Birthday dinner @ Alchemy

Yesterday was Tao 's birthday and we planned to have dinner in Cha Cha Char Wine Bar and Grill. However, it was Friday and it would be very noisy as people went to the bar to watch football. So, Tao suggested to go to Alchemy.

Alchemy is located along the Brisbane river and has a nice view of the bridge as well. We arrived quite early and had two beers and some snack. The snack was not normal package nuts but gourmet pistachio, peanuts etc with different flavor. I dislike the nuts to be salty all the time without any variety.

We sat down on the table outside and could see the river and the bridge. That was a really nice. We ordered grilled scallops with cherry tomatoes and garlic puree and fresh oysters with pork belly jelly. I really like the scallops as it is fresh and soft. The cherry tomatoes were really nice , not sour at all but with a bit of smokey flavor. I did not havethe oysters because I was afraid of having diaherra. I have no idea why everytime I had fresh oysters , I definitely needed to go to toilet within an hour...what a pity. Tao had it and he said it was pretty good.

For the main, Tao orded the special beef cheek with red wine sauce and I orded the slow cooked salmon with garlic croutons. The salmon was cooked perfectly and still very soft. I especially like the sauce with a bit of bacon in it, it added a lot of flavor to match with the salmon. The beef cheek was very soft and melted into your mouth just as described by the waiter. We ordered mixed seasonal vegetables for sides and it was just normal one without any special. Overall speaking, Alchemy is a great restaurant with nice food and great view. I hope I can try the dessert next time as they all seemed to be delicious on the menu. However, I already prepared a small dessert at home so we did not have the chance to taste it. Anyway, another excuse to come back.