my name is Food.: Westfield Garden City

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

Australia May 06, 2021

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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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Hog's Breath Cafe, Westfield Garden City, Brisbane

American November 18, 2016

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Pancake Manor, Westfield Garden City, Upper Mt Gravatt, Brisbane

American October 09, 2016

Continuing its success from the CBD branch since 1979 having the Cathedral as a home has made it to be one of Brisbane's Icon. What has always been great was that they would be open 24 hours allowing everyone to be able to have food from day to night and don't have to worry about the closing hours when those tummy of ours grumbles at 1am in the morning.. since we know that they will be open. For the Garden City brand unfortunately, they did try to create that old world charm however having a contemporary feel and another bad thing was that they aren't open for 24 hours. So for those of you who want pancakes or burgers, or a milkshake in the middle of the night, then you would just need to drive over to the city for them.

'Hot 'n Troppo' (AUD$12.95) was two buttermilk pancakes served with roasted walnuts, grilled banana, cream, chocolate ice cream and chocolate sauce. If you'd prefer Vanilla ice cream compared to Chocolate, then the waiter would simply just change it for you no hassle. The buttermilk pancakes were warm, causing the chocolate ice cream to melt quicker than we would have liked. The amount of roasted walnuts was very generous accompanied with one grilled banana sliced in half, placed on either side of the pancakes.

The grilled bananas however were not that great as it tasted as it was just a normal banana without being grilled. It would have been nice if it was grilled maybe a tad longer showing off their grilling marks and having that smoky flavour to it. The chocolate sauce was drizzled all over and around the pancakes and the roasted walnuts giving it a balanced and a way for you not to have to wonder why there isn't much sauce. The chocolate sauce was subtle and not too strong and blending in with the chocolate ice cream, you start to think of your Sunday breakfast in a way. Waking up to those not so perfect round pancakes and having a dollop of jam or cream, even just with butter on top would just do the trick.

The roasted walnuts were a perfect combination for the grilled bananas however same goes with the bananas not being grilled enough, the walnuts seemed to be better having that roasted smoky flavour. Somehow, having chocolate and nuts as well as bananas always goes together nicely either for a snack or a dessert.

'Caesar Salad' (AUD$14.50) is always great to order when wanting some healthy option. Although being a pancake restaurant, sometimes you just don't feel like having too much pancakes even if it would be great. Having various dishes other than pancakes such as savoury crepes, salads or burgers and so on, everyone can dine here any time of any day without having to worry.

The usual elements of Caesar salad applies, lettuce, bacon, parmesan cheese and their own special Caesar dressing with their big house-made cheesy croutons. A salad this big is always great to order especially when you're here with a group of people allowing the salad to be easily shared around. The salad was filled with slightly charred bacon and big thin slices of parmesan cheese which seems very generous. The caesar dressing was not very acidic which I quite enjoyed and mixing it all together may be a challenge for some without having to spill some of the salad out of the plate.

The house-made cheesy croutons was just alright but it would have been great if there were a bit more rather than just of what seemed to be a half sliced. It was also a bit soggy on the crust and outer parts of the bread however, you could taste a tad of cheese around the middle. The terms 'big' that they used maybe meant literally not being in small cube slices but instead just a knife through the middle.

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Oliver Brown, Westfield Garden City, Upper Mount Gravatt, Brisbane

Brisbane June 07, 2016

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Schnitz, Westfield Garden City, Eight Mile Plains, Brisbane

Brisbane May 18, 2016

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Donut Boyz, Westfield Garden City, Upper Mount Gravatt, Brisbane

Brisbane May 06, 2016

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Le Bon Choix, Westfield Garden City, Brisbane

Bakery April 08, 2016

It's nice to have Le Bon Choix in Westfield as it saves time for you to go down to the CBD or my usual spot at the Ascot branch. But when you're just in the mall walking and would like to have coffee and cake somewhere, sometimes you just don't feel like the usual cafes available. What I love about Le Bon Choix would definitely be their cakes as well as their breads, as for their coffee, they are okay but it just depends on who is behind the machine making it for you as sometimes it can be good and not so-good. However, this time, wanting to try their Ice Chocolate and it turned out to be the worst decision...

Flat White

Ice Chocolate - definitely won't be ordering again

Having always ordered coffees, I decided to order an Ice Chocolate this time. Unfortunately, it was a bad idea and I should've probably stayed with my usual coffee. Imagining a dollop of ice cream floating on top of a creamy, milky chocolatey drink did not happen. Instead, what came out was a very watery, filled with ice and what seemed to be cocoa powder/chocolate syrup at the bottom of the tumbler and not so milky. It basically looks like someone has just (in order) poured chocolate syrup, abit of milk, lots of water and then top it all off with a big spoonful of ice. To be harshly honest, it was quite gross. It's not like drinking milo with water or milo with milk as they are quite good either way and even if it was better with milk, this was just way off. The taste of the chocolate was just ruined by the amount of water and ice cubes. The amount of milk was just not there.. you couldn't even taste the milk. Imagine drinking milk and water.. and hints of chocolate here and there. An ice chocolate is a real drink, although it's not supposed to be like a milkshake or it may not always have your whipped cream on top or yes, it may have a few ice cubes. But, this was just out of the picture. Although you try and mix the chocolate syrup inside, the ratio of the water and ice cubes basically overpowered the whole drink which makes the drink not creamy or even milky at all. Just ruined it. It was just super duper liquidy and on top of that, it's already full of water, they decided to top it up more with ice cubes. So, what I received was definitely not an Ice Chocolate.

And no, I did not finish the drink.

Apologies for the rant.. It just made me so annoyed as I have always loved eating and having their coffees even if in some of the branches, some people serving you may not always be the friendliest, but this just ruined my experience for me.

Seriously, for Le Bon Choix? I did not expect that at all for quality and presentation. Even the waiter that brought us our drinks spilled some of the flat white onto the saucer and on the table in which we had to be the ones wiping the mess as she just walked off.

'Almond Croissant' ($3.9) has always been one of the best Almond croissants whether it is toasted or not. The almond meal is perfect and having the icing sugar giving it that pretty touch as well as the almond pieces on top. Do grab one or a few when you're here, will not disappoint at all.

'Clio' ($7.8) a rich, smooth and punchy blackforest cheesecake. There is a unique way of layering in this slice having the cheesecake in the middle being sandwiched between two chocolate dense sponge cake. You are also able to see the chocolate thin pieces in the cheesecake as well as cherry. On top of that seems to be a layer of cherry jelly as well as square cuts of white chocolate pieces. An exquisite dish if you are a fan of cherry and chocolate as well as blackforest cakes.