FEU - Byron Bay

As someone who indulges in fine dining at least a couple times a year, it was a surprisingly hard decision for me to choose what to do for my hens. As something that you theoretically do once only in your life, it's more special than a birthday, so the experience had to reflect that level of uniqueness. After a bit of thought, I finally decided to hit up FEU, which had opened in Byron Bay, not long ago. It caught my radar after the flurry of stellar reviews from Brisbane foodies who I trust, along with one review from Chris Hemsworth who dubbed it the best restaurant in the world. 

Anyway, the five of us ended up making the two and a half hour way down to Byron, stopping several times to enjoy lunch and the sights. We arrived early for our 5.30pm dinner, and even got to experience the super exclusive, invites only blind tiger bar, which was a very memorable event.

  

After walking through the wine cellar and the dry aging fridges, we eventually got to our table.

Given the size of our group, we weren't able to sit at the bar counter, but still had a pretty good view of the kitchen.

 

Upon being seated, we were presented with a small menu that asked how many courses we wanted.

As we were deciding, quite a few welcome snacks were already presented. First to arrive was the XO sauce pipi and the butter poached oyster. Both were very fresh and appetizing with contrasting flavours that I enjoyed.

Next up was caviar, cream and a small but thick pancake. It was very decadent and luxurious for a complimentary starter and the amount of caviar was very generous.

Next up was a dried root chip with a burnt eggplant dip which was smokey and creamy. The root had a unique waxy texture to it, very different to potato chips and very memorable.

 

Bringing the smokiness to a peak, we were then treated to charcoal seared wagyu, cooked at our table. It was an absolute delight to our senses and roundly enjoyed by all parties. 

It was only at this point that our hostess brought out a tray of white porcelain icons and introduced the tray that were placed in front of us. Essentially it was an interactive menu that allowed us to pick the ingredients we wanted, and for them to be served in any order we liked. This could mean that in theory, someone who enjoys desserts could have up to four dessert courses, and those who do not like dessert could skip and just have another savoury course. 

Ultimately this was what I decided on, it was a really enjoyable process to pick out our courses.

First to arrive was the spanner crab. This came in a light broth with jackfruit, giving it a light and sweet texture. It was served with some crisps, adding an extra textural element to it. It was very interesting but I would have preferred a more savoury dish to highlight the flavours of the spanner crab.

Next up was my lobster, served raw. It came in a bowl that was made of ice, topped with shaved ice, berries and ice plant. This was obviously very cold, far more than the usual sashimi I would have had, ensuring that the lobster was fresh and almost crisp. The berries gave it some sweetness and the ice plant added crunch. Again a unique dish that challenged a lot of my preconceptions on lobster.

The duck egg came next, it was served atop a bed of cooked steak tartare that had a distinctive asian five spice taste to it. The egg was jammy and creamy but overall this was probably the weakest of the courses as I didn't think the flavours worked well together, particularly the minced cooked beef, it reminded me of a more casual chinese dish, which was a tad out of place in this location.

Moving onto the proteins, my next dish was the pork which was a far more enjoyable course for me. We were given two cuts, I believe a loin and a jowl. These were also charcoal grilled and had a delectable honey glaze. We liked the contrast in textures between the two cuts.

 

My favourite course of the night was without a doubt, the duck. It was roasted to perfection and served with a crispy puffy bread also topped with duck mince. The duck skin was perfectly crisp with a lot of the fat rendered off. The meat was tender and even succulent, going well with the glaze. The bread mopped it all up and the greens added crunch and freshness.

My last savoury course of the evening was wagyu. This was served with a deep umami glaze and raspberries. Again, we were offered two cuts of beef and could appreciate the difference in texture between the two. Notably though, my beef was ordered to be served with a truffle garnish, and disappointingly, it was nowhere to be seen.

Just before dessert arrived, we interluded with the art display at FEU. This was very memorable and made the experience all the more special. Anyway, our assortment of desserts came out not long after.

Wanting a lighter touch, I had the mango which was served as a creme brulee. This was burnt at the table with a hot charcoal in front of you, resulting in a crispy caramelised shell and a fragrant, fruity mango brulee that was light but creamy. It made for a perfect ending to a very delicious night that I will remember forever.

On top of the fantastic meal, we were also gifted a goodie bag to go, comprising of eggs, brioche, granola and tea for us to have for breakfast the next day. We were told that if we lived nearby, we could bring it back to the kiosk and they would cook it for us. I particularly enjoyed the thoughtful gesture to round off the experience. I liked it so much that I've already made a reservation to come back next year with Dr L for his birthday.

Price Range: Approx $400pp

Taste: 9.0/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 9.5/10

Environment: 9.5/10

Park Bong Sook - Sunnybank Hills

One of the foreseeable results of the flood of Korean BBQ restaurants in 2025 was inevitability the fact that the less popular establishments that were unable to compete with the shiny new options eventually had to close. One such example was unfortunately Midam, which I had been frequenting since high school. In it's place Park Bong Sook opened their first Queensland branch. Originating in Sydney, they've now opened stores across Victoria and South Australia. As a fairly established chain across Australia, I was very keen to try them out.

Opting for a quick weeknight dinner, I made enquiries about booking, as I heard they were a bit busy but apparently they don't take bookings and it's a walk in basis only. Arriving at 7pm on a Tuesday, it was fairly packed but we were seated in 20 minutes. 

  

As with most modern restaurants there were no paper menus provided. All ordering was done via the QR code, with the option to either pay online (with extra surcharge) or at the counter. The menu was fairly standard Korean fare, with a selection of soups, rice, noodles and fried chicken. Prices were a bit more expensive than average but not to the point of being unreasonable.

My point about the price was soon addressed when a huge selection of banchan arrived on our table. Highlights for us included the japchae, crab salad and quail eggs which we really liked. The others were of fairly average quality, but the variety and the unlimited option to refill was very impressive.

Having asked some friends who visited recently for recommendations, I was told to get the seafood pancake. It's not usually a pick of mine but I took the leap of faith and ordered it and I was not disappointed. It was more of a deep fried pancake than a pan fried pancake and this was reflected in how crispy it was. It was also very generous in how much seafood was in the pancake. Usually seafood pancake is still flour heavy and with only a small amount of seafood mix. This was instead an assortment of fish, calamari, prawns and some veggies, bound together in a light tempura batter, making it definitely superior in terms of pancakes.

Comparatively, the Beef Rib Soup was not as attractive. I think Itaewon and Queen's Bapsang have set the bar really high for me but this was a very average rendition. The soup was beefy but not as much as the others and the beef rib was still a little more chewy than I would have liked it. The size of the rib was also definitely not comparable to the ones offered at Queens Bapsang. I probably wouldn't order this again on a return visit.

Our last dish was a full size serve of Korean Fried Chicken. We opted for original flavour as I'm not a huge fan of saucy chicken. The plate was massive and it was served with a side of dipping sauce and coleslaw. It was crispy but also on the harder side and the chicken wasn't as seasoned as I would have liked. It wasn't bad but definitely not a stand out Korean Fried Chicken.

I didn't mind the experience at PBS. All the dishes were solid and although not everything stood out as the best in its field, it was still delicious and I would definitely be interested in a return visit to try the other dishes.

Price Range: $25 - $35pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10 

A La Bonne Franquette - New Farm

A couple of weeks ago, Dr L and I went to celebrate Chinese Valentines day. Not because we remembered it per se, but more because we decided to go on a mid week date and then only noticed on the day that it was. Anyway, I've had my eye on A La Bonne Franquette at New Farm for quite some time now, it's a small shopfront and it gets very popular, so a booking is definitely recommended, even during the mid week.

  

The vibe was super cozy and I really enjoyed the French bistro vibes. It was warm and unpretentious, the blackboard menu really added to the flair. The menu itself was brief, but covered all the classics that we wanted.

Entrees were served not long after ordering, evidently the restaurant is a well oiled machine.

This was the souffle aux fromages, with gruyere and goats cheese, it was served with a mixed leaf salad for levity. Maybe it's because I only had half a portion, but I didn't find it overly rich, rather it was light and airy. Rather than salad, It would have gone well with perhaps crackers or some crusty bread. The goats cheese was particularly intense and strong, paired with the lettuce salad, it was a very sharp and appetizing starter. 

Our other entree was the beef tartare. The seasoning was on the lighter side but that allowed for a lot of the fresh flavours of the beef to come through. It went well with the croutons and I wish I didn't need to share it with Dr L.

Mains came shortly after. Each main came with a complimentary side of choice, which I found to be a nice touch. Plating was on the simplistic side and I wondered if it would have looked nicer if the serves were presented on the same dish as main course.

First main was the Magret de Canard, a pan seared duck beast glazed with honey and balsamic reduction. The skin was not crispy but it was also not chewy. The duck was served. to a perfect pink colour, the meat was juicy and tender. I did find the sauce on the sweeter side though.

It's hardly a French dinner without a Filet de Boeuf. It was served with a shallot and red wine sauce. We levelled it up with an extra slice of seared foie gras. It was a super luxurious piece of steak. What is usually a very lean but tender cut had the extra buttery richness of the seared foie gras. The steak was on the smaller side for an eye fillet but it only served to make the foie gras look even bigger. It was cooked to a perfect rare, but like the duck, I found the sauce to be on the sweeter side.

It was interesting that there was not a fries option to go with our steak, but we got the next best thing, a gratin dauphinois. Paper thin and layered with delicious gruyere cheese, it was a decadent side dish that mopped up the sauce really well and the portion size was generous and satisfying.

Wanting some greens to balance out the meal, we also had a serve of haricots verts, warmed beans served with vinaigrette and topped with roasted almonds. These were cooked to a perfect tenderness and gave our protein heavy meal the vegetation that it drastically needed.

We originally wanted to skip dessert as we already had other plans, but after seeing other tables order the tarte tatin, I knew we had to have two desserts. This was the highlight of our already very good meal. The vanilla ice cream was smooth and rich but also had an intense flavour to it, plus a lot of vanilla bean seeds spread throughout. The tarte was sufficiently flaky and the apple was sweet but also had the right amount of tang, making for a fantastic way to round off our meal.

Dr L and I really enjoyed our time at A La Bonne Franquette, at a time when date nights are easily $200, this place provides a romantic touch in at an inexpensive cost and we would recommend a visit for casual date nights for excellent food without the matching price tag. P.S they operate a small french grocer on the side, so if you enjoy their foie gras, you can pick up a jar to go, like we did!

Price Range: $70 - $80pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10