Rabbit and Co - Coorparoo

Had brunch before an appointment on the weekend and decided to try out Rabbit and Co at Coorparooo which has long been popular with the locals. Noting how popular brunch places have been lately, we made a booking early on to ensure we didn't need to wait for a table.

 

Rather than being given physical menus, we had a QR code which enabled us to order and pay for it online. Notably both breakfast and lunch menus were available during brunch time and the selection was fairly mainstream. I do prefer ordering via the app as it allows me to take my time choosing and it also means that I dont need to flag down waitstaff to put down my order or to get the bill.

Drinks wise I had my usual skinny cappucino. I had it in large and it wasn't overly big but it was definitely strong and the milk was creamy. There wasn't too much chocolate on it, but the caffeine hit was what I needed.

On chocolate, Dr L obviously had his iced chocolate. It came with not one but two scoops of ice cream. The portion was quite big and it was quite sweet, just the way that he likes it. There was a generous amount of chocolate syrup around the cup as well and he really liked it.

Opting for the lunch menu, he had the fish and chips. It came with four sticks of fish, some chips and a serve of salad. Both the fish and chips were quite crispy and crunchy, however the fish had quite a fishy smell to it. Adding lemon juice to it helped a bit but tartare sauce would have been a better option than the mayonnaise. The chips were generous in portion and the salad was a good balance to the meal.

Those who know me know that I can't resist a customisable breakfast. Rabbit and Co has a dish of eggs on toast with three additional sides. I went with salmon, avocado and hash browns. The eggs were soft poached and had a sufficiently runny yolk. The sourdough was small and there was only one piece. I definitely had far more avocado than sourdough. The salmon was fairly generous and the hash brown was crisp. We had a good time and would be keen to come back soon to try the other offerings.

Price Range: $25 - $30pp

Taste: 8/10 

Value: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 8/10
 

LR Sushi - Brisbane CBD

Another week and I was foraging for food near work. Stumbled on another branch of LR sushi in the CBD, conveniently situated near Eagle Street, and notably less people lined up outside compared to their Adelaide St branch. 

Due to the fact that there weren't too many customers, service was very fast. There was quite a large assortment of sushi rolls but prices appeared to be quite steep compared to other places.

I ended up getting four rolls to go, two salmon, one karaage chicken and one crumbed prawn. Compared to other stores, the rolls were quite small but the filling to rice ratio was pretty good. The salmon was firm but not overly fresh and there wasn't too much avocado. The fried foods were very crispy and I liked how moist the chicken was. I definitely wouldn't rate this one of my favourites but given the proximity of the place to my work I wouldn't rule out coming back for more.

Price Range: $15 - $20pp

Taste: 6/10

Value: 6/10 

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10

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