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: Thai Wi Rat

Surely a name ripe for puns?

I have to be up front here and declare my bias when reviewing this restaurant. I've been coming here for years. When I lived in The Valley, we'd have Sunday drinking sessions round the corner at The RG and end up at Thai Wi Rat for a pad thai and a bottle of wine or two. They're BYO too, which is awesome. So I have a long relationship with this place.

Good old Chinatown. Good old The Valley. I love you, Fortitude Valley.

I visited with a couple of girlfriends on Wednesday night to this perennially popular restaurant without reservations and found a table quickly. This is not the usual scenario during the weekend and I would recommend a reservation if you're visiting on a Friday or Saturday night.


Making use of space.

We ordered at the counter and sat near the water feature to people watch while we waited for our food. The tables and chairs at Thai Wi Rat fit the rest of the décor - cheap and functional. Don't be scared off by the look of Thai Wi Rat, inside is worn, a little tacky and they use whatever storage space they can find but this isn't fine dining. It's budget at it's best.


There are blue lights everywhere so the food looks a little better than it does in these photos...

The food arrived quickly, coming out as it was ready. For entrée we shared Chicken Satay skewers ($7.90), Coconut Prawns ($8.90) and Vegetable Spring Rolls ($5.90). The chicken satay skewers had plenty of satay sauce on them and were made of good quality breast meat. The were also nicely charred and generous in size.


A little too uniform to be freshly made.

The coconut prawns were fairly typical of what you'd get in any lower end restaurant. I suspect they could be the ready-made frozen variety. But hey, they're real prawns and you get four of them for under $10. They're not my favourite thing on the entrée list but that's not to say I won't ever order them again.


Get in mah belleh!

One of my favourite things on the entrée list is the vegetable spring rolls! I love these spring rolls, they're full of veggies and always a reliable go to. They come out piping hot so beware when you bite in! I always order the vegetable spring rolls without fail.


Oh Thai Green Curry, why don't you want to look pretty for my camera?

For mains, my friends choose to split the Thai restaurant classic - the Thai Green Chicken Curry for $10.90. The curry had a good heat and a decent amount of chicken in it. The flavour was good, but it didn't exactly knock anyone socks off. Which is good cos none of us were wearing socks and that would have been awkward if it had tried.


Hot and sour soup, who would have thought that combination would be so yum? Tom yum, to be precise.

I ordered the Tom Yum soup with seafood for $8.90. The serving was massive and very fragrant with lots of calamari and scallops  but only two or so prawns. But what can you reasonably expect at that price. The soup was definitely hot and sour, just like a good tom yum should be.


Tried to get an artistic shot of the lanterns. Could be worse?

Thai Wi Rat is not going to get any Michelin stars or Chef Hats in this lifetime or next. Don't come here expecting fine dining or even matching chairs. But some of my best meals have been had here, with lots of laughs, drinks and a full belly. It's cheap, it's BYO and it's decent food with some great flavours. Did I mention it's cheap?

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