PLANT POWER

Cardamom Pod has created a stir on social media with their picture perfect creations which taste just as good as they look

STILL think you can’t make friends with salad? You haven’t experienced the flood of “likes” that follows posting one of The Cardamom Pod’s Instafamous smoothie bowls.

The Ferry Rd vegetarian haven truly is the eatery built by popular demand.

When the team couldn’t keep up with demand for breakfasts in their original Broadbeach base, they opened a second site, at Southport, dedicated entirely to their appetising a la carte artistry. It lives up to the hype. With multiple elements and monster portions, so much work goes into every picture on a plate.

There’s also the creativity required to circumnavigate the breakfast default of bacon and egg.

The French toast ($19) looks particularly exotic, with a chia-seed mix used in place of the traditional egg-based coating and heart-shaped swirls of vanilla bean cashew crème and rhubarb compote. Pistachio dust and salted caramel sauce complete the decadent package.

A hot-pink swipe of beetroot hummus livens up the classic avo on a bagel ($17), accessorised with vine tomatoes, dukkah, crunchy chickpeas and herb-infused cream cheese.

The peanut butter and berry jam smoothie bowl ($18) takes the GC fitspo staple to the next level. Laced with homemade white chocolate, it’s brimming with almond and cranberry granola, a raw peanut butter cup and loads of fresh fruit.

The big breakfast is kind of redundant when everything is this satisfying, but there’s a version all the same: the Pod Humongous Brekkie ($22).

The plate’s piled high with homemade “sausage”, tomato chutney, sauteed mushrooms, beans, asparagus, avocado, greens and toast.

Refreshments are also abundant, from superfood smoothies and mocktails to organic tea and Botanica coffee.

The team seem to take visible pleasure in introducing diners to their ethos, another reason it’s not just vegetarians who become regulars. 3/3 BROLGA AVENUE, SOUTHPORT

Get it while it’s hot: Breakfast daily from 7.30am Hungry? Numtella pumpkin protein pancakes with espresso crème, homemade healthy Nutella, berries and caramelised hazelnuts ($19) Healthy? Acai or pitaya bowls blended with homemade macadamia and apricot granola, mango and spurilina crème ($18)