Addictea - Southbank

Among the new bubble tea openings for the year came the relatively newly opened Addictea at Southbank, again strategically placed under student accommodations, allowing for the occupants to go on the convenient late night bubble tea run.

Ordering at the counter downstairs, there menu was fairly standard consisting of fruit teas, milk teas with cheese foam variations and a few toppings. 

There was ample seating upstairs and I could definitely see this as becoming a nice hangout spot for late night chats. 

 

Being the only customers present that evening, I was surprised that it still took over 25 minutes for our drinks to be prepared. I can hardly imagine how long it would take if there were more customers. Despite the wait though, I did really enjoy the drinks though. I had the Strawberry Mei Mei and my companion the Lychee Pink Pink. Both came with a fairly rich cheese foam which wasn't overly salty. The fruit tastes were fresh and not too sweet whilst the tea flavours were strong enough not to be overpowered by the fruit, making for an overall fairly solid drink that I would come back for if I had the time to wait for it.

Price Range: Under $10pp

Taste: 8.5/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 5/10
Environment: 7/10

Silver Fox - Brisbane CBD

Final stop on our wine bar crawl was the relatively inconspicuous Silver Fox Wine Bar in the CBD along Edward Street near the river. It made for a relaxing stroll down from work and I arrived at 5pm.

We found the space to be really elegant and beautiful with its crystal chandeliers and gorgeous leather sofas. It was definitely a good pick for a girls night out.

The menu was predominantly wines and other drinks as expected. Compared to other wine bars that we had been to, there was a considerably less amount of food options on their menu, largely captured in the form of meat and cheese platters, which meant that we still had to head elsewhere for dinner afterwards.

Drinks we shared included some crisp whites and a sweet citrus-y side car.

 

Ordering a cheese platter to share, we had one soft brie, a blue cheese as well as a hard cheese. It came with some rasins, pickles and crackers. For the price point of $25, I found this to be fairly steep for what it was. My favourite of the cheeses was of course the creamy brie and the crackers were crunchy and enjoyable. I would definitely have enjoyed it a lot more if there were options of more substantial food available though.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 7/10
Value: 5/10
Service: 5/10
Environment: 8/10

Snack Man - Fortitude Valley

Third Wine Bar on our hitlist, the low key wonderful Snack Man in Fortitude Valley by the owners of their neighbour, the ever popular Happy Boy. Like their famous neighbours, I was a little apprehensive to try based on the fact that the food they serve was relatively non traditional but keen to try.

Arriving at around 6pm we were seated at a large communal table. The menu comprised of a selection of dim sim dishes and there was a very large variety of wines on offer too. We ordered at the counter and awaited our food.

Kicking off our meal, we had a glass of white and rose. Crisp and refreshing, it was a great way to commence our dinner. 

First dish of the night was the Xianbing, a Chinese Pan Fried Pie with ground beef and onion. I really liked the mincey beef filling with crunchy fragrant onion. The outside pastry was thin and chewy with a crisp bottom too.

Next up we had the Shaomai, a basket of open top dumplings with prawn, chicken and mushroom. Compared to the regular pork dumplings topped with roe, I would have to say that I prefer the originals better. The chicken was fairly chunky and dense without the springiness you would get from other shaomai and the mushroom taste wasn't particularly strong either.

This was the Char Siu Sou, a croissant pastry with honey glazed chicken. Compared to the usual enclosed pork char siu sou, this was obviously served open and had a lot more filling. The chicken was sweet and well marinated whilst being quite moist despite being open. I really enjoyed the flaky croissant pastry too.

Highlight of the evening for me was the Dandan Mian, wheat noodles with sesame and ground pork. The noodles had a wonderful texture striking a good balance between soft and just enough bite. I enjoyed the well seasoned spicy ground pork and the sesame paste and chilli oil on top, making for a very moreish type of dish. 

Another dish we shared was the Wortip,  Pan fried dumplings with pork and chives. With a large pool of options for dumplings in Brisbane, these didn't stand out to me as particularly special. The skin erred on the thicker side whilst the fillings weren't especially juicy. I did however really enjoy the crispy base.

Another favourite for the night was the non traditional deep fried Char siu bao, Fried pillowy buns filled with bbq chicken. Like the Char Siu Sou, the chicken was really enjoyable and sweet. I particularly enjoyed the fluffy deep fried buns with their crisp outer shell and fluffy soft filling. Definitely something I would come back for. 

Last of the savoury dishes, this was the fairly traditional Fu Pei Gyun, Deep fried tofu skin rolls with prawn inside. The tofu skin was thin and crisp. The prawn paste inside was mincey and had a good spring to their texture which I definitely enjoyed. I only wish it was served with some dipping sauce.

Finishing off with dessert, this was the Daahn Taat, a macanese custard tart with flakey pastry. Being a fan of egg tarts at yumcha, this was a bit of a let down. Firstly the pastry wasn't as flakey as any of the yum cha places I had before in Brisbane, it was instead fairly thick and doughy. The filling wasn't served hot, it was caramelised and sweet without the strong egg taste that I'm used to. Next time I'll have to try the other dessert dishes.

Price Range: $50 - $70pp

Taste: 8.5/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 8/10

City Winery - Fortitude Valley

Second on our Brisbane Wine Bar crawl was City Winery, an urban winery located within Fortitude Valley. With a focus on locally sourced food, it was a rare find in the CBD, and brought back a few memories of my experiences at the Three Blue Ducks at Byron.

We found the themed corkscrew menu to be tres adorable. The menu apparently changes frequently with what is seasonal at that time. Without too much segregation, there were a selection of small dishes, large dishes and sides. 

 

It would hardly be a worthy outing at a winery without wine, so we kicked off with some prosecco and rose. 

 

Starting off with a small dish, this was the house made free range pork terrine, it was served with  pickles and chips. Plating was on point with a pretty assortment of greens to go with the dish, but it was still definitely small, even for an entree given that greens and chips take up quite a lot of space. The terrine itself was chilled and salty. The texture reminded us of a meatier and more sinewy version of spam.

Another small dish we ordered was the Dry Aged Venison Tartare with Jerusalem Artichoke, Rhubarb and Macadamia. Again, plating made it look like a work of art, but as a downside to this, it also meant that there wasn't too much food on the plate for our enjoyment. I liked the flavours and textures of the venison, a definite departure from our usual beef, but we were lacking in bread or crackers to accompany the dish.

We interluded before our large dish with two glasses of white.

Of the large dishes, this was the Free Range Granite Belt Pork served with  Pumpkin Puree, Lentils, Broccoli and apple salad. Again the portion for a large size wasn't particularly big, but the wedge of pork was definietly wholesome and hearty. It was complimented well with the salad and pumpkin, but I definitely wish that there was a bit more. 

Surprisingly still hungry, we ordered an additional side of House Made Bread with House Cultured Butter and Roasted Garlic. This was the highlight of our meal for me. I really liked the crusty dense bread. The butter was a little cold and firm, but the roasted garlic was amazing, full of flavour and wonderfully spreadable.We could not get enough of it. 

Our dessert comprised of a Blood Orange Souffle, Fennel Ice Cream and Fennel Seed Shortbread. Light and fruity it was a tangy conclusion to our meal, and I particularly liked the differing temperatures between the three elements of the dish.

Price Range: $70 - $80pp

Taste: 6/10
Value: 4/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10

Mr Chester - Fortitude Valley

So I have a friend who is a really big fan of wine bars. Over the last several months she had compiled a list of wine bars that she had wanted to try in Brisbane and asked me to join her on this venture. Intrigued, I agreed. First up on our hit list was Mr Chester which had opened a couple years back on Ann Street in Fortitude Valley. Taking a quick uber over after work, we were quite famished when we arrived.

 

Despite it being mid week, the place was fairly packed. We were still able to secure a table though.

 

Rather than paper menus, the food offerings were written up on the walls and chalkboards. It was a little inconvenient to have to walk around the restaurant to get the whole menu. We ordered at the counter.

Started off with a rose and white. Not much of a wine drinker, it was hard to provide too much commentary without input from the ever knowledgeable Iron Fist. Suffice to say, we enjoyed our drinks immensely.

Food wise, the first dish to share was the Duck Liver Pate. It came with some delicious foccacia bread. The pate was creamy and decadent, but the highlight for me was without a doubt the fluffy bread that it came with. I really enjoyed the crusty exterior which went well with the pate.

Can't go past a Korean Beef Tartare and not order it, so we did. The seasoning was a lot different from our usual tartare, it had an ample amount of spice as well as some hints of soy and sweetness from the nashi pear that it was served with. Eaten atop some nori crackers, it was distinctive and delicious.

We also shared a funghi pizza. The base was crusty and well charred without being overdone, however the meat was very salty and definitely overpowered the mushroom flavours. The truffle oil was definitely also on the lighter side and we wish that there could have been a bit more.

Price Range: $35 - $45pp

Taste: 6.5/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 8/10