Tim Burton is a director with a very distinct view of things. He tends to show the beauty in some of the most unlikely characters, embrace the dark and review a new good within it. Some might say he is the Mad Hatter of the world of cinema.
Leaving the story and the acting aside, the set and costume design are fantastic. This is the one place where Burton seals the deal and delivers. The fantastical land is brought back as a gothic forest complete with intriguing animals and insects. From the Red Queen’s digitally-enlarged head to the Mad Hatter’s green eyes, from Alice’s pale skin to the creature animation, the visuals are wonderful.
Mondo Organics, tucked away in the bottom of west End, seems to divide its patrons and reviewers. I’m surprised at their mixed reputation, as we had a good experience there that is well worth repeating.
Perhaps it is because specialty organic restaurants are not that common, and tend to attract the more discerning diners. Organic eaters, who obviously have a high level of concern about how their food has been grown and nurtured throughout its entire lifecycle, are perhaps more likely to have a sharp eye for how it is prepared and presented. Nothing but perfection for the modern metro-hippie.
Being only simple folk who are not burdened with such high standards, we were impressed. We went on a Friday evening for the Mondo Supper Club, which promised a “lighter menu to enjoy with a cocktail or a wine or two, for bar or street dinning only” (6pm to late, Tuesday to Saturday). Braving the early evening humidity, we happily downed some simple $10 cocktails, and then ordered some tapas to share for a light dinner. The spring zucchini flowers filled with king prawn mousse ($14) were a little less exciting than they sounded, but the washed rind cheese with lavosh crisp bread ($9) and rocket, radicchio, walnut, raisin and vincotto salad ($8.50) were very nice.
The standout, though, was the crunchy potato squares with aioli ($8.50). These little cubes were the most amazing potato-based product we’ve ever tasted – a day in the making, we were informed enthusiastically by our waiter. They had been boiled, mashed, put through some kind of mechanical sifter, mashed again, baked in a tray, cut into cubes and then deep fried. Worth a visit on their own.
The restaurant offers organic everything, of course, as well as gluten free and dairy free for many of the menu items.
All in all, a pleasant evening with no complaints and a few highlights – certainly not worthy of some of the negative reviews I’ve read. Maybe we set the bar too high for organic foods. It’s already good for you and for the environment; maybe we should be happy that the food tastes good, rather than expecting something amazing.

One of RM’s favourite food discoveries in BNE is CJ’s Pasta, the fresh pasta purveyors located at Centro on James. I’m not exaggerating, every time we visit Brisbane he starts agitating about having their pasta for dinner, specifically their specialty ravioli.
On our most recent visit, we tried the grilled prawn with chilli jam and shallot ravioli ($28/kg) with the Thai yellow curry, corn and pumpkin sauce ($10). This produced four generous serves of perfectly crinkled pasta parcels encasing a solidly packed filling of tender prawn meat – you won’t find your shirt front squirted with pasta water when you bite into these babies. The chunky coconut cream-based sauce continued the fusion flavour theme, and for those who like heat it benefits from a bit of freshly chopped chilli.
CJ’s Pasta is not the cheapest fresh pasta around, but it’s about as far removed from the flacid Latino Fresh as apples are to zebras. I think it’s well worth the extra money to pay for such quality.
Smack-bang amongst the plethora of cafes and bars that give West End its livelihood is a little piece of juice and smoothie nirvana. The Fat Carrot (or perhaps it should be The Phat Carrot?), has a lot more to offer than your everyday down-the-road-produce-store. This little gem on Boundary St is flanked by a gourmet Swiss [...]
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