Mister Brisbane: Wet, wet, what?
The rain in Brisbane falls mainly in the wrong place
When I was growing up in Brisbane in the 1960s and 70s, it always seemed to rain during the summer school holidays. On at least two occasions, I remember Brisbane being hit by cyclones. As I write this, it’s bucketing down — in November! — and it’s been a heck of a long time since a cyclone has venture this far south down the Queensland coast.
Has the weather really changed, or is my memory faulty?
Apparently, I’m more or less right on the cyclone front. The Australian Disaster Resilience Disaster Hub says: “Over the last 50 years, most tropical cyclones in Australia have remained equator-ward of 25° South but occasionally they track lower into South East Queensland ... The PerilAUS database shows there have been 46 tropical cyclones near Brisbane and the Gold Coast. Most have been minor; the most damaging were tropical cyclones Dinah in January 1967 and Wanda in 1974.”
I certainly remember Wanda — and, of course, the floods that followed — and I was alive when Dinah blew through, so I suppose I remember that too.
As for the rain pattern, well all I can say is that the time it rains seems to have changed but one thing hasn’t: it never seems to fall in the dam-catchment areas.
BLAST FROM THE PAST
I couldn’t bring myself to buy them, because eating them would’ve surely put me into a sugar coma, but I was pleased to see Lolly Gobble Bliss Bombs back on my local supermarket shelves. From memory, the original packaging was purple. Am I right?
MI WAY
My search for the best Vietnamese pork roll in town continues. Last week, on the suggestion of my colleague Olympia, I ventured out to Inala. The shopping centre there, in the space between the new Saigon House and the Woolies, has turned into a thriving Vietnamese hub. Walking past the fruit and meat shops, and the fish market, and supermarkets reminded me of my years of living in Asia. The smells really took me back. The pictured roll (below) is from Tan Dinh.
Meanwhile, it’s occurred to me that one of the great things about the banh mi is that it’s yet to be over-commercialised. Unlike hamburgers, pizza or tacos, there are (as far as I know) no dominant chain that has simplified the recipe so it can be made on an assembly line and delivered up quickly. Thus, there is no homogenised version of it; every roll is different and made fresh.
So, where to go? Here are some of the suggestions:
Sally says: “Two options in my neck of the Brisvegan woods: there’s a bakery on the corner of Shore St West & Delancy Street, Cleveland, who do a very nice banh mi. The second is a new spot, The Viet, in Cleveland, which has only been open for a couple of weeks.”
Susan: “I do love the ones at Gladstone Rd Bakery at Highgate Hill and Kelvin Lee Hot Bread at Kelvin Grove.”
Robbie: “DC’s Cafe & Juice Bar in Forest Lake. They are sooo good.”
Daniel: “The place opposite Darra Station. It was on my to-do list for years until early this year. It’s the best.” Julie concurs.
Geek: “The Bakery in Princess Plaza Woolloongabba.”
Terry suggests Mrs Luu’s Vietnamese Canteen, which has several branches in the city.
Tommy says: “They are great in Australia Fair on the Gold Coast. VIN Bakery. Perfect.”
Noel recommends Vietnamese Kitchen on Logan Road and Cafe O Mai in Annerley, while Kathryn suggested a shop at Stafford City.
Vanessa: “Hands down Bahn Mi Factory at Zillmere (and they also have one at Newstead) — I've tried several places and these guys trump all. No further suggestions needed!” Kurt and Chris agree.
Andrew: “Best bánh mì in Brisbane (along with Vietnamese food in general) can always be found in Inala, more specifically, at the Minh Tan Bakery located at shop 43 Inala Plaza.”
FEEDBACK
On the subject of cruising, Kate writes: “Many Ruby Princess passengers (plus estates of those who died) are taking a class action against Carnival. They have just won a major preliminary court battle that enables the action to move to the next stage. That probably means one of the safest places to holiday health wise right now is on a cruise ship. If cruise companies follow the usual pattern in the insurance industry, after a major claim the risk management standards are highly elevated and safety practices entrenched and enforced, all will be good, until they forget about ‘what happened last time’.”
PHOTO FINISH
During my bahn mi odyssey, I came across this cake, which was labelled “banana cake”, but I ‘m pretty sure it was carrot cake. It certainly tasted like carrot cake. And the plastic-looking icing? I threw (most of) it away.
