January 29, 2018May 9, 2018 by Helen Le

OMI

There has been quite a bit of chatter lately in the foodies world about this amazing new place that offers top restaurant quality food in the food court of Chadstone Shopping Centre. Yes, you heard right. The food court. A place where you would generally go for some cheap, fast food, sit down at one of the public tables to gobble it all up and then get up and continue your shopping. But ladies and gentlemen, there has now been a shift in this normality. A stone has been thrown into this peaceful lake of food outlets and it is trying to change how we perceive how food courts should be!

With all this chatter, we were super excited to be heading to OMI, located in the old food court on the ground floor of Chadstone. Keeping in mind that these guys have only been opened for 2 months, they were already getting some great reviews from the foodie community.

Their menu was simple, with only about 10 items to choose from. From reading their menu, their specialty is wagyu beef which they source from renown local suppliers so we had to make sure we ordered one of their wagyu dishes. Their 65 degree sous vide egg, and their flavoured Japanese rice is featured in most of their dishes and it looked aesthetically pleasing!

I ended up ordering the Black Truffle Wagyu which was $15.90 and Davin ordered the Salmon Salted Egg, also $15.90. We ordered the Truffle Fries to share for $6.90, and the Green Tea Creme Brulee which was $4.90. With an iced lemon tea for our drink, our total bill for this dinner came out to be about $40. Now, we don’t always list out prices for each individual dish but I felt that it was important for you to see how very cheap this meal was for the quality of food they were offering! After we placed our orders we were given a buzzer to take away and we sat down at one of the public tables nearby.

The buzzer went off fairly quickly and Davin went off to collect our food. We were shocked at the speed of them preparing and plating up the food! It came out looking just like the photos on the menu! By now I’m sure you’re dying to know the verdict of the food? It. Was. Truly. Amazing. We were in total awe at how good the food was. The wagyu beef was full of flavour and really tender. Davin’s salmon was cooked to absolute perfection and the sauce that came with it was delicious. The 65 degree egg in each of our dishes was also cooked to perfection and oozed out its lovely yolk when broken. Their Japanese rice was so flavoured, and I know I’ve said the word perfection a number of times now but it really was that. Both our dishes were complemented with some edamame beans and pickled vegetables which went really well. The truffle fries were also delicious and completed our meal. So we literally scoffed everything pretty quickly because it was SO good. We were so content after and shared the green tea brulee which was surprisingly also very nice. It had good strong flavours of green tea and wasn’t too sweet which was great for us.

We literally finished everything within about 15 minutes and couldn’t stop talking about how great the food was, and what good value! We’ve been going on for ages about not having many good local Japanese restaurants around, and so I think this is one place we will be visiting very often. When we got up to leave and started walking, one of the staff from OMI saw us, smiled and asked us how the food was. We told her it was really good and thought it was lovely that she asked us! You don’t normally get that type of service at a food court!

So my lovely readers, we encourage you to check this place out because it’s a game changer. And where else can you show up in thongs on a hot day to order such amazing, high quality food for these type of prices? Please, experience it for yourself and check it out!

OMI
Approx $20 AUD per person
Address: Chadstone Shopping Centre (B064)
Phone: 0490 743 219
Website: omigroup.com.au

January 24, 2018May 6, 2018 by Davin Lee

Rockpool Bar & Grill

Rewind it back to 6 months ago, I received an SMS from Helen with a picture of a David Blackmore Wagyu grade 9+ steak from Rockpool. The feeling that ran through my body was one of complete utter betrayal! She was supposed to be my life long food partner, and I could not believe that she had gone and enjoyed this steak without me. She was equipped with the knowledge that I had never had this steak from Rockpool before, let alone stepped into the main dining room, but not an ounce of remorse from her! To my surprise, she had made plans to go again with her friend without me. There comes a time in one’s life where you have to put your foot down, and I wasn’t going to let her have this steak without me again!

As I walked into the main dining room, I realised that Rockpool looked a lot more glamorous than the bar area where I normally eat. I had already looked at the menu weeks before this occasion, trying to work out what steak I was going to get. Frustratingly, their menu changes all the time! Their steak menu changes constantly based on availability, but Helen, myself, and her friend all got the David Blackmore Grade 9+ wagyu sirloin. At $125 a pop, it was the best steak on the menu, cream of the crop. Self admittedly, I had never paid this much for a steak in my life, but I’ve eaten David Blackmore steaks before and have never been disappointed. You know it takes something special for Cape Grim steaks to be the cheaper option on a menu, as they are highly regarded in Australia also.

A few cocktails to ‘cleanse’ the palette, then we had a bottle Cab Sav ready for the arrival of our steaks. We ordered a few side dishes to go with it – potato and cabbage gratin, organic carrots, mushrooms, and heirloom tomatoes. My favourite was the potato and cabbage gratin, it’s a bit weird eating potatoes which taste like cabbage, but it works and was damn tasty! My excitement levels rose as soon as I saw the steak placed in front of me. It looked simplistically beautiful. The sirloin was cut into 4 pieces and had a wedge of lemon next to it. We got some horseradish cream and Bearnaise sauce to go with our steaks, but I had always preferred to eat it without sauce. I slid a piece out and saw all the wonderful marbling glistering in the light. I took a bite, and thought to myself ‘I was expecting this steak to be softer’. I probably felt this way because the last Wagyu beef experience I remembered was the Kobe beef in Japan, which was pure melt in your mouth.

Was I a little disappointed from my first bite? Probably. My next bite I decided to focus more on the taste, and it was at that moment I understood why this steak was so good. They say that fat is flavour, and this statement couldn’t be more true when it comes to this steak. The fat around the steak and the marbling was just bursting with flavour! This truly was a special experience. I went through my first two pieces way too fast, it wasn’t until we joked that each piece was worth $30, that I realised I needed to slow it right now! I understood that I had initially done this steak a huge injustice by trying to compare it to the steaks in Japan. The ones in Japan are purely bred for texture, and while you do get wowed by how buttery soft it is, the beef flavours are miles better with this David Blackmore sirloin. It’s hard to not think of the price, because it is a ridiculously expensive piece of meat, but I felt it was worth it.

We all slumped into our chairs after the steaks, floating on cloud nine. Nothing could wipe the grin off our faces, it was a joyous night indeed. We polished off some small desserts, but they were never going to be the star of the show. We all had a great experience at Rockpool, the service was top notch as always. We talked about making this a yearly event in the future, certainly no objections on my part!

Rockpool Bar & Grill
Approx $100 AUD per person
Address: Crown Entertainment Complex
8 Whiteman St, Southbank VIC 3006
Phone: +61 3 8648 1900
Website: rockpoolbarandgrill.com.au

August 27, 2016May 6, 2018 by Helen Le

Stokehouse Q

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a conference with a few other colleagues in Brisbane. A dinner was booked at Stokehouse Q in Brisbane’s Southbank precinct for the 8 of us on our first night. Being the foodie I am, I instantly looked up the restaurant and could see quite a few positive reviews so I was excited to check it out!

Now before I get into it, I have to apologise in advance if the photos aren’t up to our usual standards as I didn’t think to pack my proper camera. So all these photos were taken from my trusty ol’ iPhone. I didn’t want to use flash for obvious reasons but mainly so that my colleagues didn’t think I was ‘that crazy photo taking colleague whom we’ll never invite again’. So these were quick snaps without holding everyone up from eating!

Stokehouse Q is located in a great location, right along the river and was no casual affair. It had very classy decor with the white table cloths, dim lights and gorgeous views. Staff there were very friendly, attentive and accommodating. We started off with some bubbly to celebrate and then perused the menu which looked absolutely amazing. One of the staff also brought out a whiteboard and talked us through the specials for the night.

For entree I ordered the Moreton Bay bug, mussel and clam chowder with Jerusalem artichoke, guanciale and paprika. This was so delicious! I really had to resist from eating it too quickly because it was so good. The flavour combinations of the seafood mixed with the saltiness of the guanciale was perfect.

For mains I ordered the charred wagyu intercostal with cipollini onions, salt bush, shaved squid and mustard seeds. This was cooked sous-vide style and oh my gosh, the wagyu was so soft! I have to say it was one of the softest cooked beef I’ve had! I also loved the generous green sauce that came with it. That with all the other elements on the plate made it a beautiful and enjoyable dish.

By the time dessert came around I was so full so we all agreed to order just a few to share. I picked the The Bombe – frozen white chocolate parfait, strawberries, toasted meringue. From memory we also ordered the chocolate and hazelnut cremeux, tonka bean cream, mixed nut ice-cream, crumble and the vanilla cheesecake mousse, poached rosella, mandarin sorbet. All desserts were scrumptious!

Overall, it was hard to fault this place. Amazing food, great service and perfect ambience. What more could you ask for? I highly recommend Stokehouse Q if you’re ever in Brisbane, whether you’re looking for a venue for a work function or a romantic, intimate dinner for two.