Kumo Kumo - South Bank

Those who follow social media news will no doubt have seen the barrage of ads for Kumo Kumo, a pop up soufflé pancake that is gracing our city until January 2023. With all the hype, we met up with a friend and tried it out on its second day of opening when I just so happened to have a day off. Arriving just before opening time, there was a short line building up when I got there. It still took 20 minutes of waiting, but better than the long queue that formed after the official opening.

I was not able to find a priced menu online before coming, but I had expected it to be somewhat expensive. These expectations were fulfilled and the prices were close to $20 for each of the five flavours, the more extravagant ones were more expensive than the more plain.

 

Despite getting to the top of the queue, it still took around 10 minutes for our pancakes. At least it was really fun to watch staff make them while we waited.

There weren't too many tables available but we were able to find one as we arrived early. Cutlery and water was available on a DIY basis. 

Dr L opted for the brown sugar boba flavour. It was topped with milky foam, brown sugar dressing, and of course topped with pearls. Trying some of his, I was glad to see it wasn't overly sweet and the pearls were adequately chewy. I found the pancakes to be very strong in egg flavour and the texture reminded me a bit of a pan fried cake.

 

My Uji Matcha one was largely the same, the pancake wasn't very big but it was very heavy in egg flavour. The matcha was light and foamy and wasn't too sweet, whilst being sufficiently bitter. The red bean paste was quite sweet but there was only a small amount. Overall the flavours were pleasant but not outstanding. The portions were small though. For close to $20 as a snack, I would have thought we would at least have been afforded a share portion, but one serve was definitely not enough to share. Given its bad value for money, I am glad I satisfied my curiosity, but would be in no hurry to return.

Price Range: $15 - $25pp

Taste: 6.5/10

Value: 4/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 6/10
 

Tasty Rumor - Woodridge

So we had heard quite a few good things about a Korean Jok Bal place in Woodridge, a 'Tasty Rumour', if you would. So when Dr L asked where we were going for our week day date night last week, I suggested we take the drive out to try it for once and for all. 

We made a reservation on the basis that it would be full given how many favourable reviews we had read, but were surprised that other than us, there was only one other table that evening. 

Dr L was mildly surprised to find the menu to be an all pork menu, however there were quite a few variations of pork belly, pork hock and pork trotter to choose from along with other noodle and side dishes. We ordered at the counter.

Starting off, we shared a refreshing citron soju.

Our food came our very soon after and before long our table was full. Because there was only two of us, we opted for the half and half set. Our picks for the night was the  Soy Braised Pork Hock and Soy Braised Pork Belly. Sides were rice noodles and pork broth. It was also served with wrapping lettuce and some condiments.

The Jok Bal was without a doubt the best I've had in Brisbane. Flavoursome but tender, the fat had been rendered away but there was still some soft collagen between the meat tissue. Dr L really enjoyed this dish and couldn't get enough. 

The pork belly wasn't as nice as the jok bal but it too wasn't too fatty, but was served steaming hot with soy and pork juices. The flavours were intense but homely at the same time, like a firm but warm hug. It went well with the lettuce wrap and the portion sizes were generous for half an half.

We hadn't had Korean Rice Noodles before, so we didn't know what to expect. It was firmer and more translucent than Chinese rice noodles with a little bit more of a brittle crunch. The soup was refreshing and the shallots on top were crisp and moreish. It's definitely a side that I would recommend coming back for.

Although the rice noodle was delicious, my favourite side was without a doubt the pork broth. I didn't know what to expect, and it was delightfully served in a teapot with two cups, but this was the richest and creamiest pork broth I have ever had. Deep and mellow it embraced my heart as it went down. Without a doubt this was made with all the bones from the pork dishes they make, it is a wonderful way to use them to make such a beautiful soup. I would return for this alone.

Overall, we had a really enjoyable time at Tasty Rumour and definitely will come back in the near future to try some more of their dishes.

Price Range: $30 - $40pp

Taste: 8.5/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10
 

Casa Chow - Woolloongabba

Peruvian Chinese cuisine. Not a mix up that I'd have ordinarily thought about, but after recently being educated by a friend about the mash up of cultures that occurred when the Chinese migrated over to Peru in the 1920s, I was intrigued and curious. So we made a reservation to try out the relatively new Casa Chow, located in South City Square at Woolloongabba. 

Our booking was fairly late in the evening, 8.30pm was the first slot we could get and the place was still packed when we arrived. Staff were extremely busy which made it exceedingly difficult for us to get service.

The menu was not as exotic as I initially expected, a lot of the dishes were heavily Chinese influenced with touches of Peruvian flavours. It took us a very long time to get staff attention, but were able to put down out order once we did.

Our first dish to arrive was the Kingfish Ceviche. It had a light spicy tang to it and was served atop a cripsy wanton pastry. It was quite delicious, but for the price, the portion was most definitely not worth it.

A companion that went with us was a huge fan of Dan Dan noodles, so of course we had to try Casa Chow's iteration. Given the price of $29, we had expected something akin to a main size, but when it came out, portions were tiny, barely giving our group of four one small mouthful each. As for the taste, it was fairly average, with al dente hokkien noodles and spicy pork mince. I'm moderately sure I could do better at home and so this was definitely not worth it. 

Next up was the Fremantle Octopus, coconut, vegetables, lime and rice noodle. I liked the combination of citrus flavours with rice noodle, you don't get that often in Chinese cuisine. The octopus was cooked well and quite tender and there was a good ratio of octopus to noodles but sadly the portions were again quite lacking.

Our final dish was the relative highlight of the night, the Lomo Saltado with Chips and Rice. It consisted of sweet soy and pepper sauce stir fried beef strips along with an assortment of veggies, served with rice and chips. Without the chips, it would have been a fairly ordinary Chinese meal, but the chips complimented the black pepper sauce really well and we really enjoyed it. The meat was also very soft and tender, and the rice mopped up the sauces well. Although still not worth the price, it was at least a decent serving. All in all, we had a fairly lacklustre time at Casa Chow. The food doesn't particularly stand out and the value perspective stands out for all the wrong reasons. I don't think I will be back.

Price Range: $30 - $40pp

Taste: 6/10

Value: 4/10

Service: 4/10

Environment: 7/10
 

Yamas - West End

Catch up dinner with some girlfriends at the end of the week and we opted to go to West Village to try out the newly opened Yamas as well as to check out the new Brisbane Festival exhibit. With such an abundance of Greek food readily available in the area, we had high hopes that it would stand out. 

As with most things these days, it was always better to book than not and we took the last available table when we sat down, albeit there weren't that many seats. 

 

Menus were provided fairly quickly. The menu appeared to comprise of a more modern take on Greek food and was separated into entrees, small plates and larger plats. We ordered a selection of each.

 

 

Our drinks came first, one friend had a white wine, I had an espresso martini which was fairly standard and could have been a bit less sweet and stronger in taste. What really captured our interest was our friend's Apollo cocktail which came served with cotton candy that dissolved with prosecco, it was light and fruity and most importantly, whimsical.

Our mezze started to arrive not long after, this was the Saganaki, a grilled kefalograviera cheese topped with fig sauce. The cheese was melty and the sweet fig jam cut through the decadence really well. I really enjoyed this dish but found it a bit small for the price.

Our other mezze was the Htapodi, a grilled octopus dish with  olive oil, oregano, lemon and fava. This dish was done really well, the octopus was very tender and the fava paste was rich and creamy. Again though, the price was reflective of a main but this was a small plate indeed and barely enough to share between three.

Onto our bigger dishes, this was the mixed lamb and chicken souvla. While larger than the mezze, it would be a bit smaller than large dishes at nearby Greek restaurants. The chicken and lamb were both char grilled really well and very flavoursome. I found the lamb to be moist whilst the chicken was a bit dry but this was able to be rectified with the yoghurt on top.

Our other large dish was the Hilopites, containing braised beef, square pasta, tomato, feta. Unlike the other dishes, the flavours were a bit bland and nothing stood out, even with the sprinkle of feta on top. Having said that, the beef was quite tender, and coupled with the carrots and pasta squares, it was litke a thicker minestrone soup with a lighter tomato flavour. Although the pot was quite big, the filling unfortunately wasn't though. 

We also had two sides to share, on the left was the bamies, okra, slow cooked, tomato, onion and feta. This was crunchy, flavoursome and overall quite refreshing, but again portions were tiny. On portion sizes, the lemon potatoes were also a disappointment. Although the taste was quite good, in the end we paid $12 for one singular potato cut up into wedges. Unfortunately, we didn't have the best time at Yamas, dropping over $200 for a dinner for three but still leaving moderately hungry left quite a bad aftertaste. Unless drastic improvements are made, I don't think I'll be back.

Price Range: $60 - $70pp

Taste: 7.5/10

Value: 4/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 8/10
 

Maru - Cannon Hill

Weekday date nights and we wanted to get out and have more Korean BBQs before the summer really kicked in. We didn't want to queue up at the city, so we went out of our way to try out Maru at Cannon Hill, one of Queen V's favourites. 

Although there was no queue, it was a full house and it was lucky we booked. The area was spacious and well ventilated. 

 

As with most Korean BBQ restaurants, the main focus of the menu was meats. There was a wide selection served a la carte, but we opted for the set menus because those came with standard sides. In addition to the meat dishes, there was also quite a few set meals such as bibimbap which we were interested to try next time.

Despite the menu, ordering was done on the ipad affixed to the wall, which made the menus somewhat redundant. At least that saved us having to flag down waitstaff.

The side dishes came out fairly quickly. There was an assortment of kimchi, pickled onion, pickled cabbage, fresh salads, kelp salad and lettuce for wrapping meat. It turns out that the set doesn't come with rice, and there was a bit of confusion with staff as to whether our set came with or without refills for our sides. In the end they settled for one refill only. As for the sides themselves, the salads were fresh but my favourite was the kelp salad which was both crispy and crunchy. The absence of fish cake was also quite noticeable too.

Our combination came with a variety of cuts including various wagyu, pork belly as well as pork jowl. I was impressed by the crunchy pork jowl which didn't have much pork smell to it, as I don't often see it included in combos. The wagyu was buttery but not overly fatty and the overall meat quality was quite good and tender. I'd say that it's probably better than a lot of what can be found in the city lately but probably not as good as meet and meat at market square.

The Wednesday special was the bulgogi, so we had a serve to share. This was well seasoned and deliciously sweet and umami with soy flavours. The beef was tender and thinly sliced, it also wasn't too fatty and went well with the salads. 

In a nutshell, we had quite a good time at Maru. The prices weren't too cheap but I guess nothing really is these days, but the meat quality was definitely a lot better than its competitors. I would definitely come back again if I was in the area.

Price Range: $50 - $70pp

Taste: 8.5/10

Value: 6.5/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10