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!

Pies in Paradise: Meldrums Pies

Meldrums Pies

Pepper Steak Pie

Pie Contents

Steak, Chilli and Cheese Pie with the works

It’s hard to believe when a bakery says “Best Pies in [City]”.

But after a unanimous tipoff at a men’s bible study, I was intrigued to look for Meldrums Pies in Paradise (97 Grafton Street, Cairns) and found it the next day. When a group of 6 (Presbyterian) men can all agree, it must be a good sign!

When I got there, around 3pm – most of their famous pies were sold out already. Even their peas, mash and gravy were sold out. Again – another good sign!

I tried their pepper steak pie. Here were some of my thoughts:

• There’s real meat!
• I’m not feeling greasy 🙂
• No salt overload
• This pie is packed full of good stuff
• I’m very satisfied
• This lives up to the expectation
• I want to try the other pies ASAP

Costs under $6 per pie and you’ll be content and not feeling greasy (like 99% of the other pie joints around). Locals swear by this place.

Update!!!!

Went back and had a Steak, Chilli and Cheese Pie with the works (pictured). Great feed. Would go back again. Was told their best sellers were Pepper Steak and Steak and Curry.

Perfect Pies @ Piefection

JD Pork Rib Pie Floater

Piefection Menu

One of the few truly ‘Aussie’ meals is a humble, hearty meat pie. But with so many pies around the place – its pretty hard to find a great tasting and filling pie these days.

Stumbled across a little place in Mt Gravatt (1373 Logan Road) over the past year called Piefection. It boasts a tasty menu of gourmet pies, and the owner, Matt Roman, regularly tests different recipes (such as Soy Pork Belly which I tried once) if you are lucky to get one in time.

This place is NOT for the healthy eater. It’s NOT a place for the fine diner. It definitely IS the place for meat-filling experience with a plethora of options.

The menu can be found here.

My pick is either one of the daily specials, or the Jack Daniels BBQ Pork Rib Pie with the floater (mash, gravy, peas) combo. No joke – I can’t believe how much pork is shoved into the pie, and how tender it is. The JD BBQ marinate makes it taste so good.

If you’re feeling extra dirty, you could try their animal fries or gems (fries or gems baked with bacon, ham, cheese and gravy) – be warned this is deliciously dirty (or dirtily delicious?) and should never be tackled solo.

You may find this place a tad pricier than usual bakeries, but it is definitely worth the cost. You’ll still get a good feed for under $8 with a floater or under $11 including chips and drink.

This is one of my favourite destinations for pie. Have a try and let me know what you think.

Pork Ribs: Craving Satisfied

Rack of Pork Ribs, in Al Foil and lathered with BBQ Sauce.

120 degrees in pre-heated oven for 3 hours.

Served with home-style potato wedges and sour cream.

Tender, Meaty, Flavoursome, One of my favourite dishes.

Pizza in Japan?? – Italian Kitchen Buono

Meat Pizza

Italian Kitchen Buono

So I’ve always thought… why would I even try the ‘foreign’ food in Japan? Especially when there’s so much of a variety of Japanese food around anyway! Well, after 10 days of stuffing myself with Japanese food, I decided it was time to be re-acquainted with a western dish. I walked around a big shopping complex, and I seated myself and waited for some ‘Japan-ised’ pizza.

How wrong was I to steer away from ‘foreign’ food in Japan. The place I checked into was Italian Kitchen Buono in LalaPort (Minami Funabashi). I ordered their meat pizza (forgive me, I have no idea what they called it in nihongo, but it looked like the meatiest one). I wasn’t expecting anything great. To be honest, anything close to a Pizza Hut quality dish would have sufficed. But I was pleasantly surprised.

OK. Let’s state the obvious. The meat doesn’t look that great. The bacon was fine, but luncheon meat is luncheon meat, and not very ‘exotic’ or interesting. But the crust was thin and crisp and just right! I’d rank it one of the top crusts I’ve had before. The tomato paste and quality of cheese was also great. Japanese cheese is actually really tasty – compared to cheese in other parts of Asia. I could taste at least 3 different cheeses happening there.

If the meats/toppings were improved, the pizza would have been almost perfect. But I was impressed with the crust and the cheese. This has changed my view of  ‘foreign’ food in Japan. Japan does Japanese food well. It does western food well. I think I’m beginning to really like this place!

Kobe Beef – Wakkoqu (Shin-Kobe)

My chef for tonight

The chef showing me the steak before cooking it

Entree of smoked salmon – even this tasted superb

Kobe beef medium rare

Kobe Beef

Every meat lover dreams of a succulent marbled steak melting in their mouths. As I planned my trip to Japan, one of my top destinations was to try the renowned and highly sought after cut of Kobe Beef from its hometown – Kobe.

I did a bit of research and this place called Wakkoqu came up, so I decided to take a blindside to my wallet and give this joint a try. This store has two shopfronts: one at Kobe City (Kitane) and one in Shin-Kobe at Oriental Avenue 3F  just next to the JR station. For convenience sake, I ended up going to the Shin-Kobe location on the way home from Hiroshima.

Wakkoqu is an upmarket Kobe Beef restaurant, so don’t expect a cheap feed. I ordered the Wakkoqu special course which included an appetizer (smoked salmon or sliced beef), 250g steak (sirloin or tenderloin – the chef advised the sirloin is a lot better), sides and rice or bread.

One thing that stuck out for me was the amazing skills of the teppenyaki chef. Watching him slice and dice and cook and multitask the meat and the sides was an awe to witness. Everything came out just right, and the chef was also very helpful in advising what mix of condiments to use.

The beef, undoubtedly the most important part of the meal, simply blew me away. The marbling was extraordinary. It was cooked exactly the way I wanted. The mix of condiments (salt, pepper, mustard, grilled garlic, and two other sauces) supplemented the meat well. I was afraid that 250g was not enough,  but by the end, I was truly satisfied and happy with the steak. Each bite simply melted in my mouth and was simply heavenly food.

If you are just looking for a meat hit in Kobe without worrying about the hit to the pocket, then I would seriously recommend this place. If you’re just visiting and willing to fork out one expensive meal to try this impeccably marbled steak, I would suggest to give it a go.  However, if you’re not too particular about your meat, I would suggest to find a cheap teppenyaki joint. This place is only for the serious meat lovers. I loved the steak, but I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere near this place again, knowing that I can barbecue a pretty good steak for about 1/20 of the price.