Madtongsan 1, Brisbane

There is a Madtongsan 1 and a Madtongsan 2. This is a review of Madtongsan 1 (the other one is coming soon).  It is a Korean restaurant located in Elizabeth Arcade between Elizabeth and Charlotte Streets. It’s one of my favourite places in the city for a quick and cheap lunch. The restaurant has two levels although the upstairs dining area is mainly used when it gets busy.

One of my favourite Korean dishes is Bi Bim Bap which means “mixed meal”. It’s like a Korean style fried rice. The rice is served is served in a hot stone with mixed vegetables, chilli paste and a raw egg on top.  As soon as the dish is served, you then have to stir in the raw egg, vegies and chilli paste through the rice. This meal never disappoints and I would recommend it to anyone.

There is also a good range of Korean Barbeque options. By this I mean, they give you a table barbeque and some raw meats and you cook it yourself. For all those health conscious people out there, the meats are very fatty so be warned! It’s a good concept though. It’s fun, easy, communal and good for socialising especially when you’re in a big group.

Overall rating 6/10

Madtongsan
Shop 28, Elizabeth Arcade
99 Elizabeth Street
Brisbane

07) 3210 2773

The Indian Kitchen, West End

After many recommendations from friends, I finally tried the Indian Kitchen tonight in West End. I have to say I was pretty impressed.  As expected, the place was packed and I lined up for a good 10 mins before being served. Luckily, the Bollywood music playing in the background kept me entertained. The ladies behind the counter were dressed in their Sari's adding to a unique Indian experience.

The curry choices here are minimal and average prices for curries are $5.50 and $2 for naan. The combo deals are probably the best with three vegie curries and rice for $5, one meat curry with two vegie curries and rice for $7  as well two meat curries and rice for $10. I definitely recommend the Mango Chicken, it's sweet and the taste of the mango just oozes out.

Overall the food was excellent and the ambiance was great. Service isn't the best so don't be suprised if the staff roll their eyes and mutter something in Indian if you ask for a glass of water or a clean plate (thanks for the tip Steph). Also note, they don't take phone orders but its worth the drive and worth the wait for a tasty, affordable Indian meal.

Overall rating 8/10

The Indian Kitchen
91 Vulture Street
West End QLD 4101

07) 3844 3234

Oshin Japanese Restaurant, Brisbane

When you walk into this restaurant, it’s like you’ve walked into a restaurant in Japan. There is sushi bar which has a display of all the fresh seafood available and a Japanese sushi chef who works behind the bar. The waitresses are dressed in Kimono’s and greet you in Japanese and give you a towel to freshen up after you have been seated. They are very friendly and extremely polite. Soft traditional music also plays in the background. This restaurant has such a calm and relaxing atmosphere that makes me forget that I’m actually in the middle of the CBD.

We started off with a serve of Crab Shumai (steamed crab dumplings) and Takoyaki (Octopus Balls). For the main course, we ordered the Deluxe Sashimi which comes with rice and miso soup. This is a great dish for sashimi lovers. It included raw salmon, yellow fin, mackerel, tuna, scallops, boiled prawns, and seaweed salad. You could tell the fish was fresh as it didn’t have a strong fishy taste to it. I also ordered a few sushi rolls from the A La Carte menu and chose the Grilled Eel, Raw Tuna and Cucumber rolls. They put wasabi in these rolls so if you’re not a fan of wasabi, then make sure you let them know while you order!

Overall, I had a great authentic experience. The seafood was very fresh and the service was very good.

Overall rating: 7/10

Oshin Japanese Restaurant
1st Floor, Koala House
256 Cnr Adelaide Street and Creek Streets
Brisbane QLD 4000

07) 3229 0410

http://www.oshincity.com.au/

Thai Wi-Rat, Fortitude Valley

Thai Wi Rat is my favourite place for Thai and Lao food. I have a Lao background so trust me when I say the Thai-Lao food here is pretty good! The cooks here hail from North East Thailand and are Isaan Thai.  The Isaan people of Thailand are mainly Lao descendants so the Thai food here definitely has some of those Lao flavours coming through. You can get dishes that are sweet, sour, spicy and salty but at the same time, very refreshing, with all the herbs that are commonly used in Lao cooking.

I went here tonight with my friend Steph and our new friend Ben. Ben is over from NZ and has never had Lao food before so I convinced him to have Larb. It’s the national dish of Laos and I recommend it to anyone who hasn’t tried it. It’s made with cooked minced meat (chicken, beef or pork) which is drizzled with lemon juice and fish sauce and then mixed with ground sticky rice, chopped mint, coriander and basil. You can order some sticky rice with this as well for a true Lao dish. Ben really enjoyed it so I was very pleased.

I ordered the Lao sausages (Sai Grog). This was divine. It’s just like the way my mum makes them! Steph ordered the Lard Na which is rice noodles with seafood and vegetables in a thick gravy sauce. It’s very similar to the Chinese dish Ho-fun. Other dishes to try here is the Pad Ped Moo Grob (Stir Fry Crispy Pork in a Chill Paste), Som Tum (Papaya Salad Thai Style) and the Yum Neau Nam Tog (Thai Beef Salad).

You can expect to pay around $9.90 to $15.90 for a main. For a casual dining experience that has value for money and authentic Thai and Lao food, don’t miss Thai Wi Rat!

Overall Rating 8/10

Thai Wi Rat
Shop 48, Duncan Street
Chinatown Mall
Fortitude Valley QLD 4006

07) 3257 0884

Viet Hoa Cafe Restaurant, West End

Viet Hoa is one of favourite places to go to for lunch. I’ve been here so many times because it’s just so good! It’s a small family owned Vietnamese cafe in West End that is cheap and cheerful with great service. What more can you ask for? I love the Vermicelli salad with Grilled Beef. It’s so fresh tasting and the serving size is huge. Vermicelli salad is made up of rice vermicelli noodles, shredded lettuce, mint, cucumber and carrots and bean sprouts and served with a beautiful dressing. I’m not 100% sure what they put it their dressing but I occasionally make it at home and it’s a mix of water, sugar, vinegar and fish sauce and fresh chillies! It’s definitely my favourite place for Vermicelli salad in Brisbane! You can also get the Vermicelli salad with Spring Rolls which is also really good.

The pho (noodle soup) here is also really good. Again, the serving size is massive and they are very generous with the amount of meat they put in. It’s very nice on a cold day. Just make sure you squeeze in the lemon and put in the basil and bean sprouts (they give this to you), before you eat it so to get maximum flavour. Try the spicy beef noodle soup as well. My friend Rheanna loves it and gets it everytime we go there.

Overall rating 8/10

Viet Hoa Cafe Restaurant
Shop 11/Suite 217 West End Central
210 Melbourne St (Cnr Edmonstone St)
South Brisbane QLD 4101

07) 3844 4818

Little Hong Kong, Sunnybank

The smell of this small eatery in Market Square was best described by my friend Flic in two words, “Hong Kong”. The open kitchen just tantalises your tastebuds especially with the aroma’s of the beautiful barbecued meats they have hanging on the window. You can choose from roast chicken, pork, duck, red pork or pork belly. I was pretty impressed with our waitress who memorised everything we had ordered without writing anything down. There was a group of 7 of us, and she remembered every dish with sides and drinks. Good work.

The serving size of Congee is very generous and well worth the $8-10 spent. Congee is usually eaten in parts of Asia for breakfast. It’s pretty much rice cooked in lots of water. There are no rules to what you have it with. At Little Hong Kong, I usually just get the shredded chicken congee. Very simple but full of flavour. You can also get congee with other flavours such as shredded duck, scallops, beef or fish. Flic ordered the century egg and pork congee. Don’t be put off the sound of a “century egg”. It’s not actually one hundred years old. It’s an ancient Chinese delicacy. The eggs have been preserved for a few weeks and turns dark brown in colour. Congee is great but it’s the condiments that you add to it that really makes it excellent.  You can add soy sauce, chilli oil, coriander, shallots and a bit of pepper. Yummo!!

Always packed, Little Hong Kong is not little at all when it comes to flavour. You can expect to pay around $8-25 for a meal here. It’s a real gem.

Overall rating 9/10

Little Hong Kong
Market Square
Shop 23A, Cnr Mains Road & McCullough St
Sunnybank QLD 4109

http://www.littlesingapore.com.au/

Siam Samrarn, West End

Siam Samrarn is a Thai restaurant that keeps growing in popularity. I went here tonight with my boyfriend Les. For an entree, I ordered the Tom Yum Goong, a sweet and sour soup with prawns. For $7, I received a soup with 3 pieces of prawns. It tasted great but it was a little too much on the sweet side. Les ordered some deep fried coconut prawns. The coconut overpowered the taste of the prawns but the good news is that the prawns were huge in size and with 4 prawns for $8, its very reasonable. The same goes for the rest of their entrees, they are large portions and you only have to pay around $6.50-$8.00.

For the main course, I ordered the steamed barramundi with lemon juice and chilli while Les ordered a cripsy pork with basil stirfry. The steamed barramundi has always been a favourite of mine from this restaurant and once again, I was not disappointed. The fish was cooked perfectly. The lemon with the fresh coriander and mint gave it such a refreshing taste. The crispy pork with Basil was also nice. It was served with lots of ginger, onions and green beans. Unfortunately, the rice was gluggy, meaning too much water used during the cooking process that when it was done it was too moist and not dry and fluffy the way Thai Jasmine rice should be.

 

Overall tonights meal was ok, not brilliant but not bad. The gluggy rice and service tonight was the biggest let down. However, I have been here many times before and I know that is not always the case. Expect to pay around $15-$20 for a main.

Overall rating 6/10

Siam Samrarn

1/19 Boundary Street

West End QLD 4101

http://www.siamsamrarn.com.au/