A dear and distant friend's first solo art exhibition drew us from Brisbane to the Gold Coast, and we scheduled in some veg eating too. Reader Fiona first recommended Easy House to us in an email more than a year ago; Matt echoed her endorsement in a more recent message.
Our timing didn't permit us to test out Easy House's yum cha but we did stop by for dinner. The menu runs to more than 80 dishes - fried entrees, soups, tofu, vegetables, lots of mock meats, hot pots, rice and noodle dishes. Many of them were familiar from other Chinese-style vegetarian menus, but we found a couple of novel dishes to order.
The vegetarian roast goose ($14.80) was made primarily of layered bean curd skin, with a few finely chopped mushrooms and other vegetables tucked in between to boost the umami element. The curd was melt-in-the-mouth tender and perfectly contrasted with a crispy-battered shell. The accompanying sauce was more sweet than sour, but still welcome.
We doubled down on deep-fry with the salt and pepper eel fillets ($16.80). These didn't deviate from the glutenous faux-fish I've eaten elsewhere but I wasn't disappointed - there's something almost electric about the seasoning that I can't imagine replicating at home.
The Easy House atmosphere is a little stark, and more customers seemed interested in takeaway than eating in, but we received very helpful and timely service. The menu is extensive and the quality and price of the dishes we tried compares favourably with the Chinese-style mock meats we've eaten elsewhere. I hope we can cook up other reasons to visit again, ideally for yum cha next time.
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Easy House has already earned blog love on definatalie.com and Delicous Encounters.
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Easy House
8/90 Markeri St, Mermaid Waters QLD
(07) 5572 8808
veg dishes $4.80-18.80
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Accessibility: There's a small step up into the restaurant (see photo above) and tables inside are quite crowded. We ordered at the table and paid at a high counter. We didn't visit the toilets but I noticed another diner borrowing a key, presumably to access them elsewhere in the mall.
Very cool...wish I knew about this place when I was in the area last year. It's on the list for next time.
ReplyDeleteHa! I love that you used the word "electric" to describe eel.
ReplyDeleteThat's very cool that you went there and ordered off the menu - I have to admit, I never have! I think I've had a bit of someone else's something, though. In most cases, my understanding is that they make their own seitan, gluten, etc - which means it often is a little bit different, and less consistently textured than other places.
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