Anita - West End

It's hard to go to West End and not take the opportunity to indulge in dessert after a meal, especially due to the abundance of options available in the area. Last week after grabbing some delicious beef noodles, we headed back across the road to West Village to try out the newly opened Anita Gelato. 

Arriving just before 8pm, there wasn't much of a line, but there was a considerable crowd inside. The line really developed not long after we had sat down and stretched far outside. There were 32 flavours to choose from and a significant amount of them were chocolate based, so whilst Dr L had a hard time deciding, my choice was fairly easy. Prices were expensive at $8.50 for a medium and service was quite abrupt and blunt, but given the staffing shortages everywhere, I guess I should just be grateful they were staffed.

Each ice cream was served either in a cone or a cup that had a complementary waffle. They also came with an environmentally friendly biscuit spoon. Unfortunately staff didn't let me choose which of the two (plain or chocolate) flavours I wanted. Extra spoons are charged at 20c each.

 

I ordered two flavours being the sugar free coffee and Ferrero. Dr L had Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Wafer. As my first experience with sugar free ice cream, I quite enjoyed it. It was not too sweet and quite creamy. The coffee taste could have been stronger though. I also really liked the ferrero ice cream. It was a bit sweeter than I would have liked but came with delicious hazelnut chunks as well as crunchy wafer. Interestingly enough this largely tasted the same as Dr L's hazelnut wafer except mine had a bit more chocolatey taste to it. His was of course balanced out by the scoop of bittersweet dark chocolate which I also really enjoyed. The wafer on top was fresh and crispy. The spoon was a nice attraction but it softened a bit as we ate, to the point where I was slightly concerned that it wouldn't survive before I finished my ice cream. Luckily it barely did. Overall, it was a strong contender in the area but I don't rate it any higher than Messina or Gelatissimo, my favourite in Brisbane would still be Milany at Market Square.

Price Range: Under $15pp

Taste: 7/10

Value: 5/10

Service: 2/10

Environment: 8/10
 

Mr Noodle - West End

Uncertain times always leads people to the pursuit of comfort food and there is hardly anything as comforting as a steaming hot bowl of beef noodles. With the current situation that we find ourselves in, I found myself craving hard for a bowl. Having heard that Mr Noodle had recently relocated from Mt Gravatt to West End, we headed there after work for a quick dinner. Given the current times, it always pays to call ahead to verify that the restaurant is open, and that's exactly what I did.

Arriving at 7pm, the place was extremely quiet. Other than us, there was only one other table. We grabbed a menu and sat down. Water was offered on a self serve basis. The menu comprised two pages of rice and noodles, along with a bunch of sides and stir fry dishes. Of course we were there mainly for the noodles. We wanted to order a side of dumplings, but they were sold out.

 

Instead, we had two sides, a tofu salad and a cucumber salad which I was given upon ordering. The tofu salad was fragrant, chilled and stringy with a sesame flavour, as a huge fan of tofu, this was delicious and had a wonderful texture. The cucumber salad was unbelievably fresh and crunchy, doused with a generous amount of sesame and sesame oil. It also wasn't too spicy which is great.

In terms of noodles, Dr L had the Beef Tendon Soup which was mildly spicy. Although the English menu referred to  beef tendon, the chinese menu actually translates to beef intestine. What we were served was definitely beef intestine, which was deliciously chewy and well textured. He had it with thick noodle which was cooked soft rather than al dente. It was delicious and the portion was generous.

I had the signature Lanzhou Beef Noodle with thin noodles. I noted that their menu didn't have the option for extra noodles, but they had options for all the other standard add ons. As I was quite hungry, I was surprised by this but it turns out that there was a huge abundance of noodles almost as much as you would expect when you ask for the extra noodle option. The beef was tender and the soup was flavoursome. I liked the noodles which erred on the side of soft. The only thing that could have made the bowl better would be some more beef slices, but for the price, it was still excellent value. I'll definitely be back soon.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 9/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 6/10

Addictea - Sunnybank Hills

Tried out the new-ish Addictea which had opened next to Sonder, after a quick dinner out with the Dr. We had previously tried their store at Southbank and really liked it, so were glad to see them open a new one at Sunnybank Hills. 

Compared to their other store, this had a far more futuristic theme and the menu appeared a bit different and limited.. I think I prefer the feel of their Southbank store a bit more. Luckily there wasn't too much of a queue and our orders were taken relatively quickly.

What I did find interesting was their cannisters of tea leaves and their teaspresso machines. Other than Comebuy at Garden City, I don't think I've seen them anywhere else in town. Compared to the pre brewed tea, it is a lot stronger and sharper.

I had the Orange Tea whilst Dr L had the Pearl Milk Tea to go. As some readers would remember, I consider the gold standard for orange tea. By comparison, this one was a bit more sour and bitter, but this could be more the season of oranges rather than the drink itself. The tea wasn't too fragrant but it was quite bitter though, I think I'll stick to Orange Tea for now. As for the Pearl Milk Tea, I tried some and the tea wasn't too strong again and quite watery. I can't understand why their Sunnybank store is so much worse than their Southbank one, so I'll definitely have to go there instead.

Price Range: Under $10pp

Taste: 6.5/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10 

The Green - Fortitude Valley

Sometimes, you have a really really big night and get completely smashed. The morning after is never fun, especially when you have committed to brunch catch ups. Luckily for me, we weren't going anywhere with a heavy menu, but instead were booked in for The Green, on James Street in the Valley.

 

The menu comprised of light options as well as a few middle eastern inspired dishes. Needless to say I stuck with the basics and had the lighter options. Being located in a mixed nursery and cafe was quite novel but of course there was an issue of insects during our meal, despite being seated indoors.

 

Having already had a coffee earlier on, I opted for some cold pressed juice for a detox whilst my companion had a piccolo. My juice was nothing special as it wasn't made fresh, my friend said her piccolo was reasonably strong and delicious.

In terms of food, my companion had The Green Bowl which contained falafels, green tahini, freekeh tabouli, avocado, pickles, a poached egg and pistachio dukkah. Whilst fresh and flavoursome, the egg definitely erred on the side of being overcooked.

Still recovering from the night before, I went with the Scrambled Eggs with Sourdough, tomato chutney and pepper. The scrambled eggs were velvety soft and done quite well, whilst the toast was nicely charred without being burnt. As always, I would have preferred an extra slice of bread as one was not really enough for bunch and two would have been more preferable, especially given the price.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 7/10

Value: 4/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 6/10

Doodee Boran - Brisbane CBD

 

Some readers would know that I have a tendency to follow my hunger down (dodgy looking) alleyways and to date it has paid off. Due to a lack of laneway culture in Brisbane, I haven't been able to always do the same thing here, but I still try to do so as much as I can. Last week, we did just that and tried out the relatively new Doo Dee Boran, situated in a nondescript laneway along Charlotte Street. 

The restaurant was large and spacious for one so well hidden. Staff were very friendly and attentive during our meal.

Having tried an assortment of Thai food to date, I was used to the salads, noodles, rice and curry dishes on offer and it didn't take long for us to order.

What was quite interesting, and allegedly quite authentic was the numerous sauces and seasonings we were given with our meal, comprising of straight out raw sugar to chili flakes, vinegar chilli and soy chilli, we had quite a few choices. 

My dish of the night was the Ducky Noodle, it was some stir fried soya noodle with roast duck and a side of clear broth. Although the portion looked fairly generous on the plate, there wasn't too much noodles nor duck and it was mostly dominated by garnish and the side of chili soy sauce. The egg noodle itself was quite bouncy and delicious and the duck was flavoursome, but overall I only wish that they had a bit more by way of portions.

Dr L opted for the crab fried rice. It also came with a side of chilli sauce as well as clear broth. The portion was also quite small but delicious. I tried some of it and really enjoyed the morsels of fresh crab that accompanied the rice. I particularly like that the food wasn't overly sweet but wish there was more for us to enjoy, as a main alone wouldn't have been filling enough without sides.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 6/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10 

Bellissimo - Coorparoo

First brunch of the new year and I decided to check out the new Bellissimo Coffee at Coorparoo. A short trek from Annerley, it was easy to locate and parking was also easy to find.

 

Arriving a little earlier than my companion, I took the liberty order a coffee first and browse the menu before she arrived. In addition to an extensive coffee menu, they had an adequate selection of brunch food mainly the traditional classic type with a few modern twists.

I ordered at the counter, the whole place was fantastic with a rustic look about it all, I particularly appreciated the industrial coffee roasting gear around the place. Staff were very friendly.

 

 My first coffee was the cappuccino on skim milk. It was the silkiest and smoothest that I had in a very long time. The coffee was strong, a little bit acidic but not very bitter. Although the milk was skim, it was deliciously rich. When my companion arrived, I ordered an iced long black. This was also smooth and delicious with a strong caffeine hit. 

Food wise, I had the Eggs your way, comprising of  two poached eggs, thick Canadian bacon, roast mushroom, spinach and sourdough. Defaulting to my standard eggs on toast, the eggs were poached well with a runny yolk but solid whites. I was a little disappointed in the solitary slice of white bread, but the amount of spinach and bacon was generous. The bacon was thicker than I am usually used to but still not really as thick as other thick cut bacon I've had previously. The flavours were delicious and the spinach was especially flavoursome. I really enjoyed this dish but wish that there was an additional slice of sourdough.

My companion ordered the Salmon Brioche Toasted Brioche which contained house salmon gravlax, creme fresh and cucumber salsa. I managed to steal a corner of this (for science). The brioche was wonderfully crispy with a fluffy interior. There wasn't as much salmon as I expected, but it was deliciously smokey. I liked the other condiments which were creamy but also still fresh. The dish would have been definitely more enjoyable if there was some more salmon, otherwise it was perfectly enjoyable. I would definitely be keen to come back, especially to buy some freshly roasted coffee.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste:

Value:

Service:

Environment:

Roti Buddy - Sunnybank

Boxing day and we were out hunting for dinner after watching Matrix Resurrections. There wasn't much open in the city which is how we ended up at Sunnybank. Wandering around, we stumbled upon the newly opened Roti Buddy, apparently sister store of Roti and Buns, so we checked it out.

The restaurant wasn't too packed and it was easy for us to find a table. The service was very friendly and the waiter was absolutely adorable and very hard working. The menu was quite limited though with not too much to choose from and I definitely had to get drinks next door from Just Coconut so we didn't get drinks here.

Our food didn't take very long to arrive. This was the Roti Canai upgraded to a beef mince and egg roti. It was quite a large serving with a substantial roti, filled with a generous amount of seasoned beef mince and egg and three side dishes and a small tub of curry sauce. The roti was wholesome and delicious without being too oily or greasy. I liked that the salad-y side more than the stir fried veggies. The curry sauce was flavoursome without being too spicy which was also great.

We also ordered a serve of DIY bao that came with deep fried chicken bites. It also came as a completely loaded plate. The chicken was crunchy but could have been more flavoursome. The bao was plain rather than lightly sweet which went well with the chicken. I also wish that there was a bit more chicken to go with the bao, otherwise it was a really enjoyable dish.

There was also an option to add on some waffle fries to go with the bao. Those who know me know that I can never say no to waffle fries. These were freshly fried, crisp and not too oily. The portion was generous and it made my meal all the more enjoyable. 

Since my meal, I've been told that Roti Buddy will be enhancing their menu, so I can't wait to be back to try it out again.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 7.5/10

Value: 5/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10

Xing Fu Tang - Brisbane CBD

For those who frequent the city often, you would not have failed to notice the constant line up on Elizabeth Street. There is hardly anything else that could warrant such a line up other than the opening of yet another bubble tea store. This time, Taiwan's number one Xing Fu Tang, which has been popular around the world for their famous brown sugar bubble tea has finally arrived in Brisbane, deciding to throw itself among the already saturated strip near Hype Tea, Gong Cha and Ying Cha. Always keen to try it out, I lined up.

There really wasn't too many options on the menu and drinks were quite pricey with only a single size and variants between hot and cold. The focus was clearly on boba with a small selection of yoghurt.

What really stands out for me was not actually the tea, but the addition of the fortune cabinet for you to draw your fortune when you get your number after ordering. It's novel and great fun. I had a blast with this, even though mine told me to eat more veggies!

 

The fresh boba that they make on site and also cook in brown sugar syrup on on display was also a nice attraction too.

 

In order to have an accurate review (for science), I went twice. First time I had the Oolong tea, I could adjust the sugar level but not the ice. The tea itself was crisp, strong and refreshing but there was little over two mouthfuls of tea given the ice accounted for about three quarters of the volume of the cup, so whilst it was definitely tasty, it was extremely bad value. The second time, I had the Strawberry Boba Milk. Neither ice nor sugar was adjustable, but I absolutely had to try the freshly made boba. Turns out that it was soft and clumpy, so much that it had no firmness to it and tasted more or less just like mochi. The drink itself was fragrant but a little too sweet for my linking and there was also far too much ice and not enough drink. I can't say that I won't be back, because I like the fortune telling a lot, but there is definitely better bubble tea very close by.

Price Range: $5 - $15pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 4/10
Service: 7/10

Environment: 8/10