Bites: The Brisbane @ Northbridge

When my boss left last week, it was not all doom and gloom.  The structural group had lunch together to remember what everybody considered a friend, a boss and a teacher.    The venue unsurprisingly, was the Brisbane which is a place the employees  frequent.  I have been here three times this year, once when I started, next was due to a monthly gathering within the group and now this occasion.

 

The company has a zero alcohol tolerance so I guess a glass of bitters is good enough! Not like I would drink alcohol anyways :P

Long live the RBs!  Almost thought I had lost them when I went laser tag the last time! Amazingly it was found and returned!  Perhaps my boss too, would return after his holiday :)!  Then again, 70 years old and working sounds really cruel!

 

 

For my meal last week, I ordered the lamb shank @ $32.50. The lamb shank was well-cooked when you consider the tender meat falling of the bone. Vegetables were well caramelized with the exception of the baby carrots which could have benefited from being caramelized a tad longer. The mash also was spot on with me finishing every bit of it.  With so many components done well, it really felt as if this was the perfect dish. And just when you thought so, there comes the typical brown sauce all classic yet one dimensional in a dish like this.  The lamb itself is not a very tasty piece of meat.  I was hoping for a little acidity or perhaps sweetness which might have been enough with the carrots if the piece of meat was not so huge.  So perhaps a tomato based sauce or some chutney on the side or anything!  This seems to have plagued most of the shanks that I have been having lately! EMO!

 

Brisbane as a corporate lunch place or perhaps a place for drinks after work is good with a decent interior and a really lovely court yard.  Taking about a foodie meeting, and it is a place one would definitely write off.  It is not all that bad.  Of the three occasions that I have been there, the most memorable one would have to be the time when I had the steak sandwich.  It was seriously good.  Probably one of the better ones out there! But with a price tag of $2X, that better be one heck of a sandwich!

 

WenY

Bites: What the Pho @ Northbridge

Slurping hot noodles and a good winter’s afternoon is pretty much what a mundane Monday needs.  The fix at one of the newer Vietnamese Restaurants in the city, has a catchy signboard with a matching name.  Pho or Vietnamese noodles are often pronounced “poh”  which my friend says is wrong.  Instead, the correct pronunciation is something like “fur”.  Putting petty issues aside, What the Pho has a really nice interior which sets itself apart from its counterparts who seems to have a more traditional “less is more”  sort of styling.   But it was the food that really mattered.  Does the younger restaurant have what it takes to beat its more experienced siblings?

For me, I called a dry noodles with fried chicken for $11 + $1 for extra noodles.

The toppings were decent with bean sprouts, chives and spring onions.  But what matters the most for me is the sauce used.  For me, Vietnamese is all about having the elements well balanced.  This means having a salty base with proper amounts of sweetness and heat.  Unfortunately, the version of dry noodles at WTP was decent when it comes to salt but sweetness was non-existent.  I reckon the people at Phi Yen or Tra Vinh, make better sauce for their dry noodles.

However, what I did like was their fried chicken! It was chopped up, well-plated and serve with a small dish of sweet sauce.  And if you’ve guessed it, this gave the noodles good help!  Add it together with the chili sauce, and the whole noodles actually taste pretty yums!

As for my friends, they ordered the raw beef and beef ball hofan.  I tried their soup and found it pretty good.  But what matters most I guess it the opinion of my friend who happens to be a Vietnamese.  Quoting his exact words “It looks interesting from the outside, but tastes bland”! Honestly, I thought it was pretty tasty haha.  But then again, I typically mix my soup with the chili sauce and the other sweet brown sauce.  This creates a concoction where the original taste has disappeared! 

Finishing my meal, I felt satisfied.  I guess others felt relatively good as well.  I liked what I ordered despite it being slightly bland which did not really matter.  This was because  the various sauces on the table allows everyone to do a little bit of mix and match to suit.  Lunch at What the Pho was alright in pricing as well.  I guess this warrants a second visit although one might find it hard to deviate his meals from his usual restaurants especially when one does not offer anything more than the other.  In fact, the choices at What the Pho seems slightly lesser with the usual suspects such as Braised Beef Noodles, and  Diced Steak with Fried Rice all missing.  Hmmmm?

WenY