Teppanyaki scene has not hit it off at Brisbane as much as other restaurants offering grilling dishes. When entering Saiko, they had both indoor and outdoor seating which we chose outdoor as the weather was quite nice that day.
For large groups, I think the best seating would probably the main teppanyaki area where you can watch the chefs preparing your meals right before your eyes. However, for couples, it comes down to personal preference as the main teppanyaki area would mean you will have a stranger next to you, whether that bothers you or not.
For large groups, I think the best seating would probably the main teppanyaki area where you can watch the chefs preparing your meals right before your eyes. However, for couples, it comes down to personal preference as the main teppanyaki area would mean you will have a stranger next to you, whether that bothers you or not.
We opted for their lunch specials which was all teppanyaki based dishes and came with a side salad, miso soup and a bowl of steamed rice, along with two dipping sauces.
Prawn and Chicken accompanied with a bowl of steamed rice and a lemon wedge on the side. This was cooked well with the vegetables still having the crunch. There was about three prawns and a whole heap of chicken pieces. The flavour had more a sweet and slightly salty taste however, I did find it a bit meh after a few spoonfuls. Maybe it was just the sweetness.
Yaki Udon with chicken was served with a variety of vegetables which I found to be a bit similar to the other dish' flavour. The udon noodles had the slight grill aftertaste which I quite enjoyed as it made it feel more of an authentic teppanyaki grill instead a stir fry. The amount of vegetables were quite good with having zucchini, onions, red cabbage, white cabbage, mushrooms and carrots.
Although I did not have a truly bad experience here, I am unsure whether I would come back and order their lunch specials but I would try their normal dishes. But in a way, am thinking that the flavours could just be exactly the same again.
Late night ramens are great and soothing specially when the place isn't packed. Luckily as soon as we entered the little eatery, there was two seats straight away. During peak times, there would be a queue out the front.
Takoyaki are deep fried octopus balls. The melted cheese topping was an extra add on but seemed worth it at the time before ordering it. After ordering it, I think that I still preferred the original takoyaki with the fish flakes on top instead. The cheese slice melted over the takoyaki balls evenly and was well combined with the mayo drizzle and takoyaki sauce drizzle.
Black Garlic on Shoyu ramen. Having the shoyu as the base topped with black garlic oil along with half boiled egg, spring onions and bamboo shoots. The piece of seaweed placed in the middle is always a nice crunch texture however I do feel that it was a bit too big for the bowl and could've been sliced in half. This is to enable us to actually chew or bite into it even after it is soggy. Once it touches the bowl, it will slowly dissolve and become quite rubbery, hard to bite off. But no biggy I guess.
I found that the best way to enjoy was to mix the black garlic oil with everything before digging in. This will allow every element in the bowl have that hint and scent of the garlic. If not, there would be some spoonful where the black garlic may just be a bit too strong or too oily for the palate.
SHIO, means salt. Having the shio based broth allows a more saltyness within the dish and not too strong of the soy sauce after taste. The chashu pork was well cooked and not too fatty. The addition of bamboo shoots and spring onions gave the dish that freshness along with the half boiled egg which is always a winner.
It sucks literally if you go to a ramen shop and the egg is not included in any of the ramen, hence you would need to pay extra for half or a full egg. Thankfully, the egg was inclusive of the prices here.
It sucks literally if you go to a ramen shop and the egg is not included in any of the ramen, hence you would need to pay extra for half or a full egg. Thankfully, the egg was inclusive of the prices here.
Trying to fit in dinner or lunch between movies may be hard sometimes when it comes to Southbank due to the hustle and bustle especially when there are events going on. Booked a table at Spaghetti House one night despite the fact that we usually would cook Italian ourselves at home instead of going out for it.
As we were seated at our table, it was not long until many more tables were being filled with diners.
Pappardelle Ragu d'agnello, slow cooked lamb ragu with cherry tomatoes. Instead of ordering a classic bolognese, we thought this would be a better pick. Although it might have been, it was still just meh to be honest in terms of taste wise overall. The ragu was more mushy and the pappardelle was slightly overcooked so it did have that extra softness that didn't need to be there in the first place.
I ordered the special they had that night, King Island Capesante, spinach linguine served with King Island scallops. Unfortunately it wasn't as great as it sounded.
The scallops weren't as big or huge as they'd described it when stating out what the specials of the night were. Although the linguine was cooked al-dente, the scallops was quite... tiny. Some of the scallops seemed to have been sliced into two or just hurt during the cooking process. It was also overcooked as it was rubbery when you bite into it.
Since it was not as big as I thought, I'd expect more quantity but sadly that also was not the case. There was more cream sauce and linguine than the number of small and thin scallops.
No, not worth the price at all.
*Please note this is a delayed post and as such, the menu may have changed since my visit to the establishment.
Always bustling on Friday and Saturday nights but if you can find a seat or book in advance, that would make your night go quite well. We usually opt to sit inside as sitting outside can be dark, noisy and squishy in some parts of the area. With actual Thai waiters/waitresses, it's always a good feeling when going into a specific cuisine's restaurant and the waiters are actually from the cuisine's country.
Always on the menu for us whenever going to a Thai restaurant, the Chicken Pad Thai. Stir fried thin rice noodles, dry shrimps, garlic, tofu, ground peanuts and egg, as well as your choice of meat. A squeeze of lime all around is usually good to give it that extra acidity and mixing it altogether before serving or eating is always best. Then this way you will be able to taste the combination of the different elements, from the sweetness of the soy sauce, the slight sourness from the lime, the smokey flavour from the wok and so on.
Chicken Green Curry is always a winner but I always find it a tad spicy but then, many others will find this not spicy at all or not spicy enough. So personal preference there..
The thickness and richness of the broth isn't so coconut-ty until it gets to the point where its sickening. The smooth and juicy chicken slices are always in rough cuts, it isn't too small or not cubed like. The addition of the green beans and bamboo shoots gives the whole curry dish that crunch factor.
The thickness and richness of the broth isn't so coconut-ty until it gets to the point where its sickening. The smooth and juicy chicken slices are always in rough cuts, it isn't too small or not cubed like. The addition of the green beans and bamboo shoots gives the whole curry dish that crunch factor.
This place is still hands down my go-to whenever we want thick cut freshly sliced sashimi. With a variety of different sashimi options to choose from, the platter is always a great option when not sure of which to order or if there's a couple of you to gobble it down.
It might look very humble and a casual kind of place however do make sure to book in a table for dinner as you might just get turned away or asked to wait...
Despite the times I've eaten Agedashi Tofu, it's usually not served with half a bowl of the soy dipping sauce as some places separates their soy sauce with the tofu to keep the outer layer of the deep fried tofu still crispy. Although this was a different case, it did not make the tofu fully soggy as it only filled half of the bowl.
A warm but refreshing starter to have and I'd usually go for this if I had to choose between it and a bowl of edamame. I just feel that buying edamame isn't that worth it, specially when you can buy a whole bag from your local asian mart and boil or steam it at home yourself for a couple of minutes.
Ordering the Sashimi Platter, approximately 15 slices noted on the menu of the chef's selection, it looked fresh and so chunky as it arrived on our table. From hiramasa fish to salmon, from scallops to tuna, from octopus to squid, served with wasabi. Just eating it on its own is divine but dipping it into the soy sauce and adding a tad of wasabi is another level.
Always melts in your mouth either way you eat it.
Cold soba with Tempura is a great option when you're not feeling like the usual udon noodle soup or even ramen. Although this may look dry or not served with any sauce, it actually comes with a soy sauce based dipping sauce to dip your soba noodles in. The soba noodles are usually served cold but when combining the coolness of it with the hot and crispy tempura, it goes together well. The portion of the soba noodles was generous as well as the assorted prawn and vegetables tempura.
These deep fried tempura was nicely battered, not too thick and not flour-ish giving you that dry aftertaste after taking a bite.
Having hardly ordering sushi here, we thought we'd give it a try although they didn't really have much options. California Roll is always a classic but one I don't order usually or at all. But since the rest of the options were just kind of meh, I thought why not just try these?
With six small slices, it was ok. Nothing great but it wouldn't be something I would come back for or probably order again. Filled with the usual california combination of crab stick, omelette and avocado, yes it was fresh but it was just meh. Good rice though.
Lastly, ordering the Chicken Katsu, did seem to be a good idea at first but then turned out the opposite once it arrived and we started eating it. A thin piece of chicken meat, crumbed and fried not overly crispy but quite flour-ish. The main dissapointment was the chicken to be honest. It was just quite thin and sad. Even with a warm bowl of steamed rice, it didn't help.
Probably should just stick to their sashimi next time.
It's convenient when wanting to go grab some food and your area is just surrounded by all these various options. What makes it hard is the actual choosing of where to go and what to eat.
Since we were going to have coffee and cake nearby, we decided to visit Mr Bap for a night of Korean BBQ. Without looking at the menu too much, we knew we were here to order their BBQ Set. Another reason why would be so that I could compare it to our usual favourite KBBQ restaurant, which is also not too far from here.
A variety of different meats arrived on a big black plate, from pork belly to marinate bulgogi beef as well as assorted vegetables.. which isn't too assorted and not much to share around. Although it was presented in a near manner, I did find that some of the pork belly to be frozen and tough as well as hard when you poke it. I do understand that many places may not have fresh meats for BBQ but then, don't leave it tough and frozen when serving to diners.
The pork belly was a bit fattier than what I would have liked and what I'm used to but many may say that's just the best part. The marinated inside skirt (as per image below) was not bad but it was rather hard to cut it while it was raw so griling it first then cutting it was a better option. Yes, one mushroom head to share between one, two or even three people would have been a disaster.
Marinated bulgogi beef had a sweeter flavour than the usual but I didn't mind it when eaten with rice. The marinate however was a bit drenching the meat in hence every drip of the marinate into the griller made this hissing sound.
Although the meats were served with side dishes (ban-chan), they also served with a basket of green lettuce which you do get charged if you want another serving.
