It’s no secret that there is many a Thai restaurant Brisbane town. No matter which suburb you enter into, chances are there will be a Tom Yum on offer somewhere. 

With competition this high, to be classified as a good Thai restaurant is serious kudos indeed.

West End's Gala Thai is a good Thai restaurant. 

So what makes their massaman a massa-have?

Lets find out.

​The term “whole foods” traditionally speaks to an unprocessed, unrefined plant-based food item. Like a raw carrot. 

Healthy? Yes. Mouth-watering? Not exactly in its current form. 

I really do enjoy eating healthy, but I have to admit that I need my healthy foods to be zhooshed-up a little. 

Enter Miss Bliss and her Whole Foods Kitchen in West End. 

Using the concept of whole foods and healthy eating as a basis for the menu, I was hoping for some creativity for getting my five-a-day, within the one meal sitting.

How did I go? Let’s take a look. 

• Having grown up in Brisbane, I remember the days when the main strip of West End was easily the go-to place for a good coffee and creative meal. Well, things have changed a bit since my early 20s (despite that being just a few years ago… obviously… *cough*).

These days, you need to meander off busy Boundary road to find such a café, but once you know where to look, you’ll be seeing West End again with new eyes. 

Tucked away on Browning Street is Duo Bar and Restaurant, which is exactly the type of innovative and trendy café you’re looking for when you visit West End.

But does the food actually taste as good as the menu suggests? Let’s take a look. 

Lately my two-year old has been singing “I can sing a rainbow” in a true two-year-old fashion: repetitively. 

After waking up at 1am to “listen with your eyeees, listen with your eyeeees,” I decided enough was enough and worked hard to change our vocal rotation to songs about twinkling little stars, mice running up clocks, highways to hell; anything else.

My blanket rainbow ban was working.

That is until I went to Piggyback Café in Brisbane’s west-side. And ordered the most radiant meal I’ve ever had in my life.
​
Was I seeing red? Or yellow or green and blue? Let’s take a look. 

​Brisbane’s dining scene has seen a great deal of change over the past couple of decades.

​Restaurants have come and gone, and there’s definitely a lot more pulled pork on plates now than there was in the 90s. 

One restaurant that has remained a constant is Mariosarti, which has been a stalwart of Toowong, for over 20 years. 

Recently though, Mariosarti has been placed under the care of a brand new owner. So does its food still stand the test of time?

Let’s find out. 

It's quite easy to find an Italian restaurant that doesn't veer too much from it's traditional roots. But what about one that serves up goji berries with its carpaccio? Or edamame beans with it's pesce?

Are these dishes crazy or ingenious?

To find out, we paid a visit to Il Locale Italian at Rosalie; a restaurant that isn't afraid to take inspiration from all corners of the world.

So does this creative flair fare well for the food here? Let's find out. 

I have four words for you: Ricotta Blueberry Breakfast Dumplings. 

When I heard these were on offer at our local Nordic-inspired café, I was there faster than you can say blåbær. 

Lokal + Co at West End offers a very innovative menu which puts the old plate of bacon and eggs to shame. But does this creativity translate into deliciousness?
​
Let’s go and find out.

The Brisbane ‘burbs is an unlikely place to find a celebrity chef restaurant, but it’s here you’ll find Billykart Kitchen, founded by Ben O’Donoghue of Surfing the Menu fame. 

​Restaurants owned by celeb chefs have a lot to live up to. We’ve seen their insanely drool-worthy foodie creations on TV, and we expect something similar on our plates in real life.

As taste-ovision is yet to be invented, we decided to head out west to try out some famed dishes for ourselves.  

Was the meal primetime quality?

Let’s find out. 

With the current move towards healthy eating comes its natural successor: healthy drinking.

I don't mean browny-green smoothies and quinoa chia water; I'm talking about fun drinking. The alcoholic kind.

Esprit De Figues is the first fig liqueur to hit the Australian market, and in just a few months it has proven popular among cocktail aficionados nationwide.

I say it's health-conscious because of all the liqueurs out there, Esprit De Figues has one of the lowest levels of sugar. This provides the double benefits of allowing the natural flavours of handpicked Violette de Bordeaux figs to shine, as well as being kind to your insulin levels. 

In keeping its sugar levels down, is this drink something you'd still like to sip on during a night out? Let's find out.  

Making a decision on what to eat isn’t always straightforward with so many cuisines available on our doorstep (thank you decades of immigration). 

Not sure if you’re in the mood for Italian? Mexican? Southern USA deep fried goodness? Yes that is a cuisine...

​All of these cravings can be satisfied at the brand new 2Forks in Milton. 

Named after the best way to attack slow cooked meat, 2Forks offers a range of shredded meats which can either be served up in a burger, nachos, burrito, or with a salad. There are also a wide range of tasty sides to boot. 

​So are knives really that overrated? Let’s find out.