my name is Food.: Portside Wharf

Hello Harry - Portside Wharf, Hamilton, Brisbane

American November 18, 2018

Imagine a burger joint with neon lights, graffiti walls, good ol' burgers and beers... draft beers. If you've never visited Hello Harry before for their burgers, then, maybe you should. There are a few burger joints that are in the hype at the moment which we honestly am not a big fan of when others are.. maybe our preference with burgers are just different than the norm. But anyway, they offer a very direct and simple menu with all meats, dressings, marinades and salts made in house.

Starting off the night with a draft beer, crisp and fresh, it allows the night to just get better. I mean, come on.. it's Beer.

The 'Sweet Potato Fries' didn't come with any sauce but was well seasoned throughout the bowl. There was a time before hand or maybe it was after, that when we ordered the same sweet potato fries, it did not flow up to the very top, it was just at the borderline of the top of the bowl and that was it.. and since the bottom was basically the stuffed paper lining, it felt that the amount of fries you do get can be a bit small for the price you pay. But this time, it was a bit different or maybe they've just presented it in a way where it may have looked like a lot when it's not.

Always going for the classics, the basics and their signature, the Mr decided to go with 'Grass Fed Beef' with cheese, pickles, mayo, mustard and house tomato jam, a simple burger becomes somewhat enough. No itty bitty, no add-ons, no need for this and that but just a simple, juicy beef, melted cheese, fresh pickles with a hint of that tangy-ness from the mustard but also that acidity from the tomato jam.

Presented in a silver plate lined with paper, the sesame bun was slightly grilled giving the smoky-ness.

'Louisiana Pulled Pork' with bbq glaze and red cabbage slaw was what I ordered which was a slightly messier bun and soggy-er bun due to the bbq glaze and the liquid of the pulled pork. Well executed flavours with the red cabbage slaw and pulled pork not being overpowered by the bbq glaze.

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Pineapple Express, Hamilton, Brisbane

Ascot March 11, 2017

Pineapple Express, even the name will you turn your head and wonder what it is. One word to describe it, Superfood. Imagine Cacao, Kale, Chia seeds, Cocowhip, Acai bowls, well, I shouldn't name it all so that it'll keep you guessing what they have on their menus. The bright yellow surfboard and the blue and white striped awnings with its wide open windows will show you to Pineapple Express. With breakfast options from Eggs Benedict to green breakfast bowls; smashed avo to protein pancakes along with a wide variety of smoothies, fresh juices and acai bowls, your tummy will be filled healthily.

With their range of drink options such as Coffee, Frappes or Smoothies, we decided to try their Frappe and Smoothie, one of each. At first, fresh fruits sounded much nicer for a morning start but in the end, we opted for something fruity and non-fruity. Basically, more variety.

'Mango Muscles' (AUD$9) was a combination of Mango, Passionfruit, Vanilla Coyo Ice cream, Whey Protein, Chia seeds and coconut water. It was definitely very fruity and you are able to taste the well combined mango, passionfruit and Vanilla ice cream however, though not sure what Whey protein would taste like on its own, the chia seeds were a nice touch that added a bit of crunch and a different texture in the drink. It was all topped with coconut chips and goji berries which was a nice complement but didn't really do much overall to the drink.

'Coffee Frappe' (AUD$8) was surprisingly a Double Shot coffee with Almond milk, Dates, Coyo Ice cream and Ice. Their frappe options wasn't as wide as their Smoothies range but they do have Watermelon Frappe, Matcha Frappe and Gold Tumeric Frappe available if you're not a coffee person. A strong coffee hit would definitely boost you throughout the day as well as open your eyes wider but what was interesting for me was that it was made with Almond milk and dates were added. Dates? No idea why but somehow I could not taste it and that's how I preferred it to be.

'Pineapple's Share Board' (AUD$44) was one of the options in their All day menu which was very convenient to share between two or even three and if you decide to add more to try, then you can do so to be able to try the other dishes they have on offer. The share board includes 2 mini breakfast bowls, poached eggs dusted with dukkah, black forest bacon, pulled pork, ripened avocado, beetroot relish, haloumi, housemade hash, all served on Rye Sourdough. Presented beautifully set out in a large wooden cutting board with a painted edge, Turquoise blue, to be exact.

At first when everything looked pretty, you start to find and pick out what's on the board. The beetroot relish was quite dry but had a nice texture when eaten with the slightly crumbed feta and chopped tomatoes. The haloumi was also quite dry, there was only one which was sliced into two.

The pulled pork and housemade hash placed on top of a bed of mixed greens, both were slightly charred but as for its taste the pulled pork was a bit bland but when combined with the other elements of the dish, it worked well. At first, we didn't realise that the housemade hash was the orange roughly sweet potato slices as I had hash browns in mind. The housemade hash was seasoned well and added a nice fluffy and soft texture towards the dish.

The avocado, sliced in half was topped with a pinch of dukkah and sunflower seeds, placed right next to well cooked poached eggs and fresh cherry tomatoes. Slices of thick rye bread was slightly buttered which was handy not having to butter your own bread provided a base as you go through each of the elements on the board. Top the bread with the housemade hash, a bit of avocado, a bit of black forest bacon and you got yourself an open toast.

By the time we decided to go through everything on the board, we knew we also had to taste these breakfast bowls as it was their signature dishes.

The share platter itself includes 2 mini breakfast bowls. At first, we thought that you get a choice of 2 Acai bowls but then we realised the the mini 'Breakfast bowls' was one of the options in their Acai bowl menu, meaning we were getting 2 of the same type of Acai bowl. Luckily we did not have to choose which Acai bowls as there was just a wide selection although with the share platter, we did decide to choose 2 different types in order to be able to try something different. The girl at the counter was nice enough to allow us to choose a different type of Acai bowl to try instead of having 2 of the same.

'Breakfast Bowl' consisted of Acai, Coconut water, Banana, Berries, Spinach topped with twice baked granola, shaved coconut and seasonal fruits.

'The Acai Nutter' was made with Acai, Banana, Almond milk, Raw Cacao and Peanut butter topped with twice baked granola, peanuts, Cacao nibs and Raw chocolate sauce. Although this was not the full size, it was packed full of flavour. It was actually quite delicious with a thick acai base which had the chocolate and peanut butter combo and that combo always works whatsoever. The granola clusters as well as the crushed peanuts and chocolate coyo gave it the right amount of crunch. If you do enjoy your chocolate and peanut butter topped with ripe banana, then you will definitely enjoy this.

*mynameisFood. was invited as a guest by Pineapple Express and Department Group to try the new menu, as always, all opinions are my own.

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Bamboo Basket, Portside Wharf, Hamilton, Brisbane

Ascot November 03, 2016

At a place such as Portside Wharf, Chinese food wouldn't be the first on my mind to dine at as there are other restaurants around and maybe would deliver higher quality of food in comparatively. However when one is quite lazy to drive down to southside just for chinese food, or don't feel like takeaway from your local or nearby chinese restaurant, then why not go down to Hamilton where you have an option of here and another nearby. Having two branches, one at Hamilton, the other, at Southbank, you wonder if the quality and standard of food may change due to its location and chefs.

'Braised Tofu w Mixed Vegetables' (AUD$18.9) in oyster sauce is a classic vegetable dish to order and is great for sharing. With quite a light sauce and having various vegetables including carrot, mushrooms, braised tofu, greens and so on, you are able to enjoy the other heavily flavoured dishes while neutralising as well as having a dish where it gives you that subtle taste and flavour. The sauce itself when spooned onto a bowl of warm rice is quite nice.

'Stir Fried Handmade Noodles' (AUD$19.9) with chicken is simply cooked in a soy sauce base. It consists of onions and a few greens here and there along with the meat of your choice. There are also a choice of having mixed vegetable and tofu or seafood and even lamb or duck if you prefer. Thick egg noodles allows the sauces and marinate to be absorbed into the noodles while also enabling the meat and vegetables to complement it nicely. Although the flavour was not overpowering, it is quite a nice substitute for fried rice, especially again, for sharing with a number of people.

'Stir Fried Crispy Beef Strips' (AUD$19.9) served in a sweet bean sauce with thinly slices of onions and carrot as well as having a few chunks of pineapple with crispy white noodles as a base topped with sesame seeds. A beautifully presented dish and being able to see the stickyness of the sweet sauce just makes you hope that it won't be overly too sweet. One of my favourite dishes to order when eating at a local Taiwanese restaurant is this, although sometimes you just don't feel like eating sticky stir fried crispy beef strips but instead want a saucy and stir fried beef with vegetables, but once in a while, this dish can and will definitely bring smiles to everyone who takes a strip as they will then realise, they will keep coming back for more. As for the sauce, it was a tad sweeter than what I thought but eating it with rice balances that nicely.

'Salt n Pepper Pork Chop' (AUD$20.9) were topped with crispy shallots and placed on top of a bed of shredded lettuce. Steaming hot when it arrived on the table, allowing a few minutes for it to cool down before taking a bite may be wise. As it may not be as hot as you might have thought but when you take a bite, just a little, your tongue might get a bit burnt. And of course, no one wants that. Salt and pepper pork chop is another great dish to share amongst others and won't be those type of dishes where you would want to eat it alone and by itself. The wonderful thing is that it is packed full of flavour, the salt and pepper not too strong and it usually isn't too salty. Big chunks and pieces of pork chop is great to have but just remember there are still little bones inside.