For some reason the worse the economy gets, the more all you can eat restaurants pop up. I'm not sure why but I am always keen to try some out, provided the quality of food provided isn't too bad. I had recently noticed a couple yum cha cuisines offer buffet options but with different price points and different menus. The Mt Gravatt branch was $39pp with a far limited menu, so we tried out the Indooroopilly branch at $49 with a group of friends after a long days' painting.
As with most all you can eat restaurants, there was a time limit, being 90 minutes. Ordinarily this would be fine, however there were also limits for ordering (5 dishes per 15 minutes, which we managed to negotiate to 8 dishes given our large group) meaning we could only order at most six dishes per person for the session. It didn't help that they were overwhelmingly understaffed that evening and it took far longer than 15 minutes for us to flag staff down and food took a long time to arrive, meaning we were famished for the bulk of the meal.
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Perhaps we were starving from the slow service, but the food that we did get served was of a very high standard for yumcha in Brisbane (which is inherently of a low standard). The prawn dumplings that showed up were freshly steamed with a thin skin and tasty plump prawns inside.
Beef tripe was also fresh, flavoursome and tender with a delicious chewy texture.
Bean curd rolls were steaming hot with generous fillings and a delicious gelatinous sauce.
Fried foods were very popular that evening and also good for sharing. This was the salt and pepper calamari with a super light and crispy batter. The whole serve was polished off in no time.
Taro dumplings were less popular and served lukewarm at best. The taro coating wasn't too thick and it was filled with a flavoursome pork and veggie mix.
One of my favourites for the night were the salt and pepper quail, definitely a higher value dish on the menu. These were juicy and plump with a crispy salt and pepper skin. I would go back for this dish alone.
We also had a crab and corn soup to share, there was a great deal of corn but hardly any crab. It was tasty but could have had a lot more by way of seafood to live up to its name.
Other steamed dishes we had included the siu mai and black been pork ribs, these were again freshly steamed and I have no complaints about them, already making them one of the better options in Brisbane.
Again with the high value picks, this was a serve of steamed scallops with vermicelli and garlic. We had ordered more but they ran out, but this was delicious and a value pick for sure.
More on the value picks, the salt and pepper king prawns were also juicy and plump, battered with the same light tempura, if I wasn't quick I wouldn't have been able to get any.
Roast meats were also on the metaphorical and literal table. These were the weaker link for dinner with the roast duck being lukewarm and not particularly well marinated.
The same could be said about the roast pork which had a chewy skin rather than crispy skin. It also was lukewarm with a thick layer of fat under the skin. Would not recommend this.
Although I wouldn't recommend ordering buns at a buffet, some companions did. This was the bbq pork buns and it was executed well. Light and fluffy with a sweet meaty interior, it met the standard for yumcha.
The custard bun was the same, although I would say it tasted no different to what I could get from supermarkets.
Onto the dessert round, we had some sesame balls with red bean paste, this was served at room temperature with a chewy exterior and a not too sweet filling.
Some of our table had ice cream, the deep fried ice cream wasn't well received but the banana fritter definitely was.
I rounded off my meal with some coconut pudding, this was fresh and light.
Overall I would say that despite my gripes with Yumcha cuisine, we had a pleasant experience. There is value for the price that we paid although service could definitely be smoother. The food was overall of a high standard despite a few let downs and I would not hesitate to revisit it at a later date.
Price Range: $49pp
Taste: 7.5/10
Value: 8.5/10
Service: 4/10
Environment: 7/10
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