Nest Restaurant & Bar

Nest restaurant & bar is situated in Hotel Jen right beside Roma St transit centre. The restaurant was recommended by many of my friends so here we are for Thursday nite dinner. Walking into nest we were greeted politely by our waitress and taken to our table. A tabletop chalkboard was present with handwritten greetings and adds a welcoming touch to their hospitality. The modern Asian decorated restaurant features “wood pillar nest” theme at the centre of the dinning room. Their menu consist mainly South East Asian fusion cuisines with a few expected western items to satisfy the unadventurous few.
 

Based on recommendations from our Zomato community, we ordered chicken satay skewers, twice cooked lamb ribs as starters. Crying tiger beef, tea smoked crispy half duck & chicken pad thai for mains. Desert: Vietnamese crème caramel & coconut tapioca to conclude our meal.

First came the chicken satay skewers, presented street food style with peanut satay sauce & pickled cucumber. The pre-marinated chicken was tender and juicy with big satay & char grill flavours. The dipping sauce was too much on the sweet side for my taste and overpowers the skewers. The homemade pickled cucumber did its job to balance out the rich sauce and leaves your palate with a pleasant sweet & sour after taste. 3/5

The twice cooked lamb ribs came shortly after with a generous four thick cuts of ribs garnished with fresh lime, chilli & mint. Biting into the lamb ribs was a magical experience with the tender “falling off the bone” meat melting in your mouth whist maintaining a crispy texture on the outside. The sauce was well balanced with right amount of sweet & sour and at no point over powers the meat. I have to admit, the lamb was quite fatty but the brilliant cooking techniques and the thoughtful balance of the sauce made you reach for seconds and thirds. Bravo! 5/5

With our emotions on a high, the mains arrived. First up, crying tiger beef which consists a piece of sirloin char grilled steak with generous amount of nahm jim jaew (a thai spicy dipping sauce) garnished with rocket greens and bean sprout. The steak was cooked medium rare and served quite cold intentionally. First bite will leave you confused as to what they are trying to achieve. The cold almost chewy steak with overpowering sour nahm jim jaew sauce make the dish unappetising. If more greens were supplied one could almost call this a “steak salad”? 2.5/5

The tea smoked crispy half duck were elegantly plated with chopped & deboned 1/2 duck sitting on top a pool of caramelised mandarin sauce, garnished with cinnamon stick, fresh herbs and chillies. First impression: elegantly presented. The taste of the duck was heavenly, with crispy lightly tea smoked skin and juicy tender meat (nailed it!). The sauce displays a depth of flavour which consists of caramel, mandarin, green plums & hint of tropical fruit. The sauce matches perfectly with the meat but just a touch on the sweet side. I can confidently say this is the best duck dish I have ever had in Brisbane. 4.5/5

The pad thai came next with thin rice noodle, chicken, prawns, dry fried tofu, garlic chive and shredded egg. A touch of bean sprout, roasted peanut, fresh chilli & a spoon full of house dried aged chilli flakes to garnish. Taste wise, not that exciting as the pad thai was quite thin on flavour, lacks seasoning and don’t display the “wok burn” taste which we love in other Thai restaurants. One of the positive is the high quality prawns utilized and the pre-marinated chicken. 3/5

With my stomach reaching 80% full the first desert item made a swift appearance. The Vietnamese crème caramel consist an egg pudding sitting in honey herbal jelly with coffee granita. The pudding was eggy and sweet and surprisingly goes well with herbal jelly. The coffee granita on the other hand was overpowering in flavour from my opinion. 3.5/5

The last dish of the nite was the coconut tapioca with palm sugar caramel, passionfruit sorbet and puffed rice. The tapioca was cooked soft & thick with rich coconut taste and texture. The passionfruit sorbet was sour and refreshing which balances this dish to perfection. Bellissimo! 4/5

The overall service was friendly, patient and attentive. Spring water was always refilled without asking. Minor disappointment was the table quality as it rocked about the whole meal. 4/5

Overall Ranking: 4.0/5

Hint: Lamb ribs, smoked duck & coconut tapioca is a must try!