Taro's Ramen Cafe

Taro’s Ramen Café

363 Adelaide St, Brisbane

Value: Good

Quality: Good

Atmosphere: Good

Uniqueness: Recommended (Its only real competitor that I know of is Ajisen; you can’t compare the ramen at Hanaichi or Kadoya to Taros)

Taro’s Ramen Café has been around for a while now and I’ve been frequenting the place since its opening, but have held off on reviewing it till now. Taro’s has quite a large menu (especially at dinner) but people really go there for one thing, which is Ramen.

When I first ate Taro’s tonkotsu ramen, their house speciality, it was like a magical experience. Each slurp reminding me of the great ramen I’ve had in Japan, the perfect noodle carrying its delicious life affirming broth down my throat and bringing with it the memories of great times had abroad.

This experience remained largely unchanged for a year, but towards the end of last year I noticed; the broth became weaker, the noodles softer and the servings felt smaller than they previously were. In my mind, I brushed aside these critiques as I felt that it was perhaps a side-effect of my growing familiarity with this ramen.

But, on a recent trip to Japan (visiting family) all my uneasiness rose again to the surface, as I had several bowls of ramen that blew my mind. I started to examine in my mind what I felt had changed. The noodles no longer picked up the flavour of the broth like they had and they gave in far too easily. The egg no longer tasted mostly of yolky pork and less of half a hard-boiled egg, and the velvety film of fat on the surface looked moth-eaten and pockmarked. I no longer felt like I needed a post-ramen shower to wash off the massive salt and fat overload that makes a tonkotsu so good. 

The decline in quality is why I have rated it Good instead of Recommended. By Australian standards the ramen is still a good tasty ramen and above the average, but in knowing what it used to be, it has lost its edge. It has become a toned-down, bland version of its former self.

 By way of physical specifications, Taro’s is a café so service is not really an issue. The food is fairly prompt and you can’t help the lunch line at a busy CBD café, although the move to self-serve condiments is a disappointing one that conspicuously coincided with the decline in quality.

The place is pretty barebones, which has a certain charm, but is very utilitarian in its laminex tables and cane wrapped steel frame chairs. The view of the story bridge and down onto river end of Queen Street bumps this up to a Good from an Adequate and the people-watching on Adelaide Street is fine enough if you can stand the traffic noise and fumes.

Taro’s Ramen Café is open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week; with the ramen mains costing around $15 (tonkotsu ramen costs $14.90). The presence of Japanese beers and alcohol is a big plus as many are quite rare in Brisbane. Domestic and light beers start at around $5-6, imported beers are around $7 and the price increases dramatically for particular shochus and sakes (not without reason). They do have sake tasting sets for those who are unfamiliar or want variety.

Taros have a website at http://www.taros.com.au/ which has all the menus and other details.

Maru Korean Bbq

Maru Korean BBQ

3/5

157 Elizabeth St Brisbane CBD

I noticed Maru’s appearance a few weeks prior to its actual opening. It’s located where David’s, a Chinese restaurant, was; just up from the Irish club. An addition to the already good downtown Korean scene, my anticipation for this BBQ place was palpable.

Like many of the new Korean places, Maru have done a great job in their fit out. The feel is a fresh, bright minimalism, which for BBQ works really well in accentuating the sociality of the dining.

A combination of light and dark timber fittings is paired against a rather spare, small tree in the centre of the room. My only complaint is probably due to the fact that they’d just opened, but the shelves above the bar were conspicuously bare.

Like almost all the Korean restaurants that have popped up in the last few years, the employment of table call bells ensure service isn’t an issue. Maru gets bonus points for also have what’ve been probably the quickest staff in existence.

Maru has a far shorter BBQ menu than its competitor up the street, but it contains all the important cuts and neither of the plates we ordered, pork jowls and sliced beef, came out frozen which is an obvious positive. The quality of the meat was good and on par with other major BBQ places.

Maru uses electric grill plates and although they take a while to heat up, they have the advantage over charcoal in that they don’t cool down, but they do lose that smell and flavour of charcoal that is as much a part of the experience as the flavour it imparts.

The sides that came out weer all of a good quality, my only complaint could be the lack of size in the lettuce leaves. This wasn’t too much of a negative, more just one of personal preference and could be considered a positive by those who do BBQ differently to me.

Maru is a great addition to the Brisbane food scene, the fact that at least at the moment it’s quieter, probably makes it my most likely eating destination, however I doubt it’ll be like this for long judging by my experience the other night.

Maru is open for dinner most nights

The plates of meat cost $17 each and there are combination plates available that make each portion cheaper

Maru is licensed and has a variety of Korean drinks available including HITE which cost us $4 per bottle. 

Maru currently don’t have a website

Thanks to theo for editing this post.

Funny Funny Res Pub

Funny Funny Res Pub

85 George St Brisbane City

2/5

I know I’ve been hitting up a lot of Korean places recently, but bear with me because there can’t be that many more left and my desire for chilli is surely on the wane.

 Funny Funny occupies the same place as the Lands Office Hotel used to be, on the corner of Mary and George streets, and as the name of the place suggests is a hybrid of pub and restaurant.

The place has, for a restaurant, a great funky setup; the gloss black walls are adorned with stylised white graffiti, contrasted by the pale wooden decor. Feeling almost like an edgier more hip-hop Madtongsan II which is probably its opposite more k-poppy outlet, which could perhaps be attributed to the pub aspect they’re going for. 

Like almost all of the Korean restaurants kicking around now, they have call buttons on the tables. However, an issue with the call buttons at Funny Funny is how loud they are; they make you feel like apologising every time you press one, compounding this is that even with the call buttons the service is slower than at other comparable establishments.

Food wise Funny Funny is alright, but it lacks anything that defines it especially from its competitors except for perhaps a general quality of tasting ever so slightly worse than its rivals. It’s not particularly cheaper than other Korean in Brisbane either and drinks are the same price as anywhere else at $6 each (for Cass or Hite) making it not a particularly appealing place to drink, although it does look like there are domestic Australian beers for cheaper than that. This obviously dampens my disposition in treating it like a pub and while there were a significant number of people there on the day in question, I feel that generally the bar/pub functions of the place are played down in favour of a more restaurant style menu, while unfortunately lacking a particularly strong restaurant aesthetic.

What is notable about the food is the serving size, with our order of Kimchi pancake being the size of a large serving plate, meaning we ended up ordering way too much food for the two of us, we also got “Nakgi Somyun” which was spicy octopus with noodles without realizing that it was also large enough to comfortably feed two people as well as a noodle soup that was a large single serving. In the face of this Everest-sized challenge, we proceeded to call in reinforcements to help finish off the mass of chilli and seafood that was present.

Overall, I think Funny Funny is alright and if you are up that end of town it’s an option, however, the other Korean options in this city are better, are comparatively priced and are probably worth the short walk to get to them.

Funny Funny is open lunch and dinner every day.

Our meals cost around ~$10-~$25 and the beers cost $6 each which at a place like this adds up quickly.

Thanks again to Theo for doing the editing of this review

Shabuhouse

Shabuhouse

Level 1 70 Mary St Brisbane

2.5/5

Shabuhouse has caught my eye for a while now, but with university obligations and a challenging living situation for the last few months I haven’t had the chance to try it out. I finally got a Friday free and after scrounging up a dining partner, it was the first place on my mind. Its promising premise was something I couldn’t ignore, being the voracious fan of hotpot that I am; always on the lookout for a new hotpot I haven’t eaten a dozen times before.

Shabuhouse has a great design; the heavy use of pine combined with fake potted plants gives it a fresh, clean appearance. The service, like many of the new Asian restaurants in this city, is great. Call bells on the table alert waiters and a particularity was their accommodation in serving outside their published hours (we ordered at around quarter past 3pm and their kitchen closes at 3pm).

As with all reviews, we must move onto the specifics, the Shabu Shabu (Wikipedia has more on Shabu-shabu), which is both disappointing and satisfying at the same time. The hotpots are served individually and surprisingly take very little of the excitement and energy out of the very social activity that hotpot is.

However, the shape of the pots used at Shabuhouse make the activity feel slightly cramped, there’s very little space to reach into the deep pots while trying to avoid being burnt.

Also disappointing was the use of frozen meat. In the scheme of things, being frozen or not makes very little difference, but the presentation of frozen meat makes you question its quality.

Other than those few complaints I could find little to whine about and thought the food was good, with the broth having the expected strong fishy flavour.

I will return to Shabuhouse very soon, partially because the love with illusion of place the decor creates for me, but also because it’s a cheap hotpot without having to go to Spring Hill (Bishamon in spring hill).

Shabuhouse is open Monday to Saturday for Lunch and Dinner.

Our meals cost $12.80 each for shabu shabu with beef. However, this is the lunch price and it is more expensive for dinner

Shabuhouse is BYO with a $2 per person corkage charge

Shabuhouse’s website is at http://www.shabuhouse.com.au

 

Thank-you to Theo for doing the editing. I'm pretty dreadful at editing my own work.

Ajisen Ramen

Ajisen Ramen

2/414 George St Brisbane

2/5

I was going to a friend’s gig down at tribal theatre on a Friday night and needed to eat something, I have been past this place several times before and thought that I would test it out sometime soon and this particular Friday night happened to be the night I had time and money. This was the second ramen place I had been in recent weeks with my first visit to taros only being a few weeks earlier so the memory of taros brilliant ramen hovered fresh in my memory.

Firstly Ajisen’s appearance is a lot better than taros cafe but then that wouldn’t be hard the only positive aesthetic about taros is the view from the deck eating area with everything else being quite practical and uninteresting. Ajisen ramen’s appearance on the other hand is quite detailed (nowhere near as well as Sono but better than most) the service was nice but because of my presence on the wall and the fact that I was eating by myself, meant that the wait for attention would usually be excessive.

The food was good; however in comparison to taros it was average but then again taros has exceptional ramen. Big differences between the two were that at taros the broth had a strong sweet flavour throughout even when only eating the noodle from chopsticks where at Ajisen the broth was barely present except when drinking it by itself. The noodles at Ajisen were soft and were more like instant noodles than ramen noodles elsewhere, which greatly disappointed me; the only recovering factor of the meal was the fact that I had an imported Kiran can next to my bowl. I wouldn’t return unless I was walking past the place and didn’t have the effort to cross town for taros.

Ajisen Ramen is open from 11:30am to 9pm most days

My meal cost $11.30 and my can of Kiran (500ml) cost $10

Their Website is http://ajisenramen.com.au/ 

Sono

Sono

Level 1 Tattersall’s building Cnr Queen & Edward

4/5

Tuna Sashimi

Sono is one of the best Japanese restaurants in Brisbane, which is also why it is one of the most expensive. With the triple threat of great food, exceptional service and amazing atmosphere, this restaurant almost gets the penultimate rating, and pretty much the only thing preventing that is personal preference. Much of my praise for Sakura on the south side of Brisbane has been equalled or bettered by Sono, which should be expected considering the price. Irrespective of the price Sono is one of the better places in town to have Japanese food with many benefits over the other restaurants Brisbane has to offer.

Two things Sono has in spades, Atmosphere and service. The atmosphere of the place is incredible, with a dining setup similar to many a place in Japan. Low set tables, cushions and the obligatory removal of shoes, grant the place an incredibly Japanese feel, if it weren’t for the loud words of English speakers you wouldn't think you were in Brisbane. The pine presence and predominance of square shapes gives the place a serene tranquil feeling. The perfection of presentation just adds miles to this pleasant dining experience. This is followed with the exceptional service with girls in kimonos hovering around at a sufficient distance for it not to be awkward and at the table at every moment you needed or wanted something; a dirty plate had never seen such an enemy.

Wagyu Tataki

The most important of all things is food though, and Sono excelled at it too, with all the dishes I consumed being of a very high quality. Beginning with the Wagyu Tataki that already had the exceptional qualities of Tataki. Even without the red bean sauce that added much to the flavour and created a truly fantastic experience. The Wagyu had a crisp outside with the soft and meaty inside with the mix of ever so slightly citrus giving life to the palate that recently had been continuously bored with basic food. Following this and a flask of fantastic sake was the tuna sashimi, which while fantastic was equal to the sashimi I had consumed at Sakura all that time ago, the only difference being the cuts of sashimi at Sono were thicker creating a different feeling. Lastly the main of the evening, being the Shabu-Shabu a dish I have eaten at several restaurants now and fantastic at all the restaurants I have eaten it the only disappointment being the lack of flavour held by the broth, however the quality and pleasantness of the dish continued to make my dining experience by far a very enjoyable one.

Shabu Shabu Ingredients

I would return to Sono if only for the atmosphere, let alone the fantastic food and drink, the only real complaint I could have is the price makes things add up quickly with a dinner for three with drinks costing 250 dollars on this night. However regardless of the expense I would recommend Sono in Brisbane city to anyone with deep pockets and a desire to feel like they are in Japan.

The price of our Shabu-shabu was $43 pp with the tuna sashimi costing $20 and the Wagyu Tataki being $18

Many drinks are available with draft Sapporo being $9.5 a mug, Shochu being $8 and upwards and sake being approx $20 and up for a 180 ml half flask

There are vegetarian options at Sono

Sono has a Website at http://www.sonorestaurant.com.au

Verve Cafe-Bar

Verve Cafe-Bar
109 Edward St Brisbane City
1.5/5
I've been to verve before, once looking for a job, and another time to have a drink before a show upstairs at the Metro Arts centre. One thing is to be said of Verve and that is, it has the best grungy aesthetic of anyplace I've been in Brisbane. The place has the feel of older parts of Sydney or Melbourne, not at all like the expansive open bars or restaurants that dominate the Brisbane scene.

Anyway this is a food review not an aesthetic design blog, so with my bias already in this places favour (it still is to an extent) i went to this place to have dinner. (It was either this or one of the Asian joints around, however I'm reviewing a Korean place next week and didn't want to focus to heavily on Asian cuisines to the exclusion of other cuisines) It was good to go to a place with a specials board, something i rarely see outside of the community clubs.

The service at this place was either difficult or again I'm overestimating the amount of time it took due to my solo dining experience (seriously eating by yourself is boring outside of the actual eating/drinking part) Admittedly if it were to be described as slow, it was probably due to the table in the centre of the room with at least 20 people at it. After difficulty getting the attention of a waiter, i ordered a coopers pale ale (Schooner on tap $6) and one of the specials (Spinach and Feta Ravioli with Swiss and shitake mushrooms in a cream sauce $21.27). It was surprising how quick the food came out with me barely having a sip of my beer before it was rushed out in a very presentable manner (also noticed that the table of twenty people had all of their meals delivered at the same time).

Pasta and other dishes with many elements are difficult to describe due to the importance being balance rather than simply looking to see if the natural strength of a main element has been exploited, but here's my attempt anyway.
This dish failed and succeeded on many levels, although the Ravioli appeared to made in shop the flavour of the spinach and feta added nothing to very little to the dish being completely overpowered by the natural sweetness of the cream sauce, and i believe for that particular cream sauce a more powerful flavour was needed for the ravioli. The mushrooms on the other hand added a much needed flavour body and the earthiness countered the sweetness creating a rather pleasant flavour. There was probably a tad too much garlic but compared with the sweetness the garlic was unnoticeable. Overall the only flavour that lingered was that of the cream which was disappointing due the pleasantness of the mushroom flavour.
Main was $21.27, Beer was $6, most mains under $20, Beers start at $6
You can visit their website at www.vervecafe.com.au

Sakura & Obaltan

Sakura 3.5/5
Obaltan 3/5
This double post is born out of the fact that i have been too lazy to post in a long time, also in the future i am going to take a camera with me to enhance this page from just text.

Sakura
9 Gladstone Road Highgate Hill
Sakura could be described as in Highgate hill, but by foot the best way is from South Bank Station (Vulture St) and on the corner of vulture st and highgate hill.
Sakura is easily one of the best Japanese restaurants in Brisbane, and i would say in my opinion has some of the best sashimi the capital has to offer, apparently being run by an ex-sumo makes your sashimi the best around. The staff are attentive and efficient, and the Ala carte food good, however in both times i have been there i have failed to get the hot pot (i suspect being the best part of the restaurant) however whilst the individual dishes are not the greatest to be found in Brisbane, starting off with a plate of sashimi will leave memories of fantastic food that will last beyond the above average mains. Additionally Sakura is fully licenced with a wide selection of Japanese beers (Yebisu!!) Sake, and also Shochu (Shochu Calpis highball!!). Also Sakura has the option of buying a bottle of Sake and if failing to finish it on this visit allows for the holding of the sake until your next visit (up to six months i think). Prices range from $15-$50 for food
3.5 out 5



Obaltan
91 Elizabeth St Brisbane City
Obaltan is a Korean style BBQ place in the row of Korean restaurants around where skinnys music used to be. From outside or inside the restaurant it appears to be well designed, with a nice aesthetic and at lunch or dinner a fair number of diners. Forgetting the main dishes on the menu other than charcoal BBQ (why go to a BBQ place for anything else), the food is quite good, with tasty and substantial cuts of meat ready for you to cut with scissors onto the grill. Oh i forgot to mention the grill sits over a tub of burning coals providing the meat with charcoal flavour, this is opposed to other BBQ places where gas is used to heat the grill. The table bells (a regular feature of Korean restaurants) assure prompt service, and the presence of Hite beer on tap provides many a pint to have over lunch, particularly recommended over lunch is cucumber soju, as its cool refreshing taste combines well with the bitterness in Hite, all of which combines well with the charcoal flavour of the meat and spiciness of the kimchi. My only real problem with this place is the price, which will undoubtedly end up over $50 each, however for a great dining experience i recommend it with a 3/5.



I've also eaten at Hunan Chinese restaurant recently, and while it was alright, and the service was excellent (admittedly we did eat at 3:30 on a Sunday) i wouldn't recommend it due to the presence of better restaurants in the area, and the food was just alright.

I need fellow diners to try out some restaurants I've been meaning to see for a while.
Contact me

Madtongsan 2

Madtongsan II
85 Elizabeth St, City
3/5
The rating i gave this place is probably a little out of whack. Mostly because i love bibimbap and everybody who knows me, knows that the two madtongsan's in the city are two of my favorites. especially for lunch and now with the presence of tap hite (which at least madtongsan II you can get by the jug) which makes the idea of spicy hot Korean food even more appealing, just writing this post makes me want to go back.

Madtongsan 2 is a fantastic restaurant evidenced by the fact that most of their single dish menu is under 15 dollars and most of their hotpots (for two or more) are under or around $30 and the fact that on Sunday lunch time it is difficult to get a table for more than two people.
So on this particular Sunday lunch time my lunch partner and i were able to get a table for two at about 1pm. When you are seated at your table, they usually bring round the complimentary Kim chi, and provide you with chopsticks and a spoon, service is easy due to the use of call bells on the table that bring the waitress to your table and the presence of jugs of hite beer (13 dollars a jug at a restaurant???!!!) means your first order is always known (unless of course you like soju)

We proceeded to order with no hesitation, knowing exactly what we wanted from the menu, two bibimbap's (mixed vegetables and rice with raw egg and chilli paste) and a jug of hite, the beer coming almost immediately, food a little longer, for those who haven't had Korean food before i know of nothing better than kimchi and beer. upon arrival of the food the usual stirring up of the bibimbap and the devouring that comes soon after proceeded as normal for me with my cold non stone pot bowl, my company however took longer due to the furnace like heat emanating from the stone pot ("dol soot" and the heat is a good thing) the dish came in. The food was of its usual high quality. i would recommend going here anytime you have free.

again my blog writing is rubbish, however hopefully ill learn to write better soon enough.