Jade Buddha

LOCATION
On the beautiful Brisbane river in the heart of the city herself.

PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA
A relaxed mood encapsulates the restaurant, set with Balinese style waterfall, bamboo detailing, classic ivory lanterns, splashes of bold colour and distinctive echo of soft lounge music. But it is the magnificent position of the venue, sprawling out over the beautiful Brisbane river, that creates the true magic in this place. The views of the twinkling city lights, highlighted by the gleaming river by night are truly superb – a must for any local or visitor to the city. Jade Buddha’s menu manages to create an ambitious oriental mix with a hint of modern flare with tasty menu items like creamy lamb vindaloo, Chinese vegetable stack, and Balinese style lamb (tender lamb strips, snow peas and toasted coconut tossed in Indonesian spices on a bed of jasmine rice). The new addition to the menu – tasty Butter Chicken, with tender chicken breast pieces cooked in a rich cream, tomato and butter sauce – is also worth a try.

Tempting options from the devilish dessert menu include the brave “chocolate Buddha” – a saucy chocolate pudding served with creamy chocolate and vanilla ice-cream, finished with vanilla cream and thick rich chocolate shavings. The traditional New York baked cheesecake also catches the eye. Add a steaming pot of organic loose-leaf Japanese sencha tea and you’ve captured your own oriental piece of heaven. Jade Buddha is renowned for its events; some great offers include early bird dinners, spectacular weekly lunch specials, free chocolate fondue on some evenings and seemingly daily happy-hour at the bar. The Sunday afternoon barbecue, with live jazz instrumentals, is a fantastic way to end the weekend with options from the grill including grain-fed sirloin steak or Morton Bay bugs, prawn and swordfish skews for an unbeatable $10!

Katharine Chapman