Review- LR Sushi on Albert Street

As many Brisbanites who frequent the CBD will tell you, the best sushi in the entire metropolis is at LR Sushi on Adelaide Street.

Many's an afternoon that a common sight will be that of a queue so long that it stretches past the neighbouring Starbucks and has to be wrangled by waitresses breaking the starving

lunchtime mob up into manageable groups.

"Why?" I hear you ask.

Well, the honest answer is that the sushi is truly

THAT good.

Armed with a $5 bill and my trusty iPhone camera, I braved the ravenous noontime hordes to bring you my critique of the best lunch in Brizzie- and all for just $4.60 :)

If you are a sushi cynic, you may think, "all sushi is the same", but there is a fine and delicate art- a skill, if you will- required to make truly amazing sushi.

Firstly, it has to be fresh. The only thing I find more repulsive than crime-scene shots is dry, day-old sushi. Thankfully, the sushi here is prepared on site, and it looks it! If the sashimi was any fresher, it would still be in the ocean. You can virtually smell the healthfulness of the sushi seeping through the cabinet. Yum!

Secondly, there has to actually BE filling in the roll. Those skinny, pathetic-looking rolls that you see in most sushi kiosks? They pale in comparison to these babies. If those regular sushis are Kate Moss, LR sushi is Beyonce- their thicker, better cousin. The fillings here literally fill the nori to bursting point, making for a satiating lunch indeed.

Lastly, quality sushi cannot exceed the budget of the common wo/man. Otherwise, how can we all get a taste of mainland Japan for a reasonable price? The simple answer is that we cannot. And THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is when anarchy is unleashed. Besides being good for our waistlines, sushi has to ALSO be kind to our wallets, right? Right. All rolls here are priced under $3, meaning that taste comes with a generous serving of value.

So, satisfied that LR fulfils these qualifications, I made my selection of two rolls- one wakame and tofu, one Japanese omelette.

The wakame and tofu roll consisted of thinly sliced red chillies and fresh wakame wrapped snugly in a seasoned tofu sheet. The diverse, flavoursome trifecta literally explodes on the palette: the richness of the tofu, the delicate saltiness of the sesame-seasoned wakame and the biting spiciness of the chillies made the roll a savoury literally to die for. Never have I had such fresh wakame.

The Japanese omelette roll contained traditional tamagoyaki, the sweet omelette unique to the orient, freshly julienned carrot, cucumber and capsicum, and an interesting, nectarous Japanese pickle (I think it contained ginger). It was by far the best sushi roll I've even had- that pickle gave the veggies an interesting, sweet element that really brought our their crisp flavours. Delicious!

In addition to the rolls I tried, other more interesting options contain chicken and peach, smoked salmon

and cream cheese, egg salad, spider crab and loads more.

LR sushi can be found on the corner of Edward and Adelaide Street (the end closest of George Street) and is open 7 days, but get in early unless you want to wait! :)

An Ode to Quark

There are few simple joys that in life- one is watching extraordinary violent movies, the other finding something for which I have long searched.

Unless you want to hear about my un-pacifistic film fetish (and by all means, tell me if you do :)), today's post will be about the latter: in particular, finding a pot of quark cheese.

As an exchange student in The Fatherland, each morning I would be roused by the pungent aroma of toasting rye bread (not a particularly romantic memory, I know, but bread is so essentially Germany). I'd wander bleary-eyed into the kitchen where breakfast- lovingly prepared by my exchange mother- would be waiting for me: a steaming mug of cocoa and thick, toasted slices of rye bread from the local bakery, loaded up with quark cheese and organic apple jam, made from apples from the nearby orchard. BEST BREAKFAST EVER.

Ahhhh, it invokes much nostalgia.

So, you can imagine my disappointment when, wanting to relive the sentimental memories of my sojourn to Deutschland, I was unable to track down a pot of quark. I hunted high and low- in foreign smallgoods stores, the cheese aisle of the supermarket, at Aldi- but with little avail. I even asked expat friends, but alas, it seemed as if my quarky memories would have to fade for good. I was heartbroken.

So you can imagine my amazed delight when, after my daily cardiac torture sesh at the local gym, I popped into the the organic grocer for some firm tofu for lunch and saw a lone pot of quark sitting in the refrigerated section between the marinated veggies and bean curd. If the gym hadn't been enough to give me a heart attack, this was.

I was elated. My cup ranneth over with ecstasy. Despite the $8.25 price tag (ouch!), my tofu and I rushed to the checkout. I bet you can guess what I had on my toast this morning :)

Here is a delicious authentic German cheesecake recipe that I'm hoping to try soon. I think it would taste lovely with raspberries OR maybe some grilled figs with honey? Yummo! I would probably also add some grated ginger to the crust. :P

Review- lunch at Madtongsan I

Today's post is brought to you by the letter K.
K for Korean and K for kickass, as these two words describe yeterday's culinary exploits.

I must admit that I have oft wondered what korean food is like, but a slight ignorance of Korean culture, coupled with year 12 history's Cold War unit led me to conclude that Korean food is probably similar to its japanese counterpart, with just a healthy dash of socialism mixed in :)

However, an opportunity arose yesterday to try this magnificently multifaceted cuisine in the form of lunch at the charmingly tiny Madtongsan 1, located in Brisbane's Elizabeth Street Arcade.

Despite occupying merely a diminutive corner of the arcade, it's difficult for passers-by to miss Madtongsan 1. The kiosk-sized restaurant exudes a warm charm and certain aura of hustle and bustle as the waitstaff flit hurriedly between the cramped tables, and crowds of chattering, salivating customers wait patiently for a table outside, gazing longingly at the steaming bowls on seated patrons' tables and at the brightly-illustrated menus that paper the windows. Having witnessed the hype over the small restaurant, I decided to give it a go.

Decor/ambience- although cramped and somewhat minimalistic in terms of decoration, the amazing smells wafting from the nearby kitchen and the large portion sizes are enough to get anyone's tummy rumbling aggressively. Warm lighting and colours and a surprising lack of music create a homely feel that makes patrons feel relaxed despite the "get in, eat, get out" mood that is the hallmark of most lunchtime eateries.

Food- Despite a small menu, choices vary widely and all look positively mouthgasmic. My selection, bibimbap, a ricebowl dish, looked simple and plain on the menu, but when it arrived at the table, I saw that I was much mistaken in my initial critique. As illustrated in the accompanying photo, bibimbap is a fantastical concoction of steamed seasoned rice, Korean veggies all prepared lovingly in a variety of manners and a big dollop of Krakatoa-hot hot sauce, all topped off with a fried egg, sunny-side up. The point of the dish is to mix the bowl's contents together, stirring the hot sauce through, creating a cacophony of colours and flavours- delicious! We were also given two complimentary traditional side dishes- spiced potato and the ubiquitous kimchi (or kimchee).

If you haven'tbeen fortunate enough to have tried kimchi (the little dish in the left in the photo), it really is something. Like an Asian version of sauerkraut, it revolves around pickled cabbage, but that is where the similarities to its Germanic cousin, end. As well as vinegar, the cabbage is also favoured with chilli, salt and a number of secret Korean 'erbs and spices that create an unami-esque taste explosion that is truly unique. Eaten by the Koreans with every meal, you can put the versatile condiment with A-NYthing and it will taste wonderfully amazing. It really is one of those flavours that makes you say, "day-um!"

Value- For a paltry $9, this bibimbap was one of the most awesome Asian dishes I have ever had in my entire life (bear in mind that I just came back from a month in Vietnam), and the marriage of the salty kimchi, spicy sauce and flavoursome veggies definitely left me wanting more. In fact, if they eat like this ALL the time in Korea, I might consider taking my next holiday there. Now, when does the next plane leave for Seoul? :)

Madtongsan is located at 28 Elizabeth Street, Brisbane. Mains are $9-$11 each.