my name is Food.: Italian

Corbett & Claude | Westfield Garden City, Upper Mount Gravatt, Brisbane

Australia May 06, 2021

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The Spaghetti House Trattoria - South Bank, Brisbane

Australia March 11, 2019

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HQ Cafe - Chermside, Brisbane

American January 09, 2019

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Vapiano - Garden City, Upper Mount Gravatt, Brisbane

Australia October 06, 2018

Since its opening in Garden City, we actually never end up dining here due to the many restaurant options now, we end up going elsewhere. But since I wanted something Italian, we thought we'd come and try this branch and maybe compare it to the CBD branch. However, it has been a while for us dining at Vapiano.

'Con Carne' Pizza consisted of smoked Aussie ham, spicy pepperoni, salami, BBQ sauce on homemade tomato sauce and mozzarella First thing first, it took them a while to make this so we basically had to wait at our tables.. When we received it, it was practically burnt? very fired up pizza. At an instance, you were able to tell that they've left it either for too long or they just went all out on something making the pizza's surrounding before the crust be that burnt. It didn't taste nice, I can tell you that. The amount of ham, pepperoni and salami was also not very tidy.. or let me say, balanced throughout. Some slices had a bigger slice of ham but only a very tiny salami or pepperoni whilst some had a big pepperoni, half a salmi and a shred of ham. Very un-organized pizza, or maybe just in a rush.

The BBQ sauce on homemade tomato sauce, I couldn't really tell if it was homemade or not to be honest. It just felt as if the tomato sauce was barely there and all we could taste was just tomato paste. Sad to get a round 'burnt' pizza around the sides, makes us not able to actually eat it whole or just a disappointment. Although we did try to eat the whole slice, the burnt BBQ sauce or some what random parts of ham or dough, just didn't taste that nice.

Hoping that the pasta would be better than the pizza so that the dinner won't be a full failure but sadly, it didn't. 'Pesto Rosso' was a sun-dried tomato pesto with pine nuts, chilli, ricotta and cherry tomatoes. We also added chicken breast on top of that to add to the dish.

First thing we noticed was how dry the whole dish was, especially the past. My previous experiences in Vapiano was that the pasta at least had some sort of sauce or coating of sauce but this one, nope, none of that. Although it was freshly cooked, we weren't sure how long it was sitting there on the bench. As when we started mixing the grated cheese together within the pasta, it seemed a bit stuck and dry throughout. The slices of chicken was not much and the amount of pine nuts also, I wished that there was more.

Yes, there was a slight hint of chilli but another, not so good dish. The bread was also dry and a bit tough, it did not feel or smell as fresh as it used to be back then when dining here.

Sad to leave this place with a disappointment of not one dish but both, most likely not planning to come back anytime soon. Maybe one day we'll come back but, not sure when.

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Chouquette Patisserie & Cafe, New Farm, Brisbane

Bakery June 12, 2017

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The Italian Bowl, Newtown, Sydney

Italian May 15, 2017

Newtown, a place I rarely go when in Sydney but since we were in the area walking around and having a wander, we thought we'd find a place to have dinner. Walking past a very crowded Italian restaurant and M did say that she has heard that it was a treat here, we thought, well, we don't have anything to lose other than the queue, why not? A casual spot for a big pasta bowl filled with goodness, warmth and where you can even sit at the counter watching your dish being cooked right in front of you. Having a concept similar to a fast food restaurant, customers place their orders at the counter and pay first before being served on the table.

'Garlic Bread' (AUD$3) , a thick slice of bread smeared with garlic butter.

The way it works is that before choosing your sauce for your pasta dish, you choose what type of pasta you would like. Such as Fettucine, Spaghetti, Beef Tortellini or Potato Gnocchi etc. I was wanting a creamy base pasta during the night for which I opted for 'Boscaiola' (AUD$16), a classic indeed but if a restaurant can nail a classic and basic dish, then the rest may be as good or better.

Choosing fettucine as the pasta base allows the pasta to absorb all the cream as well as the egg, the bacon and shallots gives the dish an extra saltiness and a pop of colour. With a dash of cracked pepper on top, do give it a good mix as you will feel that the dish is actually bigger than your normal portion of a main or an entree size. Very generous I have to say in portion, taste wise, it does hit the mark in terms of price, portion as well as taste. Its similarity to Carbonara is very slim with only having the extra mushrooms and the difference that it does not consist of any eggs, just simply cream instead.

'Bolognese' (AUD$14), a traditional pasta dish served with Spaghetti. You do not get any simpler than this, but again, what big portions they give out and for its price, I do have to say that you may not be able to get such quality and portion in Brissie, not that I can find so far anyway..