Euro Delicious - Upper Mount Gravatt, Brisbane. Another one of the many additions to Garden City Mall's newly refurbished food court, Euro Delicious looks to be one of the more distinctive, exotic and communal newcomers to the place. Harvesting produce and serving dishes from all around the Baltic States and Russia, it aims to be a general meeting spot especially for the community of the said Baltic States. The outlay is modest, which is appropriate for the environment it has and for once it escapes the food court vibe that plagues so many places within Garden City.
Going here, it was with my dining buddy pre-planning a coffee stop before the usual weekly grocery shop. A couple of ideas in mind, the familiar ended up being the choice and ergo Euro Delicious ended up being the stop. I had noticed it many times, and it looked to be interesting and different enough to warrant a closer look. Delicatessens look to be the best place for exotic fare, since it is more authentic and reasonably priced.
The young lady serving was really pleasant. She was new to the place and wanting to have reassurance about how well she was doing (she was fine, and with heaps of practice could become really good). Her work ethic is really good, plus she has well advanced customer service skills. On top of that, the other members of the staff were good and productive clearing the tables efficiently. It is hard to put my finger on it, but something about just how open and friendly it was gave it an authentic feeling that I had heard so much about from media.
Euro Delicious is part delicatessen, and part cafe. In the delicatessen part, there are various Russian and Eastern European products for sale including caviar, breads, preserves, snacks, meats and all sorts of items which will make any homesick expat feel at home. They even have a shop online, and do catering. At the cafe, all sorts of wholesome and hearty fare is available to sample including some of the most signature food. Most of them are dumpling-based, plus there is a distinct focus on crepes as well. This is all for a reasonable price, something which is relied upon with delicatessens. Then there is the range of cakes and sweets, which is always a surprise on top of the ones that they display. All these sweets are available with a side of coffee or tea.
Starting off with the coffees, the one that I got was the standard doppio. The coffee shot was a well made one, strong and hot as it needed to be (as hot as it could possibly be, as the table was nearly in arm's reach of the espresso machine) and had such a good flavour along with a decent crema on top. Lara, the barista, knew what she was doing. It was good enough that I got a second cup with my dessert course. The coffee that they use comes from Aromas, and in the hands of this barista you could not be blamed for thinking it is one of the better, and bolder roasts around.
My dining buddy went to get an "Esterhazy", one of the greatest cakes from around the world. With the many layers of meringue, and cream and a finishing of hazelnuts around the outside plus white chocolate on top, Esterhazy has an advantage of being characteristically unique.
After looking through the menu, the order which I got was a beef pirozky. This is a common snack food that is available in the home countries, and is able to be eaten on the run. It is sort of like a cross between a dumpling and a pie. It can be filled with all sorts of items. This is a tasty little snack that, as a snack, is substantially sized and moreish. They are made with a special yeast-dough which is ultra soft, and cushions the filling inside. The amount of meat inside was really generous, and made it really dense. Adding on some onion sprinkled liberally around after eating this I am afraid to say it is goodbye meat pie, pirozky has taken your place.
After the first course, it was onto trying out one of the sweets. Again, there were so many that could be selected from; what I had in the end was something called a "siniki". Think of a cheesecake, made with cottage cheese instead of cream cheese then with sultanas mixed throughout the batter. First, the most obvious at the moment, someone has finally found a use for cottage cheese. Two come to a serving, and along with a bit of cream for dipping. It was softer than the cream cheese variety, and had a slightly more sour flavour. The sultanas added to them
Without any doubts, and in all honesty without mincing words, Euro Delicious is one of the best and most distinct finds that I have come across in the past year. Since there is such a variety of all new stuff - to me at least - this looks to be a possible destination of many returns, and a lovely communal atmosphere and good coffee certainly help make it that. The best of luck to the crew at Euro Delicious.
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