Firefly Cafe (Lunch)

Overall score: 83/100

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Urbanised, industrial, arty, hipster-y; everything a pretentious cafe should be and, in our capital cities at least, this is exactly what you get. But not in Toowoomba. No, in Toowoomba you get basic, utilitarian, uninspiring, dated; until you visit Firefly.
   Located smack bang in the middle of the CBD, Firefly hides under an unnasumming, simple facade, and really the front of the shop is small and one could quite easily miss it. As The Chameleon entered this ostensible, albeit almost miss-placed for Toowoomba, cafe, his memories took him back to a place not so long ago down in old Melbourne town, a cafe just like this; warm, with a kitch twist like a cafe should. 
   The decor here was well composed with French inspired chairs and wicked rustic tables. The walls adorned with what appeared like a nice batch of modern art and the colour scheme worked a treat. As The Chameleon approached the counter, a puzzling experience enveloped; there was no menu on the wall! Not even for the coffee! Intriguing start. Was this a part of the pretentiousness? Perhaps. 
   Anyway, he asked the lovely waitress whether they were doing lunch and she promptly handed him a very uninspiring menu. Now, keeping in mind that this was lunch, and that Toowoomba has many many offerings of sub $10 lunches (i.e. the outstanding Phat Burgers just up the road) the menu read very high brow, some interesting offerings. The Chameleon however wanted some meat; it's what he had been consuming for lunch for quite some time, however Firefly is not the place to go if you are after a large, filling, protein based meal. And rightly it shouldn't be, after all, it is a cafe, not Hogs Breath Cafe. So summing up his options, of which there weren't many by the way, he ended up pointing to the "Roast sweet potato w pork belly & sugarloaf slaw" and hoped for the best. He also of course ordered a cap. 
   The staff were very friendly. Urbanspoon reviewers, some of them anyway, have complained of the lacklustre service, the lack of smiles, making it sound all a bit Twilight. But this was not The Chameleon's experience; chirpy, friendly, warm staff, even asking how my meal was, and to top it all off, going to the extra effort of saying goodbye as he left, even though they were busy. 
   First the coffee. It was nice, quite tasty and very acceptable for a lunchtime pick-me-up. There was an added little touch that really impressed The Chameleon. Next to his cappuccino was a beautiful little heirloom teaspoon, all the way from France. Oh how this delighted him, to see just a little glimpse of style and international thought in this regional city. 
   The main was outstanding. Well, it was rather sweet and the jus was very sweet indeed, but geez that pork belly was cooked to perfection. And the sweet potato was great too, the whole meal worked together like an orchestra performing at it's peak. Great work  Firefly. 
   Firefly Cafe is perhaps the only 'real' cafe in Toowoomba. The air of elegance, of art and style, Firefly delivers an ultra-urban high-brow ambience which would see it fit into any of Australia's major cities, if not internationally. As The Chameleon gazed into busy Ruthven Street, shoppers impatiently running past from shop to shop, he could have been sitting anywhere from Rome, to London, to Copenhagen. A few Hiluxes and Navaras quickly bought him back to reality, but alas, Firefly created the desired mood. 
   The food was great, but a lack of options hindered. Should there be more options is perhaps a more pertinent question to ask, as this was a cafe after all. The menu presentation too needed some more thought, but perhaps the pretentiousness that one desires from a cafe has to surface somewhere. 
   The Chameleon thinks they might be going for the "have your coffee and leave" angle, but "if you are going to eat, then we will get that right". Not a bad effort Firefly. 83/100    

Sofra

Overall score: 83/100

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On a beautiful balmy night The Chameleon had the delightful task of attending a work social function at Sofra, one of Toowoomba's highly rated restaurants and the city's only Turkish offering. To say that The Chameleon was looking forward to this visit is a bit of an understatement; urbanspoon consistently rates this establishment in the Top 5 for the Darling Downs Region. 

THE EXPERIENCE
Sofra is located on Toowoomba's well known Margaret Street and on this particular night, it was lucky that parking was not a problem, something that has detracted from the initial CBD experience in the past. Upon entering, perhaps with the preconceived notion that this place was going to be top class, The Chameleon instantly felt at ease. There was a certain warmth, an almost homely feel to the place, with colourful tablecloths, plenty to look at on the walls, and the exquisite use of timber throughout all added to a very well consummated experience. 

The Chameleon's group was seated upstairs on this particular occasion, which gave a a great view of the place, and allowed The Chameleon to perform his critique from a great perch. 

The waitresses were fine yet somehow uninspiring. It was a somewhat busy night and no doubt a few of the girls were just going through the motions. They weren't rude, they didn't make mistakes, but at the same time, there was no extra attention, asking how our meals were, etc. etc.; a stock standard experience. So, the wonderful decor of the place was offset somewhat by lackluster, albeit acceptable, hospitality. 

Also of note was the lack of ambience music. While the chatter of the customers did create some level of privacy, a little Turkish melody wouldn't have hurt. A slight mistake  none-the-less The Chamelon thinks. 

THE FOOD

Sofra excelled here overall. The Chameleon ordered lamb cutlets and man, they were outstanding! Although the presentation was somewhat lacking, that 'flame grilled to perfection' flavour came through in buckets, and the textures were just right. They were accompanied by two pieces of rather large flat breads, which were far too much and the meal presented somewhat thrown together on the plate, but none of this really mattered; the cutlets were THAT good. There was also a very tasty side dish of yoghurt, but the olives that came out were a bit hit and miss.     
    
Of particular note was the use of clay pots for some of the Chameleon's colleagues' meals and it's this sort of unique dining that ads just that hint of interest. 

The desert, strangely, worked very well by accident perhaps. The krem karamel had been burnt and this created a bitter edge. Typically this is a big no no; a bitter desert? But on this occasion, in the way this dish presented overall, the bitterness actually nicely offset the overly sweet, a balance if you will. Was this a mistake or is this the way this desert was supposed to be? The Chameleon needs to research further.

OVERALL

The highly successful execution of the decor and the quality food combined effectively at Sofra. The lack of ambience music and the so so service were a slight distraction, but not enough to really offset the overall feel. A must visit in Toowoomba. 83/100

WAGAYA (Brisbane)

Overall score: 95/100

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Japan. What a wonderfully different country compared to Australia, both in terms of it's direct cuisine, it's fascination with technology and, perhaps most importantly, it's relentless pursuit of super efficiency and perfection. The Chameleon enjoyed a trip to this wonderful country a while ago and ever since has had a fascination with all things Japan, especially the food. Nowhere has the Chameleon found an equal to the Japanese restaurants seen in Kyoto and Tokyo, until a visit to Wagaya in the Brisbane Valley.

THE EXPERIENCE

When it comes to a place to eat that has a Japanese background, you expect, above all things, efficiency. As the restaurant opened at EXACTLY when it said it would, the patrons waiting outside all began to flow through the doors, up the stairs, a bit like a tidal wave of bodies stoushing to be the first seated. They need not have bothered, as within five minutes, everyone was happily playing with their ordering touch screens (and there must have been at least 50 of us). 

The timber booths made the Chameleon very happy. The design was so good in fact, the Chameleon has since been dreaming of replicating such a booth in his own hidden cave, they were THAT good. The right amount of privacy, the right amount of light and separation from other guests and coincidentally, the right amount of Japanese/oriental styling. 

The ordering screen was a new concept for the Chameleon and it provided many minutes of fun while waiting for orders, as navigating through the menus was easy and seeing the pictures of the deliciousness which was to come was a unique experience. Not that he could play with it long; in typical Japanese style, the service was OUTSTANDING. In fact, this came very close to replicating the best service the Chameleon has ever received, which was coincidentally in Japan (and one fine restaurant also came close in Positano, Italy). The key touch that made Wagaya exceptional though, was the strategic positioning of a maple tree inside the restaurant. It was on the way to the toilets that the Chameleon caught a glimpse of the function area, where this tree with pretty red leaves stood, taking the Chameleon back to the wonderful landscapes of, you guessed it, Japan. A small touch that framed the experience very nicely indeed.

THE FOOD

Let's be clear that not all sushi is the same. Over and over again, sushi that is purchased as a take away meal in the 'roll' style, does not even remotely come close to the exquisite flavours, textures and perfect presentation of what the Chameleon likes to call 'real sushi'. And Wagaya showed with precise accuracy the difference. The small meals the Chameleon sampled over the roughly hour and a half stay, were all, and I do mean ALL, very well executed dishes. The highlight was the abalone, which was of course ridiculously expensive and, since it was the first time the Chameleon sampled this super expensive Rolls Royce of foods, he had nothing to compare it to, but boy, he loved the unique texture and delicate taste.

There was nothing the Chameleon could criticise about the food, the service, the location and virtually anything else about the Wagaya experience. Actually, come to think of it, it was relatively expensive, but well worth it, so even saying that would be unfair. There was one small unavoidable dilemma; there was limited option at the lower end of the menu. Yes, Wagaya is an outstanding restaurant, but by no means can it afford to be exclusive when considering its Valley location. 

OVERALL

When considering the overall package that was Wagaya, it's very difficult to criticise  the experience. It's Japan authentic. It was almost the epitome of customer service, the best in Australia the Chameleon has ever received. If you want to sample Japanese cuisine almost in Japan, Wagaya is the best choice in Brissie. 95/100