REVIEW: Taro's Ramen

A pretty temporary looking sign...

Sometimes I surprise myself. Be it by what I say as I have no filter or perhaps it's by my conviction to a cause, usually ice cream. In this case, I surprised myself by never having ramen. Such a common and popular food, especially amongst those who have Instagram accounts. Why has it taken me this long? Well, I don't know. I love Japanese food. And I love soup. And noodles. Look, let's not dwell on the reasons lest we're here all night.

Last time my sister and her husband brought their gorgeous little peanut up to visit, we called in to Taro's Ramen on Edward Street. Taro's frequently appears on the Best Of lists for soup and is a Brisbane ramen institution. The restaurant used to have a more substantial restaurant up at the Koala Building (maybe not the real name but there is a koala statue on top) but the current address is said to be temporary and more of a café than restaurant.

Look at that bowl of yum.

Heeding the advice of my sister who has been to Japan about 354,126,462 times, we got the Tonkotsu Ramen ($14.50) with an extra bowl of noodles ($2.50) to share between two as well as a bowl of Fire Tonkotsu ($15.90). We also ordered some Kimchi ($4.80) and stocked up on the condiments, including a d-load of chilli.

Basically literally ate all that chilli.

Tonkotsu Ramen is made from pork bones, boiled basically forever, which breaks down the collagen, fats and marrow which flavours the creamy coloured soup. Since it was my first time, we went traditional. The serve was very generous and the noodles were delicious. I ended up adding a huge amount of chilli because I am me and I love chilli, so I might as well have ordered the Fire Ramen, and I certainly will next time.

Should have cut out the middle man and just ordered the Fire ramen. Note to self: always get the hottest dish available.

The Fire ramen was a party in the mouth and I was very jealous of my brother-in-law. Although he did struggle to finish the bowl on his own. The egg in the fire flavoured bowl seemed even more unctuous and moreish. Everything about ramen is amazing and what took me so long! I wonder why kimchi is served with a Japanese dish, since kimchi is Korean but why look a delicious preserved cabbage horse in the mouth.

This shot was taken by my drone cam.

Taro's Ramen was great and my experienced ramen eater guests agreed that is was a great introduction. I would love to visit the Ascot restaurant and dive deep into the different varieties. Can't wait to keep this ramen exploration going! 

Food: 4/5
Service: 3.5/5
Price: 4/5
Atmosphere: 3/5

REVIEW: Papparich

Papparich in the Wintrergarden

Food is a massive part of culture, and one of the most enjoyable parts. It's one of the most accessible ways to learn about a country, what the people eat is influenced by trade, by the environment, by climate and so much more. Cuisine evolves, new produce effects trends, new technology's change how meals are prepared and the movement of people regenerates food. Take how the Greek immigrants brought Greek food and café culture to Australia in the 1950's and 60's, or how the classic fish and chips was introduced to England in the 16th century from Jewish refugees. Food is history, food is life and inextricably bound together with culture.

Malaysia is a melting pot and the food reflects this. With restaurants in all over Australia and overseas, Papparich comes to Brisbane, opening a brand new franchise in the Wintergarden. The restaurant has an open kitchen, giving a great view of the flaming woks. We were seated in the open-air balcony area and while it was pretty, I can't deny it was very warm. But this did steer us towards the extensive beverage menu and its enticing range of icy drinks.

Icy goodness

We ordered Mango Mania and Tropical Lime  ice blended drinks. Both were cooling and refreshing, but definitely for those with a sweet tooth. We got straight on to entrees and although I was absolutely DEVASTATED that there were no Pappa Deep Fried Chicken Skins left, we consoled ourselves with the Pappa Fried Chicken Wings. They were moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. If the chicken skins are half as good as the wings, I will be returning for them soon!

Yummy goodness!

We got two mains and shared them and we absolutely agonized over our choices. Malaysia has such a broad range of dishes, with Indian, Chinese, Malay and Indonesian influences. We settled on Vegetarian Char Koay Teow with egg and the exciting looking Roti Telur with Beef Rendang.

The Char Koay Teow took me straight back to hawker markets and hot South-East Asian nights, with delicious silky rice noodles and the charred, fiery taste of the wok. This dish is a Malaysian classic with great flavours and the contrast between the exquisitely slippery noodles and crispy vegetables. A definite winner dish.

Such an exciting dish!

The Roti Telur with Beef Rendang came out on a big silver tray with the roti in the centre and curry and condiments on the outside. The pieces of beef were tender and fell apart. The curry was fairly mild with a sweet taste that paired well with the roti. It was fun to adjust taste with the condiments on the side.

Interesting...

Finally, we decided to get a little adventurous and ordered one of the most unusual items we could find. We decided upon the Steamed Mantau with Kaya, steamed buns with a sweet green paste which was coconut jam. The buns had a generous smear of butter on them too. Now, I have to be honest, I did not like these at all. But my dining companion, while she agreed that they were unusual, ate most of her bun. And I'm glad I tried them.

Papparich offers a wide range of dishes with curries, noodles, soups and fried goodies, it's the perfect place for a weekday lunch or languorous dinner. Affordable and efficient, it's a welcome addition to the city's dining landscape.

Disclaimer: Cassie Cakes was an invited guest of Papparich Brisbane. Opinions are my own and the above review is an honest account of my experience.

 

REVIEW: LONgTIME

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Love you, LONgTIME? Maybe...

There are so many places in Brisbane I want to eat. I have lists in my mind and lists in my diary of places I'm going. I wait for an opportunity to steer groups to one of these restaurants so I can tick them off my list. Then, other times, it's 9:30 on a Saturday night and we haven't eaten since lunch and shiz just got real. And our visit to LONgTIME was one such occasion.

LONgTIME is tucked between Birdies and the Peter Pan travel agency on Ann St, down an alley way lit with festoon lights and vines, the space outside had an almost Italian feel. I can't say I gave it much notice as I almost ran in and asked for a table. Even at 9:30pm, the host told us we were in for up to an hour wait! Well, my heart was already set so we settled in for the long time wait at the bar.

The busy kitchen.

I don't think it was in my mind that there was an air of fierce competiveness for a table: every time the host came near, all hungry eyes bored into him. Thankfully, the bar staff were very attentive and we were never without a drink in our hands. After literally 127 hours (not literally, it was 40 minutes), I had gnawed my arm off a la James Franco and was starting on the second when the host became the most beautiful person I'd ever met and took us to our table. Given that we didn't have a booking and were just 3 drunk souls who wandered in, a 40 minute wait on a Saturday night really wasn't that bad.

The interior with big communal tables.

LONgTIME is all about share plates and I must confess, I have a secret fear of share plates. I get panicked that I won't be full. Which is the worst thing when you've gone out to eat, in my opinion. But this fear is most assuredly unfounded, especially in company who know me well, as I'm not shy about taking the last spring roll. Even so, it wasn't without a little trepidation on my behalf, that we ordered.



Trust me, there were 2 more of these. We were ravenous!



 First to arrive was Bangkok Taco with Crispy Prawn Laab ($4.50 each). The tacos had the most wonderful crisp, deep fried shell. I could have eaten a bowl full of them on their own. However, I'm glad I had the prawn filling. The prawn taste was very strong but it was a good thing. They were bigger than I anticipated and at 10:30pm on a boozy belly, this was also a good thing.



There were 4 of these...don't worry, we gave them all a good home.


The tacos were devoured in almost an instant and quickly to follow them were the Longtime Pulled Pork Hock Bao with Fried Egg & Pickled Greens ($4 each). Four of these came out for some reason, even though we'd asked for one each. I thought maybe it was a freebie but it did turn up on the bill. Never mind. The dough of the bao was amazing, with just a touch of salty and soft as a marshmallow. The pork was well done and it's sweetness went perfectly with the dough. It was pretty special.

Nachos? Sort of?

The final of our starters was the Smoked Rice Noodle Nachos with Coconut Cheese Sauce ($8). Now this was something different and even days later, I'm not sure if it was good different. Instead of your usual corn chips or some sort of crispness, LONgTIME have used little sausage-like pieces of rice noodles. It was most unexpected, however it can't be that unexpected as it's right there in the name of the dish. The sauce had a strong coriander flavour and also that of a BBQ sauce. I felt a bit undecided about this dish but Mr. Cakes and company quite liked them.  

Penang curry, which is my favouritest curry.

For the first of our substantial plates, we ordered the Penang Curry of Grilled Pork Loin, Pickled Ginger and Peanuts ($29). Now my heart did fall a little when this dish came out. For $29, it was a bit small. And since it's a share dish, that's extremely upsetting. Also, the meat wasn't amazing, the pork just a touch tough. I think I would have preferred chicken. However, the curry sauce itself was delightful. The nuttiness and sweetness was perfectly balanced.



Crying tiger. Maybe he was crying about the price.



Next up was the Crying Tiger 12 Hours Slow Cooked Chargrilled Rib Fillet, With Roasted Rice and Lime Dressing. The price on the menu was $36,  but the waiter advised us that it would be $42 because of the serving size that night. The meat in this dish was amazing. It absolutely melted in my mouth. Everything about this was amazing. Again, the price to size ratio might have been a little off, but when you consider what a steak costs in most restaurants, it wasn't the worst value in the world.

Uhhhh there may have been more of this. Obviously still learning in the restaurant reviewing department.

Leaving the best til last, we had the Salted Crispy Pork Belly Pad See Uw, Chow Sum and Pickled Chilli. At $18, this was by far the best value and I think the best tasting. We saw a return of the sausage-like noodles and while I still was not the biggest fan, they suited the sauce of the pad see uw much better. It was the crispy pork that was the stand out star in this dish, and each mouthful of pork and chow sum (which is maybe the correct was of spelling chow sum?) with the wok flamed flavour was so tasty.


The lovely laneway.

The service at LONgTIME deserves a shout out too, as our glasses were never empty and the staff were excellent at making wine and cocktail recommendations as well as being wonderfully well humoured. LONgTIME's staff are a credit to the restaurant.

LONgTIME offers a great option for late night dining and some really unique menu items. Both the space and the staff are fantastic. I'm not sure I'm in love just yet, but I'm keen to go again to see where things go.

Food: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5
Price: 2.5/5
Atmosphere: 4/5

REVIEW: Spring Hill Deli and Produce

This is like two photos for the price of one, cos you've got the café front but then the reflection of the cars too. What a bonus!

You know when you go out to eat and you are so looking forward to it? You build up a picture of what it's going to be like and you start dreaming your order, cos if you're anything like me, you've been pouring over the menu for hours previously. But so often, reality doesn't live up to dreams. Well - twist! - Spring Hill Deli was NOT one of those places!

Splendid health, indeed.


This café has of course been on my list for ages, one of the many foodie haunts of Brisbane that I never seem to get around to. My lovely friends now know I will always have a list of places I've been pining to go to, so we agreed to meet the one sunny Sunday. I arrived first and having anticipated a busy and packed café, I was pleased to be seated straight away. The interior of the café was sunny and airy with a genuinely pleasant mismatched, rustic farmhouse feel created in part from the large rooster mural painted on the wall.

Nothing beats chocolate.

As I waited, I ordered a hot chocolate ($4.5) and I'm so glad I did. The hot chocolates are made from 70% organic chocolate, pure spice extracts and Maleny Cow's Milk. All of those things together are like a big, warm hug in a mug. I was soon joined by my breakfast buddies and much hot chocolate envy was had.

The Everything Juice.

The menu at Spring Hill is the perfect mix of classic and contemporary with so many tempting options, it was hard to narrow it down to a single choice. We somehow managed though. First to arrive from our order were the drinks. The fresh juices are customisable and for $7, we got what we dubbed an Everything Juice which consisted of orange, ginger, carrot and apple. It was fresh, delicious and tasted so tangy.

Caramel fudge milkshake.

Somewhat predictably, I ordered a Salted Caramel Fudge milkshake ($7). It was pretty good, with a good texture, wouldn't have hurt to be a touch thicker. The flavour was obviously from real, homemade caramel but not all that fudgey. Since milkshakes get ranked around here, this one sits at number three, bumping Chester Street down to fourth. Check out The Milk Bar for all the rankings.

The Maple Bacon with a side of avocado. Mmmm crispy bacon.

The food came out in good time and we got stuck in. Two orders of the Maple Bacon, Spinach, Haloumi, Cherry Tomatoes and Caramelised Balsamic on Toasted Sour Dough ($19) were served. We got one without the cherry tomatoes but with a poached egg ($2) and the other with a serve of avocado ($4).

And the Maple Bacon without cherry tomatoes, with a poached egg.

Both were delicious. The bacon was crispy and the haloumi was nice and salty. Plus, it came with three decent bits of haloumi. I thought it would have been nicer if the cherry tomatoes had been cooked, rather than raw. The side of avocado was generous, which is a good thing cos I get really ticked off when you get ripped off on the extras.

Yummy shashuka. I love the choice in breakfasts these days.

My middle eastern breakfast obsession continued with the Israeli Shashuka - Spicy Tomato Sauce with Poached Eggs, topped with Feta & Parsley, served with Toasted Sourdough ($17). Um, one word...yum! The portion was absolutely massive and that goes a long way with me. But big portions mean nothing if it doesn't taste good. Fortunately, this shashuka tasted amazing. I tried to show restraint for all of two minutes before I smashed the lot.

Lovely farmhouse feel.

The service at Spring Hill was attentive, quick and friendly. Just what you want on a Sunday morning. I felt really welcome and comfortable there. Good food, good drinks and good service - I can see why Spring Hill Deli is a favourite on the Brisbane scene. I will be back!



Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Price: 3.5/5
Atmosphere: 3.5/5

Cassie Cakes Goes to the Alliance Française French Film Festival



The Alliance Française French Film Festival 2015!

Last Friday, my lovely friend and I attended the Alliance Française French Film Festival at Palace Centro on James street, New Farm. The French Film festival has been running for 26 years and yet somehow, this is the first time I've attended. The film festival is the largest and most successful cultural events that Alliance Française runs and was created to strengthen ties between Australia and France, as well as increase awareness of French arts and cinema.


The red carpet - that red and white polka dress is cute!

The night we attended was the opening night gala and as such, there was lots of champagne flowing, a red carpet and a wonderful after party to continue the festivities after.

The crowds start to gather.

We got there nice and early and enjoyed our glass of champagne then snagged a seat to watch the crowds assemble. And assemble they did. Pretty soon the upper and lower foyers were packed with people, with more than a few very chic, Parisian inspired outfits.


Look at all that champagne! I could do some damage here...



 Around 7pm, we made our way into one of three cinemas showing the evening movie. After we listened to a short speech about the festivals history and a little information about Alliance Française, it was time for the screening. 

The French have comically large lips, don't you know.

First, we watched the premiere of the new Peugeot ad which doesn't sound very exciting but it was because it had a very sexy French actor in it - the identity of whom I cannot find but I would like to know!
 

Ahh idyllic French life!

Then it was time for the main attraction - Gemma Bovery! The movie starred Gemma Aterton as the titular character and Fabrice Luchini as the meddling, well-intentioned village baker Martin. As Gemma's life starts to mirror that of the famous fictional Madame Bovary, Martin gets more and more entwined. It was a lovely drama-comedy and utterly enchanting. I'm planning my move to Normandy and I'm not joking.
 


A cow in a beret? Of course, the French cow. Duh.



After we attended the cocktail party and while the food was not amazing, it was an open bar so swings and roundabouts. And the staff at Palace were so helpful - and attractive.
 


The pretty tree at the cocktail party.

The Alliance Française French Film Festival is showing 49 films and documentaries, screening at Palace Barracks and Palace Centro Cinemas, as well as around the country, from 13 March - 1 April. More details are available at the Palace Cinemas website.

REVIEW: High Tea at Lab



The heritage Treasury Hotel.

I am back from my holiday in Thailand and ready to share with you our experience at The Lab Bar & Restaurant at the Treasury Casino. I have been to high tea before with my mother and sister and had a lovely time. The dainty sandwiches, the pretty pastries, frilly doilies - the whole experience is traditional and wonderfully feminine. So I was a little surprised, delightfully so, when the masculine and hairy Mr. Cakes expressed his desire to accompany me to high tea! He explained it, tiny sweets and scones...why wouldn't he like it?! 


Champagne and tea and everything nice!



We both got dressed up and made our way in to the city. The Lab Bar & Restaurant is situated in the Treasury Hotel, away from the main casino building itself. The history and architecture really makes the experience special, the polished timber bar that dominates the room is beautiful and really makes you want to have a drink.

 

The vintage bar...very well stocked.

The high tea is available on the weekends from 2 - 3:30pm for $45 per person.We started off with a glass of champagne Chandon NV Sparkling Brut for $12.50 then choose our tea from the La Masion Du Thé (which means the house of tea, thank you less-than-basic-French-skills) selection. The tea choice is bottomless so if you could drink $45 worth of tea, you'd certainly be getting your money's worth.


Look how handsome Mr. Cakes looks in his blue shirt. Trust me, the rest of his is very handsome too.

After we were served our tea, the tower of afternoon delicacies were presented. I really liked all the decorative charger plates and crockery. It made the setting feel particularly fancy. Traditionally, one should eat the high tea from to top plate down, starting with the scones on the top tier then savoury items then sweet pasties. On the top tier for our high tea, we had 2 scones each, one plain and one sultana scone as well as a petit quiche and frittata each.

The scones and quiches and frittatas - oh my!



The scones are now dressed up and ready for eating!

We were given individual pots of jam for the scones along with a serving cream. The scones were really nice, perhaps not as good as Mr. Cakes'...have I not told you how good Mr. Cakes' scones are? They're amazing. He must have had lessons from Margaret Fulton. The quiche and frittata were okay, they were a little underwhelming.

Nice and appropriately moist.

The next tier was the savoury level which in this case, were finger sandwiches. There were chicken salad, tomato and cheese, roast beef, egg salad and lastly salmon. They were all fresh and moreish. And they were all the right level of not-wet until Mr. Cakes dropped one in the water, which was adorable and hilarious.


The sandwich going for a swim.



The final layer was the sweets. We had opera cake, which was my favourite, glazed fruit tarts, mini lemon meringue tarts, a macaron (yes, one 'o' in macaron) each and lastly, an adorable cream puff in the shape of a swan. Unfortunately the cutest of the desserts was the least impressive. The puff wasn't very crisp so the texture was a little stale. None of the desserts blew me away, although the presentation was lovely.

The ornate swan cream puff and friends.

The high tea at Lab was nice however although I've not been to that many high teas, this ranked No. 2 in the two I have been to. It was nice though and we had a lovely time. The best thing about it though was watching Mr.Cakes try to use the dainty serving-ware. Absolutely adorable.

Food: 3/5
Service: 3.5/5
Price: 3/5
Atmosphere: 4/5