Despite a stupidly windy day on the Gold Coast, the sun was out and a leisurely walk to lunch resulted in some nice pink skin for the both of us. Luckily, though Mamasan had seated us in the outside deck, there was plenty of shade while we observed the Broadbeach lunch set enjoying their Wednesday.
Service was professional, friendly, knowledgeable and timely despite quite a number of tables across the mid-week staff load. A good sized wine list kicked tempted us with a crisp Riesling to accompany a serve of 'thinking edamame', and the recommendation to order sporadically proved wise later on...
The Kingfish Sashimi with Nippon vinaigrette, beetroot pickle, pomegranate and wasabi peas is a must--a modern take with unexpected flavour/texture combination. Try the Soft Shell Crab Bao too, slightly too much mayonnaise for my taste but my companion disagreed. The light crunch of the shell perfectly contrasted with the soft bun. I could eat a whole meal of the Byron Bay pork and prawn wontons too, they had a distinctly plump melt-in-the-mouth freshness to them. The Mamasan team clearly know their seafood.
Slightly disconcerting was the arrival of a delivery of prawn gyoza but with nothing of the sort on the menu, it was dismissed as an oddity and we were quickly distracted by freshly steamed greens with a perfect amount of bite and umami. Yes, we were enamoured with the vegetables.
We were contemplating another dumping, maybe a dessert and definitely a second glass of wine, when the table next to us received an order of the Mamasan KFC( Korean Fried Chicken), and then all bets were off. Our conversation came to an abrupt halt with crispy chicken wings in sweet, spicy sauce and a parmesan almond "snow" filling all the space previously for words.
Like many of its Broadbeach strip peers, Mamasan is not the cheapest fare for a mid-week work lunch, but by golly it's worth taking cheese and vegemite sandwiches for the rest of the pay period for. read more