Mr Hong Modern Asian Restaurant

Attracted by the modern and relaxing ambience, we gave it a try this new Vietnamese-Chinese Restaurant. The staff was very attentive and welcoming. The menu was extensive; a lot of choices to choose from. The drinks, especially bottled beer were quite overpriced. Enjoyed DIY Vietnamese rice paper rolls, but disappointed with the mains. The combination clear noodle soup was served not hot enough and half of the bowl was overwhelmed with noodles. The Sichuan chicken wasn’t as hot and spicy as described but kinda sweet. Anyway we left the place with an appreciation of fast, helpful and efficient staff.

TL;DR: What is just on the brink of appearing in a bright flash of light is Brisbane's next best Asian restaurant which is not within the Sunnybank precinct or Chinatown. Considering who is behind the helm, that much is not surprising with those in the know. They mix up the conventional aspects of any meal out, ensuring that all who enter through the doors are catered for and satisfied. A real work of genius is present, with the cooking skills from the chef's being all you need to know.

After proving all his worth over so many years with his endeavour "Trang's", the titular Mr. Hong has decided to work more behind the scenes with this outing. Everybody who has lived in Brisbane over the past 30 years and north will tell you that it would mean we have something special on our hands, and from all that he has not only brought fare that is a high caliber all-round but ensuring an outing here is as good as it could be at an affordable price. It's positioning is the finishing touches to what should be a lengthy, and fruity endeavour.

Giving benefit of the doubt, and that the arrangements were pretty unorthodox, it did not seem up to scratch as it could have been at a later date. Through that challenging trial, they utilised the opportunity to the best that they could, and therefore it is readily apparent just what potential they got lying underneath.

Mr. Hong finds itself right at the base of the Light and Co apartment complex, which is just a short skip away from one of West End's bigger drags. Fitting itself snugly away from the road, when walking right into the eatery one thing to notice is that there is a whole lot of space. They envision that catering can take up to 300 people or more, and they could easily do that with a lot of wiggle room left over. Every table has been given due attention, getting chairs that are comfortable and high quality, placing a small plant on each table, and an observation showed they had prepared a bay for each table with the chopsticks and condiments readily available. There is prepared and organised, but we are getting to meticulous levels which is something that I always admire.

Now, there is a single aspect about it that has me holding off giving it such high praises, not through being overtly critical or anything, but out of being pragmatic and realising what could become of Mr. Hong's if it is given some hard work. That is the customer service. Imagine the scene: it is a fairly empty restaurant being early on the Sunday morning with most people either at church or still in bed since it is wintertime. Maybe one or two more stragglers enter during the outing, but for the most part it is pretty quiet. Most places that are new will be having staff trying to learn the ropes, and see that situation as an opportunity to practice some of their taught skills.

That is the case with this time around. From the persona, and how they did interact with both the house mate and I, the lady was perfectly nice and a little on the timid side. In observing her, she was attempting to calculate when was right to come to the table which should be more free form than anything. Even so, the big menu (as it will be addressed later) had me a bit undecided and that had her slink off a bit. Personally, if I mentoring around there a suggestion would be take that opportunity with suggesting some dumplings to sample while perusing for the main meals. Maybe even have a bit of knowledge about some of the meals, and give little hints of how to get the best out of them.

Also, the process with the kata in customer service was lopsided. Part of the best customer service experiences come from how they manage big magnitude, unexpected events, and just about everything under the sun - this includes early birds, One of the most vital aspects in the entire teachings of customer service was missing - getting the waters right away. Those were only gotten when the meals were out and served.

With all of that being said, there was still a lot to be liked with the customer service. At the end, when paying for the meals, the main waiter was very friendly and giving the story and spiel behind the restaurant. It does show that a great deal of care is present in the works, and this might be apparent at a more busy time, particularly because of many more waitstaff being on the board and interacting. They had a keen eye for getting all that food out in an efficient manner, so I will certainly give points to that. What makes an eatery go from having all the right things in place, to being a darling comes down to how personable and welcoming the staff are, like you could call them by their name - Mr. Hong's has that potential.

What might stand out the most about Mr. Hong is the sheer magnitude of the menu. About half of the pages are dedicated to beverages, which includes an impressive listing from the bar. This is like the big meeting between East and West, like the hippest place in all of Singapore. From the beverages, at the bar they got their own signature range of cocktails, plus a range each of beers, of wines, of soju, of whiskey, and essentially everything else. For non-alcoholics, the bar does also have juices, sodas, and several options for tea and coffee. That has just about everyone covered.

When it comes to their food, it is a feast for the eyes. Any time of day, they will have a handful of treats that are sure to get the mouth salivating in no time. That starts with the breakfast, where they still appease the dyed-in-the-wool kinds who have their particular hankerings when going out to breakfast, but they aren't afraid to shake up the foundations for several classics on the side. Within this breakfast, true to many Chinatowns around the world they have a small range of dumplings to choose from. With getting to actual Asian style breakfasts, their focus is in Vietnam - with banh mis, sticky rice, pho and all the favourites right there.

Getting to the lunch and dinner time madness, they go thoroughly into Vietnamese cuisine along with a small trip into the joys of Thai food. After all that though, Chinese cuisine makes an appearance to go and show why it is still boss. As a rarity, they got a small vegan menu which indicates they are ahead of the curb. Plus, since there is so much to choose from, like with any high-up Chinese restaurant, they got several banquets. These are a little different though, with all of them being merely tasting menus. That is the best value they got, and will send any willing gourmand on a real adventure of flavour. Even at the best Chinese restaurants around town, one thing that often ends up lacking is the dessert menu. A few token items are the best thing that goes around, but the case is completely different in these parts. They have exotic desserts, which include a Vietnamese che, a whole lot of ice cream, and their attempts at some of the European favourites.

However, getting back to the outing this time around, the ordeal focused on breakfast. When that is in order, the first order of business without exception goes to drinks - and it is coffee all-round these quarters. You can bet your bippy that if Vietnamese iced coffee is an option, I gravitate towards it without thought or question. Presumably, they use the same beans for this beauty that they would the espressos - and we have ourselves such a treat on our hands. They use Toby's Estate, which is always a treat. That is one brew which is ideal for stronger coffees, and since Vietnamese iced coffees usually are strong on their own parts - that alone would wake the dead. Like so, combining it with the sweet condensed milk made for one refreshing, strong, and soothing beverage.

Also with starting off the affair, I decided to go and throw in some dumplings. With them being something different for breakfast, plus being right there on the menu, I saw it as an opportunity. For that, I went for the pork and coriander shu mai - shu mai always being a reliable classic. There were three of them to a steamer, and they were plump suckers. The prawn meat was appropriately sweet and tender, and some other ingredient in there added a good crunch to contrast it all. One envisioning with the dumplings is getting several varieties when in a big group - they are that good.

I could say a bit more with my meal, which had some good elements but other elements that might need jazzing up. Ever since being a kid, I have been a major fan of sticky rice. So to see that it could be gotten as a breakfast item was a dream come true for me. This was the case, topped off with a meat of choosing. I went with crispy chicken, and when the meal came out presented on the plate - points definitely get given for presentation. Instead of wrapping up the parcel, they banana leaf is instead folded into a boat shape. With the chicken, no complaints at all - the meat was tender, and seasoned well. Coated around that meat, the batter was appropriately crispy and hot. I ate all that up. When it came to the rice, it was lacking something - something like a seasoning, or something mixed through. I was just not feeling that aspect, which often becomes vital. This was a meal that was potentially very good, only merely hovering around good as a result.

Out of all the places that I have been to recently, with everything that is considered they got going for them Mr. Hong's should be the one that has the biggest advantage and be going guns. Not only do they have a lovely atmosphere that has heaps of space, and a menu that combines many traditional Asian dishes along with expanding their horizons into other avenues, some of the food here is of quite a high caliber. What we got on our hands is potential that is just about on the brink of breaking through, which will absolutely be uncovered when the customer service is fully realised. Just one look around, just an observation about the attention to detail and effort being put into this endeavour can attest that when all the cards are played right, we will truly have something special on our hands.

Wonderful and expansive Chinese/Vietnamese menu - if you’re hankering for pho, dim sum and want a side of sweet and sour pork, why not have them all? Frankly, I was amazed by the variety of food they serve here and was pleasantly surprised that the range did not compromise the quality. Very flavorful, authentic dishes and plenty of vegetarian options as well. They also serve a range of trendy cocktails with a kick - think cranberry vodka with a lotus flower ice accent.