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 

Kumo Kumo - South Bank

Those who follow social media news will no doubt have seen the barrage of ads for Kumo Kumo, a pop up soufflé pancake that is gracing our city until January 2023. With all the hype, we met up with a friend and tried it out on its second day of opening when I just so happened to have a day off. Arriving just before opening time, there was a short line building up when I got there. It still took 20 minutes of waiting, but better than the long queue that formed after the official opening.

I was not able to find a priced menu online before coming, but I had expected it to be somewhat expensive. These expectations were fulfilled and the prices were close to $20 for each of the five flavours, the more extravagant ones were more expensive than the more plain.

 

Despite getting to the top of the queue, it still took around 10 minutes for our pancakes. At least it was really fun to watch staff make them while we waited.

There weren't too many tables available but we were able to find one as we arrived early. Cutlery and water was available on a DIY basis. 

Dr L opted for the brown sugar boba flavour. It was topped with milky foam, brown sugar dressing, and of course topped with pearls. Trying some of his, I was glad to see it wasn't overly sweet and the pearls were adequately chewy. I found the pancakes to be very strong in egg flavour and the texture reminded me a bit of a pan fried cake.

 

My Uji Matcha one was largely the same, the pancake wasn't very big but it was very heavy in egg flavour. The matcha was light and foamy and wasn't too sweet, whilst being sufficiently bitter. The red bean paste was quite sweet but there was only a small amount. Overall the flavours were pleasant but not outstanding. The portions were small though. For close to $20 as a snack, I would have thought we would at least have been afforded a share portion, but one serve was definitely not enough to share. Given its bad value for money, I am glad I satisfied my curiosity, but would be in no hurry to return.

Price Range: $15 - $25pp

Taste: 6.5/10

Value: 4/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 6/10
 

Tasty Rumor - Woodridge

So we had heard quite a few good things about a Korean Jok Bal place in Woodridge, a 'Tasty Rumour', if you would. So when Dr L asked where we were going for our week day date night last week, I suggested we take the drive out to try it for once and for all. 

We made a reservation on the basis that it would be full given how many favourable reviews we had read, but were surprised that other than us, there was only one other table that evening. 

Dr L was mildly surprised to find the menu to be an all pork menu, however there were quite a few variations of pork belly, pork hock and pork trotter to choose from along with other noodle and side dishes. We ordered at the counter.

Starting off, we shared a refreshing citron soju.

Our food came our very soon after and before long our table was full. Because there was only two of us, we opted for the half and half set. Our picks for the night was the  Soy Braised Pork Hock and Soy Braised Pork Belly. Sides were rice noodles and pork broth. It was also served with wrapping lettuce and some condiments.

The Jok Bal was without a doubt the best I've had in Brisbane. Flavoursome but tender, the fat had been rendered away but there was still some soft collagen between the meat tissue. Dr L really enjoyed this dish and couldn't get enough. 

The pork belly wasn't as nice as the jok bal but it too wasn't too fatty, but was served steaming hot with soy and pork juices. The flavours were intense but homely at the same time, like a firm but warm hug. It went well with the lettuce wrap and the portion sizes were generous for half an half.

We hadn't had Korean Rice Noodles before, so we didn't know what to expect. It was firmer and more translucent than Chinese rice noodles with a little bit more of a brittle crunch. The soup was refreshing and the shallots on top were crisp and moreish. It's definitely a side that I would recommend coming back for.

Although the rice noodle was delicious, my favourite side was without a doubt the pork broth. I didn't know what to expect, and it was delightfully served in a teapot with two cups, but this was the richest and creamiest pork broth I have ever had. Deep and mellow it embraced my heart as it went down. Without a doubt this was made with all the bones from the pork dishes they make, it is a wonderful way to use them to make such a beautiful soup. I would return for this alone.

Overall, we had a really enjoyable time at Tasty Rumour and definitely will come back in the near future to try some more of their dishes.

Price Range: $30 - $40pp

Taste: 8.5/10

Value: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Environment: 8/10
 

Casa Chow - Woolloongabba

Peruvian Chinese cuisine. Not a mix up that I'd have ordinarily thought about, but after recently being educated by a friend about the mash up of cultures that occurred when the Chinese migrated over to Peru in the 1920s, I was intrigued and curious. So we made a reservation to try out the relatively new Casa Chow, located in South City Square at Woolloongabba. 

Our booking was fairly late in the evening, 8.30pm was the first slot we could get and the place was still packed when we arrived. Staff were extremely busy which made it exceedingly difficult for us to get service.

The menu was not as exotic as I initially expected, a lot of the dishes were heavily Chinese influenced with touches of Peruvian flavours. It took us a very long time to get staff attention, but were able to put down out order once we did.

Our first dish to arrive was the Kingfish Ceviche. It had a light spicy tang to it and was served atop a cripsy wanton pastry. It was quite delicious, but for the price, the portion was most definitely not worth it.

A companion that went with us was a huge fan of Dan Dan noodles, so of course we had to try Casa Chow's iteration. Given the price of $29, we had expected something akin to a main size, but when it came out, portions were tiny, barely giving our group of four one small mouthful each. As for the taste, it was fairly average, with al dente hokkien noodles and spicy pork mince. I'm moderately sure I could do better at home and so this was definitely not worth it. 

Next up was the Fremantle Octopus, coconut, vegetables, lime and rice noodle. I liked the combination of citrus flavours with rice noodle, you don't get that often in Chinese cuisine. The octopus was cooked well and quite tender and there was a good ratio of octopus to noodles but sadly the portions were again quite lacking.

Our final dish was the relative highlight of the night, the Lomo Saltado with Chips and Rice. It consisted of sweet soy and pepper sauce stir fried beef strips along with an assortment of veggies, served with rice and chips. Without the chips, it would have been a fairly ordinary Chinese meal, but the chips complimented the black pepper sauce really well and we really enjoyed it. The meat was also very soft and tender, and the rice mopped up the sauces well. Although still not worth the price, it was at least a decent serving. All in all, we had a fairly lacklustre time at Casa Chow. The food doesn't particularly stand out and the value perspective stands out for all the wrong reasons. I don't think I will be back.

Price Range: $30 - $40pp

Taste: 6/10

Value: 4/10

Service: 4/10

Environment: 7/10