Saigon Eats - Underwood

Whilst I have been going around with Adam to eat all the delicious foods in Brisbane, apparently my parents had gone on quite a few gastronomical adventures of their own. One place which they had recently been to and they cannot get enough of is Saigon Eats, which they have been constantly talking about since first trying it out, which is why they decided to take me there to try it out last weekend.

 

Situated in the extremely busy Underwood Marketplace, it is super easy to miss the store which is often unnoticed next to Yuens Farmer's Market. There are only five tables inside and a handful of tables outside. We went early because she insisted that it would be packed and had a seat inside.

For such a small venue and only two staff cooking and serving, the menu was very diverse including noodle and rice options along with banh mi, rice paper rolls snacks and drinks. We ordered at the counter and awaited our food.

I had the Vietnamese Iced Coffee. The cup fairly large and good value for money. Although it was still fairly sweet, it was still considerably less than the others I've tried before. It was also very strong, which is always great.

Having had the benefit of reading some reviews beforehand, I knew for sure to try the crunchy potato prawns and crab net spring rolls. At $8 a serve with six pieces each, these were excellent value. Both were freshly fried and extremely hot. I liked the starchy texture of potato which contrasted with the fresh prawn. The light crab net wrapping around the spring rolls were also very crisp and delicate. I liked the meat and mushroom filling, but would have preferred both snacks to have come with a different dipping sauce as the sweet chilli wasn't very compatible in my opinion.

To share, we had a serve of beef pho with additional noodles for an extra dollar. The extra noodles were extremely generous and the portion we had was close to two normal sized bowls of pho we could get from other places. The beef was tender and fresh, albeit a little overcooked for it to be considered rare. The noodles were smooth and silky. I found the soup to be comforting but not as flavourful or complex as I would have liked.

Having converted my mum to a banh mi fan, she really likes the offerings at Saigon Eats so we shared a Honey Grilled Pork roll. The bun was toasted and crispy outside and the honey pork was definitely well marinated and tender.

Wanting a variety of dishes we also had the Saigon Eats Bowl. It was a little expensive for Vietnamese food but it contained so much goodness, it was worth the extra. Topped with crab net spring rolls, lemongrass chicken, honey pork and garlic beef there was no lack in proteins in the rice noodle salad. Ingredients were crisp and fresh, we liked the fish sauce and our favourite of the toppings was the super fragrant garlic beef. 

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 8.5/10
Value: 9/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 8/10

2019 Sunnybank Food Trail - Sunnybank

 

A bit late, but here's my event recap for the first ever Sunnybank Food Trail I have ever attended. Yes, despite only living fairly close by, I had always thought to avoid the crowds and so have never been. But this year Adam went with media privileges so I came along for company.

Starting off, we got our map and two media passes. The passes had no privileges or rights attached to them (I wish we could jump the queue, but alas no), but it did make me feel special for the day (haha).

Our little party was also gifted an extra crew member, who we named Bacon. He came along with us on our adventures throughout the day.

So there was a designated VIP seating area outside with live cooking demonstrations, but we didn't really have time for it.

First thing off the list at 2pm was a churro from Coco Jungle. It tasted fairly average, but fresh deep fried dough always hits the spot.

Also in the food court was Grandma Liu's Meat Pies, so we had a serve of beef pie. It wasn't so much a pie in the traditional western sense as it was a pan fried dough pastry with minced beef filling. For $2, we had two fairly small slices, which wasn't really good value.

Next we hit up Pho An, a place which has long been on my list and grabbed a Grilled Pork Skewer. Bacon also developed his taste in cannibalism. The skewer was tender and well seasoned, but the meat was a little coarse.  

Last stop in Plaza food court was Mr Curry, we tried out the Cherry Blossom Soft Serve. For $2, it was $1 cheaper than RRP. Having tasted actual cherry blossom soft serve before in Japan, it normally has an almost citrus taste to it, whereas this version tasted more like strawberry. I do like strawberry soft serve though.

Heading down the ramp outside, we went to Tony's Breakfast, the newly opened Asian breakfast. Adam couldnt' resist the idea of a Chinese Hamburger, which is what he ordered. What he got was actually quite similar to our "Pie" at Grandma Liu's. The pastry was fluffy and the mince was crumbly.

Further down the laneway we hit Udonya Tokoton. I absolutely loved their factory line service. Having kids stamp the competition fliers was the best strategy ever and they were super adorable. The kake udon though was definitely overcooked and the noodles had started disintegrating before we even commenced eating.

Walking around, there was also a kids area with cool music in the carpark, but we didn't stay long.

The lineup at Lok Fok was epic, quite a lot of people were keen on the roast duck with rice, I noted some people had a whole drumstick with their serve if they were lucky.

Personally, I can't resist sushi, so we had a tempura prawn roll at Hana Zuzhi. This was fairly small at about half the size of regular food court sushi. Not a great deal in my opinion.

Best value dish of the day would have to be the Beef Pho at That Viet Place. Freshly made with a generous portion and quite a few pieces of sliced beef and herbs, this was my favourite dish of the event. Bacon also really loved it.

Last dish of the event was without a doubt the Peanut Butter Puffle and Milk Tea Puffle from Southside Bistro. The lineup was about half an hour. For $2 a serve, it was half a waffle with some topping. Texture was soft but not chewy, I still prefer the authenticity of come buy, but Adam enjoyed it.

As expected, crowds were insane, lineups were long and at some points we could hardly breathe, let alone walk. Would I go back again on my own initiative? Probably not. If Adam asked me again next year, without a doubt, yes.

Three Bamboo Dynasty - Eight Mile Plains

Have been a bit late to the party in trying out Three Bamboo Dynasty, but at a recent friend gathering over board games I realised that everyone else at the table had been there to try out their value seafood banquets which are apparently very popular, so we decided to go there the next weekend. Three Bamboo Dynasty is located in the old lodgings of The Manor, after some bad experience with management from back in my university days, we had never gone back. 

 

The setup was largely the same with an expanded seating area. The menu was extensive and there were a large assortment of seafood options but most locals know that the best deals can be found in the specials listed on the chinese newspaper, which is as always, off menu.

Starting off our banquet, we had the salt and pepper quail. We had four halves in the serve and it was fried with a crispy skin but retained its moisture inside. Each piece was fairly large and plump, we really enjoyed it.

Next up we shared the steamed baby abalone. These were really fresh and chewy with a good bite to it and the soy sauce really highlighted the flavours of the abalone.

Our next course was the highlight of my meal, the Salt and Pepper Crab. So firstly I did find it upsetting that we didn't have a whole crab, we probably had about two thirds of a crab, notably lacking one claw. When I brought this up with management I was told apologetically that the menu said that it was "crab, not one crab". Despite this setback, I can't deny that the crab was seasoned deliciously and the meat was firm and fresh. I just wish that there was a bit more.

Another dish we shared was seafood and tofu with bbq sauce. Although it looks a little odd, the toppings on the tofu comprised of equal parts calamari, garlic and onion. We found the dish to be quite homely and comforting with the sauce accompanying rice quite well.

First of our two veggie dishes was the stir fried Chinese greens with beef, bamboo shoots and mushrooms. The portion was generous, there was ample amounts of tender marinated beef which wasn't overly fresh though.

Last dish was the garlic stir fried broccoli. Fragrant but a little under cooked the broccoli was a lot firmer than I preferred.

Price Range: $25 - $35pp

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