French Martini - Southbank

Had a friend's birthday a bit earlier in the year and they were keen on french food, so we made a reservation at French Martini at Southbank for some dinner. Making a reservation well in advance, we were shown to our table at arrival. The restaurant didn't fill up too quickly after our arrival though.

 

As you would expect, the menu comprised of a good selection of French fare, organised into courses.

Starting off with drinks, my companions had the namesake French Martini, whilst Dr L and I had the Espresso Martini. Smooth as it was, the drink was very sweet and not as strong as I would have liked. 

Starting with entrees, we shared a Baked Camembert which was served with two bread rolls. The bread was toasty and crisp and the camembert was rich and creamy, it made for a wholesome and decadent starter for us. I would have preferred the cheese be served more hotter than it was. 

My friend ordered the Escargot as a starter, it also came with a bread roll. She mentioned that it was quite well seasoned and tender.

Our companion had the Steamed mussels as a main. As always with mussels, the portion size appeared quite large but this was always bulked up with the shells. She noted that the mussels were very tender and the soup was fragrant and went well with the bread.

For our mains, we had the Steak Tartare. The portion size was also quite generous but it was not served with any bread or biscuits to eat the tartare with, but rather chips and salad. The seasoning on the tartare was fairly mild compared to other places which I have had it so the steak flavours really came through. I did like the extra creaminess of the egg yolk though. The chips were crispy and the salad was fresh, I would have liked the tartare to have been accompanied by bread or crackers.

Price Range: $30 - $45pp

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

Singapore & Co -Brisbane CBD

Met up with some good friends over a weekend lunch at Little Singapore a couple weeks ago for a long overdue catch up. Had called up ahead to make a reservation before the lunch to ensure we had a table, but the restaurant was largely free for walk ins on the weekend.

As a response to their continued support during the covid lockdown, all dishes were on special for $11.90 except for the chef's selection, thereby making the menu pretty much flat fee. We ordered at the counter once we decided what we wanted. From memory, they had quite a few bubble tea options but this must have been abolished.

My companion had the Nasi Lemak, comprised of curry chicken, rendang beef along with some sides such as hard boiled egg, salad and peanuts, there was no lack of toppings to go with her rice and she really enjoyed the dish.

I had ordered a serve of roast pork and roast duck with egg noodle soup. Comparatively, it was far less impressive. I was surprised that the roast pork was served in the soup which meant that it was definitely not crispy at all and was a little fatty with not too much flavour within the meat. The duck was a lot better with the skin also not crisp but it was quite well marinated. The portion of noodles was not too generous in portion but it was cooked to a good texture. There is fairly little doubt in my mind that their Sunnybank branch is far superior to this one.

Price Range: $10 - $20pp

Taste: 6/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 6/10
Environment: 6/10

Seafuel - West End

Had seen a fair bit of fish and chips lately and Dr L was craving some deep fried comfort food, so I did some research on the more popular Fish and Chip restaurants in Brisbane before making a reservation for dinner at Sea Fuel in West End last Friday. Lucky we had made a reservation as the place was unbelievably popular and very full by peak hour.

Due to the current restrictions in place, we were unable to order at the counter and take our time to appreciate the fish on display, but rather we were provided the menu at our table and ordered at our table. The menu consisted of a wide variety of fish as you would expect, along with salads and other deep fried goodies.

 

Always delegated the privilege of ordering for the both of us, I went for the simple option and chose a platter for two so that we could try out everything and selected the seafood salad as our salad of choice. Portions were very generous and we could not finish the food. Dr L mentioned that he preferred large pieces of fish rather than bite sized pieces which were provided. Having said that, the seafood was lightly battered and extremely crispy, albeit the chips were not. My favorite of the platter was undoubtedly the very fresh prawns. The seafood salad was also really enjoyable, being more seafood than salad. I particularly liked the abundance of seafood sticks, complimented by the crunchy celery within the salad.

Unaware of how much the platter for two would fill us, I also ordered a dish of potato scallops to go with our meal. The batter was light and crisp without being oily and the potato was tender without being too soft. It was served lightly salted with a small amount of chives. I really enjoyed it.

Price Range: $20 - $30pp

Taste: 8/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 8/10

KangTi - Sunnybank Hills

Recently a new bakery opened near the gym I frequent. As an avid fan of baked goods, I had to check it out (and re-consume all the calories I had just burnt off). It was in the shopfront that used to hold Pan200, another bakery. The staff were exceptionally friendly and provided lots of advice on what was popular and which breads and cakes were fresh out of the oven. 

 

In the end, I got one pineapple bun and two miniature swiss rolls to go.

The bun itself was soft and fluffy but the biscuit coating wasn't as crumbly as ones you would get at bread top or other Hong Kong bakeries, but it did have the right amount of sweetness to it. Both swiss rolls were also extremely squishy and didn't have too much cream. I liked the matcha roll which was quite nutty and earthy whilst the strawberry one was a little artificial. 

Price Range: $5 - $10pp

Taste: 6.5/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: N/A

Hokkaido Cheese Tart - Upper Mt Gravatt

While at Garden City, I opted to get some tarts home to feed Dr L who was completely wasted after some work drinks with colleagues. Had tried some from myer before and quite liked them while he hadn't tried it before. 

Ordinarily I wouldn't have gotten a box to go, but due to the fact I was carrying a large amount of items, it was either that or eat demolished tarts, so I opted to pay the extra amount for a box.

Thankfully all three came home with me in pristine form.

This was the strawberry tart, my favourite of the selection. With a fragrant fruity scent and a sweetness that balanced the savoury cheese. With ample strawberries on top and the jam mixed through, it was a delicious treat.

By comparison, the blueberry tart did not have any of the blueberry tart mixed through which meant that there were distinctive sweet and savory elements to the tart. I did enjoy the tartness of the blueberry but wonder whether or not it would have been more tasty if combined thoroughly with the cheese like the strawberry tart.

Finally our last tart was the original, with its creamy savory cheesy filling, thick crumbly biscuit base, it was enjoyable, but definitely not as much as I had liked the other two. Next time, will definitely stick with the flavoured tarts only.

Price Range: Under $5 per tart

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

Bar Alba - Brisbane CBD

Have been to Death and Taxes a fair few times since its opening, but every time I go, I always wonder about Bar Alba next door. Last friday after quite a busy week we finally decided it was time to go check it out.

It was really busy on a Friday afternoon as you would expect. We got the last two seats of the house and were lucky enough to be right in front of the bar and able to watch the action.

We were also strategically seated right in front of the menu where we could leave our order with the friendly bartender and ask for some recommendations too.

 

Starting with a rose and a cocktail from their new menu, both were prepared extremely quickly and perfectly chilled for our refreshment. 

Ordering a snack to go with our drinks, this was the Mortadella and Egg. It took a very long time to come out but was well worth our wait. With a well toasted but crispy baguette, a wonderfully fried sunny side up egg with a crispy edge, chives and a generous portion of chips, it was a great snack to go with our drinks. The portion was also fair for the price. Will definitely be back again for some after work drinks at a later date. 

Price Range: $30 - $50pp

Taste: 8/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 8/10

Pancake Manor - Upper Mt Gravatt

For those who have been in Brisbane for a significant time, most would have heard of the long established Pancake Manor, which is quite an institution in the CBD area with its 24 hour service. Running some errands at Garden City the other day, it was too late for me to get home and make dinner, so I decided to try out their Mt Gravatt outpost for once. 

Not having made a reservation earlier, I was seated outside. The menu and ordering system was done via ipad. The selection included mains such as burgers and steaks, sides and of course the namesake pancake. Despite the fact that there weren't too many customers, food still took quite a while after ordering before I received it.

Not wanting to have a purely sweet dinner, I chose a lighter option and went for a main size Caesar Salad to start off with. It was very generous even for a main size portion. I could barely finish it as is. In terms of its composition, there was a bit of lettuce, a very large amount of bacon, chicken as well as Parmesan. There were also two very large pieces of bread on the side. As big as it was, the taste was fairly average, the salad itself wasn't too crisp or fresh and the proportion of lettuce to meat was definitely far skewed to the meat. 

Not one to go to Pancake Manor and not order pancakes, I had a serve of Devonshire pancakes as dessert. They were cute and fluffy but erred on the dryer side. Not too elastic or squishy, they broke as I tried to pick it up with a fork. Sadly the ones I make at home are superior to this.

Price Range: $15 - $25pp

Taste: 4/10
Value: 5/10
Service: 6/10
Environment: 6/10