Food Delivery Review: Uber & Vietnam House - Fortitude Valley

For foodies who regularly read the news (or go online for that matter), would not fail to have noticed the hype about UberEats finally arriving in Brisbane. With quite a few of my colleagues being big fans of Uber, we decided to try it out and order lunch from them. On my part, it made an interesting comparison to our previous order from Foodora. Working in the CBD, it wouldn't have made sense for us to order food from a nearby restaurant, so to make best of the limited time free delivery offer, we deliberated for a while between restaurants from the Valley or from West End, after much passionate debate, we ended up deciding on Vietnam House, from Fortitude Valley.

Like Uber, UberEats is soley app based, meaning that in the context of making a group order for lunch isn't as simple as sending around a link on a website and getting orders from people, as it meant I had to pass my phone around to take orders from colleagues so they could see the menu.

  

Compared to other food delivery sites, I note that UberEats lacks the option to preorder and have delivery set at a specified time, rather each restaurant has a set delivery time from the point of the order being placed. I find this somewhat cumbersome, since we got food delivered because we were obviously too busy to go out, to have to take the time out exactly 30-40 mins before lunch time to put the order in seems somewhat counter intuitive. Having said that, I did like the little GPS tracker showing how far away the delivery was, I also appreciated having the contact button, which allows me to phone the delivery guy if I have any issues with the order like last time. I also note that the estimated delivery time fluctuated quite a bit during the time whilst I was tracking the order, I guess this could be smoothed out over time.

Our order was delivered, 10 minutes earlier than the time in which we had aimed for. The delivery boy was quite courteous and friendly, and willing to deliver the food to our level (rather than the foyer), which we appreciated.

Our food was very hot, well secured and thankfully all the things we ordered were there.

For entrees, we ordered a serve of two BBQ pork rice paper rolls with hoisin sauce. The rice paper rolls were quite large, to the point where the skin had burst in some areas. Despite it being quite filled, the BBQ pork was very thinly sliced, and the majority of the filling consisted of bulky salad. Without the sauce, I found the roll somewhat bland.

My colleague ordered the crispy skin chicken with rice. He mentioned that it was nice and hot, the chicken wasn't too crispy, but at least it was moist and juicy. What really caught my attention though was how small the portion sizes were, as you can see, the portion filled just past half of the takeaway container. Other restaurants we go to tend to barely be able to cram the portion into the takeaway box.

As mentioned in my earlier posts, I like to evaluate how good a Vietnamese restaurant is by the quality of its pho, which is of course, what I ordered.

Like the crispy skin chicken, I was sorely disappointed by the portion size of the pho, being (what I would consider) approximately two thirds of the full size of phos of my regular Vietnamese haunts such as AJs Noodle House on Charlotte Street or Rice Paper in Warrigal Square. The basil I was provided had quite a few holes in them from insects, which I wasn't too happy about, but I was most disappointed by the beef, which was already pre cooked (thus not rare), and the fact that I was only provided with four super thin slices. On top of this, the soup was also very bland, and quite tasteless other than for the copious amounts of sugar which were added into the broth. Needless to say, this does rank within one of the top three most disappointing phos I've had in Brisbane. 

Price Range: $15 - $20pp

Taste: 3/10
Value: 2/10
Service: 8/10 (the Uber guy was friendly)
Environment: N/A (my own desk at work)

Little Singapore - Brisbane CBD

One clear, crisp, spring evening our friends decided a more traditional Asian meal was in order. Sorely disappointed at the closure of the Elizabeth Arcade and the loss of our main source of  Brisbane CBD’s cheaper Asian food stalls, we settled on Brisbane Mary Street’s Little Singapore.

Having gathered a little early we decided to go in early and noticed it was fairly spacious and somewhat empty despite being dinnertime. We were promptly seated and offered menus. As Singapore is a mix of Asian cuisines there was a selection of dishes from several cuisines including Malaysian and Chinese dishes. 

The first dish we ordered was the Combination Ho Fun with Egg sauce, which was served with a mix of seafood, stir fried flat rice noodles and egg sauce and Chinese greens. The Ho Fun was a larger variant of the flat rice noodle and was fresh. There was a lot of sauce added to the dish ensuring the dish was not dry. As usual I enjoyed the strong flavours of the egg sauce and the strong stir fried wok infusion in the ho fun. I found the seafood a little disappointing but overall found the dish quite comforting and enjoyable, but compared to the Sunnybank stores, I found the portion sizes considerably smaller.

 My friend ordered the Combination Chow Mein which was served with deep fried egg noodle, chicken, prawns and some Chinese vegetables. Whilst the noodles were crispy, my friend preferred stirring the broth into the noodles. My friend found the chicken and the prawns fresh and appreciated the prawns were gutted. However we both noted the broth was rather salty. My friend also noted there could have been more wok flavour in the stir fry but none the less found the dish a solid choice. Despite the lack of choices since the closure of Elizabeth Arcade, I still enjoyed Little Singapore. Whether for work lunches or dinner outings and find it a solid choice.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 7/10
Value: 6/10 (small portions)
Service:  7/10
Environment: 7/10

Gramercy Coffee - Brisbane CBD

Working near Eagle Street means that I don't often get much opportunity to try out the cafes near Queen Street, so when a friend asked to have a meetup at the very popular Gramercy in Wintergarden, I jumped at the opportunity. 

Like most cafes, it was counter service, and there was a number of cakes and cookies on display, which were very tempting.

Seats were spread along the walkway, which to me, isn't ideal because from personal experience, random shoppers walking by would stop and stare at our food and drinks. Nevertheless, we took a seat, as there were no other options. Thankfully, we didn't get too distracted by the passers by.

As usual, my friend got the iced coffee, and I the cappuccino.

The first thing I noted about the iced coffee was that it was served not exactly full, which my companion didn't mind too much, I found it a little disappointing. As for the coffee, it had a higher milk to coffee ratio than the other options he had previously tried before, luckily the coffee was also very strong, which balanced it out quite well.

I had the cappuccino, which had way too much cocoa than I would have liked. The milk was reasonably smooth, and the coffee again was quite strong and redeemed the cup for me. 

Price: $5 - $10

Taste: 6/10
Value: 6/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10

Moda Restaurant - Brisbane CBD

Last year, a friend had told me how much she enjoyed a meal at Moda, situated near the botanical gardens side of Edward Street. Being quite curious about Spanish food, I relished in the opportunity to try it out, however having also been told that the seating is quasi alfresco, my companions and I waited until the weather was perfect (not too hot that we are sweating like pigs, nor too cold that the food becomes chilled too quickly) before heading there for dinner last week. 

The setting was quite casual, with a Spanish theme to the decor. As mentioned, the restaurant was in an open area, so I would be somewhat concerned about flies during the summer, but I imagine it would have quite a bit of ambiance if eating in the rain.

The menu was somewhat short but consise, and contained a lot of foods that I hadn't tried before.

Being quite indecisive, one of my companions, who is quite adventurous in her tastes, suggested that we try out Javier's Table Experience, which consists of a three course meal selected by the chef. Considering the notoriety of the acclaimed chef, Javier Codina, we decided we would be in safe hands, so we opted for this alternative. 

The first of our courses, the Entremeses were served not long afterwards, and consisted of a very large assortment of entrees, most of which were on our definite "to try" list.

First up, we had a Duck Liver Parfait and PX jelly served with some bread. For those who are unfamiliar, pate in its usual form consists of a ground up cooked liver combined with a few base ingredients, by contrast, parfait involves siphoning the liver through a sieve to remove any sinewy bits, which in turn results in a far smoother texture. It was served coated with a bit of animal fat, and a side of Pedro Ximenez (a Spanish white dessert wine) jelly. I found it to be somewhat similar in taste to a more meaty flavoured cream cheese, with the freshness of jelly which was very enjoyable. 

This was the Half Shell Tasmanian Scallops, served with Saffron Escabeche and Jamon. We really appreciated the delicious softness of scallop and how this was highlighted and contrasted by the tougher texture of the Jamon, 

For entrees, we also had Chicken Croquettes with Romesco Sauce. The croquettes were reminiscent of the Japanese ones that I so frequently have, but with quite a meaty twist to it. The romesco sauce gave it an added red chilli twist tang, which gave it a bit more dimension.

On the platter was also a WA Octopus with tropical fruits, whilst I appreciated the soft texture of the octopus, I felt that the added orange didnt really mix well with the other flavours in the dish.

The last entree I had was the Pork Belly with Apple and Celeriac Remoulade, like the WA Octopus, it was a meat/fruit combination, which I am usually quite hesitant about, but with the light taste of the apple, and the strong flavours of the herbs, it ended up adding far more crunch and texture to the dish than sweetness.

After finishing our five entrees, our three mains also arrived. The first that I tried was the Kingfish with pipis in white seafood sauce and herbs. It was quite a conservative, mild sort of start to our mains, with a warm comforting, mellow sort of flavour. The fish itself erred on the well done side, as did the pipis. 

Our second mains consisted of three little New England rabbit pies, served with gnocchi and carrot puree with witlof. The pies had a deliciously flaky pastry, whilst the rabbit was very tender and strongly seasoned, but the meat had a bit of a stringy texture. 

The final and most grand main was the lamb shoulder served with trinxat and tomatoes. Seeing the gigantic size of the lamb shoulder, I offered to debone it for the rest of my companions, to find that it had no bones in it. It was literally a massive chunk of meat. The lamb was super tender and broke apart very easily. I liked its nice sweet caramelised sauce, and the seasoned potatoes, which soaked up quite a bit of the meat juices, whist the tomato kept it fresh.

After the savoury food, our glorious dessert platter came. 

First on the tray was the Valrhona Chocolate mousse with mixed berries. We found it to be rich and smooth in texture, with a strong dark chocolate-y taste, and we loved the assortment of fresh berries that balanced out the dessert.

In the middle were the freshly fried churros with chocolate sauce. I particularly liked how the churros had a doughy texture akin to doughnuts. It was crispy and warm on the outside with a nice chewy centre to it. 

Our last dessert was the Creme Caramel. Judging by the appearance of it, I had expected a somewhat jelly-like texture, but it immediately melted upon entering my mouth to leave a very smooth, sweet and creamy taste, which rounded off the evening very nicely.

Price Range: $75 - $100pp

Taste: 9/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 9/10
Environment: 7/10

Ben and Jerry's - Sunnybank

With the coming of Spring, comes the warmer weather, and my cravings for ice cream. Having just watched the newly released Magnificent Seven with a friend after work, we found the perfect opportunity to grab a treat at the Ben and Jerry's just outside the cinema. 

Personally, I find Ben and Jerry's sets itself apart from all the other gelato stores with its obvious lack of artificial colours. Most of its ice creams are reassuring shades of white and brown depending on which of its large variety of flavours you pick.

Without a matcha option, I stuck with a conservative option of coffee and choc mint. Unfortunately for us though, whilst the ice cream was quite generous in portion (albeit expensive), it was exceptionally sweet, so sweet that I could barely make out any mint or coffee tastes to it. I did however, like how the dark chocolate chunks were quite large.

Price Range: $5 - $10pp

Taste: 6/10
Value: 6/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 7/10