Pappa Rich - Coorparoo Square

While my favourite cuisines are a toss up between Japanese, Hong Kong or Taiwanese, my mum has always been a fan of Malaysian food, which means that we eat it really frequently when we go out and I have formed a sort of familiar affection to the food. Receiving an invite to the newly opened Pappa Rich and Pafu collaboration at Coorparoo Square then made for a perfect opportunity for Adam and I to indulge in some delectable Malaysian delights.

Heading in early, we were greeted by a warm and friendly manager, seated at a cozy corner spot with ample lighting for Adam to take his photos. The shop was far smaller than I had envisaged, roughly half the size of wintergarden or garden city. Other patrons were largely Malaysian, so I could tell that I was in for an authentic treat.

Menus were provided with the paper ordering form to avoid discrepancies and ambiguity while allowing for flexibility of added comments. Like other reviewers had mentioned, the menu here is also a condensed version of the other two stores, a few favourites we had tried previously weren't on the menu, but essentials were definitely present.

 

Drinks arrived first, he had the kopi cham milo, a perfect mix between strong Malaysian iced coffee but with the added chocolatey goodness of milo to keep it all fun. He said it reminded him of his childhood. I had the iced lemon tea with reduced sugar. It was crisp and refreshing, I loved it.

Food arrived gradually, and before long our table was filled. I was really glad we had two tables instead of one.

Starting off with snacks, we had Pappa's Crispy Fried Chicken Skin, served with sweet chilli sauce. The portion was abundantly generous, with quite a few pieces. The chicken skin was crispy and crunchy, erring on the firmer side.

We had thought that quails were only served in their Victorian branches, but it turns out that Coorparoo also does Pappa's signature quail. Topped with sweet aromatic soy and chilli sauce, it was flavoursome and the texture was spot on. For over $10 for two halves though, it was a little expensive.

If anything, Adam is a huge fan of Roti, being a regular at Roti Place, so he wanted to try the Roti Canai with Beef Rendang here. We were skeptical about the portion size to begin with, given only one piece of roti, but considerable portions of curry sauce and rendang beef. Turns out that the roti was really dense and heavy compared to others we had tasted before, so one piece was definitely enough to make for a main size portion. Beef was tender and flavoursome and we enjoyed the different curry sauces.

Never one to go far without a sweet, Adam also had the butter and Kaya toast. Crisp and fluffy, the toast was delectable, whilst the coconut jam was fruity and sweet. Butter provided for a good means to keep it all glued together too.

Opting for my favourite at Malaysian restaurants, I had Pappa Wat Tan Hor. Stir fried rice noodles with chicken, prawn, fishcake and veggies topped with rich creamy egg sauce, it was a very homey dish. I liked how caramelised the noodles were with the burnt bottom. Toppings were generous and the egg sauce was also well textured, making for a great main.

Not one to miss out on Pafu, especially after having seen it in Melbourne, we had two to try, a strawberry and an apple. The apple one was amazing; it was as if a croissant and an apple pie had a baby, resulting in a flaky pastry with creamy custard and chunky apple filling. If this were in the city, I'd have it every day after work. Comparatively, the strawberry was less rich but sharper and fruitier with strawberry jam mixed with the custard, also enjoyable, but not as much as the apple.

Of course, where would Adam be without dessert. He ordered the Caramel Pudding with Sago. Seeing the term sago, I immediately assumed the white milky liquid would be coconut milk, I was in fact wrong, and it was evaporated milk, giving a rich almost savoury taste to the sweet soft caramel pudding. Light and refreshing, this is a dessert I wouldn't mind ordering myself next time.

Espresso and Matcha got to enjoy this complimentary meal by freeloading off FoodieAdam's invite. But as always, my opinions are solely my own. 

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 8/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 9/10
Environment: 8/10

Matcha Honpo - Brisbane CBD

2019 Must be the year that dreams come true. Although I've been able to resist the temptation of most desserts, Matcha is one thing I've never been able to walk away from, no matter how stringent the diet restrictions. Readers will know how obsessed I am with Sydney's Matcha cafe, Cre Asion, and my prayers were answered when when Brisbane's own Matcha Honpo opened along Wharf Street last week. 

We headed there right after work for a quick afternoon snack.

 

The menu was definitely very snack and small bite based. Half the menu comprised of cold drinks whilst the other half consisted of savoury hot dogs and fries along with parfaits. 

A small selection of pastries were available at the counter, and we made our order fairly quickly. Unfortunately seating was quite limited with a few seats outside in the elements, and even fewer seats inside. Adam decided to sit outside for the fresh air.

Our order was prepared fairly quickly. 

Kicking off with our shared matcha swiss roll, it was soft and fluffy, filled with smooth and rich matcha cream, sprinkled again with matcha powder to finish. Whilst its texture was commendable, it definitely was nowhere near as strong as the cakes I've had down south, but I'd still come back for it.

Adam got the Espresso and Matcha ;) because my eyes were set on something else. Presented like the Starbucks special from a few years back with three layers of matcha, milk and espresso. Comparatively, I found the matcha to be a bit less strong than I had expected, but the coffee was fragrant and they mixed together quite well. He loved this drink.

Wanting to try something different, I had the Matcha Tiramisu Parfait. Mousse, cream, corn flakes, soft serve, topped with a shortbread cookie and oddly, a piece of baguette sprinkled with matcha powder, it was definitely a sight to behold. Again I found the soft serve to be weaker than I would have liked, but it was smooth and creamy, providing contrast to the crisp cornflakes. I wasn't expecting shortbread, seeing as the display picture actually showed ladyfinger (hence tiramisu), but it and the baguette were of the standard storebought variety. What I did really enjoy though, was the mousse which was surprisingly intense and delightfully rich. 

Going on one of the first days, I knew it would be a bit rough around the edges, but Matcha Honpo has potential, and I'll definitely be back.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

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

Espresso & Matcha's Epicurean Quest - Perth: Pho Huynh

Second lunch in Perth and again we ended up having a super late meal, but rather than being in the CBD, we found ourselves out in the suburbs. Doing a quick search, I realised that we were in a predominantly Vietnamese influenced suburb, so there was no better excuse than to have some local Pho at the highly rated Pho Huynh nearby.

Arriving just before 3pm, the place was still half full on a weekday. Obvious sign of popularity. We were quickly seated and extremely thankful for the abundant air conditioning. 

The menu was traditional, focusing on mainly rice and noodles, there were also some sides and a small amount of drinks. We ordered quickly.

 

To start we both had Vietnamese coffees, he oped for hot black coffee whilst I opted for cold white coffee. His was dark and strong with a heavy bitterness to it. Mine was very sweet with a good quantity of condensed milk. Unfortunately though there was far too much ice and the coffee was barely enough to fill the cracks between. After one and a half sips, there was virtually no coffee left.

His entree was the spring rolls. Freshly fried to order, they were very hot and crispy filled with mince and vegies. For an entree price, portions were fairly generous.

As his main he had the crispy skin chicken on dry noodles. This was garnished with copious amounts of shallots, green onion and dried onions. The chicken had a very crispy skin, whilst noodles were elastic, had bite and bounce in each mouthful.

Sticking to the classic, I had the rare beef pho. It came with sides of chilli, herbs and sprouts. The bowl was large, soup hearty and herbal but lacking in depth a little. I enjoyed the generous portion of beef though and smooth tender rice noodles.

Price Range: $10 - $25pp

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

Sassafras - Paddington

Indubitably, the best way to start off a weekend is with a wholesome hearty brunch. Always keen to try out new things, we were pleased to receive an invite to try out Sassafras of Paddington, which has recently changed management and been bought out by head chef Chris Zirbel. Named after a leafy aromatic plant abundant in both North America and East Asia, it had my interest piqued, having read Joe's glowing review, I was definitely excited.

Situated along LaTrobe Terrace in what appears to be a refurbished residential house, the main counter and kitchen were indoors. There were also a few seats indoors, but the majority of seating was definitely out the back.

It was absolutely packed at 9am, almost all of Paddington was there, and there were SO many cute puppies, almost at every single table. Having rained the night before though, sitting under the tarps were a bit of a hazard, with a lady in the table next to us being accidentally surprised with residual rain water pouring over her from the retained build up of last night.

  

With a specials menu and a classic brunch menu, it contained everything we would have wanted and as always, the ability to customise is a winner in my books.

 

Kicking off with some juices, as I'm going on a caffeine free weekend to detox from abusing coffee too much during the week, I had the watermelon, pineapple, orange and passion fruit juice. So cleansing and refreshing with just the right amount of sweetness, it fixed me right up. Trying a second juice, I had the strawberry, pineapple and mint, it was also refreshing but with a twist of sourness from the strawberry and coolness of mint. I liked the watermelon one the best.

Not having abused caffeine as much as I had, Adam stuck with his cold brew. Generous in portion and served with coffee ice cubes so as not to dilute the concoction, he loved it.

Our first companion had the Spiced Pumpkin Brekky from the specials menu. Consisting of roasted and smashed pumpkin, bacon, poached eggs, rocket and zatar spices on sourdough, the portion was epic, but one of the eggs had come out already popped.

Our other companion had the House Made Crumpets from the specials menu. Served with peach compote, passionfruit coulis and mango gelato. Again the portions were very generous, with an enjoyable fruity tang.

As he's been having a lot of hotcakes lately, Adam went for the French Toast. Drenched brioche, fresh blueberries, macerated strawberries, citrus curd, pistachio crumb and double cream. Trying a bite myself the brioche was wonderfully fluffy with a crisp egg battered exterior, I actually really enjoyed the sweet cream, and Adam polished off the dish without blinking.

Never deviating too far from my usual, I had their classic Eggs on Toast, which came with two poached eggs, tomato and buttered rye sourdough. Going hard on the extras, I added avocado, house cured salmon, bacon as well as a hash brown. The food was amazing. The hash was home made and crisp beyond measure packed with potato-y goodness. House cured salmon was flavoursome and refreshing, portion sizes were also very generous. Bacon was sliced to just the right thickness, not overly fatty, not overly burnt but with a delectable smokey aroma. Eggs and avocado were both on point. Served with house relish, this definitely makes for one of the best breakfasts I've had of late.

Espresso and Matcha were invited guests of Sassafras, but as always our opinions are solely our own.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 9/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 9/10
Environment: 7/10

Espresso & Matcha's Epicurean Quest - Perth: Hikaru

First work day in Perth and it was absolutely hectic. Was unable to stop for lunch until late in the afternoon when most things were closed. Stumbled upon Hikaru in the cbd and opted for a quick bite before continuing any further

Inside was like most takeaway sushi shops, but one thing set it aside from all the others.

ONIGIRI. Delectable triangular rice balls with the seaweed stored separate from the rice to ensure crispy freshness. I had two take away. 

 

First was brown rice and cooked salmon. Salmon was well seasoned with a sweet soy and flakey in texture. Brown rice was of course, coarser than my usual white rice, but was still reasonably soft and tender.

 

Second Onigiri was Teriyaki Chicken. It came with the much more refined white rice. Chicken was tender and flavourful, mayonnaise mixed well with teriyaki sauce. I quite enjoyed the combination on crisp seaweed.

Price Range: $5 - $15pp

Taste: 8/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 6/10