Sunshine Bar and Grill - Inala

Went out to pick up Dr L after work one Friday since he's been posted out to Inala this term. Took the opportunity to take a look around and grab an early dinner there too. Had heard some amazing reviews about the grilled meats at Sunshine Bar and Grill, so we headed there for some food.

 

The menu was quite extensive with a large assortment of rice and noodle options. I was expecting more grilled meat options but there weren't that many.

Food didn't take too long to come out. It was quite an amazing spread and we were quite impressed.

Starting with our grilled meatballs this was wonderfully caramelised with toasty bits on the outside. It wasn't cheap for an entree (given standard Inala prices), but the portion size was definitely generous. We really enjoyed the smokey fragrance of grilled meat and Dr L especially enjoyed the side pickles.

We had two bowls of noodle to share also. This was the grilled pork chop with egg noodle soup. The soup was light and infused with chicken flavour whilst the noodles were bouncy and chewy which was great. It came with three pieces of pork chop, these were thinly sliced and also grilled to have a wonderful smokey meaty flavour. 

It's hard to go to a Vietnamese Restaurant without getting a steaming bowl of pho. Interestingly they didn't have a plain rare beef pho and all options had extras on them. I opted for beef and tripe. The bowl was generous with a very large portion of noodles. The beef was rare and soft whilst there was also a very large portion of chewy tripe. I liked the deeply flavoursome soup which wasn't oily at all. Would definitely come back for another meal.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 9/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 6/10

Small Cake Place - Runcorn

Last weekend we had a small birthday celebration for my good friend Jenny. After lunch we headed off to one of her favourite cafes, Small Cake Place to get some afternoon tea and Birthday Cake. It was situated a bit out of the way in Runcorn near the train station, away from the main shopping district.

Arriving at 2.30pm, it was afternoon tea time and the place was half full already with a small queue of people waiting to be served. There was a small selection of individual cakes for sale. They were quite beautiful but prices were a tad expensive but I might come back later to try some.

We ordered ahead of time and had a Matcha Chantilly cake. This was not too big and quite expensive for the size. The cake was very light and fluffy and the cream was delicate in texture but also very intense in flavour. I found it to be quite enjoyable but given the price, I could definitely get something similar for a reduced price.

 

Dr L had the iced chocolate whilst I had the iced matcha. These were refreshing but not overly strong. The milk was rich and creamy but I think it could do with more chocolate and matcha powder in it respectively. 

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 7/10

Value: 6/10

Service: 6/10

Environment: 7/10 

Pho Queue - Annerley

After my pleasant experience at Red Lotus, I was keen to try the row of Vietnamese eateries along Cracknell Road in Annerley. Was too tired to cook the other night so we decided it would be nice to take a stroll out and grab a wholesome bowl of pho.

Phoning up ahead of time, I was informed that it was best to make a reservation in case it was busy, and the store was about half full when we arrived. 

The menu was obviously very focused on Pho and the different variations filled up a whole page. I found the different tiers of soup and toppings fascinating and was keen to try out two different types to compare.

Sprouts came and they were fresh and ample. 

This was the Pho Tai with standard soup. The noodles were fresh and generous but they weren't broken up as much as they could have been before serving which meant quite a few strands had clumped together. The beef was thinly sliced and not overly fatty. The soup was tasteful and light without any excess oil on top which was great.

I opted for the Pho Tai with Wagyu Brisket in Premium Soup. The soup was definitely more distinct in the sense that it had a lot more depth and a lot more sweetness and umami in the broth. The beef was again thinly sliced and tender. I really enjoyed the brisket too which was quite fatty and melt in your mouth soft. Would definitely come back for another chance to have the brisket and try more on their menu.

Price Range: $15 - $30pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 7/10 

Sushi on Q410 - Brisbane CBD

Another week in the office means another opportunity for me to try out new restaurants in the vicinity. This time, I had read an article online about a new Japanese restaurant on the Wharf street end of Queen Street that specialised in good quality food for reasonable prices, I definitely had to go check it out. It was in the old lodgings of Roll'd and apparently owned by the people who run Sushi Kim on Creek Street, a local favourite of officeworkers.

There were quite a few main options as presented on their menu as well as individual sushi rolls. On other sources, I had read about their fusion rolls but I couldn't find them that day. Prices were indeed reasonable with all mains under the $11.80 mark. Service was fast and sauces were available on a self serve basis.

The first time I went, I had their Sake Don and an extra Karaage Roll. The salmon was thick cut and the portion was generous. The avocado was ripe and it was also ample and went well with the dish. The topping to rice ratio was good and added with a bit of kewpie and soy sauce, it would definitely make on of my favourite work lunches in a while. The sushi roll also had a very generous amount of crispy chicken that was well marinated. The meal was great.

That meal as so enjoyable that the week after, I went back for a second time.

This was the Tempura Prawn Udon Soup. The prawns were plump and freshly fried, conveniently served separate from the noodles to ensure crispiness. The udon was also tender and the soup was wholesome. 

 

I had an extra salmon and avocado roll. The portion of filling was super generous. Again the salmon was fresh and delicious and the avocado was ripe. I couldn't recommend this more and will be back again in the near future for another lunch.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 9/10

Service: 9/10

Environment: 7/10  

Siffredis- Teneriffe

Checked out Siffredi's in Teneriffe with some foodies a couple weeks ago. We were all quite curious about the mixed reviews we had read online about the place and took the opportunity to try it out. Making a reservation for dinner on a Thursday night, it was half full and we were seated outside, thankfully it wasn't too hot.

The menu was one of the shortest I have seen. There was a small selection of snacks, spaghettis (no other pasta either) and sides with two desserts. We decided to go for a couple of snacks and one of each spaghetti along with the one side dish. I don't think I have ever been able to say that I've tried every single main on a menu before, especially in one meal, but now I definitely have.

 

Starting with the house made lemonade and a glass of rose, we both enjoyed the light refreshment. I tried his lemonade and it wasn't too sweet, which was nice. 

First side was the Ōra King Salmon croquette with curry mayo. These were fairly tasty with a very mild curry flavour to the mayo but there wasn't too much salmon and for $5 per piece they were on the expensive side.

The other snack we tried was Danny's bread served with macadamia cream. This dish was two servings, which was also priced at $5 each. The bread was quite dense and wholesome which we liked, the crust wasn't too thick and it wasn't served overly warm. The macadamia cream was also oily but not strong in macadamia taste. I would not get this snack again.

The one side on the menu comprised of Butter beans with yoghurt, rocket and lemon. It was light and tarte, cutting through a lot of the decadent pasta, however it didn't stand out as anything that stood out compared to other salads I've had previously. There also wasn't too much yoghurt in the dish which would have made it a bit more enjoyable.

As mentioned, we had one of each spaghetti. The first I tried was the Pumpkin with salsa verde, smoked burrata and hazelnut.  The portion was definitely lacking for a main size and without snacks it would be insufficient for a complete meal. I liked the delicate flavours of smoked burrata and hazelnut but mixed with pumpkin which was also light in taste made for a fairly bland dish. I did find the texture of the burrata really great though.

In contrast, our next dish was the Romesco with dried tomato and lime mascarpone. This dish was extremely intense with a tarte tomato flavour and multiplied with the sour lime element. I liked the mascarpone which added a creaminess to the dish.

The meatiest dish of the night was the Wild boar with caramelised onion and saffron pickle. I was very keen for a taste of the boar as I don't get to try it very often, but it was quite lacking in the dish and all I could find was a few strands of the meat, hardly enough to make too much of an assessment on it. It had a far stronger onion taste though which I could definitely appreciate.

The most decadent dish was without a doubt the WA rock lobster with carrot noisette, crispy sage and  bottarga. Compared to the last dish, there was definitely a far more generous amount of lobster in the dish, added with the umami bursting caviar, I really liked this dish. 

Last dish was my favourite, this was Squid ink with mussels, XO sauce and chilli. The texture of the pasta was far more fresh and it was a lot more firm than the other ones. The XO and chilli really added a punch to the dish and the flavours complemented each other very well. Even though there were one or two dishes that I found quite delicious, overall I don't see myself returning any time soon until improvements are made on the other aspects I highlighted.

Price Range: $35 - $45pp

Taste: 6/10

Value: 4/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 5/10
 

Bisou Bisou - Fortitide Valley

Went to a birthday party the other week which was hosted at the fairly new Bisou Bisou at the lobby to Hotel X in Fortitude Valley. A couple blocks away from the entertainment district of the valley, it was still fairly close to the convenience of the city and it was a quick stroll after work. As with most new places, it was fairly full and booked out for the night. Service was fairly green and it wasn't easy to get the attention of waitstaff.

As is typical for french fare, the menu was sorted into courses. There were quite a few novel choices and we were keen to try a few of the options.

Bread was provided complimentary, it was served at room temperature but was still fairly crusty with a wholesome but dense centre. It would probably have been really enjoyable if toasted.

Our entrees didn't take overly long to come, this was Dr L's Baked crottin of goats cheese, ratatouille and basil pistou. Flaky and rich, he quite enjoyed it, especially the strong sharp taste of goats cheese which infused the dish. Although it was entree size, it was fairly small for the price point.

I opted for the usual Steak tartare with tête de moine, cured egg yolk and crisp potato. The steak was quite fresh and cured egg yolk was an interesting addition for us adding slightly different savoury umami flavour to the dish. The crisp potato was essentially potato chips and weren't overly noteworthy.

It was a shame that a few of our companions didn't order an entree because mains took over an hour to arrive, despite following up several times. This was Dr L's Parmesan and Thyme coated chicken schnitzel. For a main size, this was quite disappointing. The two pieces of chicken were very crunchy but the batter was thick and the chicken was fairly dry. 

We also ordered a side of Alligot which was a cheesy creamy mash. With it's elastic cheesy pull, and creamy texture, it was our favourite dish of the night. Again it was small for it's price and really only enough for one person.

Wanting something a bit more substantial, I had the beef and bacon cheeseburger with fries. Portions were definitely sufficient, however the base of the cheeseburger was quite burnt and not overly tasty. The top of the bun wasn't really warmed  but at least it was soft inside. The patty was ample but nothing overly special and it was a little odd that it also contained salami. The fries which were fresh and lightly seasoned with herbs was undoubtedly the highlight of my meal. Unless drastic improvements are made, I won't be back anytime soon.

Price Range: $40 - $60pp

Taste: 3/10

Value: 3/10

Service: 4/10

Environment: 8/10