Bonsai Botanika - Brisbane CBD

Bonsai Botanika has been a regular meeting place for myself and my food buddies since its opening last year. (*^o^)人(^o^*).

We were particularly excited when it opened, as we had been walking past there for weeks and watched as the construction and refurbishment took place. So of course, it has priority when it comes to blogging. (ｏ・_・)ノ”(ᴗ_ ᴗ。).

 The first thing that draws you to the place is its distinctive setup. I was particularly drawn to the cafe being split into three separate levels, as it reminded me of the cafes you'd normally find around Asia. The setup was very trendy and unique as you can see:

The interesting thing to note when it comes to Bonsai, is that you order drinks in the downstairs counter, but you order food in in the upstairs bar, which was quite confusing to begin with. (屮゜Д゜)屮. 

I had heard many good things about Bonsai's Chemex Brew, and since the first time I've had it, its been the regular order for me. For me, what sets Chemex apart from all the regular coffees that you get in other cafes its that its a truly full bodied coffee, not complicated by any extra foam or chocolate. Its a more effective caffine hit than a lot of the popular energy drinks.

My associate ordered their Ecuador Hot Chocolate, which was served in a very unique fashion. On the right, you can see a glass of frothy milk, whilst on the left is a flask of melted chocolate. The best way to describe their chocolate, is like the inside of the Lindt chocolate balls (who else is drooling at the thought ヘ（。□°）ヘ  ). From my associate's experience, it was a very rich drink, thankfully it wasnt too sweet.

In terms of food, we ordered two mains and two sides, comprising of the following:

Black Wagyu Ramen

Takoyaki

Char Siu Ramen

Soft Shell Crab

As you can see, the meals were presented in a very artistic messy kind of way. It was definitely very exciting to look at! That was all we could say about the ramen though, because when we tasted it, we could swear that it was in fact pasta in soup, rather than traditional Japanese Ramen.
The sides however, were really quite good. Particularly the Soft Shell Crab, which was served with a bit of salad dressing to give it an unusual Zing.

In summary, Bonsai Botanika is definitely one of my favourite meeting places, if not for the food, definitely for the drinks!

Price Range: $25 - $30 pp

Taste: 4/10 for food, 7.5/10 for drinks
Value: 6/10
Service: 6/10
Environment: 8/10