Apple Tango, WOOLLOONGABBA

With its bright green faux grass and colourful glowing lights, its hard to miss Apple Tango. I have driven past many times to and from the city but have only gotten around to visiting now and I wish I had much sooner!

Apple Tango's menu consists of small plates that are designed to be shared so it makes for a great place to bring the family or a group of friends. Along with their usual menu, they offer a taste from a different country every month and for the month of May, Greece was on offer.

I found choosing a bit more difficult than usual as I wanted to try everything from the menu as it all sounded delicious, but after much debating and compromising we decided to start with some hickory smoked wings, crying tiger beef and deep fried duck balls.

Hickory smoked wings with Tango hot sauce ( minus 2 already eaten wings)

The wings came out quickly and we dug in without any delay. Meat was tender and falling off the bone and the wings were smothered with a generous amount of hot sauce which had a nice kick to it. It didn't start out that spicy but definitely built up after a couple of wings.

Crying Tiger: Seared Angus sirloin with spring onion, peanuts & shallots.

Next came the Crying Tiger beef. The seared beef came out a little more cooked than stated but still tender and lovely.  I liked this dish a lot, the combination of flavours greatly remind me of Vietnamese/Thai salads which I believe inspired this dish. The dressing was sweet and tangy and I loved the addition of apple pieces which actually went well with the beef and kept the dish interesting.

 Deep Fried Duck balls: Duck confit, foie gras, apple fondant & pickled grapes.

This was probably my favourite dish of the night for a few reasons;
a- I love duck and foie gras.  b- it was beautifully presented and i loved looking at it &
c - I like dishes where I dislike a certain component, but end up loving it with the dish as a whole. I'd probably never eat pickled grapes again out of choice but I'll admit that it worked worked well with everything else on the plate.

Mostly eaten Octopus Paella: Grilled octopus, Chorizo, paprika, saffron rice & sherry. 

The paella was good and had a decent amount of octopus and chorizo. It wasn't an amazing paella but it wasn't bad either. I have worked with Spanish chefs before who have made amazing paellas that were full of flavour so I'm forever comparing it to those, and this wasn't quite on the same level, but it was still good and had those crispy bits of rice at the bottom which is always a treat.

Roast Lamb: Lamb shoulder, beetroot puree, yoghurt, oregano & lemon

We couldn't leave without trying something off their taste of Greece menu and with lamb on the menu, it wasn't a hard choice. The beetroot puree and yoghurt were very mild in flavour and found myself relying on the lemon juice to flavour the dish. It was still enjoyable but I personally think it lacks something. The lamb itself was probably the most tender piece of meat I've eaten in a while though so that definitely scored a few points in my books.

Spiced pear & cognac crumble with vanilla ice-cream and custard was served in a cute mini pan

I'm not a big dessert person, but having a pleasant experience with both food and service up to this point, we couldn't resist but to stay longer and give dessert a go. We decided to share the pear crumble. The crumble was very much on the sweeter side but the oats in the crumbs offered a nice crunch and texture. I couldn't pin point what the 'mix spice' consisted off, but it was heavily spiced so we were grateful that ice cream and custard was served with it. It was a generous sized dessert that I could not have been able to finish on my own.

Kitchen area and bar with the beautiful lights

The place is beautifully decorated with the kitchen out front so you can see the chefs preparing your meals which is always exciting to watch. It has an amazing atmosphere and makes for a great place to meet friends for some drinks and a bite to eat. They also do happy hour from Tuesday-Friday between 4-6, so you should head in for discounted beer and cocktails and experience Apple Tango for yourself. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for new specials from around the world each month.

Food:  8.5/10

Service:  10/10

Atmosphere:  9/10
Value:  9/10

Overall: 9/10

-wd

Grill n Bao (8 Street), GARDEN CITY

8 Street has become one of my favourite places for food and beer and I’ve been back countless times yet still have not tried anything from Grill n Bao until recently noticing their sign for “best voted burgers on 97.3FM”. I thought it was time to see what I've been missing out on.

Grill N Bao are all about their "Gua Bao" which is essentially an Asian burger that originated from Taiwan and typically consists of stewed meat, vegetables and sauce between steamed bread (same consistency of steam buns). They also offer ramen and a few side dishes that you can add to your burger along with a drink for a combo. On this particular visit, we opted for two combos so we could sample a bit of everything.

The slow cooked marinated pork belly gua bao, with hoisin sauce was an absolute standout, the pork was braised beautifully and fell apart in the mouth and was nice against the crispy red cabbage and carrot salad. This burger was delicious and I was jealous that I didnt pick it.

The crunchy hot and spicy chicken burger was okay; the chicken might have been in the fryer for a few minutes too long and got a bit tough and dry, especially towards the end when it started to cool. Aside from the steamed bun, the crunchy chicken gua bao tasted more or less like a normal cripsy chicken burger. It just wasn't as exciting as the pork belly one. Both steam buns were good; not to sweet and texture was perfectly soft and fluffy.

The batter was crispy and golden but the calamari itself was a bit tough and chewy. Calamari is not quite up to the mark of a good fish and chip store.

The mini ramen that came as part of combo was bigger than I expected and it was definitely a bit of a mission to finish both the burger and the ramen. The ramen itself was pretty average. I don’t recall getting any meat in it, but it was suppose to be a side dish as part of the combo so I wasn’t going to question it. The broth was a little bit spicy and had decent flavours; nothing to write home about but it was a nice little noodle soup to have after my burger and made sure I was full and warmed up from being out in the cold rain.

Overall I enjoyed it. I definitely recommend the pork belly or waygu beef ones as those seem to be the ones with more flavour and less chances of being over cooked like my fried dishes were. The prices were a tad bit expensive coming in at 7.90 each (from 12.9 for a combo), but they’re pretty damn tasty and one is probably enough if you’re not a massive eater.

Service was wonderful, the guy at the counter was friendly and offered plenty of smiles despite being busy and much like the rest of 8 Street, you could see your food being prepare through the window while you wait. I’ll definitely be back to try the other flavours!

Food:  7/10
Service:  9/10
Value: 6.5/10
Atmosphere: 9/10

Overal: 7.5/10

-wd