Ann Gyoza Bar - Fortitude Valley

In my ongoing quest to eat at all the Japanese places in Brisbane, I stopped by at Ann Gyoza bar today. Working in the CBD, it actually took me a while to work out where it was, within the Emporium. Indeed, I almost gave up before stumbling upon it.

The restaurant has a decidedly traditional wooden theme, with a large wooden plaque hanging outside, and a portion of outdoor seating. Not being an ourdoors type of person, I opted to sit indoors.

The inside was in line with the outside, being of traditional Japanese style. I found it particularly interesting that they decorated the interior with sake casks. Definitely unusual and interesting at the same time.

I was quite surprised at how full it was for a Thursday lunch hour. I had literally taken the last remaining free table. 

I was promptly seated and given a lunch menu. Lunch prices at Ann Gyoza Bar are significantly cheaper than dinner prices. 

I was very impressed with the water being served immediately after ordering.

Just after being impressed with the water, you can imagine how astounded I was when my bento arrived well within 5 minutes of my ordering. I spent several minutes seriously contemplating whether or not they had pre cooked all the bentos in anticipation of people ordering, to come to the later realisation that my bento was composed of rice, salad and salmon sashimi, none of which really required cooking (except the rice).

In terms of the salmon, I found it exceptionally fresh! It was also perfectly chilled, to the point where it didnt taste like it came straight out of the fridge, but didnt taste like it had been left out for too long. My only concern with it was the portion being a bit on the small side.

The salad was also fresh, like the salmon. It had a light and tangy sauce on it, and the lettuce thankfully did not have the blackened ends that some other salads do. There wasn't that much rice, which was good actually, because I did not have that much sashimi, but for those who do appreciate rice, they offer free extra rice.

The main thing I was anticipating though, was their Gyoza. I mean, how can you go to a gyoza bar and leave without trying their gyoza? So I ordered the pork gyoza to go with my tower bento. As you can see it was served on a hot plate, with sauce on the side, which you can add to your liking.

I found the juices to be very tasty, and complimented the dumpling filling well. What struck me was the how thin the dumpling skins were, but I would have liked it better if the bottoms of the dumplings had a bit more crunch to them.

Having been to a number of dumpling bars, I would consider Ann Gyoza Bar to be well above the average compared to the other offerings in Brisbane, but in the context of Japanese Gyoza, I still prefer Harajuku Gyoza.

Price Range: $12 - $20 per person (lunch prices)

Taste: 7/10
Value: 4/10 (rather expensive for a small portion)
Service: 8/10 (super quick and efficient)
Environment: 8/10

Pho City - Brisbane CBD

A couple of weeks ago, several friends and made a really last minute decision to watch a movie after work. Without much of a plan (which is really unusual for me), we found ourselves wandering around foraging for food. As our quest lead us to Elizabeth Arcade, one friend suggested that we try Pho City, which had opened in the arcade not so long ago, taking the spot of what used to be Himawari.

Whilst the restaurant was half full, we were promptly seated and given menus. The service was quite friendly.

What I particularly liked about the menu, is that it was made of plastic. I find crumpled paper menus with water/tea stains on them quite unpleasant.

This was the dry vermicelli salad with spring rolls. My companion didnt really like it though. It was served with the usual fish sauce, which you mix in at the point of eating.

My other companion got the combination broken rice with pork chop. He found the pork chop to be a bit small for the rice and also to be a bit toasted. Other than that, the rice and other sides were quite average.

As usual, at a Vietnamese restaurant, I ordered Pho. To be honest, I found it rather disappointing compared to other Pho I've had. As you can see from the photo, the soup was very cloudy, for Pho, that definitely rings alarm bells for me. I found the beef wasn't very fresh which actually made it a relief that it was rather overdone as well. Other than that, the noodles were quite enjoyable, but the portion was rather small, like the pork chop rice.

I had quite high hopes for Pho City, and was rather disappointed at the outcome. It has potential and maybe it will improve with time.

Price Range: $10 - $15 per person

Taste: 4/10

Value: 6/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10 

Tasty - Sunnybank

Tasty is one of the restaurants situated on the outside perimeter of Sunny Park. I had been rather intrigued since I saw the sign go up last year. The signs and decor were really captivating and made me wonder what kind of food they would be able to offer. With all the other places I had been going to at the start of the year, I gradually forgot about it. 

One lazy Saturday morning, when deciding where to go to lunch, I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten this place, so off we went.

Having been quite lazy recently, I hadnt had much of a chance to scour the weekly Chinese newspapers for ads. Due to this, I was pleasantly surprised to see lunch specials at an exceptionally cheap price of $5.90.

Upon entering, we found the restaurant to be rather empty. The decor was simple, and had a definite wooden theme to it. We were promptly seated, and the waiter rather casually threw the menu at our table. I could see that there was no malice to this, but could see that it would easily have offended patrons (especially the elderly). We ordered three of the lunch specials.

Water and cutlery were obtained on a DIY basis, and the food came out super quickly. By super quickly, I mean in around 5 minutes, which is really exceptionally fast.

The first thing to come out was the Hainan Chicken Rice. There are several things to note about this, being firstly that it didnt come with soup, which was a slight disappointment, but understandable for the price. Secondly, although there was no soup, it also came out with Veges, which ususally isnt provided. It was also only served with one sauce (sweet chili), whereas the usual comes with two or three sauces. The chicken was done relatively well, but we found the highlight of the meal to be the rice, which was deliciously infused with a light chicken flavour. We really enjoyed it.

The Chicken Laksa came next. I note that whilst the Laksa we usually have is comprised of Hokkien Noodles as well as Vermicelli, this version only comprised of Vermicelli. In terms of the soup, it definitely tasted authentic, but had less of a coconut milk base, but more of a a water base. It was also noteworthy that rather than shredded chicken, it had actual chicken pieces (not unlike what was in the Hainan Chicken). Overall, it was different from the other Laksa that we have had in other places, nevertheless, it was quite delicious and we liked it.

I ordered the Roast Duck Noodle Soup. Whilst I found the noodles weren't springy enough, I found the soup to be very light, and particularly enjoyed the fried onions that it was garnished with. The amount of duck was generous for the price, and while it was not crispy, the duck had quite a bit of flavour.

I found the food at Tasty to be quite yummy and for the price it was extraordinarily good value, in this day and age, you could not get a decent meal for that kind of price anywhere else.

Price Range: $5 - $20 per person

Taste: 7/10
Value: 9.5/10
Service: 6/10
Environment: 7.5/10

Cafe Les Amoreux - Sunnybank

From as long as I can remember, Cafe Les Amoreux has been in Sunnybank. I have passed it numerous times, but never considered going inside because I have been preoccupied with going to other restaurants. One evening, a friend suggested that we ought to try it out. We went on a friday evening and was able to get the last available table, as it was almost fully booked out.

The menu was quite extensive, but there was only one thing on our collective minds: the 1kg Wagyu Rump with a M6 - M9 marble rating to share. That evening I was with a company of three others, which meant that the 1kg wagyu in itself wouldnt be enough to share. We ordered a number of additional sides to go with the meal as well.

At this point I find it noteworthy to point out that throughout the duration of the ordering and serving process, the waitress who was serving us was really snappy and frowned at us the whole time. Honestly it made us really uncomfortable, especially considering the price we paid for the meal. I've never seen such an angry waitress before, even at fast food chains or much cheaper casual restaurants. 

Since we were told that there would be a half hour wait on the steak, we settled for the sides to come out first. The steak itself came with a garden salad and sauteed potatoes, but we had the other four as an add on.

The salad itself was quite fresh, but the thing that struck me immediately was the small cockroach which crawled up from under the plate right after it was put down. I would have taken a photo of it, but my companion squished it with a serviette immediately after I pointed it out. We considered pointing it out to the waitress, but seeing her foul mood that evening, we decided against it. Needless to say, I carefully examined every piece of food before consuming it that evening.

The salad was dressed with a light vinegar, and the portion was ample, but given the initial scare, I didnt eat much of it at all.

As mentioned in a previous post, I really like shoestring fries. I like them so much more than regular thick cut chips. I also adore aioli, so having them both together was very enjoyable. The chips were freshly fried, so they were pipping hot and crunchy.

The mashed potatoes were quite creamy, and came moulded in a circular shape. I could taste that it was seasoned quite nicely.

The roast pumpkin was also quite enjoyable, again being well seasoned. The texture was good with a dry exterior but a warm soft interior.

My companion who is a big fan of corn insisted that we order the buttered corn. I tried a bit and found couldn't really taste the butter though.

By the time the sauteed potatoes arrived, I thought I'd be really tired of all that potato already, but I do admit I was quite impressed with it, despite appearing to be more like potato wedges than sauteed potatoes, it was hot, and the herbs made the potatoes really tasty.

Half way through our sides, the main attraction came! It was a very impressive portion of wagyu cooked to medium rare, and came with three portions of sauce two mushroom and one pepper.

The steak was indeed cooked to a medium rare, but that was the only positive mention to the dish. Despite being classed as between M6 to M9 marbling, I have had M5 wagyu rump which was more tender and smooth than the steak at Cafe Les Amoreux. I wouldn't say the steak was overly tough, but I would say that the meat was quite coarse and not on par with any other wagyu I've had at other restaurants. Other than that, the sauces provided were creamy, but very bland. It didn't have enough flavour to even be served on its own, let alone provide flavour to the steak. I was particularly disappointed by the pepper sauce, because I could almost not taste any pepper at all.

Whilst I have rather mixed feelings about the food, and disappointment at the service provided by Cafe Les Amoreux, I do not regret going. It definitely satisfied a long term curiosity I had for the store, however needless to say, I wont be rushing back there anytime soon.

Price Range: $25 - $35 per person.

Taste: 5/10 the fries and the sauteed potato were the highlight of the meal

Value: 4/10

Service: 3/10

Environment: 3/10 the cockroach scarred me quite a bit

Beach House Bar and Grill - Brisbane CBD

Last Friday, my colleagues and I decided that we wanted to go somewhere nice to celebrate the start of the year, and the end of the week. We settled for Beach House at Myer Centre.

Despite being situated in Myer Centre, Beach House is what I consider semi Al Fresco. It doesnt have windows, so fresh air and sunlight is easily accessible. On the downside though, it is very hot during summer. Luckily we went on a relatively mild day.

Beach House operates on a order and pay at the counter basis. Whilst you wait, you get to watch as others meals are prepared to be served. Mouth watering indeed.

After ordering, we got a table, and a buzzer.

Cutlery and sauces are also obtained on a DIY basis.

Being a Bar and Grill, the bar offers a wide assortment of drinks, of which several of my companions ordered. They were really refreshing on a hot summers day.

One of the meals I often have at beach house, is their lunch special rump. For $12.90, you get a pretty decent sized rump with chips and salad. Today my colleague had it with mushroom sauce. Usually the steak is quite tender for a rump, and its a great deal for the price. Personally, I would have preferred a simple caesar salad though.

Another colleague got the calamari and chips. Usually her preferred spot to get it in the cbd is Fridays on Eagle Street, but after having the one at Beach house she said that this is far superior. In terms of the calamari, the batter was light, the flesh was thick cut and tender without being chewy.

Another colleague, who I consider the biggest steak fanatic I know, ordered the 400g rump with mushroom sauce. Of the steaks places available in Brisbane, he considers Beach House to be one of the best, a clear indication of the quality.

I ordered the 300 gram rib fillet, served with my usual pepper sauce served rare. The meat was tender and not overly fatty and had a strong beefy flavour.

My only concern with the steak is that it wasn't really served rare. As you can see from the photo, I'd consider it to be medium rare at most. I would have liked it better if it was more rare. Other than this,  whilst its not gourmet, I think that it was a really solid effort.

I note that whilst Beach House has quite a mixed review from other patrons, for the price, I consider it to be quite good value for a steak of solid quality. I was quite pleased with my meal, and it is where I go when I want a quick steak lunch during the limited lunch hour.

Price Range: $12 - $35 per person

Taste: 7/10

Value: 7.5/10

Service: 5/10 (everything is self serve basis)

Environment: 6/10 (as an indoors person, I'd really appreciate air conditioning)