tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40478739430270000192023-11-15T22:15:18.499-08:00After meal musingsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-77252948659948983922015-10-21T02:02:00.000-07:002016-02-14T00:51:22.724-08:00Oriental Yum Cha, Fortitude Valley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I consider myself a pretty greedy person when it comes to food, so me hearing about any kind of buffet is like a kid hearing about Disneyland. I've been waiting for an all can eat yum cha for some time, so when Thoa mentioned Oriental yum cha was doing this, I didn't hesitate, not even for a second. </div>
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We were seated and offered tea but food was yet to come around as they were still setting up, apparently twenty minutes after opening was still too early to arrive. We must of sat around for about 15 mins before trolleys came around so it really took time out of our 1hr seating time which they were very adamant about keeping. They however didn't seem to mind how many items you have on table at once though, so we made up for some lost time on the first trolley that came by.</div>
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Along with ordering classic favourites, we decided to try a few new things since it wasnt costing us any extra. Beef balls were a new discovery...not the good kind of discovery though. I have nothing to compare it to so i'm not sure what a good one is suppose to taste like, but what I can say is, as a dish in general, it was quite unpleasant to eat. Texture was gelatinous and slimey and tasted and looked like raw mince despite being cooked. I'm not sure i'm game enough to try that one again at a different place unless someone can tell me that I just had some dud ones.</div>
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Xiao long baos were okay. The broth along with pastry was average in flavour but we found the presentation to be annoying. We had a few mishaps with the pastry sticking to the silicon and no matter how careful we would be, it got a little bit messy.</div>
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The chicken feet was probably the stand out from this visit although not quite on the same standard as other places, but it was full of flavour and we both enjoyed it.We ordered a few other dishes too that we didn't take photos. Har Gow would be one of my favourite dumplings and i recall the pastry being super thick and dry and the fillings are minimal prawn. sui mais were pretty tough and dry and lack the usual flavours. We finished with some egg tarts and mango pudding; the former lacking flakiness in the pastry and the latter being overly sweet and tasting superficial. </div>
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We stopped ordering at this point and were just finishing off dessert and tea, but we were <i>gently </i>reminded about 3 times by different wait staff that our time was up. There were a number of tables still empty with no new customers coming in, so it seemed a little unnecessary. I think the last girl noticed how uncomfortable she made us so she top up our tea before leaving, but nonetheless we didn't want to overstay our welcome so we scoffed down the rest of our egg tarts and got up to pay.</div>
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It set us 19.90 each and I was satisfied enough that I had every intention of coming back but since the, I've been to a few other yum cha since (old favourites and new ones), and really, you can eat all the yum cha you ca handle and it costs you a little over $20 anyway. not to mention that the food quality is better and you can sit for as long as you please.</div>
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Food: 5/10<br />
Service: 4/10<br />
atmosphere: 5/10<br />
Value: 6/10<br />
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Overall 5<br />
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<a href="https://www.zomato.com/brisbane/oriental-yum-cha-fortitude-valley" target="_blank" title="View Menu, Reviews, Photos & Information about Oriental Yum Cha, Fortitude Valley and other Restaurants in Brisbane"><img alt="Oriental Yum Cha Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato" src="https://www.zomato.com/logo/16593500/minilogo" style="border: none; height: 15px; padding: 0px; width: 104px;" /></a><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-53364770172442364602015-10-15T21:36:00.000-07:002016-02-14T00:51:34.209-08:00Little Sista, Coorparoo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In my constant search for a local cafe where I can be a regular at, I decided to try Little Sista. I've been here for coffee a long time ago with a friend and made a mental note that it might be worth coming back to for a proper meal. So on one fine day off, sleeping in well breakfast time, we decided to come here for their all day breakfast!</div>
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We sat outside in their patio area to soak in some sun. I often sit outside in the sun with my coffee on my days off and while on holidays so I thought the setting was relaxing and peaceful and felt like was away from Brisbane for a little while.</div>
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We started with a couple of coffees and after the many awful coffees we have had recently, we were looking forward to a cup of Campos. The espresso shot was extracted well but the milk texture could have been smoother. The coffee wasn't bad, but it was nothing to write home about either. I'm a Barista and a decent one at that, so my expectations are probably a little higher than my dining companions.</div>
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Our waitress was very quick and bubbly and ordering was done without a hitch. Jamie, being a growing man, ordered the biggest breakfast he could; the <i>Big Sista breakfast </i>which consisted of eggs, chorizo, mushroom, bacon, beans, tomatos and hasbrowns served with sourdough. </div>
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I went with the <i>little Sista breakfast, </i>which wasn't all that little. I thought this was a pretty good option because you're given a few steps to build and customise your own meal. You get eggs your way on sourdough, followed by a meat option and two sides. I went for the greasy and hearty options of savoury mince, vegetable fritter and hash browns. </div>
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The savoury mince was delicious, full of flavour and nice and saucy. The fritter from what i can recall (a fair few weeks have past since we were here) was primarily spiced pumpkin and deep fried. it was crispy around the edges but being quite oily and mushy, became sickening half way through. </div>
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I thought it was a little pricey for breakfast coming in at $50 for two people but then again, that would be the average price in a trendy cafe these days. The quality is definitely worth it though, you wouldnt be able to get anything like this from any place with a big sign out front offering a $12 big breakfast...not in Brisbane anyway.</div>
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Food: 7/10</div>
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Service: 7/10</div>
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Atmosphere: 7/10</div>
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Value: 6/10</div>
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Overal: 6.5</div>
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<a href="https://www.zomato.com/brisbane/little-sista-coorparoo" target="_blank" title="View Menu, Reviews, Photos & Information about Little Sista, Coorparoo and other Restaurants in Brisbane"><img alt="Little Sista Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato" src="https://www.zomato.com/logo/16595114/minilogo" style="border: none; height: 15px; padding: 0px; width: 104px;" /></a> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-31363005474354778222015-07-15T07:35:00.001-07:002015-07-20T07:38:09.866-07:00Little Red Dumpling, SUNNYBANK HILLS<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
If I had to pick one cuisine to eat everyday for a year, without a single shred of doubt, it'd be dumplings. I could eat it three meals a day and not get sick of it so when Little red dumpling offered all you can eat dumplings for $30 (for two people), how could I resist?</div>
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The all you can eat deal was limited to dumplings and a couple of noodle dishes. Entrees and drinks were not included but with a couple of main sized noodle dishes and several choices of dumplings on offer with the option of having them either pan friend or steamed, I wasn't complaining. </div>
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We arrived for dinner on a relatively busy Wednesday night without a booking but staff were still accommodating and sat us down with menus, table water and friendly smiles. I started with a pot of tea while we browsed over our choices and discussed a game plan of how we should tackle this and make the most out of an(already amazing) deal. </div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">generous amounts of tea for one person served in beautiful teapots and cups</span></div>
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We decided we didn't want to fill up on noodles and to stick with just dumplings so we could try all the different flavours. I didn't bother taking photos of all the plates we ordered as they looked very similar save for some very slight variances in sizes/shapes between the different fillings.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpxGW3XKAGx84lVln2B6oyj6pBjXaFAsrR1wtFgH90jap-1ixOPA87_NL2bJGQRh2Ljr-GpUcJJtlEa0nnRGgHebWntC2HDBnYz9gtq3xX7ZqqLycOddhmedDFzaxSZE_6dP11tTBi-6h0/s1600/IMAG1778_1%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpxGW3XKAGx84lVln2B6oyj6pBjXaFAsrR1wtFgH90jap-1ixOPA87_NL2bJGQRh2Ljr-GpUcJJtlEa0nnRGgHebWntC2HDBnYz9gtq3xX7ZqqLycOddhmedDFzaxSZE_6dP11tTBi-6h0/s400/IMAG1778_1%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Pan-fried Chicken and prawn dumplings</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinQyp3VhnDouSaQ44Y9A_hznZaqjAXMCB3wG0q9KBJUTWGskIDFhlRjqqYkhUhDjRfB-tQkl3PTQphGFT7AOlzAhENQ3AUA0qoRgV-FVJDUAzS1sF2Zc6oazUnfxmHxQlsXbUwwkoNsoD7/s1600/IMAG1780_1_1%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinQyp3VhnDouSaQ44Y9A_hznZaqjAXMCB3wG0q9KBJUTWGskIDFhlRjqqYkhUhDjRfB-tQkl3PTQphGFT7AOlzAhENQ3AUA0qoRgV-FVJDUAzS1sF2Zc6oazUnfxmHxQlsXbUwwkoNsoD7/s400/IMAG1780_1_1%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Steamed lamb and coriander</span></div>
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We managed to try almost every dumpling available to us that night, except for the vegetarian one which we weren't to fussed about missing. I think they were all very nice but the stand out fillings of the night were definitely chicken & prawn and the pork & chives ones. The only real complaint I have about these dumplings would be the thickness of the pastry skin; with it being quite thick, sometimes it gets a little too doughy and you miss out of the flavours of the filling. The skin didn't seem quite as thick when we opted for the pan friend version though. All dumplings plates were served with an extremely generous amount of dipping sauce (soy, vinegar & chilli oil), and they even provided extra bottles on the table. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwk8Ssf__sB4u6m9v2fC2Jjt2Rz28q7BYcHk6jjjlEm6EQQ2Mymmbz3x821FRMDWlLg3fLOf6aPnSWfXM8xBM6JeB2xi32AktqnnLjGK83of2ODtfnVDmytF_x7Fm2wukGf6SLXVdTsIh/s1600/IMAG1784_1%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwk8Ssf__sB4u6m9v2fC2Jjt2Rz28q7BYcHk6jjjlEm6EQQ2Mymmbz3x821FRMDWlLg3fLOf6aPnSWfXM8xBM6JeB2xi32AktqnnLjGK83of2ODtfnVDmytF_x7Fm2wukGf6SLXVdTsIh/s400/IMAG1784_1%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">walls are adorned with strong, powerful artwork</span></div>
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The place is gorgeous and there is lots to gander at while you wait for your food to arrive. The furniture is made up of wooden benches and stools mimicking small Chinese restaurants without lacking comfort and cleanliness. The staff were amazing and I could not fault them on anything; everyone was super friendly, looked after us well and actually looked they wanted to be there.<br />
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Final verdict? Not the best dumplings around, but I definitely enjoyed them, all 30 or so of them! In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I actually purchased another Scoopon and super eager to go back and eat an unhealthy amount of dumplings and somehow manage to fit some dessert in too. I'm super psyched.<br />
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Food: 7/10 (based on dumplings only)</div>
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Service 10/10</div>
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Atmosphere: 9/10</div>
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Value: 7/10 (based on normal prices)</div>
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<b>Overal: 8/10</b></div>
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<b>-wd</b></div>
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<span style="color: #404040; font-family: Trebuchet MS, Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><b><a href="https://www.zomato.com/brisbane/little-red-dumpling-sunnybank-hills" target="_blank"><img alt="Click to add a blog post for Little Red Dumpling on Zomato" src="https://www.zomato.com/logo/16595279/ibiglink" style="border: none; height: 146px; padding: 0px; width: 200px;" /></a> </b></span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-35643539414082796802015-06-28T03:13:00.001-07:002015-06-28T03:13:34.351-07:00Alegria Mediterranean Bistro, MILTON<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When people picking or discussing popular weekend breakfast spots, Bistro Alegria is not a place that often gets mentioned. I believe a lot of people are unaware that this restaurant, often thriving and bustling with customers most nights would serve big hearty breakfasts early weekend mornings. Bistro alegria is probably one of my favourite places to have dinner and currently the only </span>restaurant<span style="font-family: inherit;"> I visit multiple times in a year. The food and dessert are all made by the chefs in house and is consistently spectacular. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite knowing about breakfast at Alegria for a while now, this was actually my first opportunity to make it out there on </span>Sunday<span style="font-family: inherit;"> morning. The menu is considerably smaller but offers all the favourites with a </span>Mediterranean<span style="font-family: inherit;"> twist. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf8biPYIc1Q0XWEgb7NZ6azYPzQP3OoOsDlaexTL7G_5fSACHLYNq_3uZ8-EeWqzvt_O796_UNRPhsiMxujVxkrbnm5HHF1RMigO3eXxaLfWfkWccCsOJlRsRDx2JJ9sXoIU5zsABhOtZN/s1600/11282481_10153441016162578_901241795_o_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf8biPYIc1Q0XWEgb7NZ6azYPzQP3OoOsDlaexTL7G_5fSACHLYNq_3uZ8-EeWqzvt_O796_UNRPhsiMxujVxkrbnm5HHF1RMigO3eXxaLfWfkWccCsOJlRsRDx2JJ9sXoIU5zsABhOtZN/s320/11282481_10153441016162578_901241795_o_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Spanish omelette with jamon, feta, confit potatoes and roast capsicum</span></div>
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The Spanish omelette was served in a decent sized paella pan and filled with generous amount of jamon and the confit potatoes were full of flavour. It was a big meal and must of contained about 4 eggs and was served with a thick slice of grilled sourdough. It definitely more than I could ever eat for breakfast...or any other meal for that matter.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBzfPhuDNv2J3I1IlF8hnmvOTobSAiIR9wDKMnobH5PoywGS4eP9qKJ3-P-wsPcwazCCQyE0hcXaMR8Thr5AREGwZ4LPd7L8vHznWQOHVZF09ftFEzBmnBR7v1toIBdmSWB0RQig1Z56l/s1600/11268989_10153441015427578_1589141478_o_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNBzfPhuDNv2J3I1IlF8hnmvOTobSAiIR9wDKMnobH5PoywGS4eP9qKJ3-P-wsPcwazCCQyE0hcXaMR8Thr5AREGwZ4LPd7L8vHznWQOHVZF09ftFEzBmnBR7v1toIBdmSWB0RQig1Z56l/s320/11268989_10153441015427578_1589141478_o_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Mediterranean Breakfast </span></div>
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Alegria's version of the big breakfast was definitely big. There were thick slices of house made honey bacon, juicy heirloom cherry tomatoes, fresh avocados, watercress, mushrooms and haloumi and two massive slices of grilled sourdough.</div>
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The food here is amazing, and serving sizes are always gigantic; big eaters don't need to worry about being left hungry after a meal. The coffee here is pretty average, but you wont really have room for anything else after a breakfast. Their tea selection is pretty unique though if you're after a hot cuppa.</div>
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Whether you choose to come here for breakfast, lunch or dinner, you'll fine something delectable from the menu. Dinner is still probably my favourite time of the day to come as there is lots of delicious seasonal tapas and mains to choose from, and with live musicians playing every weekend night, it really is a great venue for friends and family to get together for dinner and have a drink or two from their expansive wine list.<br />
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<b>-wd</b></div>
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<a href="https://www.zomato.com/brisbane/alegria-mediterranean-bistro-and-bar-milton" target="_blank"><img alt="Click to add a blog post for Alegria Mediterranean Bistro and Bar on Zomato" src="https://www.zomato.com/logo/16591138/ibiglink" style="border: none; height: 146px; padding: 0px; width: 200px;" /></a> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-13714619086443381802015-06-28T03:03:00.002-07:002015-06-28T03:03:52.687-07:00Carolina Kitchen, COOPARROO<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was a lot of talk about Carolina kitchen when american food became popular in Brisbane. I was pretty late to board the train and only got around to visiting recently. Carolina's kitchen is located in a suburban area of Cooparroo, and offers popular American soul food such as hoagies, ribs, wings and a range of dessert pies.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaa95iQ1_CJnotbk8y5uS9dvFEQLNASuhBo4OXsYS3epC4UYLGt_6264a0HiL5jLEEUtVVQh1J77TdRuNmCoREJbI8WHtshWG8FafitHdjCB3tcT2wOnTFXS85jZbDJUc8w_lydJTY6VL_/s1600/IMAG1672_1%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaa95iQ1_CJnotbk8y5uS9dvFEQLNASuhBo4OXsYS3epC4UYLGt_6264a0HiL5jLEEUtVVQh1J77TdRuNmCoREJbI8WHtshWG8FafitHdjCB3tcT2wOnTFXS85jZbDJUc8w_lydJTY6VL_/s320/IMAG1672_1%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love corn bread, so it was no surprise when that was the first thing I picked off the menu. The cornbread was shaped as a muffin. It was warm, moist and had the perfect amount of sweetness, probably one of the better corn breads I've tasted. I wasn't a fan of the sauce served on the side though, it was like some sort of lukewarm tomato and beef mince chili, without the chili.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT9SRiXgDNWhcjSamR3eXnoarali14vnykmcKtliKU0phi1_SDImEvZMrT0QUkvjuFMeCVsYog9pDgi1CUWvC3VvVx5aJ5koioTIOjmXtPMwl_bufyWiPnAYQM5wh-U_LGVFS38qgf_jAb/s1600/IMAG1668_1%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT9SRiXgDNWhcjSamR3eXnoarali14vnykmcKtliKU0phi1_SDImEvZMrT0QUkvjuFMeCVsYog9pDgi1CUWvC3VvVx5aJ5koioTIOjmXtPMwl_bufyWiPnAYQM5wh-U_LGVFS38qgf_jAb/s320/IMAG1668_1%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had the "Aunt Lilly Mae's BBQ ribs" that came with a side of southern potato salad. The meat was falling of the bone and topped with tangy and sweet BBQ sauce. The sauce really was delicious; if it weren't for fellow diners, I would have picked up my plate and licked it clean. The potato salad although not all that different from a regular potato and egg salad, was very tasty and seasoned well. Only down side of this dish, was the size. It was pretty small for a half rack and even with the addition to the side salad, and half a corn bread, I wasn't completely satiated afterwards. Unless you're a light eater, you really have to order a few extra sides or at least a large size of ribs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Enjoying the cool artwork while enjoying a refreshing Dr Peppers</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The restaurant isn't fancy inside or out and decor seems a little outdated, but it's cosy and humble and has a lot of interesting memorabilia to check out while you wait for your food. The music played in the background is pretty great, it was a mix of jazz, soul and blues when I was there. Although the food was a little bit expensive for the amount you get, it was still delicious and I definitely want to come back for more ribs and maybe a hoagie and some wings too. Sometimes you just have to splurge a little to get good food.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Food: 8/10</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Service 6/10</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Atmosphere: 5/10</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Value: 6/10</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overal: 6/10</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-wd</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.zomato.com/brisbane/carolina-kitchen-coorparoo" target="_blank"><img alt="Click to add a blog post for Carolina Kitchen on Zomato" src="https://www.zomato.com/logo/16591867/ibiglink" style="border: none; height: 146px; padding: 0px; width: 200px;" /></a> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-68334688467214599082015-06-09T23:23:00.000-07:002015-07-20T07:33:39.710-07:00Toro Bravo, FORTITUDE VALLEY<div class="MsoNormal">
The fortitude valley is becoming a utopia for dining with
many new venues serving up exciting cuisines from around the world but before
trying all the new stuff, I decided to visit a place that has long been on my
list; Toro Bravo. I absolutely love the idea of tapas and small share plates so
naturally Toro Bravo would be on my ever expanding wish-list.</div>
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I dined here a couple of weeks ago and to this day I still
haven’t come up with a definitive answer as to whether I had a good night or
not. There were amazing points and there were moments that tipped the scale towards
the other direction. I arrived earlier than my friend so decided to proceed
inside, the bartender casually strolled up to ‘greet’ me and I informed him
that I had made a reservation. Unaware of any bookings made, he asked me
whether I was by myself. I told him I was waiting for a friend and happy
to do so at the table that had been set aside for us and the response I receive was uncalled for and it really put me off, so I decided to go back
out front and wait while I contemplating eating next door.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My friend arrived and we were then greeted by the waiter who
sat us down inside. Service took a massive turn at this point and I was glad I chose
to stick around. Our waiter handled things superbly; he was a friendly and
knowledgeable and helped us choose the right amount of food and made the
experience fun and comfortable.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We started our dinner with the Field mushrooms and feta that
came with a mound of rocket. This was probably the simplest dish we ordered but
was definitely my favourite. The mushroom was cooked well and full of flavour
and juicy while the feta was soft and rich. A perfect example of how
simple ingredients can taste astonishing when cooked well.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_uXnJLFPxpEPwnbVJjycApN4WIJyC4EMs4NHuWp27Eq7P-MqvG7OCsDieZpxa5RUyAVv8IA5TuE4ah27G3dUcjNzjjPQR5FS9umcaqCYEYGq7E_A3TghWR7UjpNaLBMayMaQa4Cg3jK5r/s1600/Toro4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_uXnJLFPxpEPwnbVJjycApN4WIJyC4EMs4NHuWp27Eq7P-MqvG7OCsDieZpxa5RUyAVv8IA5TuE4ah27G3dUcjNzjjPQR5FS9umcaqCYEYGq7E_A3TghWR7UjpNaLBMayMaQa4Cg3jK5r/s400/Toro4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Sauteed field mushrooms with roquette roast pumpkin, feta & manzanilla sherry dressing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Croquettes are a must have every time for me; it’s exciting
to see what new flavours chefs are trying with the croquettes. That night at
Toro Bravo, it was hamburger. Intrigued at first and not sure what to expect,
we were bitterly disappointed when they finally came out...not to say they weren't absolutely delicious and perfectly crispy, it just wasn’t as adventurous and bizarre as we
hoped. In all fairness though, when you break down the ingredients in a
hamburger it’s really is just ham, cheese & tomato sauce. We had a good
laugh about that one.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZ5rVnadvKXl5r1EjN65Nj1XEss8LxBl72S7oPm6HooYWr942jyQqnFfxOuYCwMtTBrPqnqZy2kUkJnfS3iW6tGT8bYtCcpPNekJJEo7BIEYPYaDIG3_4wp9XB7mvDuKS65NQ19lRxYix/s1600/Toro3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZ5rVnadvKXl5r1EjN65Nj1XEss8LxBl72S7oPm6HooYWr942jyQqnFfxOuYCwMtTBrPqnqZy2kUkJnfS3iW6tGT8bYtCcpPNekJJEo7BIEYPYaDIG3_4wp9XB7mvDuKS65NQ19lRxYix/s400/Toro3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Croquette of the day: Hamburger</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bartender came with out with our paella and seemed
annoyed that there wasn’t enough room left on the table. He lingered
uncomfortably for a little while and then popped then dirty plates on the table
next to us, placed the paella down and walked off empty handed and left us with
the nice view of our used dishes. I could have done that myself. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The paella was pretty good. There was a decent amount of
chorizo and prawns, and the rice was cooked nicely however the chicken was a
little bit dry. The flavours were good and I was quite satisfied with the dish but it would have been much better with a bit more heat to it</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92KBFYYZvQ9wkMymo7U3fXCwpsWA5lbdVat-SpiLr4lO7-1AD375jrc7-BAWbJzGRcDBV6pejSv2ajAIgEcEz551mCiA_EVWy44zQ5RWi2Tm4A3IsXlWF_O7RzwNKMt7Rv7gupotFI5mB/s1600/Toro2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92KBFYYZvQ9wkMymo7U3fXCwpsWA5lbdVat-SpiLr4lO7-1AD375jrc7-BAWbJzGRcDBV6pejSv2ajAIgEcEz551mCiA_EVWy44zQ5RWi2Tm4A3IsXlWF_O7RzwNKMt7Rv7gupotFI5mB/s400/Toro2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Chicken, prawn, chorizo paella with winter vegetables.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lastly, just to make sure we were really done and full, was the lamb skewers. The lamb had a strong charred flavour and the haloumi was
still soft and moist and although the rosemary oil was evident, I think it
would have been nice if it was accompanied by a dipping sauce. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxK-SDthad2-OpnF6JhbLrSiK4PasnCP939dwGI8sqf5V_10u1HgS4o1_M50y35uE6e84fjSskk_TvoTLGapPWSlaffJSMlRPbD5jAo85iK8tlhkl4l5p5iXWVwuGqwWUB_Q6_5ymBViuN/s1600/Toro1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxK-SDthad2-OpnF6JhbLrSiK4PasnCP939dwGI8sqf5V_10u1HgS4o1_M50y35uE6e84fjSskk_TvoTLGapPWSlaffJSMlRPbD5jAo85iK8tlhkl4l5p5iXWVwuGqwWUB_Q6_5ymBViuN/s400/Toro1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Chargrilled lamb and haluomi skewers with rosemary oil.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were going to skip dessert but upon finding out that Thoa
has yet to try a clafoutis, I made an executive decision to order one despite
our stomachs telling us we were done for the night. It came out warm and was
very comforting to eat on a cold night. The only complaint I have with this
one, was it needed more sour cherry and would have been nice with a sauce. I
liked it, but felt like it was a little plain and needed one more thing to make
it memorable.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2VNwypT4pKWvPtcL-eAhSWdGz8LosEUYAAW8Gx9OBup0hPHWYQvjnfu2KpjmjdLAfEvdWoVN0OtR0HRcqrVJ_q0pUcknM6D7gYrgVTkOrwqxydmoU0aDEgtLcGDUIfK-eSfGZ4EuQ6kp/s1600/Toro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2VNwypT4pKWvPtcL-eAhSWdGz8LosEUYAAW8Gx9OBup0hPHWYQvjnfu2KpjmjdLAfEvdWoVN0OtR0HRcqrVJ_q0pUcknM6D7gYrgVTkOrwqxydmoU0aDEgtLcGDUIfK-eSfGZ4EuQ6kp/s400/Toro.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Sour cherry clafouti with vanilla icecream</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we were ready to leave, we got the passing bartenders
attention for the bill and tried to inform him that we had an entertainment
card so he would know to adjust it accordingly rather than
having to go back and do it later. He stuck his hand up to us and said he was
already getting it and didn't take the card with him. We fixed our bill up at
the counter and were on our way back to the car pack when he came running after
us and said he needed to see the card because he forgot to take down some
details, so back in we went. Although not being inconvenienced by it, I felt
like the way he spoke to us and his attitude could have been a bit better at
that moment and throughout the night, but we tried not to dwell on it seeing as
everything else was pleasant.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With or without the entertainment discount, I think Toro
Bravo offers good value and would be a great place for big groups and families.
Our bill came out much smaller than expected and despite a few mishaps, service from the waiter was excellent and we received a decent amount of food that came out quickly even though only one chef was in the kitchen that night. I'm definitely keen to come back and give their mains plates/grills a go some
time in the near future.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
Food: 8/10</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Service 8.5/10</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Atmosphere: 8/10</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Value: 8.5/10</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Overal: 8/10</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>-wd</b></div>
<a href="https://www.zomato.com/brisbane/toro-bravo-fortitude-valley"><img alt="Click to add a blog post for Toro Bravo on Zomato" src="https://www.zomato.com/logo/16590922/biglink" style="border: none; height: 146px; padding: 0px; width: 200px;" /></a> </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-74689430671915319472015-06-03T06:19:00.000-07:002015-06-12T23:02:39.226-07:00The Burrito Bar, SOUTHBANK<div class="MsoNormal">
The Burrito Bar has been a part of Southbank dining for a
long time and remains popular with movie goers for a quick bite before or after
their session. I’ve eaten here a couple of times years ago when they first
opened up and found it to be quite average. They have since had a
makeover and extended their menu so I decided to give it another go. Surely
they were doing something right to still be standing even after the addition of
new burrito joints in the area.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Their change in menu does sound more appealing with crowd
pleasers such as slow cooked pulled pork that can be added to burritos, tacos,
nachos and quesadillas. Along with your
standard tortilla based dishes, they offer items such as buffalo wings,
chargrilled corn, ribs and chilli as well as a few unorthodox dishes such as
nacho chips and Mexican burger.
They certainly have a lot more to offer in terms of menu choices in comparison
to their neighbouring competitors.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We placed our order with a very quiet, yet friendly girl at the counter then proceeded to find a table. The only clean
table happened to be in front of the counter and board menus and we found it
extremely uncomfortable. I felt like I was getting in customers way as they
tried to order while at the same time having my personal dining space invaded.
We ended up moving to a different table next to tacky uncovered pipes and
chipped away poles where we had to clear away dirty plates ourselves. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9xQJTHYjrteizaSUR0F2rLnvzby38vvVj-PnbsUtdi9BX8VzMpo6LeAZwAYvlkUbwdQXLdNQknLsvSnJeyGT_y8at7kS-pJxBOVSQrZPLSu00wUDTy9LhTfgqrbShkqkwD5NwUQ6CR3m/s1600/IMAG1595_1%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs9xQJTHYjrteizaSUR0F2rLnvzby38vvVj-PnbsUtdi9BX8VzMpo6LeAZwAYvlkUbwdQXLdNQknLsvSnJeyGT_y8at7kS-pJxBOVSQrZPLSu00wUDTy9LhTfgqrbShkqkwD5NwUQ6CR3m/s640/IMAG1595_1%255B1%255D.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our pulled pork nachos were the first to arrive. I was surprised
to see it come out on a real square dinner plate, even though it was chipped in
the corners. Serving sizes for the nachos are much smaller
than the competitors for the same price but offered a generous amount of sour
cream at no additional charge. The pulled pork was good and salsa was fresh,
however the downside to this dish was the overly salty and oily corn chips, otherwise
it was a pretty-okay plate of nachos.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Bq5x3sDJ_yhzFyEoM5nZKInHqnEyG1jKuBcUq8pzsutRIbwOkAkNf8fen5QNv4k9ukNBvHAglJNq4ZV6VL5B7Tkw7wKo8YFotyUMMgXH_pT4A22q0wv9u61sRUnd1l1UFgiLWGEzE0tW/s1600/IMAG1596_1%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Bq5x3sDJ_yhzFyEoM5nZKInHqnEyG1jKuBcUq8pzsutRIbwOkAkNf8fen5QNv4k9ukNBvHAglJNq4ZV6VL5B7Tkw7wKo8YFotyUMMgXH_pT4A22q0wv9u61sRUnd1l1UFgiLWGEzE0tW/s640/IMAG1596_1%255B1%255D.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gmHQmCjOdb8NchGVIGeP1LD2Yzlh4lPbjHa008HYfGfz7hWczs6OXpsREjow0GzMXAAYFnIQfzpqEzCXEd8tieSUP9jlUX87PupYa2t7kI-TdMYIMxbZcKrSxImHMRjPQUFpIp1tGULe/s1600/IMAG1597_1%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gmHQmCjOdb8NchGVIGeP1LD2Yzlh4lPbjHa008HYfGfz7hWczs6OXpsREjow0GzMXAAYFnIQfzpqEzCXEd8tieSUP9jlUX87PupYa2t7kI-TdMYIMxbZcKrSxImHMRjPQUFpIp1tGULe/s640/IMAG1597_1%255B1%255D.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The 10-hour slow cooked Smokey BBQ beef burrito was out
next. The beef was definitely soft and tender and had a nice flavour to it and was wrapped nicely in a decent sized soft tortilla. We shared the burrito
and despite being quite hungry, I was unable to finish my half due the mound of
uncooked rice inside it. I don’t mean slightly undercooked either, the rice was
still crunchy and upon snapping a grain in half, revealed a chalky white
uncooked centre. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We left hungry and disappointed that even after the change,
our impression and experience at The Burrito Bar remained the same as our first
few tries. The main clientele seemed to be made up of young teenagers out with
their friends and making use of the food discount they receive along with their
Cineplex movie ticket. Everyone older knows better and is willing to pay
the extra few dollars and have gone down the road. It’s such a shame though
because the pulled pork/beef was actually very nice, but that alone isn’t enough
to make me come back any time soon.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Food: 3/10<br />
Service: 4/10<br />
Value: 4/10<br />
Atmosphere: 3/10<br />
<b>Overall: 3.5/10<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<b>-wd<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b><a href="https://www.zomato.com/brisbane/the-burrito-bar-south-bank"><img alt="Click to add a blog post for The Burrito Bar on Zomato" src="https://www.zomato.com/logo/16591814/biglink" style="border: none; height: 146px; padding: 0px; width: 200px;" /></a> </b></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-40895032310172490262015-06-02T06:16:00.003-07:002015-06-02T06:17:46.686-07:00Ramen Champion, SUNNYBANK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ramen Champion is a newer and more modern addition to dining
at Sunnybank. It’s beautifully decorated and offers plenty of space and
comfortable seating inside which you’ll agree is a miracle if you know
Sunnybank at all. This is the second time I’ve been here and although I still
prefer ramen at their competition across the road, there were many things I did
like more here.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Upon entering, you’ll notice that the place is decked out
with cool lights and furniture and that it’s completely spotless and clean. The
guys working there are super friendly and always greeting you eagerly as you
come through the door. Ordering is super quick with menus being simple and
straight forward. Prices for a bowl of ramen start from $9.90 and cheap rice
dishes starting at $5.90. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlGyXrc5rDbnAt6yKEy30aUMZMznfL46A3KGzSz_IbZp9eXqxP7I4ZTq77JibelBmqfsb63VqKvbo4gqjX-i7TCoCB9M1-3TFL4CJS_3uoAqdFZ2ZBL5j7-oppHDMz5rWSwzR5JUJqAod/s1600/IMAG1613_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjlGyXrc5rDbnAt6yKEy30aUMZMznfL46A3KGzSz_IbZp9eXqxP7I4ZTq77JibelBmqfsb63VqKvbo4gqjX-i7TCoCB9M1-3TFL4CJS_3uoAqdFZ2ZBL5j7-oppHDMz5rWSwzR5JUJqAod/s640/IMAG1613_1.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfw5UZBx_yHIXyWwfmcSpqIOgWfcxvewclNsNBcfnbKMNx3HzyaqL01sUjRSNltpFc1b2P1m1vLIciq1EN4rOQ_T8ntsuqQ89NrQinnm9xb7dIiJIEL94JETaX0URH9KFV1GkSaE4Vtxm/s1600/IMAG1611_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfw5UZBx_yHIXyWwfmcSpqIOgWfcxvewclNsNBcfnbKMNx3HzyaqL01sUjRSNltpFc1b2P1m1vLIciq1EN4rOQ_T8ntsuqQ89NrQinnm9xb7dIiJIEL94JETaX0URH9KFV1GkSaE4Vtxm/s640/IMAG1611_1.jpg" width="362" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last time I was here, I tried the Spicy champion with minced
pork which I didn’t enjoy that much. The soup was very thick and it got quite
sickening towards the end. After the noodles have finished, there was no real
desire to have any more of the soup. I
much prefer the spicy ramen with the char siu pork slices over at Hakataya
Ramen; my soup does not go to waste over there. <br />
<br />
On this particular visit, I decided to go with their signature dish - ramen
champion. I enjoyed it a lot more than I did on my first visit here, but the
soup was still very thick and too creamy while lacking flavours making it
somewhat bland and hard to get through. Once again, the soup was left after I
had finished my noodles. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4XahpxnIqoPhIoMmPsexsmOsFNLEVeV6nYZ_HypASeiNtqndNHX0PRH8G_2p5-99Ql9exDBtBaLF2MI3K0dxdWEjqY-k4ErhjFjL3W9_pN4qFQJmrc3AulbC_m6fJpvOcY20aRCwMK9l/s1600/IMAG1615_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4XahpxnIqoPhIoMmPsexsmOsFNLEVeV6nYZ_HypASeiNtqndNHX0PRH8G_2p5-99Ql9exDBtBaLF2MI3K0dxdWEjqY-k4ErhjFjL3W9_pN4qFQJmrc3AulbC_m6fJpvOcY20aRCwMK9l/s640/IMAG1615_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our gyozas were filled with mostly cabbage and ginger, I
don’t think there was much meat (or any at all) but it was still pretty tasty
and nicely crisps on the bottom. Can’t complain though with it only costing
$4.90 which is super cheap compared to anywhere else.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMGukmlCmUIlsd-2Q6fpl7HU7dNy4_5vw-_wW6s4SaXC5iErcoI5-2xenF7sDLIRoHJ6Gxjf49U3fU7il1n68f4ymeEHPmmnjT0fBesONKxU2GHlOrUyQeycaR7ms53HDGkYDLuhIQoraN/s1600/IMAG1621_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMGukmlCmUIlsd-2Q6fpl7HU7dNy4_5vw-_wW6s4SaXC5iErcoI5-2xenF7sDLIRoHJ6Gxjf49U3fU7il1n68f4ymeEHPmmnjT0fBesONKxU2GHlOrUyQeycaR7ms53HDGkYDLuhIQoraN/s640/IMAG1621_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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One point that these guys do better than their competition
is their generosity of free kaedama (which is an additional order of noodles to
add to your existing soup). At Ramen Champion, they offer up to four servings
of free kaedama as opposed to one over at Hakataya. Serving sizes of a single bowl
isn’t small to begin with so even on my hungriest of days, I wouldn’t need any
more than one additional kaedama, but it’s nice to know they’re giving me the
option to have more.</div>
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If you’re after something even bigger, they have their very
own challenge – The GIANT RAMEN. For $35 you could attempt a gigantic bowl of
ramen and if completed within their time limit (I believe it’s around
20-25mins), you get the $35 back in cash along with $50 of food vouchers to
spend in store and your photo on the wall next to the (currently only 6) other
champions.</div>
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There are a lot of mixed opinions about the food here, some
strongly dislike it and some firmly believe it’s the best ramen available in
Brisbane. I think it’s decent for the price I paid and would come back again if
my friends wanted to, but if I were going for taste alone, I would probably
head across the road. You’ll just have to pop in, try their ramen and judge for
yourself! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2L-_s38rtpc4l00LE94bNGVKgdgUcBsqCVl0Z7Z2kWTpuVmbeK8C6-NN9z_h81acZzN2Zny5DI9Hc_QzHCrWqlRA7AjsMxVhmej90Fu2q_ujpZNffIcOC09cJw76IpeBaVwUazapvDgR/s1600/IMAG1610.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2L-_s38rtpc4l00LE94bNGVKgdgUcBsqCVl0Z7Z2kWTpuVmbeK8C6-NN9z_h81acZzN2Zny5DI9Hc_QzHCrWqlRA7AjsMxVhmej90Fu2q_ujpZNffIcOC09cJw76IpeBaVwUazapvDgR/s640/IMAG1610.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Food: 5.5/10</div>
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Service: 10/10<br />
Atmosphere: 7/10<br />
value: 8/10</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><b>Overall: 7.5</b></span></div>
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<b style="text-align: center;">-wd</b></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.zomato.com/brisbane/ramen-champion-sunnybank"><img alt="Click to add a blog post for Ramen Champion on Zomato" src="https://www.zomato.com/logo/16595036/ibiglink" style="border: none; height: 146px; padding: 0px; width: 200px;" /></a> </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-33970610347180756752015-05-25T05:16:00.000-07:002015-05-25T05:18:08.201-07:00Apple Tango, WOOLLOONGABBA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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!</div>
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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.</div>
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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.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQI2ILnTE1VoE9I6eHqH61WMt5dAkBN2nrRxxcvTEe69M2HP1GBNUFjtHORtCOpZez5ZPAhC3T-Nw9n_ZZgRNV98OIo6NkNSX5seoJg59QjAo17yHYPPvrJxI35s3J6XpcFaIBAJpPn_F4/s1600/IMAG1485_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQI2ILnTE1VoE9I6eHqH61WMt5dAkBN2nrRxxcvTEe69M2HP1GBNUFjtHORtCOpZez5ZPAhC3T-Nw9n_ZZgRNV98OIo6NkNSX5seoJg59QjAo17yHYPPvrJxI35s3J6XpcFaIBAJpPn_F4/s640/IMAG1485_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Hickory smoked wings with Tango hot sauce ( minus 2 already eaten wings)</span></div>
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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.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbwDAgw1weJnVabg6W7ol1U9vbvgECGFYRV6jxYpqCwhSdo-KY63xaapG2NmWkauoMLJFIvLqt96dAt_W4NwHXyXgmeNcOjn9_B7VVXFSwH0ZAScMOCE4-TUQCzMUaLF3bEYKWXZFu6b-/s1600/IMAG1488_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbwDAgw1weJnVabg6W7ol1U9vbvgECGFYRV6jxYpqCwhSdo-KY63xaapG2NmWkauoMLJFIvLqt96dAt_W4NwHXyXgmeNcOjn9_B7VVXFSwH0ZAScMOCE4-TUQCzMUaLF3bEYKWXZFu6b-/s640/IMAG1488_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Crying Tiger: Seared Angus sirloin with spring onion, peanuts & shallots.</span></div>
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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.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxVRKvxA7U6XTIHpdr2wRMw9YZnjNivZHwbcNhFi4cSKNmbaIbW-J4xAWsCpvpKM06zOy_gZKhWhiGACt8izVF2YGSdQZWdybmRTqE3AacReMmAYmTUSz3cwpPGCnxsMcGb-TSBaQi7PK/s1600/IMAG1491_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxVRKvxA7U6XTIHpdr2wRMw9YZnjNivZHwbcNhFi4cSKNmbaIbW-J4xAWsCpvpKM06zOy_gZKhWhiGACt8izVF2YGSdQZWdybmRTqE3AacReMmAYmTUSz3cwpPGCnxsMcGb-TSBaQi7PK/s640/IMAG1491_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> Deep Fried Duck balls: Duck confit, foie gras, apple fondant & pickled grapes.</span></div>
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This was probably my favourite dish of the night for a few reasons; <br />
<b>a-</b> I love duck and foie gras. <b>b-</b> it was beautifully presented and i loved looking at it & <br />
<b>c -</b> 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.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNGO8C3gfpi0ow9IkNIxtLdI_EZkl1e8uIyI3LlH8wPea1COdyU8-C0hKnqw5kLBcyL_7VNiM7zQz3nVBYzXU0l8KRjJTu2uckRgVQhp-v1ptqek4Al1gCcCvuTrP5M5E5Ea2p_mdGvpW/s1600/IMAG1493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNGO8C3gfpi0ow9IkNIxtLdI_EZkl1e8uIyI3LlH8wPea1COdyU8-C0hKnqw5kLBcyL_7VNiM7zQz3nVBYzXU0l8KRjJTu2uckRgVQhp-v1ptqek4Al1gCcCvuTrP5M5E5Ea2p_mdGvpW/s640/IMAG1493.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Mostly eaten Octopus Paella: Grilled octopus, Chorizo, paprika, saffron rice & sherry.</span> </div>
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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.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpXrWWDQS5tFxkTLYCXm5JMyAYAQ2YJVrHf8H2vIJc2RnJcDzpLSR-zuchg6rrzyyZSEdSaVWxENOFxElUuH3cPDKmavCzQa7GX_oCJyTooBNOmfWTcsrdzB8_CUByMagIg3_R2wQqUopL/s1600/IMAG1494_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpXrWWDQS5tFxkTLYCXm5JMyAYAQ2YJVrHf8H2vIJc2RnJcDzpLSR-zuchg6rrzyyZSEdSaVWxENOFxElUuH3cPDKmavCzQa7GX_oCJyTooBNOmfWTcsrdzB8_CUByMagIg3_R2wQqUopL/s640/IMAG1494_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Roast Lamb: Lamb shoulder, beetroot puree, yoghurt, oregano & lemon</span></div>
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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.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiba3bVEaJ55pLWdEFdhgV172WkvT50DTgbWI-ACgfoEsBguIge-02LFJ7EvO4BLMQNdBHLfmO4hILP1CFZaVlg0CW9yk_iLdJ-xgO8Pgrv4LsLwGJvhheb83Pg3U3pb0b-Q_cwLpDBd88c/s1600/IMAG1496_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiba3bVEaJ55pLWdEFdhgV172WkvT50DTgbWI-ACgfoEsBguIge-02LFJ7EvO4BLMQNdBHLfmO4hILP1CFZaVlg0CW9yk_iLdJ-xgO8Pgrv4LsLwGJvhheb83Pg3U3pb0b-Q_cwLpDBd88c/s640/IMAG1496_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Spiced pear & cognac crumble with vanilla ice-cream and custard was served in a cute mini pan</span></div>
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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.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6lNLToEZ2A8Mml-IJ5o_tlxlO8FMDuVFknQD3AgVrj5fQ5CMik-CJPJc0-V4f74uY2TkDbHxKyf9PMpYa8cKGhFDQG4nVNifTjNqoDas7H1lpwliygGVGdhXIoK_gsAZFDfjcDHT0OFv/s1600/IMAG1484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6lNLToEZ2A8Mml-IJ5o_tlxlO8FMDuVFknQD3AgVrj5fQ5CMik-CJPJc0-V4f74uY2TkDbHxKyf9PMpYa8cKGhFDQG4nVNifTjNqoDas7H1lpwliygGVGdhXIoK_gsAZFDfjcDHT0OFv/s640/IMAG1484.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Kitchen area and bar with the beautiful lights</span></div>
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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.</div>
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Food: 8.5/10</div>
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Service: 10/10</div>
Atmosphere: 9/10<br />
Value: 9/10<br />
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<b>Overall: 9/10</b><br />
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<b>-wd</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/337/1897786/restaurant/Brisbane/Apple-Tango-Woolloongabba"><img alt="Apple Tango on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1897786/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-20275564675413272032015-05-01T02:06:00.000-07:002015-05-01T02:13:05.838-07:00Grill n Bao (8 Street), GARDEN CITY<div class="MsoNormal">
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. <br />
<br />
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.</div>
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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.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9iCFrKEQBV88v3Q8_c2cXRROg1mh5hyphenhyphenvS1MOcfxzaPK6Jx_S2t8k29E3buNKRR9-5fuGllq0GcuC3YjDwUf-wxwHyNnUa5BaPd3ynSWbDh7wjpK7K-EVqlC164anBG-ax6uu3oxus9wZ/s1600/IMAG1449_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9iCFrKEQBV88v3Q8_c2cXRROg1mh5hyphenhyphenvS1MOcfxzaPK6Jx_S2t8k29E3buNKRR9-5fuGllq0GcuC3YjDwUf-wxwHyNnUa5BaPd3ynSWbDh7wjpK7K-EVqlC164anBG-ax6uu3oxus9wZ/s1600/IMAG1449_1.jpg" height="361" width="640" /></a></div>
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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.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWJpv3lmjJZf65fQNaQysY1kyfNhXVsfbx3APbzFW12HW3pbjl_1byY8Hdrgn4-Eyh17EzSh8c-F_kwAyPOQNy8vpgw0sYgYmMCe1N9UZmqWpnjfhIh-2gUxV8ZovuUMjr0J6lY_BAWO6/s1600/IMAG1452_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOWJpv3lmjJZf65fQNaQysY1kyfNhXVsfbx3APbzFW12HW3pbjl_1byY8Hdrgn4-Eyh17EzSh8c-F_kwAyPOQNy8vpgw0sYgYmMCe1N9UZmqWpnjfhIh-2gUxV8ZovuUMjr0J6lY_BAWO6/s1600/IMAG1452_2.jpg" height="361" width="640" /></a></div>
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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.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBVEsmtfjvhZLd0h6fz6D9m_nnr3vOe8h6xHY7ZHDF5rsCRVJyQMfIySbcuqGRGvkS63d_9XsVeKTdZK4GK1R8-scrvdgqWKWVliHfdPADxrDqe0tCCbthcT8rXU7VUlE3-1_3rHdCRor/s1600/IMAG1446_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYBVEsmtfjvhZLd0h6fz6D9m_nnr3vOe8h6xHY7ZHDF5rsCRVJyQMfIySbcuqGRGvkS63d_9XsVeKTdZK4GK1R8-scrvdgqWKWVliHfdPADxrDqe0tCCbthcT8rXU7VUlE3-1_3rHdCRor/s1600/IMAG1446_1.jpg" height="361" width="640" /></a></div>
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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.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6VE3RzWGL93P5q0tQPGthsUxsvatOeGsJO1xDuy0ru446IUVysArOOqXbUeqR0awVR9u7mt14e-CtBCIAi6ZrGVDyd-53ZxeFeyNPbNmdspbF2fUpWfA6MVHpmITOovnGurHyoAUHFWG/s1600/IMAG1447_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6VE3RzWGL93P5q0tQPGthsUxsvatOeGsJO1xDuy0ru446IUVysArOOqXbUeqR0awVR9u7mt14e-CtBCIAi6ZrGVDyd-53ZxeFeyNPbNmdspbF2fUpWfA6MVHpmITOovnGurHyoAUHFWG/s1600/IMAG1447_2.jpg" height="361" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Food: 7/10<br />
Service: 9/10<br />
Value: 6.5/10<br />
Atmosphere: 9/10</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Overal: 7.5/10<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<b>-wd</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/337/1890453/restaurant/Brisbane/Grill-n-Bao-Upper-Mount-Gravatt"><img alt="Grill n Bao on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1890453/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-59071727070720747242015-04-20T02:37:00.000-07:002015-04-20T05:05:41.752-07:00Capri Cafe bar, FORTITUDE VALLEY<div class="MsoNormal">
Capri is an Italian & pizza restaurant located within
the stylish emporium complex. I’ve always known Capri to be there and it became
a place I said I would try, but never made it around to going, so when Dimmi’s
offered a 50% off you food bill sale, I jumped at the opportunity. I was also
aware of the recent negative reviews on Urbanspoon prior to visit and to my delight;
I’ll have to disagree with those reviews.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We were looked after that night by a friendly gentleman who
was attentive and very knowledgeable of the menu and really helped us picked
the perfect dishes and serving sizes. We were seated with our menus and table
water and then left to peruse through their extensive menu which consists of
several entree/share menus, mains and a long list of pastas, risottos and
pizzas. We eventually agreed on the beetroot and walnut arancini, followed by a
belinni pizza and sand crab and scallop risotto to share.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The arancini was served with a bed of roquette and side of feta
cheese. The colours on this dish were spectacular and although I was quite sceptical
about the choice of ingredients, the flavours were nice together and the size of
were very generous; 4 large arancini per serve which is more than enough for
two people. The arancini could have been a bit crispier on the outside, but all
in all a decent dish.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Beetroot and Walnut arancini with roquette and feta (minus 1 i already started eating)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While we waited for our mains, our water was refilled and we
were offered a 2<sup>nd</sup> round of drinks. They have a few interesting
choices when it comes to international beer which we loved as other restaurants' beer choices are getting a bit samey and you don’t ever get the chance
to try something new.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Our mains arrived and we were quite impressed, if not a
little overwhelmed, by the serving sizes.
The pizza was pretty big and barely fit on the large dinner plate and
the risotto, although not visible at first (or evident in my photo), fills up a
deep plate-bowl.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Bellini: Air dried beef rib fillet, mushrooms, bocconcini & mozzarella</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was quite impressive with my pizza with the base being one
of my favourite pizza bases to date. It was rolled at the perfect thickness and
cooked until entirely crisps on the underside and crust yet still remained soft
in the centre. Biting into the base was similar to the amazing sensation of
biting into grilled Turkish bread; not something you often get from fast food
pizza chains. Toppings were tasty and we enjoyed every bite of it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The risotto had great flavours and real pieces of crab and
scallops. The only downside to this dish was the rice being slightly undercooked
which made the texture a bit unpleasant, but it wasn’t far off from the mark
and was still quite delicious so we were happy to keep eating it. Flavours were
excellent in this dish and the scallops were cooked perfectly.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Sand crab and scallop in a seafood bisque risotto topped with roquette and Grana Padano cheese</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After mains, we were stuffed and had to turn down the offer for dessert. Our tables were
cleared and even though we were no longer ordering anything, the wait staff kindly continued to top up our
water glasses while we sat and let our stomachs settle.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We thought the service was excellent on this particular
night. Our waiter, and the female trainee nailed the sequence of service and was
timely and non intrusive with their table checks. Everything we could want was
offered to us and we never had to get anyone’s attention for anything. The waiter’s
menu knowledge was great and he was friendly and helpful and
remained patient while we decided. I liked to point out that it wasn’t a very
busy night, but from what I saw, I was impressed.</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am glad decided to give this place a go, even though
certain aspects of the meal could be improved, overall I sill had a very pleasant
experience. </div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Food: 7/10<br />
Service: 10/10<br />
value: 7/10 (not based on vouchers redeemed)<br />
Atmosphere: 8/10<br />
<b>
Overall: 8</b></div>
<b><br /></b>
<br />
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</div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b>-wd</b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/337/1360249/restaurant/Brisbane/Capri-Cafe-Bar-Fortitude-Valley"><img alt="Capri Cafe Bar on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1360249/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a></div>
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-55628350991211719252015-04-17T05:32:00.000-07:002015-04-18T02:16:46.379-07:00Motto motto, GARDEN CITY <div class="MsoNormal">
After much anticipation, I finally made it around to Motto Motto
to see what all the fuss is about. Motto
Motto sets out to be casual Japanese dining, offering quality meals at
affordable prices so if you’re after a quick and hassle free meal, but wanting
something that is a step up from fast food, this is the place.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The menu is quite simple but still offers a variety of ramen,
rice bowls, breadrolls, salads and several sides to choose from. It is also a licensed venue and has a few Japanese
beers on offer along with non-alcoholic flavoured fruit ciders. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6OHGykGJJfP56PyhZYAGviFy8o5VixNvDN_399k3hsOOdy2DizwWJFSv1AnQLEB_4foGqSHO6QRSEz-AgrD_OfxsGXhRn5bBIv2mwuRpFKTE5KAY3URgRvnMmyfrUyj18LmAX0CrhaDH/s1600/IMAG1425_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6OHGykGJJfP56PyhZYAGviFy8o5VixNvDN_399k3hsOOdy2DizwWJFSv1AnQLEB_4foGqSHO6QRSEz-AgrD_OfxsGXhRn5bBIv2mwuRpFKTE5KAY3URgRvnMmyfrUyj18LmAX0CrhaDH/s1600/IMAG1425_1.jpg" height="640" width="361" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Watermelon & Peach fruit cider </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was extremely excited about these fruit ciders and was
expecting the most amazing drink in the world...turns out they were just cute
bottles of carbonated water with artificial fruit flavourings. They were tasty
for what they were. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On this particular visit, we started off with some chicken
karage followed by red ramen and the wagyu beef roll on brioche. The chicken
karage was a bit of let down. It wasn’t crispy, lacked flavour and was very
dry. There were times when I was taking
bites of batter that didn’t contain any chicken pieces at all. I don’t usually
leave food behind, but my partner and I struggled to get through that one.
Luckily our main meals weren’t a disaster.</div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Chicken Karage & Kewpie mayonnaise</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The wagyu beef roll was delicious and looked great. The marinated
beef was soft and tender while the salad was fresh and crisp – all in a lightly
toasted brioche. Filling to bread ratio was perfect, which as we all know,
makes or breaks a sandwich of any sort.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApUSrcVMRnpBZYEmyCyZ7MXICpT_80Qi6P6stcS0Y-fKpjNq10IOjmTCzUbWyLxViK_vsAMQQvIgg1A0kLAcanBA-1i9537z9JqTOWXuZFe4ltH5W8ZnAggvna0OzOpES8Zokb3wwoxq8/s1600/IMAG1420_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApUSrcVMRnpBZYEmyCyZ7MXICpT_80Qi6P6stcS0Y-fKpjNq10IOjmTCzUbWyLxViK_vsAMQQvIgg1A0kLAcanBA-1i9537z9JqTOWXuZFe4ltH5W8ZnAggvna0OzOpES8Zokb3wwoxq8/s1600/IMAG1420_2.jpg" height="361" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Wagyu beef roll on brioche</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Red Ton-kotsu ramen was served with couple of pieces of pork
belly and half egg and pickles on the side. The soup, advertised as “12 hour
pork superstock”, was tasty and full of flavour with mild heat to it. Although
it isn’t the best bowl of ramen I’ve had, it was very filling and satisfying
and would make the perfect comforting meal for a cold night after a long day at
work.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Ton-Kotsu Ramen (red)</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The venue is set up to be fast paced and although turnover
is generally quick, the venue does has limited seating and gets quite full
during peak lunch/dinner hours, so if you aren’t prepared to wait a little
while (or sit against a glass wall facing another diner awkwardly) then opt for
takeaway and sit on the beach chairs just outside in Town Square. Service is
good for the type of venue, its super quick, super efficient and friendly
enough to make you feel welcomed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It might not be my
first choice when it comes to casual Japanese food, but it’s good enough that I’ll
definitely be popping back in to try the rice bowls the next time I finish work
late and too lazy to cook dinner.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Food: 7/10<br />
Value: 6/10<br />
service 7/10<br />
Atmosphere: 4/10<br />
<b>
Overall: 6.5</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<b>-wd</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: right;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/337/1929153/restaurant/Brisbane/Motto-Motto-Japanese-Kitchen-Upper-Mount-Gravatt"><img alt="Motto Motto Japanese Kitchen on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1929153/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-84688705541880111672015-04-16T02:48:00.000-07:002015-04-17T05:32:50.137-07:00Baguette Bistrot + Bar, ASCOT<div class="MsoNormal">
Baguette is a long time French restaurant residing in Ascot.
It doesn’t look like much from the outside as you first step into the venue and
enter via the bar, but it opens up to a spacious yet intimate seating area. We
were seated between a large shelf showcasing their wine list and a beautiful
garden with fairy lights and water feature to set a relaxing ambience.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sticking to popular French cuisine, we started off with the
Foie gras parfait which was served with caramel apples, feijoa relish and
crostini. The parfait was soft and fluffy and spread across the toasted bread
with ease, it was smooth, full of flavour and delicious that paired well with
the sweet caramel apple. I didn’t really enjoy the feijoa relish but I believe
that just came down to personal preference as my companion seemed to think it
tasted fine. The only downside to the
plate was the crostini was a little burnt around the edges but that really is
was a minor issue in a great dish.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Duck liver & foie gras parfait, apple caramel, feijoa relish, crostini</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Up next, I ordered the lamb rump served with garlic risotto
and cabernet sauvignon jus. I thought this dish was excellent. The lamb was beautifully pink in the center and was tender and juicy all through while the risotto was cooked perfectly;
rice was not too hard or too mushy, which is somewhat a common problem when
ordering risotto. Fava beans added a nice texture to the dish which i really
enjoyed.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Rump lamb, wild garlic risotto and fava beans, Cabernet Sauvignon jus</span></div>
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Thoa ordered the fish (being salmon on that particular
night) with king prawns, artichoke, baby potatoes and chorizo. I had a sneaky
taste of the fish and though it was good. The fish and lemon sabayon sauce are
amazing together however the she mentioned that it would have been nicer if the
skin was crisps all through. It wasn’t advertised as crispy skin salmon but i
guess you expect it seeing as most places do it and it works so well with
salmon. </div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Sautéed king prawns, artichoke, baby potatoes, chorizo, spinach, lemon sabayon</span></div>
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The flavours and seasoning were excellent in both mains, not
once did we even had to think about adding salt or pepper to our meals. Serving
sizes were big as well, big enough that after entree, wine and mains, we were
too full to have dessert, which is something I’m still regretting. I’ll have to
order something lighter next time so I can fit in dessert and possibly some
cheese. I do hope that next time I dine
here though, there will be a bigger selection from their fromage menu as I only
recall a choice of four cheeses.</div>
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The service was good; we were treated well from the moment
we arrived to when we left. Wait staff were attentive and friendly and did
everything correctly and promptly. Everything was offered to us and we never
found ourselves wondering where our food was or asking for our water to be refilled. We even got some friendly byes from the chefs behind
the pass on our way out. All in all a very pleasant experience at Baguette and
is definitely a place I’ll be revisiting in the near future.</div>
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Food: 9/10<br />
Service:10/10<br />
Value: 8/10<br />
Atmosphere: 8.5/10</div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><b>Overall: 9</b></span></div>
<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;">
-wd</div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/337/1360078/restaurant/Brisbane/Ascot-Hamilton/Baguette-Bistrot-Bar-Ascot"><img alt="Baguette Bistrot + Bar on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1360078/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-85592990835918134682015-03-31T06:50:00.002-07:002015-04-17T06:00:38.474-07:00Hatch & Co. GARDEN CITY<div class="MsoNormal">
My partner and I took a stroll around the relatively new dining precinct at Garden city. Hatch & Co was one of
the few restaurants that stood out from the crowd being the most aesthetically
pleasing. We sat outside next to the water features and coloured lights which were gorgeous and romantic
especially on a quieter night. We had high hopes for a good night but sadly the service and food was not up to scratch.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">View of garden city's town square from out table</span></div>
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Prices for the mains were reasonable, cheaper than we were
expecting for a place such as hatch & Co. I was however a little confused
about their share menu, apparently most of the items were sold as a single
piece and you had to order multiple ones before you can share it..which really
defeats the purpose of a share menu. I hope they were decent in size at least because $5 for
a single leek and Gruyere croquette seems a little hefty. We ended up choosing
the lamb dumplings and some chips to start. </div>
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Dumplings were presented nicely and I quite enjoyed them. The
lamb and yoghurt is always a great mix, spices and seasoning were on point. The
chips with chilli salt and aioli were amazing and probably some of the best hot
chips I've had in a while. I am aware that they’re only chips but the amount of
times I’ve been served undercooked and soggy ones, I no longer take good chips for
granted. For $9 however, I was hoping for a slightly bigger serve.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Spiced lamb dumplings with herb yoghurt </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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My crumbed pork wasn’t the most visually appealing dish, but
it was a decent size cut which was crumbed nicely and stayed crispy till the
end. The pork itself was a tad salty and only got saltier the further I cut into it and made it hard to enjoy. I thought the fennel slaw that was served with it would balance
the saltiness of the meat, but it was heavily dressed with a vinaigrette of some sort making it really sour and the dish only harder to eat. Now, I am also aware that pork can be served
pink, but the pork was a little too pink for my likings which wasn’t evident
till I was more than halfway due to the very dim lighting.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Parmesan and Thyme crumbed pork cutlet with fennel slaw and aioli</span></div>
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<br />
I can’t say much about my partners woodfire ½ chicken, nor
am i able to provide a picture, but from what I recall of it the ½ chicken was very much on the small side and the potato bake it was suppose to come with was literally three slices of potato garnish. The stand out of the dish would have been the fried kale, but even then the kale wasn't too impressive.<br />
<br /></div>
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<h3>
<b>Service could do with much improvement- it was practically non-existent that night. </b></h3>
<br />
For starters, after requesting a table by the water and the waitress agreeing to set it, she was in no rush to and forgot to come fetch us afterwards so we were left waiting at the entrance not knowing what was going on. After finally being seated, it took about 10 mins before any menus were brought over and despite ordering drinks well before deciding on food, we only received them along with tap water a minute before entrees came out.<br />
<br />
After entrees, nobody came back to reset our table so we were left without cutlery when our mains arrived. We had faith in the waitress noticing after dropping off our food and waited for her return, but after a few minutes we realised no one was coming back so I got up to get someone’s attention. Wait staff noticed me getting out of my seat but failed to see if I needed anything so I ended up having to approach the gentleman behind the bar. Our water glasses were eventually refilled by a disgruntled waitress who made it quite evident that she did not want to be serving us.<br />
<br />
We decided not to stay for dessert and asked for the bill..but we would have been fools to believe one would be sent out to the table so we got up and went straight for the counter. It wasn't a busy night; there were only 10 other small tables and four people on the floor, so it was a bit disappointing that the wait staffs weren't a bit more attentive. No one was doing any checks or making any real effort to serve us. No one was even around in our section during our time there.</div>
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Overall, I found the whole experience to be very underwhelming, especially
having paid $75 for dinner and two drinks and the best thing to come of it was a small bowl of chips. I could have gotten more
and better elsewhere but it was worth a try. Would I come back here? Not any time in the near future, but if I had to it would only be for a drink so I could make use of the seating area.</div>
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<br />
Food: 5 /10<br />
Value: 4.5 /10<br />
Service: 2 /10<br />
Atmosphere: 8 /10</div>
<br />
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<b>Overall: 5</b></div>
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<b>- wd</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/337/1886983/restaurant/Brisbane/Upper-Mount-Gravatt/Hatch-Co-Upper-Mt-Gravatt"><img alt="Hatch & Co on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1886983/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-3149189540007324632015-03-28T05:20:00.001-07:002015-03-31T06:57:35.447-07:00KU-O, SUNNYBANK<div class="MsoNormal">
KU-O is an adorable Japanese restaurant on the edge of busy
Market Square with beautiful decor, intimate booths, and colourful Japanese paintings
along the walls. The place isn’t sleek and stylish like most modern Japanese restaurants,
but looks more or less traditional and offers a comfortable and cosy
atmosphere. It’s a lot more quiet inside compared to other restaurants in the
area and really makes you forget about the manic scrambling to find a car park
along with the notorious crowds of Market Square just outside. There is limited seating and I can see
this being a problem for peak dinner
time and weekends, but for a Friday lunch, we had no problems getting a booth.</div>
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<br />
True to Japanese hospitality, we were greeted enthusiastically by all the staff
as we entered, shown to our table by our waitress who offered us menus and left
to let us ponder over the choices. KU-O offers a variety of meals such as
Donburi, Yakitori, Oden, Sashimi, Agemono and Udon noodles soups. They even have meal sets to choose from as well
as a couple of salad options. </div>
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We started off with a serve of cuttlefish oden and crab meat
croquettes. There were only two pieces of cuttlefish balls but costing $3 we
weren’t expecting any more than what we got. I still think it was a good choice
as they were tasty and left us with a nice hot bowl of soup to accompany the
rest of our meal. The crab meat croquettes were crispy but I was a little disappointed
in finding them mostly hollow with only a small amount of a paste like
consistency within. The texture and lack of crab flavour made them a little
sickening after one, which was a shame as I was really looking forward to them.</div>
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<br />
We were just after some simple lunch so decided on rice
dishes; fresh salmon donburi for my partner and seared salmon for myself. The
serving sizes were quite generous and both came with their own side dishes
consisting of various pickles. I quite enjoyed my dish, there was a decent
amount of seared salmon atop the rice along with more mayonnaise than any other
restaurant would offer, free of charge. I had a sneaky taste of my partner’s
raw salmon and believe it could benefit from being a little fresher, however,
the flavours were still good and there was nothing to really complain about.<br />
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As for drinks, I do not recommend this place for coffee, my
partner’s latte tasted like it came out from a domestic espresso machine with
about 5 teaspoons of sugar added to it. I found it more amusing rather than
disappointing though, it seems like it’s placed on the menu for variety and
that nobody really orders coffees from there anyway...well, apart from my
foolish boyfriend. They have a nice list of hot and iced teas as well as their “famous”
frappes. I was a bit deterred from ordering a frappe due to the price, but they
do look amazing and are gigantic. I
suggest maybe sharing with a friend if you were to order one. </div>
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Overall, I was quite satisfied with my experience. Service was
pleasant enough, especially compared to what you usually get from elsewhere in
the square. The waitresses were friendly and competent and food came out before
I could even finish admiring the decor. There is definitely room for
improvement but I was content enough with my food that I’ll quite happily pop
back in for lunch (and a frappe) if I’m around the area. <br />
<br />
Food: 6.5/10<br />
Atmosphere: 8/10<br />
Service: 8/10<br />
Value: 8/10<br />
<b>Overall: 7.5</b></div>
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<b>- wd</b></div>
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<o:p><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/337/1725112/restaurant/Brisbane/KU-O-Japanese-Restaurant-Sunnybank"><img alt="KU-O Japanese Restaurant on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1725112/biglink.gif" style="border: none; height: 146px; width: 200px;" /></a></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4047873943027000019.post-73488367474248925082015-03-16T03:13:00.000-07:002015-04-02T16:52:13.998-07:00Bucci, FORTITUDE VALLEY<div style="text-align: center;">
<div class="p1">
Thoa and I dined here out of chance a couple of months ago. The restaurant we were intending to go to was closed for an unknown reason so we took a stroll around the area and were drawn in by the impressive decor and style of the place. The restaurant was quite packed for a Monday night but we were seated promptly without a booking.</div>
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My initial thought after being seated was to do with how close we were to the tables on either side of us; it really took away from the intimacy of the place. I felt like I either had to speak louder so that Thoa could hear, or lean over so our conversations could be kept private. Perhaps ask for a corner table when making reservations, or one near the open plan kitchen if you’re not big on conversations.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="p1">
It took a little while for someone to come back to take our orders but when the time came, we decided on starting off with some bruschetta from their share menu. The waitress then rushed off before I could place a wine order..maybe I don’t look old enough to be ordering wine? Whatever the reason was, it was only after we received our entree that we were offered drinks other than tap water.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">House made sour rye flat bread brushed with evoo & garlic, topped with dressed local tiger prawns, avocado, herbs, roast corn & smoked chilli preserve</span></i><br />
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I wasn’t quite sure what to think about the bruschetta, the sour rye flat bread just didn’t do it for me. I’m not a big fan of flatbread in general so that might have influenced my opinion but it felt more like i was eating toppings on some hard rye crackers than eating bruschetta. I was also expecting more “smoke” and or “chilli” taste from the preserve, instead it was quite sweet and i would have mistaken it for a fruit preserve if I wasn’t informed otherwise. The flavours as a whole was very good though, they worked well together but still felt like it was missing a bit of kick. The gentleman next to me ordered the arancini, and I’ll have to say, i had food envy and that would be the first thing I’d order if I were to come back.</div>
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For mains, i had the gnocchi and Thoa ordered the cannelloni. I really enjoyed my gnocchi, the gnocchi itself was made perfectly; most times I’ve ordered it, it’s either had too much flour and was tough and doughy or had too little flour and became lumps of watery mashed potato that were falling to pieces. The dish was quite simple but full of flavour and the lemon oil cuts through the cured trout nicely.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9u100fQDcfLoUfLlx7eQz2LrIO77Iyq-V15roOQSiUzEFhXQQT76AHjM_H4SM4TLvpgfKmwlajl16RD9p_TcqCpm6dXkGs0gvgGpNfGf8f2f6dm_K0jQhI5KTkHR4X_vgfb1ydf4Sq4Y/s1600/Gnocchi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9u100fQDcfLoUfLlx7eQz2LrIO77Iyq-V15roOQSiUzEFhXQQT76AHjM_H4SM4TLvpgfKmwlajl16RD9p_TcqCpm6dXkGs0gvgGpNfGf8f2f6dm_K0jQhI5KTkHR4X_vgfb1ydf4Sq4Y/s1600/Gnocchi.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Home made parmesan gnocchi with cured ocean trout, spicy Tuscan fish stew essence, lemon oil, woodland sorrel & lemon balm</i></span><br />
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The cannelloni looked great, I only managed to have a little taste of the actual bug filling and thought it was quite tasty, however my friend made a comment that the dish as a whole was lacking an element. The truffle & lemon wasn’t that evident in the dish and the dill was overpowering and didn’t balance out too well with the other ingredients. I believed she still enjoyed her meal overall though, as I certainly did with mine.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4gA52pznEwXSd3WCt3zziYbt7TJ38-64QYsiM1hicsCv9MNngOU7B-gPhtIscIGDRCIRGaqEc9ueR_mVvIuH6-MQdK5GL1vCTx2ukUygaarEX6-hjcSf7N2PE_M1IRR1qjHwTHV8RXiZ/s1600/Moreton+bug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN4gA52pznEwXSd3WCt3zziYbt7TJ38-64QYsiM1hicsCv9MNngOU7B-gPhtIscIGDRCIRGaqEc9ueR_mVvIuH6-MQdK5GL1vCTx2ukUygaarEX6-hjcSf7N2PE_M1IRR1qjHwTHV8RXiZ/s1600/Moreton+bug.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Moreton Bay bug cannelloni, oven baked with truffle, lemon & tomatoes</i></span></div>
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Our plates were cleared quite some time after finishing our meals despite the restaurant being half empty at that point. We were not offered dessert or another drink so we had the impression that the waitress had enough for a Monday night and no longer cared about serving us so we made the decision to settle the bill and leave. Hopefully i’ll have something to say about dessert next time as the Bombolini (rhubarb compote filled doughnuts served with vanilla custard) and saffron Panna cotta (served with dark chocolate and anise crumble and gooseberry) sound quite tantalising. </div>
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Food: 8 /10</div>
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Atmosphere: 7 /10</div>
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Value: 6/10</div>
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Service: 5/10</div>
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<b>Overall: 6.5/10</b></div>
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<b>- wd</b></h4>
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