Joie de Vivre – the joy of life

41 King Street, Warwick, Queensland

07-46671907

0409054939

It was like digging for coal and finding gold completely by chance.  It’s not quite a restaurant or a café, or a club, nor an art gallery; it’s more like a dinner club or a jazz club, or all of these things rolled into one.  And as far as I know, Joie de Vivre doesn't advertise, it’s all word of mouth, and that’s how I first heard about it, from one of my Warwick contacts who told me that the hottest local buzz was that this is somewhere really special.  Somewhere different.  Somewhere I had to experience.

  

I didn’t waste any time, I high tailed it over to King Street to the century old building with the charming façade and found the shop I was looking for and it was closed.  I was standing out the front writing down the contact number when the door opened and the most excited person I have met in a long time practically dragged me inside to have a look around.  The large room was tastefully decorated in a bohemian artsy style with paintings, sketches and Moulin Rouge play bills adorning the walls.  The mismatched tables and chairs only added to the charm and feel of the place. 

 

                            "Jazz Aperitif"

                                                                 Deeny and Kelly

The lady was no other than the proprietor Deeny Kohler-Caporale.  She speaks with a mysterious accent I couldn’t quite place (is it French? Is it Brazilian? Who cares?), and an enthusiasm for music, art, food and people that is so infectious I couldn’t wait to book a table.  She was so sorry that I had missed her Edith Piaf night that was a rousing success but not to worry as there is a jazz and tapas night coming up and I wouldn’t want to miss that. 

Deeny held my attention so easily with her flamboyant way of expressing herself.  Of course we will come to the jazz and tapas night.  Just try to stop me.  It turns out that joie de vivre is only open one night a week to the public and caters to private functions a couple of nights a week.  It’s rather exclusive but that’s how Deeny wants it.  Every night has to be special to her patrons.  She focuses all of her passion into her weekly soirees

 

And that’s what we found when we arrived for the jazz night.  The atmosphere was amazing.  Every seat was taken and we were seated with other couples who were equally impressed with the swinging jazz atmosphere. 

“Jazz Aperitif” is a three piece Darling Downs jazz band that were grooving away in the front of the restaurant and they are a tight unit to be sure.  It was great entertainment just to watch the drummer paradidling around the rim of his bass drum and skimming the edge of his cymbals and the double bass player worked his way around the huge fret board.   The piano player created the wonderful jazz melodies that had toes tapping and bodies rocking in their chairs.

Deeny took the microphone to welcome everyone and say a few words about the upcoming tapas dishes that would be soon making their way to our tables, but we were gobsmacked when she called out a time to the band and broke into song.   We were treated to a brilliant rendition of Ella Fitzgerald’s At Last followed by a Nat King Cole and then a Ray Charles classic.  My goodness the room was in awe of the extraordinary talent of Deeny Kohler-Caporale.

The night had well and truly begun under the dim lights of the chandeliers with the wine flowing and the jazz pumping.  Plates of wonderful food magically appeared on each table and continued to be passed around among the laughter and frivolity.  Pastries and patties, gourmet meats and exotic dips with toasted flat bread.  There was more music, more food and wine, more laughter and more applause.  The hours flew by and the guests were wanting more, more, more.  What a great night.

It’s easy to look back and see that Joie de Vivre is a massive success and cherished nightspot in Warwick.  The jazz nights are mixed with foreign movie dinning nights, Philosophy nights, Book readings and art appreciation nights amongst other creative events.  All highlighted with Tapas, French, South American and other beautiful cuisines and of course the ever effervescent personality of Deeny Kohler-Caporale as your host.

Deeny’s “Joie de Vivre” is all about art, food, and music.  It’s all about love and people.  

It’s all about “The Joy of Life”.

Don’t forget that Joie de Vivre café is open during the week so you can come and have some lunch, a cuppa and a delicious home made desert with Deeny anytime.  Deeny has a couple of fantastic jazz nights planned during the Warwick “Jumpers and Jazz in July” festival, so book early.  You won’t be disappointed. Oh, and look her up on Facebook.

Bon Appetite

Karl

Pleasure Cruise Food.

P & O Pacific Dawn

7 Day Island Hopper Cruise

If you’re researching the many different cruise lines that operate around the world for your big ocean adventure, you’ll see that food seems to be, among many other things, the biggest draw card and indeed the greatest attraction to passengers.  For a quick example the Radiance of the Sea of Royal Caribbean Cruises boasts twelve restaurants.  That’s what we have our eyes on at the moment for our next cruise.  And although the high end fine dining venues all require a nominal fee which is well worth the money, they also have amazing food that is included in your fare.  That means that if you want to, you can eat every meal of your cruise, and in between meals, for no extra cost.      

On the Pacific Dawn, included with your fare, you will enjoy the most fabulous selection of dishes for breakfast lunch and dinner at the Plantation Restaurant from 6 in the morning until 9 at night, with a small break after lunch from 3 to 4pm (good time for a nap).  The Plantation is two huge buffet lines that takes you through a culinary journey every meal. 

 

 

They offer a fabulous hot breakfast that includes all the old favourites and many brilliant dishes that make the start of your day special.  For example Texas beans and Swedish meat balls complimented my fluffy scrambled eggs and waffles perfectly.  An array of healthy cereals, hot oats and fresh cut tropical fruits were in abundance.  Of course there are cold fruit juices and hot coffee and tea on offer as well.  Everything you can think of for a good breakfast is there every morning.

The lunch and dinner at the Plantation is almost overwhelming with the variety of dishes.  I would often arrive at my table with a portion of six different dishes on my plate, and go back for more.  A selection of beautiful deserts is always available.  Roast meats and seafood dishes, curries, house baked baguettes and cold meats and salads galore.  We were on board for seven days and I believe I wouldn’t get bored with the food if we ate there for a month.  The quality and freshness is first rate and the execution of each dish is equally brilliant.

Also included in our fare was the a la carte Waterfront Restaurant.  The dining room is huge with high ceilings and art deco décor.  It’s really a beautiful place to have a meal with a big table of friends.  The menu is made up of two parts.  They have a fixed menu that doesn’t change for the whole cruise and a menu that changes every day.  We ate there twice because I wasn’t really impressed with the food the first time and wanted to give the place another chance to shine.  The Waterfront is available for breakfast and lunch most days without a booking but you have to book a table for dinner as it is very popular at night.

For me, the plan was to try the dinner menu only, as we had plenty of other places we had to try during the voyage.  The presentation of the food is fabulous.  I couldn’t fault it.  But everything I ate including the deserts was way over cooked.  The fish was dry and unappealing, the meat was overdone and the chocolate cake was almost stale.  The sticky toffee cake was hard as a brick and I couldn’t eat more than a mouthful.  I am so disappointed.  Although, looking around the other tables and asking friends what they thought, I had the impression that most of the food was precooked and reheated before serving.  Every dish looked exactly the same and probably tasted just as bad. 

Many tables were families eating together and most people were having a great time.  I saw children ordering from a menu, perhaps for the first time, and being delighted with their experience of the Waterfront restaurant.  I did see quite a few unfinished plates going back to the kitchens but no one was complaining.  Is it a case of seeing everything through rose coloured glasses just because they are on the holiday of a life time?  Well not me, I didn’t want to make a fuss and even if I did it wouldn’t have changed a thing.  So I decided that I would stay away from the Waterfront assembly line and enjoy the other fantastic eating venues on board the Pacific Dawn.

The culinary highlight on the Pacific Dawn is the Salt Grill restaurant which is one of celebrity chef Luke Mangan’s creations.  We made a booking as soon as we got on board and its reputation precedes it.  We were really looking forward to fine dining at sea for a small fee and leaving the memory of the Waterfront restaurant behind us.  We also had reservations for the La Luna restaurants Thai banquet and the Chinese banquet.  I’ll tell you all about those experiences in upcoming articles.  Thanks for reading.  See you next time. 

Bon Appetite.

Karl

P & O Pacific Dawn Cruise Ship

Pacific Dawn
7 days Pacific Island Hopper Cruise

Port Vila

If you've been on an ocean liner before you’ll understand the excitement we experienced going on one for the first time.  And if you've never been on a cruise before I strongly suggest that you give it a try at least once in your life.  I think you’ll be hooked.

We were looking for an amazing Food Trek Adventure, and we sure found more than we bargained for when we decided to try ocean cruising.  Kelly and I have never been on a cruise before and so lots of research was needed to be prepared.  The P&O website is fantastic and each cruise has its own Facebook page, which was great for asking experienced cruisers’ questions and getting to know other passengers’ before we even got going.  Planning your cruise is a huge part of the fun and we were planning this one for twelve months.

Outside Brisbane terminal

Up until actually departing I had never even been up close to a cruise ship, and the Pacific Dawn is massive.  When you’re standing on the dock looking up it’s hard to believe something so big can move at all.  I have to admit it was love at first sight.  The Dawn is a mechanical marvel and a thing of beauty.  The ship is 242 metres long and weighs in at over 70,000 tons, 14 decks with 795 cabins and suites.  There are pubs, a night club and comedy club and bars all over the place, a casino, a huge theatre for brilliant nightly shows and daily activities, restaurants, a pizza and burger bar, an ice cream parlour, beauty spa, a gymnasium, cafes, an internet café, a library, swimming pools and Jacuzzis and a giant flat screen for outside movies day and night, and a jogging track.  It’s a floating holiday resort that takes care of everything and doesn't miss a beat.

One of the two pools on the Lido Deck

                                                                    The Atrium.  Three stories of shops and shows.

 

                            This is the life for us.

We were lucky enough to be upgraded from a deck five windowless cabin to a deck eight cabin with a window.  We had a beautiful view of a life boat.  Of course we had the least expensive cabin but it was lovely, as good as any hotel room with its own bathroom we have stayed in.  For the whole cruise we had a wonderful cabin steward who looked after our every need.  Twice a day our room was made immaculate and we always found a chocolate on our pillow and a cleverly folded animal made from a bath towel.

Besides all of the different activities on board, the food is of utmost importance to just about everyone.  Some people we met go on cruises just for the food.  If you wanted to, you could eat just about nonstop.

The view from our cabin

  

                       Towel folding demonstration

Fruit and veg carving demonstration

Your fare includes all meals at the Plantation restaurant buffet and the Waterfront a la carte restaurant.  That’s right; you don’t have to spend a cent on food the whole time.  The food is of a very high quality and I will focus on the menus and service in upcoming articles.  For a fine dining experience there is celebrity Chef Luke Mangan’s Salt Grill restaurant.  For a nominal fee of $40 per head, you will be treated to three courses of superb dishes.  With a panoramic view out the rear of the ship is La Luna restaurant which offers Asian fusion delights of eight courses for only $25 per head. 

We smiled like this the whole time

                  Kelly and Michael go formal

Of course Kelly and I had to try everything so we could tell you about it, but I have to say that even though the food at the fee charging restaurants was amazing, it would be a pleasure to take every meal at the buffet.   The Plantation buffet is two buffet lines that cover every taste and dietary need.  There are so many different dishes on offer that it’s hard not to over eat.  Most of the time my lunch plate had six different dishes on it and I was still tempted to go back for more.

Our daily routine always started with exercise.  Kelly did the morning boot camp with a personal trainer and I hit the treadmill and weights in the gym.  Lots of people told us we would put on a stack of weight while cruising and we were determined not to.  After a shower I would relax at Charlie’s café with a cappuccino while I planned my day with the daily newsletter that listed all the different activities from martini making classes to dance lessons.  Then, on most days I would meet up with Kelly for breakfast at the Plantation buffet and then off to a dance lesson or bingo or a sauna and steam, or to just walk the deck and relax.

In the evenings we would dress up for dinner and then catch an eye popping show in the Marque theatre.  After the show we could chose to have a drink in the piano bar, play trivia for prizes, watch a live band or sing karaoke.  Later on there is a sit down comedy club followed by the nightly party in the night club.  There is also a new release movie on the Lido deck where you can lay back on a deck lounge and sip a cocktail while enjoying a movie with friends.

Coconut Park Noumea

                Roadside markets Port Vila

                                                                 Coconut juice on Lifou Island

Days thee, four and five saw us coming into Noumea New Caledonia, Lifou Island, and Port Vila Vanuatu.  French Polynesia and Vanuatu are tropical wonders with shore tours to please every taste, from gentle sightseeing to more adventurous adrenaline junkie tours.  Our son Michael explored coral reefs teeming with beautiful sea life with a snorkeling tour while Kelly and I sought out French and local restaurants and native markets. 

                          Vila fruit market

P&O Pacific Dawn

On Noumea we found genuine French chocolatier and in Port Vila we ate a local coconut crab.  We saw how other cultures live and met some really friendly beautiful people.  Our seven day cruise was an amazing adventure that made it possible for us to relax, have a ton of fun and discover an abundance of fabulous dishes.  Future article will take a closer look at each dining experience while on the cruise.  We are already planning our next cruise some time in 2014, and I think it will have to be longer than seven days, don’t you?

Karl

Shalimar Indian & Mughlai Restaurant

2/40 Albion Street, Warwick, Queensland.
07-4661 8000

Just about every town in Australia with over three or four thousand people has a Chinese restaurant, but it's only the lucky ones that get their very own Indian restaurant and take out.  Warwick on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland, with a population of over ten thousand, has had one for a couple of years.  It was just barely OK and frankly over priced and the food was a bit stodgy.

About a year ago, thankfully, it changed hands, and now it's something special everyone in Warwick can rave about. There is a full menu of curries from different regions of India featuring delicious tandoori baked dishes and bread, meat, seafood and vegetarian.  The portions are very generous and the prices are really really good.  I mean three courses with a side for under $30 (on average).  Wow!!

The flavours are amazing, be it a Masala, Vindaloo, Malabari, Madras, Saagwala or Biryani to name but a few.  The staff take the time to fuss over you and if you ask they will explain the wonderful spices that create the magic that is great Indian cuisine.

We loved it and we'll definitely be back (once I burn off a few hundred calories on the old treadmill).  And here is something the people of Warwick need to know about.  The freaking lunchtime specials are only ten bucks.  I'm not kidding, any curry with rice and a cold drink for only ten bucks.  Double WOW!!

I love curries so much, just writing about them is making me really hungry.  So, if you live in or near Warwick, don't cook dinner tonight, treat yourself at Shalimar Indian Restaurant and support a fantastic local business.  And if you live anywhere else in the world, it's time to explore your local Indian cuisine and discover the richness and variety of flavours that are out there waiting for a food trekker like you to come along and enjoy them.
Karl

Sofra Turkish Cuisine Restaurant

164 Margaret Street, Toowoomba, Queensland.

Ph. 07 - 4638 0044

We get a lot of recommendations from friends to review restaurants and it’s always difficult to get to them all.  Recently a friend did a wonderful job of convincing me to book a table at Sofra.  She explained that one of her favourite places on earth to eat was Istanbul Turkey.  She has a family connection with Turkey and has spent a lot of time there enjoying the food.  My friend guaranteed me that the food at Sofra was absolutely authentic and delicious and the décor was something straight out of an Istanbul bazaar.  Well, I was sold.  Sounded like a Food Trek to me.

We arrived early to have a look around before the crowds.

Upstairs tent style dining area. Very cool.

An opportunity came up for us to visit Toowoomba on a Tuesday night so I phoned in our booking thinking that it’ll be nice and quiet on a Tuesday.  Wrong.  By 6.30 pm the place was packed and buzzing with happy foodies.  I asked our waitress if it was this busy every Tuesday and she said it was this busy every night of the week.  And I know why.

It's hard to take pictures when there is a lot of customers.  We usually arrive early to avoid offending people with the flash going off as I snap away with the old Nikon.

The food is absolutely amazing.  It’s one taste sensation after another.  Wood smoked Babaganush (smoked egg plant and garlic dip) with Turkish bread for starters.  Followed by strips of pan fried Haloumi cheese, and then a mixed kebab tasting plate with Adana lamb (char grilled on flat skewers), chicken and beef kebab meat (heavenly spiced) melting in your mouth.  Washing it all down with Turkish sour cherry nectar that was so good I had to have two. 

The main dining area is wonderfully decorated, including woven table cloths.  

The restaurant is spotlessly clean. 

Of course we had to save room for dessert and that meant we had to try everything.  We each ordered a tasting plate of five fantastic Turkish desserts.  A rose flavoured baked rice pudding, smooth semolina helva, a cream filled Turkish pastry (Its name escapes me), the most spectacular Baklava, and of course seductive Turkish delight. Every dessert is a master piece.

The service is exceptionally friendly, the atmosphere fun and exotic, the food was superb, and the prices were breathtakingly realistic.  For all of our food and drinks, the night cost me $88.  How good is that?  Kelly and I will be back soon because there is so much on the menu we want to try. No, we NEED to try.  It’s that good.  If you can get to Toowoomba and you want a fair dinkum great food experience, you have to go to Sofra.  But book first.  This place is so popular you probably won’t get a table if you just walk in.

Karl