If I remember back to my first working days, feeling hungry meant opening the fridge, tucking into leftovers or making a sandwich!
Not any more! To many Gold Coasters, a meal is just a few taps away.
‘Dial in dining’ has revolutionised the way we eat, with hundreds of restaurants across the coast bringing food to you through a delivery service. All you have to do is order!
Founded in 2013, Deliveroo turns three on the Gold Coast in August 2019, delivering food from more than 550 restaurants, providing comfort, convenience, and countless cuisines to homes all over the coast.
To celebrate their birthday, Deliveroo have revealed the Top 10 most popular dishes ordered on the Gold Coast. We may have envisaged that fish and chips, burgers, fried chicken or Mexican might take the gong. While these well-known brands provided stiff competition, it’s newcomer Cocohut Taste of Thailand’s Pad Thai that takes out the top spot!
We popped along to Cocohut to sample the most loved Gold Coast dish and to talk to owner Pat about her win.
“Cocohut Taste of Thailand is only two years old,” Pat tells us. “I was working on this spot at Thai Silom when they closed, and I decided to take open my own new Thai restaurant with my husband as chef.”
Looking around, the tiny restaurant is light and bright; fresh and clean to the eye. Apart from a photograph of the Thai Royal Family, there are few traditional Thai décor pieces gracing the walls.
“Cocohut Taste of Thailand is about casual Thai street food. We’re serving a new generation of customers,” says Pat, who was born in Chiang Mai. “Many have travelled to Thailand and eaten food in Thailand, so we try to keep to traditional recipes, instead of adapting them to the Aussie palate by adding sugar.”
Pat tells us that Tom Yum Noodle Soup, Massaman Beef and Pad Thai are her customers’ favourite dine-in choices.
She brings us an array of dishes to try: Coco Spicy Sashimi – salmon in a tangy fresh spicy green curry sauce with garlic, a mild Green Chicken Curry, Spicy Tom Yum noodle soup with huge pieces of seafood and whole mussels in a lemongrass, Kaffir lime leaves, galangal, lime juice and fresh chilli flavoured soup, and her famous Pad Thai.
Cocohut’s award-winning Pad Thai has several variations, ranging from $15.90 for vegetarian to $18.90 for seafood. It’s a generous serve loaded onto the plate; delicious noodles, perfectly cooked large prawns, batons of fried tofu, fresh garlic chives, bean sprouts and chopped peanuts – a cracker of a dish!
When asked about the difference a meal delivery service has made to her restaurant, Pat says that it was a great help for a startup restaurant before locals knew about them.
“Takeaway helps us survive the low season,” she says, adding that takeaway forms about 40% of her business in the low season and 30% in the high season.
“A delivery service is a form of advertising for our business. Yes, there is a cost per meal, but it gives us business back. It drives dine-in business,” she tells us. “Lots of people order food through Deliveroo and when they like the food they come to dine in. Some people live close, for example in Q1, but they try our food first as takeaway before dining in. One lady even came in later and thanked us for the great meal she’d had delivered by Deliveroo. That made my week!” Pat says.
When asked about the other factors in the restaurant’s success, Pat says that she employs a lot of staff, nodding towards the tiny kitchen where we can see at least five people busy working. Cocohut has a small seating area, a tinier kitchen, but quick turnaround.
“We trust Deliveroo,” she tells us, “because they use the same drivers who we know, they wear uniforms and they’re always reliable, getting food quickly to customers by motorbike.”
“It’s important that the customer gets the meal as soon as possible after it is made. We have invested in technology, several tablets to get the orders, and at busy times we have one staff member just taking orders,” she adds.
We finish our meal with a Thai Milk Tea ice cream that’s Pat’s own invention, bedded down in a bed of rice bubbles. Like Cocohut itself, it’s a nod to pop culture and a fresh take on Asian flavours.
While personally we love dining out to meet small business owners such as Pat, we’re heartened to see a small business being supported by locals via Deliveroo. It’s the story of a local food hero bringing us the flavours of her homeland.
The top ten most popular dishes ordered via Deliveroo on the Gold Coast:
- Pad Thai from Cocohut Taste of Thailand
- Burrito Bowl from Guzman Y Gomez
- Zinger Box from KFC
- Betty’s Classic from Betty’s Burger
- Special Fried Rice from Yum Cha Republic
- Wahoo’s Taco Burger Meal from Wahoo’s Fish Taco
- ½ a Chicken from Nandos
- Brooklyn Classic from Brooklyn Depot
- Pad Thai from Ipoh Town
- Schnitzel Meal-Chips and Salad from Chickery Chick
…And for those wondering when Gold Coast bellies rumble the most, Fridays and 6-7pm are the most popular times to order.
3114 Surfers Paradise Blvd, Surfers Paradise Ph: 07 5538 8016
Open daily: 11am – 2.30pm; 4.30 – 9.30pm.
Licensed and BYO.
NOTE: Good Food Gold Coast dined as guests of Cocohut Taste of Thailand.