Milk Flower - Sunnybank

After my last suggestion from a reader, I had received a couple to try out the reasonably new Milk Flower for their drinks at Sunnybank Plaza. With their opening, this makes the 9th bubble tea place in the complex, not even counting the cafes. How much until saturation? It has still yet to be reached apparently. Anyway, I hadn't been as enthused about this place because fruity milk teas are not really my cup of tea, but since I was running some errands nearby, it made for a good opportunity to try it out.

There was a constant stream of customers on the Saturday morning that I attended. Service was friendly and efficient.

The menu was quite short compared to its competitors with a definite fruit theme along with yoghurts and smoothies. Mango milk really isn't my cup of tea, I'd have a sip if Dr L ordered it but he was in the mood for his usual.

Without deviating too much from our usual, he had the Signature Thai Milk Tea which came with pearls and I had the Watermelon Green Tea.

Both were fairly good. My Watermelon Green Tea wasn't too sweet, it had a refreshing green tea taste that wasn't overpowered by watermelon. In saying that, there was also not all that much watermelon content in the drink but the flavours struck a good balance and it wasn't too sweet but also extremely refreshing. It was a good drink after running so many errands. His came in a cute jar, the tea was very creamy and had a strong fragrant taste to it. The pearls were chewy and had a good texture to it. We liked the packaging but wonder if the portion would be a bit bigger if it was in a standard cup instead. Having said that, we enjoyed our drinks and whilst it doesn't stand out as a place I would go out of my way to return to, I would definitely not be opposed to coming back to try their other drinks.

Price Range: Under $10pp

Taste: 7.5/10 

Value: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10 

Pie Town - West End

Have been meaning to try out Pie Town for some time now, but it wasn't exactly something I was able to just conveniently walk past so I had to make a point to detour over after running some errands and checking out the nearby Korean supermarket. 

The menu at the door lay out what was available on the day with a wide variety of sweet and savoury pies. 

There were quite a few savoury pies on display when I went and they all looked very appetising. It took a while for me to choose but I went with the cheeseburger pie and the potato, cheddar and onion hand pie.

There was also an assortment of sweet pies, this time in family portions not individual and I managed to stop myself from overordering. If they had matcha custard, I probably wouldn't have been able to help myself. 

By the time I got it home, it wasn't very warm any more so I reheated it in the grill. Unfortunately I burned them a little bit on the edges.

My favourite of the two was the cheddar, potato and onion hand pie. It was snack size and full of flavour. The pastry was thick and crumbly whilst the filling was sharp and savoury. I would definitely enjoy this as a full sized family pie.

Our other pie was the cheeseburger pie. The pastry was also firm and crusty but I would have preferred a flakier one. The filling was comprised of a firm beef patty with melted American cheese and pickle. I suspect that a mince filling would have made it less dense and more enjoyable. Having said that, I'm still keen to go back at a later date and try their other offerings. 

Price Range: $5 - $15pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 7/10  

Hotstar - Brisbane CBD

One good opening deserves another and the day after Milksha opened, Hot Star Large Fried Chicken (finally) opened their long awaited Brisbane CBD store which opened dangerously within a stones throw of my office, which means that every day I will be subject to the temptation at least twice. Obviously I had to rush in on the day it opened just to get some as soon as possible. 

Being the first day of trade, it was somewhat underprepared. No sides were available and all they had was fried chicken. No complaints because it gives me more reason to come back again. Prices had been put up a little bit since I what I remember from Sunnybank but I guess that's because of city rent.

As an opening special, they were giving away little purses with every purchase. It was very cute but I've yet to figure out what to put in it. 

 

It didn't take very long for my original fried chicken to come out. It was of course sprinkled with a generous serve of seaweed. Crisp outside and moist inside, it was just as I had remembered from my travels in Taiwan. The chicken was well seasoned and the meat was firm but tender. I absolutely loved the chicken and will be coming back again soon. My only feedback would be for them to use bigger chickens so I can get an even bigger chicken fillet. Can't wait to try the sides.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 8.5/10

Value: 7/10

Services: 8/10

Environment: 7/10

Milksha - Brisbane CBD

Despite the (over)saturation of bubble tea in Brisbane, there is clearly still room for competition of good quality that has characteristics that make it stand out of the crowd. Milksha has recently been able to prove that very well. Hailing from Taiwan as Milkshop, it has stores in Sydney and Melbourne, only just opening up their Brisbane store last Thursday and I've already got cravings to go back. p.s. thank you to the reader who suggested I go try it out.

Despite being newly opened, Milksha ran like a well oiled machine. There were signs and a counter but customers could order online or via their on site kiosk. That meant that all four staff could focus entirely on making drinks as fast as they could. The menu had a strong focus on milk products (unsurprisingly) and a promise of only using premium ingredients, having said that you pay for what you get and they are definitely more pricey than the usual bubble tea. 

 

It didn't take long at all for Dr L to get his Valrhona Cocoa Milk with honey pearls and I had my Genmaicha Milk. Bonus points for serving them with bamboo straws not paper that always melts.

 

My Genmaicha was fantastic. The tea was fragrant and I could get the delicious scent of roasted rice kernels in every sip. Even without sugar, it was very flavoursome and the milk was fresh and creamy. Dr L's chocolate was very high quality. Nice and bitter without being sickly sweet, it was delicious. The honey pearls were a bit sweeter than the usual tapioca and they were pleasantly chewy. Our friends who went with us went again the day after because they liked it so much and I think I'll have to pay them another visit this week. Definitely one to try and come back to regularly.

Price Range: $5 - $15pp

Taste: 9/10

Value: 6/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10
 

Kaikai Chicken - Springwood

Readers would remember one of my favourite all you can eat Korean Fried Chicken places is Kaikai Chicken. I've gone to their St Lucia store many times through the years and was keen to hear that they were opening a store on the Southside. So when Brisvegustation invited me to their launch party at their new Springwood branch, I definitely jumped on the offer.

The inside was bright and cheerful with fried chicken pictures adorning its walls. We were definitely hungry looking at all of that.

 

 

There was a considerable drinks menu with alcoholic and non alcoholic options. There was also non alcohol options which can be ordered on a singular or bottomless basis. We were lucky enough to get some bottomless tea and soft drink that night. The menu was the same as their St Lucia store with 12 flavours of fried chicken, a selection of fries as well as some sides and some donuts for dessert. Every time we ordered with the friendly staff, we were given a new form to fill out next time.

Other than soft drinks, they had peach and lemon tea. Both were a little sweeter than I would have liked but very fruity and delicious nonetheless.

First to arrive was the skin on potato and gravy. I didn't really understand why it was skin on however the gravy was pretty flavoursome and the potato was fairly silky smooth albeit heavy and dense. It went well as a small side to go with the fried chicken.

Our chicken came out before long and it was epic. Flavours from top to bottom, left to right were original, yangnyum, honey soy, cajun with spicy mayo, zesty lemon, goroumaru, soy wasabi mayo and Korean buffalo. All the wings were huge and unbelievably fresh. Last time I went the wingettes and drumettes were separated but this time they were served as a whole. The size of these wings were huge, almost on par with a small drumstick and unbelievably moist on the inside. My favourite flavours of the night were the lemon, goroumaru, original and soy wasabi mayo. The batter was not too thick and not too thin but also unbelievably crispy. Definitely a contender for best Korean fried chicken in town.

We also had several fries to share, the top one is nacho fries and the bottom one is takoyaki. These were crisp and I loved the additional flavours on the chips, especially the takoyaki, there isn't anything else like it in town. The portions were small which allowed us to sample more flavours too.

We definitely left room for the dessert, cinnamon jelly donuts. These weren't donuts in the formal sense but battered deep fried jelly sandwiches dusted in cinnamon. These were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I found it to be quite sweet but also very filling and wholesome. Overall we had a really good time and I can't wait to come back soon!

Price Range: $24.90pp

Taste: 8.5/10

Value: 9/10

Service: 9/10

Environment: 7/10

Lisboa Caffe - South Brisbane

Readers may remember that I am a huge fan of Lisboa Caffe's Portuguese tarts. I can hardly go past them in a market and not get one or two to go. Luckily for me (but unlucky for my waistline) they have now found permanent lodgings in South Brisbane along Hope Street. I went there the first week I found they opened to get some.

 

There were four varieties of tart to choose from, original, nutella, goats cheese and chicken. Prices had gone up a bit from their market prices and the minimum purchase was also two. The coffee prices were a bit shocking though, at $6 for a 12oz. I guess everyone has to keep up with the cost of living but my salary remains fixed.

Getting two tarts to go, there was no doubt I would be getting the nutella and the original.

 

The nutella tart was fresh out of the oven so I definitely had to have that one (as if I needed an excuse to get nutella anyway). Surprisingly the tart wasn't as hot as I would have thought, and I was able to hold it comfortably without being scalded. The pastry was flakey but quite firm albeit a little bit oilier than I remember they used to be. I loved the custard filling and the generous amount of nutella goodness inside. 

I also had an original as well, this was also fairly firm and had cooled significantly by the time I ate it. The batter was sweet and creamy and I love the flaky pastry. Quality is always consistent and I can't wait to get some more.

Price Range: $10 - $15pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 4/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 7/10