Five for Friday no. 55

She killed at Superbowl earlier this week: Beyonce has a blog. It's free like blogs should be but you need to sign up for it, which I just don't care enough to do. But I am intrigued, so could someone else sign up and let me know?



6 myths about travel that cost you money.

Bean Hunter website. Reviews coffee and cafes all over the world. And yes, they do have an app for that shit. 

Have your say on Brisbane City Council's draft new City Plan. 

Excellent Lego brain teasers.

1796 Foods

A blog review of another blog. Otherwise known as ‘Damn I wish I’d thought of that’.

Dear Jane put me on to this blog and I have a total love / hate relationship with it. It’s a really good blog that is good to read and has great pics and most importantly, a brilliant concept. I hate it because I did not think of that concept first. 
 

1796 Foods is one women’s journey through two different version of the same book; “1001 Foods To Eat Before You Die” Her aim is to eat every food or meal that is mentioned in the books. The reason there are 1796 of them and not 2002 is the deletion of duplicates. 
 

Banoffee Pie. Photo courtesy of 1796 Foods.

The photos are fun, the meals are usually interesting and reading through it makes you want to go out and have food adventures! Some of the foods are so simple – walnut oil, Waldorf salad, lemon meringue pie. Others are a little less known, such as this one:

 
"701. Porkolt Csirke
Porkolt csirke is basically what I’ve known as chicken paprikash - a Hungarian stew with chicken, peppers, tomatoes and paprika topped off with soured cream. It’s full of some of my favourite ingredients so I knew I was going to really enjoy it."
 - 1796 Foods

 Goats Butter. Photo courtesy of 1796 Foods.

Seriously, why did I not think of this? Now I'm going to go out and find goats butter.

Five for Friday no. 15

So have we all heard of Ridiculously Photogenic Guy? No. Now you have. He's the latest internet sensation, and no surprise - he's good to look at!

Ok, additional explanation: he was snapped during a 10km run in his home town somewhere in the US. A photo was taken of him and within 24 hours it was EVERYWHERE. Now, if you've ever done sporty activities or more especially, if you've ever been photographed while you are doing those sporty activities, you will no that it is impossible to look good. No one does. You're usually red and sweaty and pulling a really unfortunate face. But RPG looks, well, ridiculously photogenic, and happy and it's ridiculous!

So here's the news report.

Here is a tumblr gif set of him being interviewed on Good Morning America (I think).

And here is his meme list.

Interactive Pasta sauce suggestions - so cute! So interactive!

Lego street art around the world.

How to eat dinner - an etiquette guide. I am falling behind and feel I should introduce some Standards.

Dr Karl Kruszelnicki: how to fold a piece of paper in half 12 times.

Five for Friday no. 12

No one really likes airline food. Or I should qualify, no one really likes economy class airline food. I only like it because it’s a temporary distraction. However, I want to experience this airline food:

“For two weeks in April, British Airways is launching a pop-up restaurant in London based around the flight experience. Called Flight BA2012, for £50 you’re treated to a three-course meal inspired by BA menu’s from 1948, prepared by a real chef – overseen by Heston Blumenthal – inside what looks like an aircraft.”

T-Rex trying. Baha!

How the Lord of the Rings should have ended.

Last week it was a bitter tumblr, now it’s a slightly upsetting website that looks into cool people’s apartments. Again, there is jealousy. But fewer terrariums. Apartment Therapy.

Someone made a busines out of making your resume look cool.

I want it

Image courtesy of I Love Charts.

C'est le fromage!

Happy Bastille Day!

I don't know about you, but I don't remember a whole lot of French from high school. I remember some, but considering I did it for the whole five years, I really should remember more. (I remember the school trip to France, that's for sure. Nobody forgets the Eiffel Tower on their sixteenth birthday. Or the bottle of vodka they got as a present, which got lost and then stolen. Or that other thing that happened...)

Anyway, the reason for this random French interlude? Apparently Brisbane has it's very own French Festival! (I know, I had no idea either.) It's on at South Bank, on Saturday the 16th of July, in honor of Bastille Day.

So, if French food, stalls and stalls of French stuff to buy, CanCan and burlesque dancers, a circus troupe and a fashion parade sound like your idea of a good time, well, you should head on over!!

There's bound to be heaps of cheese, too.

Brisbane French Festival

Hide & Seek Brisbane - part 1

There is a series of books on Australian cities entitled 'Hide & Seek Brisbane / Melbourne / Syndey etc. For Christmas I was given Hide & Seek Melbourne because I love the place and Melbourne maybe more then other cities in Australia is full of crazily cool bars, stores and hidey-holes that you can only go to after you've discovered where they are hidden.

When at a friends house a few months ago, she had the Brisbane version sitting on her coffee table. Looking at it, I was quite surprised at some of the places that were included. It is a personal opinion book, complied by local contributors and I got to thinking – if I were to create a Hide & Seek Brisbane, what would I include? Well, these are the places I'd recommend.

Part 1

Feeling peckish?

Flamingo Café – Tucked away in Winn Lane, one of Brisbane's few lanes (certainly after the Council's cancellation of its Laneways Project), Flamingo Cafe is full of character. Full of kitchy furniture and waitresses with attitude, the food is delicious and affordable.

Anise – Anise is only for a special evening out, but if you're going to go to town on a meal, this is the place to do it. A tiny, hole in the wall restaurant, Anise sits only 13 people around a bar, making for an intimate and convivial atmosphere. They are known for their degustation menus, which they change every season as well as having 'specials' – game, seafood, French-themed specials. It costs $90 for a 'standard' seasonal 7-course degustation, $130 for the seven courses with wine. If anyone were thinking of going, I would say go the whole hog with the wine. It is worth it, for the matched wines served by the owner – who really cares about the wine and the food you're eating and wants you to enjoy and appreciate it to the fullest.

Mizu – A Japanese restaurant with a bistro feel in Tenneriffe. Their menu is one of those wonderful constructions where you look at it and know you can't go wrong. Everything is fresh and creative without being over the top. There is also a wonderful lunch menu with a great sushi and bento box selection. Even the most basic Mizu Bento Box – a bargain at $16 – is my favourite work-lunch treat. Other great Japanese in Brisbane are Bishamon and Edamame.

Sassafras – A long-time favourite breakfast café in Paddington. Hard to get a table if you haven't booked but worth planning ahead for the ricotta hotcakes, chilli corn cakes and scrumptious bacon. The back terrace is also perfect for enjoying beautiful Brisbane weekend mornings.

Piaf - A French Bistro in all the correct meanings of the word. Tucked into a tiny space in Little Stanley Street, what I love so many things about Piaf. I love the short but perfectly formed menu that regularly changes to that every time I go it is new and interesting. I love the selection of French wines and how many of them you can get by the glass. I love the petite serving sizes of the courses - and the corresponding petite prices. I love that a couple can go to Piaf, have a three course meal (be able to fit in a three course meal) with a glass of wine each for around $100. It's the cheapest a special-night-out can be.