The Little Cube @ Sunnybank

Hubby & I went to watch movie Real Steal in Sunnybank a few days ago. Given that there are so many restaurants and eateries available in Sunnybank and that we have an hour to spare, we decided to have a quick dinner before the movie starts at 6:30pm.

We headed to The Little Cube located outside of the Sunnybank Plaza. The Little Cube is right next to Cube Hot Pot being its sister restaurant. It's pretty quiet and we're the only dine in customer because 5:30pm is still early for dinner.

Decor looks simple and clean

Soon after we've been seated, a waiter brought us a pot of Chinese tea and menu. The menu is in both Chinese and English. We ordered a Twice Cooked Pork Belly Slices, a Sweet & Sour Pork Loin Strips and two steamed rice. It only took a few minutes for the food to arrive. To be honest, I am shocked at how quickly our meals were being served although the restaurant was quiet. No matter how much I appreciate the efficient service we're getting, when I found out the steamed rice wasn't fresh and steamingly warm, I felt really disappointed. Instantly I know this dinner won't be as enjoyable as it could have been with this somewhat lukewarm rice (most likely being leftover from their lunch service). I didn't ask the waiter to give us fresh rice as I would imagine they haven't got any just yet, otherwise they would have served us the fresh one!

The disappointing steamed rice is a big "no no"!

Twice cooked pork belly slices $14.80

The Twice Cooked Pork Belly Slices can be ordered as mild, medium or hot. The one we got is mild. The flavour was pretty good although the pork belly was a bit too greasy and fatty. As you can see from the picture above, there's a fair bit of oil in this dish.

Sweet & sour pork loin strips $15.80

The Sweet & Sour Pork Loin Strips was pretty flavoursome although I prefer the batter of the pork loin to be a bit crispier.

Overall, our dining experience was average mainly due to the steamed rice being not fresh. Price wise the meal wasn't expensive (our bill is less than $35) but they are plenty of other options at the similar or cheaper price range in Sunnybank. Service is quick but maybe too quick?

P.S. Be sure to have cash with you because this restaurant accepts cash payments only.

Mecca Bah @ Emporium, Fortitude Valley

A friend of mine from Hong Kong made a short visit in Brisbane last week so we caught up for lunch before she leaves. Hubby, & I took her to Emporium in Fortitude Valley which is nearby to the hotel she stayed. We've picked Mecca Bah out of all the restaurants at Emporium because it looks like the most popular one and I've rea good reviews of it on Urbanspoon.

The staff greeted us as soon as we walked in and we picked a table outisde given the weather is nice and breezy. The munu is a simple one-page menu with reasonably good variety of entree, salasd, mains and sides. The three of us ordered just 2 mains to share as we planned to have desserts at Freestle Tout which is just opposite to Mecca Bah. The waiter politely asked if we need any entrees to start with because 2 mains might not be enough for 3 persons. So I told him our plan for dessert. Then my friend ordered a Ginfer Beer which she compliments it's the best Ginger Beer she's tried. I didn't take picture of it but I can tell you it's Baundabery Ginge Beer. I got a Lemon Lime Bitters which tastes refreshing and not overly sweet. I quite enjoyed it.

Our first main arrived in about 15 mins which is reasonable. The Spiced lamb kebab with fragrant rice pilaf and yoghurt sauce smells gorgeous. The size of the Spiced Lamb is quite decent. The meat is tender and moist. The fragrant rice is cooked perfectly with a good balance of acidity. I guess they used lemon juice as the finishing touch to the rice.

Spiced Lamb, Fragrant pilaf, Yoghurt sauce

We ordered Spiced chicken with eggplant, rocket & tahini sauce Turkish Pizza for our second main. Turkish Pizza seems like one of the most popular dishes being ordered at Mecca Bah. Presentation is great. I like how the rocket is topped on the pizza. Taste-wise the pizza is pretty good although the eggplant seems not cooked enough to my liking.

Spiced Chicken Turkish Pizza

Overall, the dining experience is quite enjoyable and I would definitely go back and try more dishes from the menu.