Jaylianos - Strathpine

Having not gone overseas for more than two years now, I can't help but reminisce my travels overseas. One of the things that really stood out in my memories was the extravagant buffets from America and Canada. I could hardly find anything remotely comparable locally, that is until I stumbled on Jaylianos up at Strathpine. 

A friend had gotten some fairly stellar recommendations about this place and we took the hour long drive up north to try it out. When we got in, it was like we had skipped the 20 hour flight and landed directly in NA. Having made a booking meant that all we needed to do was wait for our table to be set.

There was a huge selection of hot and cold food. With a few covid restrictrictions in place, we were able to get up and get our own food like we were back in the 2010s.

My first dish comprised of quite a few hot items such as the crispy pork belly, steak, spring rolls, chicken wings, dumplings and some seafood salad. The steak was definitely the highlight. It was charred with a crunchy exterior and a medium rare interior. The pork belly was well seasoned but the skin was a bit chewier than it was crisp. The rest was fairly standard and I also liked the crispy chicken wings. The steak made the buffet dinner excellent value on its own and reason to come back.

My second dish comprised of yet another steak, this time it was a little overdone but not too chewy. I also had a piece of chicken parmigiana, some creamy mushroom pasta and some stir fried noodles. I liked the chicken which was thick cut and had some delicious sauce and melty cheese. The pasta was soft, but Dr L said he found it too soft. The fried noodles didn't have too much meat to go with it but it was well seasoned.

Interluding with a coffee, it came out of those machines where you only pressed one button and it made up the whole coffee for you. The coffee obviously wasn't anywhere as good as the barista made ones in the city but it did strike the right cord of nostalgia for me.

First round of desserts included a piece of chocolate cake, a chocolate mousse and some chocolate coated marshmallows. These were not overly sweet, nor overly decadent. The cake was moist and spongey, the mousse was smooth and the chocolate fountain was always fun.

Rounding off the evening, this was the fresh fruit and a side of lime jelly. The watermelon was refreshing and the lime jelly was neither too soft nor too firm. Representing excellent value in this day and age, I would definitely come back to Jaylianos for their steak alone.

Price Range: $38.50pp

Taste: 7.5/10

Value: 9/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10 

Bapman - Upper Mt Gravatt

In all honesty it has been some time since I've seen something new and been so enthused about it that I had to immediately go and check it out. But since I saw the initial photos and reviews of Bapman at Garden City, I knew I had to have it for my next brunch. So taking maximum advantage of Dr L's driving lessons, we drove to Garden City to pick up some food and take it home with us.

The menu was simple. There were only five brekky burgers and an assortment of coffees. I was keen to try them all but only settled for two of the five options. The food took a little while to prepare and it came in a super cute carry bag to go.

I only realised after ordering that they were doing a free coffee promo, so I ended up with four drinks instead of two. These were the small complementary lattes. Expertly made without acidity and not too bitter, they provided a caffeine hit that I desperately needed.

 

In terms of the drinks I actually ordered, I opted for a Cold Drip whilst Dr L had his Iced Chocolate. Cool and refreshing, it was a great contrast to the latte. Both drinks were equally smooth though and I really enjoyed it. He particularly liked the chocolate shavings in his iced chocolate.

 

Onto the main event, this was the Big Bap which contained pork and beef sausage patty, free range egg, American cheddar and relish. The buns that I had were probably the fluffiest buns I've had since I was last in Taiwan. Fluffy and squishy it perfectly encased the fillings which were juicy but not oily. In this burger the egg was cooked through, the meat patty was well seasoned and it was just executed perfectly.

Our other Bap was the Bacon Egg and Avo. The bun was just as good and fluffy with the added excitement of a runny yolk which the bun completely mopped up. There was a generous amount of seasoned avocado which was ripe and delicious along with some crispy fried bacon. Overall it was just simple food done well. I'll definitely be back soon to try the other options.

 

Price Range: $15 - $25pp

Taste: 9/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 7/10

Paella Y Pa' Mi - Coorparoo

We had heard a few good reviews of the fairly new Paella Y Pa' Mi at Coorparoo. Last week we took the opportunity to have a girls night out and grabbed a quick dinner there after work on Friday.

With a very limited number of tables, booking is essential. The shop itself was very small and our table could barely fit both menus. There were a handful of starters, paella dishes and desserts designed for sharing.

On the topic of sharing, we had the Sangria Roja to share. This was sweet and fruity. A carafe yielded four generous glasses. It was a bit sweeter than my usual preference for drinks but wasn't overly sugary.

In deciding which paella to share, we defaulted to the Marysol, their mixed signature Paella. It took a little while to arrive but it was well worth the wait. Topped with prawns, mussels and some chicken, it was fragrant and delicious. I really enjoyed the fresh tomato-y goodness that went with each grain of rice. The prawns were big and juicy but the meat in the mussels were as small as a thumbnail The paella itself had a delicious texture and a nice caramelised base but the portion size was definitely insufficient. The menu indicated that it would serve 2-3 people so we thought it would be more than enough for the two of us, but it really should have been for 1-2 only. The spoon in the photo is a good indication of the depth of the pan and at most it was only a thin layer of rice. It was a shame because the taste was good but the portions were nowhere near adequate.

 

Initially we had not intended on ordering dessert as we were not overly hungry, but given how small the paella was, we had two to share, the Naranja Catalana and Churros. The Catalana was essentially a creme brulee with some fruits and other garnish on top, it was also well executed with a crisp sugar shell but the portion was small given the price paid. The churros were interesting as the batter wasn't as dough-y as I expected but tasted a lot more like deep fried pieces of custard instead. It was rich and creamy and went well with the dark chocolate dipping sauce. I really enjoyed the dessert.

Price Range: $50 - $70pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 4/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 6/10

Machi Machi - Sunnybank

 

When your favourite bubble tea shop opens a second store in Sunnybank you make a point to go there after dinner for a delicious beverage before heading home. Opened next to In the Jin, it wasn't exactly in the middle of Sunnybank Plaza or Market Square, but it was close enough to the beating heart of Sunnybank. Arriving at around 7.30pm, it was surprisingly quiet. Other than us, there was only one table.

 

There have been a few additions to the menu since I first tried out their George St store. Most notably my beloved matcha range, so I definitely had to get that.

As there were nearly no customers, our beverages were made quickly. Dr L had his usual brown sugar pearl milk tea and I had my matcha with creme brulee.

 

Both drinks were silky smooth with an ample tea fragrance to it. I liked how mine was still delicious despite having no sugar, there was still a sweet scent to the matcha and the creme brulee was also sufficiently sweet for the whole cup. His was also not too sweet despite being standard sugar. I liked the texture of the pearls which is by far my favourite locally so far.

Price Range: $5 - $10pp

Taste: 9/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10

Minh Tan - Inala

Another week of driving lessons and this week we hit the holy grail of Banh Mis, the famous Minh Tan at Inala. Also with a small crowd of people waiting to order, the staff were fast and efficient at their jobs. They had a wide assortment of Banh Mi as well as regular baked goodies and cakes. The Banh Mi were made to order. The prices varied between the cheaper basic rolls to the more extravagant ones that contained everything.

By the time we got home, the banh mi wasn't too hot but at least they weren't cool yet. Compared to Tan Dinh, these weren't much to look at until we cut them open.

This was the Special Roll containing pork, pork mince, pork loaf. For some reason there wasn't too much carrot in it, but that was the only thing it was lacking. The flavours and textures were amazing. The sliced pork was meaty with a caramelised edge, the pork loaf was crumbly and well seasoned whilst the pork mince was moist and saucy. Combined with the fresh salad and crunchy loaf of hearty bread, it was wonderful.

This was The Lot, which contained almost all the ingredients including pork, chicken, pork mince and pork loaf. It was just as good as the Special Roll but with a lot of crunch from an abundance of carrots. The added chicken provided another layer of meatiness, this time with the added fragrance of lemongrass too. For the added few dollars, this is definitely a far more luxurious banh mi and makes for good value for money, definitely worth a revisit.

Price Range: $5 - $10pp

Taste: 9/10

Value: 9/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 5/10

Picnic - West End

Ever since I saw that Picnic opened a second branch in West Village, I've been keen to try it out. On my first attempt, I had made an hour and a half's allowance to grab brunch before another appointment, but it turns out that the wait would have been 40 minutes before I could get a table, so we had to settle for somewhere else instead. A few weeks ago we made plans to go with some friends to go try it out, we made sure not to schedule anything after to ensure we could definitely have plenty of time to enjoy the food.

 

Arriving on Sunday morning, it was still completely packed, but since we had a fairly large group, we were able to grab a table with only 20 min wait. Service was friendly but it did take quite a bit of effort go wave down a waiter though.

The drink selection was extensive and the food menu had quite a few things that I was keen to try. Luckily for me, Dr L and I were able to share our meals.

 

He had his iced chocolate and I had a "Not a Cosmo" juice. The iced chocolate was rich and decadent, with both ice cream and cream floating in chocolate milk, trying some myself, I found it to be not too sweet which was great too. My not a cosmo comprised of apple, strawberry, lemon and mint. This was also refreshing and not too sweet, it went really well with my meal.

Our first dish was the signature Picnic Wagyu Scotch egg which was served with house pickled salad, béarnaise sauce, smashed avocado, hash browns, kimchi dressing and piccolo herbs. I had seen quite a few photos of this on the internet before coming and was curious but didn't expect too much, but was pleasantly surprised to note the improvements they had made on the dish compared to earlier iterations. The crumb outside was a lot thinner and the mince was meaty and flavoursome. I also enjoyed that the egg wasn't cooked through entirely and the yolk still had elements of runniness to it. As for the sides, the hash brown was crunchy and the salad was fresh. I didn't taste any kimchi in the dressing, but the avocado was rich and ripe though.

Our other dish was the Pork Bulgogi Benny, this came with sweet potato croquette, poached eggs, asian slaw, pork bulgogi, hollandaise sauce, pickles, truffle oil and piccolo herbs. The croquettes were a little burnt but still tasty and fluffy inside. The pork bulgogi was flavoursome but there was very little to go with the meal and the flavours and textures were like the ones I buy from hanaro mart. The eggs were poached perfectly though and it made for a delicious meal. I just wish there was more pork. 

Overall a solid effort, no doubt it will do well given the location and I'll be back later to try their other menu items.

Price Range: $25 - $35pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 6.5/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10

Momo Chicken & Beer - Garden city

There is hardly anything more satisfying than a Korean Fried Chicken dinner and that's just what we had last Friday after a long week's work and I wasn't in the mood to make dinner for us. We took the opportunity to get some Momo Chicken from Gardencity for takeaway that night. Ordering ahead was very convenient and we set a pick up time that suited us.

The highlight of our meal was without a doubt the boneless snowing three set with cheese, onion and chilli. They must have forgotten the chilli as we definitely didn't have any spicy chicken, but we had a considerable amount of original. Nevertheless this was crisp on the outside and moist inside. By the time we got home, half the chips were a little soggy but half did retain their crunch. Portion wise it was generous for the price and I liked that their batter was crunchy but not too thick.

Next was the kimchi pancake. This was definitely a disappointment. It was completely wrapped in foil and then stowed away in a styrofoam container, meaning it came back completely steamed and drenched with condensation. The flavours were good but a soggy pancake is a sad pancake.

The side that did make up for it all was the Seaweed Rice balls, deliciously served with crunchy popping tobiko. The rice was plain but there was a generous amount of seaweed that gave it a lot of added flavour, whilst the tobiko added texture to it. The side went surprisingly well with the chicken and I enjoyed it a great deal.

 

Price Range: $25 - $35pp

Taste: 7.5/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 8/10