Waves Buffet Restaurant

Overall score: 77/100

Restaurant:
Website

Facebook

Please NOTE: The Chameleon is switching to a first person writing style from this review onwards (June, 2014)

Sometimes, just sometimes, the idea of visiting a buffet seems like a reasonable one. On this occasions, in the company of work colleagues who liked to indulge in a bit of glutinous feasting, I opted to join the group at Waves Buffet Restaurant. The $55 all-you-can-eat option for the night seemed feasible, especially since my day job provider would be picking up the bill. 

THE EXPERIENCE

The place looks clinical. As I approached the vast open entrance, I remember thinking "...geez, this feels a bit like an airport lounge eatery..." but nonetheless we were greeted by a smiling host and seated quite promptly within a manner of about one minute. On this evening the restaurant was rather quiet, at about 20% capacity, which made it all the better as a full buffet can be a very uncomforting experience, as witnessed by another recent "buffet" trip. My group was seated a small hike from the action, which wasn't such a terrible thing, as it allowed us to have a bit of privacy to part take in our various small talk sessions.  

The staff were wonderful overall, but no one really went out of their way to go the extra mile either. The tables were routinely cleaned slightly later then they should have been and the chef behind the requests counter was cheery enough but again, service that is typical these days in most decent restaurants. 

THE FOOD

As I mentioned, the place looked clinical, which was actually quite a positive for a buffet; cleanliness can never be overrated at such an establishment and it felt very much that at this place, there was no place for second rate food to hide.

Without going into extensive detail about all the food, which was of various consistency, I'll touch on a highlight and a lowlight. The highlight was obvious and jumped out at me with two hands; I happened to find tucked away in a corner, the most delicious pork belly! It was a large serving, thick and full of flavour, prepared just as pork belly should be. It was juicy, sticky, full-on flavour punches that kept on coming. The lowlight was definitely the prawns. Flavourless, textureless and very much a disappointing part of the evening for me. When a buffet which prides itself on it's seafood presents such disastrous prawns, the main staple, it is indeed a negative stain on what was an otherwise fine offering all round.   

OVERALL

Waves offered plenty to sing about in a clinical, no nonsense buffet. Overall the food was fantastic and well worth the $55 I paid. A slight blimp was the lack of atmosphere and the flavourless prawns. I think I would visit a few more of the Gold Coast's notable buffets before returning to Waves. 77/100

Blue Edge Bakery (breakfast)

Overall score: 59/100 

Restaurant:

Breaking the gastronomical drought in the mornings is one of life's simple pleasures; whether it's a piece of toast with coffee or a full blown all day brekkie,  you want to get it as right as possible. A bakery for instance, should allow you to do this, but on this particularly wonderful morning, The Chameleon was met with a slight drizzle of rain, rather than a full tzunami which he was expecting. 

THE EXPERIENCE

Blue Edge Bakery is smack bang in the middle of Bicheno, a small sleepy 'weekend holiday' town on the east coast of that wonderful state, Tasmania. It presents very well, welcoming, clean and neat, well spaced out, although a distinct lack of seating. This is a small hindrance to the experience, as bakeries are not typically eat-in places, but in Bicheno, it was virtually the only place open. 

The staff were friendly overall; there was a slight feeling of "let's get this order over and done with" but on this busy morning, it was understandable. And busy they were. During The Chameleon's time there, what seemed like at least a hundred people filed in and out, some staying for a meal, some picking up bread; the atmosphere on this morning was one of pleasant rush. 

THE FOOD

The Chameleon ordered one of the breakfast based menu items, the name escapes him. After a somewhat longish wait (although bearable), a well presented plate arrived. This initially pleased The Chameleon; a lot of bakeries simple throw food at the plate, but here, it presented nicely. 

The taste that followed was unfortunately unpleasant. Again, spinach, which The Chameleon loves soooo much, had absolutely no flavour! This is not the first time this has happened; spinach NEEDS something else. It needs an edge to match that wonderful wilted texture. Alas, not today.

The mushrooms too, looked great. As The Chameleon brought it up to his mouth and began to chew, an unpleasant sliminess emerged. It was rather strange; it wasn't entirely from the mushrooms; it came in the form of a lemon dressing which made the acidity over-bearing to the point that I wanted to call out the owner, but, The Chameleon does not complain (until the review of course). The whole meal in-fact was very soggy, including the cardinal sin of placing the toast in a way that it pre-soaked into a gooey mess. LEss than happy Chameleon. 

The highlight at The Chameleon's table was a sausage roll. It was a stock standard bakery style, there were the usual hints of seasoning that made it stand out from your typical take away offering. It was well executed and a total contrast to the main meal. 

Finally, the coffee was passable, but by no means outstanding. The cost was slightly on the expensive side for a bakery and, considering The Chameleon's plate, there was no congruence between the quality and the prices.

    

OVERALL

Blue Edge Bakery is exactly that; a bakery. The attempt at making a cafe style breakfast backfired on this occasion. Stick to what you know best Blue Edge: pastry. 59/100   

Toowoomba Hong Kong Chinese

Overall score: 68/100

Restaurant:

Facebook

An urbanspoon highly rated Asian influenced restaurant in Toowoomba is the very well positioned Toowoomba Hong Kong Chinese, residing in the town's feeble attempt at a mall, albeit, visible from Ruthven Street. The restaurant appears very inviting to the passer by, lots of colours drawing you inside. The Chameleon couldn't resist to try it's delights, and, after a less than satisfactory first visit over a year ago, he was hoping that this time around things might be different; and to some extent, they were. 
   On first impressions, Toowoomba Hong Kong Chinese presents very well; on this busy night, the crowd seemed cheerful and happy, the ambience was one of relaxed dining, although the music was very very soft in the background; not enough to create a privacy screen for chit chat. The room was decorated as you would expect for such a place; Asian influences evident around the room, but apart from a fish tank in the corner that looked quite interesting, the rest was 'stock standard' basic Chinese. 
   As The Chameleon sat down to begin his dining adventure, the staff were initially very helpful and attentive; unfortunately this lasted only until the drinks were bought out. As The Chameleon mentioned earlier, over a year ago, a visit here was less than satisfactory, the main cause being the service and the time for the meals to be delivered to the table. It looks like that time has done no favours, as the service faltered not once, not twice , but over and over again during The Chameleon's visit. Initially, after being seated promptly and attending to the group's needs, the waitress quite simply forgot about us! The Chameleon waited patiently for a while, it was the least he could do on a busy night, but when the waitress begins clearing tables while diners (not just us) were still sitting there without menus, it is an unfortunate mistake. 
   Following this mishap, the orders were subsequently taken quickly, but then a lengthy wait ensued. For the meal that eventually landed in front of The Chameleon, the delays didn't amount to flavour at the table. Furthermore to these 'mistakes', were two glaringly obvious shortfalls. One of the waiters was dressed very much like a call-in; a raggedy shirt, shorts and to top it all off, flip-flops! The final inconvenience presented itself in terms of what The Chameleon refers to as a "dump table"; a table housing serviettes, cutlery, table cloths etc. etc. that is often seen in restaurants pushed for space. While dump tables are not necessarily a dilemma  they are when it's placed in front of the restaurant's visual focal point; the fish tank. Having got up to observe the koi swimming around majestically, The Chameleon had to negotiate the Toowoomba Hong Kong Chinese's dump table. A less than adequate start. 
   Toowoomba Hong Kong Chinese raised its score once the meals began pouring out. As an example, the Tom Yum chicken soup entree was very flavoursome. There were some tiny lime pieces which littered the bottom of the bowl and The Chameleon unfortunately chewed on some of these during some of the last spoonfuls. These could have been larger and hence easier to spot and remove, but overall, a great soup. The BBQ Pork Noodles too were great. Good balance between ingredients, subtle flavours which worked well. These dishes have saved an otherwise dismal score from The Chameleon. 
   The Mongolian Beef dish was marginal. The sauce texture was inconsistent, sometimes gluggy to the point that it diminished the textures, and once again, the over-use of salt before it arrived at the table dimmed what would have otherwise been a shining beef dish. Another unfortunate part of the meal was that, once again, the lacklustre service resulted in our waitress forgetting the group's rice. While free fortune cookies were a slight attempt to make-up for the inconvenience of the night, even some of these were stale to top off a forgetful experience. 
   Atypical Chinese restaurant food, with unfortunately dismal service. While not being particularly costly, the food saved Toowoomba Hong Kong Chinese from a very low score;  it was rather difficult to look past it's shortcomings. 68/100 

Highfields Tavern (lunch)

Overall score: 51/100

Restaurant:

Facebook

Highfields. The ever-growing utopian suburbia spreading it's wings, the symbol of 'modern living' in the Toowoomba region, the epitome of high brow. But in the centre of all this modern residential growth lies a very un-modern and unassuming shopping center, anchored by Woolies, with the only noticeable dining seemingly belonging to Macdonald's and recently, the addition of a few take away joints hoping for flow on from the multinational. Across the road is a pub. The Highfields Tavern. No surprises there. What was a surprise it that it rated a mention on urbanspoon and hence The Chameleon slinked his way into the car park ready to quench his hunger (and thirst) at the attached bistro.     

THE EXPERIENCE

As the Chameleon exited his car, the unfortunate experience of stepping onto broken glass initially curbed his enthusiasm for the experience that was about to follow. No doubt a lively evening before may have been the catalyst for this unpleasantry; surely a blower in the morning would have taken care of such annoyances to the daytime customers, but alas, beware with kids. 

Upon entering, Highfields Tavern appeared very much like any suburban tavern, with a welcoming pub and a vast eating area at the back. Having visited Crazy Galagher's in Wilsonton not long ago, it was easy to make comparisons to what is basically a very similar venue, with a very similar target market and, surprisingly  an almost identical menu. It dawned on The Chameleon that perhaps these establishments are  in fact linked, possibly even managed, by the same entity. He did notice that the pie ordered at Galagher's was on the menu here as well, so this time round, it was time to see if they can deliver on a decent 'lunch special'. 

In all honesty, Galagher's was way better; the kids area was ten times as good and the spread-out spacious nature of the large room left it with no atmosphere to speak of. A lonely television was playing a lackluster daytime TV drama from the 70s; not exactly augmenting the mood. None-the-less, it was what it was and, for a suburban bistro, satisfactorily acceptable.   

The food ordered was delivered very quickly. Almost too quickly. Freshness questioningly quick.

THE FOOD
The Chameleon ordered the lunch steak (slightly cheaper than the standard steak), and he was also able to sample a steak sandwich and children's menu nuggets from within the group of lizards that the Chameleon was with on this occasion.    

Keeping in mind that The Chameleon is a food critic, sampling some very fine steak in the past, keeping in mind that this was a suburban bistro, AND, keeping in mind that this was a 'lunch steak', it was no surprise that it was barely on par with the steak he sampled at the atypical country pub that was the Pioneer Hotel. The mind boggles when you consider that, in Highfields of all places, the bistro plated up this very, very ordinary piece of flesh. It was overdone, above even the 'well-done' level. Let The Chameleon be clear, he loves well-done steak (charcoal-ed in fact is one of his favourites), he really does, but it is not his preference, and when a bistro goes to the unfulfillable effort of asking how you want it cooked, you expect medium-rare; it's like asking for a cappuccino with two sugars and getting a short black with no sugar. A message for virtually all bistros: please do not ask a customer how he/she/it wants his/her/its steak. You and The Chameleon know that it will be well-done every time. Not that there is anything wrong with well-done, but for the love of god, do not ask!

So, a less than satisfactory steak. The chips too, pub standard, uninspiring. However, there was a very surprising highlight on The Chameleon's plate! The salad dressing that was poured over a very fresh salad was brilliant. The Chameleon is not sure whether it was just the right amount, or whether it was some special in-house sauce or whether it was out of a No-Frills bottle, but whatever it was, it worked well. 

The Diane sauce, as it is in many places, was passable, but definitely not from scratch and did not differ from the atypical lackluster average offerings elsewhere.  

Upon sampling the steak sandwich, The Chameleon approved. It was of a nice consistency, the steak was soft, the overall package was in-fact moreish. The children's nuggets too were 'real' and cooked well. So the Highfields Tavern did some of the food well, but where it counted the most (on The Chameleon's plate), it fell quite short.

OVERALL
The Highfields Tavern had so much potential. New-ish establishment, plenty of space to do something interesting, plenty of time to get the meals right on this slow lunch afternoon. Yet the overall feeling when walking away reiterated to The Chameleon exactly what he was thinking when he saw that lunch time steak; we came, we ate, we will eat somewhere else next time. 51/100

Hog's Breath Cafe Toowoomba (Lunch)

Overall score: 66/100 

Restaurant:

Website

Facebook

Just by a happy coincidence, a very hungry Chameleon had a chance to revisit Hog's Breath Cafe in Toowoomba for the third time in his slippery slimy little life. It was lunch time, it wasn't The Chameleon's choice, but being in a group and having his meal shouted for him, The Chameleon happily crawled along to this very well known franchise at the end of Russell Street, not far from the Toowoomba CBD. In fact, it's really walking distance from Ruthven, but the location (again) is away from any 'dining precincts' as such, and The Chameleon is beginning to wonder if such a place even exists in Toowoomba.

THE EXPERIENCE

Hog's Breath Cafe is a very popular restaurant. Let's face it, if you get your meal within the hour, you are probably doing well and in Toowoomba, the last two visits by the Chameleon resulted in lengthy waiting times. This time however, considering the size of the group that the Chameleon was with, the service was brilliant. Usually, drinks are well and truly finished before the food makes it onto the table, but upon arrival, the group entrees were ALREADY on the table. "Boss Hog Mushies" and garlic and herb bread greeted the, "we'll eat a horse each" crowd. They were OK, not bad for appetizers  although, as tasty as the mushrooms were (and deep fried 'just right'), they were a bit cold when The Chameleon was able to sample them. The mains were delivered well within what The Chameleon deems acceptable, especially for a large group as this one was.

The setting was as you would expect from Hog's Breath; raw, nostalgic, but tough and ready for whatever crowd were to visit. The furniture is rugged and the effort to mirror it's corporate image of a 'steakhouse for a football team' works in it's favour. In fact, The Chameleon could almost smell the various spilled beverages (of which 95% would of course be beer) from the previous night's festivities. The reality is, this is what you should expect here and, delightfully in some sense, it is what you get.     


THE FOOD
The Chameleon chose the aptly named "Serious Steak Burger". Although at the time he did not know it, it was to be the most expensive burger he had ever eaten at $19.95. Framed by this thought during this reflection, The Chameleon can not but wonder how this burger ended up this expensive. Yes, it came with the very delicious curly fries (and they were very good indeed) and yes, the burger itself tasted awesome and even the chilli edge was spot on, but $19.95? Similar burgers can be had in most take-aways for $8-$12 and you could charge maybe $3 for the fries, so this means, really $11-$15 would of made sense. Hog's Breath would of course say "oh yes, but our burgers have double steak and double cheese". Unfortunately, the 'steak' was two thinly sliced pieces (very much tasty), instead of the 'piece of thick juicy tender steak' as one would imagine in a burger of this charge, and to be honest, who actually wants/notices double cheese on such a burger? Overall, The Chameleon was quite satisfied with the burger and it had that wonderfully grilled onion edge that is the signature of Hog's Breath, but would he spend the money again on the Seriously Expensive Steak Burger? Probably not, as a short walk and $11 get's you a much larger and much more unique burger at Phat Burgers. 
  
OVERALL

Hog's Breath Toowoomba stays true to the franchise niche and delivered positively on much of the experience, including excellent customer service this time around. The food was OK, but the prices are on the steep side for what is basically an upmarket raw-edged premium McDonald's when it comes to their burgers.
The Chameleon is mindful that in the past, a visit to a Hog's Breath in Brisbane delivered one of the finest steaks he had ever sampled, and that must be kept in mind when looking at this overall score, as the burgers probably do not truly reflect the quality that Hog's Breath is capable of on a good day. 66/100  
      

Crazy Galagher's

Overall score: 57/100 
(score to be confirmed with another visit soon)

Restaurant:

Facebook

Sometimes a lizard just has to go and eat. Sometimes, a lizard has to meet up with other lizards for an after work drink. Sometimes, a lizard has to take his family out of the lizard hole to 'eat somewhere else' so Mrs Chameleon won't have to do the dishes afterwards. The Chameleon does not do dishes. It is thus likely that in any of the above situations, one might visit Crazy Galagher's, a large restaurant attached to a very well positioned pub in Toowoomba. The Chameleon uses the term 'restaurant' very loosely.  

THE EXPERIENCE

The venue is actually quite nice. Plenty of parking, heaps of space and the size of the dining room was more than adequate. Good thing too, as the place was full of customers on this busy afternoon. The tables were neat, the place was clean and the staff were very friendly, so a lot of kudos for the establishment. A special mention for ones with kids; this place has a very well designed kids area, with built in game consoles (must have been at least 8), a TV room and a McDonald's style playground (but on steroids) also attached. The Chameleon highly recommends Crazy's for those with kids. It came as a bit of a shock then, that the food was barely passable.  

THE FOOD

As is The Chameleon's style, he ordered what appeared to be the pub specialty, which was the beef steak and mushroom pie. Furthermore, The Chameleon was lucky to have an accomplice who ordered a gnocchi with chorizos, which he was also able to sample. 

The pie was....a pie. While the taste was as it should be, it was slightly on the drier side, and the pastry was very crumbly. Some people may prefer this, but The Chameleon always looks for the crumbly/soft combination in pie pastry. It should be thick, with the outside slightly crumbly and the inside soft and melt-in-your-mouth. Unfortunately this pie was not. The mushrooms in the surrounding gravy were somewhat above the overall dish, but not enough to save the experience. The steak was OK, it simply had nothing special about it and was akin to a steak and mushroom pie you can find in any decent pie shop. 

The gnocchi serve was very large which was a welcomed surprise. It was presentable and looked much better than the simple way The Chameleon's meal was presented. The taste was a mixture; the gnocchi texture was actually well executed, albeit it was evident they weren't freshly made, but The Chameleon did not have this expectation to begin with, considering that after all, Crazy's IS a pub restaurant which would do quite a few meals that evening. The taste was somewhat of a let down. It was presented very salty and the acidic edge in the sauce was just off the right balance, it bit into The Chameleon's palate as it entered his mouth and swirled over his long and skinny tongue. The Chameleon suspects the 'chorizo' was actually a spicy kabana. To be fair, it was a 'just passable' meal.

The real downer of Crazy Gallagher's however, was the cost. The menu was very expensive and considering the average meals received, it was over-priced across all of the selections. The Chameleon doesn't mind paying prices such as these, but the food has to be equivalent and unfortunately that was not the case here.    

OVERALL

Crazy Galagher's is a pub bistro, not a pub 'restaurant', yet you pay restaurant prices. The meals were average to poor and hence it was overly expensive. If you were to visit Crazy's, it would be to give your kids a chance to have a play while you get a chance to eat/drink/talk/play pokies, or, you may use the tables to have a round of drinks with your mates, rather than actually eat there. The fish and chip shop literally across the road has better fare. 57/100    

Sushi Train Aspley

Overall score: 87/100

Restaurant:

Website

Facebook

It came as a surprise that there is a conglomerate of sushi train stores in Queensland (The Chameleon always thought most of these would be stand alone), one of which was the Sushi Train Aspley. The Chameleon and his partner decided on a 'dinner and movie' night at Chermside and this particular sushi train popped up on the Google radar. We were glad it did.   

THE EXPERIENCE

The Chameleon had passed this particular restaurant a number of times before; it's located on Gympie Road, otherwise known as one of the most busy roads in Brisbane. It's kind of hard to miss, jutting out at the corner of a multi-store complex. Finding parking was kind of a challenge even at early evening time and The Chameleon had to park one set of shops away with a short walk to stretch the legs before entering. 

What greeted us was a very interestingly decorated dining space, complete with hanging rods, which The Chameleon really admired. The train track wound its way in an interesting free-form, no shape in particular, full of a variety of plates to choose from. The place was very neat and we were seated almost instantly, albeit in a small cramped corner spot, but one that allowed us to see the chefs working their magic at the preparation area. While this may seem a mute point, it's important to keep in mind that this restaurant is known to have a waiting line outside the door on some evenings; The Chameleon might have been lucky during his visit. 

What was a slight disappointing was that the crowd was....a crowd. It was very noisy inside and very full. The Chameleon is aware that this is all part of the experience, but it was slightly overwhelming at Aspley; a lot of people squeezed into a moderately sized space.   

THE FOOD

What really stood out at Aspley Sushi Train was the variety. Previous trains visited by The Chameleon have often been lacking in this area, but Aspley had the goods. And it was very high quality. The texture of the raw tuna was exquisite, the seaweed salad had the perfect edge of hotness, the sushi rice was sticky, just as it should be. The prices were reasonable enough for a train and The Chameleon left a happy camper. 

OVERALL

Sushi Train Aspley is a fine example of a sushi train, and to the uninitiated, this would be the ideal spot to try this unique dining experience. A high scoring train. 87/100 

PIONEER ARMS HOTEL (lunch)

Overall score: 43/100

Restaurant:

Website

Facebook

Country pubs are wonderfully diverse places, some full of character and characters, while others are plain and drab with little on offer to draw back potential customers. The Pioneer Arms Hotel is somewhere in between; a country pub that has the character, but unfortunately not the food to match.  

THE EXPERIENCE

Situated not far from Toowoomba, the Chameleon recently stopped over at this picturesque hotel to have a bite for lunch. The long, inviting verendah which spans the entire length of the hotel was the first indication that this should be the stereotypical country pub with that dated decor which the Chameleon has come to expect from a lot of sub-par pubs. What greets a visitor inside though is positively different; the dinning benches are solid timber tables and the bistro eating area is surrounded by antiques and relics, taking the dinner back to a bygone era not too long ago. 

As it was lunchtime, the Chameleon would have thought there'd be a few patrons, but on this occasion there was one gentleman in the bar, sipping his XXXX Gold, letting the world drift by. The publican was friendly and took the order, making the experience of a lunch all the better.

THE FOOD

It's very difficult to comment on 'pub grub', especially during a lunch. Typically the main chef isn't on until dinner; the Chameleon had to wonder as to the mastery of the person behind the grillers. 

The food was bought out quite quickly which was a pleasant surprise. The Chameleon was very hungry indeed on this day and to see the dish appear so quickly was a welcome experience. Some pubs take excessively long to serve up dishes, perhaps to do with the defrosting first, but at the Pioneer Arms, the waiting time was very reasonable. 

The Chameleon had steak. He ordered it medium-rare and of course, it came out inconsistently medium to well-done.  This is a common issue with pubs and one that was replicated here. Although the steak was passable in terms of taste, it was simply overdone and some of the textures that the Chameleon expects with a piece of meat was unfortunately found wanting. The meal overall was passable, but definitely nothing spectacular. The sauce was of a nice consistency (are you reading Federal Hotel/Motel?)  but too salty and was not a good example of the particular sauce ordered. 

OVERALL

The Pioneer Arms Hotel in Goombungee delivers what many country pubs do; reasonably prices meals that you would return in a real restaurant, but is acceptable in this setting. Overall, a typical pub gastronomy experience where nothing went really wrong, but also nothing really went right. 43/100