For years blokes have been missing out on one of the ‘sweet’ spots of life: High Tea. High tea is for the girls, I figure. Somehow it feels like a very cultured thing to do, dressed up in high heels and short skirts to celebrate a hen’s afternoon or baby shower. A shame, really, if...

“Good morning, Vietnam!” Jimmy Wah’s brings a huge smile to our face. Not only is it a sideways nod to the local GI bar in the 1987 movie Good Morning, Vietnam, but its combination of talented owners – Jake Cooley, highly regarded former head chef of Social Eating House + Bar and Shelly Greaves, former...

It’s winter, which means it’s the month for truffles, and we’re heading to Cucina Vivo in The Star Gold Coast to enjoy a ‘truffle feast’. It’s been a slow love affair for me. To be perfectly honest, you’d never pick a truffle for a first date! A large, darkish blob covered in wart-like nodules hiding...

Sometimes a new owner can bring a breath of fresh air into a place. That’s the feeling we get with Griffith Street Larder. Early in 2016, Kylie and Dennis Bastos settled on the Gold Coast leaving Melbourne’s cold winters behind. Their purchase of the already successful Larder, formerly owned by the crew from Blackboard Coffee,...

“Set on the red clay of Cudgen, this year’s Black Tie Dinner will take your tastebuds on a journey from the Caldera to the sea. A panoramic palate of the valleys of contrast, the menu will encompass a selection of local produce and flavours of cultural significance.”   It may seem an unlikely venue for...

When Cardamom Pod Broadbeach began serving à la carte breakfasts, the Gold Coast’s vegan/vegetarian dining scene took a massive turn skywards. With beautifully presented, nutritious meals made to order, Cardamom Pod converted a throng of fans, their fruit and flower laden ‘Pod’ breakfast bowl being named one of the best dishes on the Coast. In...

There are times when I hanker for great fish; something more than a battered bundle of joy wrapped in paper with crispy chips – that’s another delight entirely. No, I want the real thing, unadulterated; a perfectly cooked buttery piece of coral trout or red emperor, or the indulgence of tasting the salty brine of...

Dreams sometimes come true. At least that’s the case for husband and wife team Monica Tjong and Gabriele Pirotta. The pair had always dreamed that one day they might own a little café in the ‘burbs. Gabriele, a chef in Italy before he emigrated to Australia about seven years ago, waited for his residency before...

There are some tours in our own backyard which we shouldn’t leave to the tourists, and Beenleigh Rum sure is one of those. We’re a nation built using rum as the currency. Don’t bother going further afield; we’ve got liquid gold right here on our doorstep! Opened in 1884, Beenleigh Rum Distillery is Australia’s original...

Tucked into one corner of the Maudsland Central Shopping Centre, it’s easy to see why this brunch spot is named ‘terrarium’. Glass windows compose two walls of the triangular-shaped café, looking out to Maudsland Road. Inside, the grey and white hues of the décor are livened up by green plants, hanging from the ceiling, in...