Hanaichi - Brisbane CBD

One of the things I strongly believe we have a shortage of in the CBD, are conveyor belt sushi restaurants. Aside from Hanaichi, there is one in the bottom floor of Myer Centre, but I went there once years ago, and was quite disappointed with the food. As such, the only one that I find acceptable at the moment is Hanaichi. (I know Sushi Edo is being built as we speak, I have great hopes for it.)

Seating is simple, you can either sit near the conveyor belt, or at a separate table and order food. I usually sit at the belt. I started off with a Green Tea, the tea here is pretty strong, not the best I've had in Brisbane, but definitely not the worst.

In terms of my evaluation of the food, I will list out what I've tried and give an overall summary at the end rather than repeat myself for every dish.

 

I started off with the Salmon Avocado with Onion Nigiri.

This is the Unagi Nigiri

Next I tried the Salmon Nigiri.

This was the Crumbed Prawn Nigiri.

I also tried their Soft Shell Crab Roll.

I finished off with the Salmon Hand Roll.

I'll start with the Hand Roll. It looked impressive on the offset, but this is because most of the toppings were on the top of the roll. The bottom was pretty much just rice. I do like the added touch of  Tobiko on the top, but on the other hand, it also needed a bit of mayonnaise. 

Overall, in terms of the sushi at Hanaichi, I found the rice to topping ratio pretty decent. The texture of the rice is nice, being short grain rice (as it should be), and it wasnt over cooked or under cooked. The seasoning was pretty nice as well. I found the salmon and eel to be decently thick cut, and quite fresh. I liked the fact that the unagi was rather warm and comforting.

Price wise, sushi is never really that cheap, but hanaichi is one of the more economical alternatives in my opinion, and the serving sizes are decent for the price you pay.

Price Range: $20 - $40 per person (depending on how hungry you are)

Taste: 7.5/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10

Tobaki - Sunnybank Hills

On the list of things that I wished to try, the one place that really stands out is Tobaki. Now why would a Korean BBQ place get to me so much? Several years ago, I was eating at the Chinese Restaurant next door. Despite being very full when I left, I was immediately drawn to the smell of Korean BBQ. Since then, I've always wanted to eat at Tobaki. So for the last several years, I have arbitrarily made plans to go on five separate occasions, but have been thwarted. Finally, on the day before the Easter long weekend, I managed to drag a friend there. The unfortunate thing about it though, was that it was raining, and neither of us drove that day. To get there, we had to trudge through a park in the dark and in the rain, the journey was dangerous and arduous. Thankfully it was worth the while, and we had no fatalities on our journey.

Tobaki is situated in a rather obscure shopping village near Runcorn Tavern, far far away from any public transport. All of the seating is outside of the store, whereas the food is situated inside. Luckily, the seating was still undercover. At least this minimized the risk of being rained on.

We were given a table next to the car park. I didnt mind it as much as I would normally have, because it was a rather cool night, and I did appreciate the ventilation.

Unlike the usual metal plate, they had a metal rack instead.

Chilled water was provided like the usual in Korean Restaurants.

Its noteworthy that a couple of friends had told me that Tobaki had a limited variety of food compared to other Korean restaurants. I didnt find this to be the case though.

Our first plate consisted of all beef. We had the steak, marinated beef as well as beef ribs. I particularly liked the marinated beef, it had a nice flavour to it. The meats weren't too fatty as well.

The fire was quite slow at the offset, but luckily it heated up pretty quickly afterwards. I found the marinated steak to be quite tender, but the other one to be rather chewy. I was a bit disappointed that there was no Bulgogi available, but looking at the rack, I could see it would all fall down the cracks if they had it. 

Next up, we tried a selection of their pork cuts. There was some spicy pork, some shaved pork and pork belly. 

I found the pork belly to be tasty, but a bit fatty. The spicy pork was also very very spicy though. In terms of the best cut, I enjoyed the shaved pork most. It came out really crispy and tender. 

Its probably noteworthy at this moment to say that there was also chicken, as well as some prawns and octopus, but we decided not to get any because we were more preoccupied with meat. There was also a selection of pre cooked foods like dumplings, omelette and fried rice.

I wouldnt consider Tobaki to be the best Korean BBQ restaurant in Brisbane, however I do think its not bad. I definitely had a good time and its definitely lived up to my expectations.

Price Range: $27.50 per person

Taste: 7/10
Value: 7.5/10
Service: 5/10 (mostly everything was DIY.)
Environment: 5/10 (relatively clean, but next to a car park)

Little Greek Tavern - West End

In my quest to find new and interesting foods to try and review, I was invited to a birthday dinner at the Little Greek Taverna, and jumped at the opportunity to try something new. It is situated at West End, within walking distance from the CBD, and near the Three Monkeys.

We sat inside, and it was a bit squishy for a large group. The whole place filled up pretty soon so it was lucky we had a reservation that evening. 

It actually took me quite a while to decide what to order, because of my unfamiliarity with Greek Food. I probably should do a bit more research before going next time. Without going into too much detail, I'll list out a couple of things that our companions had that night.

This was the Chicken Souvlaki

This was the Kid's Keftedes (meatballs) served with chips.

This was the Chicken Yiros, which Mr Burger Conniseur ate and quite enjoyed.

I tried the Lamb Yiros that night. According to my research, Yiros are vertically spit roasted meats, which are cooked in a way to achieve a level of moisture and crispiness. To that end, I found it to be really quite delicious. I was particularly impressed with the lemon-y and herby tang to the dish. It was also served with traditional lemon potatoes on the side. Normally I don't usually have a liking for sour dishes, but this definitely opened my eyes. An interesting note that I made as well about Greek food, was that despite it appearing to be quite small when served on the plate, it turned out to be rather filling. 

Mr Burger Connoisseur and I also shared a bowl of hot chips. They were hot and crispy, and the herbs were a nice touch.

I didnt order a dessert for that night, but this was a slice of the Galaktombouriko (Custard Pastry)

Whilst this was the Loukoumi (Rose Turkish Delight)

Whilst I didnt get dessert, I finished off my meal with a Little Greek Coffee. What is Greek Coffee you ask? Apparently it is a variant of Turkish unfiltered coffee, served like a short black with the grounds allowed to settle down the bottom of the cup. It was an interesting experience, and I wouldnt mind trying it again.

Price Range: $15 - $25 per person

Taste: 8/10
Value: 7.5/10
Service: 7.5/10
Environment: 7/10

Suncrop - Sunnybank

When asked where the best traditional Cantonese style restaurant is when looking for a seafood dinner, my usual answer is going to be Suncrop, which is situated next to Formosa Supermarket, on the outer wall of Sunnybank Plaza. In this instance, we were already late for our appointment, so ran in without taking pics of the outside or decor.

The soup of the day was some kind of pork based soup. It was relatively light, and appetizing. I always enjoy the soup at Suncrop, because it doesnt taste as much like MSG like the other Chinese restaurants. 

We started off our banquet with Peking Duck, which I found pretty standard. The pieces of duck could have been a bit larger, but the pastry was fresh and soft. I've read other reviews commenting on the lack of flesh attached to the skin, but to me, this is considered normal because the flesh is used in the next dish.

San Choy Bao. The duck flesh from the peking duck is shaved off, diced and stir fried with onions, and other veges. It was exceptionally fragrant, juicy and particularly refreshing with the lettuce leaf.

Next up came our ginger and shallot stir fried crab. It was served with e-fu noodles. Of all the Chinese Seafood restaurants, I am of the opinion that Suncrop does the most decent seafood. The crab was fresh and had a good texture. But the thing that captivated my attention the most was the E Fu Noodles, which completely soaked up all the crab juices. 

 

Next up in our banquet, was my favourite event, the drunken prawns. For those of you who get distressed easily, now is probably the time to stop reading. I'll explain the process of cooking drunken prawns to the remaining audience.  Drunken prawns involves getting live prawns and placing them in a glass container.

Pouring strong alcohol over them.

Setting the alcohol on fire.

So you're basically burning them alive.

Then scooping them up and cooking them a second time in tofu soup (the other pot)

They are then drained and served.

It results in a very alcoholic, but very fresh prawn, infused with tofu and coriander flavours.

You also get a really nice tofu soup to go with it as well.

In terms of the other mains we had for the day, we got the stir fried seafood combination. The portion was sufficient, and had ample amounts of prawns, and scallops along with peas and mushrooms. I especially liked the sauce, which complements rice very well.

Following the seafood theme, the next dish was the stir fried cod. The fish fillets had a good solid texture, which many people (myself not included) appreciate. Nonetheless, I could taste the fish was really fresh, and the sauce really brought out the tastes.

Our final two dishes were a bit of an overlap. This is the 'eight treasure' tofu pot. Which means that it has eight different ingredients, cooked with tofu in a pot. It is by far one of my favourite traditional chinese dishes. In this instance, I dug out chicken, char siu, beans, carrots, calamari, prawns and some mushroom. There was probably something else that I missed. 

Our final main (which came out a bit blurry because I was so excited to eat I didnt check the photo) was the Braised Fish and Tofu. At this stage, dear reader, you might have grown bored with the fish and tofu that seemed to run on repeat that evening, but I assure you, it was a wonderful dish. The textures of the fish and the tofu complemented each other wonderfully.

We finished off our delicious meal with a black sesame desert, which was nice and thick but not too sweet. 

Price Range: $30 - $45 per person

Taste: 8/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 9.5/10 (waiter bowed at us every time he served food)

Environment: 7/10