HeyU Issue 36 - 2 September 2015 | Page 9

uni life PUERTO Add some spice to your life at Puerto I’m going to say it – I love reality TV shows! As such, I was very excited when Channel 7 shattered the typical format and created a show where viewers could experience the reality for themselves: enter Restaurant Revolution. I recently dined at Brisbane’s restaurant Puerto: East meets Mex, and was not only impressed by the food but also by the staff, atmosphere and location. For starters, our table of six diners shared a couple of dishes from the sides menu; the plantains with lime VIEW mayo and the tortilla chips ONLINE with pico de gallo. I had never eaten plantains before and found the deep-fried savoury bananas to be quite nice, especially when paired with the lime mayo. The tortilla chips were crisp and the salsa-esque pico de gallo was fresh with a hint of zing. For my main, I had the tamarind braised beef cheek with taro discs, stuffed bullhorn pepper, pickled habanero and mint. The recipe listed the beef cheek as being cooked for 14 hours and it was clear that it had been, with the meat not only being full of flavour but also falling off the bone. For dessert, I had the toffee pear; a Sangria-poached pear served with whipped coconut cream and coconut crumble. The pear was poached to perfection with my spoon gliding easily through it, and the whipped coconut cream kept the dish from being too sweet. This pop-up restaurant is located on the corner of Grey and Russell Streets, South Bank, and I highly recommend you show your support for team Queensland by dining in for lunch or dinner. WORDS: NAOMI J MATTHEWS – USQ Alumna IMAGES: USQ ONLINE MARKETING TEAM