Attention all garlic lovers. I can confirm that I have located garlic heaven and it is conveniently situated at Sunnybank Hills. From this, I think we've definitively proven the existence of a greater being. Now, Adam and I had actually walked past and peered into Beijing BBQ House which had recently opened along Pinelands Road when we were heading over to Friday a couple of weeks ago. Unsure of what to expect and apprehensive of the mixed reviews I had read from their St Lucia store, we tentatively added it to our list and decided to come back at a later date to satisfy our curiosity. It just so happened that this process was expedited by an invitation from the owners to try it out, so we headed there for a hot dinner last Friday.
The store itself is fairly small, there were less than ten tables throughout and staff were extremely attentive throughout the meal.
The main menu comprises largely of BBQ, as per its namesake. There is quite a bit of variety including their signature chicken wings, assorted meat skewers, seafood, veggies and sides. They also have an additional special set menu for hot pot. For $28.80 you get two soups, two dishes of meat, veggies as well as garlic and creamy sesame sauce.
Starting with drinks we had the traditional cooling herbal Wong Lo Kat and Calpis. I bet you all thought that I was the one to have Wong Lo Kat, but unfortunately that is incorrect. In recent times to cope with the unrelenting heat of spicy hot pot, Adam has evolved and adapted to having a taste for traditional cooling teas. For now, I still stick with mild spice at best and enjoyed the tangy yoghurt flavours of calpis.
Food came out quickly but gradually as skewers had different cooking times. The spread was impressive, but the profound aroma of garlic was far more remarkable.
Starting with the freshly made potato chips, these were served with bbq sauce which contained elements of garlic. Not usually having warm potato crisps before, I found them to be delicious and even more comforting than packet crisps. I might have to try and heat up some at home to compare.
We had two BBQ Scallops next, as you can see from the photo they were covered in minced garlic and topped with spring onion. Under the pile of garlic, there was of course a scallop, but there was also a small amount of mung bean noodles to help soak up the flavours. Needless to say this was a flavoursome morsel.
This was the BBQ Enoki encased in foil. The end result was more akin to a braised dish than a bbq dish. Again it was covered with a spicy minced garlic paste, but this time with the additional kick of chilli and coriander. The mushrooms were extremely tender and imbued with spicy garlic flavours. The portion was also quite generous and made this good value for money.
Onto the skewers, we tried three of their chicken wings, including the original with mild spice, garlic and New Orleans. Each skewer came with two segments of wing which were grilled to have quite a crisp skin. I'm glad I asked for mild spice with the original as it didn't overpower the flavours of the chicken. The garlic wing was also doused with some honey for additional depth and the New Orleans was an interesting tangy kind of spice. We liked how the meat fell off the bone without too much effort and we were able to eat it off the stick.
Next round of skewers were the lamb, beef and sausage. These were a little chewy, seasoned with heaps of cumin and sesame. Portion sizes were akin to Village BBQ nearby. Between the beef and lamb, he liked the beef better and I like the lamb.
I can never see BBQ Pork Intestines on the menu and not order them, so I got two sticks. These were coated in garlic and sesame for good measure. I love the crispy exterior and chewy elastic interior.
We also had a prawn to share, it was also well marinated but the shell was very hard to peel from the body and the flesh was not as firm as we would have liked it to be. Salt and pepper seasoning was on point though.
Last of the skewers were pork belly and chicken maryland. As always, chicken maryland was moist and tender whilst the pork belly was crisp and firm. They each had a good amount of caramelisation on them, making for some very enjoyable skewers.
Moving onto the hot pot side of the meal, this was the set menu spread. For the price of $28.80, it feeds two easily and I would consider this the best value hot pot in the Brisbane market currently.
Two soup bases were included, the usual spicy side and on the other side, garlic soup (it had quite a few pieces of garlic under the surface). Adam enjoyed the spicy soup and said that it was fairly mild which was reassuring. Coupled with the super strong garlic sauce we had on the side, I'm sure I'll be smelling like garlic for days.
In terms of meats, we had a dish of beef and a dish of lamb, these were interchangeable but we wanted to try one of each. Both were fairly large plates but as you can see the fat content was very high and we would have enjoyed leaner cuts of meat. Both dishes of meat were frozen and we thought the lamb was undoubtedly fresher than the beef.
Our veggie platter was divided into two sections, one was comprised solely of chinese cabbage which was crunchy, fresh and soaked up a lot of the hot pot soup. The other platter contained mushrooms, fungus, three variations of tofu, some noodles and an egg. As a big fan of all things tofu, I appreciated the various types but liked the thin sheet one most as it had the most absorbent capacity. Adam liked the fresh cube tofu. Mushrooms and fungus came pre soaked which saved a lot of cooking time which we really appreciated.
We really enjoyed our dinner at Beijing BBQ House and would definitely come back for round two.
Espresso and Matcha were invited guests of Beijing BBQ House, but as always our opinions are solely our own.
Price Range: $20 - $30pp
Taste: 8.5/10
Value: 9/10
Service: 8.5/10
Environment: 8/10
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