Aspley Oriental, Aspley, Brisbane

This Chinese restaurant has been open since as long as I can remember and with a variety of dishes from A La Carte to Yum Cha, everyone is sure to enjoy. Coming here on a Sunday lunch is always the best time but yet the most crowded time to have Yum Cha. One of the best Chinese restaurants to dine at the Northside..

'Chicken Feet' is a staple dish to order during Yum Cha. Some may be frightened of the fact that it is Chicken's feet while some just can't look at it. The aroma that these feet has been marinated in is definitely giving you that delicious smell and feeling. It does get quite tricky in trying to eat the meat off it as you do have to take your time and is usually best to be eaten by hand. However, if you are wanting to know the taste, it simply just tastes like chicken to be honest just very less meat and much softer than your usual chicken breast texture.

'Minced Pork w Coriander and Peanuts Dumpling' is a dumpling that packs many different flavours in one all based on the minced pork with the hint of coriander and peanuts for extra crunchiness allows this dumpling to be delicious.

'Xiao Long Bao', also know as Shanghai Dumplings which is famous for their soup inside the dumpling which is the main highlight. The flavoursome and hot steaming soup will come out everytime you try and pop this into your mouth. An advice would be to not bite half way and instead try to put it into your mouth as a whole. By biting halfway, you will be sacrificing the soup pouring out and not being able to taste it. Eat it as is or dip a part of it into the soy sauce before eating it.

'Steamed Prawn Dumplings' isn't something I would choose to be my favourite but is always chosen everytime we go out for Yum Cha. Not sure if it's just because it is filled with prawns inside covered in a thin dumpling skin steamed to hotness or what..

'Bok Choy in Oyster Sauce' was just like what it is called, asian greens slightly cooked and served with oyster sauce. One thing I have to point out was that they should really cut it more proportionally as some stalks were way too big and you definitely won't be able to chew nor bite it in any way. 

'Steamed and Pan Fried Pork Buns' was your typical pork bun with the mouth watering sweet Pork Char Siu filling however as you can see, the main part of the bun has been steamed with the top being slightly pan fried which allows you to enjoy the bun with the tad smokiness.

'Tripe' isn't something everyone will love because of its texture however its flavour is something you will love if you like your simple seafood being cooked and steamed in chilli and ginger as well as garlic topped with spring onions.

'Lo Mai Gai' which literally means Chinese sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf filled with Chicken, mushrooms, Chinese Sausage and scallions while some places also have them with all that plus salted egg and/or shrimp. A staple Yum Cha dish to order yet again, gives you a delicious goodness all wrapped in a lotus leaf all steamed up. When it arrive on your table, you are able to smell and have the aroma coming out as well as all the steam.

When you slowly open the lotus leaf up, be careful as it may be very hot and the steam may just heat it so ever more. This dish usually comes in 2 as one portion when you do order and is usually isn't placed on the trays but instead you would need to tell one of the waitresses if you would like to order it. If you want to have a bit of dishes here and there but not sure if they will fill you up, then be sure to order this. The only thing that people may not be used to is one, the sticky rice with fillings in them and two, the fact that this is all wrapped in a lotus leaf. But I do assure you, when you have tried this at least once, you may come back and have it again the next time you do have Yum Cha with family or friends.

The filling of minced chicken and chinese sausage works well along with mushrooms allows it to be a light dish but feels heavy afterwards. The flavours of the meat is quite aromatic having a soy sauce based and the sauce has also been absorbed by the sticky rice allowing the rice also having a subtle flavour.

'Chee Cheong Fan' is always one of my favourites to order when having Yum Cha, especially the BBQ Pork filling It is basically soft thick rice noodles with fillings such as BBQ Pork or Beef or Prawn or Vegetables and soy sauce poured all over it. The way you eat this is not by eating it as a whole but instead try and cut them up into let's say 2 or 3 pieces each to be able to eat it conveniently and easily shared.



'Egg Tart' is always a favourite amongst diners when having Yum Cha. There are also Mango pancakes or Coconut puddings available for dessert if you're wanting something cold. The Egg tart wobbles as it should and the pastry has dozens of layers which I do prefer rather than those densed pastry.

Nando's, Carseldine Central, Carseldine, Brisbane

Anyone and everyone who loves chicken would have at least tried Nando's in their life or even eat it every week or every month.. Who doesn't? Well, maybe once every few months.. Now with more variety of flavour base you can choose from, anyone can dine here without having to feel like they will have to order the usual Extra Hot, Hot or Mild with the none spicy flavour being Lemon & Herb, eating that always when you come in can get boring but now with flavours such as Mango & Lime or Churrasco BBQ or even just plain is available, anyone's palates can be satisfied.

Having always ordering their Grilled Chicken every single time I dine at Nando's, I wasn't feeling it at this time and since there was only the two of us, we decided to go for something else. Looking through their salads and burgers, it just didn't feel right in a way going into Nando's and not ordering chicken, you know what I mean.. When I saw 'Thighs & Slaw Pita' (AUD$11.95) was one of Nando's options in their Burgers,Wraps & Pitas section on the menu, I decided to go with that. Something about chicken thighs and slaw just sounded delicious..

When it arrived on the table, to be honest, I was quite surprised by the size of the Pita bread. I thought it would just be some pieces of thighs with slaw stuffed and rolled into a pita bread but instead, it was a medium sized pita pocket. The pita bread was warm and slightly toasted stuffed with BBQ basted chicken thighs, coleslaw and caramelised onion. The pita bread was not too thick nor was it too thin until the sauce or the bottom of the pocket becomes soggy.

The caramelised onion was caramelised just right as you could taste the pan fried smokiness as well as they were fully cooked and abit soggy but by having the fresh coleslaw, the mayo and the caramelised onion made its own sauce along with the BBQ from the chicken. The BBQ basted chicken thigh was subtle and did not give a strong BBQ sticky taste however with the combination of the fresh coleslaw and the caramelised onion, it all worked well and created a simple but delicious meal.

Fasta Pasta, Aspley, Brisbane

Lunch deals are a great option to try the different dishes on offer but do note that none of the lunch dishes are available on the main menu. I do assure you that their pizza doughs are more delicious than you may think, not like your ordinary takeaway doughs. Yes, you can even order and get takeaways to bring back home to share with family and friends. Having a wide variety of pasta dishes allows you to choose what you like as well as for those who aren't feeling like pasta, then why not try some of their mains such as Barra or Steak and so on.

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Fasta Pasta, Aspley, Brisbane

Having new owners means either the restaurant will get better in terms of service and/or food or it will just be the same. Fasta Pasta located in the Harvey Norman precinct in Aspley is a friendly, homey and casual dining where you can experience various Italian dishes with a wide variety range to choose from. If you don't feel like eating pasta or pizza then have a try at their mains or salads. What should I say about this new owner other than that the place has gotten better with a much better customer service and also a friendly owner I might say.. and oh, did I say that the pizzas and pasta dishes also has improved tremendously? I cannot say that previously the food was bad, as it wasn't that bad but it wouldn't be a place I'd recommend if you want an easy but casual Italian fix or an Italian night out.. But now? I would have to say that since the transformation, it is recommended if you want to have a family dinner night or even just to satisfy your Italian tummy..

When you're seated, you are given the menu and be asked what drink you would like as well as being given complimentary slices of bread with butter and parmesan cheese. Soon after, the waitress would come by the table to take the orders.

'Pizza Bianca' (8inch: $5.9 or 10inch: $7.9) is your Fasta Pasta version of garlic bread. A thin pizza base topped with olive oil, garlic, parsley, mozarella and parmesan. The pizza base was fluffy and though it was thin, it was not too thin until it was all crisps. The previous pizza base here was very thin and you would not be able to enjoy the fluffiness and also the delicious dough while eating the pizza. 

'Meditteranean Salad' ($12.9) was surprisingly big in portion wise. Mixed lettuce leaves, baby roma tomatoes, cucumber, roasted capsicum, Kalamata olives and bocconcini with balsamic dressing. Having a bright outlook just brightens up the whole dish. The balsamic dressing was just enough to cover everything in the salad which allowed us to not have to try and dip or find extra sauce for those dry bits and pieces. The bocconcini was chewy and had a great texture but what highlighted the dish was the combination of the bocconcini, kalamata olives and the roasted capsicum. It added a whole different dimension as well as having the slight balsamic dressing around it made it brilliant.

'Tortellini Zucca' (E:$15.9, M:$17.9) consists of Chicken filled tortellini tossed with pine nuts, spinach, braised chicken, onion, pumpkin, chilli and cream. There are a wide range of tomato based sauce in the pasta dishes but not so much cream base. Having chosen this dish, we knew right away that it wasn't going to be dissapointing as the Entree portion seemed like a usual Main in Italian restaurants and the fact that the amount of pine nuts, baby spinach and pumpkin pieces were cut quite big made the dish seems really full and filling even before picking up your fork.

The braised chicken was braised well having its own distinct flavour and taste, also, having combined in with the cream and other elements in the dish allowed not only the tortellini to shine out but also its other accompanying elements. The cream however was quite in the heavier side but after you have mixed everything together, it allows you to taste the chicken filled tortellini as well as the subtle cream and pine nuts as well. Overall, a pleasant dish but unfortunately we couldn't finish as it was quite a portion I may say..

The Burrito Bar, Carseldine Central, Carseldine, Brisbane

Just recently, The Burrito Bar has just opened its doors at Carseldine Central in Brisbane's northside. So for you Burrito lovers, there's no need to have to go down to Portside or the CBD just to grab your favourites as you can get it somewhere nearer now. I've tried Burrito Bar only a handful of times, and have had both good and just okay experience in regards to both customer service and food. As we arrived on a weeknight, I think it was a Friday night, there were live music and nearly all the tables were filled..

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