my name is Food.: July 2017

4Fingers Crispy Chicken - Albert St, Brisbane CBD

4Fingers July 27, 2017

4Fingers Crispy Chicken, a Singaporean chain of fast casual restaurant specialising in crispy Asian style fried chicken. Founded in 2009, they have opened stores in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Australia. It was noted that the founder was inspired by the Korean style fried chicken in NYC's Koreatown. Since then, he has brought it back to his hometown in Singapore and expanded.

This month was 4Fingers first store in Brisbane, located along Albert Street.

Interior of the restaurant felt industrial-inspired as well as a resistance environment with posters along its walls and ceilings. Ordering is usually done at the counter as you choose amongst their menu from fried chicken to burgers, from salads to rice boxes.

While it was waiting at the counter, I managed to take a quick snap of their signature 'B.F.F' and 'Black Burger' which was halved for convenience for those who would like to try them both or to share. Both of which had crispy chicken, lettuce, mushrooms and tomatoes with the Black burger having the addition of the kimchi colesslaw.

'Tofu and Mushroom Salad' was a decent portion however, I did feel that the tofu was slightly on the dry side and that most of the dressing did go onto the cos lettuce and the mushrooms. The dressing isn't as strong as I thought it would be but I guess, it would be a good side salad to have along with the other dishes.

'B.F.F' was their best selling chicken burger with a crispy chicken chop topped w house garlic sauce on a bed of mushrooms, tomato and lettuce. The chicken chop came with two kind of flavours, soy garlic or hot and spicy. This was a very decent sized burger however, the garlic sauce did make the chicken chop's skin quite soggy and the sauce was only on top so the rest of the elements was just as is.

'Kimchi Coleslaw' is definitely an interesting combination but it works. Not too sure how much portion you would get if you got it as a side but bear in mind that their Black burger and Katsu sandwich do already have them in it so ordering this is a side will not be needed.

Chicken drumsticks and wings were served in metal baskets as they were brought around to everyone who attended to take. The two flavours that were used as a base was the soy garlic and hot and spicy. Although I wasn't a big fan on the hot and spicy, it did not seem that hot at all. I did prefer the soy garlic out of the two as it had a soy sauce based however you could taste somewhat a honey sweetness too. The chickens were hand basted as the image above of which there were a few chefs or the staff basting each of them before it was placed in the basket.

The chicken was tender on the inside with a crispy skin outer layer, however, due to it going around and taking a while, some of the skin was not as crispy as the others.

'Katsu Sandwich', a piece of their signature chicken and kimchi coleslaw served in a crispy style bun. The bun reminded me of the bao. It had a slight charring which complimented the rest of the element but it was a bit hard trying to hold it and getting a good grip whilst taking a bite without being messy or the coleslaw falling out.

'The Black Burger' which contained a piece of chicken, lettuce, mushroom, kimchi coleslaw in an asian charcoal bun. The charcoal bun did not have a slight sweetness to it, so it was just similar to the normal white bun but in a charcoal colour. The burgers seem to be quite big in size for its price but again, quite a hard burger to eat without the juices or coleslaw or other elements not falling out. Not too sure whether they will be sering is on metal baskets like the below however, trying to take it out of it was already quite a bit of a hassle.

The kimchi coleslaw was a good addition to the burgers as it adds that slight tangyness and freshness against the hot chicken and fresh lettuce.

*mynameisFood. was invited as a guest to attend 4Fingers Crispy Chicken's launch party, however as always, all opinions are of our own.

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Little Singapore, Sunnybank Plaza, Brisbane

Asian July 24, 2017

When you're unsure of what to have during a casual night out and around the south side area, then why not drop in to Little Singapore for some South East Asian feast? Choose from the classics or traditional or just spice it up with the modernised dishes. It can get quite busy especially during dinner so hop in and have an early dinner if you could but if not and is happy to line up, then so be it. Just maybe not buy the bubble tea, not fully recommended yet.

'Char Kwae Teow' (AUD$12.5), a stir fried thick rice noodle topped with various meat and seafood and vegetables tossed in soy sauce and served with bean sprouts, spring onions and bits of crunchy pork fat. What was disappointing was the portion doesn't seem to be consistent whether it be lunch time or dinner time as we have been here at either times and it seems that sometimes the portion fills up the whole plate while another time, it may not. Flavour wise is still good but seemed to have lacked a bit of the saltiness.

'Nasi Lemak' (AUD$12.8) as pictured at the very top of the review consists of a bowl of warm rice placed in the middle surrounded by various side dishes such as beef rendang, curry chicken, fried anchovies, deep fried boiled egg topped with chilli and pickles. All this isn't suppose to be eaten altogether at once nor mixed in, but when you do have a bite of every single side dishes with the rice and mix this and that together, it can give your tastebuds that texture, hint of smoothness, saucyness, saltiness, sourness and so on.

Another classic dish of course to have..

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Island Marine Centre | Cockatoo Island, Sydney, Australia

Care July 23, 2017

Before going to the exhibition, we thought we'd enjoy the nice weather and grab a bite to eat under the sun. It was rather a bustling time with lots of diners, sitting or buying takeaway. It was actually rather hard for us to find a seat, so we opted for the grass instead (here's hoping that none of us will get bitten by an ant)...

The Island Marine Centre is the only cafe and bar on Cockatoo Island and their menu ranges from sandwiches, wraps, small bites, ice creams to dumplings, salads and muffins. Oh, and they also stock alcohol.

Deep Fried Squid and Fries, both were okay but felt that the portion was a bit on the smaller side for the price. There was about 7 small pieces of squid and the fries itself weren't as crispy but not soggy either, thank God.

I guess if you don't have time to eat elsewhere or before you come to Cockatoo Island, then it's not too bad as their menu is quite extensive but I think I would've preferred to eat first before riding the ferry to come here. But again, the squid and the fries wasn't the worst. Just wasn't the best either.

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Brew, Burnett Lane, Brisbane CBD

Alcohol July 19, 2017

Brew, a place where many may know about either for a burger, nibble, coffee or even a drink. A very casual place though can be very dim which not many may enjoy being under a dim light while eating or drinking. Please bear in mind that it can get quite packed during late afternoon and especially on weekends during peak hours.

Try having a look at each of the tables and you will see various characters as the table numbers, interesting huh?

'Flat White' (AUD$3.8) is a classic go-to, seriously though, I think we drink too much Flat White. Well made, nothing to fault.

'Sweet Potato Fries' (AUD$11) served with mayo which we did not realise was a whole dollop of kewpie mayonnaise instead. Served in a black ceramic bowl, the portion was definitely more than a handful and the never ending dollop of mayo was just divine, just try to drip every part of the sweet potato fries in it I guess to not waste any.

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Sushi Rail, Skygate, Brisbane Airport, Brisbane

Asian July 17, 2017

Having a grumbling tummy, seeing queues in the restaurants kind of makes you lazy to line up but in the end, we decided to go to Sushi Rail, one of the only sushi restaurants out at Skygate lined up next to Cafe Cherry Beans and Burrito Bar and so on. Not too packed but not too empty either. From the first instance, we looked at the various sushi options available off the rail and it didn't look too appetizing as it seemed to have just been sitting there for a while, or maybe that was just a guess.

First up was the 'Tuna salad and cucumber roll' (AUD$4) and 'Salmon, avocado and cream cheese roll' (AUD$5). The size os the sushi rolls were normal, but the filling was not very generous especially when it came with the salmon, as it seemed to have had 3/4 rice than filling overall.

'Agedashi Tofu' (AUD$5.50) is a classic dish where the soft white tofu is fried and placed in a bowl with warm soy soup, it is great for those wintery nights I do have to say especially when eaten with a bowl of warm rice. Tofu may not be everyone's thing but once in your life, you may just need to try Agedashi Tofu. This was okay but the soup itself was not hot enough and the tofu seemed as if it was just re-microwaved.

'Dragon Roll' (AUD$4.50) consisted of a cucumber and cream cheese filled roll topped with eel. Usually with dragon rolls or with anything that evolves around eel, yes I do get it that it can be quite expensive but this was ridiculous. The eel piece that was placed on top seemed to be very dry, very very super duper thin and felt like it was just the ends of the tail sliced into not sure how many times placed on top, topped with just teriyaki sauce drizzle. Even eel tails isn't this thin in real life and when you go to an actual Japanese restaurants or even other sushi trains.

May not be coming back here to be honest, just simply, not worth the price for its quality and coldness of the sushi.

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Summit Restaurant & Bar, Mt Cootha, Brisbane

Brisbane July 13, 2017

A very delayed post since I had lost these images, but here is a review of the Light Lunch menu from Summit Restaurant at Mt Cootha. Some may feel that it may be overly too expensive or overpriced or let's say the food may not be as good, but I do feel even going for coffee or nibbles or even lunch and even date night, this place still does some good food and of course, you can't buy the view and its location. So please note that the menu may have changed and the following food options may not be available anymore nore.

Light lunch menu can be chosen as a 1 course (main only, AUD$19.95), 2 course (entree and main or main and dessert, AUD$30.95) or 3 course (entree, main and dessert, AUD$39.95) in which we both chose a 2 course in entree and main.

Starting with a 'Mixed Entree Plate' consisting of warm ciabatta with lightning ridge evoo, demitasse of house soup, spiced pork and glass noodle spring roll and chilli lime syrup, zucchini and sweet corn fritter with cucumber tzatziki. A mouthful isn't it? But being able to have a mixed entree, it allows you to taste the different variety of entree they offer which is great and allows you to also mix your tastebuds with this and that.

Chilli lime syrup, zucchini and sweet corn fritter served on top of a little teaspoon-ful of cucumber tzatziki at the bottom. The fritter was done well and was consistent when compared to the others on the plate. The cucumber tzatziki helped balance the texture and smoothness as well as give it that hint of freshness to the plate.

Demitasse of house soup, although not sure what house soup it was but basically served in a small cup usually used to serve turkish coffee or espresso ranging from 60-90ml. You can scoop it like a soup with a spoon or simply just drink off it. Below is the spiced pork and glass spring roll, a crispy element on the dish, what a great idea? Although am not sure how the pork was spiced but it was a great addition to have.

'Pave of Atlantic Salmon' served with potato and fennel gratin, green pea and leek drizzled with lemon butter sauce. Beautifully presented though some did look a bit messy, the atlantic salmon did not have a crispy skin but placed neatly on top of the gratin. Gratin can be quite delicate to make however, it can also give you a pleasurable aftertaste of eating thinly slices of potatoes rather than having your usual french fries or roasted potatoes.

'Aromatic crab cakes' isn't usually something I would order as I have had a few in various shapes and sizes but since I wasn't too hungry, I thought I'd order this instead of the heavier meal options. Served with a daikon and miso coleslaw and wasabi aioli. The crab cakes as you can see is covered in panko crumb and not bread crumb which gives it that delicacy and exquisite colour and fine grain.

The daikon and miso coleslaw was different with the usual coleslaw we would eat since it had thinly slices of daikon which always gives any dish that refreshing feeling. However, I did not get to taste much of the miso, not sure if it was there or just a slight hint of it maybe. The wasabi aioli was a smart sauce to have as it is light and has that slight tangy and hint of spice in every bite. Chilli powder was also drizzled around the plate for extra spice or just for texture I guess but without it was fine.

The crab cakes was very smooth and fine so you weren't able to see the big chunks of the crab meat however, you are able to taste it amongst the mash potato crumpled within it.