Just thought I’d share some beautiful coffee art pictures that came through as an email today. It’s amazing what a barista can do with a toothpick and a bit of talent!

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A couple of weeks ago we decided to go to Zen chinese restaurant for my partners birthday.

Zen is located on the ground level of the casino tucked around a corner (past the Atrium bar) and it’s one of the best (or the best) restaurant in the casino. It’s a fine dining Chinese restaurant catering to the high rollers and brings a bit of class to the casino which underwent a massive refurbishment about a year ago.

Being a fine dining restaurant means the meals come with a high price tag so is it worth it?

We all had soups for starters - wonton and hot and sour soup. Both were around $9 each. I ordered a wonton soup and it was delicious - the dumplings hand made with a rich, dark broth.

For mains we ordered fillet beef with scallops and vegetables and macadamia nuts $33.50, eggplant with chilli and mince approx $18, chinese broccoli and oyster sauce approx $18 and special fried rice with hidden treasures approx $14.

Everyone loved the beef and scallops dish as the beef was tender and the scallops large. I was grateful that they removed the roe because I hate that part. The macadamia nuts also made it an extra classy dish.

The eggplant with chilli and mince was also wonderful and our friends had never tried this dish and they were impressed although they commented that it’s an oily dish. The oil is needed though to add flavour so I can’t criticise them on this point.

The chinese broccoli in my opinion was overpriced given that it’s only steamed with an oyster sauce over the top but the fried rice was faultless. The hidden treasures by the way are slices of Chinese sausage.

We went back to Zen a few weeks later to try out their $18.50 per person yum cha but were disappointed. It’s a set menu and they don’t bring around the trolleys. The set menu is generous but I prefer to choose what I want to eat and the whole fun of yum cha is choosing items off the trolleys.

Below are some pictures of our dinner meals. To write your own review click here!

Wonton Soup which was around $9

Hot and Sour Soup

At the front: Beef and scallops with macadamia nuts and vegetables $33.50, eggplant with chilli and mince approx $18. In the back: Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce approx $18 and fried rice with ‘hidden treasures’ approx $14

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Last Saturday morning we went to Bumble’s cafe in Budds Beach (in Surfers Paradise - it’s on the river front.)

This cute little cafe has been a big favourite of mine for many years. It opposite the river and it’s a popular spot with families as kids can swim in the river and it’s a nice quiet place to have a picnic.

Bumble’s serves amazing food and the cafe is always beautifully decorated with single flowers in used water bottles decorating the back shelf and decorative pebbles in concrete feature throughout.

It’s become quite a yuppie haunt and it can be very hard to grab a table but don’t be deterred. The breakfasts are wonderful and are city standard with top ingredients used. The service is fast, professional and friendly and the coffee is honestly one of the best I’ve had - they really know how to make a great cup.

If you haven’t been here before then definately visit for breakfast or lunch. They’re open till about 6pm during Summer.

If you’d like to post a review click here.

Where:
19 River Drv Surfers Paradise QLD 4217

Ph: (07) 5538 6668

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We went to the Oxenford Tavern last night to catch up with some friends. Apparently this used to be a bikie hangout but now this unassuming pub is more family friendly and has a kids playroom.

It’s a cosy, rustic feel pub and although it isn’t one of the biggest the food they serve up makes it one of the best. The meal prices are also very reasonable and averaged around $22. They also serve up some decent steaks and it’s nice to find a venue on the Gold Coast that has friendly smiling staff!

Our group ordered chicken parmagiana’s which were approx $17 (or is it parmigiana?), fish and chips and a vegetarian pizza which was $17.50.

Everyone was happy with their meals and the serving sizes were really huge. The parmagiana’s were chicken breast meat so they were tender with no fatty bits and the vegetarian pizza had fetta, sundried tomato and other veggies. I couldn’t get through all my pizza so I had to give a few slices away to the hungrier guys at our table.

The only gripes I had was that our table wasn’t wiped down after the previous customers had left and two of our mains came out about 10 minutes after the first two were delivered (they were ordered on seperate dockets but the couple who ordered after us received their meals first) although when we asked how long they’d be the waitress was prompt in getting straight back to us to say it was on it’s way out.

Recommended for a casual cheap dinner and it’s lovely in winter as they have a fireplace going. It’s a nice down to earth cosy pub. 

Location: 179 Old Pacific Hwy, Oxenford. Ph: (07) 5573 1224

The chicken parmagiana

The vegetarian pizza

Fish and chips

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The Mudgeeraba Farmers Markets are on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month. 

I’ve been only once before and personally I still prefer the Nerang farmers market which is held every Sunday as it has a bigger an more varied fruit and vegetable range. The plus side for the Mudgeeraba markets is that they have dips, breads and lots of cakes inside the green shed area.

These markets are located at the Mudgeeraba showground. They’re not the biggest farmers market on the Gold Coast but if you live locally it’s an easy market to get a free carpark at and less crowds means you can get in and out quickly.

They had a few breakfast type stalls there such as the profertje’s stall, a sausage stall and a bacon and egg roll stall (we each bought one.)

I also bought a large cup of sugar cane juice for $4.50. The cane sugar stall guy freshly crushed a couple of cane sugar sticks for me and he put a big chunk of ginger and some lemon slices in between the mulched cane sugar stick and ran it through the crushing machine again. He was telling  me that he saw sugar cane juice stalls throughout India and decided to buy some machines to bring back to Australia but as they were manual machines he soon realised he needed to buy an automatic one because it was too tiring. The juice is a real sweet hit combined with a good ginger and lemon kick. Much better than coffee to get you going in the morning!

We all bought some fruit and vegetables and because we didn’t get there until late we managed to pick up a fair few bargains although next time I will try to get up earlier. I bought some taramosalata dip and turkish bread and some more avocado’s which were 3 for $3. 

If you’ve also been to the Mudgeeraba Farmers Markets then let us know what you thought - click here.

Location: Mudgeeraba Showgrounds, Mudgeeraba. Ph: (07) 5525 3525  

Some stalls at the Mudgeeraba Markets

The carpark area. Big storm clouds were starting to roll in.

One of the fruit and vege stalls

The sugar cane juice stall.

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These farmers markets are located at Marina Mirage shopping centre in Main Beach on the Gold Coast. If you’re visiting the Gold Coast and have no idea where that is, it’s just before Seaworld, opposite the Sheraton hotel.

I have never been to these markets before but have heard many of my friends rave about how wonderful they were. I was a bit skeptical at first as Marina Mirage is a luxury boutique shopping centre and as these markets are located a stones throw from Main Beach (one of the most upmarket suburbs of the Gold Coast filled with multi-millionaires) I was expecting everything to be massively marked up.

I was very happy to be mistaken as the fruit and veg prices were comparable to other farmers markets. These markets certainly were more upmarket than other standard farmers markets and stalls there sold things like home made pasta, pate, beautifully decorated cupcakes, home made dog biscuits (which looked like cookies, muffins and chocolate crackles good enough for humans to eat) and there was even a gourmet brownie stall!

Some stalls are located inside the centre and the rest spills out into the carpark. Because there was a queue to get into the centre I just parked on the other side of the road and lots of other people had also parked in the Sheraton gym carpark.

I ended up buying a medium rhubarb pie for $4, a tub of olives half feta and half pecorino stuffed, some veggies which included great bargains such as a bag of tomatoes for $2 and 4 avocados for $2 as well as some taramasalata dip and turkish bread.

The Marina Mirage farmers markets are on the 1st, 3rd and 5th saturdays of each month. If you’ve also been and would like to post your own review then click here.

Location: Marina Mirage Shopping Centre, Main Beach. Ph: (07) 5525 3525 

Fresh pasta and sauces and ready made meals

Flavoured pita crisps

You can buy fresh herbs to grow your own herb garden

The gourmet brownie stall

Technorati Tags: marina mirage, main beach, gold coast, farmers, markets

The Carrara markets are on every weekend on the Gold Coast. These popular markets attract thousands of people including busloads of tourists. Most of the stuff sold is cheap brick a brack items such as pictures, homewares, trinkets and cheap jewellery. Most of it looks like it’s imported from Asia.
There are a couple of food stalls selling fruit and vegetables in the shed at the back of the markets.
The Carrara markets aren’t really my thing because to be honest, if I want to buy $2 junk i’ll go to a dollar discount store. The one (and only) stall that I do visit is the flower stall as they sell 3 bunches for $10 which is an absolute bargain.

Location: Nerang-Broadbeach Road, Carrara. Ph: (07) 5579 9388

The banana stall at the markets inside the shed - one of the few food related stalls at these markets

Cheap incense and wind chimes

Cheap and faux designer jewellery

If you’ve been and want to post your own review then click here.

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