Thai Royal (Delivery/Take Away)

Overall score: 73/100 (take away adjusted)

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On this particular night not too long ago The Chameleon was feeling very lazy after a busy day's sleeking so the family opted for home delivery. Thai Royal in Centenary Heights poped up on the Chameleon's radar and they promptly ordered some yummy sounding fare and began to wait. And wait. And then....wait. The delivery took a very very long time to arrive, well past what one would deem reasonable. In fact, it was over 30 minutes past the time given to The Chameleon, making it a grand total of approximately 90 minutes. A long time indeed. Apology was received.    

THE FOOD

Having consumed a fair amount of Asian influenced take away in his lifetime, The Chameleon was ready to dig in and sample what this highly rated restaurant had to offer. Things started on a high; the Tom Yum seafood soup was outstanding! Great flavours, spicy (as it should be) and just the right amount of texture. A great example of this soup. A perculiarity did surface though; mushrooms. Floating. Kind of like puffy little boats swimming in an orange ocean. The Chameleon did not know whether this was to his liking, or, whether these 'floaters' could have been left off. I'll let the imagery speak for itself. Floating, grey mushrooms. Hmm.....

Things continued very well with chicken skewers. They were cooked just right and, for the first time in quite some time, a restaurant finally got the peanut paste right. It was crunchy, but not overly, just the way it should be. Well done on these Thai Royal.

From here, a downward spiral unfortunately ensued. It started with the Chicken Penang. While some positive flavours emerged, the texture of the sauce was all wrong. It was very watery and it showed through in the mouthfulls. Unfortunate. 

Following from here was a total disaster. The beef dish was very dry. A little dryness is tolerable, but this particular meal was just all wrong. The sauce had virtually seperated into two layers, a thick pasty top and very watery underneath. It was almost as if the pieces of beef were swimming around inside the container, with a slurry on top. The taste was OK but it was difficult to look past the present dryness. Again, unfortunate. 

The Chameleon must also note the rice, which was quite well done. It was on the sweet side, very sweet infact, but it worked very well with the curries. 
    

OVERALL

Thai Royal did some things very well and the Tom Yum was spot on, as were the skewers and the rice. The mains however were a disappintment. Perhaps a bit of quality control at delivery might have rectified this situation, as a simple shake of the containers could possibly have prevented some of the meal's shortcomings. 73/100 

Burger Edge - St. Kilda Rd. (afternoon tea)

Overall score: 57/100 

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Burgers are a staple these days for The Chameleon, especially for lunch; whenever he has a break, almost magically, a burger joint suddenly appears from nowhere. And this is exactly what happened with Burger Edge, a 'whole in the wall' like burger shop on St Kilda Road; strategically placed for the Chameleon and his mates to stop for a quick bite. It didn't turn out to be such a bad choice.   

THE EXPERIENCE

Upon reaching the counter, The Chameleon had a very uncomfortable experience ordering his burger; the counter staff made him very confused with a myriad of options. He thought that by choosing a burger type from the well presented menu would be the end of it, but then there was additional questions (one at a time) of cheeses, sauces, buns, etc. etc....the Chameleon just wanted a burger, not 'Subway like' decision making. The shop presents as a buy and go, but it felt like minute after minute of answering one question after another to end up with a designer burger. The seating ended up under an umbrella which was not large enough to cover all of the group, but it was the only option after the minimal seating inside/attached was occupied.

THE FOOD

The burgers, having arrived in decent packaging and presenting quite well, were large. The Chameleon had "The Okker". It was definitely enough to fill The Chameleon to the brim, the flavours were OK, but not quite memorable. The Chameleon has had larger burgers, more tasty burgers, more 'complete' burgers, but while it was evident that Burger Edge creates a premium product, the flavours were not exactly unique or interesting enough to draw The Chameleon back. The prices were however reasonable.    

OVERALL

I'm not sure if the gentleman behind the counter was having a bad day or if this is the usual service model Burger Edge will consistently push; if it is, there will be a continual stream of confused and (perhaps) slightly frustrated customers who just want a burger, not a questionnaire to pass an exam or somefink. 57/100   

The Everest Spice (Takeaway)

Overall score: 69/100 (take-away adjusted)

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There is no doubt that most people in Australia (and for that matter, England) have at least once in their lifetime, dined on Indian take away. There are so many littered throughout this great country that inevitably you will find yourself trying a korma or a butter chicken, along with a yummy garlic naan and so forth. This was the exact predicament The Chameleon found himself in not long ago; a visit to The Everest Spice, another one of Toowoomba's highly recommended Indian offerings.   

THE EXPERIENCE

The Everest Spice, as it seems is often the case for Toowoomba take-away restaurants, is located in a less than ideal location, squeezed in next to a Chemist at the top part of Margaret Street, away from the main action of Ruthven. It looks very much like a take away and this became very evident when The Chameleon saw that there were no table cloths and no particular effort to dress up the little restaurant. The Chameleon will guess and say that The Everest Spice has become such a busy take away that those who opt to dine-in become more of an inconvenience than the staple. 

But this critique is not about the dine-in experience; no, it's about the take away butter chicken, Rogan josh, the accompanying rice and a plain and garlic naan.  

The Chameleon had high expectations of Everest. The fact that he had to wait for over 40 minutes from when entering the restaurant, to when he got in his car to drive back to the tree house (and repeating the order to the kitchen hand twice after the initial order) wasn't even a major issue, The Chameleon could see they were busy and doing their best. Another kitchen hand/front counter person wouldn't have hurt though, especially on this busy night. Just a small side note; it's great to see the owner of such a busy place working in the kitchen and not barking orders at kitchen staff from the front. 


THE FOOD

The only word that justifies the overall Everest Spice meal was 'inconsistent'. It pains The Chameleon to say this, but unfortunately it is true. As you may have read in past reviews, the option of choice for The Chameleon is butter chicken and The Everest Spice has done what Chutney Mary did not too long ago; delivered a very, very good butter chicken. It had all the character of a beautiful sweet sauce, succulent melt-in-your-mouth chicken with that slightly smoky/charcoal tandoor edge; The Chameleon will be honest, apart from the slight over sweetness, it was exquisite. 

The rice too was very nice; not too soggy, not too dry. It was thus a great shame that the Rogan josh and the naan bought the overall experience back to "average". The Rogan josh had just the right amount of heat for a 'medium' curry, but the sauce was very salty and the lamb was dry, the pieces too large. This was definitely not a more-ish dish; it just didn't work. The naan, both of them, were under-cooked, undersized (in terms of thickness) and very floury overall. The Chameleon has had much better naan in various places, especially the garlic variety, he could hardly notice the garlic. Such a shame after the spectacular opening of the butter chicken.     

OVERALL

The Everest Spice has unfortunately displayed what so many restaurants do; doing an outstanding job on one dish, yet making a horrible mess of another. Such a shame (The Chameleon thinks he has already said this), as he would go back again and again just for the awesomeness of the butter chicken.  The Chameleon hopes to sample The Everest again and report back soon.
69/100  

Chipper Fish

Overall score: 81/100

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Going to a 'fish and chip' shop is often associated with good old fashioned greasy chips, heavily battered fish and wedges of lemon, eating out of paper wrapping next to a beautiful beach. It is thus very difficult to refer to Chipper Fish as a 'fish and chip' shop, as this title is just a very clever disguise, much like The Chameleon's, as all is not what it seems in this little shop in Toowoomba. 

THE EXPERIENCE

Chipper Fish is a highly rated 'fish and chips' shop in a small shopping complex not far from the Toowoomba CBD, but by no means walking distance. Very much a small hole in the wall, Chipper Fish is wedged into your typical suburban shopping complex and The Chameleon noticed that the store didn't even get a mention on the large display board with the names of all the businesses protruding onto Drayton Road. This, The Chameleon believes, is a big mistake made by the managers of the complex, as this petite gastronomic marvel is the highlight. 

The shop itself is unfortunately positioned in such a location that there is no doubt, it  hinders it's potential. A fish and chip shop like this on Ruthven Street, or even in the Brisbane CBD, would have people lining up for miles and miles (that's right, miles) as the dishes claimed to be your typical 'fish and chips' from here would sit very well indeed in any of Brisbane's finest restaurants.

The shop itself is neat, but simple, a black fish sculpture is a vague attempt at creating a nautical feel and a few fishing and boating magazines also helped, but seriously it could do with a decor make over yesterday. 

The menu was very well presented. Retro cool, great colours, simple and easy, not overloaded with too many choices, basically perfect. The Chameleon found it hard not to chuckle at the "Carnival Treats" title given to the usual deep fried food that you can purchase if your heart desires. 

There was one area that unfortunately reduced what was a very pleasant experience, to a mediocre sit down; a TV, positioned above the drinks fridge was on ABC, turned to such a volume that it was neither audible, yet loud enough to be an annoyance. It was also angled awkwardly. A simple replacement of a slightly larger wall mounted unit, or even a small boombox serenading the dinners with cool laid back tunes would create an ambiance worthy of possibly staying to enjoy your meal, but as is, perhaps the TV could be turned off. This shop is unfortunately just the local "fish and chip" joint and in it's current location will no doubt serve 95% take-away and perhaps remain that little bit hidden from the potential monopoly it could have in any decent busy dining location. 

THE FOOD

Let's get this straight: Chipper Fish is not a 'fish and chip' shop. It is a restaurant in disguise, serving up deliciousness in a flimsy paper box. No fanfare, no fancy packaging, just a lot of heart and soul going into what matters the most; great tasting fish. And The Chameleon could really go on and on about the grilled barramundi in his "Queenslander Pack", it was perfect in texture, taste and seasoning. PERFECT. 

The Chameleon was highly impressed from the first bite. The coconut encrusted prawns were a taste sensation and the Cesar salad side dish, while not very impressive, was adequate to moisten the mouthfuls (though, the fancy hard/soft croutons were quite good here). The pineapple fritter was also very well presented, with the slight acidity retained in the pineapple, and the batter, again, unique and very suitable. Perhaps a slight disappointment were the chips; although in a typical take-away they would more than suffice, they simply did not live up to the high quality of the perfectly grilled fish, prawns and pineapple fritter.

A nice little touch was a piece of grease-proof paper between the chips and the fish sitting above; you won't get a soggy mess of chips from Chipper. Well done.     

OVERALL

Chipper Fish deserves all the raving reviews for it's cuisine; the fish was simply superb, the uniqueness of it's side flavours very tasty and overall everything was top notch. It is a pity though that this little hidden restaurant exists only for take-aways, spending very little effort on dining or drawing in a loyal sit-down crowd. The location is atrocious and the effort going into setting up for dining was poor. Do yourself a favour Chipper: move to a decent location on Ruthven. 87/100  

Phat Burgers

Overall score: 83/100

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The Chameleon will admit that he frequents quite a few 'restaurants'. You know the ones, they start with Mc... and Kent... and Hung...  The Chameleon is not even afraid of admitting that he enjoys some of their fare.

It was with delight then when travelling through the main street of Toowoomba that he came upon a burger joint, one that was proud to call itself a burger joint. A burger joint that wasn't afraid to have some 'attitude' and an approach to burgers totally different from the usual fare provided by those other places. Phat Burgers was a welcome change for The Chameleon.

THE EXPERIENCE

A while ago, The Chameleon had one aim, and one aim only; to find cheap and cheerful food, where ever he traveled. In fact, this became such an unhealthy obsession that one day, he woke up and found himself visiting only 'those' take away outlets and nowhere else. This frightened The Chameleon, so much so, that he wowed to himself never to really look at the price of food again. Lucky then that this change in his philosophy occurred before his visit to Phat Burgers, as in his prior life, he never would have even dreamed of paying more than $10 for a burger alone.

As he entered the establishment, The Chameleon instantly felt relaxed. He's not sure if it was due to the relaxing feel all that timber gave the room, or the bar like atmosphere and lighting, or even if it was the vast menu blackboard that had an air of casualness. There weren't many patrons for late lunch and The Chameleon found himself waiting for his burger patiently accompanied by the daily paper which was on offer along with what looked like 100s of pieces of literature to keep you amused.  

He ordered a 'Van Helsing' since the word 'horseradish' caught his attention (horseradish in a take away burger, it couldn't be) and took a seat in one of the darker booths, away from the stylish but glaring orange seats, or the bar seating which was available also. What he really appreciated was that there was at least choice as to the type of dining you were into. The wait for the burger was quite long; there was even an apology when it was bought to the table which made it a little more bearable for The Chameleon.     

THE FOOD

When the bruger did eventually arrive, he was very surprised; it was plainly wrapped in the usual white paper, as you would get in any other take away joint. No plate. No fancy wrapping. No fanfare what so ever. Disgruntilingly (is that a word?), he proceeded to unwrap the package, wondering how he came to pay over $11 for a burger which was delivered in packaging the next level up from newspaper.  

The Chameleon was in for a shock. The burger was MASSIVE! I'll write that again just in case you missed it the first time; MASSIVE! Suddenly it dawned on him why there was no plate and why Phat Burgers needn't worry about packaging. 

As The Chameleon stared at The Van Helsing, staring at him, daring to take a bite, he realised that this sort of a burger deserves his money. The price, retrospectively, was cheap for what you got. The burger was kind of hard to handle, but tasted delicious and left him feeling like a pig in mud once he had finished this monster. The relish, horseradish and caramelised onion dominated the flavours, but somehow it worked; the 'balance' that The Chameleon looks for in a burger was very evident here. 

OVERALL

Phat Burgers produces exactly that, phat premium burgers in every sense of the word. The place is inviting, the burgers are huge and crafted with care and really, $11 is very justifiable for a burger as good as the Van Helsing. 83/100

Chutney Mary (Take Away)

Overall score: 91/100 (Take Away Score)

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Yes, The Chameleon reviews take away food as well! Through a special formula created by The Chameleon himself, the score is references in a way so that it becomes comparable to a sit-down style meal. Of course it's only a partial way of deciding a restaurant score, but at a minimum you'll get an idea of the food quality and a little bit of the service.

Chutney Mary is a highly regarded Indian restaurant in Toowomba, so The Chameleon went to check out what all the talk was about. Urbanspoon reviews unfortunately appear to be tampered with; a lot of negative reviews from single reviewers. From the perspective of the food, The Chameleon was satisfied.

As a restaurant that does, what The Chameleon assumes, is a lot of takeaway, the place is definitely not set up for it; it's a small, thin room with all the action at the back. There was some waiting time; more than typical , this started things off on the wrong foot.

THE FOOD

Initially, Chutney Mary threw a spanner in the works; it was very expensive for the typical take away portions. The Chameleon left with the thought that it better be a bloody good meal, because there isn't much of it there. The main meat based dishes came in tiny flat Chinese containers; they surely must believe in their product to think that such a small amount would satisfy the customer. 

The Chameleon had what he always has from Indian restaurants; butter chicken. This was accompanied by a plain naan, garlic naan and one other meat dish which the Chameleon just can not remember (the visit was quite a few months ago), it may have been Rogan-josh. The reason why The Chameleon is lost in his memories is that the butter chicken was so well executed that nothing else that was consumed in that meal even mattered! Chutney Mary dishes up THE BEST butter chicken tasted by The Chameleon. No, that's a lie; it's on par with the butter chicken that The Chameleon ordered in Glasgow, Scotland (a city some regard as the second home of Indian cuisine). So really, it's EQUAL TO THE BEST. For the first time in his life, The Chameleon wanted to lick a Chinese container empty.

While it's really difficult to look past this one fact regarding the awesomeness of the take away order, The Chameleon does remember that the naan (both types), while very tasty, were also overly oily, so much so that by the time he returned to its hiding hole in his tree, the 'grease-proof' paper had failed in it's task miserably. 

OVERALL 

Chutney Mary may be a small Indian restaurant in a regional center of Queensland, but the taste of their dishes is highly regarded by The Chameleon. Although a few things were slightly amiss, the food more than make up for the Chutney Mary experience. A sit-down meal/review should not be too far away. 91/100