Three Bamboo - Robertson

One night we decided to be adventurous and deviate from the usual suspects of Sunnybank Plaza and Warrigal Square, and explore the more hidden places of Brisbane’s Asian Southside dining. Itching for something Chinese we quickly reached an agreement. Our target? Robertson Village’s Three Bamboo. It was a busy night so we were very fortunate that we arrived just in time to be promptly given seating before the restaurant filled up.

First dish was a complimentary pork bone and vegetable soup. Traditionally cooking pork bone and vegetable soup was a time consuming process requiring several hours of preparation and cooking to achieve a nourishing soup. It is a healthy soup that captures the sweetness of the pork whilst infusing it with the nutrition of the vegetables. Whilst the soup was tasty and appetising, one could not help but notice the flavour enhancers in the soup. 

Our first main was the Cantonese styled Ginger and Shallot Lobster stir fried with E-fu Noodles as a base. The lobster meat was firm and had a strong wok fired taste to it. Typically the lobster is divided into pieces shell and all, and requires delicate hands to reach the fleshy goodness inside. After much labour taking apart the shells, one is rewarded with tender lobster meat complimented with E-fu Noodles. The noodles were well infused by the ginger and shallot sauce and were a satisfying filler. With the flavours of the lobster and the fire of the wok, we found the dish to be delicious and enjoyed the firm taste of the flesh. I guess this is the reason why the locals keep coming back to this place. The seafood really did stand out compared to the other (limited) Chinese Restaurants in Brisbane.

Our next dish was the classic soy sauce chicken. Typically soy sauce chicken is as the name says a chicken seasoned in soy sauce. Typically, the chicken is marinated for several hours with soy sauce and seasoning powder. Regrettably the chicken in this instance was not as fresh as it could be and really detracted from the overall taste of the dish. However the serving portion was generous, considering most places give half a chicken rather than a whole one, and the flesh was reasonably tender.

 The third dish was stir fried Black Pepper Beef. The dish was very flavoursome and came with a variety of ingredients as the photo shows. Here I must make note the dish had a crisp spicyness to it, attributed to both the pepper and the beef. The lettuce on the bottom added an interesting lightness to the dish too, whilst The onions, corn and mushrooms really added a zing to the typical Cantonese stir fry. 

The next main we had was cold cuts of Drunken marinated pork. Typically this is a cold dish and is served as an appetiser. In this instance, served as a main it was a refreshing contrast to the wok fires of the Cantonese stir fry. However the marinade erred on the side of strong and I found it overpowered the lightness of the dish, but the cool meats were quite tasty on a hot summers night.

Our final mains was the classic steamed Silver Perch served in seafood soy sauce. Typically a fish is steamed whole garnished with herbs such as spring onion, and coriander. Timing is important in steaming the fish as oversteaming the fish will result in the fish being too tough. Understeaming the fish will result in the flesh being raw and clinging to the bone. In this instance the fish was freshly steamed and was at the right point where the flesh easily peeled off the bone. I found the dish a good way to end the mains as it was light and fresh and had a very healthy feeling about it.

 For desert we were offered complimentary coconut sago dessert. Whilst not a big fan of coconut, the milky texture and the sago was a comforting conclusion. Oddly enough Three Bamboo also offered some complimentary mandarins for our meal, which we didn't finish, so took away. Our group agreed there were several positive and negatives about our experience. The tastes were not as spot on as I would have liked, but you pay for what you get! The meal was great value and overall I found Three Bamboo to be a solid choice for those looking for a budget banquet.

Price Range: $10 - $30 pp

Taste: 7/10
Value: 9/10
Service: 6/10
Environment: 5/10