New Shanghai - Garden City

Since the new year, I have been working from home. Without being able to go into the office every day, I really haven't been able to eat out much. If left to my own laziness, I'd probably spend every day eating at home rather than out. Having said that, Dr L and I decided it would be best to keep everything fresh and make the effort to go out at least once a week to get some fresh air and also enjoy some foods which I am unable to make at home. This week we decided to hit up New Shanghai which opened last year at Garden City.

Despite the alleged hospitality downturn, I made a reservation nonetheless. It was lucky I did as the fairly large restaurant was almost full. We were quickly ushered to our table and given some water. Like their Queens Plaza store, the setup was dark and moody which is enjoyable but not particularly good for photos. 

The menu was extensive, with a huge variety of dumplings, rice, noodles, mains and sides. What was interesting was that despite their paper menu, they had an online ordering system, but the app didn't take payment which was still processed after the meal. In the words of Dr L, this is the most efficient means of reducing wait staff (from taking customer orders) but also not being gauged a surcharge by the payment systems. I guess I can appreciate this. What I didn't really appreciate was the huge number of dishes which were not available, presumably because of supply chain issues, but we can only make do with what we can.

 

Friends would know that I am extremely critical of xiaolongbao. I have in mind an idea of what the perfect soup dumpling is and sadly almost all of the Brisbane options fall short. Alas, I haven't been able to travel interstate to at least hit up DinTaiFung in Sydney for over two years. Although this doesn't really compare, at least I could see that every dumpling was hand made, rather than the depressing machine made type. The skin was thicker than I would have liked, not all that tender or elastic, leaning towards the harder end. The meat was flavoursome at least but there was a minimal amount of soup (if any). Although disappointing, I have to admit that within the small market that is Brisbane, this is already one of the better ones.

Turns out one of the hardest things to make at home is a proper braised beef noodle. Always scared away by the amount of herbs I'd have to gather, I have often had cravings but shied away from making an attempt. We ordered a serve to share that evening. Portion wise was a little smaller than I had thought it would be, especially given the price was a little higher than their competitors. The taste was pretty fantastic though with noodles of moderate softness, a generous amount of beef (given the noodles), a deep and rich soup along with some fresh greens. If it was bigger, I would definitely come back for this bowl of noodles alone.

I am a huge fan of pan fried pork buns. Compared to XiaoLongBao, I find that Chinese restaurants in Brisbane seem to execute them quite well. Unfortunately for me, New Shanghai only offered pan fried pork buns in serves of eight, which is far more than Dr L and I could eat alone if we wanted to try other dishes. The only fried buns on the menu for a reduced portion was the pork and shepherds purse pan fried bun, which is what we ordered. I was actually surprised at how poor the buns were. Although they had a crispy base, my enjoyment largely ended there. The bun itself was thin but also dense, as if they hadn't allowed the pastry to rise. The filling was dense and not too flavoursome and also there was no soup whatsoever in the bun. Very disappointing, especially given the proximity of Taste Gallery nearby

Our last dish was a favourite of ours, the mini pork wanton short soup. This was executed fairly well with a delicious silky smooth skin, flavoursome filling and a wholesome broth. Next time I'll definitely have to come back for this and skip out on the Xiaolongbao and pan fried dumplings as the dishes seem to be really hit and miss.

Price Range: $15 - $25pp

Taste: 6/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10

Kurtosh - West End

Whilst enjoying my ice cream at Anita, I couldn't help but note the bright lights at Kurtosh, signalling that it was still open. Intrigued at the notion of a bakery being open at 8.30pm, I ambled over to take a look.

Their assortment of croissants and pastries really caught my eye. Despite the late hour, there were still quite a few options and I grabbed two items for breakfast the next day.

Other than pastries, they also specialise in slab cakes which you can purchase by the 100g serving. Being already quite full that evening, I made a note to come back at a later date to try out that tiramisu.

Not wanting to stick with the usual Pain au Chocolat, I got a Chocolate Twist for Dr L. He liked it, especially the sprinkling of chocolate chips between the flakey layers of pastry, but found it to be very similar to pain au chocolat. It was a bit oilier than the usual though, with the paper bag being soaked through overnight.

 I started my day with a plain croissant. This wasn't as big and fluffy as it's nearby competitors, but it wasn't dense, albeit a bit oily. The layers had substance and it had a nice sweet maple glaze on it. Not the best but definitely a really good breakfast. I'll have to come back for more pastries and some of their cake.

Price Range: Under $10pp

Taste: 6.5/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10

Anita - West End

It's hard to go to West End and not take the opportunity to indulge in dessert after a meal, especially due to the abundance of options available in the area. Last week after grabbing some delicious beef noodles, we headed back across the road to West Village to try out the newly opened Anita Gelato. 

Arriving just before 8pm, there wasn't much of a line, but there was a considerable crowd inside. The line really developed not long after we had sat down and stretched far outside. There were 32 flavours to choose from and a significant amount of them were chocolate based, so whilst Dr L had a hard time deciding, my choice was fairly easy. Prices were expensive at $8.50 for a medium and service was quite abrupt and blunt, but given the staffing shortages everywhere, I guess I should just be grateful they were staffed.

Each ice cream was served either in a cone or a cup that had a complementary waffle. They also came with an environmentally friendly biscuit spoon. Unfortunately staff didn't let me choose which of the two (plain or chocolate) flavours I wanted. Extra spoons are charged at 20c each.

 

I ordered two flavours being the sugar free coffee and Ferrero. Dr L had Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Wafer. As my first experience with sugar free ice cream, I quite enjoyed it. It was not too sweet and quite creamy. The coffee taste could have been stronger though. I also really liked the ferrero ice cream. It was a bit sweeter than I would have liked but came with delicious hazelnut chunks as well as crunchy wafer. Interestingly enough this largely tasted the same as Dr L's hazelnut wafer except mine had a bit more chocolatey taste to it. His was of course balanced out by the scoop of bittersweet dark chocolate which I also really enjoyed. The wafer on top was fresh and crispy. The spoon was a nice attraction but it softened a bit as we ate, to the point where I was slightly concerned that it wouldn't survive before I finished my ice cream. Luckily it barely did. Overall, it was a strong contender in the area but I don't rate it any higher than Messina or Gelatissimo, my favourite in Brisbane would still be Milany at Market Square.

Price Range: Under $15pp

Taste: 7/10

Value: 5/10

Service: 2/10

Environment: 8/10
 

Mr Noodle - West End

Uncertain times always leads people to the pursuit of comfort food and there is hardly anything as comforting as a steaming hot bowl of beef noodles. With the current situation that we find ourselves in, I found myself craving hard for a bowl. Having heard that Mr Noodle had recently relocated from Mt Gravatt to West End, we headed there after work for a quick dinner. Given the current times, it always pays to call ahead to verify that the restaurant is open, and that's exactly what I did.

Arriving at 7pm, the place was extremely quiet. Other than us, there was only one other table. We grabbed a menu and sat down. Water was offered on a self serve basis. The menu comprised two pages of rice and noodles, along with a bunch of sides and stir fry dishes. Of course we were there mainly for the noodles. We wanted to order a side of dumplings, but they were sold out.

 

Instead, we had two sides, a tofu salad and a cucumber salad which I was given upon ordering. The tofu salad was fragrant, chilled and stringy with a sesame flavour, as a huge fan of tofu, this was delicious and had a wonderful texture. The cucumber salad was unbelievably fresh and crunchy, doused with a generous amount of sesame and sesame oil. It also wasn't too spicy which is great.

In terms of noodles, Dr L had the Beef Tendon Soup which was mildly spicy. Although the English menu referred to  beef tendon, the chinese menu actually translates to beef intestine. What we were served was definitely beef intestine, which was deliciously chewy and well textured. He had it with thick noodle which was cooked soft rather than al dente. It was delicious and the portion was generous.

I had the signature Lanzhou Beef Noodle with thin noodles. I noted that their menu didn't have the option for extra noodles, but they had options for all the other standard add ons. As I was quite hungry, I was surprised by this but it turns out that there was a huge abundance of noodles almost as much as you would expect when you ask for the extra noodle option. The beef was tender and the soup was flavoursome. I liked the noodles which erred on the side of soft. The only thing that could have made the bowl better would be some more beef slices, but for the price, it was still excellent value. I'll definitely be back soon.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 9/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 6/10

Addictea - Sunnybank Hills

Tried out the new-ish Addictea which had opened next to Sonder, after a quick dinner out with the Dr. We had previously tried their store at Southbank and really liked it, so were glad to see them open a new one at Sunnybank Hills. 

Compared to their other store, this had a far more futuristic theme and the menu appeared a bit different and limited.. I think I prefer the feel of their Southbank store a bit more. Luckily there wasn't too much of a queue and our orders were taken relatively quickly.

What I did find interesting was their cannisters of tea leaves and their teaspresso machines. Other than Comebuy at Garden City, I don't think I've seen them anywhere else in town. Compared to the pre brewed tea, it is a lot stronger and sharper.

I had the Orange Tea whilst Dr L had the Pearl Milk Tea to go. As some readers would remember, I consider the gold standard for orange tea. By comparison, this one was a bit more sour and bitter, but this could be more the season of oranges rather than the drink itself. The tea wasn't too fragrant but it was quite bitter though, I think I'll stick to Orange Tea for now. As for the Pearl Milk Tea, I tried some and the tea wasn't too strong again and quite watery. I can't understand why their Sunnybank store is so much worse than their Southbank one, so I'll definitely have to go there instead.

Price Range: Under $10pp

Taste: 6.5/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10 

The Green - Fortitude Valley

Sometimes, you have a really really big night and get completely smashed. The morning after is never fun, especially when you have committed to brunch catch ups. Luckily for me, we weren't going anywhere with a heavy menu, but instead were booked in for The Green, on James Street in the Valley.

 

The menu comprised of light options as well as a few middle eastern inspired dishes. Needless to say I stuck with the basics and had the lighter options. Being located in a mixed nursery and cafe was quite novel but of course there was an issue of insects during our meal, despite being seated indoors.

 

Having already had a coffee earlier on, I opted for some cold pressed juice for a detox whilst my companion had a piccolo. My juice was nothing special as it wasn't made fresh, my friend said her piccolo was reasonably strong and delicious.

In terms of food, my companion had The Green Bowl which contained falafels, green tahini, freekeh tabouli, avocado, pickles, a poached egg and pistachio dukkah. Whilst fresh and flavoursome, the egg definitely erred on the side of being overcooked.

Still recovering from the night before, I went with the Scrambled Eggs with Sourdough, tomato chutney and pepper. The scrambled eggs were velvety soft and done quite well, whilst the toast was nicely charred without being burnt. As always, I would have preferred an extra slice of bread as one was not really enough for bunch and two would have been more preferable, especially given the price.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 7/10

Value: 4/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 6/10

Doodee Boran - Brisbane CBD

 

Some readers would know that I have a tendency to follow my hunger down (dodgy looking) alleyways and to date it has paid off. Due to a lack of laneway culture in Brisbane, I haven't been able to always do the same thing here, but I still try to do so as much as I can. Last week, we did just that and tried out the relatively new Doo Dee Boran, situated in a nondescript laneway along Charlotte Street. 

The restaurant was large and spacious for one so well hidden. Staff were very friendly and attentive during our meal.

Having tried an assortment of Thai food to date, I was used to the salads, noodles, rice and curry dishes on offer and it didn't take long for us to order.

What was quite interesting, and allegedly quite authentic was the numerous sauces and seasonings we were given with our meal, comprising of straight out raw sugar to chili flakes, vinegar chilli and soy chilli, we had quite a few choices. 

My dish of the night was the Ducky Noodle, it was some stir fried soya noodle with roast duck and a side of clear broth. Although the portion looked fairly generous on the plate, there wasn't too much noodles nor duck and it was mostly dominated by garnish and the side of chili soy sauce. The egg noodle itself was quite bouncy and delicious and the duck was flavoursome, but overall I only wish that they had a bit more by way of portions.

Dr L opted for the crab fried rice. It also came with a side of chilli sauce as well as clear broth. The portion was also quite small but delicious. I tried some of it and really enjoyed the morsels of fresh crab that accompanied the rice. I particularly like that the food wasn't overly sweet but wish there was more for us to enjoy, as a main alone wouldn't have been filling enough without sides.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 6/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10