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I am woefully behind in telling you about my dining out experiences, so it’s catch up time here at TIFFIN. This week it’s all about the restaurants!
After a thwarted attempt to see Mad Max (hordes, queues, sold out sessions, diverted Jurassic World patrons…) Anthony and I found ourselves in South Brisbane without a movie to see and thoughts of lunch instead. Luckily I knew of a restaurant in the neighbourhood, far from the Jurassic crowd.
If you’ve lived around Annerley or Moorooka or have ever had cause to visit the PA Hospital, chances are you’ve been to or driven past Sing Sing Restaurant. Perhaps like me, you’ve made a joke about Sing Sing prison or pondered the vaguely racist tone of the name. But, did you know that Sing Sing moved quite some time ago? It is now on Hardgrave Rd in West End.
When Small Is Large
I expected it to be reasonably quiet on a Sunday after 1pm but there was steady trade of locals doing as we were and dropping in for a quick lunch. Despite there being only one waiter, there were no delays in ordering or problems with service. We ordered dishes to share including the perennially popular Salt and Pepper Calamari and a Satay Lemongrass Chicken Noodle Salad. Both were freshly prepared and delivered and though the noodle salad didn’t include a lot of greenery, they were both spot on from a flavour perspective. After querying the large serve of the calamari (‘Is this a small or a large?’ ‘A small.’), we inhaled it. S&P Calamari is just so moreish isn’t it?
After the disappointment of missing out on Max, I couldn’t bare the disappointment of missing out on a Vietnamese Pancake or, Banh Xeo. This is often only served at Vietnamese restaurants at lunch. Sing Sing were more than happy to oblige with probably the crispest pancake I’ve ever been served accompanied by an entire platter of salad. Dressed with nuoc cham, mint and cucumber, if you haven’t enjoyed a Banh Xeo stuffed with bean sprouts, school prawns and pork, you are definitely missing out.
Too much food for lunch of course but we took away the leftovers for Anthony’s lunch the next day. For around $30, lunch at Sing Sing was a lot more relaxed and satisfying that queuing at South Bank cinemas. There’s now a ‘New Sing Sing’ where old Sing Sing used to be at Annerley. Don’t get confused. Make sure you visit the (sort of) original and the best.
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Visited: Sunday 14th June 2015 – Lunch Service
Sing Sing Restaurant
93 Hardgrave Rd
West End Qld 4101
www.singsingrestaurant.com.au
