King Street Bakery - Bowen Hills

Had a brunch with some girlfriends a couple weeks ago before the world was plunged into chaos. Having heard a bit about the very popular King Street Bakery, we ambled over for some breakfast. Truth be told, I hadn't been back for some time since the disappointing closure of Mercado last year and since then there haven't been too many new openings along King Street.

Having said that, King Street Bakery was still as popular as ever and we scored the last available table. Although there was some seating inside, the majority of seating was outside under umbrellas and of course there was no air con. Thankfully we didn't go at the peak of summer.

We ordered via table service and I really liked the offerings on the menu with a few classics and a strong focus on bread and pastries as would be apt in a bakery.

Coffees came fairly quickly, one of my companions had a dirty chai latte which she enjoyed, citing that it wasn't the usual sugary syrup concoction that other places serve. My other companion and I both had cappuccinos which were extremely strong but the milk could have been a bit richer in my opinion.

Our food took a little while to arrive. First up was my companion's Baked Beans with braised cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs, wood smoked pulled ham hock, poached egg and crusty baguette. The portion was definitely generous. The bread was crusty and chewy whilst the beans were spicy and the egg had a wonderfully runny yolk.

 

Another companion had the Lamb Pastie. This was flaky and crisp on the outside. The lamb inside was deliciously meaty making for a very satisfying snack.

Not one to stray far from my usual dishes, this was the bacon and eggs served with tomato chutney and white toasted sourdough with an extra side of avocado. I found this bread to be far more enjoyable than the baguette, the interior was super fluffy and the outside was crisp, with added butter on the outside, it made for one of teh best toasts I've had in a while. The eggs were well cooked and my two rashers of bacon were crisp. I did however consider the avocado to be very small given the price of the side, but it was ripe and went with bread well.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

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

CJs Secret Pasta Club - West End

Since checking out Ripiena Pasta Lab, quite a few friends had recommended that I try CJs Secret Pasta Club in West End to compare the two. I had since tried on multiple occasions to book a table to then be told that they are fully booked for the evening. Only a couple weeks ago was I finally able to call up in advance and score us the last table for dinner.

 

Even though it was allegedly fully booked, when we arrived there were still ample seats which didn't completely fill up even by the time we left. There were no paper menus

We ordered two entrees to share, this was the Bruchetta. With an assortment of chopped tomatoes, basil and olive oil atop a slice of toasted sourdough. It was delicious in its simplicity, the tomatoes were lightly sweet and the sourdough very crunchy. Having said that, one slice for $10 was definitely expensive for what it was.

 

Our second entree was the Veal Tartare. Comprising of three small portions of tartare and three wedges of bread. Sadly this was probably one of the most disappointing tartares I've had this year. The veal was not overly fresh and quite tasteless but doused in a considerable amount of oil. The bread was also quite hard and stale. Neither of us really liked it.

From our mains selection, this was the Prawn Ravioli. With six pieces to a portion, this was quite small. The pastry was thick and firm with a considerable amount of bite, whilst the prawn filling was quite limited and mincey in texture without the usual springiness you would expect from prawns.  

 

Second main was the Lamb Pappardelle which was more enjoyable than the ravioli. The pasta was undoubtedly fresh and tasty, it was not overly thick and had good bite to it. The lamb though was a bit salty and insufficient to accompany the pasta. It could so have done with a bit more seasoning or sauce too. I guess next time I'll stick to my usual at Ripiena.

Price Range: $25 - $35pp

Taste: 5/10
Value: 5/10
Service: 6/10
Environment: 6/10

Kingsfood - Brisbane CBD

Caught up with a dear friend of mine just before Brisbane went into lockdown. We opted for a quick workday lunch on friday to round off a fairly stressful week. Situated in Brisbane Square, it was a fair hike for me to get to from work, but well worth it. Have long been a fan of Kingsfood who have been in Market Square for as long as I can remember, it definitely made me happy to see that more Taiwanese options were opening in the city.

 

Arriving just before 12, it was lucky we did because the place filled up really quickly. With a selection of rice, noodles and sides, it comprised all the essentials of a Taiwanese restaurant.

Hot tea was also complimentary, which is also a bonus. They also had bubble tea on the menu, which I will definitely try next time I'm back.

Despite the growing crowd, our food came out within 5 minutes of us ordering which was definitely welcome given the short lunch hour. My companion had the beef noodle soup. For $13.50 it was the biggest bowl of beef noodles I had ever seen (barring food challenges). My companion really enjoyed it but could only eat half and had to have the remainder take away.

 

I had a serve of deep fried pork chop noodles soup. Again the portion of noodles were huge and I was very grateful that my pork chop was served separate to the noodle to retain its crispy coating. Although there were a lot of noodles, there was only one piece of pork chop and it wasn't all that big. Nevertheless, it was well seasoned with salt and pepper and had a light tempura batter to it. 

Also had a small serve of fried tofu to share. The small serve turned out to be a small mountain's worth, so I shudder to think of how big the large portion would be. Freshly fried to a crisp, without any excess of oil and doused in hoisin sauce, this was a near perfect iteration of fried tofu.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

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

SK Steak and Oyster - Fortitude Valley

Birthday dinner for my favourite person and we decided it would be a great chance to check out the recently opened and highly popular SK Steak and Oyster which opened along Ada Lane at the Calile Hotel. Having heard wonderful things about their steaks, we were eager to try it out.

 

Booking ahead of time, we were seated along the inside wall. The setup was elegant, sophisticated and simple with white and grey hues all round. 

 

As expected, the menu comprised of largely steak and seafood options with a few other mains and sides on offer. Service was somewhat hit and miss in the sense that an excess of attentiveness leads to a bit of pressure. Needless to say, getting attention to put down our order took no time at all.

Our first starter was the Raw Yellow Fin Tuna with oscietra caviar and yuzu. We weren't expecting oysters on this dish, but they went well with the other seafood elements. The dish itself was light and delicate in flavour, I liked the creaminess of the oyster and the popping caviar along with the rich yellow fin tuna. 

 

The second starter was the entree sized Lobster Risotto served with crustacean bisque. Unlike the earlier dish, this was extremely flavoursome with rich and intense tomato tones. The birthday boy said that it overpowered the taste of the lobster. The risotto itself was tender but retained a bit of bite to it and soaked up the bisque really well.

 

Our mains and came quickly after and our Pinot Noir 10X came with the steaks as requested. We found the red to be really enjoyable with an almost velvety and mellow texture. 

 

Both Mr L and I ordered the Prime Rib, he had it with mushroom sauce, medium rare and I had it with pepper sauce, rare. Both our steaks were cooked perfectly to our liking. The meat itself was soft, juicy and tender with an intense beef flavour to it. His mushroom sauce was mellow and to his liking, but unfortunately my pepper was also quite mellow and lacked the zing I had hoped for.

The steak came with a selection of mustard, our favourite for the night was hot english for its super spicy tang.

We had three sides to go with our mains that night, two were potato dishes, this was the Classic Mash. Striking a good balance between smoothness without being over done, this was wholesome and creamy.

The Mixed Leaf Salad was crunchy and doused with a light vinaigrette. It was definitely a large side portion which we really enjoyed to balance out the meaty goodness of our prime rib. 

Second potato dish was the Romanoff Potato. Chopped up in large pieces with sour cream and cheese, baked and served with a sprinkle of chives, it was wonderfully  balanced to compliment the meaty goodness of our mains and to soak up extra steak sauces that we had. I especially liked how creamy the dish was. 

Price Range: $120 - $150pp

Taste: 8.5/10
Value: 6/10
Service: 6/10
Environment: 8/10