Stepping foot in Bazaar Restaurant, you feel your senses being seduced by the heady scent of exotic dishes, soft lighting and the ultra chic luxe décor. Created to evoke the experience of a more traditional food bazaar of old and boasting a menu incorporating "Tastes of the World", Bazaar Restaurant has taken the traditional concept of buffet style dining and given it a modern edge and flavour of such proportion; it could be likened to injecting a little person full of steroids and watching him turn into the Incredible Hulk.
Image courtesy of Bazaar Restaurant website
qtgoldcoast.com.au/food-drink/bazaar
After being seated, I peruse the wine list and order a bottle of Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. Otherwise known as mother's milk to me, (which probably explains my healthy dysfunctional relationship with the bottle), a stint living in the land of the long rain cloud taught me that the Marlborough has produced and will continue to produce some of the best Sauvignon Blancs to be found on an international scale. Also on a personal note it is a sacrilege not to have a glass or ten of white wine when indulging in quality seafood.
Casting an eye over the vast array of dining options on display, while savouring the Cloudy Bay's crisp and fruity bouquet, I realise I need some sort of game plan, which would enable me to try everything without internally combusting. I decide I have to skip the soup option and head straight for the seafood, (a tip for all the amateurs out there, with buffet style dining the soup course can often make or break you!). So instead, I dive into the seafood, armed with tongs and plenty of gusto, layering scallops in the shell with mussels, oysters and prawns, before carefully administering the condiments with the precision of a doctor performing open heart surgery.
Image courtesy of Bazaar Restaurant website
qtgoldcoast.com.au/food-drink/bazaar
After reaching a seafood climax, I am lured to the teppanyaki hotplate with the promise of dumplings made to order and slow cooked pork belly. While waiting for the dumplings, my gaze tenderly caresses the other dishes gracing the front of the hotplate before coming to rest on a softly bubbling beef satay and a Thai green chicken curry, simmering away gently in an aromatic coconut milk bath. Like saying goodbye to a lover, I promise myself another meeting with these two old friends before turning to await my dumplings.
The Asian chef guarding the hotplate dexterously plies the crowd with baskets of pork and prawn dumplings, skills honed like a martial arts black belt, balancing towers of steaming glutinous morsels while the crowds salivate like a wolf pack around a tender baby lamb. As he alerts the onlookers of slow cooked pork belly about to be served, I take great pleasure in noting all of those groaning from over excess who are about to miss out, what a shame I gloat, all the more for me!
Image courtesy of Bazaar Restaurant website
qtgoldcoast.com.au/food-drink/bazaar
Next round, (by this time I've lost count or am too embarrassed to recall the number!), I slowly saunter over to the pièce de résistance; pork on the spit, graced by broccolini, asparagus, baby carrots and new potatoes. Beckoning me from the away from the majestic meat centerpiece are lamb shanks in a rich gravy, which I have to sample, the meat falling off the bone with only a little coaxing from my fork.
To the right of the shanks, a number of people are lining up for steaks cooked to order. While I am a tried and true carnivore, I would have required multiple stomach's of bovine proportions to be able to consume a steak after I had grappled with my shank.
While I did miss my Italian cousins, the pizza and pasta options, along with the cold meat selection, which included pancetta, salami and some exquisitely plump little pepperdews stuffed with feta, I had to keep my eyes on the prize, the dessert counter.
Image courtesy of Bazaar Restaurant website
qtgoldcoast.com.au/food-drink/bazaar
From the light as a feather tiramisu to the creamy pannacotta, the desserts were flawless. Death by chocolate would have been a happy ending for me, if it had included Bazaar's mousse. For those overwhelmed by the incredible range on display, there is even a tasting plate of hand picked desserts that could be ordered to reduce even the most discerning foodies to an ecstasy of sweet surrender.
Dinner for adults at Bazaar is priced at $69 while children under 12 years pay $21 and toddlers under 4 dine free of charge. The table service is outstanding and the variety of dining options available, cater to every taste and occasion.
Bazaar Restaurant also offers breakfast and lunch options and weekend specials with accommodation in the QT apartments, within which the restaurant is situated. The only disappointing aspect of visiting Bazaar is that at some point you will have to leave and they won't let you take the dumpling chef with you!
