Oishii Sushi Bar

Oishii is our go-to place for modern style sushi in the Southside. I have been going there for many, many years and it has always been busy and packed. The only thing that has changed over the years is the price, reduced portions and a slight decline in quality. Blame it on inflation - but despite that, they still manage to attract big crowds of people every night. Reservations recommended if you intend to come after 6pm.

Being a regular for many years, we have our own favourites that we order every time we come here. It is dreadfully non-adventurous, but a least we know what to expect.

Our two favourite sushi dishes are Spider Roll ($13) and Himawari - Sunflower Roll ($13).

Spider Roll is a combination of tempura soft-shell crab, egg salad, and cucumber on rice covered with flying fish roe. I love the texture combination of this sushi – crispy, soft and crunchy.

Himawari is a combination of deep fried chicken with avocado on rice wrapped on an egg roll. It is very modern and refreshing.

When we’re really hungry, we stretch our wallets (and our bellies) for the appetisers. Our ‘defaults’ are Agedashi Tofu – deep fried tofu served in dashi-based sauce ($6) or Takoyaki – deep fried octopus balls ($7.50), or maybe both, depending on our greed!

I recently ventured out of my usual and ordered Salmon Sashimi ($17). It was a huge plate with big slices of salmon. I am a big fan of sashimi, but the thickness of the salmon slices did put me off a little bit. It was a bit hard to bite through and almost impossible to fit in a mouthful. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it, but just had to forego my table manners in the process.

Next time, I might stick to my regulars, or try one of their other sushi like Red Dragon instead.




Read more...

Le Bon Choix

Le Bon Choix is a French Patisserie located in the Brisbane CBD. I first discovered it about a year ago and it's now the place I go to satisfy my cake cravings. The cakes here are wonderfully crafted and amazingly delicious.

It is difficult to explain but their cakes are like a completed puzzle where every part fits together perfectly. The flavours are delicately balanced and all the textures are there.

They have a wide array of treats such as cakes, croissants, pastries, macaroons and coffee.

D & I decided to share a Ham and Cheese croissant ($5.90) for lunch, so we have more room for dessert. This plain-looking croissant actually took my tastebud by surprise – soft, fluffy and full of flavour.

Moving on to dessert, we shared Le Bon Choix ($7), their signature berries mousse and chocolate roulade and L’esperance ($7), a smooth coconut mousse with crunch chocolate pearls and passionfruit jelly.

Le Bon Choix

L'esperance

The ‘Le Bon Choix’ was definitely the choice of the two and, whilst L’esperance was nice, doesn’t compete with some of the other cakes we have tried here.

If you like cake and you haven’t been to Le Bon Choix - don’t let another weekend go to waste!



Read more...

Cirque

We often start our Saturdays by going for Yum Cha brunch in a Chinese Restaurant in Sunnybank. However, after feasting for 3 weeks in Asia, we decided to deviate from tradition and try a cafe brunch instead.

After reading a few reviews and checking out menus on a few websites, we headed to Cirque in New Farm.

It was very busy when we arrived and there were 2 other groups ahead of us waiting in the line for a table. My first impression was that the cafe must be good for it to be that busy. After about 10 minutes of waiting, we were shown inside to our table.

We ordered a cup of coffee each to start; then leisurely browsed the menu. The atmosphere was very relaxed and we did not feel rushed with our orders. We were spoilt for choices with a few eye-catching dishes on the menu.

We ended up ordering:

• Open Reuben Sandwich with corn beef, dill mayo, pickles, jarlsberg and sauerkraut on sourdough ($12.50) and a side of potato and parmesan rosti ($2.50)

• Poached eggs with salmon fish cakes, lemon and herb mayo and wild rocket ($16)

The Reuben sandwich was tasty and flavoursome. D is not normally a fan of sauerkraut, but he ended up finishing everything on the plate. As for my dish, the eggs were perfectly poached, but I would have enjoyed it even more with a slice of bread or sourdough. The salmon fish cakes were light and delicious. The coffee was pretty good too, helping to keep us going until our meals were served.

We really enjoyed our time at Cirque and will do more weekend cafe dining in the future.




Read more...

Destination #3: Penang

After spending 5 days in Singapore, we moved on to our final city, Penang. By that time, my stomach had fully recovered and my appetite had come back.

Penang Island is located in the northwest of Malaysia which is well-known for its hawker food. It’s a food heaven for many, and for me, it was a cure for my lost appetite!

I was so glad that I finally got to eat the food I have been craving for over 3 years. Yes, that was how long since I last step foot in Penang.

Among all the local specialties, my favourites are:

1. Asam Laksa
This is a sour, fish-based soup with thick rice noodle and garnished with mint, pineapple, red onion, bunga kantan (ginger flower bud), chilli and prawn paste. With the right balance of sour, sweet and spicy flavour, it is definitely very appetising.

2. Rojak
This is a local fruit salad with thick sauce and crushed peanuts. The combination of sour and sweet fruit is used in Rojak, which makes it very appetising. I had 2 plates of this on my first meal in Penang, which showed how much I enjoyed it.

3. Char Koay Teow
This is another famous Penang dish – flat rice noodles stir fried with pork fat, eggs, bean sprouts, Chinese sausage, chilli, prawns and cockles. The place we went to in Lorong Selamat charges RM7.50 per plate, which is double of what you would normally pay elsewhere. However, theirs came with big, juicy prawns and you have to be prepared to wait at least half an hour for your food. Famous, expensive, but tasted good!

Read more...

Destination #2: Singapore

After spending 10 days in Kuching with most of the time bedridden due to food poisoning, we headed to the next destination. We were almost thinking of cancelling our trip to Singapore and catching an early flight back to Brisbane. Thank God I was just well enough to eat and walk on the day of our departure from Kuching.

It's funny that, here I am writing about food, but there I was suffering from food poisoning. We were not able to pin it down to a specific source of food as we had been pigging out every day. I just had to be more careful about the type of food I eat and the hygiene of the places we eat from.

With the hope that my sickness will get better as Singapore is a cleaner city with higher regulations on food safety, we got on the plane. I was very glad we went to Singapore as planned. We got to catch up with a few old friends and enjoy the local cuisine.

The local Singaporean specialties that we got to try are:

1. Hainan Chicken Rice
This is a simple dish with poached chicken with lightly flavoured rice, ginger and chilli sauce. For us, the rice is the winner. It was so flavoursome that we can eat it without any accompaniments.

2. Kaya Toast
This is a popular snack or breakfast food consisting of toasted thinly sliced bread with kaya (Coconut Jam) spread and butter. Some shops offer variations such as Peanut butter toast, Cheese Toast and French Toast.

3. Soft-boiled egg
This is another simple breakfast that my Singaporean friend grew up eating. The way to eat this is to mix in soy sauce and pepper and mash it up. I was a bit hesitant to try this initially due to my recent food poisoning experience. However, I was glad I did as it was quite enjoyable...and I did not get sick.

Read more...

Destination #1: Kuching

Kuching (translated: cat) is the capital city of Sarawak in Borneo. This is the city where I was born and spent the early days of my life. As for the food I grew up with, it is hard to find them outside of Sarawak (or Malaysia). Therefore, I always have a checklist of must-haves when I visit Kuching.

The specialties in Kuching are:

1. Sarawak Laksa
This should not to be mistaken for ‘standard’ curry laksa (locals will never forgive you). The Sarawak Laksa is a creamy and spicy soup served with rice vermicelli, chicken, prawns, coriander, bean sprouts and lime.

2. Kolo Mee
This noodle dish is served with thinly sliced BBQ pork and is a staple among locals. The noodles are boiled and mixed with vinegar, pork or peanut oil, crushed garlic and shallots.

3. Tomato Mee
This basically tomato noodles: noodles cooked in tomato-based sauce with vegetables and seafood (or meat).

4. Kueh Chap
Kueh Chap is a square rice noodles with herbal soup, dry tofu and pig offal (intestines, liver, blood, etc). You can request to exclude the offal, if you are not keen on it.

5. Kueh Lapis
Finally, something for the sweet tooth! Kueh Lapis, or layer cakes, are made with great care and dedication and priced accordingly. Each layer of the cake is grilled for a few minutes until partially cooked, before adding the next layer. There can be a combination of flavours between the layers.

Read more...

South East Asia Food Safari

Having just returned from a 3 week jaunt around Malaysia and Singapore, I thought it fitting to pay homage to some of the great food we discovered along the way - and reminisce about the old favourites that we loyally return to every trip.

So, watch this site for more updates in the forthcoming weeks.
Read more...

Happy New Year 2012!

Dear Readers,

Wishing you a Happy and Blessed 2012!  May this year be filled with joy, love and good health!  Looking forward to share more food adventures with all of you.


Read more...