Pompidou - THE Cafe NOT that other place in Paris!!

The coffee and cafe scene in Brisbane some think, starts and ends around New Farm and the Valley. Those trendy areas are full of the young and [ think they are] beautiful. Good for observations, but are the areas all that good for coffee?

There is good coffee in Brisbane, with di Bella coffee a stand out producer of an excellent range of coffee blends, and their products are used around the area as well as at their own site in Bowen Hills, on Abbottsford Road. Even have a drive through coffee bar.

But most have a desire to sit down for a coffee.

Try an easier location with a visit to Pompidou in Balmoral. Relatively easy parking on a side street, around the corner from their location at 236 Riding Road. A great di Bella coffee blend, and a well produced cup of coffee. And pleasant staff.

The site has been there as a coffee shop for a while under a prior name and owner, with the new owners operational now for several months. The changes are not monumental, but evolutionary, with a subtle but welcome change of menu and coffee brewing.

Try the place if out on the southside of Brisbane - Norman Park, Balmoral, Murrarie, Bulimba all are close by.

They do a great well priced range of breakfasts, and the eggs benedict are excellent!

Mt Lofty House - Accomodation on High

Mt Lofty, the high point of the Adelaide Hills also has a great older converted house as up market accommodation, very close by.

Actually, on the east, below the edge of the hills, so you miss the westerlies, although when there are southerlies or sou' easterlies, well they do come up the valley.

It is a rebuilt old established estate house, originally built in the mid 1800s, but burnt down in bushfires a few years ago, and rebuilt and converted to accommodation.

Just up the freeway from the Cross and Portrush Roads / Glen Osmond Road intersection, and about 35mins to the airport. A great place for a weekend with some great views and options to do a few walks around the grounds or at the adjacent Botanical Gardens annex or even hit the bicycle [ for serious cyclists though- it is a bit hilly, so be prepared].

We have only been there in cooler months, and it can be cool,VERY cool at night during the winter.

It is well known as a restaurant for dinner, and even for breakfast they do a great muesli with yoghurt and fruit coulis [ I really like these - very addictive for a second one!]. Have not had dinner there but reputation is excellent.

They seem to have had a few specials on some of the accommodation web sites eg www.wotif.com over the past few months so check those for a good deal - and they have been!

Recommended, as something a little different. Their website is here - http://mtloftyhouse.com.au/ lots of photos

Radiator Wrecking

NOT a good afternoon.........the trusty Subaru Outback blew the top off the radiator - literally, pieces of plastic everywhere, when about 70km out of town, on a reasonably isolated road. just as the vehicle arrived on location.

Meant a very tricky limp back into town. Had 6L of water, but had to fill up water bottles quite a few times at various places along the way.

This sort of event can really put a major hole in a road trip, of any length. Especially tricky if in the remote parts of Australia.

You can plan for blown radiator hoses, loose clamps, but to literally blow the plastic top off the radiator is a bit odd to me. Maybe the older cars mostly had metal tops on radiators.......and hence rarely, if ever, actually broke.

This will mean several days off the road and a costly repair, and no doubt parts will have to come from interstate. Removing and repairing the radiator will have a high labour component - so will be costly.

Italian Food in Adelaide

It has been cold in southern Australia. Good warm food and a nice red wine help warm the inner self.

For a reasonable feed of some decent Italian food, along with a very respectable coffee try a near city restaurant, not an upmarket expensive city eatery.

More than a trattoria, more than a coffee shop but not an exclusive restaurant the Caffee Buongiorno at 145 The Parade at Norwood offers both all day eating and coffee as well as decent wholesome Italian style evening meals in a friendly, sometimes a bit noisy atmosphere [hard surfaces do not help - eg tiled floors]. It has a good ambience. There is an alfresco dining area too, maybe nice for summer but definitely cool to cold over the past few weeks of June 2011 for sitting outside.

There is a reasonably quick lunch time menu - soups, pizzas, various pasta options for a filling lunch. We had the calzone pizza which came with a napolenta tomato sauce on top and was very tasty - enough for two at lunch time [ about $16]. Coffee was good too, and there were quite a few italians imbibing coffee - usually a good sign in these types of eateries.

Some days later after a pretty cold late afternoon we decided italian food was the go for dinner. Scoloppine and saltim boca were the dishes of choice and they did not disappoint either and prices were around the low $20 range. Wine available by the glass too. The night we were there, a family group of about ten including quite a few children were having a group meal - so it does cater for small groups too. Meals are available until later in the evening, which is something to remember as many places seem to stop food service around 8 or 830pm, often too early if you are travelling or working.

The tenor of the place fits between cheap eateries and the upper range with good, tasty wholesome Italian food as you would expect. The evening meals had a great range of vegetables included in the price - something not always the case. The veggies were a great addition to the evening meals, and welcome after short order food over a few days prior to that. You do not get much change from $10 even at fast food chains, so meals around $20+ is a reasonable option.

Somewhere to test drive if you are in Adelaide for a few days and think Italian food is your preferred option for that meal.

We would go again!

The Ice Cream Seller

Watch for and enjoy the simple ice cream slice, cut by hand, between two wafers.

Many around the city areas, and this one was down near the Double Helix Bridge, where you walk over to the Marina Bay Sands precinct.

Great value ice cream for $1.20 - gone up from $1 in 2010!

The Joys of Airline Travel -NOT

The Joys of Airline Travel – NOT

Fellow passengers can be friendly, pesky or just downright awful, annoying and a menace.

A recent flight delivered one of the latter into the middle seat in the row in front of us. As usual, the plane was very near full, and it was a Friday evening after an especially stressful week for airlines with volcanic ash disrupting flight schedules, and the subsequent delays often annoying to passengers.

BUT........you can do little to solve the issue, and safety does come first.

However, the male [ cannot describe him as a gentleman] seemed to be a little more than well charged as he got on the flight, which had been delayed well over two hours – time seemingly spent imbibing at the bar.

He was raucous, calling to a fellow passenger who was known to him a few rows in front and generally a bit disruptive to those around him. He was a large framed guy, and with waving his arms around and bopping to music it seemed a bit chaotic in the row in front of us.

But wait.......there is more!

Soon we were airborne, and out came a pizza along with about a dozen oysters. The latter were consumed promptly in conjunction with a citrus liqueur as oyster shooters, and the pizza also promptly was eaten. Then the airline meal, all the while hopping and bopping in the seat with the headphones on and loud.

We then had some clear air turbulence for a while and I wondered if his bopping in the seat was causing some of it......he was that vigorous. That incident slowed the meal service for a little while but as soon as service resumed, he was after more beers.

About three hours into the nearly five hour flight........he promptly passed out, rather than went to sleep. Peace ensured.

Prior to landing it was a major effort to wake him to raise the seat back for landing. Very bleary eyed it seems. But awake enough to call for the steward and hand her the bag of oyster shells – she looked absolutely stunned. That was priceless and almost worth the previous annoyances!!

As the guy next to him in the window seat said..........lucky it was only five hours and not a sixteen hour flight to north or south America.

There have been quieter evening airline flights.

Muthu's Curry House Singapore - Little India

Muthu’s Curry House – Singapore

Three ethnic groups predominate in the polyglot brew of nationalities and races that is Singapore – Chinese, Malay and Indian.

Seems it might be a good location to sample some decent Indian food. And over the years we have had some great meals, mostly favouring the smaller places, food halls, and hawker stalls. Great prata, various roti types, Chicken briyani, korma curries and similar relatively common and well known dishes. Places such as the Tekka Centre where food is both good and very well priced.

But if you wish to venture into some better Indian food in Singapore then Little India is obviously the location to head for.......and Muthu’s Curry House, serving Indian food for three generations is an excellent choice. It has been upgraded and has excellent air-con if a bit fainthearted. Do not be put off by the word “curry” – there is much more to Indian food than just a throat tingling hot curry.

Definitely no beef around, but plenty of mutton and chicken is just as tasty.

Muthu’s is on Racecourse road, not that far from Farrer Place MRT [ less than 100m] and easily reached by public transport, with regular services up Selegie road, one street away. Get off at the Broadway hotel.

This is the original [and best?] location although other sites operate – Temasek Place [Suntec City] at Marina Bay. As a third generation restaurant [opened in 1969] they must be doing something right!

And based on a recent meal, they do seem to have it well sorted.

The night we were there was mid week, and the place was full. We went with local Singaporean friends in their car, and parking was a bit of an issue, but solvable. Nothing too unusual about that though.

As a group of four, we could mix food around a lot and that is a much better idea than just two people. The Kashmiri Naan was exceptional as was the Romali Roti. The Kashmiri Naan has chopped cherries on the top – very different and a great taste. Most other dishes were equally good. Our main dish was the inevitable fish head curry, along with butter chicken, a small serve of chicken tikka and briyani rice – basmati rice with attitude – that itself was great. There were quite a range of smaller side dishes – across vegetables, fish/meat and rice/breads.

Most dishes priced in the $6 - $12 bracket, with a few [often multi serve sizes] priced higher.

Great food and is worth trying. Would we go again – DEFINITELY!

They, like much of the wired place that is Singapore is online at:
www.muthuscurry.com and wifi is available and orders taken on a PDA!