Wara Sushi - Brisbane CBD

Was running an errand in the city on my lunch break when I noticed the opening of another sushi store, this time in the lower ground floor of McArthur Central. Coming from the Wara Sushi chain, which I had previously tried in Newstead, I was curious and interested to try out this store.

Serving not just sushi, they also had pre made rice bowls as well as some fried goodies. Apparently they also had Japanese style hot dogs, but I didn't notice any on the day I was there. Service was fast, which is always great.

I ended up with three sushi rolls and a singular piece of nigiri to go. The topping to rice ratio was quite good but the quality was somewhat lacking. The salmon was generous but the texture was surprisingly chewy the whole piece fell out when I bit into it. The avocado was fresh but thinly sliced. Surprisingly the rice was also a bit raw and undercooked, with considerable bite when chewing. The prawn and chicken were well battered and crunchy but didn't have much flavour to it, which I was able to rectify with soy sauce. I did find the crab nigiri to be quite delicious but not very good value for money. Given the alternatives in the city, I dont think I'll be back anytime soon.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 5/10

Value: 5/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 7/10
 

Plentiful - Graceville

Last weekend we checked out Plentiful Cafe with some friends who were huge fans and quasi regulars of the cafe. Given how popular it was, we were lucky to have made up a group of five which was their minimum requirement for reservations, any fewer and it would have to be walk in only and resulted in a considerable wait.

Our table was ready when we got there and the menus were already laid out on the table. There were quite a few unique options which our companions really recommended. Ordering was done at the counter.

 

Having already had two mugs of strong coffee that morning and Dr L having had his hot chocolate, we opted for juice being the lighter option. These weren't freshly squeezed juices but rather bottled from Hrvst St. We had the Ruby Tuesday and Orange. He mixed them whilst I had mine separate. They weren't as nice as freshly squeezed juice but still refreshing.

Getting two of their more popular meals to share, this was the Get Some Spork On Your Fork which comprises of two free range poached eggs on top of a crispy potato rosti with spicy grilled pork, apple slaw, spinach , hollandaise and house-made pickle. For someone with a moderately low spice tolerance, this was a very comfortable amount of spice that allowed me to enjoy the meat without being overly hot. The meat was tender and stringy, well seasoned in a sweet bbq sauce. I really enjoyed the eggs which were poached with a runny yolk. Overall it was a really delicious dish, the only thing that could make it better was if the portion size was a bit more generous.

Our other dish was the signature Pop-it Chicken Croffle Benny. It was made up of a Croissant x Waffle with crispy popcorn chicken topped with a runny poached egg, chipotle hollandaise and a jalapeno maple glaze served with toffee walnut and fresh melon. It was a bit of a gimmick but a croissant toasted in a waffle maker was enough to pique my curiosity. The result was a dense but flakey, crisp delight. Again the egg was done perfectly and the yolk was just as runny as I like. There wasn't too many pieces of popcorn chicken for the both of us to share, but they were crunchy, the batter a little thick and well seasoned in salt and pepper. The melon and shredded cabbage kept it light. With this quality of food, there is no wonder why the cafe is so popular.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 6/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10

Plum Street - Runcorn

If you wanted to trap a Taiwanese boy, what would you use as bait? Anecdotally the answer seems to be tofu or generally soy based products. Of all the places I have enjoyed tofu, there are none that really beat Plum Street in their home made tofu. With that in mind, we went with a friend last Friday for what could be best described as a tofu banquet. 

There was a bit of change in the menu from the last time I was here, with a shift from focus on individual rice and noodle dishes to a focus on shared mains to be accompanied with rice, they were still distinctly traditional Taiwanese dishes. 

Starting off, we had complimentary peanuts which were crisp and lightly salted. A traditional appetizer that you don't really see much in Brisbane.

First to arrive was the mapo tofu which we had with our side of steamed rice. The tofu here is freshly made and I can really taste the difference. It was silky and smooth but with substance in a way that wasn't too dense. The mince was meaty and the sauce was just spicy enough. I really liked this dish.

One of the meat dishes we had was the black pepper with beef. It came stir fried with an abundance of other veggies such as capsicum and lotus root. The beef was also had a good amount of spice and the beef was exceptionally tender. I only wish there was a little more beef to go with the dish.

We had a dish that was aptly named Salt and Pepper Chicken Strips. I had expected something akin to the Taiwanese popcorn chicken batter but it was instead a tempura base with an ample amount of salt and pepper sprinkled on top. The batter was thick and there wasn't too much chicken inside. This would definitely have to be the weak dish of the evening.

Not usually stepping up to make much decisions when it came to ordering, Dr L opted for some Deep Fried Tofu. The portion was huge and it was again the dense but light freshly made tofu in a light tempura batter with some sweet plum sauce on top. It was crisp outside and silky soft inside. I could eat this every day and never get tired of it.

We also had a serve of the hot and sour soup. It was filled to the brim with ingredients, mainly also tofu and egg along with some black fungus, mushrooms and carrots. Although not overly sour or hot, it was extremely wholesome, smooth and all round delicious. Definitely one to come back for. Also one serve yields six bowls, so it is also definitely good value for money.

My definite favourite of the night though, as if we didn't have enough tofu, was the Tofu Fa. It was served chilled although I would have preferred slightly warm. It was doused in a thick gingery sugar syrup as it is traditionally served. The tofu was unbelievably smooth with a strong soy taste to it. The sugary syrup was just sweet enough not to be overly sweet. Would come back for this alone.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 9/10

Value: 9/10

Service: 9/10

Environment: 9/10

Hype Tea - Brisbane CBD

Readers may have noticed yet another bubble tea shop opening at the Elizabeth Street and Albert Street intersection, making the sixth bubble tea shop in the close viscinity (Coco, GongCha, Heeretea, Teaser, and Yingcha) not to mention other drinks stalls such as Starbucks, Moo and Bonsai as well. Nevertheless, Hype Tea took the punt and opened two shopfronts down from Yingcha. Readers may find the name familiar, because they had previously been opened outfront of Elizabeth Cinemas. I had tried them earlier on and was not too impressed. However, with their relocation and abundance of desserts, I was persuaded yet again to try them out.

Ordering at the counter, there was really nothing that stood out among it's competitors with regards to drinks. Their menu focused on taro drinks, icy fruit tea and standard bubble tea. What did stand out was their desserts range which was mainly egg waffles with different toppings and some lava cakes. Service was fast and friendly.

Like most of the bubble tea shops in the area, there was a small seating area that was heavily decorated for customers to take aesthetic photos.

So like last time, I had ordered a Matcha Latte on account of the fact that the staff mentioned that this would have been available hot rather than cold as it was quite chilly that day. After ordering, they mentioned to me that the most they could do was slightly warm. When I got it, the temperature could be best described as colder than room temperature. As for the drink itself, I asked for no sugar but the sweetness was akin to half sugar from it's competitors, when asking the staff, he mentioned that the sugar was infused in the matcha powder and they weren't able to adjust, which was a shame since they didn't tell me at the time of ordering. The matcha itself was very light in flavour like last time and it tasted more or less like sugary milk more than a matcha latte. 

Opting for an egg waffle as well, this was definitely better than their drink. It was quite fragrant with egg and appetizing. The finish was a little uneven with some pieces undercooked and some overly burnt but overall it wasn't too bad. It was reasonably crisp on the outside with a fairly chewy filling. I don't think it is as good as the ones at Oiian but it is still far better than the Mumo tea varieties.

Price Range: $5 - $15pp

Taste: 4/10

Value: 4/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10

Afanti Uighu Restaurant - Sunnybank Hills

Last Friday some friends of ours invited us to a group dinner at Afanti Uyghur Restaurant. I hadn't tried the cuisine until now but they were devout fans of the food. It certainly piqued my curiosity and I immediately agreed. We arrived at 6.30pm on Friday, thankfully we booked a table as the place was completely full. Parking was also difficult to come by given how busy it was.

We had a seat inside. The  menu was very meat focused and the portions were all for sharing. Not knowing much about the cuisine, I left it to our friends to order at the counter.

First to arrive was the Mapo Tofu. The portion was huge and there was an abundance of tofu and peppers. There wasn't too much meat and it was very spicy and saucy, going well with some rice (which we eventually got).

This was the large portion of Diced Noodle. It was huge. I think that alone it could already have sufficiently fed two people. Diced noodle is literally what the name implies, noodles which had been chopped up to roughly an inch in length, stir fried with a saucy lamb mince and an abundance of veggies in a lightly spicy sauce. It was very wholesome and filling. Although a bit different from my usual taste palate I found it very comforting and delicious.

Our next dish was even bigger, this was the Chicken Potato Stew with Flat Noodle. It was so big that I think the dish would easily have been able to feed a family alone. There wasn't all that much noodle but there was actually a great deal of chicken and veggies. This wasn't too spicy but the chicken had quite a few bones in it. I enjoyed the strong pepper flavours which stood out against the chilli.

There were a selection of skewers on the menu and our friend suggested we try the Lamb Mince Skewer which he said was the best. These had a nice subtle charcoal taste which had infused the skewer. The meat was tender but still meaty without being overly fatty, it had a good peppery taste to it which we really liked.

Lastly we had two Mixed Grills, which was definitely too much food. This was one serve and it was already more than enough for two people to eat alone. It provides a good selection of meats, comprising of two portions of each skewer, some rice and some flatbread with which to eat the meats. The rice was seasoned with sweet potato which was quite wholesome and soothing. I liked the garlic dip which was light and creamy, contrasting the light spice of cumin in the meats, I really enjoyed the mixed grill which is a good introduction to the offerings at Afanti. 

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 6/10

Newports - South Brisbane

Was checking out West Village with a friend last weekend and we decided to grab some brunch along the way. Stopped at Newports along Merivale Street as I had heard some really good things about their food and was excited to try it out. 

 

Knowing how crazy busy cafes get on a Saturday morning, we made a reservation early on to make sure we could get a seat and it was lucky that we did, it was full up soon after our arrival. The menu was relatively brief with a few fairly traditional options. Their signature drinks are their hot chocolates but I didn't have any that day on account of having had some fairly decadent hot chocolates the night before. We ordered at the counter downstairs.

She had the Dirty Chai on soy milk whilst I had a Cappuccino on oat milk as they were out of regular milk. I've never had oat milk before but it was an interesting opportunity. Compared to standard milk it lacked the sweet aftertaste of lactose but was relatively creamy and rich. The coffee was quite strong and enjoyable.  

We had two dishes to share this was the Loaded Croissant with Scrambled Egg. The croissant was flakey and the bacon was thinly sliced and crispy on the edges. I liked how the croissant didn't get soaked with any of the sauces and retained its crisp flakiness.

We also had a serve of Deli Waffles with house made waffles, smoked salmon, scrambled eggs and smashed avocado. Like the croissant, the portion was sufficient but not overly generous. I was peckish not long after lunchtime. The waffles were cheesy and fluffy warm and crisp on the outside too. The salmon was thinly sliced and there wasn't too much and there could also have been a bit more avocado. Having said that the flavours worked well and the price is reasonable. 

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 7.5/10 

Value: 8/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10