Black Door by Wagyu Ya - Surfer's Paradise

 

Long term readers will know of my adoration for Wagyu-Ya on Cheveron. Ever since receiving the tip off that it is the best Japanese BBQ in Brisbane, I have made a point to have it every time I'm down at the Gold Coast. From the early days they were a little shed behind a shopfront, they have since renovated their restaurant and branched out into a dessert cafe (Niku Cafe), renovated their original store and even branched out into omakase by way of the very exclusive Black Door. When Brisbane's number one foodie host, Jenny asked us to join her in a dinner at Black door, I did not hesitate to say yes.

Whilst some may have difficulty finding Wagyu Ya, down the alleyway, it was near impossible to find Black Door, which happened to be out the back of the Wagyu ya, and around the corner. As some may say, the harder to find, the better the food is, and I was excited, especially given how exclusive it is, serving only eight customers per night.

The table was set and we were provided with complimentary still or sparkling water. The menu invoked a great deal of anticipation when I saw it.

Along the back counter, there was a selection of curated sake to go with the omakase if you wanted. Next time we will definitely go with the pairing but today we tried a selection of umeshu. From left to right we had shiso, matcha and yuzu. My favourite was the matcha, with its fragrant tea aftertaste in every sip. My second choice would have to be the refreshing citrus yuzu.

First course was the Sakizuke 先附 which means appetizer. It was a Chawanmushi with uni and wagyu consommé. Chawanmushi isn't particularly unique, but this was topped with the rich umami uni and a meaty rich wagyu consommé. In other places, it would be topped with a refreshing seafood dashi, but this was decadent and very bold. It was a very unique take on a crowd favourite.

After our starter, we feasted our eyes on the preparation of the Blackdoor Hassun 八寸 seasonal appetiser assortment. It is a traditional entree which comprises of eight small dishes, to give you a broad taste of what is to come. It would be too much to go through every dish but my favourites of the night would have to be the nanban cod which was lightly battered, and doused with a tangy vinegar sauce, the char grilled A5 kagoshima wagyu with butter and of course the tuna sashimi topped with pistachio foam. Every morsel was a delight to consume.

This was our Mushi-Mono  蒸し物 steamed dish. It was an Imperador with edamame kudzu tofu. The Imperador was very fresh with a firm meat texture, even cooked it was quite sweet. What was most intriguing though was the kudzu tofu, it had a powdery stretchy texture to it akin to mochi.

Our next course was titled Oshinogi 御凌ぎ, small dish to tide you over to the next meal. It wasn't very small, rather it was a very generous serving of Moreton bay bug served with four types of sauce. This was Dr L's favourite course of the night and he enjoyed it with the refreshing dashi jelly. The bug was unbelievably fresh with a crunchy texture and a sweet taste that we loved.

 

This was the Agemono 揚げ物 fried dish. It was some deep fried Cuttlefish and ume tempura. Ordinarily the cuttlefish would have been quite decadent, but the tempura batter was light and the plum really cut into any oiliness it would have had.

Interluding before the grand finale of our meal was the refreshment, a blood orange sorbet palette cleanser. This was crisp, refreshing and not very sweet. 

 

The long awaited Shusai しゅさい main dish was a Black door wagyu shabu shabu. Watching the chefs prepare the MB 11+ wagyu during our other courses definitely got us salivating while we waited and it was well worth it. The shabu shabu rendered quite a lot of the fat of the wagyu whilst retaining its smooth rich texture. The dashi broth was unbelievably fragrant while the added umami of the uni made it all the more decadent. This was my second most favourite course of the meal and the quality of the wagyu really stood out.

 

Sushi 寿司 was without a doubt my favourite course of the night. We got to appreciate the three cuts of tuna, otoro, chutoro and akami, masterfully prepared by the chefs. The toro was dry aged and then marinated in soy before serving, providing a creamy buttery taste. This would have to be the best piece of sushi I have eaten this year.

Concluding our savoury courses was the Wan mono 椀物 dish served in a bowl - Seafood Nyumen. I absolutely love noodles soup, especially somen and these were perfectly tender and warming with the added bonus of a tasty scallop cake, making for a wonderful way to round off our meal.

Our dessert was a strawberry sorbet with watermelon jelly, avocado cream, pistachio and mango. Fruity and cheerful, it was a very light and not very sweet way to wrap up our meal. The flavours and textures complemented and contrasted each other, especially the smooth avocado with the sharp strawberry. 

Overall we had a fantastic time at Black Door. By the time we had our second course we already decided on making another reservation for the next year. I could not recommend it more.

Price Range: $230pp plus drinks

Taste: 10/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 10/10

Environment: 9/10

La Belle Vie - Bardon

Readers may recall (or not) that some years ago we had a fantastic dining experience with delectable French fare. Sometime during the pandemic, it unfortunately closed down and in its place sprang La Belle Vie Bistro & Bar. Celebrating Queen V's birthday this year, we decided to see if we could recreate our last experience and made a reservation for dinner. 

 

The place was conspicuously empty when we arrived and only filled up about half way at most during our meal. The menu was definitely French inspired and arranged by way of course. It did not take too long for us to decide on our order.

Starting with beverages, I had a rose, one companion had some champagne and the other a white. These were chilled and appetizing, however the pressure we were given to continuously order drinks through the night was decidedly unappetizing. Despite my glass still not being empty, I was asked at least on four occasions through out the meal to order another drink, which was very excessive.

We were also provided with complimentary bread, when the waitress put the bread down she asked if we wanted butter to go with the bread. Assuming it was also complimentary, we said yes. The butter was very delicious but it would have been better to inform us that it did come with a charge rather than having it just show up on the bill after.

It didn't take too long for our starters to come, first up was the Chevre, a aaked Crottin d'Antan cheese, Provençal herbs infused honey. The cheese was rich and decadent, it was lucky we had the honey to cut through the creaminess. I was surprised that it wasn't served with a biscotti or the like, but instead a side salad. We ended up enjoying it with the complementary bread.

Our second starter was the Thon which was a seared cajun spiced tuna with szechuan pepper infused mayonnaise. Coincidentally, it was three pieces which was just right for the three of us. Having said that, the portion was small for an entree. The tuna wasn't too fresh, and the szechuan pepper wasn't too spicy either. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't anything special.

Not too long after our entrees, but after several offers for more drinks, our mains came. One of our table wanted a lighter option, so went for the Gnocchi, pan fried with mushrooms, pine nuts and gruyere cheese. Although the menu stated it to be pan fried, what we were served was almost certainly deep fried, very crispy but also very greasy, which detracted from it being the 'light' option. The mushrooms were also a bit overcooked and burnt, whilst the cheese was cold and un-melted on top. Overall a surprisingly disappointing dish which I could have done better at home.

My pick of the evening was the Caille, a mustard glazed Brisbane Valley Quail served with honey and spice sauce, swede puree and sautéed broccolini. I am a huge fan of Brisbane Valley Quail, having had them numerous times at Regional Flavours as well as Nota, but this iteration fell short of the mark. It was overcooked, quite dry and a bit burnt in places like the wing. The sauce covered up a bit but not all that much and the side of swede puree and brocolini were average but overall the portion wasn't really big for a main.

No French restaurant is really complete without its own take on Steak Frites. This was the Tournedos, a pasture- fed eye fillet topped with beurre café de Paris, red wine jus and served with a side of French fries. The fries were fine, they were fresh and crispy, which is all you really need. Some extra sauce would have been nice, but we were able to dip it in the steak juices. The steak itself was very small, however also very thick, making up for it. The sauce was fine, nothing particularly special.

We had two desserts to share, this was the Citron, a lemon and meringue tart with red berries compote. The tart base was quite thick and hard which I didn't enjoy, but the filling was tart and not too rich, providing a good contrast for our second dessert.

Our second dessert was the decadent Chocolat. It comprised of a dark chocolate dome, raspberry heart, mint & raspberry soup with candied almond. This was very rich and sweet, luckily we shared it rather than having to enjoy a whole portion by myself. 

 

To sum up, I couldn't say that I had a good time at La Belle Vie. With the competitive nature of the restaurant industry, there are many better French restaurants in town and I see no reason to come back to this one.

Price Range: $60 - $80pp

Taste: 4/10

Value: 4/10

Service: 3/10

Environment: 7/10

 

Sues Burgers and Shakes - Carindale

It's always fascinating how the food scene changes over time. A few years ago, there were almost exclusively thick cut patty type burgers in town. I still remember when only a few places start up doing smash patties (shout out to Mac from Way Back). Now days smash is becoming more and more popular with the uprising of BHBC, meanwhile my long time favourite Charboys closed its doors earlier in the year. With a thicker cut patty shaped hole in my heart, we decided it was time to venture out to try and find something to fill it up. With an abundance of positive reviews, we went over to Sues Burger's for a quick weekend lunch to try it out.

Arriving around 12, the place was completely packed. It was hard to get a seat and after ordering, we were told it would be a considerable wait for our food. 

Thankfully it arrived when it did, before Dr L got too hangry for his own good. It was definitely worth the wait. 

We shared both burgers to get a taste of each. This was the Signature Sue with one beef patty, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles with cheddar and signature sauce on a milk bun. On first glance, it looks a bit like Betty's burgers. The milk bun was just as fluffy and the salads were just as fresh, however I found the patty to have been more substantial and more meaty and the cheese to be a bit richer than Betty's. I haven't had such a good burger in a long time. 

Our second burger was Sue's Southern Fried Chicken. It contained a southern fried chicken breast, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and aioli on a milk bun. Again the bun and salad were great in this burger, but the chicken was phenomenal. Fresh and crisp, it was also very juicy on the inside and I just wish we could have more.

Which is lucky because we had a serve of Sue's Freaky Fries, topped with the same crispy chicken, three cheese sauce and signature sauce. The portion was a generous amount, even to share and it had a significant portion of chicken and sauces all the way through the basket. 

We had a really fantastic time at Sue's. I definitely can't wait to come back and hope that one day it can open in the city or closer to home.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 9/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 8/10 
 

Amimoto - Surfer's Paradise

In my blog, I don't often write second posts about restaurants I go to unless they change management, which warrants a reevaluation. The other exception I make is for some of my favourite venues which I keep coming back to, and hadn't written about for several years. Amimoto falls squarely into the second category as one of my favourite Japanese restaurants in Queensland. I make a point to come every time I am in the Gold Coast and they have been consistently great, so it's worth another post, seven years after my last.

 

Still situated in the dingy Lido Arcade, many other shops have tried to open in the laneway and have always had to close down. Nowdays only Amimoto remains. Before Covid, they expanded a fair way out into the laneway to serve more patrons, but when we recently went, it had noticeably shrunken to have all the tables contained inside the restaurant. As such, to avoid disappointment, a booking is essential.

 

The menu hasn't changed since I've been there, but prices have gone up ever so slightly in line with inflation however meals here remain exceptionally good value. If something like this opened in Brisbane, there is no doubt I would dine here at least once a week.

Having not been back to the coast for a while, I went all out and ordered everything my heart desired. It was a struggle for the two of us to finish it all, but the joy of seeing it on my table was well worth it. 

Starting off always with the large sashimi, the cuts remained the same as before with three pieces of each fish but the slices were definitely larger than I had remembered. Each piece was  unbelievably fresh and generously cut. My favourite this time was the combination sashimi sushi that contained all cuts of fish, avocado wrapped in seaweed. 

Also consistently delicious is the Sake Oyako don, which was of course salmon and ikura atop a bed of rice. The amount of ikura was very generous and we both had quite a few, despite sharing. The salmon was again fresh and thick cut and the rice was lightly vinegared to perfection. As you can see in the photo, the rice to topping ratio was superb.

Despite our large sashimi, we also had a Chirashi Don to share, because there is no such thing as too much sashimi. The components were similar to the sashimi platter, with the addition of prawns, crab sticks, scallops and avocado. This was less easy to share as some cuts only had one piece, but I was lucky Dr L let me pick what I wanted. Of all the cuts in the bowl, my favourite here would definitely be the scallops with ikura which were sweet with popping umami goodness. Basically this was happiness in a bowl.

Although we were very full, I couldn't help but order another serve of tuna sushi. For $4.50 this was excellent value. Again the tuna was fresh, lean and meaty. There was a good amount of rice and the sushi was rolled on the spot by the chef. The meal was heavenly as usual and I can't wait to come again.

Price Range: $25 - $35pp (we paid $50 each but definitely over ordered)

Taste: 9/10

Value: 10/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 5/10 

Ramona Trattoria - Coorparoo

Readers may remember my less than stellar experience at Paella Y Pa' Mi at Coorparoo, but despite the photo, last week we were not dining there but at its new neighbour, Ramona Trattoria for Italian food. Having heard some fairly good reviews on it, I was interested to try their offerings. Dinner was split into two sessions, early and late. Neither were particularly appealing, missing the 6pm prime time, however we went for the 5.45pm timeslot. It was extremely busy and by the time we left to the point where we were told the next group was already waiting for our table.

Anyway, service was quite fast, we were ushered to our table and presented with food and drinks menu. There was a selection of antipasti, pastas and pizzas. The pasta options were fairly standard but there were a few unique pizza options.

On this one instance, we all decided that we wanted the same rose, so we had one bottle to share. Crisp and refreshing, it was a nice way to start the evening. 

Our shared starter was the Tonno Crudo, which comprised of  Tuna, Capers, Tomato, Chives and Tonnato sauce. The flavours and textures reminded me quite a lot of beef tartare, but the tuna was definitely not as rich as beef. I found it to be quite enjoyable but would have liked biscuits or a bread to eat it with.

We decided to only have one pasta that night, and stuck with the traditional spaghetti alla carbonara, with guanciale, pecorino, egg yolk and black pepper. The pasta was cooked to a softer than al dente texture, which I enjoyed. I also really liked how the guanciale was sliced so thin that it was crispy. I do wish there was a bit more though. 

We also had two pizzas for the night. The crowd favourite was the Salsicca e Patate which was topped with fior di latte, pork and fennel sausage, potato, rosemary. It was fragrant and wholesome with mild fior di latte coupled with lightly peppered sausage. The base itself was a bit thicker and more dense than others I've had lately but it was still very tasty. The only downside was that there wasn't too much by way of potato on it.

Our second pizza was the Diavola, topped with fior di latte, salame piccante, salsa di pomodoro, basil,

 and olio piccante. It was quite spicy with salami and definitely flavoursome, to the point where the salami dominated all the other flavours. 

Our dessert was a shared Tiramisu. For a commercial tiramisu, it was fantastic. The mascarpone was fresh and fluffy and there was just the right amount of espresso soaked in the ladyfinger biscuits. It was almost on par with a home made one, and we definitely really enjoyed it.

Overall, we had a great time at ramona and would come back for sure to try some of the other pizzas and for another slice of tiramisu.

Price Range: $50 - $70pp

Taste: 8/10

Value: 7/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 7/10