The Manjok - Eight Mile Plains

I was recently lucky enough to have a brief term of leave from work, it meant that I was able to spend a good amount of time at home, run errands as well as do things that I ordinarily would not have had time to do whilst maintaining the usual 9 to 5. One of these things is to hit up The Manjok, which I've wanted to go to since their opening last year. You might wonder why it took me this long if I was focused, however the restaurant itself is largely take out focused with only eight seats inside and no apparent way to make a booking. As such, we decided to go on a weekday night and try our luck and managed to get in without even waiting.

The menu was very short with less than ten main dishes and five sides. Most of the food could be easily taken away to be enjoyed at home, however we were here to dine in specifically for their whole fried chicken, which I had seen so many videos of on various cooking channels on youtube.

Although the restaurant was small, the decor was adorable with matching wooden tables, chairs and cutlery. The plates and cups were also very earthy and I really appreciated it. Kimchi was served fairly quickly and topped up as we ate.

Our food didn't take too long to arrive and presentation was definitely on point.

The whole fried chicken was as delicious as it looked and I was glad to have it fresh rather than taking it home (and risk it being steamed). The skin was extremely crispy without being oily and the meat didn't dry out either. The chicken was well marinated and well complimented by the pickled radish it was served with. I would definitely recommend this dish and come back for it.

We also had a share portion of the spicy beef rib stew, this came with two bowls of rice. We were also able to ask for it to be only a little spicy. I really enjoyed this dish, there was a very generous amount of beef rib that was more than enough to share between three and I liked the mellow sweet soy flavours to the stew. We had initially asked that they add some potato noodles to this dish but was informed that it already contained some, although this was true there really wasn't too much. Queen V did note the flavours got a bit boring by the end for her, but I definitely still really enjoyed it.

We also had a serve of deep fried seaweed rolls. Again it was crispy and not oily, however Queen V noted that these were more likely than not to be store bought. I found these fairly unremarkable and could have been better enjoyed with some sauce. 

Overall we had a really great time at the Manjok, I'll definitely be back again for some of the other dishes, perhaps when it is colder.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 8.5/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 6/10 (setting is nice but no air con in summer is brutal)
 

Terrific Noodles - Sunnybank

Ever since reading about Biang Biang noodles a couple years ago, I've been meaning to try it out whenever the opportunity presented itself. Unfortunately the store at Fortitude Valley was never quite within reach of a lunchtime sojourn, so it always remained on my bucket list untouched until a store opened at the newer section of Market Square. I went on a mid week lunch and it was surprisingly packed. We got one of the few remaining seats inside.

 

As envisaged, the menu was largely noodle based with thick and thin varieties along with a few rice options and side dishes. We ordered and paid at the counter.

Cutlery and drinks were obtained on a DIY basis. As I ordered one noodle and a side dish, it came with a complimentary drink. I tried an orange soda from Xian and found it to be a lot more orange-y than the likes of fanta or sprite.

Our food was prepared fairly quickly. We had two biang biang noodles and a dish of sichuan chicken to share. The chicken was definitely not worth ordering again as the portions were very small (equivalent of just over one drumstick) for $11.80. The taste was delicious and moreish however the portion size and the fact that each piece was embedded with a considerable amount of shattered bone wasn't too appealing.

My companion had the 5 in 1 Biang Biang Noodles, it was topped with shredded pork, pork mince, tomato, egg and chopped noodles. She really enjoyed this, it had a good portion of toppings to noodles as well as a diverse flavour profile with the various pork and tomato tastes. The portion was also very generous and she could barely finish it all.

I opted for the Biang Biang noodles with braised beef. It was also served with greens and veggies. Compared with my companion's meal, this didn't have the excitement of tomato and egg, but the beef was flavoursome, albeit a bit chewy. The noodles were absolutely delicious though, silky and smooth with an adequate amount of bite. I could only get through about two thirds of a bowl and had to get the remainder taken away for later. I would definitely say that this is one of the better lunches I've had lately and can't wait to come back and try their other dishes.

Price Range: $15 - $25pp

Taste: 8.5/10

Value: 8.5/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10

Grill & Roll - Upper Mt Gravatt

Continuing on my quest to try out all the Chinese BBQ Skewer places in Brisbane, we found ourselves at Grill & Roll at Mt Gravatt after work for a quick weekday dinner. I had heard of this place via word of mouth, they had no social media accounts and no discernable website for me to make a reservation, which turned out to be quite essential given how full up the place was. 

Inside seating was jam packed and we almost didn't get a seat except for the makeshift dining area that they made up with foldable tables and chairs on the sidewalk. It made for a less well lit dining area as well as difficulties with flies, we opted to stay because I was convinced that their popularity is a good indication of their quality of food.

Ordering was fairly simple and conducted on a form which we handed in and paid for at the counter before the food was made. Having gone to quite a few Chinese BBQ restaurants now, the menu was fairly standard with meat, offal and side dishes. We picked a few of our usual dishes to share.

First to arrive was the beef and lamb skewers. At five for $7.50, the price was fairly reasonable for the quantity we were given and the taste was phenomenal. I really enjoyed the sichuan peppers and cumin seasoning that coated each of the skewers. Between the two, we found the lamb to be a bit better in terms of texture. 

 

Given how hot it was, we had two cold dishes to cool us down, the shredded bean curd and shredded potato. Whilst the temperature was definitely cold, they were lip numbingly spicy. The flavour profile for both were largely the same, but we preferred the potato dish for the variety of ingredients.

Wanting something not spicy, we had a serve of wanton soup. This was fairly standard and I'm almost certain they were of the frozen supermarket variety. Having said that, it was what I expected and was both wholesome and soothing.

Dr L Loves enoki mushrooms, so we had a serve of foil wrapped enoki mushrooms. This was cooked in an abundance of chilli oil, which meant it was also lip numbingly spicy, but in there wasn't really all that much mushrooms in the dish.

We had a few other skewers to share, this was fairly unique and caught my attention, Roasted Chopped Garlic. It was priced the same as the lamb and beef at $7.50 for five skewers which was a bit expensive for the price, however these were well seasoned and cooked to leave a bit of bite without being too charred and we did really enjoy it.

We also had some chicken skewers, these were probably the least enjoyable of the evening, being slightly underdone and could have done with more charring. Otherwise the flavouring was more of the same addictive cumin and chilli.

Last to show up was the pork belly. I'd rate it as being better than the chicken but not as enjoyable as the beef and lamb given it had a bit more charring than the chicken. The meat texture was a bit chewy and I would have preferred if it were a bit more tender, otherwise it was tasty.

All in all, we had a good time at Grill and Roll, it is one of the better options for Chinese BBQ Skewers and I would have no hesitation in coming back again for more (but would recommend booking beforehand).

Price Range: $35 - $45pp

Taste: 7.5/10

Value: 7.5/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 6/10

Prova Pizzeria - Stafford Heights

Throw back to one of my more memorable meals of last year, finally hitting up Prova Pizzeria with Mr J whilst Dr L was overseas and scratching that pizza itch I had kept up for a while. Not knowing how busy it would have been, I made a reservation, but this turned out to be unnecessary as it didn't even get to half way at any point during our visit. For an extended duration, there was in fact more staff than customers. As with more modern places these days, ordering was done via the QR code on the table.

To share, we had a dish of Polpette to start. Essentially they were pork and beef meatballs served with a light tomato sauce, some bread and salad. For the price, the portions were decent and they were decidedly appetizing with the tart tomato flavours whetting our appetites for the main course. 

As mentioned, I had a major craving for pizza, so I didnt opt for their lasagne, tempted though I was. This was Mr J's pick, the Zucca, topped with pumpkin cream, mozzarella, pancetta, parmesan and basil. My last pumpkin pizza was also with Mr J and I remember that it was quite runny and sweet. I was relieved in this instance that the sauce was definitely thicker and a bit more savoury. Coupled with the salty pancetta and parmesan, this was quite enjoyable for something outside of my usual picks. The base was also quite delicious, neither too dense nor too light with an adequate amount of charring.

My pick for the night was the Funghi, comprising of mozzarella, mushrooms, truffle paste, gorgonzola and truffle oil with added italian sausage for protein content. Having had my fair share of funghi pizzas, this is definitely one of the better ones, but not as good as Julius. There was a generous amount of mushrooms and the truffle flavours were intense. I think it was a good choice to add on the sausages to make the dish more substantive. Again the base was also very delicious. We had a really enjoyable time at Prova and given the opportunity, I would go back if we were on a daytrip up north.

Price Range: $25 - $35pp

Taste: 8.5/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 7/10
 

Aroma - Carina

There have been quite a few new bakery openings in the last few months. I've been meaning to check them all out but have been short of time, but have managed to go to the fairly new Aroma Bakery in Carina for a catch up after a gym session. There were only a few tables outdoors and even less indoors. We managed to snag a bar seat at the window.

By the time we arrived, not all pastries were in stock. We ordered a selection of sweet and savoury to share.

Being the most basic as usual, I had a plain croissant. It was visually appealing but nothing particularly special. The pastry was flaky but not as crisp as you would expect from something freshly baked and the inside layers were buttery and flakey without being greasy.

 

Queen V had the Jam Croissant as well as a slice of the cheese pie. The Jam Croissant was largely the same as mine except that it was completely jam packed (pun intended) with jam. An exceptionally large amount in fact. The cheesy pastry was just as decadent with a very generous amount of cheese sandwiched between two pieces of buttery flaky pastry. Given how rich it was, it would have been challenging for one person to eat this on their own and it was lucky that we could share.

We also had two beverages, an iced latte and an iced long black. These were fairly standard and not particularly strong or outstanding, other than the portion sizes which were a little big bigger than others I've had lately, otherwise in line with the other food I've had at Aroma, it was good but nothing particularly stood out as a reason for me to return in the future.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 7/10

Value: 6/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10