AMERICAN DREAM
Equal parts sweet and sassy, Fufu takes fusion fare to drool-worthy new levels at Mermaid Beach
FUFU
2375 GOLD COAST HIGHWAY, MERMAID BEACH
Call: 5572 5008
Open: Wednesday and Thursday from 5pm until late, Friday from noon until late, weekends from 10am until late
IF anyone ever told Morgan Walsh not to play with her food, the restaurateur thankfully ignored them. The creator of Bonita Bonita and Poke Poke’s newest venture, Fufu, is pure fun, wholeheartedly embracing its American-Chinese diner destiny from pink-powered decor to cheeky fusion fare to transform a once-ill-fated site on the Gold Coast Highway.
Whether you remember it as the home of a short-lived health shrine to Ashy Bines or grungy burgers, a strategic reno has rendered it unrecognisable.
The challenging circular space is crammed with foliage, fringed umbrellas and sassy signage. Two blokes and a robot drummer from live electronic act Free the Genie look like they’re having the time of their lives in one corner, while pinkbow-ponytailed waitresses thread their way through a young, vibrant crowd to velvetclad booths. Diners sip fizzy, foamy spiders or clutch colourdrenched cocktails like the dragonfruit, blueberry and soda Fufujito. They’re not the main event, but a handful of wellchosen beers and wines has the conventional covered, leaving you more scope to make a dent in the packed pastelprinted menus.
Bao are as a good a place as any to start, with one of the biggest, sauciest collection of combinations on the Coast, including soft-shelled crab, yuzu bearnaise and pickled onions ($9) and pork belly and five-spice pineapple jam ($9). I doubled up on the Moreton Bay bug with kimchi and a tweaked tartare ($9.50).
Swap the soft, sweet buns for lettuce leaves if you’re being good … just be warned, it’s only the start of temptation designed to derail the diet.
If you make it past fried, molten-centred mozzarella sticks with sweet and sour mayo ($7) you may well fall at the uncannily accurate cheeseburger spring roll ($9 … and don’t tell me they’re not blending up Happy Meals, ’cos I’m not buying it).
Still standing firm? How about indecently tender beef cheek jaffles wrapped in flaky puff pastry with gooey cheese and sarsaparilla and plum sauce ($12) or an even cheesier crab mac ’n’ cheese ($13).
While these made-forsocial-media munchies get the bulk of attention, there are pops of light relief for when the craving-compelled comfort food gets too much. The delicately dressed watercress and pomegranate duck salad ($18) is the standout for me.
Two spoons and one Happy Endings sundae ($11) seemed in spirit for dessert, but if you want to avoid the inevitable fight over the single cherry on top try the lamington pancake with ice cream balls, red bean jam, coconut and chocolate ($14).
If you have a fiver and a free Wednesday night, head along to tomorrow’s $5 bao bash from 5pm. Live music and drink specials contribute to a hard-tobeat hump day vibe.
It’s not a bad way to wait for the next instalment from the imagination of Morgan … a vego eatery tipped for the adjacent cafe formerly known as Vintage and Steele & Co.