Ms Chi Qi - Brisbane

Tried the lemongrass chicken banh mi today, it was delicious! Hot, crisp, fresh roll jam packed with filling. The chicken was delicious - flavoursome and well cooked and there was lots of it. Veggies fresh and crisp. There didn't seem to be much maggi seasoning aka MSG and there wasn't any chilli, but presumably this is to cater for the masses and you can ask for it. A fresh, healthy, cheap option in the city!

I have only ever ordered the one thing from here, the beef pho. It's the best one I can find in the city. Way better than you would expect from a food court. Just goes to show you can always tell when a place actually cares.

One of the best Bahn Mi I've ever had, lots of meat (love the grilled pork patties), fresh and warm bread! Nice rice paper rolls too, very fresh, generous fillings and big variety.

On the lower level of Wintergarden, after a big refurbishment done some time back, the food court has been set out in a slightly different way with ergonomics and that means a whole range of new places for the city dwellers to visit for a quick meal. As a whole, the food court area definitely has a better look and aesthetic to it than what is normal with the general foods court. Plus, the range is not too bad either. One of them is a Vietnamese takeaway that I have passed by so many times and have not stopped in. Well, that ended one day in the mid-week during a pursuit for a bite to eat. It was just the usual rounds of the week again, with it this time being both a work day and weightlifting day. What that meant for me was finding some sustenance between those times, which more or less was down to roaming the streets for something. Something quick, easy, preferably cheap, and definitely not to default to fast food. If you could eat it while walking, that would also be good. For the most part, I have my place that I normally go to in this instance which wasn't open. So, with a second's thought it was some more exploration with a couple of ideas in mind and just scanning food courts on the side. Well, here we are again. As I have said before, "burgers and Fries" again, or as the street talk around this nape of the woods would equal - bahn mi and iced coffee. Ms Chi Qi has been set out (without soap boxing anyone here) as an aim for offering food that can be done quickly, yet still be fresh and healthy. What that means is that there is little to none of the hot stuff, particularly the fried nibbles, sweating it out in the bain marie for people to nibble on in the meantime. Everything is done fresh where it can be, and proves why Vietnamese places can often become synonymous with "winner". As per usual, what I had was a bahn mi (complete with iced coffee - that won me over) and this time it was from Miss Chi Qi. It is a mere outlet in the lower level of Wintergarden, and it stands out a bit from most of the plain looking chains that pepper the area. On the backdrop, there is a bright painting that is reminiscent of ads from around the 1950s, with a touch of the Vietnamese flavour on them. It ducks into a bit of an alleyway with a couple of tables and uses this space effectively. There are a couple of tables, and it even has a small stall there of fresh and healthy items which is in the vein of what they are trying to sell. The kitchen is in view, and it feels a bit more like a small eatery that is over the counter than just another place in the food court. To use the alley way analogy, it really invites you to drive in away from the main stretch, and park a bit while browsing. That is not something that is often done in the general food court setting. If that makes any sense. After going to so many Vietnamese places and getting plenty of these sandwiches, it is a bit hard not to compare and notice when service becomes a bit slower than normal. That was the case here. It was by no objective means awful or plodding, but I did notice that it seemed a little less hasty than most other outlets as such. They are friendly, and it is good to see that the food is served fresh to order. So that is definitely something that they have going for them. In short, the service is not awful, there is better, but they still get the job done. Outside of the much desired bahn mi, the menu is essentially a range of street foods. The main focus is to offer a fresh alternative to what else is around, in order to promote a particular life style. Also, they are quite affordable (as opposed to most other health food places) and there is a good range of soups, noodle dishes, traditional stews, rice dishes, and vermicelli among several others. This is Vietnamese - if it were not made apparent already - plus the menu is put on display akin to a collection of trading cards. If that does not take the fancy, then they also have a range of rice paper rolls in the cabinet - along with several sorts of drinks to be had. Nothing too much out of the ordinary in my ventures as of late. So, back to the cravings - bahn mi and iced coffee, the bread and butter or burger and fries of my dieting it seems. The iced coffee was the deal that clinched on settling here, and looking out at the options for a bahn mi as per normal, it seems that I gravitate towards the pork combination. Hey, more meat and I love that wonderful magical animal. I forget what exactly the kinds of meat they used; from memory, there was some ham in there, along with sliced pork, and maybe brawn. Most of them were cold cuts, so we aren't getting pork balls or skewers in it. To their credit as well, they filled it up pretty well, mostly with the vegetables - there was a good amount of carrot in there, plus the coriander, fish sauce, and pate all had the right flavour in them. There was also cucumber, making a cold crunch, and it was on a warm, crusty baguette that I swear I could taste some butter on it or maybe even in the dough. Whatever the case, the bread was just perfect to be used and was even lightly toasted before being served. In addition to that, there was the needed iced coffee. Usual kind of deal, with the takeaway vibe at Ms Chi Qi there was no show to watch with the coffee, as it came ready to drink. This was not as good as most others, but as long as it has a bit of a kick to it (and being quite sweet at the same time) then all is right with me. On those fronts, that was present, though it could have done with a little less ice from watering the whole thing down a bit. And with another place done to test the usual combination, how does it hold up individually? It was still enjoyable enough and filling as a quick snack, so I would say that Miss Chi Qi is okay. There is nothing really wrong with it, yet on the other hand not a lot about it sticks out in my mind. Definitely compared to its neighbours, there is the health benefit. It is a quick and easy option, and to their credit the aesthetics are a stand out in the bland food court area. More or less what you see is what you get here, nothing too fancy or special. TL;DR: Ms. Chi Qi was alright. Putting it against many of the other options in the food court, the needed credit will be given. A lot of the time, even when there is the Asian or kebab option among all the fast food items, they are still unable to shake off the grease completely. That changes right here with all sorts of Vietnamese delights. Think of it as a decent option for a quick snack or lunch between business hours, especially against the abundance of fast food. For that, the credit will stand.

On the lower level of Wintergarden, after a big refurbishment done some time back, the food court has been set out in a slightly different way with ergonomics and that means a whole range of new places for the city dwellers to visit for a quick meal. As a whole, the food court area definitely has a better look and aesthetic to it than what is normal with the general foods court. Plus, the range is not too bad either. One of them is a Vietnamese takeaway that I have passed by so many times and have not stopped in. Well, that ended one day in the mid-week during a pursuit for a bite to eat. It was just the usual rounds of the week again, with it this time being both a work day and weightlifting day. What that meant for me was finding some sustenance between those times, which more or less was down to roaming the streets for something. Something quick, easy, preferably cheap, and definitely not to default to fast food. If you could eat it while walking, that would... read more