It's not often that such great fruit shops are located in a busy shopping centre packed with…read morechains, but this independent store is one of the best around. It's always full of customers even though it stands directly opposite Woolworths, and has plenty of produce on offer at great prices. My only complaint is that, due to its popularity, it's sometimes difficult to make your way through the busy aisles to whatever item it is you desire.

Clafield Fruit Market has all the best bits of what you want from a fruit market. There range of…read morefruit and vegetables is spot on, with all the basics plus a few more exotic varieties and herbs for cooking. They also have a neat little deli section packed with meats, cheese and other treats. The service is always fantastic when I have been and the wait time is not too bad to be served. Parking is ok but it is a tricky small car park to navigate if it is busy.

Ah, Clayfield Markets. Friendly faces, great customer service all within walking distance. Between…read morethis place and Aldi Toombul I don't have to be a slave to Woolworths/Coles more than a couple of times per month. The fresh fruit and veg are plentiful, there's so much variety. The deli section is to DIE for, and not a little bit overwhelming. My better half gets so impatient with me, because I'm known to turn into a slack-jawed, drooling, indecisive-zombie-cheese-charcuterie-fiend. He inevitably makes our choices ;) Yes. Things like milk, bread and like staples are more expensive if I've got to make an emergency dash. But they open at 6am and close at 7pm. Every single day. It's worth the convenience...and goodness knows I love me some predictability! The staff are the icing on this tasty, tasty cake. Even when I wasn't a familiar face, everyone is always willing to assist or even let me know what's particularly delicious at the moment. Just keep on being you, Clayfield Markets!

Ali was very courteous and provided excellent customer service. I will definitely return to this…read morelocation!

Every time I walk into this shop I feel inspired to become the greatest cook and the most…read moreextraordinary baker in my family. How could I not be inspired? They have the coolest gadgets when it comes to cooking equipment. I love the designs they stock, the colours and the variety. You can walk in with no intention of buying, but end up leaving with a whole bunch of fun kitchen appliances. For example recently, I wasn't looking for anything in particular but I ended up walking out with a pair of tongs with bright red ends that have a bend on them, so when you lay it on the bench, the tongs won't touch the surface. Genius! The customer service here is very good. They helped with all the queries I had, even showed me products on the top shelves which required a use of a ladder. They were informative and knowledgable in regards to the items they sell. This is my favourite kitchen/homewares store in Mt Ommaney Centre.

Marcia's on Montague had always been a solid and reliable 'go-to' for kitchenware and then they…read moreopened a little sister business, Organics at Marcia's. This past weekend was the first opportunity I'd had to explore the latest addition to the Marcia's family and whattya know I was a pig in mud. Or as the case may be, a health food store lover in smug trolley heaven. There's fresh organic produce, bulk bins filled with quinoa, rice flakes, trail mix and that kind of jazz (BYO jars or use their paper bags provided), cosmetics, baby products and loose-leaf teas. If you've just been to the West End Markets, a stop here will round out your weekly shop with a few pantry staples. With a boyfriend dragging his feet, my first visit was brief with only some dried apple and WotNot face cleaning towels for an upcoming trip purchased, but knowing the range available this one is going straight into my regular stops!

I met two wonderful ladies running this organic store, a mother-daughter team. How knowledgeable,…read morefriendly and helpful they are with whatever you're looking for organic and good for you. Give them a try! Jenn from Kauai.

Vegan snacks, small meals, smoothies, and juices, coffee. A shame they don't have coconut gelato…read morethat most Raw Squeeze outlets do. Nice fitness gear. Cute little spot. A few more tables would be nice. Cheap fitness classes for about $5 are available for women. Book ahead on their website or you'll likely miss out!

This is an interesting concept by Lorna Jane. There's a clothing (active wear) shop, a room for…read moreclasses and a cafe. The cafe does 'healthy' options including salads, wraps, juices, smoothies and has the buzz words including acai, chia, coconut, oats etc on the menu. I had a salad from the cafe - they are made off site and bought in but are fresh and filling enough. I've also taken an express class in the workout room for the bargain price of $2. These are 30 minute lunch time classes and are well patronised. The details aren't on their website so you'll have to pick up the timetable from the shop.

I've travelled far and wide for Chinese dessert but I've now found the best Chinese dessert house…read morein Brisbane. Just Soy Cafe in Sunnybank Hills makes the freshest, silkiest tofu dessert (dau fu fa) I've ever tasted. I know a lot of people pooh-soy custard because of its texture. Admittedly, it's an acquired taste but Just Soy Cafe offer an extensive dessert menu, not all of which is tofu based. In hot weather, nothing beats their Japanese Maccha frappe - sloughed ice flavoured with sweeteners, mixed beans and green tea ice cream. Alternatively, try their herb grass jelly or one of their ice-cream based drinks for something refreshing. This place is always popular and loud so take-away may be a better option than fighting the crowds for a seat or sharing one of the longer tables with strangers.

I must say I try to sample diverse Asian cuisines, and yet I've never seen anything like this small…read moredessert place. Despite the name, it is not just soy; indeed I have been there twice and not ordered anything soy, instead indulging in what they call a frappe (shaved ice with flavor and toppings and a spoon), something called herb grass jelly, and green tea ice cream over adzuki beans (yum). What do I like about it? Well for one thing, they have a lot of bean options for dessert, and these all taste good. Having gotten adzuki beans and kidney beans as well as peanuts added to my above selections, these are genuinely appealing desserts with some useful nutritional value. The mix of flavors is appealing. The place is next to a bus stop, and the ride back to town is quick even at night. It makes a great stop after any Asian excursion in surrounding Sunnybank. The prices are not bad at all, though it is cash only. I may yet find myself back there, but I may continue to sample their (large) menu for a while before I even get to their trademark soy custard.

Brisbane has come a long way over the years but it can still be frustrating trying to get a decent…read moremeal late at night. Hospitality workers, shift labourers and the inveterately disorganised know this fact only too well - if you end up trying to sort out dinner after the 9pm mark on a weekday you won't be able to get anything from the major supermarkets and your takeaway options will be seriously limited. That's why I appreciate the role of chains like IGA. To me, they represent the happiest compromise possible between a 24-hour convenience store and a full-blown supermarket. IGA Milton has an especially good range and boasts impressive opening hours: 6am - midnight 365 days a year (foreign readers from countries where 24-hour supermarkets are easy to find will have to excuse my excitement)! The deli here is quite gourmet, with a good selection of salamis and prosciutto as well as an array of olives. There are also some wholesome ready to eat salads and other heat-and-eat options like tortilla stacks. The nearby cheese selection showcases a well sourced selection of brie, camembert, blue and many others. I've even bought a very tasty pre-made sand crab lasagne from the refrigerated section. I suppose we have the area's high socio-economic status to thank for these epicurean touches.

Yep, I'm jumping on the bandwagon to rave about Baroona Road IGA. Such a sellout, aren't I? Hardly…read more Have you ever tried getting a park in Baroona Road Centro? It's a nightmare! My roommate laughs at me every time I say I'm popping down there for groceries and sarcastically wishes me luck getting a park, and he's not wrong. It's every man for himself when it comes to parking at this place. Horrible parking experiences aside though, this IGA is a godsend. The amount of times I've panicked when I've had nothing to take to work for lunch the next day or I've run out of milk and this place has saved me, I simply cannot count. One particular occasion I forgot it was a coworker's birthday the next day so I frantically rushed into Milton IGA at around 11pm and quickly swiped up a chocolate mud cake. It's a constant topic of conversation in my house how amazing the Baroona Road IGA's opening hours are. 6am to 12am every night; how does it get any better than that? Plus it's a TINY place, and yet I always seem to be able to find everything my heart desires. How do they manage to pack all that stuff into this tiny little space? Beats me, but they do. I prefer it to even larger supermarkets where they'd have about five hundred different brands of washing powder or mango juice because Baroona Road IGA always has what I need. For a small place, it has a ridiculously amazing selection of gourmet cheeses and healthy cooking options, plus a better range of caesar salads than I see in larger IGAs or Woolworths stores. Rather than go to Toowong's large and probably cheaper Coles, I prefer to go here. It's more convenient, and the selection is excellent. It's far better than any other chain grocery store I've experienced thus far. Everything is super easy to find whether you're in a rush or planning a larger shop. Because of Baroona Road IGA, I never go hungry. If you're a Milton/Auchenflower local, you'll find that you cherish and appreciate this IGA as much as me; if you survive the rat race of the car park out front, that is.

When my friend moved from West End to Coorparoo, I had visions of the severe withdrawals she'd be…read morehaving from all things local and organic in West End. Turns out, Coorparoo is pretty well equipped. And if I recall rightly, West End doesn't have an organic butcher. Watch out--Coorparoo could be the next big thing! Allsop and England is a fantastic little butcher and everything in there is organic except the cheerios. Most of their meat comes from an organic grower in Roma and their chicken from an organic free range grower in Murgon, so you can be sure that your meat isn't travelling too far. They not only sell all your regular cuts of meat beef, lamb and pork, but also do a few things out of the ordinary like goat and duck. We bought a whole duck from there the other day and roasted it--amazing. The prices are reasonable, in fact really reasonable considering it's organic. I'd say it's definitely cheaper than buying Coles organic meat, for example. With so few organic butchers around, I would make a special trip just to go to this butcher. In fact, I'd like to make a habit of it.

ORGANIC BUTCHER. What more possibly needs to be said?…read more Eating organic meat has always been far more important to me than eating organic veggies (if you can do both, you get pats on the back). Luckily, today, I'm going to save you from a long winded, morally righteous rant about it. I'll keep to the basics which are said as simply as this: ORGANIC MEAT IS GOOD FOR YOU, THE ANIMAL, AND THE FARMER. SHOP HERE. ALL THE TIME. START TODAY. Allsop and England also like to keep it local too. You'll see the signs proudly exclaiming that they like "to keep it Australian". Most of their meat comes less than 10 hours driving distance away in Queensland, and so, in the grand scheme of things, these guys are really keeping it close to home. They don't really do 'fancy' here. They've got all your classic cuts, and meats, but nothing too over the top or flashy. They don't need to draw you in using tricks. They're local, they're organic. What more do you want? I am ecstatic to report that the prices are no more expensive than what you'd find at Coles or any other non organic butcher. Are you reading this properly? At Allsop and England, you essentially pay less to eat better meat. I hope I've made my point clear. This is your new butcher. It's good for you, your pocket, for the butcher, for the animals, for the farmers that supply the butcher. Feel proud to purchase your flesh goods here.