Five of the Best: The five Mermaid Waters restaurants you have to try

THERE’S no need to cross the highway to Nobbys if you’re after a great foodie experience, writes Denise Raward. We reveal the five best dining experiences in Mermaid Beach.

Beef Burger at Double Barrel Kitchen, Mermaid Waters.

THERE’S no need to cross the highway to Nobbys if you’re after a great foodie experience, writes Denise Raward. We reveal the five best dining experiences in Mermaid Beach.

Lucky Bao

Shop 6/90 Markeri Street

Twice cooked lamb ribs from the Lucky bao. Photo: Two Birds Social.

The big news at this unassuming gem is the launch of a weekend brunch menu, complete with Blackboard coffee, from 8am.

In the spirited Lucky Bao style, the menu will be rich in quirky modern Asian fusion delights: think black miso banana bread, kimchi and mozzarella jaffles, steaming breakfast baos, scrambled organic tofu and rice bowls with bacon and eggs.

“It’s definitely not yum cha,” owner Emmi Kendall says. “It’s been a lot of fun to keep reinventing but staying true to what we are.”

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Just one of the items from Lucky Bao’s new autumn menu

Lucky Bao is now well entrenched on local foodie maps and is working on launching its spring menu. As the name suggests, its signature baos won’t be going anywhere.

“The wagyu brisket bao has been a huge hit for winter, right up there as a bestseller with the pork belly,” Emmi says.

The small and large share plates borrow flavours and techniques from around the Asian continent and the drinks menu is well choreographed, featuring an eclectic mix of global tipples.

Whatever the chefs fall in love with at the Miami organic farmers’ markets on Sunday will no doubt feature on the specials’ board that week.

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Lamb rib bao from the Lucky Bao. Photo: two Birds Social.

And if you’re looking for an at-home flavour hit, Lucky Bao has launched its delivery-only venture Ramen Junkie, with a menu of five different ramen and five rice bowls delivered straight from the Lucky Bao kitchen to your door. It’s available through UberEats.

Two Wise Fish

Waterways Shopping Village, Shop 1/64 Karbunya Street

Two Wise Fish, Mermaid Waters.

It’s the age old question: where can you get good fish and chips? Ask no more.

This atmospheric fish and chippery sets the high watermark, serving fresh seafood, burgers and signature house specialties, including golden crumbed fish and salad sandwiches and fish cakes spiked with lemongrass, garlic, ginger and coriander.

Managing director Belinda Gates says the Two Fish secret is consistency, quality and affordability.

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Fresh fish at 'Two Wise Fish', Mermaid Waters — 'Five of the Best' — Taste

“We want to show people you don’t have to pay a lot of money to get a great piece of fish,” she says. “We want coming here to be an experience. It’s BYO at night and we love seeing families come for dinner.”

For anyone with a hankering for the prawns from the old Oskar’s, Belinda has recreated them from Marty’s original recipe, complete with curry mayonnaise.

“You just have to come and try them,” she says.

Nude Sisters Whole Food Kitchen

Shop 3/90 Markeri Street

A meal from the Nude Sisters Whole Food Kitchen, Mermaid Waters, Gold Coast.

It’s hard to believe the sweet creations of this healthy haunt emerge from a refined sugar-free kitchen.

Nude Sisters embraces the nourishing, fresh, locally-sourced ethos, its vegetarian menu abounding with vegan and gluten-free options.

Manager Loren Telfer says the standout favourite is the vegan chocolate chip pancakes with caramelised banana, seasonal fruit, vegan coconut ice cream, chocolate crumb, roasted macadamias and maple syrup.

“For savoury, there’s the green brekky bowl that’s pretty popular,” she says. “You can add an egg or haloumi or mushrooms.”

The clean-lined cafe also serves Allpress organic coffee, with all manner of dairy or dairy-free milks (of course), as well as a standout range of smoothies and smoothie bowls.

Double Barrel Kitchen

Waterways Shopping Village, 4/64 Karbunya Street

Yum! It’s a Bacon and Egg Bun at Double Barrel Kitchen, Mermaid Waters.

In just two years, this cafe has picked up our Best of the Gold Coast awards for its coffee and breakfast, so it’s no surprise its first foray into night-time dining was fully booked in two days.

“All our locals had been asking us,” co-owner Jess Winters says. “It was a great night. It’s lovely to be part of a neighbourhood so it’s something we’ll do once a month.”

Plenty of time then to keep up what’s working in the day: serving fresh, seasonal, locally-sourced food and great coffee.

The rustic avo is a big seller, as are the zucchini and corn fritters. Now is the time to savour the rolled oats and chia winter porridge with charred banana, brown sugar, hazelnut crumble and local honeycomb.

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Cauliflower Two Ways, dish from Double Barrel Kitchen, Mermaid Waters.

“No doubt we’ll have customers wanting that to stay on in summer,” Jess says. The menu changes seasonally and the cafe is licensed from 10am.

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Easy House Vegetarian

Shop 8/90 Markeri Street

Dishes from Easy House Vegetarian.

Easy House has been doing its cruelty-free thing for a decade, building its reputation on tasty, good-value Asian food.

The menu contains all the usual suspects, only the sweet and sour pork, lemon chicken and sizzling beef are all minus the meat.

Owners Mary Ye and Hoi Tsang have stuck with much the same menu since they opened the doors and it’s an in-joke that their most popular dish, the XO noodles, doesn’t appear on the menu.

“It started as a special when we first opened,” their son Jacky Zeng explains. “People just kept ordering it whether it was there or not so we serve it all the time but it’s still not on the official menu.”

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Assorted yum cha, Chinese parsley Dumplings

Locals love being in on the secret, almost as much as they love that Easy House is BYO. The lunchtime yum cha menu features handmade dumplings — Jacky recommends ordering the coriander ones if you’re a coriander fan. Easy House is also easy on the wallet, an attribute not all vegan establishments can boast.