Mike's Kitchen

Mike's Kitchen @ 2 Gooding Dr, Merrimac Gold Coast


Often dubbed the best ribs in town (Gold Coast town that is), it's a place you can go with a small group, big group and enjoy some good swine meat and bones.

Ambience
I do believe the restaurant used to be a bed &breakfast, then a steak house, before it eventually became Mike's Kitchen. The building retains the Tudor style motel feel and there is ample parking as any good motel should.
It's so close to the highway with the advantage being it's really easy to find, but of course the disadvantage is that the noise of on-going traffic is undesirable. Still you forget all about in once you are inside.

Inside it's decked out in a mish mash of Safari meets your local pizza and steak house.
 It's like they didn't know whether they should be a steakhouse, a South African restaurant or a local steak and pizzeria. They they must have had a lightbulb moment and thought 'hey, why not try and be all of the above?' There is no distinct ambience or charm, but it's clean, comfortable and spacious. If funky interiors are your thing, you probably won't be bowled over, but it's a sacrifice worth making for the ribs.
At the same token the place exudes an old school family vibe and it's really the perfect venue for family outings, or as I found out, senior citizens' lunch hangout.

Lunch in Durban anyone?

Or maybe Cape Town is more your kind of place?

The best wine is a free wine.....sometimes

Food
My family went for my little sister's birthday lunch (okay she's not so little as she turned 24) and the place was soon packed out as minivan after minivan of elderly citizens arrived just in time before the stroke of noon.

I could see why though, the place had lunch time specials for about $13-15 and you get a complimentary glass of wine. It's a pity they don't advertise these specials more to those under 70 years of age.

The ribs weren't on the lunch menu, but so many other things were. Thus we ordered 2 kilo of ribs, a salad and then 2-3 things off the lunch menu. The ribs were definitely the highlight, but buffalo wings off the lunch menu were pretty darn good too. I would definitely get this again if I wasn't in the mood or financial state for ordering ribs. It was succulent, meaty, sweet with just the right amount of tang to it. You also get a side of chips or veges. Chips won out and it was delish....

You really have to get the ribs here despite the alluring prices of the lunch menu. 

The ribs are 'melt-in-your-mouth' tender, the sauce is not too sweet nor salty and there's just so much meat between the ribs....omg my mouth is watering thinking about it.

I like their Greek salad too...no wait I love it, because they use a super creamy fetta cheese instead of the rock hard variety I get from the supermarket. The cheese is really what makes the salad, and it's such a good accompaniment to the ribs. Usually I don't really like paying money for salads because I think it should just be an accompaniment to the main dish, but this salad  is the first thing I order when I come to Mike's. It really is the butter to the ribs' bread and I couldn't get one without the other.

On a less exciting note, Boerewors (South African sausage) was okay but not mind blowing. Salty is how I'd describe it. To be fair, I didn't order it and I probably would never order sausage at a restaurant anyway. I am not the biggest fan of sausage served on a plate. I've had my share of good sausage too, 3 months in Germany with nights spent at the Christmas markets gorging on different kind of sausage nightly should make you a picky sausage eater back in Aus.
Although the best sausage fare for me was a Spanish chorizo served on sour-dough drizzled in olive, along with salad, semi-dried tomatoes, a la Borough Markets in London (Gosh that was worth waiting 30 mins in the line in the freezing cold). Since then most sausages just don't do anything for me and this Boerewors was no exception.

Chicken parmigiana was good but not great. I liked the chicken, the cheese but the tomato sauce tasted a bit too salsa like. It was as if someone mixed the marinara sauce with some old El Paso's taco salsa in the kitchen. I doubt this is what happened, but that's what it tasted like. Still overall the flavours came together quite nicely and it was still way better than the pub variety. I'd  probably get it again just because on the Gold Coast there are even worst parmigianas to be had.

So the final verdict, go for the ribs and the greek salad, but be surprised (pleasantly or not) by the lunch specials and the complimentary wine.

Ribs

More ribs

Buffalo Wings

Greek salad

Did I mention ribs?

The humble chicken parmy

Comfort at my table

Comfort at my table @ Shop 5, 19-23 Cribb St, Milton


Last Monday was a sad day on the Gold Coast as one Lina Paulsson of Sweden has returned home after a blissful (for all parties involved) 9 months on the Gold Coast.
It was a sombre day for Belle and I as we dropped off our beloved Swede at the airport.
In all we needed comfort and thus we ventured out to find it in the form of a table in Milton.

The exterior of the building is not much to look at. Nestled in between real estate agencies and other small businesses, you wouldn't believe the contrast from outside to in. I hear on weekends it's packed out for brekkie, but as it was Monday, we only saw businessmen, streams of them coming in and going out with coffee and a doggy bag in hand. Oh and some of them grabbed apples from the basket near the door on the way out, a nice touch gesturing simplicity and thoughtfulness. I liked it :)

Ambience

Then you step inside and be enchanted..

A better name for this cafe would be fantasy at my table. The place has a surreal vibe as everything about the set-up screams sickly sweetness. A lot of pink, a lot of cream and flowers adorn this shop. It looks and even feels like a doll's house, as everything is so pretty, feminine and so darn cute. Thus seeing all these businessmen come in and have breakfast, grab coffee was slightly amusing.

It's spacious and has indoor and outdoor seating, so it's perfect to come with a bigger group. The quaint chillaxed vibe would be perfect for a weekend afternoon with a table full of guys and dolls.

"Cooking is like love it should be entered into with abandon or not at all"

Food
Presentation was just perfect, but you wouldn't expect any less from a store that looked like this. For me, the biggest breakfast dilemma is always 'savoury or sweet?'
I know savoury will keep me full for longer, be complete as a meal and satisfying, but ........breakfast should be packed with sugar and carbs, as when else can you have pancakes and waffles as a meal and have the whole day to potentially burn it off?! Key word being potential here. I love them both so it's always a painstaking decision...but I really needed premium fuel for my body to last me through the day, so chose the protein option.

Maybe a tad pricey for what they have on offer, as they were simple breakfast dishes that you'd fine in most cafes along Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast.
Still there is beauty in simplicity and I was one happy camper with my eggs and mince. It was a tad bit greasy, but it was early and I needed the extra calorie that day.
Belle ordered Eggs Benedict and she loved it, as did I after helping myself to a bite.
Instead of coffee I got hot water with lemon, it was like a dollar, which is unheard of these days. It was refreshing and so piquant.
Sort of reminded me of that Monday morning at commune cafe, but it was a nice change from my usual morning coffee.

Again, nothing spectacular or innovative about their menu offering, but what they do, they do it right, although it doesn't come cheap as we spent about $38 on breakfast for just two. I want to come back for afternoon tea to sample the sweets and who knows I may just find comfort at the bottom of my mug.

Comfort at my table indeed.

Hot water with lemon to kick start a healthful week.

Mince and eggs. yummm.

Smooooothie.

Apples to go.

An afternoon well spent @ Sanctuary Cove part 2:

After the delightful morning @ Sanctuary cove

I came home, got changed and went for Saturday lunch with mum, sister and friends at..........Sanctuary cove. This was a coincidence I swear!

Stop no. 2

Lunch @ Sushi Island, 2 Masthead Way, Sanctuary Cove

Ambience

The same as the post below.....

but it's tucked away behind the post office, so it's difficult to spot from the main road, but hey Sanctuary Cove is not that big.

It's super close to the boardwalk and the jetty, so there is nothing obstructing your view onto the yachts, except some tourists at sporadic intervals.

For a sushi joint, it's located in the unlikeliest of places, but I guess Sushi is the new fish n chips. You find them anywhere and everywhere. The location really is more for a steak and seafood kind of restaurant. Still, I liked the fact that it's so close to the water, but that's the whole of Sanctuary cove for you. The shop borrows the ambience of Sanctuary Cove as a whole, but I don't like the fact that it's so hidden.

The shop front is brand new and clean and it's really a scenic place to come and have sushi.

Food

We know the owner and she has owned many sushi shops around the Gold Coast and they all did really well. Thus sushi was good but there weren't as many fish sushi variety as I'd like on display. Of course you can order it a la carte, but it's still nice to see them in the cabinets.

I ordered a sashimi don kind of dish and it was good, but there were not as much sashimi as I'd like (but in my opinion you can never have enough raw salmon when dining out).

I don't really care for any of that extra non-salmon ingredients, but if you aren't as fanatic about the salmon: non-salmon variables ratio, it's not a bad dish. It's colourful which is always a plus nutritionally and aesthetically.

We also got some sushi rolls, and the presentation was immaculate, taste was good but I'm not sure if I'd come all the way here just to have sushi that I could have at a local food court. Granted, it does look really nice placed on a platter in a wavy shape.

The dish of the day would probably have to be the seafood fritter (can't remember the exact name). The batter was perfect, crispy and the culmination of prawn, topping, sauce on top was amazing. Not something I'd usually get as it feels too 'snack' like for me, but I really enjoyed it. Just goes on to show, you have to try something new once in a while because you may be pleasantly surprised.

Seafood Fritter

Red dragon sushi roll

Sashimi don with chilli sauce on the side

Salmon & Avo roll

An afternoon well spent @ Sanctuary Cove part 1:

Stop no. 1
Morning tea @ Marina87, Shop 20 Masthead Way, Sanctuary Cove


Ambience
I really like Sanctuary Cove. If Sanctuary Cove was a perfume it would be eau de 'elderly citizens bathed in 100 dollar bills'. It's a retirees' haven, and everthing about the place is relaxed, uppity, peaceful (some call it boring, but I like to be diplomatic with my word choices). Seriously when I am eighty and I can do breakfast, lunch and dinner here and possibly live in one of the houses inside the security gates with a yacht moored at the back, I'd be a very happy senior citizen.

It's a treat to come here, but at the same token you'd probably not want to be here unless you like the afore mentioned ambience. You see a lot of yachts, waterfront restaurants, and omg George's paragon here is awesome, make sure you sit outside though.

Last Saturday I found myself here for a women's conference held by my church.
We finished the morning session around 11am, so me and my picture perfect friend Emily went for a little stroll and found the cutest little Italian place complete with checkered table cloths and exaggereated al-fresco walls. Very thematic, but it's perfectly fine to go with it when you are here. When in Sanctuary cove...just go with the themes provided for you in the restaurant decors.

A cute place overall, even if the ornaments seem a tad over the top ludicrous.
No joke, there was a Mario muppet in the kitchen wall facing the restaurant. Just to avoid eye contact with this Italian stallion of a puppet, I'd sit along the veranda rather than inside. The rustic furnishings complete with an amateur painting of Madonna (as in Jesus' mum) and a broken window can be quite cute.

Food
Em and I had a big buffet breakfast and it was sort of too early for lunch, thus we settled for coffee and cake for $6 or something close to that sum. Em ordered a latte and I got an Americano as I do when I eat dessert.
My rule of thumb is "sweeter the dessert, the bitter and stronger the brew".
That way I feel like I'm neutralizing the flavours and am able to taste the dish better. I live by this rule and it's served me well :) You should try it, if you haven't done so.

We got cookies and cream and Irish cream cheesecakes with our coffees. I'm not the biggest fan of cheesecake usually, but the chocolate and bits of cookie made it worthwhile. We wanted the best of both worlds so we went halvies with the cake, and it was perfect. Nothing in life as beautiful as sharing dessert with a pretty blonde lady at a festive Italian place overlooking million dollar yachts :) Bellissimo~

The cakes were sort of similar to what you would find at coffee club, or even mccafe and other local cafes where they have their cakes brought in from a supplier. Nothing to write home about but the ambience, the coffee and the company enhanced the experience.
Generous slices too, and we were stuffed by the end of it.

On that note, my fellow foodie friend (triple f? did I just coin a new term here?) Annie swears this place does the best Calzone on the coast. I remember having pasta here long time ago and while the memory isn't so vivid, I think I liked it.

Ta-da

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Thus ended my perfect Saturday morning tea.