Superb Crispy Pata! a must try Filipino experience for a craving of Filipino signature dishes such as Dinuguan, Sinigang na Baboy, Pork Barbeque. Their Sisig is a must! 👏👍❤️

TL;DR: Yes Please is a welcome little find, and one that expands the dining options in the already gourmand-rich area of Wooloongabba. This finds a good little balance to introduce new patrons to the overlooked cuisine of the Phillipines; it has a small selection of the great dishes, a baine-marie for ready made meals, and even a few extras here and there. It might be one of the most idiosyncratic of menus, and possibly of cuisines if it is representative, and that adds more to the charm of the place. Service is A-okay, and the vibe is a cosy oasis from the bustling outdoors. Best of all, it is cheap as chips which means a variety can be gotten at your disposal. Tuck in and enjoy.

Possibly one of the most perfectly situated places within town, through the ergonomics regarding various landmarks, and at the same time the general aesthetics gives it a vague atmosphere of being downtown somewhere near the massive wholesale warehouses which contributes well to indicating just what is in store. Yes Please is right across from the Gabba stadium, and a short walk from so many suburban houses. To those folk who find themselves living there - you have a treat on your hand. It is purely homestyle, cooked fresh from being ordered, and is just different enough to exude bragging rights - simply put, I got impressed several times over when dining here.

Well, it was time for another shot. When it comes to Filipino cuisine, the extent from my experience has mainly been attempting to cook a couple of meals at home, and from several Youth Group meetings at my local church, along with plenty of lunches and such - a fair few Filipinos attend there. However, when it comes to eating out there was one occasions that was several years back which did not make a good impression to say the least, leaving a bad taste in both me and my dining buddy's mouths. It had stuck out for a while since, often with me reconsidering giving the cuisine one more go; the only problem for a bit was trying to find somewhere in town that did the cuisine that was not out in the Styx.

Often that kind of thinking comes in fits and starts with the less usual sort of cuisines, and it had subsided for a bit. Cue a bit of time passing by, and with all sorts of places popping up, Filipino sort of being there but most of the locations being a bit far away - until now. This was one place that was quite close by, and giving the menu a fair bit of a scan, I knew it was a sure thing that he could well order. It may have taken a little bit of twisting of my house mate's arm, but the stipulation here was that if it were not good this time around then I would close the book on trying Filipino. Well, if the story were not apparent by now - there shall be several more trips out for this cuisine. A bit of deviation from the normal schedule was in place, since this was not open until mid-morning. Right off the bat, it was getting there as soon as it was opening.

Bright hues of red adorn the walls, and all around the little eatery. The dining area is pretty simple, with plenty of small tables - some even al fresco - and a bar-like bench in the corner. Filipino artifacts and paintings of the Philippines are on the wall, giving it a bit of character. Its whole aesthetic is that mixture between slightly rough, but ultimately cosy on a hot day all possible with a laid back vibe. Plus, this is the sort of outlay I like the most with the kitchen being merely inches away from the dining area making the ambient sounds of the cooking being loud and audible - that creates atmosphere. The tables are all set with serviettes, and brouchures for sweets.

With the service here, it is pretty good for the most part. There is nothing about it that really can be criticised too heavily - they do the job well, and the manner and timeliness if pretty well done. This sort of service is not going to have too much interaction - the young lady bringing the food was pleasant enough, and maybe a bit coy but ultimately, did what was most necessary and that is to deliver some good service. In addition to that, they were pretty nice to beckon folks in, and setting the place up to make them feel welcome As far as the structure goes, it is the usual service of going up to the counter and paying, then taking a seat and waiting for the food to arrive. They have set up an extensive condiments bar with all kinds of sauces and seasonings for clients to use at their will.

Even with how much of gourmand I am, there are still some areas I am a bit hazy on and that is often due to a lack of exposure to them. Filipino is one of these, but from what I have heard it is kind of the weird child of Asia with cuisine - which is an apt analogy. Possibly from all the influences throughout history as well, the dishes in the cuisine - particularly here -  have some curries here, quite the lot of meat features heavily on the menu, noodle dishes and stews, and what stands out as well is the lot of food options which would be out of place in an American setting. Heck, I am one that eats it weird so it is all good by me.

And a last detail with the food comes from the Oriental influences, where the printed menu is never the complete lot that they have with placards to all kinds of new and experimental dishes and snacks which is something I will always admire. Drinks are mostly from the fridge, and it is a basic lot of what would normally be expected.

So in getting to the meal, there was a fair bit gotten and it culminated into a good, substantial meal. Getting to that, the first cab off the rank was a plate of fried chicken - each order that was over five pieces came with a side of gravy for dipping. These piece of chicken were pretty substantial in size, and were quite a delight to eat. I will admit I am easily impressed, but I will assure that when bloody good fried chicken comes your way, then it dang well is bloody good chicken. This was the case here, and from the temperature and the texture of the food, it was freshly cooked and gotten to the table quickly. The meat of the chicken was tender and juicy, plus the batter was well done as well made with a good seasoning mixture that flavoured up really well. On the side, the gravy was decent - it was thick, and had a slightly rich flavour. This was a bit between the southern-style gravy for breakfasts and the one associated with roast dinners. It may have been just the entree, but it was good enough as an introduction.

With one of the specials that was plastered around the place, it only made sense to get an order of it to go with the chicken; that was some flavoured fries that they had which came in three different flavours. The one that I chose was garlic butter, and that sauce went really well. The rich butter was absorbed readily by the well-done fries which themselves were crispy and well seasoned. Even more kudos goes here to the portion size, which would be a substantial snack and is good value for the price tag. Already, it has just gone up a bit in charm with the clever, and inventive ways they can deliver snacks.

I can't quite remember the name of the beverage-cum-dessert that I ordered, it was one displayed alongside the famous Halo-Halo and had a similar structure, aroma, and recipe. There was the word "maize" in there from what I recall, and that meant a big bed of corn at the bottom of the glass. This had a mixture of ice cream, different kinds of beans, shaved ice, and all the ilk. This is one of those kinds of foods that sort of needs to be tried on its own accord to see what it is about - sweetness, and all kinds of other tastes go throughout the tastebuds.

Getting on the main dishes, and like usual there was a good selection to chose from. Like it was implied earlier, the range isn't extensive and still from it almost each one looks too good not to order. Decisions, decisions, and the one I landed on was "Kare Kare". This is an oxtail stew, that has a peanut-based sauce plus bok choy, eggplant, and green beans. For how good it was, let's just say that this is one time I outright have wanted to go out and find a recipe of it to cook at home; it was that good, and that tasty. This was something quite different to the normal lot of stews and curries, something in the flavour base was unique. It was perhaps the unorthodox mixture of vegetables, and maybe even some peanut butter in there as well. Most of it was flavoured with the ox bone, and there was not that much flesh in there - what little there was was tender and nice.

As for my dining buddy, he went with a simple chicken curry. It was a usual kind of chicken curry, a basic sauce with rice and lots of tender chicken thigh. This was alright, and even had a slightly different flavour and taste profile than most curries - it was sweet, and not one that was overtly spicy; that could be made right with some of the chilli condiments.

It was on such a roll, with all the food being at such a high level of quality and flavour, and nothing was out of place or to be critiqued too badly. Dessert often isn't something that comes to mind too often, but this time around something caught my eye. This was ube flavoured ice cream with fried banana spring rolls. I am not sure what ube is, whatever it is must have a sweet taste and smooth texture, because the ice cream was just that - and the colour purple. The spring rolls were good as well, crunchy and freshly cooked. Kudos even further for not using over-ripe bananas inside, which were caramalised from the frying, and especially kudos to the sweet, honey finish.

Last but not least, before leaving the restaurant I went and got a couple of the bagged snacks on the counter. This won't be anything to the restaurant itself, but still to be critiqued in a way just as a point of interest. One of them was Clover Chips, which are cheese-flavoured and essentially are like Cheezels or Cheetos. The other one has a name that escapes me at the moment, but it was barbecue flavoured and the better of the two - they both did fairly well at my workplace and both are based on rice.

So in the brief sense of the word, we have ourselves a massive winner here. As for the time being, it can be put down as a hidden gem and it ticks each of the boxes that would rightfully make a place one. The food here was substantial, delicious from beginning to end, and something else in composition and taste. It had dynamic service that was prompt, and made for a good atmosphere. Yes Please is definitely worth your time and hard-earned money.