If only we could have Christmas in winter. I am truly not fond of summer and find it hard to be cheerful and merry when I'm sweating.

One little thing though fellow Brisbane-ites. In the words of Abraham Lincoln (or Bill and Ted), please, be excellent to each other. The Queen Street Mall and Myer Centre are INSANE at the moment, and popping out at lunch time to pick something up requires a firm girding of ones loins to brave the insanity. Be gentle, no bargain is really worth pushing someone over or getting aggressive. It's too hot to be cranky at one another, really.

In case I don't mention it again, Merry Christmas Brisbane, and Merry Christmas friends of Brisbane.

Doggie Dating?

I don't have a dog. I wish I did. If I had a fenced yard, I would have one. But because I work full time I need a smaller, quieter dog that can amuse itself during business hours (sleeping rather than chewing the furniture) and then I can spoil it rotten when I'm at home. But without a fenced yard, it would be cruel for me to have even a dog like that.

However, in my area, I have several dog parks. They're brilliant. I can go and sit in the park and watch other people's dogs. Sometimes, they even come up to me to say hello, roll over for a pat, maybe beg me to throw a stick or a ball. I like that.

If you have a dog, do you utilise the dog parks in Brisbane? There's a really good list of them here. It's a really good way for you to take your dog out, let him socialise with other people and dogs and even meet other people yourself. You may even make regular play dates with other dogs. Or maybe even make a date yourself, wink wink! I'm a single woman, and hey, if I meet a nice bloke who loves dogs when I'm enjoying some outdoor time at the local dog park, sweet!

Be aware though, you need to be responsible for your dog and anything your dog does. Please pick up it's poo! And don't expect that other people in the park are going to "parent" your dog for you.

When I do get myself a dog, down the track when I'm in a suitable situation, I'll definitely be using the dog parks in my area. They're free!

A Riot of Purple

As you may have guessed by the header of this blog, I absolutely love jacaranda season in Brisbane. Jacarandas just scream "home" to me, even though I believe they are native to South Africa.

I love that gorgeous purple colour, and how they leave a carpet of purple underneath them when they are in flower. Even though they shed blossoms everywhere, and then those said blossoms do rot all over the place, I think they're one of the most beautiful features of Brisbane.

On Saturday night just passed, it was my birthday. I went to Kapsali's restaurant at South Bank with a group of girlfriends (the Brissie Cysters). We were seated at a table outside, right under a jacaranda tree, shedding it's gorgeous blossoms all over the table, the chairs and of course us. Sure, there were a couple of flowers fished out of wine glasses and cleavage as the night passed on, but I didn't mind, they're so beautiful it's worth fishing them out of various places they land.

I've always said, when I get married, it will be under jacaranda trees in full bloom.

There's something special about this time of year, driving through Brisbane (or in my case, travelling on the bus) and seeing that riot of purple all over the landscape. It's stunning.

Incidentally, the photograph I have used for my header comes from Brisbane Images, a digital image collection through Brisbane City Council Library Service. If you go to their catalogue website eLibCat, you can click on the "Search Brisbane Images" button and then use the search engine to find pretty much anything Brisbane related right back to the mid-1800's.

I Think I'm Turning Japanese

Last night I went out for a belated birthday dinner at Wagamama in the Wintergarden with a friend.

I really enjoy Wagamama. I know some people shrink from the idea because it is in fact part of a franchise, but I really believe it's the least franchise-y of all of the franchises.

Wagamama's food is simple, tasty, nourishing and reasonably priced. They do the best ramen I have ever eaten (super-duper fresh ingredients are the key) and it always arrives at your table quick sticks. Last night I tried one of their spring cocktails, a concoction of mango, apple and mint with Absolut vanilla vodka. It was absolutely divine. Fruity and fresh and deceptively potent. I reckon two or three of those and I'd be under the table.

So last night I had the sweet potato kusabi, which are a thinly sliced sweet potato chip with wasabi mayonnaise, chicken ramen, which has REAL chicken breast and fresh vegetables and banana katsu and coconut ice-cream for dessert. Delicious, every morsel.

The only thing I'm not fussed on at Wagamama are the bench style seats. I don't mind the big communal tables, and I wouldn't mind bench seating if they weren't so PAINFUL to sit on longer than half an hour. They're just at the wrong height and depth. I'm not short and actually have longer legs than my body, but still I find myself with my feet in the tippy-toe position on the floor on those bench seats, and it's never comfortable. I'd enjoy my dining so much more if I didn't get fierce cramps from the seating!

But that said, it is worth the uncomfortable seating just for the food. It really is high quality and well priced to go with it.

A Great Cuppa in Brisbane

How about we start with a great cuppa? Because no matter what, if you can get a decent coffee/tea/hot chocolate, it always makes the day that little bit better. Let's break it down a wee bit:

Best Everyday Cuppa

That morning cup of coffee before work is essential for me. I just don't function so well without it. And my morning cuppa of choice is always a grande skim latte from Cool Beans and Baguettes, which you will find in the food court of Brisbane Square, 266 George Street. (Map) Regular baristas Gus and Kat never fail to brew up a perfect coffee (and they do a great tea, hot chocolate or chai too) mega quickly, and with fantastic service. They never forget a regular face and name (or the cuppa that goes with it) and have got making everyone's perfect morning cuppa down to a fine art.

Best Hot Chocolate

This would have to go to Batavia at South Bank, Cnr Ernst and Grey Streets (Map). Hot chocolate is served here in little hot jugs of chocolate and milk, which you pour yourself into a lovely big round cup that just feels fantastic in the hands. Smooth, rich and creamy, with a lovely sense of ceremony, the hot chocolate here is just divine, and you can get some lovely variations on the basic. Batavia also has a lovely feel to the cafe, and they sell furniture and decor with a distinct style as well as the cafe.

Best Tea

I personally like T-Licious, also at South Bank, on Little Stanley Street (Map). Not only can you get all kinds of cuppas as far as tea is concerned (black, green, white, herbal, infusions - every kind of flavour and combination) but they also sell their tea in take home packs and have a lovely range of tea accoutrements. My particular favourite is their Apple Strudel (which is actually a fruit melange, rather than a tea) which is spicy and fruity without being sickly sweet. Of the true teas, I really like the China Jasmine.

Best Coffee

This is a tough one, but I think I will go with Ned's Cafe on Fairfield Road at Yeronga, at The Village on the corner of Fairfield Road and Kadumba Street (Map). Merlo coffee, always prepared well, and a lovely selection of cakey things to go with it. It's often a bit hard to get a table there, particularly on a weekend, but if you can, it's worth it.

What's Your Favourite?

So here's where you tell me what your favourite cuppa is in Brisbane. I will do my best to try it and if I do, review it here on this blog. Leave me a comment to tell me the cuppa you love here in Brisbane.