Joe's Deli - Brisbane CBD

Have been seeing quite a few foodies check out Joe's Deli lately. On the face of it, none of them appeared to have been invites, so naturally the prevalent foot traffic had me very curious. That's why I went to try it out with my foodie lunch buddy Brisvegustation last week. Meeting prior to 12, we had hoped to avoid the lunch rush. Unfortunately there was already quite a queue by the time we arrived, but the line moved quickly enough.

I went to grab a table for us, so didn't get to take a closer shot of the menu. Needless to say it was full of sandwiches, hotdogs and sides as implied by the menu.

Water and cutlery were available on an DIY basis. There were also metal knives on request to cut any sandwiches apart.

Despite the queue, our food was made in less than 15 minutes. Between the two of us we shared a Joey's Special Hoagie, Joe's Chilli Dog, Fries and Prosciutto Mac and Cheese Balls.

The Special was my pick as the signature dish. It was a bread roll filled with wagyu pastrami, swiss cheese, slaw, pickles and horseradish. I didn't have too much by way of feedback on this dish, it was as I had expected, neither better nor worse. The bread was fresh, fluffy and on the sweeter side. I would have enjoyed it more if it was a little bit toasted. There was a generous amount of filling inside but again this was served cool. The flavours were quite harmonious and it made for a tasty lunch. The mac and cheese balls were served hot, after being freshly fried, but I didn't see too much prosciutto in it, nor was there too much truffle in the aioli. For the price, it was also not particularly good for value either.

Brisvegustation's pick was originally the Lobbie Roll, but I had convinced him to change his mind after mentioning a few reviews I had read about it. Instead we had the Chilli Dog. Despite being priced similarly, the portion size was drastically smaller than the Special. I did however find the bread to be a stand out in terms of how soft and fluffy it was, as well as being lightly toasted. The fillings were definitely on the sloppier side, dropping out as we ate it, but it was definitely a flavour bomb. I would have rated this a lot higher if it were bigger, but as it stood, it was barely larger than snack side. The fries were also fairly average and lacked a crunch factor. 

Overall, we had a solid experience. There is room to improve but I can see why the store is so popular in the city, however unless asked to go with a friend, I don't see any particular reason to return.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 6.5/10

Value: 5/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10

Yido - Sunnybank Hills

One of the last remaining Korean BBQ places that I had kept on my list for a long time was Yido. Situated along Pinelands Road, they were originally a la carte and had set themselves apart from the local competition with its eel offerings. I had wanted to go for some time but since their re-opening with a buffet, I though that it was a good enough reason to go and try them out. Bringing two other friends with us, we went on the first Friday of their new operation.

 

For $59.90 per person (20% off on Wednesdays and Thursdays) you get 100 minutes of all you can eat with a very large selection of high quality fresh meat, marinated meat, cooked food, side dishes and soup. Taking a quick look around, I was very impressed and we tried to get a small selection of everything.

Drinks were a little bit more pricey than market ($17 per soju) and available via QR code.

Burning charcoals were provided promptly and staff were helpful and attentive throughout our meal.

As mentioned, the meat quality was outstanding, especially for a buffet. The wagyu was well marbled without being excessively fatty and the marinated meats were tender and delicious. The only let down for us in the whole meal was ironically their eel. Despite our best attempts to cook it and then dip it in bbq sauces, it was still quite chewy, fishy and had considerable bones in it. Next time I will avoid the eel and only get the meats.

We had a selection of side dishes to share, my favourites would have been the kimchi and the kelp salad, however I definitely recommend trying them all as they were all unique and tasty.

In terms of the cooked food on offer, the pancakes weren't as crispy as I would have liked, however the tteokbokki was tender and moreish. They also had some fried chicken as well and this was done well with a very crispy coating and a juicy wing encased. 

Even though we were completely stuffed at the end, I couldn't resist trying out the soups they had on offer and it was lucky that I didn't miss out! The tofu and veggie soup was extremely heart warming and delicious without being too spicy whilst the kimchi and tofu soup gave more of a kick. Would definitely come back for the soup too.

I was originally a bit sceptical of their being another KBBQ buffet opening so close to midam, given that it is also cheaper, however having experienced Yido, I can confidently say that although it is a bit more expensive, you get what you pay for in quality. I hope they maintain this standard and I'll be back for round two soon!

 

Price Range: $59.90pp (not including drinks)

Taste: 8.5/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 9/10

Environment: 7/10

Yuan Bao - Sunnybank Hills

 

Midweek date night and I had a craving for some Taiwanese food. Wanting to try out somewhere different from our usual at Glamorous Wok, we ended up at Yuan Bao, in Pinelands. 

The restaurant wasn't too packed and we easily got a seat. Service was fast and the decor was quite homey.

The menu was largely divided into mains depending on the protein. As with most traditional chinese cuisines, the food was designed to be shared. We ordered three dishes between the two of us.

The first dish that showed up was the Taiwanese brown sauce fried rice. It was a little bit different from the cantonese ones I've had previously as it had quite a heavy presence of mushrooms. It didn't appear to have too much by way of meat other than some very small pieces of char siu though. We would have enjoyed a better topping to rice ratio.

Next up was the Deep Fried Taro Duck. This is one of my all time favourite dishes, but this was done quite poorly. The taro was deep fried but fairly oily and not very well seasoned. Ordinarily the content would be roughly half duck half taro with two large serves of whole duck breast on the underside. In this instance, all we had were small slithers of duck meat throughout the taro, which made it quite disappointing. 

Our third and final dish was braised tofu. This was the only dish that really met our expectations because it did indeed contain an ample amount of braised tofu along with some carrots, peas and shiitake mushrooms and this was fairly enjoyable. 

Overall though, I would have to say that the meal was disappointing given the first two dishes and I don't think I'll be back anytime soon, especially when this basic dinner for two cost $75.

Price Range: $30 - $40pp

Taste: 5/10

Value: 4/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 6/10