Taste Gallery, Market Square

October 11, 2017November 22, 2017 / Vivi / Leave a comment

As one of the grander restaurants in Market Square, Taste Gallery caters to families and big groups of friends who want a variety of delicious options whilst dining out. Learning to cook when he first arrived in Australia, the head chef Evan, has 39 years of experience under his belt. From his first job in China Town, his career has expanded to Toowong and Sunnybank, working at Kingsfood for 12 years before bringing his culinary skills to Taste Gallery.

We started off our 10 course meal with the ever popular minced chicken in corn soup. A sweet corn soup with a good balance of chicken was the perfect dish to awaken the taste buds.

Next up, we had the two course peking duck which includes duck rolls and san choy bao. The dish was uniquely presented with well sliced duck – a thin layer of meat with crispy duck skin. The duck is then wrapped with the cucumber, shallot and an option of hoi sin sauce or sweet chilli sauce.

The san choy bao was refreshing with duck meat, peas, corn and carrot presented in a lettuce cup.

The next dish that we devoured was the deep fried shrimp balls with mayo which was one of my top favourites. Even though it was deep fried, the shrimp balls were not oily. The batter was a good consistency giving it a soft crunch and the shrimp inside was filling. This dish was accompanied with pineapple which gave the overall flavour a zesty tang which became quite additive.

Fried Rice

The szechuan pepper chicken which came out next is one of my all time favourites. This is a staple dish that makes your taste buds tingle and you start drooling as soon as you take the first bite. It is the perfect dish if you’re dining by yourself with a big bowl of steaming hot rice.

The green mussels in XO sauce which is made from dried seafood and chilli was juicy and flavoursome. Each mussel itself was quite large and soft to bite into. If XO sauce isn’t to your fancy, it comes with the option of szechuan sauce.

After making our way through a few meat dishes, it was nice to mix it up with some stir fried veggies in garlic sauce. Although the veggies were lightly seasoned, it was quite flavoursome and crunchy.

The deep fried ribs was so moist and flavoursome. Each bite of the ribs made your taste buds crave for more. The ribs were glazed with a special sauce which was so succulent, soaking into the meat itself.

The tantalising smell when the sizzling beef fillet in black pepper sauce came out was absolutely mouth watering. The meat was tender with an earthy aroma of the black pepper.

Trying to fit the dessert in after such a delectable ten course meal was quite hard. The pumpkin rice cake was so picturesque that it was almost hard to take a bite out of it. When you finally take a bite though, you’re welcomed with a soft red bean paste inside which compliments the rice cake. This was the perfect dish to end the meal as it wasn’t overly sweet but sweet enough to keep your taste buds satisfied.

Overall, the food at Taste Gallery was absolutely amazing. There is such a wide variety of dishes to choose from that it won’t leave anyone that dines here disappointed. If you can fight the parking traffic around Market Square, I would definitely recommend giving this restaurant a try.

In love and food,

Vivi

Ku-O, Market Square

September 5, 2017September 7, 2017 / Vivi / Leave a comment

Ku-O, one of the best Japanese in restaurants in Brisbane, has released a brand new menu with the introduction of their new Chef, Mr Takashi Nami. From Sapporo, Hokkaido, Mr Nami brings with him over 35 years of experience, specialising in sushi and sashimi.

The fish is selected by the Chef and purchased locally every morning to ensure their freshness. The nigiri set contains a variety of fishes such as sweet lip, swordfish, pollock fish, cod, big white tuna and salmon. This however can change depending on the season. A favourite in this nigiri set however, has to be the eel incased in tamago egg – soft, texturised and full of flavour.

The tempura set contained prawns and a selection of vegetables such as zucchini and capsicum. The prawn was so light and fluffy on the outside with the meat being tender on the inside. This dish is so perfect for those that want seafood but aren’t adventurous enough to try raw fish.

The yakisoba, a classic Japanese stir fry noodle dish with meat and vegetables was surprisingly refreshing. The sweet and savoury sauce mixed well with the noodles and the the bonito flakes added on the top enhanced the flavours of the dish.

The highlight of the night though was the curry. The dish was plated well and with the meat being skewered, made it a lot easier to eat. The curry itself wasn’t overly thick which made it feel lighter on the stomach and it was seasoned to perfection. This will definitely pull you into a happy food coma at the end.

This new menu has by far the best dishes that Ku-O has offered over the years and is definitely worth checking out the next time you find yourself in Sunnybank.

In food and love,

Vivi

Creamy, cheesy pasta

February 12, 2015February 12, 2015 / Vivi / 3 Comments

There are days where all I crave is cheesy, meaty comfort food which usually results in a deliciously greasy pizza, buffalo wings with cheesy fries or a good old juicy burger. However, that tends to leave quite a heavy feeling in the stomach and a hefty food coma. The next best thing that I have found to satisfy this craving is a creamy pasta. A little lighter but just the perfect pick me up.

After stumbling across a quick and easy Aussie carbonara reciepe by Jamie Oliver, there was no hesitation to start cooking this dish (with alterations to our tummy’s liking).

Serves: 2
Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

200 grams spaghetti
Dash of olive oil
100 grams diced bacon
75ml cream
70g finely grated parmesan cheese (or cheese of choice)
4 egg yolks
chopped parsley for seasoning
salt & pepper to taste

Method:

Boil hot water in a saucepan and pop in the spaghetti until it softens (refer to YouTube as cooking it in the saucepan reduces water wastage and is much much quicker).
Pop a dash of oil in a large frying pan and put in the diced bacon. Fry until desired crispiness.
Whisk the cream with the grated cheese and two egg yolks until it becomes creamy.
When the spaghetti is ready, toss it into the frying pan with the bacon. Don’t worry about draining the spaghetti as the starchy water will mix with the bacon fat making it a little saucy.
Stir the creamy cheese mixture into the frying pan, making sure that all the spaghetti gets a little bit of the creaminess.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Toss the pasta into a bowl leaving a slight dip in the middle to nestle an egg yolk.
Add extra cheese and parsley before serving.

The amount of each ingredient can be changed according to taste (less cheese, less bacon – but really, why would you). This dish is so simple to put together but is absolutely mouthwatering. Pair with a wine and you’ve got yourself a delicious night in.

In love and food,

Vivi

Genkotsu Ramen, Eight Mile Plains

February 11, 2015February 11, 2015 / Vivi / Leave a comment

Ramen is almost synonymous with rain, cold weather and comfort. There is nothing more satisfying than a hot bowl of ramen on a cold winter’s day, or in this case, a breezy and slightly chilly summer afternoon.

Excitement was building as the construction for Genkotsu Ramen was underway and as soon as it was open, we quickly ventured over and lined up with the quickly growing crowd of diners. The restaurant itself was a lot smaller thank anticipated, seating about 20 people at once. Despite that, the table was still quite spacious to fit all the food (which of course is the most important thing). The menu offered a large range of ramen, making the decision quite hard as everything sounded absolutely delicious.

The first thing we decided on was the spicy gyoza which was delicious. A little moist on the inside and slightly charred and crispy on the outside. The gyoza itself wasn’t overly spicy, but had enough of a hint to give it an extra zing on the taste buds.

The kaarage was flavoursome and succulent, with a slight crisp which melted in the mouth. The sauce worked beautifully with the kaarage, adding just the perfect tang and creaminess.

With nine different types of ramen, it was hard trying to decide what we would order first (although we knew we would be back again). The Gyokai Tonkotsu, a seafood flavoured soup was the first pick. The ramen was topped with charshu, boiled egg, bamboo shoots, dried seaweed and shallot. The first mouthful of the soup ended up tasting quite fishy, which was a let down. After mixing everything together, the fishy taste was still there. However, a friend had ordered the same ramen but that fishy taste was barely present. This however could be due to being newly open and not having everything to perfection just yet.

As a caution to those that don’t fare to well with spicy meals, avoid the Karamen. The extremely spicy chilli flavoured broth definitely got the sweat dripping. Topped with pork chashu, shallots and a boiled egg, the ramen was definitely delicious and flavoursome if you could brave through the spices.

With our second visit to Genkotsu Ramen, we decided to try out more simpler flavours. The Black Garlic ramen with soy sauce was mouth watering and tantalising on the taste buds. The garlic oil, pork chat, boiled eggs, bamboo shoots and dried seaweed worked so well together without any particular ingredient being overpowering. A definite must try if you can’t decide on what to order and don’t mind trying something a little different.

With a slightly salted pork broth and pork chashu, the Shio Tonkotsu is the perfect ramen for those who are looking for a simple ramen with all the flavours but without the frills. With this ramen, you can add your own chilli powder and sesame to taste without altering the original flavours.

With such a flavoursome broth, Genkotsu Ramen is the perfect restaurant to taste authentic ramen. The only fault would be that the pork chashu was cut quite thick and didn’t tie in as seamlessly with the noodles, but that however is a personal preference. The broth however is spot on, making sure you have slurped up every last drop before leaving with an extremely full belly.

In love and food,

Vivi

Travel Food Diary: Osaka, Japan

November 11, 2014November 11, 2014 / Vivi / 3 Comments

If a single word was used to describe Japan, it would be the word ‘mesmerising’ and all the synonyms that belong to it.

The people were charming, the landscape was captivating, the culture was enchanting and the food (*inserts a big sigh of love*) the food was absolutely spellbinding.

My love affair with Dōtonbori started as soon as I caught a glimpse of the bright lights and the whiff of food circulating from the street vendors. Time slowed down, but my heartbeat quicken as I wandered from store to store, enamoured by all the food on the menus. The hardest decisions were, what was I going to eat and how was I going to fit it all in.

From takoyaki to ramen, this is a sample of my food journey through Dōtonbori in Osaka.