EatDrinkBrisbane

(To view all pictures in this post, click on the title above)

A dear friend of mine is utterly obsessed with pilots. No trip to the airport is complete without her feverishly clutching at your arm, loudly whispering, “Look! There’s another one! Another pilot! DO YOU SEE? DO YOU SEE THE PILOT??” She has a similar obsession with bouncers, but that’s another story. Anyway, in her mind, it seems there’s a rule that all pilots must be good-looking.

Choo Choo

It’s the reverse situation with sushi trains. For some reason, there’s a rule that they have to be butt ugly inside (with the exception of maybe Hanaichi in the CBD). At the end of the day, I don’t really care because I freaking LOVE sushi and would bust some heads to get my fix. But still – as I sat in Hanabishi recently for lunch, I couldn’t help but think (as I glanced around the clean yet uninspiring room at the uncomfortable chairs, the garish lighting, the tired serving plates, and all of the cats waving madly) this could be a lot nicer.*

Hanabishi California Roll

But, let’s face it: it’s cheap, it’s tasty, and it’s usually a form of take-away, so who am I to get on my high horse about ambiance at a sushi train. Speaking of the sushi – I tried a California Roll, and a Salmon Roll. Both were tasty – the California obviously wasn’t using prime chunks of real crab or anything, but the avocado was fresh and the rolls held together well.

Hanabishi Salmon Roll

The Salmon Roll
was also good, although some might snort at the idea of canned salmon in a sushi roll. I don’t know why, but I quite like it. Again, these little guys held up well against the wrath of my chopsticks.

Hanabishi is very well priced, considering it is the more upmarket inner-city Barracks center. From memory, plates start from about $3.50. The sushi is good value, although not the best I’ve ever had (but take this with a grain of salt, as I only had two plates). Plus, they’re fully licensed. You can also order a variety of Japanese dishes from the menu, like sashimi and tempura vegetables, as well as more heartier meat-based dishes.

Pilots, bouncers, and people nicknamed ‘wagon’ (don’t ask) aside – I have my own rule about sushi trains too, which is that they’re always worth a shot.

Hanabishi

Sushi Train and Japanese Restaurant

The Barracks Shopping Centre

61 Petrie Terrace, Petrie Terrace
Open for lunch and dinner, seven nights a week
(07) 3367 3889

*I recently looked at The Barracks website and Hanabishi looked different – so, there’s a chance they have renovated since I visited. If so, many apologies!

 Hey y’all. I have given myself a little Christmas present and have taken a few days off. I love being chained to my computer as much as the next nerd, but it’s good to mix it up. Here’s Derek, who’s giving a special guest review about Thai food, AKA a commonly found food crumb in my keyboard. Enjoy!

Maeve O’Meara, the host of the wildly popular Food Safari show on SBS, once commented during the Thai episode that green curry is almost Australia’s national dish. What, you say? Thai food has an equal if not better claim then Sunday roast, Fish & Chips, Pavlova, Vegemite and even the good old Aussie Meat Pie? But look around you. Every suburb has at least one or two Thai restaurants and takeaways these days. Many self-respecting pubs, bars or Mod Oz dining joints in town feature at least one Thai-inspired dish on their menu, be it a curry, beef salad or Pad Thai noodles. And most of us are cooking something Thai at home on a rather frequent basis, thanks to the variety of options available to us in the form of pre-prepared Thai spice pastes and ingredients from the supermarkets.

There is a problem, of course. Even as the popularity of Thai food in Australia soared over the past two decades, and as Thai cuisine establishes its reputation as a world class cuisine here thanks to the likes of David Thompson and Martin Boetz of Longrain, it is also very easy to end up with bad Thai chow. Generic suburban Thai restaurants of indifferent quality are already beginning to replace their Chinese counterparts from previous generations. Sure, the Thai takeaway food from around the corner from you could be tasty, and perhaps it’s not a big deal if it doesn’t taste exactly like what one might actually get on the streets of Thailand. But what does it say about Brisbane’s food scene?

To say that Siam Samrarn is not only a breath of fresh air, but also the total package as far as Thai restaurants in Brisbane go is an understatement. First off, the restaurant’s décor shows the benefit of being in the same premises previously occupied by two swanky dining joints. I had dined with both of its former tenants before, so with the exception of a few furnishing touches here and there, Siam Samrarn is just as good looking as its predecessors but with the prices of a typical mid-range suburban restaurant.

The service, considering the type of venue it is, could not have been better. The waitstaff were all friendly, efficient, and genuinely interested in taking your orders, tending to your table needs, or making any recommendations when the need arises. We wanted to try a whole fish as one of our mains, but we couldn’t decide on how to have it cooked, or what sauce to serve it with. The Thai girl waiting on our table was grinning from ear to ear as she began to describe to us the dish she recommended: sour fish curry. She was passionate about the restaurant’s food and she knew exactly what she was talking about. A major plus in my book.

True Thai food aims to straddle between the taste sensations of sweet (i.e. palm sugar), savoury (i.e. fish sauce), spicy (that is, the bite of chilli heat beloved by many Thais), sour (i.e. tamarinds and limes) and sometimes even a hint of bitterness (i.e. certain herbs and roots), to produce a heady mix of sensual delight…a true feast for all the senses. The food here is authentic, not weighed down with copious amounts of coconut milk and sugar like so many of its competitors in town (definitely a plus for the waistline) so you can actually taste the more delicate herbal notes in some of the food, and the flavours are clean and quite well-balanced. Okay, except for the chilli heat which I prefer to have more of in my Thai food, but it is a matter of personal taste anyway.

The sour fish curry was delightful. It was a massive deep fried fish topped with tamarind-soured curry sauce (at its most basic, a blend of garlic, chillies, eschallots and fingerroot, also known as “lesser galangal” and an ingredient that is not readily available here in Brisbane) and vegetables. A gentle tart flavour enveloped the rich sweetness of pounded garlic and eschallots, with a hint of chilli heat and the piquant flavour of the exotic root in question, paired with the crunchy outer layer that contrasted beautifully with the juicy fish flesh hidden underneath. No hint of greasiness or old frying oil, and for $19.90 each (big enough for two), an absolute bargain! The veggies also came in generous portions, so I didn’t need to order a separate dish of greens just to satiate my veggie quota of the night.

But just to make sure we had enough to eat (and variety to sample), we also ordered one of their Meal-on-Rice menu specials (for only $11.90, $13.90 for seafood), which included an option from a variety of curries, stews, stir fries and even Thai omelettes served on rice. I have eaten at Siam Samrarn before this visit, but it was always either for lunch or a quick meal late at night (we walked in at 9 PM on a Wednesday night and they still had a sizeable dinner crowd). Previously I tried the green curry, which had a nice consistency without being watery or thick as sludge, and is a great example of how an authentic Thai curry should taste like. The pork leg stew had a deliciously gelatinous quality, bursting with subtle sweet and tangy flavours. The Thai omelette with minced meat is a fluffy delight you don’t usually see on a Thai takeaway menu, and is something different that is definitely worth trying for sure.

This time, we went for the beef massaman curry, which came as hunks of stewed brisket simmered in the curry sauce: richly fragrant, meltingly tender, and again beautifully balanced flavours. The curry was rich, sweet, savoury, and spicy without venturing into superlative extremes that could prove to be unpleasant to the palate, and it had the gutsy meatiness that comes from stewing a tough but flavoursome cut of meat.

An extra bowl of rice and two cups of Thai iced milk tea (addictive tonics they are, especially during this summer heat. You have been warned!) rounded up our meal of fish and curry, and the total bill came down to a very reasonable $40. Perhaps the Thai food scene in Brisbane doesn’t measure up to that of Sydney or even Melbourne, but there are a few worthy contenders in this town. Siam Samrarn, in my opinion, is easily one of them. I guess the two separate groups of Thai expats and students sitting a few tables away from me would agree with me too. If you’re looking for a well-priced restaurant with gorgeous surrounds and capable staff serving quality food that is authentically Thai, what are you waiting for?

 -Derek C

Siam Samrarn

1/79 Boundary St

West End

(07) 3844 9091

http://www.siamsamrarn.com.au/

Image courtesy of the Siam Samrarn website

Bloody Good Burgers

Has anyone seen the news story about the Krispy Kreme burger? It’s disgusting, isn’t it. Imagine: a greasy burger, dripping with fat, sandwhiched between a Krispy Kreme doughnut. There’s a sick part of me that is curious, and would probably take a bite. Maybe it tastes fantastic? Maybe it could be the new culinary delight, but everyone is too scared to try it in fear of getting fat and heart disease?

Luckily, if I’m ever feeling this way again, I’ve found a good burger place to satsify my burger craving and not increase my cholesterol level. I’m talking about Beastie Burgers at South Bank, a licensed burger joint that offers imaginative and unique burgers, with nary a doughnut in sight (damn).

Yeah, I’m a little slow to jump on the Beastie bandwagon, but whatever. The point is, I’ve now been, and it’s damn good. On our recent visit we ordered an IT Support (tandoori chicken, yoghurt dressing, roast tomato, onion jam, lettuce), and a Spice Route (sweet potato, beef patty, haloumi, chill jam, tomato relish, hummus). Or, as D called it, “A Spice Rowte? Rootay? What is it?” Lucky he’s cute.

Both burgers were $10.50, which seemed like a reasonable price given their size and the quality of the ingredients. The IT Support contained a huge fillet of grilled chicken in a subtle Tandoori coating, along with generous serves of the vegies. Similarly, D’s Spice Rowte was packed to the brim, with thick discs of haloumi and beef taking centre stage.

Goddamnit, D’s burger beat mine. The combination of the sweet potato, beef, and haloumi was fantastic. Suprisingly, the flavours all complemented each other really well. My only complaint was that there were too many condiments-while delicious, in the end they made the burger a little soggy and start to fall apart. Having said that, the condiments were all so tasty. Very conflicting.

It was the opposite story with my burger-I felt there could have been a little more yoghurt dressing, to really push the whole ‘Tandoori’ focus of the burger. Here’s a funny story. I thought they called it IT Support because it must be what nerds eat. D is a nerd, but does not eat Tandoori chicken burgers all the time (nerds prefer Pepsi Max and Chicken Crimpy Shapes, it seems). Then I made the Tandoori-IT Support connection. Ohhh. Very un-PC, but cleverly named.

Despite my lack of sauce, my burger was also really tasty. The chicken was very lean and cooked perfectly, and not an ounce of any sort of greasy substance spilled out of either of our burgers. The buns were large, fresh, and fluffy, and made the burgers easier to eat (rather than those thicker yet smaller buns that force the burger to be really high, thus impeding eating technique).

Beastie Burgers also has salads, onion rings, fries, and a variety of drinks, including a Lindt Chocolate Milkshake. God that sounds good. There’s also beer from $5.50, wine, and coffee.

There’s friendly and polite table service, free water, and very relaxed and casual outdoor seating. I admit I still find it weird eating at places that have elements of both restaurant (licensed, table service) and casual take away (simple furniture, open-air, fairly low prices), but Beastie’s is still worth a visit. The burgers are, to date, the best I’ve had in Brisbane. Follow the delicious rawte to Beastie’s.

Beastie Burgers
Cafe and Takeaway

Shop 60D
Little Stanley St
South Bank

(07) 3844 4070

‘Bursting’ with Flavour

It seems it is my goal in life to eat my way through every sushi train in Brisbane. What is it about plates of rice on a moving vehicle that excites me so? As a child, did I make a little sushi hut and transfer sashimi and inari over to it on the backs of toy trains? Do I have a bit of a thing for train drivers? Who knows. All I know is conveyor belt + nori = happy Ally.

Although this Ally had a little confused frown on a recent sushi train trip. I was at Little Lily Sushi Bar, a sushi train that adjoins the Little Lily Vietnamese Restaurant, at Kelvin Grove.

The good news first-it’s rather cheap. Plates are $2.80, $3.50, and $4.80, and green tea is served free. The train track is large, so there’s lot of seating too.

So why was I frowning? Because when you try to place some sushi in your mouth and it falls apart, all over you/the floor/your neighbour’s foot, you look like a damn fool. Unfortunately, this was the story with most of the sushi. It was either put together rather sloppily, or rolled so tightly it was bursting at the seams. Either way, the end result was me picking dried rice off my top that afternoon (although that tends to happen after most meals).

There’s also not a lot of choice with what’s on the train; on my visit, there was mainly rice-based rolls and a few deep fried things. I may have seen a lone inari, but the train was moving so fast (seriously, this thing was flying), I could have been imagining it.

Now-once I finally got the sushi in my mouth, my grumpiness evaporated. The sushi tastes good. I tried a salmon and avocado plate ($3.50), and the salmon was of a really high quality. The avocado was perfect and was very fresh.
I also grabbed a mysterious plate of what I thought was spicy tuna ($2.80). It was actually some sort of canned salmon mix, and as weird as that sounds, it tasted really good. On a previous visit I also tried some deep fried tofu and picked vegie rolls, which were fantastic and held together well. This makes me think the chef might have just been having an off day with her rolling technique.

The sushi is all fresh and prepared on the spot, and there is a menu that presumably you can order whatever you want off (like sashimi). The ambience isn’t fantastic; it’s rather plain inside and austere. Having said that, it’s clean and it is a sushi train, designed for quick and cheap meals. The servings are bigger than most places, but still don’t match up to such monster servings like at Toowong Sushi Station.

So, despite the sushi falling apart, it was really quite tasty and good value. I’ll go back, and risk looking like an idiot who can’t feed herself.

Little Lily
Sushi Bar (and Thai Restaurant)

Shops 19 & 20, 8 Carraway St
Kelvin Grove

(07) 3832 2888