Overview
If you are lucky enough to find yourself in the Sunnybank area at any given time, you will be faced with quite a pleasant quandary. Spoilt for choice is an understatement when it comes to finding good Asian food in this part of town.
There are so many places to choose from it is almost inevitable that you’re not going to like every dish at every establishment. However, the greater Sunnybank area is filled with the type of restaurants that you will come back to time and time again for your most beloved dishes. Hunting down these future favourites can be a laborious and occasionally disheartening process so we at Concrete Playground have tried to take some of the guesswork out of things. Here’s our list of some of the best meals the 4109 postcode has to offer.
Three Cup Chicken at Golden Rice
It can be surprisingly hard to settle on a reliable Chinese restaurant. There are so many options and to be honest, some surprise duds. Fortunately Golden Rice is not one of them.
This is an extremely modest looking little shop out in Sunnybank Hills. It barely fits four tables, but they seem to do a roaring trade in takeaway – and for good reason. The food here is of a pretty high standard generally, but the Three Cup Chicken is exceptional. The sweet soy broth is thick and rich, replete with chunks of ginger and chilli, whole garlic cloves and basil leaves.
1 Honeywood St Sunnybank Hills 4109
Fried Chicken at Hello! Kyochon Chicken
Hello! Kyochon Chicken does really, really good fried chicken. They have some sides like chips and kimchi but they’re just distractions.
Next time you have a craving for some deep fried chicken and are about to do something stupid and eat something you’ll regret, just wait. Hold out and take a trip to Kyochon. You will not be disappointed. It’s everything you want fried chicken to be – crispy, salty, juicy and yet miraculously, not greasy.
Shop 3 581 Beenleigh Rd Sunnybank Hills 4109
Baked Live Mud Crab with Chef's Special Chilli Sauce at Suncrop Chinese Restaurant
There’s something luxurious about mud crab, a fact often reflected in its price. At Suncrop you can get mud crab for as cheap as $38.80/kg when it’s in season. They have a whole page of possible ways to serve it, but the special chilli sauce may be the pick of them.
They bring the unfortunate critter to your table for your approval, and provided you’re happy with it, a little while later out comes a spectacular looking plate of baked crustacean. It’s incredibly messy eating, but that’s all part of the appeal.
Shop 84 Sunnybank Plaza cnr Mains Rd and McCullough St Sunnybank 4109
Vietnamese-Style Fish Hot Pot at Pho Hung
Pho Hung’s Vietnamese-style fish hot pot seems to be Ca Kho To – a caramel fish hot pot typically made with catfish. If you can’t usually abide a lot of bones in your fish dishes you would be well advised to overcome that minor quibble. Don’t complain. Just pick them out. You’ll thank us.
The oil from the fish and the caramel of the sauce combine to impart the most deliciously decadent flavour, perfect with a bowl of white rice.
Sunnybank Market Square cnr of Mains Rd and Mccullough St Sunnybank 4109
Meat Platter at Little Hong Kong BBQ
For convenience and ease, Little Hong Kong BBQ’s meat platter is right up there. For a reasonably small sum you can enjoy a platter of roast duck, roast chicken, roast pork and BBQ pork accompanied by some lightly pickled vegetables and a bowl of rice.
You can get however many types of meat you want, but so long as the roast chicken features in your selection, you’re set. Tea and condiments are free, and it’s unlikely that you’ll come out still feeling hungry.
Shop 23A Market Square cnr Mains Rd and McCullough St, Sunnybank 4109
Tonkotsu Ramen and Gyoza at Hakataya Ramen
Fortunate are we that Japanese chain Hakataya Ramen has made it to Brisbane. Though there are soon to be five of these establishments in Queensland, since two of them are in Sunnybank (one in Market Square and one in Sunnybank Plaza) it seems only right to include them on this list.
This is really what fast food is supposed to be. Quick, restorative, tasty. It may not reach the dizzying heights that ramen can sometimes attain, still, it’s immensely satisfying and about as close to the Japanese experience as you can get in Brisbane.
Shop 13 Market Square cnr Mains Rd and McCullough St, Sunnybank 4109
Creme Brulee at Casamia Paris
Casamia Paris is a real hidden treasure. The type of place you would probably never get a chance to visit if you didn’t already know it was there. Or if you haven’t just finished up a plate of chicken at Hello! Kyochon next door.
European desserts are the go here, with delicate looking single serve mousse cakes in the display cabinet at the counter. The menu lists a further collection of French and Italian favourites of which the crème brulee is probably the best – rich and velvety with a side of vanilla ice cream and crème anglaise in a sweet sesame cup, along with some cute swirly and spiky garnishes.
Shop 4 581 Beenleigh Road Sunnybank Hills 4109
Soy Custard with Raw Sugar Syrup at Just Soy Café
Just Soy Café is the place to go when you’ve finished your Three Cup Chicken at Golden Rice. Just a quick walk up the street, it offers Taiwanese style soy custard with your choice of topping.
While toppings are very much a matter of personal preference, the raw sugar syrup (which is nowhere near as sweet as it sounds) is unlikely to offend many tastebuds. Perhaps the same cannot be said of the soy custard itself, as it is likely an acquired taste. The curd-like pudding is smooth and silky, but if the slight bitterness of soy products doesn’t usually grab you, maybe you’d be safer opting for the green tea ice-cream.
Shop 1/8 Lear St Sunnybank Hills 4109
Original Milk Ice at Snow Ice
Baobing (or patbingsu or kakigori) vendor Snow Ice in Market Square offers just about the ultimate in hot weather dessert. Unlike a standard snow cone, where pieces of crushed ice melt into a watery flavourless sludge, the original milk ice at Snow Ice is wonderfully delicate – disintegrating a few seconds after hitting your tongue.
It’s like the frozen version of fairy floss, but not so sickeningly sugary; even the non-sweet tooth should enjoy. Plus – if you still need convincing – the machine that shaves the ice is shaped like a penguin.
341 Mains Rd Sunnybank 4109