Uncle Don - Rosalie

After a long day out hiking and enjoying the scenery, we made our way back to Brisbane and stopped by for some dinner on the way home. We decided on a quick dinner at Uncle Don, which I've been meaning to try for some time now. Despite it being a Sunday evening, the store was absolutely packed and we were only given outdoors seating. Lucky it wasn't overly hot. 

Service was efficient to a fault. Within being seated for five minutes, we had three separate staff ask us to put in an order. The food came out soon enough after ordering but the moment I finished my meal, staff also swooped in to take my plate without even waiting for me to put my spoon down. I'd have to say that service could really have been better on this account. As for the menu, true to it's name, it was mostly based on rice bowls with some starters and sides.

Dr L and I shared our bowls. this was the Tartar Ebi Katsu Don. It was a rice bowl with two crumbed prawns and tartare sauce atop egg covered rice. Toppings wise, two prawns were really not very generous for a whole rice bowl, however the bowl itself wasn't too big and the prawns had very thick batter. Given the large amount of tartare sauce and also the sauce to go with the crumbed prawn, it was still sufficently flavoured to go with the rice and was a satisfying meal so long as you aren't overly hungry.

Our other shared rice bowl was the salmon bowl. It came with ten thinly sliced pieces of fresh salmon, a sprinkling of ikura as well as a cured yolk. Like the Ebi don, the bowl was quite small so the small amount of salmon was sufficient to top the rice. The salmon was also quite fresh. I enjoyed the gelatinous soy cured yolk which added additional umami to the dish. It came with a small bowl of miso soup as well to go with the meal. As with the other bowl, it was sufficient as we had eaten quite a large lunch, but otherwise I would be peckish after.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 5/10

Service: 4/10

Environment: 7/10 

Burger Pit - Montville

Went on a roadtrip last weekend up to Montville to check out the scenery. The weather wasn't too bad and we were glad to have visited before the heavy rains set in again. Having not visited before, I was keen to get some recommendations from friends and try some local favourites. This time we decided to try out Burger Pit which was quite popular and highly rated. 

The menu was simple and comprised of only burgers, hotdogs and sides. Staff were friendly and I liked the open kitchen which meant I could watch our burgers get made. 

There was also both an indoor and an outdoor dining area. Without much of a doubt Dr L made a beeline straight towards indoor seating which was pleasantly air conditioned. 

It took a little while because they only had one staff but when it did arrive it was definitely an impressive feast.

 

Dr K had the Piled High and true to it's name, it was definitely hard to hold together. It was really filling and made for good value. Dr L had the Blue Moo and it had had an interesting combination of both blue cheese, a big field mushroom as well as a beef patty. Packed with flavour, he really enjoyed it.

With a craving for bacon on my mind, I ordered the Big Smoke. It was really a substantial burger and heavy to hold (and a bigger challenge to eat). The patty was thick and juicy, especially with the melted cheese on top and the generous amount of sweet bbq sauce. The bun wasn't that great though, it was a little dry and course and could definitely have been a bit fluffier. Nonetheless it was a solid burger which kept us fuelled for our afternoon hike.

We also had a serve of poutine to share. The gravy was thick and flavoursome and the cheese curds were stringy. The portion was very big and perfect for sharing between our group. If we come back I'll definitely try other variants of their loaded fries.

Price Range: $15 - $25pp

Taste: 7.5/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 7/10

Bloom Teaspresso - Brisbane CBD

Satisfying a bubble tea craving whilst in the city has really never been easier. I needed to scratch the itch for a sweet beverage after lunch and so walked over to check out Bloom Teaspresso at Elizabeth Arcade. It took over the spot of Amai Kawaii spot but the setup hadn't really changed all that much. The reference to teaspresso relates to the fact that the tea is not brewed and stored in containers but rather made with pressured hot water like an espresso machine.

Drinks were a little different from the usual bubble tea varieties. The focus was far more on fruit teas and lattes, it was a lot less gimmicky than the newer places but without the classics that you would at gongcha.

They also did cake, which I will be coming back to try some time soon.

Drinks wise, I had the oolong tea latte. It was served in a paper cup which meant I wasn't able to get any visual enjoyment out of the drink. I have to say, not only did I not get visual enjoyment, I didnt get much taste out of it too. It was basically a light milky water with a slight hint of smokey oolong. The taste was so faint that I couldn't even tell if my taste buds were overcompensating and I was imagining it or not. I don't think I've had such a bad bubble tea in ages. It was especially a shame because I quite enjoy their Market Square branch. Guess I'll just have to go to another bubble tea shop instead.

Price Range: Under $10pp

Taste: 2/10

Value: 2/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10 

KatsuYa - Fortitude Valley

 

A hidden away restaurant with no apparent signage, a three month wait to dine in which is now currently at seven months to get a table, KatsuYa is an experience which I have been looking forward to since first seeing a post about it last December and I was lucky to grab the last March spots when I booked. With no website, no geo tag and no google reviews, it was an enigma, and that's how Chef Katsu likes to keep it. Even the address is only provided close to the reservation and I loved the secrecy of it all.

 

The restaurant isn't apparent at all from the street and was only able to find it by locating the small signage and the infamous block bears off on the side. If you haven't gone before, please do allow ample time to find the restaurant and arrive early.

Once you do find it though, you are instantly transported to what is probably the kitchen of my dreams. With a bright wooden tone, open shelves and everything in perfect order, this is what my kitchen would look like in my ideal world. We sat at the benchtop. Usually it seats six people but tonight there was only four.

 

Chef Katsu introduced himself and showed us his treasure show places, revealing to us the array of seafood and beef we would have the pleasure of consuming this evening. All the fish either came from the chilly waters of Melbourne or were flown in from Japan. The beef was pure blood wagyu that even came with a certification of it's birth and lineage.

Readers would know by now, the kitchen bench is my favourite seat in the whole house and we were treated to dinner and a most spectacular show that evening. Chef Katsu is extremely passionate about Japanese cuisine and it definitely shows from his cooking.

Our first dish came out very quickly after we arrived. This was the red coral trout with ponzu, bottarga and lime zest. The slices were generous, the coral trout was firm but also sweet and this was deliciously accentuated by the tart ponzu and lime. The bottarga added umami as well.

The next dish was the super photogenic Hokkaido scallops with four types of caviar. From left to right is sturgeon, smoked salmon pearls, gin cured pearls and shoyu cured pearls. Again the scallops were unbelievably delicious with a very sweet taste to it. Each of the caviar had a distinctive taste to it and my favourite would have to be the unique shoyu cured pearls.

This was a huge piece of bottarga wrapped in tender calamari topped with fresh salmon pearls and chives. I've never had such a big piece of bottarga before, having only previously enjoyed it as shavings on a dish. The flavours were intense and the texture was firm but chewy, it was a huge umami hit and I loved it. The calamari was also wonderfully tender and encased the cured roe well. 

After the last intense dish, the next up was a delicate spanner crab steamed egg. The egg had a flawless silky texture with absolutely no bubbles (unlike the ones I make) and it was topped with deshelled spanner crab in a thickened dashi broth, topped with shaved bottarga for extra umami. It was warm and wholesome, I loved every mouthful.

The next fish we had was the dry aged yellowtail, flown in from from Japan, served with hand made sun dried seaweed. Chef Katsu lightly seared the yellowtail first and it had a distinct texture to it. I really liked the hand made seaweed, it was a lot thicker than the machine made variety and had a far stronger seaweed taste to it.

Shortly after, our places were set for the sashimi course. We were given delicious sweet soy sauce from Japan and some freshly grated wasabi.

First cut of sashimi was the Scorpion Fish. It was firm and sweet, the texture was very similar to lobster sashimi with a very light and clean taste to it that was enhanced by the sweet soy sauce.

The second cut was the imperadore. It had a far softer texture and a delicate flavour to it.

The crowd favourite for the night in terms of fish was definitely going to be the dry aged otoro from Japan. It was so good that it took Dr L's breath away as he ate it. Being dry aged meant the flavours were more intense, the flesh was more firm but as it was of course otoro, it still had it's signature buttery taste that I love. 

After the sashimi courses, we moved onto wagyu and some cooked dishes. Chef Katsu knows the proper ordering of Japanese courses and I really appreciated this attention to detail. The first wagyu course he served was lightly poached slices with a thick dashi soup with sturgeon roe and bottarga. The wagyu was silky smooth and since it was poached, it wasn't too heavy at all. The soup was delicious and Chef Katsu had said he took three hours preparing the dashi, I could definitely appreciate it in the taste. 

The dashi broth was also used in this dish, comprised of sashimi grade paradise prawns, red coral fish and a shiitake mushroom, garnished with salmon pearl. The prawns were unbelievably fresh with a firm texture as was the fish. The flavours were very complementary with the deeply umami broth.

Dr L's favourite course of the night was the seared wagyu topped with uni. He liked it so much, he almost ate mine whilst I was still taking this photo as he had already eaten his. Each morsel was seared to a delicate crisp on the outside whilst preserving the moist juicy flavour inside. It was topped with rich creamy uni from Japan and chives for taste. This would have to be my second favourite after the toro.

 

Speaking of toro, Chef Katsu prepared one of the most decadent pieces of sushi I've had in my life. This was comprised of hand made nori sheets, red vinegar seasoned sushi rice and not only toro but also lightly seared wagyu. It was an intense flavour hit and the fillings just melted in my mouth. Toro and Wagyu is definitely a winning combination.

Warming us up, the next dish was a seafood porridge with egg and bottarga. It was wholesome and the rice was cooked beautifully, enriched with the flavours of seafood. It was light but really filled us up.

Rounding off the savoury dishes was some calamari in dashi. The calamari was as tender as ever and the dashi was strong and deep. It's better than any other miso soup I've had.

Dessert was fresh rockmelon with honey from Tasmania along with a macaron imported from France. The melon was perfectly ripened and extra sweet because of the honey. The macaron was also fresh and crisp, a perfect dessert to finish off the best meal I've ever had in Australia. 

Words can hardly describe the amazing experience I've had at KatsuYa and I cannot wait to come back in a few months. At the rate that bookings are going, I'll have to get in quick for some slots next year too!

Price Range: Roughly $200pp 

Taste: 10/10

Value: 10/10

Service: 10/10

Environment: 10/10

Jag's Indian - Highgate Hill

Wanted a quick and easy dinner the other day after a fairly big lunch. A friend and I opted to get some takeaway at Jag's Indian nearby so we put down an order online and picked it up at 6.30pm. At that point, the restaurant was surprisingly empty, but the kitchen was still very busy, probably a lot of people order take away rather than dine in.

It was a quick ride home and we had two curries, a garlic naan and some rice to share.

Although it's not much to look at, this was the sour lime curry cooked with beef. It was quite tangy and mild wasn't very spicy at all. It was quite savoury with a few bites of beef in the container. The bulk was of course the curry, which went well with the rice and naan. 

This was the butter curry with lamb. It also only had a few bites of lamb but a generous amount of sauce. Compared to the sour lime curry, this one was very sweet but also not spicy at all. I don't prefer curry that's overly sweet, so I prefer the taste of sour lime more. The texture was a lot more smooth in this dish also.

The rice was generous in portion and it was balsmati, not our usual medium grain. It tended not to stick together like the one's I'm used to but were still good with the curry sauce.

The garlic naan fared well on the drive home, it was still warm and not too steamed when we opened it. For the price, the serving was generous and it had a very strong garlic taste to it which I loved. It was chewy and flaky at the same time and mopped up the sauces well. 

 

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 7/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10