Kuon Sushi Noosa - Noosa

How far would you drive for a delicious meal? For us, it seems that the answer is more than 2.5 hours. Since Dr L and I decided to drive up to Noosa to try out Kuon Sushi up in the Sunshine Coast. In all honesty it would probably have been better for us to have stayed overnight, but neither of us are particularly interested in the beach, so we drove up for the meal and drove back down, making it roughly a 7 hour return trip just for a dinner.  The reason was a belated Valentines day dinner and the allure of a more traditional style of omakase.

 

Without a doubt my favourite place to be in the world is behind a sushi counter. That is where we spent our evening, enjoying the food of sushi master Jiro. The space was intimate, probably seating a maximum of 10 people but including us there was only 4 people that evening, making it particularly cozy.

 

For $200, you can indulge in the full 20 course dinner. This is notably cheaper than some of the options you can get in Brisbane where the going rate for full course omakase is roughly at the $300 mark.

Upon seating we were asked as a matter of course if we wanted still or sparkling water. My usual response to this is to query whether sparkling is complimentary. In this instance I had heard that it was but perhaps there was some miscommunication but by the time we paid, there was a charge for sparkling and Dr L's still water on our bill.

There were a few sake options and we opted for a flight each to accompany us through the meal. I don't have too much to add on the sake other than the fact that by the time we had reached the third glass, it was fairly room temperature after having been on the counter for a little bit. 

The first four courses of our set meal was served together. This included the pumpkin tofu with bonito broth, yellowfin tuna with japanese yam potato, squid tentacles and mozuku seaweed vinegar soup, deep fried eggplant in dashi. The layout actually reminded me a lot of my experience at Kuon in Sydney. I enjoyed the variety of textures and flavours found across the starters. My favourite of the four would have been the yellowfin with japanese yam.

 

Unlike other omakase, the nigiri wasn't grouped but rather spread through the course with cooked food throughout. Starting off we had the red snapper nigiri and the big fin reef squid. Both were expertly made and had the perfect ratio of rice to fish. The fish itself was fresh but not to the point of being sweet. I did particularly enjoy the ika though, which had the perfect texture.

Next up was Horse Mackerel nigiri, not usually a favourite of mine but I appreciated the firm flakey flesh with buttery umami taste. 

 

Interluding with two cooked courses we had a steamed abalone and a braised octopus sweet soy sauce. I've had both renditions of these at various Japanese restaurants lately and the execution at Kuon was on par with others that I have sampled but it wasn't particularly outstanding. The abalone was tender and infused well with the sauce, as was the octopus. The portions were just enough to leave me wanting a little more.

Following up with a piece of sweet miso marinated grilled kingfish, this was served nicely charred without being overly burnt. Again the kingfish had great texture to it, but it wasn't outstanding.

 

Our nigiri course continued with three pieces, salt and vinegar cured herring nigiri and the cured blue mackeral nigiri. Both pieces being cured gave it a particularly sharp and tangy flavour also ensuring that the flesh was firm. Although I'm a huge fan of the dry aged sashimi at Katsuya which accentuates the flavours of the fish, I am generally not a fan of cured fish nigiri as it detracts from the freshness and original tastes of the fish. 

The highlight of our meal in my opinion was the cured lean southern bluefin tuna nigiri. Despite my previous rant about curing, I am just a fan of tuna and this was still expertly made. I would probably have enjoyed it better if it was less seasoned but the soy glaze was still enjoyable.

 

Interluding again with cooked food, this was the deep fried prawn dumpling and red miso soup with fresh aosa seaweed. I didn't particularly like the prawn dumpling too much, it was a minced prawn paste that had been lightly battered and fried, reminding me a bit of Taiwanese tempura which seemed a little out of place in an omakase course. As someone who prefers white miso to red by a wide margin, I didn't mind the red miso with its sharp aftertaste.

The crescendo of our meal was the miniature sea urchin and salmon roe bowl. This was super cute and topped with a few pieces of okra that looked like stars. I've definitely had fresher uni in various restaurants across Brisbane, but this was also an enjoyable rendition. I wish that the portion was a bit bigger though, as it could easily have been finished in three moderate bites.

Our final nigiri of the night was the simmered japanese sea eel nigiri. I always enjoy sea eel which is a lot less commonly served than the standard unagi. The taste was light and delicate, complimenting the sushi rice well.

 

Rounding off the savoury courses was the thin tuna roll and the egg omelette with bonito broth. I've had both of these items across various restaurants now, they were decidedly superior to your local sushi train variant but not as elevated as the Brisbane or Gold Coast omakase options.

Dessert was a Matcha Warabi mochi, served with hot tea. The mochi was soft and chewy whilst the matcha sauce erred on the sweeter side. It was an overall satisfying dessert to our meal.

It is somewhat hard to critique Kuon Sushi. On one hand, I really appreciate Chef Jiro's dedication to a traditional cooking style and not going for modern fusion like lots of other places. The price is reasonable for what you get, insofar as it is significantly cheaper than Takashiya, Sushi Room or Fumikis, but we didn't leave completely stuffed and it was evident that at least compared to Takashiya or Sushi Room, the ingredients weren't as premium. Factoring in price, I would say a good point of comparison is Black Door by Wagyu ya, who currently offers a far superior (albeit more modern) course for the same price. I wouldn't say that I wouldn't be back, if we were in Noosa again, I wouldn't hesitate for a return trip, but for now I wouldn't be making a 5 hour return trip for it.

Price Range: $200 - $250pp

Taste: 7.5/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 9/10 

Banh Mi Station - Murarrie

Murrarie isn't a suburb you would think to go for Banh Mi. In fact it's not a suburb I've really gone to for anything in the past. However, seeing what looked like the most attractive Banh Mi I've ever seen online, Brisvegustation and I decided to make the trip out East on a Saturday for lunch. We were the only customers that day and managed to catch the owner on prep day. 

Although we had showed up for the banh mi, the shop itself was actually a bakery that had a great deal more other options other than banh mi. There were an assortment of pies, sausage rolls, cakes, slices and cookies.

Brisvegustation and I were mainly there for the banh mi, so that's what we ordered. As alluded to, we had the crispy pork belly and also a lemongrass chicken. We had read some google reviews beforehand and had noted that other customers took issue with the salad being pre-filled into the bun, thereby making it soggy. We couldn't comment on this as we had freshly made buns, however I did also spy some pre filled buns on the counter. Our banh mi were quite delicious, both were completely loaded with generous amounts of fillings. The pork belly was thick, crispy and well seasoned. The lemongrass chicken was also likewise a flavour bomb. Coriander and chilli added fragrance and spice. Although on the more expensive side of banh mi, these were huge and filling, making it a worthy trip out east. 

 

Although we paid for the banh mi and only intended to get that, the owner graciously gifted us a drink and cookie each. I had the Vietnamese Iced Coffee. This was a tad sweeter than I would have liked, but probably because of the constraints of condensed milk. The loaded cookies were also delicious once reheated. With a lava centre, it was decadent without being overly sweet, making it a very enjoyable dessert.

We had a great time at Banh Mi Station and would definitely come back to try more banh mi and maybe even their noodle soups!

Price Range: $15 - $25pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 7/10 

Bacchus - Southbank

Bacchus at Southbank Rydges is one of those places that I've actually been to quite a few times but never gotten around to blogging about it. I used to frequent it every now and again before covid, but since then, they've had an extended closure and I slowly forgot about it. It was only for noticing them on First Table, that I was prompted to go for a return visit. Being located upstairs on the podium level of Rydges, it isn't particularly eye catching from the ground floor and being a restaurant inside of a hotel isn't usually something that would instil confidence in me.

Although it had been re-opened since 2022, it was my first time visiting since the renovations and there was a significant facelift compared to the previous layout which looked as if it had come straight out of the 1980s.

 

The menu was provided promptly by our very professional waiter. There was an a la carte menu as well as a degustation menu. Having booked a discounted meal via First Table, we had quite a few limitations to what we could order. I was impressed by his polite reminders of the conditions, ensuring that we had no nasty surprises at the end.

Starting off with drinks, Dr L had the White Chocolate Negroni whilst I had the Espresso Martini. My drink was one of the better espresso martinis I've had, with a smooth texture and strong taste. I only wish it was a tad less sweet. Dr L's negroni had but a hint of white chocolate, and was decidedly a lot more fruity.

Given the restaurant was not particularly full when we dined, I was surprised at how long it took for our food to arrive. First to land was the wagyu beef tartare served with brioche, macadamia, egg yolk and chives. I really appreciated their attention to detail in loading up the tartare onto the crispy brioche before serving, thus saving me the effort and mess of doing it myself. The tartare was one of the less seasoned ones I've had, notably lacking in the usual zing of capers. I did however enjoy the freshness of the beef and richness of the egg yolk.

Our other entree was the Pork Belly, served with fermented honey black berry, bok choy and togarashi. The skin of the pork belly had adequate crispiness to it and the portion size was generous enough for each of us to share, which I really appreciated. Bok choy was stir fried well without being overcooked.

Our meal picked up its pace after entrees. We had two mains to share, the first was a 300g Angus Siroin. It came with jus and some mustard. Whilst the beef was cooked to our requested rarity and also didn't have any blood coming from it, it was still surprisingly chewy. On that basis, I was pretty glad that Dr L shared it with me, because it would have been quite a workout for my mouth to finish the entire thing. 

To balance out the steak, we had the pan seared duck breast served with gochujang red orange, charred broccoli and black sesame. It was cooked quite well with a crispy skin and flavoursome meat. Dr L said it was only slightly not as good as the duck served at exhibition.

 

For sides, we had a mixed leaf salad as well as miso hasselback potatoes. The salad was particularly crisp and fresh whilst the potatoes were hot and crisp, a perfect foil to our protein heavy mains.

 

Dining at Bacchus means that dessert definitely cannot be missed, so we ordered two to share. This was the Popcorn, comprising of popcorn mousse, corn custard and salted caramel. It came out like a miniature popcorn bucket and was absolutely adorable. The dessert was on the sweeter side of what I enjoy but we still really liked the caramel and popcorn flavours.

 

Our other dessert, the Apple, was the highlight of our meal. Comprising of honey, cinnamon and blue cheese, it was fashioned like an adorable yellow apple. With a crisp chocolate shell and a fluffy light interior. Again it was on the sweeter side, but we loved the intensity of the delicious apple in the centre, making it a delicious dessert we both loved.

In summary, we had a fantastic time at Bacchus. There were a few things that could be improved given the price point (without a discount), but given the half price food, it was definitely exceptional value for money and I wouldn't hesitate to return.

Price Range: $120 - $140pp (if no discount)

Taste: 8/10

Value: 9/10 (with a discount)

Service: 9/10

Environment: 9/10

Warisan - Fortitude Valley

Buffets are a funny thing. They're super exciting and always a welcome challenge when you're growing up, but once you age past 30, it always becomes a matter for me to calculate out whether it's money's worth, since my stomach capacity just isn't what it used to be. With the continued explosion of all you can eat options in Brisbane, I've been able to sus out value to a certain extent. Seemingly at the $50 mark you can reliably not need to stuff yourself with carbs and eat a protein based meal to get your money's worth. This is why I was not too reluctant to try out Warisan's Sate Sunday buffet $45pp for a promise of unlimited satay skewers.

 

Arriving for Sunday's early session, we were seated inside with the extremely loud music whilst the grill was located outside. The all you can eat was pretty simple, there were four types of satay skewers, tofu, fish ball, chicken and beef. There were also three sides, nasi goreng, stir fried morning glory and what was similar to prawn crackers. 

  The grill was on full blast whilst we were there, with the fire alarm in the building going off during our meal.

The beef satay skewer was the one I was most looking forward to, however it disappointed. With meat that was inconsistent at best and quite chewy at worst, it proved a little difficult to eat. The sauces were also definitely pushing my limits on spice tolerance.

I was not expecting chicken to be the highlight for me, but it was. The texture was consistent and soft. The sauce struck just the right balance with peanut butter without being overwhelmingly so. We definitely had a few more of these.

 

Firm tofu is not something I'm particularly fond of, but for those who enjoy it, they would probably like the tofu skewers. The fish balls were also fairly standard supermarket quality and nothing particularly stand out.

The morning glory was cooked well but not particularly stand out, being more or less the same as you would get at many asian restaurants.

 

I had a bit of the nasi goreng, it was a bit on the wetter side for a fried rice and the topping to rice ratio was not great. The crackers were also fairly standard and nothing to write home about.

It's hard for me to critique the value proposition at Warisan. On one hand, it is good value to get a buffet where you don't need to eat carbs for $45pp. On the other hand, I could only eat 12 skewers and there are places like Satay Boss or Mamak that offer better quality skewers for significantly less than $45. Sitting near the singer also meant that my enjoyment of the meal was heavily impacted by not being able to hear my companions speak without yelling too. Overall, I'd have to say that although I don't regret checking out Warisan, I won't return.

Price Range: $45pp

Taste: 5/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 5/10