‘50 types of 2-minute noodles’: New Brisbane restaurant rolling out fun twist on fast snack

Two-minute noodles will be given a gourmet overhaul at a new eatery. FIND OUT THE DETAILS

“We want to see if we can do the best two-minute noodles ever.”

That’s the ambitious goal of former fine dining chef Vince Moefa’auo for his new Fortitude Valley venture Mr Duncans.

The mammoth 280-seat venue won’t just be a restaurant, but a dining and drinking destination, boasting five separate kitchens, plus a bar in China Town Mall.

A render of the dining room at the new Mr Duncans in Fortitude Valley.

Each kitchen will serve different fare to ensure there’s something for every guest no matter what their mood, with a grill offering, pizza and pasta selection, a southeast Asian kitchen with a focus on Chinese and Hong Kong cuisine, an all-day cafe and pancake house, plus a Korean and Japanese outfit, dishing out those pimped-up two-minute noodles.

The noodle idea came to Mr Moefa’auo, who previously worked at award-winning Brisbane fine dine Esquire and Melbourne institution Vue de Monde, while holidaying in Japan. Inspired by the country’s affinity for ramen, he wanted to create something lighter and more fun that was great value for money in a cost-of-living crisis.

“We’ve talked about doing onion stocks, chicken stocks that will make these two-minute noodles great,” he said.

“It’s like, let’s make basic things and see if we can make them better than what they are.”

He has so far imagined a whopping 50 different varieties of the noodles – many incorporating techniques he learnt during his fine dining days – with the plan to sell them for just $10 a bowl.

The adventurous, playful approach won’t stop with just noodles, however, with Mr Moefa’auo wanting the entire menu at Mr Duncans to be full of the unexpected.

He has hired acclaimed fine dining and ex-Urbane chef Kym Machin to develop dishes outside the ordinary, with the likes of a kangaroo pasta, tuna tataki pizza and 1kg eye fillets to make the cut.

“The biggest thing is to be fun, casual and have a high-end expectation on ourselves to create great food,” Mr Moefa’auo said.

A render of the dining room at the new Mr Duncans in Fortitude Valley.

That also means reading the market and changing the menu frequently depending on what customers are asking for.

The menu will also cover off on all price points, with an affordable offering served up by day to particularly target nearby workers, including burgers, house-made, open English muffins with toppings, and a gourmet pork and gravy roll featuring porchetta and chips. Meanwhile, by night things will be taken up a notch, with the likes of whole fish, crabs and lobsters from the grill kitchen, gourmet ravioli and tortellini from the pasta kitchen, Chinese duck and chilli-style crabs from the southeast Asian kitchen, and sashimi and nigiri at the Japanese/Korean kitchen.

“We don’t want to do what everyone else is doing,” Mr Moefa’auo said.

“Everything will be classic but with a twist or a modern interpretation.”

Patrons will be able to order all the cuisines from the one menu, with staff servicing all five kitchens to make for a seamless dining experience; while takeaway will be available, too, from breakfast until dessert.

A render of the dining room at the new Mr Duncans in Fortitude Valley.

Also tipped to be a drawcard will be Mr Duncans’ bar.

Former Aria sommelier and owner of Albion bottle shop Wineism, Ian Trinkle is being consulted to create the on-trend wine list; while there will also be beer on tap, funky and fun cocktails and mocktails, and even alcoholic ice creams.

The bar will also service the cafe and pancake house during the day, pouring everything from bubble and iced teas to orange juice slurpees for breakfast.

“The bar will be as crazy as everything else,” Mr Moefa’auo said.

Mr Duncans is pushing for a mid-February opening, with the plan to launch just in time for China Town Mall’s Lunar New Year celebrations.

Originally published as ‘50 types of 2-minute noodles’: New Brisbane restaurant rolling out fun twist on fast snack