Duck Fat - Newstead

A couple of weeks ago we went to a friend's birthday dinner. They opted for the relatively new Duck Fat, located at Haven Newstead. I had heard considerable mixed reviews about the place but went with an open mind to try it out anyway. We had made a reservation for saturday night, it was roughly half full by the time we got there and almost empty by the time we left, so I would say a booking is likely to be better than not but by all means not necessary.

 

Food wise there were two menus, a banquet menu and an a la carte menu. By group consensus we agreed to order via the a la carte menu for a more customised experience. Service throughout the evening was inconsistent at best and it took a lot of effort for us to get the attention of wait staff.

Drinks wise, we had two mocktails, the L'amour and the Virgin Lavender. Between the two of them, the L'amour was the more flavourful and enjoyable of the two with its tart cranberry juice, although the drink tasted a bit artificial. The virgin lavender was very light in flavour and the lavender foam had a weird gel like texture that I didn't enjoy.

For our entrees we had the Scallops served with  butternut purée, pumpkin seeds oil and crispy

prosciutto. Considering the price of almost $30, I was surprised and disappointed to have only been served three scallops. These were considerably overcooked and a bit more burnt than I would have liked. The butternut and pumpkin seed puree was decidedly oily. We didn't enjoy this dish and probably would not order it again.

The other starter we got was the three cheese flamed tart. It was basically a thin crust pizza with crème fraîche, Roquefort blue, Comte and mozzarella. In theory, I adore cheese pizza. In practicality it was greasy and oily, leading to a pool of oil on my plate and also running down my arm as I tried to eat it. A friend who ate with us commented that they either needed to use a thicker base to absorb the oils or less cheese so it wouldn't soak the tart base. It was also a shame that when melted together, I was unable to discern the types of cheese, ultimately making this dish also a disappointment.

To share, Dr L and I had the Flame-grilled Wagyu beef rump steak marble score 7 (500g), which came with french fries, green salad and condiments. For his benefit, I ordered it medium rare but it came out rare. As someone who has devoted a lot of time to steak, I am also fairly convinced that what we got was porterhouse not rump steak but we couldn't complain given that the portion also appeared to be bigger than 500g. This was definitely the highlight of our evening with the steak being fairly tender albeit still a bit greasy. The abundance of sauces which I didn't photograph was also a highlight and I particularly enjoyed the shallot sauce. 

The salad was a generous amount of chopped lettuce doused with a significant amount of vinegarette. Again it was dripping with oil throughout and we wished that there could have been a bit more variety in the salad (such as tomatoes) to keep it exciting.

The last element of our main was the french fries. These were fresh out of the fryer and very crunchy. The portion sizes were generous also but it was a confusing choice to match with thousand island sauce. 

It has to be said also that we were rudely shocked when receiving the bill to be notified of a 5% saturday surcharge. This wasn't brought to our attention at the point of booking and upon review of the menu there was fine print advising that there is a weekend surcharge of non descript amount. On top of that was also the 1% card surcharge, ultimately leaving a very bitter taste in my mouth. Furthermore, given how bad some of the dishes were, I would definitely have brought this to the attention of waitstaff if anyone had asked us how we were enjoying our meal (given I had literal cheese oil running down my arm), but no one asked and thus my woeful experience at Duckfat concludes. With an experience like this, I will definitely not be back and would veto any friends who suggest this venue for any future birthday meals.

Price Range: $90 - $110pp

Taste: 5/10

Value: 3/10

Service: 4/10

Environment:7/10 

Sheng Yuan - Sunnybank

Those of you who regularly read my blog or follow my instagram would know that it the cost of dining out has been an ongoing and repetitive issue of mine. Whilst I don't mind paying a high price for a meal, it deeply irritates me when I am not getting my value's worth. It has been a long time since I've had something I could unreservedly recommend but I have recently found it in Sheng Yuan Noodles at Market Square.

Having found the restaurant on Xiao Hong Shu, it had almost no presence on western social media but there was considerable hype on the chinese sites. I decided to go with my mum the last time I had a day off work. We arrived at lunchtime on a weekday and the restaurant was almost full (we took the only table they had cleared). The menu was very similar to Lanzhou beef noodles with a small selection of noodles, sides, dumplings and the option for set meals. Prices were very reasonable and I have to say I was skeptical at first about the quality and quantity of food.

Ordering at the counter, the staff were very friendly and accommodating. The first time I went, I had a combo straight off the menu. The second time I requested an adjustment to the combo to try other noodles and staff were flexible with my request.

 

The first time I went, we had one combo and one stand alone bowl of noodles. For $22.80, the combo comes with lanzhou beef noodles along with one drink, one side and one egg, making it fantastic value for money. Drinks wise, they had standard soft drink as well as soy milk and wintermelon tea. I opted for the cool refreshing soy milk. For the side, I opted for a serve of chilled beef and beef tripe in chilli sauce. This was refreshing, chewy and just a bit numbing for our enjoyment. Portions were generous for a side dish and if we didn't finish it, we could take the entire plastic container home.

My mum wasn't in the mood for a heavy meal that day so she opted for a serve of dry noodles with sesame sauce. It was a very generous portion of noodles, freshly made in house with tangy sesame sauce and crunchy cucumbers on top. She really enjoyed the meal and for $13.80, it was well worth the price.

I had the signature lanzhou beef noodles. This was excellent. With a choice between different noodle sizes, I opted for the thinner one and it was cooked to the perfect texture. There was also a very generous serve of sliced braised beef on top and the dish was finished off with a very clear beef broth which I greatly enjoyed. The portion was generous and I struggled to finish it when I would have ordinarily asked for extra noodles at a ramen shop. 

Having ordered a set meal, it also came with a tea egg. This came later than expected and because I had to chase it up, they gave me an extra egg on the house. This was well seasoned and definitely hit the spot. 

 

I enjoyed my first meal at Sheng Yuan so much that I went back a couple weeks after with Dr L as well as my friend Dr S. Between the three of us we had three combos. They had soy milk whilst I had jasmine tea. This time our sides included sliced beef in chilli sauce, beef and tripe in chilli sauce and cold beef slices served with sesame sauce. The crowd consensus preferred the sliced beef with sesame sauce for it's milder flavours but I really enjoyed the cool numbing flavours of beef tripe.

Dr L opted for the lanzhou beef noodle with the widest noodle which he really enjoyed. Again the meat was generous and the soup was light and wholesome. 

This time, I had the braised beef noodle soup, again with thinner noodles. The quantity of beef was again very generous and this time in cubed chunks. They were tender whilst retaining a meaty flavour. The soup was light and I added a bit of chilli to it for some zing but otherwise it also had a very generous portion of noodles as well as vegetables. We were completely stuffed and packed home half of the sides, making it exceptionally good value for $22.80 in this day and age. I will definitely be back to try their other noodle dishes.

Price Range: $10 - $25pp

Taste: 9/10

Value: 9/10

Service: 9/10

Environment: 7/10

Kanpai Izakaya - Sunnybank Hills

 

Sushi and BBQ are without a doubt two of my favourite foods of all time, so how could I say no when I heard that Tokyo Chubo took over the old shopfront by Akaichi Yakiniku, opening Kanpai Izakaya, selling both sushi and BBQ. Having been recommended this place by the owner of Sunnybank Fish Market, I made plans to head out with friends for a dinner as soon as possible. 

I had never been to Akaichi Yakiniku due to poor reviews, but per my friends who had gone, their has been minimal changes to the setup which was still fairly new. 

  

 

The menu was available per a QR code on the table and we could all log in and add to the same table to order. As alluded to, there was a selection of BBQ meats as well as sushi.

Once we put our order down, the charcoal arrived. At this point, I have to give a special mention to Kanpai Izakaya for having the self ventilating BBQs which meant that none of our clothes were infused with BBQ smell and we also didn't have the distracting ventilator hanging in front of our faces to distract conversation. 

First to show up was the beef tataki, a signature from Tokyo Chubo across the street. It was a tasty appetizer with delicious thin slices of eye fillet doused with a delicious ponzu sauce, topped with onion, spring onion and radish. This dish was executed well and left me wanting more. 

Nigiri was on the menu in portions of two each, so we ordered three of the otoro and uni nigiri. I think the cut of tuna used was probably closer to chutoro than otoro given the fat content, but the tuna and uni were undeniably fresh. I could have had many more of these. 

Between the five of us, we also shared a wagyu and pork combo, we had three cuts of wagyu and pork, that came without label. The pork I could identify as jowl, belly and loin whereas the wagyu we had oyster blade and two more undefined cuts. 

 

The meat quality itself was of a high standard and we were all fairly satisfied with what we got. The beef was all very tender and buttery, whilst the jowl as always captivated my interest with its delicious crunchy texture. Coupled with the delicious bbq sauce and fluffy white rice we ordered, it went down a treat.

We also had a dish of assorted vege tempura to share. This was expertly done with a crispy coating that was crunchy without being oily, the assortment was also quite vast with only one or two types of vegies being duplicated, so that alone would be reason for me to go back and order another dish to sample the others I didn't get.

Wanting more sushi options, we also had two futomaki to share, these were thick delicious rolls with ample salmon, tuna and scallop. What made it stand out from other sushi was the thin sliced radish that encased the nori sheets, providing additional crunch for the roll. These were also well received by the group but on the expensive side when you consider that each piece equated to almost $6 each.

Overall we had a pleasant experience at Kanpai Izakaya. It wasn't the best value for money, but we got quality for what we paid for and on that basis, I would come back for more of their food.  

Price Range: $70 - $80pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 6/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10

New Season Asian - Brisbane CBD

It felt like almost yesterday that Brisvegustation and I were having lunch at Hong Kong BBQ in Elizabeth Arcade and business appeared to be going well, but soon after they closed down. New Season Asian took their place, offering a range of Thai food. We were lucky enough that Brisvegustation brought us along to his dinner invitation and so that we could sample a number of their dishes.

Before ordering though, their complimentary coffee machine in the corner definitely caught my eye. Although it was just black filter coffee, it was a nice touch and I had two cups to warm me up.

  

 

The menu was very extensive, with small snack size dishes, large mains, rice, noodles, drinks as well as desserts. We ordered a good selection of dishes to try.

Dr L and I both had the Thai milk tea. This was fragrant and creamy without being too sweet and we both enjoyed it a lot. Portion sizes were also generous and there wasn't too much by way of ice either. 

It didn't take long for our food to arrive and it was definitely a feast for four people.

The only small dish we got was the Crab and prawn roll. This was quite nice with a crispy lattice skin with a crunchy prawn filling. I wish there was a bit more crab to it, but it was delicious nonetheless.

One of the larger dishes was the BBQ Chicken. It comprised of grilled chicken thigh with a tangy but sweet marinade served with a side of lettuce. The chicken was tender and flavoursome, going well with rice and had a good amount of charring without being over the top.

Although not strictly Thai, I was interested in trying their Roast Duck as they took over the Hong Kong BBQ spot. The serve of duck was generous in portion and delightfully deboned, much to the pleasure of Dr L. Taste wise, it was sufficiently marinated although the skin was not particularly crispy. 

 

Some more Thai dishes we ordered included the Tom Zaab pork brisket and Pad See Ew beef. Tom Zaab is a hot and spicy soup, we had it with medium spice and it was definitely on the spicy end for my taste. There was a generous amount of pork belly and it was definitely a hit for the cold weather, especially with rice. I also enjoyed the sour tanginess of the pad see ew, there was also a good amount of beef and on its own would have made for a wholesome lunch.

A more interactive dish we had was the Mama Tom Yum with Egg. We had great fun mixing this dish through and it was a highlight of my evening. Although the noodles were just two minute noodles, the sauce was also sour and a little bit spicy but definitely more-ish with the pork mince on top. I would definitely be back for this dish alone.

To go with our meal we had two rices, one steamed rice and one marinated rice. The steamed rice was adequate, long grain as expected and cooked well. I was more interested in the marinated rice that had ginger and other herbs in it, tasting very similar to the rice you would get with a hainan chicken, except it didn't have the element of chicken oil. 

Overall, we had a solid dinner at New Season Asian, the food was of a good quality and based on the portions and menu prices, it represented good value for money. I would definitely not mind coming back on a lunch run for more of their food.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10