Yoko - Brisbane CBD

Some of you may recall that last year for one of my birthday dinners, we went to the (then) recently opened Greca on Howard Smith Wharves. It just so happened that a few weeks before my birthday, the same company opened their newest venture Yoko, a Japanese Izakaya, also on Howard Smith Wharves. Which is why it didn't take much thinking this year for me to decide that this would be the place to go for annual festivities.

Having made a booking well in advance of the date of opening, we were still left with super early or super late slots. with prime times being booked out. I opted for the earlier spot right after our locked room adventures had wrapped up. Being the middle of summer, we were glad to be given an inside seat rather than one without the comforts of air conditioning. 

The menu was definitely a modern take on Japanese, with most of the dishes leaning towards fusion creations rather than traditional washouku. Having gone through it extensively, we were very keen to try out most of the dishes. Although there were banquet options, we decided against that for the opportunity to customise what we wanted instead.

 

Starting off with the drinks, I had the Yoko Spritz and a companion had the Yuzu slushie. Perfect for the hot muggy Brisbane summer, they made for a good appetizer for our meal.

First dish to arrive was the Scallop, yuzu kosho, silken tofu. Perfect to start off the meal, it was delicate and refreshing. Served chilled, the tofu made a good texture contrast to the bouncy scallop. Both elements were fairly light in taste, so neither overpowered the other.

Of course we couldn't have Japanese without ordering a Sashimi Platter, so that came up next. For the price point, I definitely expected a larger portion of fish. Having said that, these were fresh and well presented, but I just wish that there was more.

 

Other small dishes we had included the Mushroom gyoza with chilli and ponzu and the  Miso-glazed eggplant. The gyoza were surprisingly fairly spicy, even for my moderate tastes. It had a good texture to it and was filling despite the lack of meat in the dish. The eggplant was well seasoned with miso, and thankfully texture was improved with the addition of copious amounts of puffed rice on top.

The most underrated dish of the evening was probably Chicken karaage. It was perfectly crisp with a light batter and moist meaty interior. Definitely one of the best karaages I've had in a while.

Onto the larger dishes, this was the Charcoal chicken with sansho pepper, which was quite well received. With a caramelised toasty exterior, it was definitely flavoursome. I would have enjoyed it better if it were less bony though.

To balance out the meatiness, we also had the organic soba noodle salad with mushroom and snowpea. Offering some light wholesome reprieve from heavier dishes, this was served chilled. I found there to be a lot more toppings than there were noodles, so more balance would have been better.

Of course we had the signature Tonkatsu, a fried pork chop served with Japanese curry and rice. The pork chop was massive as you would expect for the price point and it was fried to give a delicious crunch, although the moisture didn't retain well inside the somewhat thicker panko crumb. 

Another side we had was the Shredded Cabbage. It went well with our large dishes with its crispy texture and light vinegar dressing.

The highlight for the evening (for me) was definitely the Wagyu intercostal served with onion salad. For those of you who are curious, intercostal refers to the meat in between beef ribs, with the bones having been removed, perfect for lazy people like me. The wagyu was fatty and melted in our mouth, the flavours were deep, smokey and super intense, balanced out only by the onion salad and shredded cabbage which we had ordered on the side. 

Great food and wonderful company, what more could you want on your birthday? :) Will definitely be back sometime in the new year for more.

Price Range: $50 - $70pp

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

Glamorous Wok - Sunnybank

Quick mid week dinner at Glamourous Wok after a short trip up a mountain to get some perspective for the new year. Having been her a few times, I was surprised to come to the realisation that I hadn't covered this fairly popular restaurant on my blog. So I guess it's time to rectify this.

Arriving at 6.30pm, the place was near full and we got the last table for two without a reservation. Service was attentive and fast. The menu contained quite a few modern takes on Taiwanese favourites of ours. It didn't take long for us to order.

First to arrive was the Spinach and Pea Egg Tofu. Being a big fan of egg tofu, we really enjoyed the firm, smooth texture The spinach and pea were fresh and complimented the egg flavours well. The portion size was also fairly generous and the dish filling.

This was the BBQ Pork Jowl, which is only served on a limited basis daily. Having been hooked onto pork jowl since about two years ago, I really enjoyed the firm crunchy texture to the meat. The BBQ sauce on it reminded me a lot of sweet honey based home made char siu sauce from home, which was undeniably comforting. 

Needing some rice to go with our meal, we opted for some Prawn and Egg fried rice as opposed to just two bowls of white rice. The rice texture was good, with just the right amount of bounce when bitten into.There were good portions of both egg and prawn, however I think the rice could have been fried a little more to maximise the amount of crispy bits though.

Our final dish was the Taiwanese Fried Chicken Fillet. At double the price of Hot Star across the road, I had fairly high hopes for this dish, but was a little disappointed. The chicken fillet wasn't as big as it could have been and the batter was slightly wet and oily on the bottom. Having said that, the seasoning was fairly good and the chicken retained a decent amount of moisture.

Price Range: $30 - $40pp

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

Proof BBQ - Windsor

Caught the Rise of Skywalker on opening night at Newmarket with Iron Fist. He recommended that we grab dinner at Proof BBQ and Booze afterwards, a short 10 minute drive from the cinema. With a fairly late closing hour, there were still a few tables there when we arrived at 9pm. Service was friendly and fast though.

 

Perhaps it was the late hour, but our drink and food came very quickly. I had the Proof Mint Julep which proved to be very strong but not as minty as I had expected, but the ice went well with the smokey bbq.

Starting off with half a rack of pork ribs, this was sticky, sweet and tender, but it tended on the leaner side, even for pork ribs, so it wasn't as filling as I would have liked. 

The highlight of our meal was the Beef Brisket. It was super smokey, meaty and soft with a melt in your mouth texture. Coupled with the bbq sauce on the side, it was definitely one of the best briskets I've had in a long time.

The pulled pork erred on the drier side, this was of made up with the sweet bbq sauce that it was topped with. It wasn't seasoned too much, and next time I go I''ll probably order it with some corn bread or another side.

On the point of sides, we had a serve of slaw to go with our meat. Creamy and rich, it was still refreshing and crunchy,  making for a fairly good accompaniment for our meats. Will definitely get this next time we are back.

Price Range: $30 - $40pp

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

The Garner

Have long wanted to go to The Garner to check out its Asian Fusion breakfast and so we made a point to check it out a few weeks ago for some brunch. Situated in the old lodgings of Duo, I was fairly sad that such an institution had closed. Having said that, as it was run by the owners of Street Lab, to which I have long been a fan of, it definitely captivated my interest, and we headed off to try it out.

As alluded to, the menu consisted of quite a few Asian inspired breakfasts not limited to congee, cha siu and miso baked eggs. It also had a good range of coffee, which I was keen to try out.

Ordering at the counter, our drinks came fairly quickly. As usual, he ordered a hot chocolate, and I had a batch brew. His hot chocolate was rich and decadent without being overly sweet, whilst my batch brew was robust and strong bodied. I really enjoyed it. 

Our food came fairly quickly after our drinks arrived. 

First of our dishes was the chicken katsu sando. Comprised of rice wrapped in nori, chicken katsu and renkon chips, served with a side of Japanese Curry, it was definitely a very Japanese inspired dishes. I really enjoyed the rice in the sando, which was well seasoned. The chicken was crispy and I liked the crunch to the batter and the meat was soft and well seasoned. The renkon chips were also well battered but could have been a bit drier for more crunch.

Getting a serve of eggs and toast to share with avo and thick cut bacon. I was a bit disappointed that the toast only came as one slice, which was not quite enough for us. The 63 degree eggs were also cooked wonderfully with a runny yolk and white that soaked into the sourdough well. The avocado was quite ripe but would have went well with more salt and pepper. As for the bacon, it was thick cut when I prefer thin and crispy, I would have liked it a lot more if it was more caramelised and crispy.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

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