Hosokawa Japanese Restaurant, Racecourse Rd, Hamilton, Brisbane

A traditional Japanese restaurant located on Racecourse Rd in Ascot/Hamilton is one of my favourite Japanese restaurants to go to. The fact that it is also in Northside gives it another thumbs up for me since it is closer to where I am. Expect simple casual interior with a touch of Japanese flair here and there but remember to book in advance as it gets booked out at nights and nearly during lunch time. Another thing is that they are closed on Sundays. Price wise is quite straight to the point and not overly priced but you do get generous serving sizes and for its well priced dishes, it allows you to enjoy both Japanese cuisine in a traditional Izakaya setting.

'Sashimi Platter (Large)' ($39) consists of about 25 slices of chef's selection which is great to have when eating together being able to share and have a taste of this and that. Presented on a big white square plate, it had many of the various seafood you could think of to eat. Salmon, Tuna, White Fish, Squid, Octopus, Scallop and Mackerel plus of course, a few tower dollops of wasabi and also at the bottom would be their thinly sliced radish and seaweed to accompany it all as well as some caviar.

What I love here is the thick cuts of sashimi they give every single time you order Sashimi. As you can see from the photos below, you can see how thickly cut these fresh Salmon sashimi slices are which makes it juicier and make you drool before even picking it up with your chopsticks. Salmon is one of the healthiest and nutritionist seafood which is probably why I love it so much and wish I could get more of it than the rest of the others.

'Chicken Karaage' ($14.9) are deep fried marinated chicken thigh pieces served with a simple salad, a side plate of various radish, a bowl of rice and miso soup. The whole package if I may say and no, do not compare it to your fast food Japanese of course..

One thing that you may be wondering about is their batter.. It seemed to be less oily and also thinner than the other Karaage(s) you may have or have not tried but I am unsure of which is the original or real batter that should have been for these Chicken Karaage. I do prefer the batter-y version but as for the meat, they were quite an okay size but it wasn't as big or too small cut pieces. The salad was nice and fresh, a good addition to the dish as well as the various pickles allowing you to be able to try bits of this and that. The miso soup and the warm rice was definitely a must for this dish however one downside was the lack of sauce. There wasn't a sauce for this dish which was quite hard to be able to combine each of the elements together but I guess eating the chicken and warm rice together may just make you have a simple but yummy meal.

'Chicken Curry' ($13.9) is crumbed chicken served with a rice and miso soup. Although presentation wise is normal, there is always some kind of curry and chicken ratio that does not match. Oh, and rice as well. The rice is always an adequate amount, the sauce is usually quite alot but for some reason or another, the crumbed chicken would only be a few pieces. This would make you have lots of rice and sauce leftover while your chicken pieces are gone after a few spoonfuls and you end up mixing the sauce into the rice and eating just simply that.

It would have been nice if the sauce had some kind of vegetables in it even if it isn't roughly cut such as carrots or potatoes would have been great. The crumbed chicken was quite thin meat wise but they were crumbed well nevertheless. The only downside was that more chicken was needed for the dish.

'Una Don' ($19.90) is a simple dish but usually will take you to places you will never think of... What I mean was that the softness and the glorious smooth texture with the sauce as well as the grilled smoky flavour just simply melts in your mouth making you go mmmm...

Grilled eel served on top of rice served with miso soup is usually quite pricy when compared to the other dishes on offer during lunch. However, the size of the eel was not bad as it isn't the smallest I have seen but then, it is also not the biggest as I have eaten at another restaurant that serves big juicy grilled eel.. When you eat this dish, do try and remember that this dish may be very simple with only two elements in the whole dish but do try and picture and taste the flavour of the sauce, the eel and then when you take a bit of rice and place it together in your mouth, you can feel the sauce and eel blending in well with the warm soft fluffy rice.

'Chicken Teriyaki Set' ($15.9) is another simple dish that is best enjoyed just simply the main and warm rice is Chicken teriyaki served with warm rice. A simple yet refreshing salad is also placed on the same plate as the chicken whilst the rice is placed in a seperate bowl.

The teriyaki sauce was light but full of flavour. The chicken was a decent amount however there were some parts that were just fat so yes, you couldn't really eat that part or just avoid it in the end. However, the rest of the chicken seemed to be chicken thigh which allowed the chicken teriyaki to have a soft and smooth texture absorbing the teriyaki sauce.

Vie Bar + Restaurant, Palazzo Versace, Gold Coast

Vie Bar and Restaurant is at Palazzo Versace Hotel in Gold Coast. Please do note that this is a delayed review hence, the current menu and the food and dining experience was I think last year, 2015 so if you are wanting to try any of these food, you may find it may not be available now at all or maybe the menu has been renewed. But nevertheless, Vie do offer a unique range of dishes as well as their presentation and ambience is superb.

Starting off, each of us were given a sourdough roll with Olive Oil and Australian Cultured Butter which was a simple but elegant combination to start off before the meals.

By choosing our meals one by one, there were various dishes that came across as an interesting combination to have in just one dish. All the different elements can really come together when you are dining in a Modern Australian restaurant as you are able to taste and try what they have in store as well as the different elements offered and of course, the presentation in restaurants sometimes do matter in some cases.

'Slow Cooked NZ King Salmon Fillet' ($35) with organic red and white quinoa, almonds, pickled red onion and yoghurt. Presented beautifully on a big round plate, the different colours from the crispy salmon skin, redness of the pickled red onion and the mixture of the red and white quinoa gave it that colourful but yet bright dish.

The quinoa was cooked well however, I found that the yogurt did not really complement the dish well as it was just kind of awkward in a way with the flavour of it when mixed together. Specially with the salmon, it did not blend in as well as I had hoped. It did however worked quite well with the quinoa. Another thing was that as you are trying to figure out where the almonds as stated may be, they have simply been crushed and scattered everywhere around the dish on the plate. It is quite a unique way of presenting it but it would have been nicer if it was more coarse instead of thoroughly crushed finely.

The main element to enjoy would definitely have to be the salmon. It was well done I may say, crispy on the outside with the salmon meat, pink and moist. As you can see the sea salt rocks on the salmon skin, that is what gives the salmon skin the extra crisp as it absorbs it allowing it to have the right colour and crack. 

When eating the salmon, do try and get abit of everything in a mouthful as it is then where you are able to taste the subtle quinoa and crushed almonds, the pickled red onion and then the salmon which in the end is a great combination as it does not fill you up fully but instead allows you to have a clean, healthy and refreshing meal. Feels light as well at the start but as soon as you get near the end, you would feel fuller.

'Byron Bay Pork Belly' ($24) braised in master stock with green papaya and hot mint salad, seared scallop, ginger and palm sugar glaze. As I was not feeling too hungry that day, I decided to order one of the entrees as my main although it still is an Entree size meal. What intrigued me about this meal would be the combination of braised pork belly and seared scallops which I thought was a unique but definitely delicious mix. Best of both worlds really isn't it?

Green Papaya and hot mint salad isn't something you find everywhere often so when I saw this, I thought what a unique way to compliment the dish. Having the seafood and meat side of it well done with combining pork and scallops, having the salad on the side allows the whole dish to be taken to the next level.. Fresh and healthy. The green papaya was subtle, still have the slight crunch in it which was great and having the hot mint made it better and yes, the slight spicyness too.

The seared scallops was well done however it would have been nice if there were more of it instead of just 2 whole scallops or halved scallop. The outer layer of the scallop had absorbed the marination and braising well allowing it to have a warm but smoky flavour all around. As for the Byron bay pork belly, being braised in master stock, it was rather interesting but although I could not really taste anything special about the master stock nor did the smell or the flavour overpowered anything or stood out, but the fact that the pork belly was braised well, it had a smoky flavour as well whilst having a very soft and melt in your mouth texture.

'Chips and Aioli' ($9)

'Seared Kangaroo Fillet' ($37) with native pepper berry, rosella flower, bush tomato, roasted onion and red wine sauce. Kangaroo fillet is always a nice lean red meat to eat substituting your usual red meat but some may say it is too red, some say it smells, some say it's very healthy and lean, some say it's better than beef, some say it's worse than beef.

For those who have cooked or eaten Kangaroo meat before, we should know that the Roos are best cooked and served medium rare and this is due to its lean-ess having low fat content so overcooking it would not only make the meat hard to chew or eat but also ruin both the texture and flavour. Do not compare the Kangaroo meat to your normal red meat allowing it being cooked from medium rare to well done as I have mentioned before, it could just simply dry out the meat during the cooking process.

The Kangaroo meat was cooked perfectly being medium rare when it was served and this is what I mean by being able to see the deep but subtle red colour of the meat, its low fat content and allows you to have an enjoyable experience eating it. The meat itself was full of flavour and had enough moisture as it was not dry at all when eaten.

The native pepper berry was not as overpowering but the hint of peppery taste was definitely amongst the dish and it added a nice flavour to the kangaroo meat. The Rosella flowers are placed on top of the seared Kangaroo meat. Rosella Flowers, also known as Wild Hibiscus flowers are edible and this is why.. The flower itself is most commonly known for its use in champagne although other than that, it does work well with either sweet or savoury dishes. Some may even use it in sauces or jams or just a simple accompaniment for meat. It actually kind of reminded me of onions, not too sure why.. maybe because there were also bush tomato and roasted onion mixed in along with the flowers in the red wine sauce.

'Red Wine Braised Wagyu Beef Cheek' ($35) with celeriac puree, glazed shallots and baby beans. The first thing I noticed was the smoky though burnt? texture and look. Although of course, it may have been because it was braised in red wine sauce

The baby beans complimented the celeriac puree well as the subtle flavour of the baby beans had the crunches whilst the celeriac puree, smooth and had a nutty but sweet taste. There was a garlic clove which I wasn't sure how it would've complimented the other elements. The celeriac puree was made well, not lumpy but having a smooth texture made it seem that it was not overcooked nor was it rough. It reminds me of mashed potato really but with a celeriac taste.

I have to say that having a red wine braised really affects not only the flavour but also the meat. Having the subtle but quite medium strength red wine smell, it allows the meat to not only absorb the red wine but also infuse itself within it allowing the meat itself to be soft and easy to pull apart really. So the beef cheek had no hard or rough surface but instead what seemed to be like pulled beef.

Will visit here again this year if I may when I am around but other than that, I am also wanting to try their Breakfast buffet. Please do note again that the current menu is different with what is available here on the review.