Body and soul

1. +
body+soul
changing places
appetite
with GILLIAN CUMMING
JAMES Street ain't what it used to be-
for which we can be very thankful.
Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, has
undergonesomething of a renaissance
over the past couple of years.
Developers and our city planners have
taken to rejuvenating this particular
heartland. Slowly but surely they have
banished ugly industry and turned the
area into another popular, upmarket
spot to shop and dine.
Catching up with a friend, we'd planned
a trip to the Palace Centro cinemasjust
a hop and a skip away, but decided to
dine, cafe-style, beforehand.
Harveys, a deli-cafe, opened 18 months
ago, the first restaurant venture of
husband-and-wife partners Matt and
Kate Harvey. They brought on board
head chef Timmy Kemp, highly regarded
from her lndo Chine days.
The mod inside-outside space seats
about 80 and was near empty when we
arrived for an early lunch, but soon was
abuzz with not a table to spare.
It was a sunny winter's day, so we
decided to dineoutsideunder canopies
and were well looked after by the sort of
waiting staff every diner prefers-
they're at your elbow and helpful when
you need them but invisible otherwise.
Kemp has a reputation for Asian salads,
so my companion, who'd lived in
Vietnam, found it impossible to overlook
the Thai fish cakes on green papaya,
with chilli, lime and coriander dressing
as an entree ($14).
Perfection itself, so much so that when
we left Harveys we took with us a
takeaway order of the palate-cleansing
green papaya salad.
Soup of the day was a light and creamy
Seafood chowder ($8) that was
bursting with flavour (not too salty) and
swimming with lovely soft chunks of fish
and calamari.
For mains, my companion chose the
market fish, which was Ocean trout with
crispy garlic and leeks, tamarind sauce
and steamed greens ($23).
This got the thumbs up, again for its
unbeatable combination of softly­
textured pink trout and crisp medley of
food
greens, dressed with a simple sauce. I
chose Grilled chieng mi pork fillet with
coconut rice that included the green
papaya salad ($22) that my companion
had raved over earlier. An elegant dish,
the chunks of pork were succulent and
combined well. with the smoothly
textured rice and bitey salad.
For dessert, my companion chose an
exemplary Fresh fruit salad with creamy
yoghurt ($6) plus a wedge of fudge
($2.20), while I opted for Vanilla bean
ice cream with chocolate sauce and
almond biscotti ($8). Both were
triumphs. Two lattes ($2.80 each) later
and feeling very satisfied, we were off
to the flicks.
Inside Harveys, the deli has an enticing
range of cheeses as well as sauces,
relishes and dips made on the premises.
There's also fresh fruit and vegies,
stylishly prepared gourmet takeaways
and other nice treats.
Harveys, 4/31 James St, Fortitude
Valley. Phone 3852 3700. Licensed.
Open Monday 7.30am-4pm; Tuesday to
Saturday 7.30am until late; Sunday
8am-4pm. Deli open seven days 9am-
5pm (until 4pm Sunday and Monday).
Food onlyfor two: $88.80.