Sendok Garpu - Brisbane CBD

Recently there have been quite a few developments happening in Fudo Dori. Both Hachi Yakiniku and Koto Sanpo are moving out, albeit only to next door and there's a new opening for Sendok Garpu from their old store in Indooroopilly to the old Na Bangkok spot. 

I'm not a huge fan of Indonesian food but since I saw some posts about their soft opening special, I was keen to try it out. 

A coworker and I arrived just past 11.30am. There was already a small line, but it moved fast. By the time we left, there was quite a long line. There were only two staff but they were efficient whilst friendly. The food was entirely pre cooked so all it required was some assembly upon ordering.

For $12.50, you got rice and three sides along with a drink. My coworker went with some vegetarian options and had a vege curry, deep fried tofu curry and some eggplant. Although not particularly good value because she didn't order the meat options, the taste was well received.

 

Mine had a fair amount more meat by comparison. I had the chilli egg which was deep fried and doused in spicy red sambal. It was crispy on the outside and hard boiled on the inside. I also had some beef tripe curry. It came with only one piece of tripe but that piece was fairly big and it was quite tender. The fried chicken wasn't too crispy and it was also doused in some curry sauce. I found their curry to be quite mild and went with the rice well. The added sambal was optional for more heat if desired. I did find that their rice to topping ratio was a bit off, but for the price, it was still great value. It also came with a packet of sweetened jasmine tea which was quite refreshing. I will definitely be back after their soft opening to see what else they offer.

Price Range: $12 - $20pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 9/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 7/10

Meet and Meat - Sunnybank

After a somewhat long run of disappointing Korean BBQs lately (a lot of places have drastically downgraded their quality of meat and put their prices up at the same time), we decided to try something new and opted for dinner at the newly opened Meet and Meat, which had taken up the old Madtongsan spot in Market Square. Knowing how busy KBBQs get, especially in this weather, I tried to call ahead and book, only to be met with advice that they don't take bookings except for opening time which was 5.30pm. Not wanting to eat so early, we took a measured gamble and arrived just before 6. We were lucky to get one of the few remaining tables.

On the face of the menu, prices weren't cheap. Combos came with sides but these were only one serve and refills would come at a cost. Alternatively you could build your own meat feast, but this didn't come with sides. After checking out what people around us were enjoying, we decided it was probably safer to stick with a combo.

 

Sides started arriving very quickly, as well as our drinks. We had six different types of banchan, comprising of the usual pickled cabbage, radish, onions and also perilla leaf. Although there wasn't much to go around, the abundance of other dishes really made up for it and we didn't feel the desire to order any more.

Despite the rampant undersupply of lettuce and other leafy greens, they didnt' substitute cabbage for us to wrap our meats and we were given a decent portion of lettuce leaves. We also had some shredded spring onion in a light vinaigrette to go with our meat too. Both were fresh and complemented the meat well.

Meat wise, we had a combo A which came with assorted wagyu, pork belly, marinated and unmarinated pork collar butt and also an extra serve of pork jowl. Frankly I wasn't too happy with the beef to pork ration but I did also want to try the other pork cuts. If I had a bigger group, I probably would have opted for the assorted wagyu set as well as the assorted pork set. The meats were excellent quality though and the beef was one of the best I've had this year. Even though it only took up one item on the combo description, there was a generous amount and it was buttery and melted in my mouth. I also really enjoyed the pork jowl for its extra crunchy flavour, making it one of my favourite cuts. The pork belly and collar butt were fairly standard, I liked the marinade of the collar butt. For two people, this was more than ample amount of meat.

 

As alluded to, we had far more than just banchan for sides. I was curious at first to note the inbuilt gas stove on the table, separate from the charcoal BBQ. Turns out that the gas stove was to keep the kimchi stew constantly heated. This was absolutely delicious and wholesome, especially when mixed with rice. It had a bit of pork belly in it as well as a lot of tofu. We also had a serve of fluffy korean steamed egg. This also went well with rice and I really enjoyed the texture.

Another side, not to be confused with the kimchi stew, is the kimchi water dish which was surprisingly served chilled. It would have been refreshing on a hot day with its savoury spiciness, but we only had a bit after being thoroughly warmed up with our meal.

 

Other than the standard white rice, they served a multi grained rice rather than white rice. It came last and was served in a traditional wooden and metal bowl. It was more healthy than white rice, had more bite to each grain and went well with the aforementioned sides. 

Overall we had a pretty fantastic time at Meet and Meat. I really enjoyed the meat and the sides and we will undoubtedly be coming back again shortly.

Price Range: $60 - $80pp

Taste: 9/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10

Lemak - East Brisbane

Another night at home alone whilst Dr L was out indulging in a work conference dinner. Luckily for me, this week I had the benefit of a few Deliveroo vouchers to keep using so at least I could tick another place off my list whilst he was out. That night I decided to try out Lemak, which I had been tossing up going in person or getting delivered for some time now. Ordering was smooth and the food came earlier than expected which was great.

It came well packaged other than the icy cold drink being tied in the same bag with the hot food. Thankfully the drive wasn't too long and the food was still very hot and not steamed by the time it arrived.

I was most interested in trying their fried chicken nasi lemak. The chicken was crisp and hot. The batter was like the hot and spicy chicken from KFC except it wasn't spicy. The pieces of chicken were fresh and well marinated. There was also a generous amount of coconut rice. Unfortunately the rice was quite broken and mushy for my taste. Although not apparent in the photo, it came topped with the usual anchovies, peanuts and half an egg as well as some curry. It made for good value.

On the side, I had two pieces of plain roti with some curry sauce for dipping. The roti was nowhere near as light and fluffy as freshly made ones outside. It tasted more akin to frozen ones that I could reheat at home. I did however quite enjoy the mild dipping sauce which was quite wholesome and moreish.

My combo came with spring rolls. There isn't too much to say about them other than the fact that they arrived warm and still crisp, which was great. They had an ample amount of veggies inside and went well with the added sweet chilli sauce. 

Price Range: $15 - $20pp

Taste: 7/10

Value: 9.5/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: N/A

Mountain River - Runcorn

Not long after we last went to Plum Street, the chef retired and they closed up shop. Originally the plan was to on-sell the company as a going concern, but when that fell through, Mountain River came in and decided to set up shop instead. So rather than go to Salisbury for their baked goods, we now don't need to go as far, and they have now got a formal dine in area too. 

Arriving at 11am on a Saturday, the place was packed. Although there was a line, most people had opted for take-away rather than dine in and it didn't take long before we ordered and were seated.

 

The menu was mostly sweet, comprising of cakes and puffs with a savoury rice ball option. There was also a very tempting list of drinks. What I did find quite off putting though was the 10% weekend surcharge, which made an already expensive morning tea all the more expensive. 

Other than food, they also had assorted homewares for sale. I like the aesthetic and will probably come back later to get some for home.

It didn't take that long for our cakes to come out and they were absolutely beautiful.

Having enjoyed their Hokkaido cheesecakes for some years now, I was thrilled to see their assortment of new flavours. So I tried one new and one old that day, the new one being HK style milk tea and the old one being my all time favourite matcha. Unfortunately, I found the cheesecakes had gone a little downhill since last time I've had it. I found the tea taste in both cakes to be somewhat lacking, which was especially disappointing as the HK milk tea is supposed to be extremely strong in taste. I was also a little disappointed in the lack of cake crumb on the side of the cake, however the mascarpone layer was still creamy and the cake base was still deliciously fluffy, but for the price, it was probably not worth it.

 

We also shared a HK milk tea cream puff. Again the HK milk tea wasn't very strong, in fact it tasted a lot more like earl grey than HK milk tea, with its lightly floral undertones. Even though the tea could have been stronger, the puff was fresh and crispy. 

I still might come back again to try the drinks at Mountain River, but my first trip to their new lodgings has been less than impressive. I hope they do improve in the future though.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 6/10

Value: 3/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 9/10 

Haidilao - Sunnybank

Readers will know that I absolutely adore table top cooking. There is hardly anything that beats the interactive enjoyment of communal cooking at the table. For that reason, I am obsessed with BBQs and hot pots. If we lived in a colder climate, I'd have it all year round. Having heard that the biggest hotpot chain in the world finally opened in Brisbane at the top level of Market Square, I booked as early as I could, which still took one month and got us the last slot on a Sunday night.

 

Arriving shortly before our reservation, I was surprised to see the manicure setup still running. Rushing over, I managed to score an appointment. Although I didn't get my nails done, I did get a wonderful exfoliation, massage and rehydration whilst Dr L and co waited nearby enjoying snacks and water. By the time I was done, it was time to go in and get seated.

Whilst food is ordered on the ipad, sauces are charged at $4.90 per person and it also came with complimentary sides and some fruit. For those who do not know how to mix sauces, they have guides on the walls.

Despite the abundance of options, I had my usual order of garlic, soy, spring onions and sesame oil. All the additions were fresh and the garlic was spicy.

Sides included pickled raddish, deep fried chickpeas as well as corn salad. These were surprisingly tasty and it was very generous of them to provide this complimentary. I found the chickpeas to be really crunchy, moreish and just all round enjoyable.

Our soup came out really quickly. They were quite steep, given a single soup costs around $30, a double is $16 each and four flavours makes it $10 each. We ordered the signature herbal soup and a tomato soup. Although steep, the soup quality was fantastic. I had expected their packet soup flavours but this was definitely not instant. With an abundance of depth and taste, the signature soup was a crowd favourite that night, although the tomato was great too.

Before starting to cook our meals, staff came around and served each of us a bowl of their soup so we could enjoy the flavours on their own. The tomato soup was fresh and tart without being too sweet. With spring onion and coriander it really stood out as one of the best tomato soups I've had in a while.

Before long, our food started to arrive. First up was the marinated beef and beef slices. The marinated beef was thick cut but not too chewy. I found the pieces to be somewhat small though and hard to keep tabs on where they were in the soup. The basic beef slices were frozen and erred on the side of fatty but delicious and went well with the soup. 

Next was a serve of quail eggs. For the price, the quantity we got was also very generous. They were however at risk of overcooking in the soup though.

Dr L's favourite is the lamb slices, so of course we had some. The lamb was also good quality and not too fatty but for the price, there wasn't too many pieces. 

Some other dishes we had included the tofu skin rolls which are one of my favourites. It absorbed the soup really well and was wonderful. The fish paste was also freshly made on site and had an abundance of fish roe in it, everyone really enjoyed that dish and I'd order it again. The egg dumplings were also a crowd pleaser and not a dish you can get at that many other places. Other than that, the basa and bok choy were fresh but fairly ordinary.

Whilst the wagyu was extremely expensive, we went for the second best option and had a serve of snow beef. For $20, it was well marbled, fresh and extremely tender. The quality is far higher than the basic beef and I'd definitely recommend this one.

The ox tongue was more generous in portion and these were chewy and meaty, the beefy flavours went particularly well with the tomato soup.

We had a serve of small cuttlefish, these were cute and not too chewy, we were told to cook them for roughly three minutes before eating and they luckily didn't overcook. 

Service was great throughout dinner, staff were regularly skimming the scum off the soup and topping it up with fresh broth. It was a bit of a hit and miss with the secret codes for freebies though. I managed to score dessert but no take home soup base. The usual fairy wand was also out of stock and we only had an inflatable one. Will have to come back next time to try again.

The complimentary dessert was a little odd because we only had one bowl to share between the table. It was a herbal jelly dessert which had sesame and rasins in it. It was quite sweet and cooling which was nice after our meal.

We also ordered a serve of deep fried taro balls. These were amazing. Even after sitting on our table for a bit they were still warm and crisp when we ate them. Under the crunchy exterior there was sweet chewy potato, rounding off a very delicious meal that I will definitely come back for in the near future.

Price Range: $40 - $60pp

Taste: 9/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 9/10