Lucha Black - Brisbane CBD

Readers will remember that I went to Lucha in Fudo Dori not long after it opened. The food was quite mediocre, but I've since heard that there have been drastic improvements. Just as I was thinking of giving it another shot, I heard they opened a sister store, Lucha Black, in Albert Lane, next to Vapiano. Last weekend we made plans with a few friends to check it out.

 

It was really lucky we called ahead to make a reservation as the place was completely full. It seems to me that hospitality is really doing quite well given the number of places we have to go to that can't even accommodate walk ins anymore. Anyway, we were seated quickly and service was fast. We had pre ordered the duck as they needed an hour of prep time beforehand and we just added a couple of other dishes to share.

There was a good range of cocktails and drinks but only one friend opted for the beer.

 

Our duck was served over three courses, this was the peking duck with pancake. It was fresh and hot, the crispy skin was sliced off in front of us and there were a good number of pieces and it wasn't overly fatty. Unfortunately the pancakes took quite a while to come out and the skin had cooled significantly by the time we were able to have it.

Second course was the San Choy Bao, with stir fried duck meat with some veggies wrapped in a lettuce leaf. The meat was seasoned well with savoury dark soy and had a touch of spiciness from the peppers. The lettuce leaf was crispy and fresh. I could definitely have done with seconds.

Third course was the roast duck fried rice. The portion was a bit small and we only had a small bowl each, but at least there was a generous duck to rice ratio, there was still quite a bit of duck skin to go with the meat and it was also infused with a decent amount of duck fat to fry the rice. I quite enjoyed it.

We had a couple of other dishes to share. This was the signature Lucha Roast Chicken. It was the same as the one they have in their Fudo Dori store, however this time it was executed quite well. The chicken didn't have much of a crisp skin but the meat was well seasoned and infused with green tea flavour, the added dipping sauce provided good enhancement and it wasn't overly dry.

We also had a dish of stir fried pork intestines which a few of us really liked but didn't go down well with everyone else. I liked the chewy pork intestines with its distinct rubbery but meaty texture. The flavours of pepper and soy were strong, masking the porky flavours, it would have gone well with rice.

Our last dish was a crowd pleaser, Braised Tofu and Pork Belly. The decorative pot was very big but the portion wasn't. There was about a half half ratio of tofu and pork belly which suited us fine. It was doused in a light oyster sauce base with soy, the tofu was deep fried before braising and the pork belly was roasted. I definitely really enjoyed this dish. 

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10
 

Elementi - Paddington

Last Saturday, some friends and I decided to catch up for some lunch whilst Dr L was out working. We opted for Italian and was keen to try something new. I had been tracking the opening of Elementi for some time and they have been open but only for take away for several months. They had only recently opened up for dine in, so we headed over.

The menu wasn't too long and all food items were able to be condensed into one page. There were a dozen or so pizza options and a few pasta options, some mains and sides. The pizza and pasta toppings were a little different from the mainstream ones we see in other restaurants.

We had a seat at the near back of the restaurant, close enough to the pizza oven and the action. The lighting was a bit dim so my photos didn't turn out so well.

Starting off with some fresh bread, this was crusty and lightly toasted. I just wish that it came with butter or oil and that we could get a whole piece rather than half.

Our first main of the day was the classic Ragu, with Paccheri, beef rib tomato ragu and orange gremolata. The pasta was absolutely delicious, cooked wonderfully al dente with a stringy and flavoursome meat sauce that clung to each piece. I thoroughly enjoyed the meal but would really have thought that the portion was more entree size than main, even though the price was for a main.

We had a salad to go with our mains, this was the Rucola and Parmi, with rocket, parmesan, oil and lemon dressing. I don't have too much to say about this because it was fairly simple and we were pleased with the quality and quantity of salad that we got. There was a good amount of parmesan to go with the rocket, making for a light interlude before our pizza.

After having a red pasta, we definitely had to get a white pizza, so we got the Gricia Sbagliata, which was topped with  mozzarella, pancetta, roasted potatoes, rosemary, pecorino and black pepper. Whenever I'm at a pizzeria I always gravitate towards truffle pizza, but there wasn't one on the menu, so I tried this one out. It was amazing. I've had potato pizzas before at Julius and Beccoffino which were good, but this was great. The mozarella was stringy, the pancetta was just salty enough but my favourite bit was the crispy roast potatoes on top. Coupled with sharp pecorino on top, I will definitely be back for another one very soon.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 9/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10

Pho An - Inala

Quick lunch with family and we decided to not have it at Sunnybank for once. We had heard some good reviews about the pho at their original store and had only tried their Sunnybank Plaza branch. Their main store is in Inala, but not in the main shopping area but rather a few streets away in a small retail strip.

The menu was comprised of a lot of soupy options with two rice options and some sides and desserts. With a focus on pho, there was no way that I would not order some pho.

My companion ordered a bowl of combination vermicelli salad. This was abundant with toppings including bbq beef, sugar cane prawns and an assortment of veggies and some spring rolls. The portion was generous and the fried portions were hot and delicious. My companion really liked it.

As usual, I opted for rare beef pho with extra noodles. The extra noodles wasn't overly apparent but it was silky and smooth however a bit thicker than the usual. The beef was quite odd in the sense that it was quite thick cut but had been scored on one side so each piece was on the verge of falling apart. It was however definitely cooked rare. As for the soup, it was adequately flavoursome but didn't stand out among my favourites in Inala. Overall, the flavours and textures were good but not outstanding, I wouldn't be opposed to returning, but would not be in a rush to either.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 7/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10 

Supreme Leader - Carindale

Overdid an afternoon nap the other day and woke up at a point where it was too late to cook dinner so we decided to check out some of the food delivery options. Unfortunately there was a great deal of issues with the execution that night. Firstly after ordering on Menulog, it took over three quarters of an hour for them to find a driver, which meant the food was not really warm at all by the time it arrived. What was worse what the driver got lost on our extremely short street and I had to wander out in the rain to go searching for him. The bag had long broken and it was a struggle to hold the bottom of the bag and both bottles of pepsi.

We had ordered a dinner for two which comprised of two chips and two serves of chicken. We upgraded one of the chips and hence was supposed to receive one big and one little box of chips. Evidently from my photo, the little one was missing. With our food being cold, fairly steamed and definitely not crunchy at all. With a lack of sauces and small portion sizes too, I was thoroughly disappointed. 

As a note, I have reached out to Menulog to deal with these issues and to date no response has been provided whatsoever.

 

Price Range: $20 - $25pp

Taste: 3/10

Value: 4/10

Service: 2/10

Environment: N/A

Ying Cha No.9 - Brisbane CBD

Had some dinner with friends and decided to check out the new bubble tea place in the city, along Elizabeth Street. Given that now there's probably over a dozen bubble tea or yoghurt places within close proximity, it shows a lot of confidence in the competitiveness of their product.

The menu was fairly standard in terms of beverage. What stood out to me as unique was the more unusual toppings of soymilk pudding, taro and mochi which aren't prevalent in the city. Service was friendly and although there wasn't much of a line, it took a while for us to be able to put down an order due to unavailability of ingredients as we ordered. Drinks also took a while to be finished.

 

Our friends had a couple of mishaps in their orders such as incorrect toppings, but ours were fine. He had the standard pearl milk tea and I had the watermelon jasmine smoothie. His was very average and didn't stand out as particularly good compared to competitors, the price was a little higher than average. Mine was supposed to have elements of jasmine tea in the drink but it tasted like icy blended watermelon juice instead. At least it wasn't very sweet, but I don't see myself coming back again.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 6/10

Value: 6/10

Service: 5/10

Environment: 7/10 

Zhangliang Malatang - Sunnybank

Had a mid week catch up with a friend for some serious talks and was keen on a quick and easy dinner to round off the night. We stumbled on ZhangLiang Malatang which had been open for a while in Sunnybank plaza. 

One of my favourite elements of malatang is the ability to choose your own ingredients. Unfortunately because of the recent covid scare, they've stopped you from being able to do this. Instead you can as their staff to pick ingredients that you chose. This obviously leads to confusion over the quantities of ingredients when asked.

As usual, I took my haul over to the counter and had it weighed up before paying and getting a number for our order.

As I had mentioned, not being able to grab ingredients yourself leads to quantity issues. This is how Queen V ended up with a 1kg bowl which she struggled to finish. The ingredients were adequate and the tomato soup was fine but portions were definitely in need of improvement.

I was more careful when ordering and requested a set number of pieces of ingredients. I also had their signature bone soup with no spice. The meat was cooked through and quite chewy, I had made a point to avoid their rolled meat that evening because it was exceptionally fatty. Other ingredients were fairly standard compared to regular Malatang places. The soup was strong tasting but quite artificial. There was notably an extremely small sauce station which didn't really meet my needs. Given the choices in the area, I probably won't be back.

Price Range: $18 - $36pp

Taste: 6/10

Value: 6/10

Service: 6/10

Environment: 8/10
 

Mica Express - Brisbane CBD

With the office crowds starting to come back to the City, it's hardly a surprise that cafes have started to open again. Very recently, Mica (sister store to King Street Bakery) opened an express pop up in MacArthur Central, a stone's throw away from my workplace. Keen on supporting local ventures, I popped down for some lunch.

Arriving early, there was quite an assortment of sandwiches, pastries and hot food, given the amount of people lining up, I suspect that this would have sold out later in the afternoon. Prices were moderately high, but in line with what you would expect in the city.

The line didn't take long and before I knew it I was back at the office with my bag of goodies.

This was their Chicken Baguette. Appearance wise it reminded me quite a bit of my favourite one from Le Bon Choix. Sadly it fell short on a few elements. The Baguette was very hard and chewy, cutting into my mouth as I bit into it. I wish they had an option of toasting it too, rather than just having it cold. The chicken was ample but the sauce was a little bland and lacked the tang that I get from LBC. 
 

For my dessert, picked up a Pain Au Chocolat. This was very delicious with a light and flakey texture that wasn't overly dry but also wasn't too moist. There was a good amount of chocolate in it and the croissant itself was large enough to satisfy my cravings. Would be back for the pastries again.

Price Range: $15 - $25pp

Taste: 7/10

Value:  6/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10  

Sharetea - Inala

After our dinner at Sunshine Bar and Grill, we decided to grab a bubble tea nearby before our trek home. Taking a look around the area, it has had significant turnover in stores from when I last went and there appears to be considerable overlap with stores from Sunnybank. With this in mind, we opted for beverages from ShareTea.

From what I could see, their menu was exactly the same as Sunnybank. Given bubble tea pricing these days, it wasn't unfairly priced in the current market. I liked how they had crushes and other smoothie type beverages which sets them apart from the usual cheese foam and fruit tea places. Service was fast and friendly.

 

He had the Tiger Tea with Pearls and I had the Strawberry Slushee (yes, I am aware that his hand modelling leaves much to be desired). Both were delicious, I liked the generous amount of pearls in his drink and I also liked that the sugar level could be adjusted without detracting from the flavour. It doesn't stand out as a front runner for my favourite tea, but it definitely is one I would readily come back to.

Price Range: $5 - $10pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 8/10
Environment: 8/10