“Organics is one of Australia’s top 5 growth industries, becoming mainstream,” says the Australian Organic Market Report. “Supermarkets are fast embracing organics, with growth propelled by the average Australian,” the report adds. There are lots of reasons to increase the amount of organic food we consume, including eating more nutrients and taking far less chemicals...

NOTE: Cardamom Pod is no longer open for dinner, however Cardamom Pod Broadbeach is open nightly until 9.30pm. Gone are the days when ‘vegetarian’ meant a simple salad landing on your table. Not any more! As more people adopt a plant-based diet, the bar has been raised for vegetarian food. Vegetarian has gone gourmet! Our...

A couple of years ago, there was a little tranquil haven overlooking the lake at Royal Pines, a cute bakery and espresso bar named after its owner, Helena Jaffar. But times change. Despite its merit, Helena’s Espresso was subsumed by redevelopment. Now, eighteen months later, Helena has found a new site for her café in...

Everyone has their favourite café. Some of them are places only locals know about; tucked away places they share with friends. You know you’ve found one when people greet each other by name and you, the newcomer, score a subtle surreptitious glance. They’re not necessarily the latest trendy spot, in fact they may be well...

There’s nothing more perfect than an Italian lunch – a little antipasti to start, a light pizza to share, washed down with a glass of chianti and maybe something sweet to finish. What could be better on a glorious spring day? That’s exactly what we find at Goccia in Mermaid Waters.Upload Files We’ve met Anna...

The glamour of Cuba in the 1950s is legendary. In the favoured holiday destination of movie stars and celebrities, at chic bars and stylish restaurants, tables were laden with food and mojitos flowed. Socialites partied on in a haze of cigar smoke, their drivers waiting outside in Studebakers lined along the street. But trouble was...

“I’ve been told that this place has positive energies and a good aura,” Devi tells me. I look around at the two huge mandalas painted on the mirror-tiled back wall of the restaurant, a bronze goddess resting on a pedestal beside me, the accent colours vibrant and rich. I could use some ‘good energy’ right...

Sitting in front of me, resplendent in its calorific glory, is a huge chocolate milkshake topped with two lamingtons. Piled high with cream, a strawberry perched on top, it’s magnificent! Gasps escape from diners around me. Yet I feel nauseated. My internal dialogue has taken over: ‘It’s just fat and sugar. It may taste good,...

You know how it is. You’re hungering for those clean fresh flavours of Thai food – something with a bit of a hit, but not too bad for you; flavours that linger on your tongue rather than fatty fried food for a change. Tucked into the corner of Easy T Centre in Robina is a...

When we think of Indian Cuisine on the Gold Coast, the picture in our minds is predictable: Copper clad bowls filled with curry, accompanied by naan bread and rice. If we’re fortunate, those curries are rich and succulent with spices, served obligingly in an ambient venue.  Beyond this, the vision fades. Rick Stein’s spectacular journey...