Haig Rd Bistro - Auchenflower

One of our final date nights before lockdown occurred was at the highly popular Haig Road Bistro at Auchenflower. Being situated a short while from nearby shopping complexes in the heart of suburbia, I was a little surprised at how popular it was, scoring one of the last tables of the evening as it filled up.

 

Service was very friendly and warm, albeit busy as there were only two staff for the whole restaurant. Menus were provided and comprised of classic french fare as you would expect. It reminded me a bit of my experience at the acclaimed montrachet. 

Drinks came right after we put down our order. I had the house merlot, a soft fruity blend which I liked, he had the sweet and refreshing pear cider.

 

Given how popular the bistro was, it was within expectation that food took a bit longer to arrive. Starting off with the Souffle au Chevre, this was served extremely hot, straight out of the oven. The texture was light and fluffy but the taste was rich and decadent with a strong savoury and creamy texture to the cheese. I liked the addition of chives on top for extra flavour.

Our other starter was the Saumon Tarte Flambee topped with salmon, spanish onion, capers and rocket. From reading the description, I was anticipating something along the lines of a pizza, however this turned out to be a lot lighter and less dough-y with the base more like a crisp biscuit than bread. I liked the freshness of the salmon which always goes well with sharp onions and capers, it was a good entree for our heavier mains.

First of our two mains was the Canard Roti, oven roasted duck with braised cabbage, spaetzle, cranberries and port wine jus. I enjoyed the heartiness of the duck, the meat was firm without being overly hard. It absorbed the wine jus well and. Balanced well with the spaetzle and cabbage, it was a very warming dish.

Not one to skip a good steak, this was the Eye Fillet with cafe de paris, red wine jus and bistro potatoes. Thick cut but perfectly lean, the meat was tender and cooked to leave a perfectly red centre. It was a little unusual to have cafe de paris and red wine jus served together but it made for a fairly tasty combination. The potatoes were baked quite thoroughly which made it a little dry, but this was easily alleviated with the addition of sauce.

Always ordering a side of green leaf salad, this was soft and fresh, doused in a light french vinaigrette, I liked how the addition of spanish onions gave it a spicy kick. 

Already extremely full but wanting to try out the desserts, we had the Orgy of Berries to share. Comprising of  Mascarpone, Seasonal Berries and Pavlova, it was reminiscent of the traditional Eton Mess, of which I am a huge fan. The tart berries contrasted the sweet pavlova whilst the marscapone added an element of creaminess which we thoroughly enjoyed. Definitely a wonderful date night and we will be pleased to come back soon after the lockdown is over.

Price Range: $70 - $80pp

Taste: 8.5/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10

Ribs and Burgers - Woolloongabba

Take away dinner the other night whilst isolation and social distancing measures are still in place. We got Ribs and Burgers take away, thanks to their half price promotion for health care workers. Arriving at 5.30pm the place was fairly packed with patrons waiting for food. Lining up inside we put our orders in and also waited outside. 

Our fairly large order was ready in half an hour and it was still quite hot by the time we made it home.

Set out on the table, the spread was fairly impressive.

This was the full rack of Pork St Louis. Sweet and sticky, the meat was fairly firm still and we had to bite fairly hard to get the meat off the bone. Nevertheless, for pork ribs, this was fairly meaty compared to ribs I've had at other places.

This was the half rack of beef ribs. Grilled to caramelised perfection, it was also sweet and sticky. Like the pork though, it was firmer than other beef ribs I ordered in the past and that meant that I had to exert a bit more force than usual to get it off the bone and the meat was a little chewy. Again, the ribs were quite meaty and generous for what it was.

Wanting to try out the burgers here, I also got a Bacon and Cheese Burger to go. It was served on a seeded bun with lettuce tomato, onion and pickles. I liked how the cheese was slightly melted onto the medium rare patty. The bun wasn't as fluffy as milk buns I have at other places but it made for a satisfying burger still. 

In terms of sides we also had a serve of Golden Tenders as Dr L has an obsession with tendies. Crisp on the outside with a delicious buttermilk batter, I found it to be a little dry on the inside, but this was easily rectified with the rich creamy ranch sauce it was served with.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

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

Stones Throw - Greenslopes

Another brunch place I managed to tick off my list before the lockdown came into place, this was a quick brekky we had at Stones Throw at Stones Corner at the end of last year. Having grown up in the area, it was quite a nostalgic trip for me to go back. 

Arriving at 9.30AM on a Saturday meant it was peak hour for brunch. We grabbed a table indoors (thank goodness) and were given menus. With a few classic brekky options it wasn't too hard for us to make our decision. 

In terms of drinks, I tried out the Vietnamese Iced Coffee. It came black and chilled with a side of sweetened milk. As someone who prefers her coffee less sweet, I was able to moderate the addition of milk which was good, but the coffee itself was not that strong compared to other Vietnamese coffees I've tried elsewhere. Dr L, always the fan of chocolate, had the iced chocolate with ice cream. Sweet and milky, he really enjoyed it.

Our food came shortly after drinks and the plating was spectacular.

First of the two breakfasts was the Mushrooms on Toast, a favourite of Dr L. With seasoned mushrooms, feta and olive oil atop a slice of dark rye, it was as tasty as it was pretty. The mushrooms were generous and tender whilst the toast was crisp and wholesome. My only criticism is that for the price, one slice was definitely not enough for breakfast.

My pick for breakfast was of course the eggs your way with avocado and bacon. Unlike the mushrooms, this was fairly lacking in terms of toppings as there was only two small pieces of bacon and a very small scoop of avocado. The eggs were done well but the bacon could have been a little more crisp but avocado was creamy and peppery. Again I would have  been a lot more satisfied with an extra slice of toast as part of my brunch though.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 7/10
Value: 5/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10

Baja Modern Mexican - Fortitude Valley

 

Had dinner with a group of local foodies a short while back. Trying out the fairly popular Baja Modern Mexican in Fortitude Valley which opened at the end of last year. Having made a reservation early, our table was ready when we arrived. The place was full, so booking a table is highly recommended. 

Didn't have too much time to browse the menu, but we had a good amount of people so that we could try around half the menu options. Service was fast and friendly. First dish to arrive was the twice cooked octopus tentacles with citrus, chile oil and a squid ink burnt jalapeño soy sauce. Dark and inky, it wasn't a particularly photogenic dish. The octopus though was extremely tender and soft. I really liked how tangy the citrus and soy was, coupled with a light amount of spice as found in the sauce.

A lighter share plate we tried was the fried cauliflower with a brown butter and parmeasan crumb, fermented green chile yogurt and a cauliflower mole. This was crisp on the outside with a firm interior, the parmesan added a bit of flavour but there wasn't too much yoghurt as we would have liked to add moisture to the dish.

Another share plate was the boneless chicken wings, slow roasted wings with pomegranate molasses, red onion escabeche with a buttermilk and coriander dressing. Have never tried slow roasted wings before but these were quite chewy and rubbery, even though I liked not having to deal with the bones. The sauce was sweet and sticky, reminding me a bit of bbq wings.

Moving on to our main event of the night was their infamous tacos. They had four variations and we got some of each to share. Thiw was the Mushroom Taco, comprising of mushrooms two ways with mozzarella, mushroom mole and fried eschalots. We all agreed that these were the best tacos of the evening. With extremely well seasoned caramelised mushrooms, fragrant eshalots and stringy mozzarella, this was delicious and I could have eaten many more.

The beef taco was called Carne Asada,  it contained grilled flank steak marinated in tomatillo, coriander and serrano chiles served with guacamole, white beans and salsa tatemada. The flank steak was a bit chewy and could have been better seasoned, although I did enjoy the creamy guacamole.

The fish taco was filled with beer battered king fish with a chipotle slaw. Although I am not sure of its authenticity, it was undeniable that the battered fish was wonderfully crispy whilst the slaw was creamy and crunchy. I really enjoyed it.

Last taco, the Carnitas was filled with slow cooked pork neck served with spicy green salsa, red onion escabeche and coriander. I normally enjoy cuts of pork jowl and pork neck for its crisp texture, but given that this was slow cooked it wasn't very crunchy  but rather tender instead. Like the beef Taco, this could have had a bit more flavour and the green salsa wasn't particularly spicy.

 

By the time we were finished with our tacos, I was quite full, but a few of our group had some desserts to share including the Raspado Con Leche, a salted milk panna cotta with cucumber granita, melon, mint and a pineapple jam tajin salt and the Spiced Chocolate Mousse with house made passion fruit yogurt, passion fruit curd and burnt brownie pieces. Being stuffed, I could only look on with envy, but the chocolate was the allegedly the better dessert with a smooth and rich texture that was balanced with the fruity elements.

Price Range: $35 - $55pp

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

Causeway Bay Seafood Restaurant - Sunnybank Hills

Mum's birthday before the lockdown and she was keen to try Causeway Bay Seafood Restaurant. Going past the area quite regularly she had seen that the shop was regularly fully seated and apparently difficult to get a table without making a reservation beforehand. Being the dutiful daughter that I am, of course I made a reservation the day before to ensure she could get her seafood fix.

We ordered fairly quickly after sitting down and I forgot to take a picture of the menu. It was fairly informal and probably subject to change fairly frequently. Putting our orders down, food took a little while to arrive. This was the salt and pepper deep fried prawns. Fried to a perfectly crispy exterior, the salt and pepper packed a definite zing. It was a shame that we were not able to eat the shells along with the prawns but the meat had definitely infused a considerable amount of the peppery taste, which I really liked. 

Second dish was one of my favourites, deep fried garlic pork chop. Some other restaurants have serve it in large pieces of pork chop, but Causeway Bay had it diced into large cubes. Like the prawn, this was amazingly crisp, but the cut of meat they used was fairly fatty, with half each piece to be comprised of fat. 

For health, we had a serve of stir fried string beans with soy sauce and garlic. Fragrant and fresh, these were widely popular amongst those at our table. 

 

Continuing our seafood feast, we had a steamed silver perch along with a dish of special fried rice. The silver perch was swimming just before we ordered it and extremely fresh with a smooth but firm texture that I love. The fried rice was generous in portion but not overly generous in topping. It was also fairly oily for my taste.

Our last dish, the golden fried white bait came substantively after our other dishes. Coated in golden yellow salted egg  yolk it was as addictive as it is unhealthy, so should really only be eaten in small doses. With its crisp outer shell and fluffy centre, once you start it is really hard to stop. Definitely something to have once in a while.

Price Range: $25 - $35pp

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