Chanoyu Japanese infused cafe
NOTE: In July 2023, Chanoyu moved to a new location in 56 Nerang St., Nerang. It’s the Matcha chocolate ganache tart that gives it away – a pretty little pie case filled with two shades of green chocolate filling… “Oh my! There’s real talent here,” we think. “I wonder who’s in the kitchen?” There’s something […]
O-Sushi Coolangatta
One of the benefits of living in a tourist destination is being around after the day-trippers have gone home. Finally, when buses and boats have pulled away, carrying their camera-toting guests, we are left with the locale that we love, the reason that we settled there in the first place. That’s exactly how we feel […]
Pacific Fair Dining
Pacific Fair is well on the way to creating an ‘eat or shop’ dilemma. As part of a $670 million redevelopment, high end fashion shops with huge investment fit outs have been opening along the boulevard attracting international shoppers and lots of onlookers. The centre is also well on the way to establishing itself as […]
Zipang
Named after the ancient title of Japan, Zipang, Chef Atsushi Mizushima’s cafe has a split personality. By day, it’s a tiny ‘dine in’ or quick ‘grab and go’ eatery where workers stop in to get lunch. By night it’s a romantic laneway restaurant guarded at two entrances by ancient warriors. We first dined at Zipang […]
You Japanese Restaurant
For 25 years, even before Japanese food became trendy, You Japanese Restaurant has been operating on the Gold Coast. It’s an unassuming little izikaya on the Cavill Street end of an arcade overlooking Cavill Park, the sort of restaurant frequented by regulars, or by Japanese tourists who’ve heard about it by word of mouth; a […]
Yamagen’s Friday Lunch by Asahi
Yamagen’s ‘Friday Lunch by Asahi’ is an introduction to delight; a finely nuanced mini-degustation of the best of the best. I’m a huge fan of the long lunch. There’s no better start to the weekend than the Friday afternoon ‘flex’. As you leave work early to slip away for a sneaky lunch, there’s a hint […]
Harajuku Gyoza Beer Stadium
Get on your ‘little Japanese dumplings of happy’ and get down to Harajuku Gyoza in the Broadbeach Mall. If the combination of beer and gyoza is not enough to put you into a spin, add the zany elements of ‘Harajuku’ and you’ll be doubly happy! The largest of seven outlets of the phenomenally successful chain […]
Gyoza
I have a personal affinity for gyoza. Perhaps it’s my love of the underdog, a sentimental identification with that misshapen parcel of ugliness that hides a hidden goodness. Or maybe it’s my sympathy for the traveller in all of us, for the stereotyped migrant who’s an individual in their own right. Whatever! There’s no hiding […]
Ramen Danbo
If you thought that ramen was just a version of two-minute noodles, how wrong you are! There’s instant ramen (or two-minute-noodles) and then there’s ramen, a revered cultural dish. Hard to fathom, we know, so as we face the cultural divide, it’s best to talk to an expert. We catch up with Andrew Hosaka-Zaniewski, to […]
Yamagen
For over thirty years, Yamagen has been a major contender in Japanese dining on the Gold Coast. Established for the opening of Daikyo’s Gold Coast International in 1987, the restaurant was a celebration of the Gold Coast’s flourishing relationship with Japan. An integral part of the city’s first five-star hotel, Gold Coast International heralded a […]