Memorable Foods of 2014

Since the year is ending and I haven’t been an avid blogger for the past months, here is a compilation of my memorable foods in 2014. It is a mix of Brisbane food, interstate food and home made deliciousness. Hopefully this also tells you a story about my year 🙂 Enjoy!

Char Kway Teow from my regular Malaysian hangout – Yahoo (Little Taipei – Sunnybank). The best Malaysian restaurant I’ve been to in Brisbane.

This laksa is to die for – again from Yahoo (Little Taipei – Sunnybank).

Home style pork ribs made by a crazy mum and shared with an awesome family.

Roast pork roll from Mr. Crackles in Sydney.

A new breakfast and coffee joint opened up in the Ville (St Lucia) this year and it has been serving up good food for me as I study at Queensland Theological College!

My home group at church cooked up 120 wonton noodle soups with char siu to fund raise for a cross cultural worker we support.

I went on a short term college mission trip to Hurstville in Sydney and I found this good dumpling joint called “Taste of Shanghai”.

Apparently this ice cream joint was awarded the best ice cream in the world! Cow over the moon in Sydney.

Taro’s Ramen. Whenever I think of this ramen, I get cravings…. If you ever want to meet up with me for lunch at the CBD, this is the place to go.

So a new eatery opened up at Garden City called “Eight Street”. Although I was disappointed many times, this joint (Dim Sum) was a pleasant surprise.

Piefection is a bit greasy and dirty but hits all the right buttons in a filling, meaty, gourmet meat pie.

Roast pork I cooked at home with a crackle I was very proud of!

Smoked salmon lungos at the Hungarian stall at Kuraby markets. One of my pick food stalls.

A trip to Sydney is never complete without Bourke Street Bakery 🙂

An original lungos from the Hungarian Stall at Kuraby Markets. The dough is so soft and fluffy and to die for…

Pizza from Twins on the Village for my birthday!

I went on a baking craze for a few months which resulted in a Coconut chocolate cake, Souffles, and this delicious nutella cheesecake 🙂

Brekkie @ Brick and Bean Cafe (Hawken Ville)

Good little spot with a solid breakfast menu and good customer service. Lots of seats to chill or meet up with people. Eggs are cooked just right. Good portions of bacon. Haven’t been disappointed yet.

Eight Street

Eight Street

Crazy Wings – Crazy Lamb Sticks

Okonomi House – Bacon/Cheese/Corn Okonomiyaki

Okonimi House – Pork Belly Okonomiyaki

Dim Sum – Mini Pork Dumplings

Dim Sum – Pan Fried Pork Dumplings

Dim Sum – Shallot Pancake

Burlington BBQ – 2 Meat Rice

Here are some snapshots of my adventures into Eight Street, Garden City. It’s a new eatery downstairs at Westfield Garden City (Upper Mt Gravatt) that includes 14 Asian stalls.

In summary, the food is better than the other ‘Asian’ food you find in Garden City, but it still doesn’t compare to Market Square or anything like that.

A quick summary of the places I’ve tried:

Crazy Wings – Not much meat on the stick, but it is seasoned and bbq’ed well. $8 and 6 lamb sticks won’t fill you up. Good side to kill time waiting for other dishes.

Okonomi House – I had low expectations of this, but I was pleasantly surprised. I hated the 10+ minute wait for it, but the taste was good and it was very filling.

Burlington BBQ – Paid $12.90 for a 2 meat meal, and I felt ripped off. Got the same amount of rice and meat as a $8 Hanaichi bowl, and the meat wasn’t very tasty.

Dim Sum – Really hard to make a meal out of this (6 buns/dumplings didn’t really fill me up, but 12 was a bit overkill and expensive). Dumplings and buns had soup in it and haven’t had any dumplings break on me yet. Tastes like they make the buns and dumplings fresh. Would be back.

I haven’t tried it yet, but I’ve heard from multiple credible sources that the Laksa at the noodle store is very bad. Please save your money and time and go to Yahoo instead if you want Laksa.

Hope the place dies down soon – biggest bummer is waiting to get food. Otherwise, a good addition to the food landscape on the Southside.

Laksa Test

So, I’ve been sold for a while about laksa at Yahoo (Sunnybank and Waterford) being the best local laksa I can find in the Southside. But the question is – are they the same or are they different?

Well I’ve tried both in the past month and here are some images and my thoughts:

Little Taipei Laksa

Waterford Laksa

Little Taipei – Post Laksa

• Little Taipei laksa has always been consistent in terms of soup, flavour and toppings, while I have the impression that Waterford’s laksa changes in toppings depending on what’s left over
• The time I went to Waterford, the laksa’s toppings seemed to be really bad in quality. I had processed sliced chicken (not shredded pieces), a piece of bbq pork and some beef slices, and one of them had a really off taste
• Both soups tasted very similar and were both delicious (but the toppings infused into the soup spoiled the taste a bit in the Waterford laksa)
• Before the off-meat taste, the flavours and spices in the Waterford laksa were more pronounced compared to the Little Taipei laksa
• Other toppings (non-meat) were fairly similar – both have 2 prawns, tofu and the same quantity of other condiments

Verdict

• Little Taipei’s laksa won’t let you down
• Only have Waterford laksa if you’re in the laksa mood – or else there are many other dishes (Waterford only dishes) that are worth getting
• Beware of the toppings at Waterford
• Go to Waterford at night and get their awesome main dishes (golden chicken, chilli tofu, butter oat prawns, etc.) instead of the lunch menu

Local Takeaway Pizza: Gourmet Pizzas Parkinson

Butcher’s Selection with BBQ Pork and Hollandaise Sauce

Facebook post by the owners

 

I’m going through a phase of supporting some of the local small businesses that plate up good food, and here is one that I’ve recently found called Gourmet Pizzas Parkinson on the corner of Nottingham Road and Algester Road.

The owners are lovely guys to speak to on the phone and when picking up. They regularly update their facebook page and are really down to earth guys.

The menu is here.

My pick so far has been the Butcher’s Selection (and I add chorizo and hollandaise sauce). Once I called up and ordered this pizza, and the owner offered to put BBQ pork on it instead – I gladly accepted. They always put specials up on their facebook page, and the best one by far in my opinion is the buy one get one free large pizzas every Monday.

In regards to sides, I like their cheese delight bread in calzone. I’ve had two goes at their buffalo wings: one time was really awesome, and the other was average – so it might be worth trying it if you’re willing to take a risk.

They do takeaway and also free delivery if you live within 5km of the store. Obviously this is a takeaway joint, so don’t expect high end toppings or presentation.

If you’re looking for some cheap and tasty pizzas on a Monday and want to support a local business, I would recommend this place to you 🙂

Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

Blue cheese dip with wings

Dip combined in processor

Dip waiting to be eaten

Dip alongside its favourite partner

So after visiting Carolina Kitchen last week, I’ve been having dreams about eating some finger-licking-good wings dipped in some of their beautiful blue cheese dip.

This afternoon, I decided to test a blue cheese dip recipe I found, and it came up with the goods. Here it is:

Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup sour cream
2. 1/2 cup blue cheese (crumbled up)
3. 1/4 cup mayonnaise
4. 1 small garlic clove (chopped up)
5. 1 tablespoon of milk
6. Juice of 1/2 lemon
7. A touch of salt and pepper

Directions

1. Combine the sour cream, blue cheese, mayonnaise, garlic, milk and lemon juice in a food processor and pulse until it is mixed into a saucey state.
2. Add salt and pepper and mix until it is to your liking (I added a touch more milk to make the sauce more liquidy)
3. Fridge until serving

Seriously, this took me under 10 minutes to put together. It is so worth the result of a succulent tasting sauce to accompany some hot wings.

Yahoo! There’s Malaysian Food in Brisbane!

Laksa

Butter Oat Prawns with Rice

Hainan Chicken Rice

Guiness Pork

As a proud Malaysian, I am very nitpicky about my Malaysian food. And for many years, the food at many restaurants ‘claiming’ to be Malaysian have sorely disappointed my home food cravings (Malaya Corner… for example).

Yahoo (Waterford and Sunnybank – Little Taipei) for me is the best Malaysian food I’ve had in Brisbane by a long shot, and the prices are so good, you can get a good feed for under $10. The one at Sunnybank is a winner for me.

My pick is definitely the Laksa. The soup’s consistency and mix is great – not too much coconut and not too hot. The mix of vermincelli and egg noodles is spot on. And usually you’ll get a mix of chicken, prawn, tofu, fish balls, and other condiments.

The other great picks in my books are: Guiness Pork, Marmite Chicken (sworn favourite of some), Hainan Chicken Rice, Mee Goreng and Butter Oat Prawns (a few bucks extra but well worth a try). Each rice meal comes with soup and some sides of salad, half an egg with some Malaysian sauce, and preserved vegetables.

If you’re looking for a side and drink, I would highly recommend their Tofu Goreng (deep fried tofu in sauce) and Cold Chrysanthemum Tea.

I cannot begin to express how much I love this place. Give it a try. Be won over by amazing Malaysian food.

Hidden Gem: Carolina Kitchen

Pork Ribs

Buffalo Wings

New York Fries

Jordan Image

It’s hard to resist a combination of ribs, buffalo wings and fries. Such an easy combination of finger lickin’ good food. But for some reason, so hard to find in Brisbane.

Carolina Kitchen is hidden in the ‘burbs of Brisbane (Coorparoo). About 10 minutes from the CBD surrounded by houses. It’s a humble American diner with simple furnishing – you’ll feel like you’re in your mother’s kitchen. But the food… great meaty and greasy food. That’s what counts right?

They sell ribs, wings, new york fries (fries with salsa, sour cream and cheese), hoagies (like a 3/4 footlong sub), hot dogs, burgers and American branded drinks.  We usually get a Carolina Pack: $40 for ribs, 12 wings and a serve of fries.

I’ll let the pictures tell the story. The ribs are nice. But I’ll definitely recommend the buffalo wings. Don’t forget to use the dipping sauce – it’s some blue cheese sauce which tastes great. My pick from here – I would drive 20 minutes to pick these up… oh the things we do for good food.

Ramen for the Pork Lover – Gumshara Ramen

Gumshara Shopfront

Super Mega Ramen

Pork Rib

Menu

Ramen. Meat. What more can you want?

I was tipped off by a friend about a meaty ramen in Sydney, and I couldn’t resist the temptation to try this place. It’s called Gumshara, and its located in a food court just off Chinatown in Sydney. To be honest, I didn’t expect much after finding out it was in a food court. But when I saw the little stall, my opinion changed straight away! The smell – of the pork broth travelled across the food court. The line – it was packed, and crowds were having a look at the menu. Great signs of good food.

I tried the ultimate meal: the super mega ramen noodle for $25. It’s a bit expensive for a meal. But it includes probably 4 times the pork slices to usual ramen, a pork skewer, and a massive pork rib!

I’m going to describe the ramen in the categories of: broth, noodles and toppings.

Broth

This is by far the thickest pork broth I’ve ever had. It compares to the thick tsukemen broth I had at Tokyo Station – but this time it was the actual soup instead of a dipping broth. For those looking for a meaty broth – this will definitely satisfy you. This is the drawcard of the place – thick, meaty, pork, broth. It’s definitely very overpowering. The purists would probably not ‘love’ this. I wouldn’t have this soup every day or every week. But I would definitely not get sick of sipping this one down!

Noodles

The noodles were OK. Nothing special about them from memory. Nothing bad to say. But I would say that this definitely isn’t the focus of the ramen.

Toppings

Alongside the broth, I would say that this is the real plus of this ramen. I counted about 12 slices of pork, which were mouthwatering. There was a pork skewer, which was seasoned and barbecued (I think this was the highlight of my meat eatings in the ramen). And finally for the meat, one large, fat, thick rib of pork which was soaked in the beautiful thick broth. There were two half eggs, which were cooked just right – not overdone at all.

Verdict

I like this place. I wouldn’t go for the super mega bowl every time – maybe once every few months. If you love meat and love ramen – STRONGLY suggest you check out this place. I’ll definitely be back.

Pizza at Twins

Diavola

Gamberi

Ever since I started studying again, I’ve been visiting Hawken Drive at least once a week, sampling all the food in the centre. I love pizza, so naturally I tried the local Italian joint “Twins on the Village”. It’s always empty, so I always wonder what’s wrong. They do $10 lunch pizza specials.

Why would you have pizza at Twins?

• The dough is unbelievably fluffy. It’s fresh, it goes down so well. Possibly the best medium-thick base I’ve had in Brisbane.
• It’s a great price for gourmet pizza. $10 for any pizza in their range – including their Gamberi prawn pizza. Amazing.

Why might you not have pizza at Twins?

• There isn’t a smorgasbord of toppings. It’s definitely passable quality. But definitely not the quantity you’d expect if you’re used to the fast food joints.
• The pizzas are a tiny bit smaller than others. You get 6 slices. I’m satisfied but probably could go another 1 or 2 more slices.

I’m really happy with this find. It would probably be my go-to pizza place at the moment in Brisbane. Hope you can try it!