Pavilion Dining - Brisbane CBD

Ever since Queens Wharf opened last year, I had observed their restaurant openings and closures from afar. Perhaps I am biased but restaurants located in casinos or hotels have never stood out to me in Australia (in contrast to Asia where a lot of premier restaurants are located in casinos or hotels). To me, there appears to be a lack of genuine effort on those venues here, where a lot of their clientele dine there by necessity more than by choice. As such, I hadn't really made too much of an effort to dine at those establishments. Hua was no exception. With it's weak reviews and dubious offerings, I wasn't shocked to see it close so soon. In its place, opened Pavilion, apparently run by the group responsible for LongTime and Yum Cha cuisine.

From the offset, I wasn't all that excited to try it out, noting the logistical challenges to find parking in the city, but after seeing the below promotion on the Chinese newspaper, citing ALL dimsim were to be $8.80 for the month of September for lunch, and complimentary parking was available, I made plans to visit after seeing how much variety was on offer online, as reflected in the menu above.

Unfortunately, upon arrival, it turned out that Pavilion Dining's definition of "all" was incompatible with that of the general understanding of the word and there were only less than twenty dishes available at the $8.80, most of which were low value items.

As I was walking in, I also spied on the counter that there was a 10% weekend surcharge, conveniently also omitted in the ad.

Given how popular it was, perhaps a lot of people had seen the ad and wanted to take advantage of the deal while it lasted. Walking in, I noted that there was essentially no change to the layout compared to when it was Hua, and the dining area was more spacious than expected, but decidedly fusion. Service was friendly and fast. Upon being seated, we were offered still or sparkling water. As a curiosity I asked why whether they had Chinese Tea and I was then told that it was $7 per head. For that price, I would rather go to get bubble tea for a little bit more. So of course, we all drank tap water that lunch.

Anyway, as you would expect from a well run yumcha chain like yum cha cuisine, the food came out very quickly. We tried to keep to the $8.80 menu but still ventured to regular retail price for a couple items, including the prawn dumplings. These were very expensive but fairly well executed with a thin skin and plump fresh prawns inside. Our sesame balls were also fresh and had a generous amount of smooth black sesame paste inside. Both were good but not outstanding.

The siu mai was also served hot, but was fairly middle of the road in terms of taste.

 

Even though they were on the $8.80, the satay chicken came in two skewers which was a bit disappointing for portion sizes and if it was at full price, I would be outraged. The mala dumplings were a bit odd and not on the main menu. They were a bit like the chilli oil wantons you'd get at shanghai restaurants but not quite. The skin was fairly thick and the fillings weren't overly generous. It basically tastes like a worse version of supermarket dumplings but topped with copious amounts of chilli oil.

Steamed bean curd wraps were the highlight of my day. These weren't on the specials, so we paid full price, making them approximately $5 a piece which is fairly steep. They were delicious though, with a plump and generous filling, rich with prawn meat. I loved the seasoned tofu skin and thick gelatinous sauce.

 

Beef balls were an odd one. They are usually filled with crunchy water chestnut. I actually hate that weird crunchy texture in my beef balls but cannot deny that it is the traditional way. Much to my surprise, this iteration had no water chestnut in it, which lead to a fair bit of disappointment from the rest of the table but I liked it a lot more. We also had a serve of deep fried crab claws. These were the same as you would get frozen from supermarkets and I've had it many times across Chinese and Japanese restaurants.

Glutinous rice balls were also fairly average, a bit small and had your usual pork and veggie mince. I didn't love it but didn't hate it.

Of the discounted menu, the bbq pork rice paper rolls were a stand out. The skin was moderately thin and translucent with succulent honey sweet barbecue pork inside. It would be a bit of a rip off at regular retail price of more than $20 though.

Rounding off our meal, we had a serve of stir fried noodles. Portions were small and after picking around for a bit, I was able to ascertain that there was in fact no protein in the dish. For $8.80, it wasn't good value and even less so for full price.

Overall, no regrets in trying out Pavilion Dining. I was glad to satisfy my curiosity while it was on sale, but the value proposition was poor, the misleading advertising was deceptive and the quality was no better than landmark or parklands. I will stick with Ruyi in the future.

Price Range: $35 - $45pp

Taste: 6/10

Value: 5/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10 

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