Moo Moo The Wine Bar & Grill, Port Office Building, Brisbane CBD

October 06, 2015

Moo Moo The Wine Bar and Grill in the historical Port Office Building brings one of the best steak restaurants in the CBD. They also have a restaurant in the Gold Coast but usually, you sometimes may end up going somewhere else when you're down there. Have a drink at the bar while you're waiting for your table, the venue itself boasts a modern interior with a stunning spiky Italian pendants in Moobar, a private area is available for functions or events, their custom designed furniture throughout the venue will make you feel relaxed but yet also in an elegant ambience. Just remember that this is also a part of Stamford Plaza Hotel so it is somehow connected. This review may be a few months outdated, ma apologiiesss...

We were seated out front in the balcony, a downside was the lighting for my photography however, the fresh air and the more so romantic feeling was there. Started off with a glass of wine for me and beer for him. Moo Moo ' The Dancing Cow' from Barossa, SA ($9/glass) was what I ordered while he ordered a Peroni ($8) or maybe it was a Stella Artois ($8). As we had ordered our entrees and mains, we were patiently waiting and although it was quite busy, we weren't in a rush so even if the food came out a bit slow, we didn't really mind. It was quite hard however to get the waiters attention since they were busier serving and lingering around inside and don't necessarily check as frequent on the diners seated outside.

We ordered two hot entrees to start, first the 'Scallops' ($25) which were seared sea scallops with pork belly, cauliflower, perigueux sauce and sorrel. It took a while for our entrees to come, but when it arrived, it was a delightful and pretty dish indeed. Presented nicely in the middle of a dark plate, the seared scallops and pork belly shone on top. The seared sea scallops were seared well being moist inside, the pork belly was thinly sliced and had the crispy skin sliced thinly which seemed like crisps really placed on top. The sorrel was just used more of as a decor than an accompaniment to the dish, though it did gave it a bit more colour.

As for the cauliflower, it seemed that it was more of a cauliflower puree than an actual cauliflower in the dish. Also, the perigueux sauce was quite interesting, for those who aren't familiar with this sauce, it is a rich brown sauce made mostly out of truffles though some say Madeira too. It was actually quite light when you taste it.

'Wagyu Beef Tataki' ($22) is Wagyu Beef served in Tataki style, yuzu curd and ponzu with fried kombu. What I was unsure of this dish was the fried kombu as I was unsure of what it was but when I looked it up online, it seemed to be fried seaweed. I love Wagyu Beef Tataki, how thinly it is sliced and served, you can really taste the tenderness and richness of the Wagyu beef itself. Even without the toppings, Wagyu Beef Tataki would just be delicious served even at its simplest. The Yuzu curd however, I couldn't really grasp it in the dish nor could I really feel that its taste complimented the beef as it may have should. Yuzu is a plant originating from Asia which is believed to be similar to a mandarin however a bit smaller, like a grapefruit or somewhat.

'Flat Iron' ($69) is a definite must try steak. A juicy piece of meat, I chose it to be cooked Medium Rare. Slightly burnt than I expected it would be but the meat itself was full bloodied, tender and cooked well. Being 200 grams, it was enough for me as I would usually order an Eye when eating steaks. I think it could have been more rare than it was but I didn't mind how it was cooked.

The first bite always determines the taste of the steak and how the whole dish will be. Being a 100% full blooded wagyu, Grain fed 550-650 days, marble 9+, no wonder it makes an excellent piece of meat.

'F1 Wagyu Rump Cap' ($58) is a Kobe with 34-42 months of age max, grain fed 360+ days with a marble score of 6-9, another succulent piece of meat. Again, it was slightly burnt exterior which gave it more of the smoky taste and since it was worse than how my steak was, it shouldn't have been this burnt. Peppercorn sauce ($3.6) was just nice, maybe it is just a personal preference as I prefer pepper sauces to have the kick, the bits of real peppercorn within it and not the green peppercorn or the very liquid like sauce. Though it was only 300 grams, I think it would be a just right size as well if 200 grams is too small. I am aware that there are steaks and have eaten those too, those 400 grams and similar size steaks. A side of onion rings were the garnish topped on a soft mustard but the onion rings were quite bland and lacked its salt and pepper.

'Sauteed forest floor mushrooms with chevre' ($10) was also another interesting dish although it reminded me of a brunch mushroom dish I had recently but this was just okay but I would recommend this more maybe instead of the other side dish we ordered. It had a unique pan fried flavour to it, a bit smoky but at the same time, a light side dish which would accompany your mains well.

'Shredded Cabbages' ($9) with ponzu, miso and jalapeno mayonnaise. An interesting combination to have ponzu and miso together then add the spiciness of Jalapeno mayo which could've easily been Wasabi if they wanted to make it a full Japanese fusion. However, it actually worked I have to say. Though not something I am familiar of, the shredded cabbage allowed each of the elements to go through it but since the Jalapeno mayo was quite strong, the ponzu and miso seemed it lacked the kick.

For dessert, we ordered the 'Hot Fudge Sundae "Moo Moo Style"' ($19) is a rich chocolate brownie topped with vanilla bean ice cream, lashed with hot fudge and finished with house made crunchy honeycomb. The vanilla bean ice cream and the hot fudge sauce was placed seperately in an individual bowl which I found to be a good idea as placing the ice cream on top of the chocolate brownie would melt it quicker than it would've. The hot fudge sauce wasn't overly too sweet and it was thick which complimented the chocolate brownie perfectly.

A classic dish of a hot fudge sundae can be presented in many beautiful ways, and this may be one of them. I was imagining on a plate, a little cup filled but what came out was its own hot plate of the chocolate brownie topped with a strawberry half and the house made crunchy honeycomb. The house made honeycomb was spot on and having icing sugar dusted on top of the brownie adds a little touch on the brownie itself. As for the chocolate brownie, it was baked perfectly again, a nice outer layer, not too baked nor too raw and moist inside. What a brownie should be, well, for those who do like their brownies not too densed and have that moistness but yet the richness of the chocolate.

'Valrhona Salted Caramel Delice' ($16) was a unique dish consisting of salted caramel delice with banana curd, olive oil pearls, banana ice cream and coconut crumbs. Such a cute but elegant dish presented before us when it arrived not long after the Hot Fudge Sundae did. The olive oil pearls were so beautiful and the coconut crumbs were charcoal coloured which got me thinking.. It felt as if it was a deconstructed dish more so.

The banana ice cream was whiter than I had thought it would be, it did not however have a strong banana flavour but there was a sense of banana within it, as for the salted caramel I quite enjoyed it as it was not as sweet as I was scared it would've been. Having the combination of each of the elements on the plate, though a tip when eating these kind of dishes is not to grab a spoonful of everything and eat it all together. Sometimes, you have to take bits of each element to know what the taste it before mixing it together with the others so you are able to know how they all combine and interact with one another.

A close up of the olive oil pearls

Recommended definitely to those steak lovers but want more than a casual relaxed environment. Don't forget to try their desserts and they have a wide variety of wines if you love your wines.