I found the drive thru of my dreams

For the last Table for One of 2025, I visited three venues that could not be more different. From a heritage pie shop off the highway to a festive steakhouse and a nostalgic yum cha institution

Yatala Pies

Thirty seconds before the Yatala Pies exit (yes, there’s a sign), I suggested to my partner that we should stop at the 130-year old pie shop. We were passing through to Byron for the weekend and were trying to catch as much poolside time as possible, so chose to go through the drive thru, which I didn’t even know they had. It’s probably busy 24/7 but don’t fret, it’s a well-oiled machine: a staff member would come up to your window, take your order and payment and you’d pickup your food on your way out. In and out in five minutes.

The pie selection is as classic as they get. The main options are varieties of steak or chicken and one lamb, pork or vegetable option. We ordered the pepper steak and lamb coconut curry. The pastry on top was golden and crisp. The bottom pastry had a excellent structural integrity (for all those tradies and roadtrippers eating while driving) and thickness. The filling of both pies were the perfect consistency. In the pepper steak, there was the right amount of pepper — very fragrant but not overwhelming — and the lamb curry packed a little heat too.

Lamb coconut curry

Dessert is not to be skipped here. I threw caution to the wind and ordered a lamington (overrated to many — loved by myself) and it was absolutely fantastic: pillow-soft sponge, semisweet chocolate, very fine desiccated coconut. The apple pie was also out of this world. I think the secret is to use semi-ripe apples for a tender but not too syrupy filling. Dream-cream-topped with a lovely, albeit unnecessary, biscuit garnish.

Lamington; apple pie. Both visionaries.

48 Old Pacific Hwy, Yatala

@yatalapies

---

SK Steak and Oyster

Definitively the most hallmark-movie restaurant in Brisbane during the Christmas season, I have no doubt that many guests visit SK Steak and Oyster hoping to run into (literally) a beautiful stranger or the one that got away. I respect a restaurant that understands what the customer needs — the cushioning of expensive, potentially overpriced steak and seafood in the form of sparkly lights and gigantic velvet ribbons — it does the job well.

I never know what kind of service to expect when dining on James Street. When I walked through the door at SK, I was ready for aloofness and skepticism — something I’ve experienced at their sister venues Hellenika and Sushi Room, an oh that’s what you’re wearing kind of stare — but instead, all the staff were warm and genuinely welcoming.

One average Martini later (not cold enough), starters were here. The prawns in the prawn cocktail were tender and seasoned well but the lettuce was overly wet and the Marie Rose sauce was lacking acidity. Kingfish crudo with scallion and ginger (Hainanese chicken-coded) was pleasant but for $36, I expect more creativity in the accompaniments. Not every crudo can be a Gimlet crudo but this was a Donna Chang/Snackman effort.

For mains, we ordered a kilo of Southern Rock lobster grilled with garlic butter and the Stockyard New York cut sirloin, medium rare of course, with bearnaise and red wine jus. Dare I say lobster might be the most overrated crustacean — Moreton bay bug or scampi are 1000% better (size matters rule applies, not in the way you think) — but the glamour and luxury of lobster is undeniable and sometimes essential. This particular one was cooked perfectly but the garlic butter was nary present. Girthy lobster meat (sorry) calls for seafood boil levels of butter.

The steak was cooked as you’d expect as this kind of restaurant: nice char, medium rare, seasoned well. The best sauces in the world are sauces for steak — some would argue a great steak doesn’t need sauce but I think steak is a vessel for sauce and I will die on that hill. SK’s red wine jus was a good consistency but quite one-dimensional. Bearnaise (the best, alongside L’Entrecote sauce) was surprisingly sharp — big fan.

Love me the sides at a steak restaurant. The mash with roast chicken gravy could’ve been more indulgent and better seasoned. Everyone was impressed with the wedge salad with crisp bits of bacon, blue cheese dressing and halved cherry tomatoes — a lovely break from meat and butter. Peas and bacon are a fun extra, especially eaten with mash.

I love how classic the desserts are at SK. Firstly, soft serve table service is every child and adult’s dream way to end a meal. The toppings are nostalgic and not-too-serious: ice magic, hundreds and thousands, flake, cookie dough, Reese’s pieces and maraschino cherries. The signature strawberry cake had soft, moist sponge, sweet macerated strawberries and light mascarpone cream — a must.

48 James St, Fortitude Valley

@sk.steakandoyster

---

Parkland Restaurant

I, tragically, did not grow up going to yum cha on Sunday mornings. I spent my time at actual Sunday school while I was dreaming of a different kind of Sunday religion: buttery custard tarts, steaming lo mai gai filled with braised pork and mushrooms and crystal-skinned prawn har gow.

The kids are always talking about exercising our free will properly and I, for once, listened. What does my free will look like? It looks like Wednesday morning yum cha.

Parkland Restaurant has been around for a while — you can tell by the decor and lighting. They still do the carts here, something that virtually went extinct after Covid, but it’s kind of half-in, half-out — some of the carts go around but if you know what you’re after straight away, you can go to the front of the restaurant where you can order or pick from the tens of stacked steamer baskets or the fried foods in the cabinet. She’ll give you a tray full of your chosen goodies and back to your table you go. Very efficient.

Surprise, we ordered two types of tripe (offal girlies rise up, once again). They were both braised so well — extremely flavourful, soft and slurpable (sorry). Prawn cheung fun was excellent (is it possible to screw this dish up?) and the fried squid was crispy and I love a long tentacle (haha). Soup dumplings were a bit gamey — skip those. And further skip the turnip cake, which seemed like it’d be dropped and put together again, not to mention not crispy at all.

The food is clearly hit or miss here, but if you’re yearning for the niche, nostalgic comfort of eating around elderly Chinese people underneath mismatched decor, this is definitely the place for you.

407 Mains Rd, Sunnybank

---

Becca Wang is a freelance writer and food and drink columnist. She has by-lines in Broadsheet, Boothby, Gourmet Traveller, Escape et al., delicious, RUSSH and others. She is the founding editor of Hawker Magazine, a food and culture publication. You can keep up with her at @supper.partying.