Uncle Don Woolloongabba

If you're well-acquainted with Uncle Don in either Paddington or West End, then brace yourself for the new Woolloongabba edition, which is sleeker and bigger than ever. Landing inside the buzzing South City Square precinct, Uncle Don 3.0 has been created with both casual feeds and vibing nights out in mind, adding large group booths and a lengthy cocktail menu to their usual offering. 

For those not familiar with it, Uncle Don is all about—as you might be able to guess—hefty Japanese rice bowls, or 'don,' which come piled with a variety of meats, seafood and veg. Merging authentic, traditional Japanese cuisine with a touch of Western influence, you can order them alone (you won't be left hungry) or pair them with share plates like lotus chips, eggplant fries and soft katsu sandos. 

Don't spend too long perusing the entrees, because the enormous list of dons will leave you in decision paralysis. Signatures include the picture-perfect salmon sashimi don, melt-in-your-mouth wagyu stea don and crispy pork belly don, but don't overlook options like the grilled duck breast don with charred brussel sprouts and miso eggplant don with tofu cream. There's even keto options without rice for those on the healthy living train. 

You would be silly to leave after the donburi bowl, as the matcha tiramisu dessert is the real star of the show  here (yes we’re sweet tooths and yes we’re being biased). Get yourself a pot of one of the specialty Japanese teas to cleanse your palette and help with digestion (we're partial to the milky oolong), then get stuck into the pot of green tea-dusted honeycomb pieces atop creamy layers of mascarpone ice cream, savoiardi biscuit and matcha syrup that they leave to set overnight in order to achieve that distinct matcha flavour. You’ll catch us grabbing this dessert to-go over an ice cream any day.

Image credit: Supplied