New Thai restaurant first of its kind for Brisbane

Thai dining in Brisbane is set for a makeover with the opening of an authentic upscale restaurant in the CBD.

A new take on Thai food never seen before in Queensland is set to open in Brisbane.

Jumbo Thai Restaurant & Bar is set to launch on July 23 in the CBD, above the iconic Embassy Hotel on Edward St, serving an upscale, highly authentic take on the Asian cuisine.

“We wanted to do something that hasn’t been done in Brisbane before, the likes of Longrain, Chin Chin and Long Chim,” says owner Andrew Park, who spent six months dreaming up the concept with his Thai-born wife Wasana.

“We’re trying to deliver something of that calibre and truly authentic and out-of-the-box.”

The couple founded and sold a number of Siam Sunset restaurants in Brisbane’s southwest, but say Jumbo will be nothing like anything offered in the ’burbs.

“Thai is such a great, complex cuisine and we want to deliver it in all its true authenticity with all the sourness and spiciness but with all the great local produce we have here in Queensland,” says Andrew, who is Thailand’s Honorary Consul-General in Brisbane.

Wasana and Andrew Park at their new restaurant Jumbo Thai on Edward St. Picture: Tara Croser.

Some of that produce will include the likes of sustainably sourced goldband snapper served crispy and whole with Thai herbs, local ox tongue accompanied by spicy jim jaew dipping sauce, and butterfly pea flower crabmeat dumplings. While organic roasted chilli and Kaffir lime crickets, flash-fried squid with salted duck egg, and eastern Thai chicken massaman curry with young durian, using organic free-range poultry, are set to become signatures. A strong vegetarian and vegan offering will also be in play.

Putting it all on the plate are Thai chefs Wilawan Dowweingkan, who worked under David Thompson at Sydney’s now defunct Sailors Thai, and Chatchai Taewpia, most recently personal chef to the Thai ambassador in Buenos Aires. While front of house will be Pruetsamon Chaithongkong (ex-Longtime, Fortitude Valley).

Promising to be just as exciting as the food, is the drinks list, which will feature food-focused wine pulled from an impressive 1000-bottle cellar, alongside classic and Thai-inspired cocktails using premium spirits, and beer including Thailand’s Chao Siam pale ale, which has never been offered outside Thailand.

The 140-seater will also boast an eye-catching fit-out designed by Bangkok’s Wit Chongwattananukul, featuring a classical Thai mural on exposed brick alongside a giant canvas painting of a bald Thai man the couple nicknamed the venue’s namesake “Jumbo”, eating a feast with his family. All the furniture has been imported from Thailand, with bar seating at the kitchen so diners can watch chefs cook, as well as two 10-seat private dining rooms.

EGG-CELLENT ARRIVAL

Why did the chicken cross the road? This is the question owner Yianni Passaris will be asking diners at his new gourmet takeaway joint Yolk when it opens at Newstead’s Gasworks.

Taking over the former yoghurt shop space outside Woolworths, the 36-seater will have a menu of just five or six items featuring either egg or chicken.

Newstead’s Gasworks

“Being minimal and having a small menu works because you can focus on doing every individual item perfect,” says Passaris, who owns West End’s hugely popular Morning After cafe and wants to use only the best quality ingredients.

Starring on the tight menu will be breakfast burgers, featuring the likes of southern fried chicken, plus his modern interpretation of his childhood favourite, the chicken kiev — buttermilk fried chicken tenderloins with a garlic kiev mayo.

But the signature dish will be his customisable bacon and egg rolls, with the option to add the likes of a hash brown, haloumi, avocado and sauces such as sriracha mayo, spicy hollandaise and their special Yolk hot sauce.

Drinks will also be limited to just coffee using Five Senses beans and freshly squeezed orange juice made with a $10,000 Zummo juicer.

The venue’s design has been kept minimal as well, with acclaimed interiors experts Derlot creating a sleek, modern interpretation of a farm house with custom furniture including stump stools, metal chairs, and fixed seating connected to table frames in whites and greys with just “drips of colour”.

The eatery is due to open late August/early September.

CHU UP — AND RUNNING

After a slight delay, Bowen Hills’ new pan-Asian eatery and bar Chu Bistro is set to kick off next Tuesday.

Serving a contemporary menu influenced predominantly by Indonesia and Thailand, the 70-75 seater takes over the former Locos site and is the work of restaurateur Joe Zhu (Picnic, Camp Hill).

Diners can expect everything from grilled eggplant with Balinese sambal to crispy spatchcock with turmeric and galangal, paired with eight beers on tap, a clipped wine offering and Asian-inspired, cocktail list.

BON APPETITE

The new-look C’est Bon restaurant at Woolloongabba will get up and running this Friday, following the launch of their new rooftop bar, garden terrace and cellar space.

To mark the reopening of the popular French eatery, an expanded menu will be introduced, offering new French colonial dishes, alongside their classics such as duck l’orange.

CHEF STEPS UP TO PLATE

Congratulations to Urbane, Brisbane sous chef Camille Saint M’Leux, who has been named as a regional finalist in the annual S.Pellegrino Young Chef Competition.

He will battle against nine Australian finalists on August 26 in Sydney for three speciality awards, plus the overall Australian title, with the winners going on to compete in the global finale in Milan next year.