Golden Lane - Sunnybank

Those of my readers who has read my blog on Mint Buffet would have realised that if it did not make significant improvements in its quality and value,  it would soon run into trouble. Which is why I wasn't too surprised that it closed down. What did surprise me though, was the fact that someone decided to open a new Yumcha and Seafood restaurant in Brisbane (due to the fact we haven't had a new one in so many years). Being quite a regular at Sunnybank Plaza, I saw the restaurant go up and waited with anticipation as it opened. Which is why we tried it out on the first weekend after opening.

We arrived at 12.30 and got a ticket. There was (as expected) quite a significant crowd already waiting outside. So we found a seat in the waiting area, and thus my watch began.

During the wait, we got to take a look in the kitchen, which was open to display with its large glass windows. I was much reassured to see that it was quite clean, and not overly chaotic. The chefs were busy at work and the food looked very appetising. 

On the topic of food, we got our first glimpses of it set up on the display cabinets. There were an assortment of pre cooked food of the fried variety, including chicken wings, shallot pastry, fried rice dumplings and Portuguese tarts.

We also took a look at their very extravagant dinner menu during our long wait. I noticed a strong emphasis on seafood, including delicacies like abalone, crab, lobster, and even shark fin.

After a 45 minute wait, we were shown in. I was quite bedazzled with its flashy gold fit-outs and new furnishings, but was also slightly annoyed to see that the restaurant was (at best) 2/3 full, leaving a significant portion empty (which meant we probably didn't need to wait that long outside).

What really disappointed me also was the lack of a clean tablecloth provided to us. As you can see in the photo, the tablecloth was already stained by whoever had previously used the table. During the course of the meal, I could see waiters clearing tables by taking away the used dishes, brushing the crumbs and foodscraps off the table onto the floor, and then spraying the already tainted tablecloth with some sort of cleaner and then letting it dry, the results of which were clearly evident on our tables.

We ordered our tea, a warm nourishing TieGuanYin, after our long wait, and were then presented with the lunch menus. 

Unlike the more traditional Cantonese Style Yum Cha, there were no carts around with food, but rather we were presented with the selection on a tick sheet, made our order and sat back to wait. Whilst it meant we had to wait for our food, it also allowed us to browse the full lunch menu and make our choice, without being limited to what was on the cart.

After waiting for 45 minutes for a table, our food took another 30 minutes to come after ordering. By that time we were absolutely famished.

First off the bat we had a dish of prawn dumplings. Whilst I liked the novelty of the dish containing three different types of prawn dumplings, I didnt think this idea suited the concept of yumcha very much, because yumcha has dishes to be shared rather than to be eaten alone, it meant we could all only try one different dumpling or we would have to order repeats of the same dish. For the dumpling I had (top middle) the skin was somewhat thick and overcooked so the skin fell off the dumpling the moment I tried to lift it off the paper. Having said that, I did appreciate the large prawn inside of it.

Next we had the stir fried rice cakes. Unfortunately due to some oversight it was served to us cold. I don't mean lukewarm after being left out for a while, I mean cold as if it had come from a fridge. Bringing this to the attention of our friendly waiter, he had it reheated for us (unfortunately microwaved not stir fried). Having tried the stir fried rice cakes at New Shanghai and Taste Gallery, I found this to be considerably more saucy but still managed to be bland, despite the obvious prawns and garlic in the dish. 

The highlight of the meal for me, was the pan fried spicy turnip cake. It was in fact regular turnip cake, served with some dried chili and onions on top. Whilst some may consider it to have been quite ordinary (hot and crispy on the outside with a fluffy turnip centre), its quality was above the other dishes we had that day, and also I really liked the chili onion sprinkles.

Some of my readers will know that I am a massive Xiao Long Bao fan, and having heard that Golden Lane dishes up a selection of both northern and southern Chinese dishes, I thought it a safe bet to try out their interpretation of XLB. I was immediately proven wrong. From the moment it was set down, I could see that they had reheated the frozen variety. With its faux creased top which was mostly likely machine made, its thick thick skin, lack of soup and lack of meatiness in its filling, it was pretty irredeemable. It was also not served with any ginger or vinegar, which really showed a lack of attention to detail in serving up this dish.

The final dumplings we had for lunch were the Siumai, which thankfully looked a lot more like the ones we were used to. The skin of the dumpling was a little flour-y and doughy so maybe it wasn't as cooked as it could have been, but at least the meat was fresh and the roe on top was tasty.

With a bit of illness coming through the family due to the unbelievably quick change in weather, we opted for three bowls of congee for our sick companion, having heard from some family friends that the congee at Golden Lane was quite good.

We had my favourite, the century egg and salty pork congee, 

Fish, Jellyfish, peanuts and bbq pork congee, 

along with the minced beef, raw egg congee.

Having tried all three, I can say that the portion size was generous when compared to other yum cha places, and the texture, whilst still not comparable with my favourite at Coffee Square, was pretty good. My issue with it though, was the exceptional saltiness of the base, which overwhelmed any opportunity to appreciate the flavours of other toppings. My companions were also not too happy with the yellow tinge in the congee, preferring theirs to be white.

We also shared a dish of mushrooms and chicken on steamed rice, which is normally served in a metal canister, but in this instance was served in a terracotta bowl. The beauty of this dish is the meat juices which seep down into the rice as it is being steamed, resulting in a nourishing hearty dish where the meat and rice complement each other. Unfortunately the Golden Lane interpretation didn't seem to have this aspect to it at all. The chicken was no doubt steamed, but the rice was sadly just plain and didn't have any chicken or mushroom flavours in it at all. The soy sauce served on the side was also extremely sweet and not very salty at all.

We rounded off our meal with a serve of Portuguese Tarts. I was amazed at how they managed to have the pastry undercooked and doughy, whilst the custard on the tart was caramelised. Surely they would have been able to cook the pastry a little longer, but alas it was not. 

As a conclusion, I'd have to say that it was quite saddening for me to see how much effort had been put into the presentation and renovation of what ought to have been a very high quality restaurant to have the food disappoint patrons like that. Hopefully these were only mistakes made in the first week of trading, and with sufficient feedback, they can turn this around in the near future.

Price Range: $15 - $20pp

Taste: 4.5/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Environment: 8/10 (would have been 9 except for the tablecloth issue)

Anouk Cafe - Paddington

Having taken a short break from waking up too early in the mornings, two friend and I found ourselves in Paddington last Saturday morning, having decided to meet early and grab some brunch at Anouk together before partaking in a larger group outing. 

We arrived to the super busy Cafe, bustling with diners both inside and outside. Thankfully the wait for a table was relatively short, and we had a table cleared for us and we were seated within 10 minutes.

 

With the similarities in name and proximity, I was expecting breakfast fare somewhat similar to Shouk Cafe (which is also in Paddington), but was surprised to see that the options were super broad to the extent of encompassing a variety spanning Korean  Kimchi Jiggae to Italian Saffron Linguine. In the end though, our conservative tastes meant that we still ended up settling on some more standard options.

As usual, my companion/chauffeur settled on an iced coffee with an added scoop of vanilla gelato. He considered it to be relatively standard, but appreciated the ice cream and the taste of merlo coffee, however wished it could have been a bit stronger. 

I ordered my usual cappuccino in a mug, and was slightly confused with my cappuccino in a cup, but was reassured that this was indeed their interpretation of a mug, which was apparently larger than the regular sized cappuccinos. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the rich foamy milk, coupled with our favourite Merlo blend, was  a great way to start our morning.

Both of my companions ordered the "eggs as you like" with some small variations. My first companion ordered fried eggs with a side of bacon. Unfortunately, the first time it came out, he was served with poached eggs. Pointing this out to the waiter, this was promptly rectified.

My second companion also had "eggs your way", this time with poached eggs, a side of bacon and some potato hash. Expecting it to be some variation of fried shredded potato, we were surprised that Anouk's interpretation was essentially crushed wedges garnished with substantial herbs. I tried some of the potato and it was very delicious. Whilst the potatoes were enjoyable, my companion was somewhat disappointed in the poached egg, which was considerably overcooked to the point where the yolk was quite solid.

Wanting something a little different from my usual, I settled on the Shakshuka which was a baked egg in tomato, yoghurt, spinach and fetta, served with flatbread, and an extra side of avocado and bacon. I really enjoyed the massive flavour burst in my mouth, with the freshness of tomato, creaminess of fetta and comfort of egg. The dish was a little too liquid for me to retain much on my flatbread (as it would run off), and so I settled on eating the baked eggs and then having avocado bacon flatbread instead. The dish would have been a bit better if the sauce accompanying the eggs were thicker and clung to the bread more.

Price Range: $15 - $25pp

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

Vietnam Corner BBQ Restaurant - Sunnybank

Having had a somewhat disappointing bowl of Pho last time, a friend of mine, having read my online rants, decided to take me out to grab some Pho before watching the new Inferno movie last week. Being a big fan of the Oriental chain stores, he took me to their Vietnamese branch, Vietnam Corner, situated in the carpark of Sunny Park, for a quick dinner.

If anything, it was definitely quick. Perhaps one of the quickest non fast food meals I've ever had. It took a mere 12 minutes from us stepping into the store to having food served on our table (it helped because we already knew what we wanted without even looking at the menu). Both of us settled on the rare beef pho, with an extra cup of milk tea.

Our pho was served with quite a decent portion of sprouts, herbs, lemon and chilli, which we found quite fresh.

Compared to Vietnam House, the bowl of pho I got had probably double the size. However, despite the generosity in portion size, I was still a little disappointed by the bowl, as the beef was definitely not rare (not even remotely pink), and the soup was definitely one of the blander ones that I've had. Considering how well established they are at Sunnybank though, I think they may have just had a bad day. Aside from the beef and the soup, I did really enjoy the soft silky pho which tasted super fresh and had a good texture to it, neither being over or under cooked. 

We also each ordered a cup of milk tea, and it was very strong and very hot. It was so strong that whilst both of our preferences would have been to have it without sugar, it was so bitter that we were unable to have it without an added spoon of sweetness. It was quite heavy kick-start to our evening.

Price Range: $10 - $15pp

Taste: 6/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 8/10 (fast!)
Environment: 7/10

Sugar Market - Fortitude Valley

My readers and friends would know that I am quite a fan of foodie festivals. Having taken a bit of a break since the lineup from July, we thought that the Sugar Market held last weekend at Fortitude Valley would be a delicious way to break the food festival drought.

Situated on Alden Street, it was not far from Chinatown, which made it quite difficult to get street parking. We ended up parking near James Street, and walking back. Expecting a somewhat larger festival, we were a little surprised to see around twenty stalls, but hundreds and hundreds of patrons. I guess that since this is the first year they ran it, perhaps next year the venue might be larger.

Of course, we took the first 15 or so minutes of our time there exploring the desserts on offer.

There were alcohol spiked cupcakes...

cakes and slices...

Portugese Tarts...

Macarons...

Creme Brulee...

Eclairs

And a very large amount of brownies.

After our hike from parking the car, both my companions decided that the best thing to start them off would be a Cafe Latte ice block from queen of pops. Skeptical at paying $5 for one ice block, I didn't purchase one myself, but snuck a bite from each of their pops. The super strong flavours really impressed me, and this was probably the least sugary, but most coffee intense ice block I've ever had.

Opting for another form of cold dessert, I headed to La Macelleria to get my gelato fix.

I ordered a double scoop, consisting of a fragola and a caffe latte. The strawberry fragola was definitely more of a sorbet than a milky gelato, and it had quite a fresh strawberry taste to it, but my companions did say that it looked more like watermelon sorbet than strawberry. Having tasted the extreme coffee hit of Queen of Pops, I was slightly disappointed by this more sugary, more creamy but less coffee intense caffe latte gelato.

Being a big fan of Portugese Tarts which you often see at yum cha, I often have my doubts on how authentic they are (since they are essentially an egg tart with a caramelised top). Seeing my opportunity to try authentic Portugese tarts from Lisboa Caffe, I pounced at the chance. 

Between my companions and I, we shared two, one with cinnamon and one without. 

I have to say, I was very impressed by the tart. With its delicately flaky pastry on the outside, its creamy custard inside and its deliciously burnt caramelised top, this was way better than any tarts I've had before (now I have to find out where their regular shop front is, so I can get more tarts!)

My companion also bought a whole box of the super aesthetically pleasing eclairs from Savour, and I was lucky enough to get a Chocolate Hazelnut eclair before she took the rest home. Compared to the ones we had from Flour and Chocolate, this was definitely smaller, but the toppings and the fillings definitely made up for it. The chocolate was very strong but rich, and the hazelnut praline was smooth and creamy.

 

By that time, we were exceptionally full, but still could not resist one last treat from Southside Bistro. If the lines were any indication, this was without a doubt the star of the show. And so we got in line and waited. After much waiting and even more chaos, we finally managed to get a cup of matcha puffles in our hot little hands. I'd have to say though, that the dessert looks a lot better than it tasted. The puffle, was not as cooked as we would have liked it, not that it was runny on the inside, but I couldn't help but feel that it wasn't really set yet. The marshmallow, whilst big and nice to look at, served to be quite challenging to eat without the utensils to tear it apart, but I did enjoy the contrast of hot puffle and cold ice cream.

Overall, I could see much room for improvement for the market, such as having more seating options and more drinks options, as well as more vendors and a larger venue, but for the first time we've had one of these events, I find it very promising, and can only hope that they bring it back soon.