The Deck, The Glen Hotel, Eight Mile Plains, Brisbane

The Glen Hotel is only 15minutes drive from the Brisbane CBD and also having free parking on site is always handy. What you may not know is that this is kind of your typical tavern but then, there's a hotel which is surprisingly 4.5 star accommodation in which I am unsure why there is such a high rated star hotel over in the Southside.. The Glen Hotel has two main dining areas which is one, The Garden Grille Restaurant and Bar which features their newest signature steak and seafood restaurant with an Executive Chef of Cha Cha Char fame and then there is The Deck which features more of your bar, bistro and pub food, basically more of a casual dining and gaming lounge feel. Oh, and if you're only looking to have a drink? Then there is even a bottleshop drive through available on site. You can always see it being crowded every peak hours especially after work, friday nights and on weekends. So don't be surprised if it takes awhile to get a seat or even eat with loud noises around you.

Silly me... I forgot to take a picture of the Specials of the day which I did end up choosing after browsing through their wide variety of food on their menu. This was the 'Double Kangaroo Burger' served with beer battered fries. I, at first did not realise it would be this big as I wasn't sure of what to get at the start. There were just so many delicious options to choose from.

The beer battered fries were fried to perfection, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

The Kangaroo Burger itself was quite big in a way that it was stacked nicely and presented well on a chopping board. It had double kangaroo patty, double cheese, onion rings, rocket and tomato and also a mayo dressing. The cheese just seemed like your typical cheddar cheese slices you get from your local supermarket. Having the onion rings there gave the burger a crunch as well as having the simple salad. However, the double kangaroo patty was great but they were both just quite thick in size so it can be a bit troublesome when you do want to grab it with two hands and take a big whole bite.

Nicely cut in half showing each of the elements in the Kangaroo burger.

'Chicken Cheese Schnitzel' ($13) was a golden crumbed chicken breast schnitzel topped with melted mozarella cheese served with beer battered fries and salad. If you would like to add a topper then you can do so too. The portion is quite big and the chicken schnitzel was golden crumbed and I have to say that for the price, it was definitely worth it.

The side salad was fresh with a mixture of mixed leaves, red onion, tomato and cucumber with a light salad dressing. The beer battered fries was fried well and fried food is always great with fries/chips. The golden crumb was crumbed well thinly with the right amount of salt as well as the melted mozarella cheese gave the schnitzel the extra punch. It is nice to see that a full chicken breast meat has been used instead of sometimes being more of a thick crumb than the meat itself.

The Morrison Hotel, Woolloongabba, Brisbane

One of the best steaks has always been here at The Morrison but it seems that their pepper sauce is still unbeatable. Of course, if you prefer your green pepper sauce or non-creamy pepper sauce, then this may not be for you and if so, do go for their mushroom sauce and you will not be disappointed. If you're not feeling like steak, don't worry.. as they offer many more dishes other than steaks including Wood fired pizzas, a wide variety of salads and mains such as Chicken Parmy, Beer battered barra, how about Beef cheeks 5 ways? Do try their The Morrison Parmy as they do a mean one..

This entree took so long to come until we actually eventually told them that we would rather cancel than eating it as a dessert. Well, basically after we ordered and whilst we were chatting along.. our steaks came. Then maybe about 15mins after, our supposed to be entree did not arrive and so we told the waiter to just cancel it as we were already on our mains and we wanted to have the bread as an entree but instead, we got the steaks first. The waiter was friendly and understood our situation, apologized and told us that he will sort it out for us.

The next thing you know, he comes out bringing our entree out and said we won't be charged and it was their fault. Although it is a kind gesture but we were already quite full from our mains to be honest. So in the end, we just had a few slices and left the rest. 'Wood Fired Pizza Bread' ($9.50) with pesto, pine nuts, camembert, mozarella cheese with fresh garden basil. It was a delightful dish to have although it would have been better if we could've started with it in the first place without having to have grumbling tummies then eating our steaks then having the entree to come out last. If you do like your garlic bread or your Maragarita pizzas but sometimes you may get bored of it and want to try something different, then do try this. It is such an elegant but thin starter to have while you chat while waiting for your mains to come. The combination of pesto and pine nuts always works well and especially when you combine it with camembert and mozarella cheese. The only thing that I could not find was the fresh garden basil or maybe they just simply forgot about it.

'Graziers Eye Fillet' (200g, $32) is the one I always get as I love my Eye Fillets. A succulent, tender and of course, lean piece of meat. With every steak order, you are to choose your own sauce (Mushroom, Pepper, Chilli, Herb Butter, Texas BBQ, Blue Cheese butter etc and mustards are also available) + your choice of salad (Caesar salad or House salad or Blue cheese, walnut, apple and rocket salad w a balsamic glaze) + your choice of chips or house potato. Seriously though, for the price and for the quality as well as what you get on your plate when it arrives, you won't be disappointed.

Their mushroom sauce is delicious, I cannot deny it. Roughly though thinly cuts of mushroom pieces filling the sauce as well as you wouldn't think that your sauce is too little or due to the fact that there are mushrooms in it, you would not have enough. But really, you have more than enough and believe me since I'm a big sauce fan. The creaminess, the mushroom taste and flavour just combines well especially even if you dip it in a bit of your garlic bread in it.. Well, you're not supposed to but oh well. The caesar salad was simple but had your mozarella thin slices, cos lettuce, a light caesar dressing and also bits of bacon.

'Graziers Rump' (300g, $32) is a classic prime cut, grain finished in 100 days and is full of flavour. It has been aged to specifications allowing the full flavour and tenderness. It is great when you get a piece of steak and you could see the grill marks.. I just love seeing them.

Finally, saving the best for last would be their pepper sauce. It has lots of kick since there are the peppercorns within the sauce and although it isn't fully creamy but it is yet quite creamy if you get me.. It is a must try especially if you love pepper. Pour that all over your steak or just slice a bit of steak and dip it in, and you will be in pepper heaven.. I still can't find a competitor for this pepper sauce. They are either not peppery at all, too thin, too liquid, no peppercorn or they are just green peppercorn sauce in which is supposedly more elegant in terms of taste and smoothness.

Jimmy's on the Mall, Queen Street Mall, Brisbane CBD

Jimmy's has always been one of the go to places whenever you're unsure of where to go to eat or drink in the city, you just somehow end up here. Remember that the lower deck and the upper deck both have their own menus so they may differ in terms of what dishes are on offer. Some of the dishes however are offered on both decks. There are more seatings downstairs than upstairs but if you would like to have a view of the centre of Queen St Mall, then I'd suggest you sit upstairs. There are both normal and high tables available, as well as tables around the bar area. As it was late afternoon when we arrived, we just wanted somewhere to rest our feet and maybe have a drink and a nibble..

'Bowl of Wedges' (AUD$11) included a little bowl of sweet chilli and sour cream. The wedges were deep fried perfectly, crispy on the outside and moist and hot on the inside. A nice snack or nibble while having a chat. They do also have Salt and Pepper Calamari, Arancini balls and Charcuterie plate etc.

'Cappucino' was made well but when the waiter took it over to our table it seemed that s/he had tipped a bit over making the saucer abit messy and sticky.

'Lemon, Lime and Bitters' is always a nice cool drink that isn't so fizzy or feels as if it's a soft drink in my sense.

Beach House Bar & Grill, Westfield Chermside, Chermside, Brisbane

The Beach House has always been one of the go to places when you're in the CBD and wanting a simple but casual dining place to have a beer or pub food while listening to live music. Although it could get loud at times especially on friday nights, it would always be quite packed. Now that they've opened at Westfield Chermside, it allows people living around the area to try and dine the same or even a better experience.

A new feel, much more modern but still keeping its casual ambience when compared to the city restaurant. Beach House has always been a more of a self service restaurant meaning that there is no table service. You order at the counter, get given a buzzer then when the buzzer vibrates, you would have to pick up your own food at the counter. Usually this can get confusing when there are similar or the same food on the counter meaning that they may be other diners' food and not yours. It is sometimes hard though to get the attention of the waiters because even if they were not as busy, let's say walking around or standing around the bar as they seem to be nowhere near and the person at the counter would be busy taking orders. It is quite hard when you don't get any advice on which were your meals or her or his meals so you would just have to go with your feeling and hope that the food you're taking off the table is yours.

Lunch specials of $9.90 dishes offers a few various choices you may choose. This was their 'Rump & chips and salad' with any sauce of your choice. The fries were beer battered which was crispy and fried well, the salad is just a simple garden salad with a mixture of greens, shredded carrots, tomato and cucumber. The salad looked fresh but was bland due to the lack of sauce.

The steak was cooked well to our liking, the pepper sauce however though was not as strong as I thought it would be, there were bits of peppercorn but they were just very light in terms of texture but overall, it is a pub meal and it wasn't too bad.

'Chicken Parmigiana & chips and salad' seemed to have been done in a rush or so as the plate was kind of all over the place when we were picking it up from the counter. Again, beer battered fries and garden salad was the same as above however there was more sauce on the salad than before.

As for the chicken itself, I was quite dissapointed.. It was very small as you can see in portion, it seemed like the biggest chip would be its size. A slab of cheese and ham on top along with a tomato based sauce or napoli sauce as it may be, did not make it any better. The tomato sauce based didn't seem to have much seasoning whilst some of the chicken breast seemed to have some burnt areas along the edges.

As you can see, the chicken breast was very thin and although the crumb was thin, the whole dish just didn't do it for me overall.

I quite enjoyed the interior of the restaurant, it has been designed well giving it a homey but also beach side feeling with bits of pieces of the things you could find at the side of the beach and also the artificial greens in the pots just gave the whole wall a bright new light and a nice view while eating.

HQ Cafe, Kedron-Wavell Services Club, Chermside, Brisbane

My my.. I don't remember the last time I stepped foot in Kedron-Wavell, but I'm glad I did when the restaurants in Chermside mall was getting a bit dry and wanted to go past Chermside are for lunch but as we drove near the Kedron-Wavell, I thought, why not have a peek and maybe they may serve up good food. Though, I have to admit, I was in the moment of missing pub food.. Good ol' pub food.. and was I surprised by its renovated interior and restaurants too. Though many of you may say it is crowded with older adults, but there were many having lunch breaks from the office, short meetings, or just your casual dressed young adults as well..

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Riverbar & Kitchen, Riparian Plaza, Eagle Street Pier, Brisbane CBD

Riverbar Kitchen, on the Promenade level of Riparian Plaza in Eagle St Pier precinct, giving you views of the Story Bridge, what a view.. I have always enjoyed waterfront views when it comes to dining and living, especially when the weather is nice and the sun isn't scorching on you like a laser beam. Owned by celebrity chef and restaurateur Matt Moran, you wouldn't doubt the food nor the interior and ambience.. Well, sometimes you would but I guess it depends on first impressions and location..

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Chermside Tavern, Westfield Chermside, Chermside

Chicken Schnitzel with salad, chips and pepper sauce.

Chermside Tavern is usually packed during lunchtime or in the evening. But if you are ever around during lunch time, pop by for their lunch deals only applicable on Mon-Fri 11.30am-2.30pm. Offering 5 different dishes, there sure will be one or two that you will want. From Beer battered fish, Chicken schnitzel, Salt n pepper calamari, Chicken caesar wrap and more.

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