Mad Asian Restaurant and Bar spices up The Kitchens with sake, cocktails and punchy eats
We’re passionate advocates for Asian cuisine, but we’re often faced with a problem – we struggle to decide which style of Asian food we want when we dine out. Do we go to a Japanese restaurant for agedashi tofu and karaage? Do we go to our favourite Chinese hang for san choy bow or opt for a spicy Malaysian curry? Oh boy, it’s tough. Luckily for us indecisive folk, a spicy new player named Mad Asian Kitchen and Bar is here to solve all of our problems.
The details
Mad Asian Restaurant and Bar is the latest addition to upper level of The Kitchens at Robina Town Centre, occupying the former Honeyeater Kitchen premises and an adjoining vacant space. The expansive share-style eatery and bar is a new venue from Hong Kong-born restaurateur and chef Stanley Lee and the team behind Saiko Teppanyaki, located at both The Kitchens (adjacent to the new Mad Asian premises) and in Fortitude Valley.
The food and drink
Dishing up everything from gyoza to noodles, curries and sizzling plates, the Mad Asian menu is a mixed bag of big flavours, combining Stanley’s Chinese and Japanese backgrounds with tastes from Malaysia, Vietnam and Mongolia. As head chef, Stanley will be overseeing a theatrical open-plan kitchen that will serve lunch and a share-style dinner menu daily. The beef tataki with pineapple, coriander and chilli is a good place to start, before moving to signature dishes like the lightly fried scallop salad with honey-yuzu dressing and the Mad Grandpa prawn curry with green beans and chilli. Want to spice up your life? Go for the fried chicken wings with (very) spicy garlic sauce, or the authentic and punchy Chinese mapo tofu – they both pack a decent punch. As for the drinkables, you’ll find a hefty list of Asian-inspired cocktails on offer, as well as a respectable collection of sake, Japanese whisky and small-batch gins.
The space
The 160-seat restaurant and bar features large group-dining tables, a private tatami dining room and smaller intimate nooks, all circled around an impressive ten-metre-long bar. The seating sprawls out onto the balcony for a fun open-air setting – there’s even a swish timber ping pong table if you’re keen to blow off some steam in between courses. Stanley and the team plan to push Mad Asian’s sake and Japanese whisky offerings, so keep your eyes peeled for tasting nights in the coming months.
You’ll find Mad Asian’s location, opening hours and contact information over in our Stumble Guide.
The Stumble Guide is our comprehensive Gold Coast dining guide with more than 870 places to eat, drink, shop and play.
