A forerunner in the Gold Coast’s wave of modern Asian eateries, Mamasan remains one of the best bets in quality and sheer scope. If you’re dining in a group, the easiest way to approach the sprawling menu is the chef-selected banquet … if not, prepare for some difficult decisions. Crowd-pleasers are performed with aplomb: Peking duck slices wrapped in breath-thin pancakes with sweet hoisin and plenty of crunch; san choy bau loaded with slow-cooked Byron Bay pork; and Korean fried chicken wings tossed in a lip-tingling sweet and spicy sauce.

Seafood spin-offs – miso cod with dashi broth; sous vide ocean trout; and spanner crab ravioli dumplings in a coconut sambal bisque – are also superb. There’s real danger of filling up before you get to the large share plates (designed for two or three people), but they reward restraint. Orange soy jus adds an element of the unexpected to slow-cooked Cape Grim beef cheeks, while five-spiced plum sauce elevates a Sichuan staple of salted duck.

Western whims characterise the dessert menu, embodied in the sizeable signature chocolate brownie served with toasted sesame ice cream, a salted caramel fortune cookie and candle-nut soil. Sleek cocktails like the lychee, yuzu and rose syrup martini suit the stylish see-and-be-seen setup, but that’s just the tip of the refreshment iceberg, which includes an exhaustive list of spirits.

Specify your preferred style of seating when you book, with high chairs at a communal table or framing the action-packed hive of an open kitchen also available. Keep in mind that a two-hour duration applies to all reservations before 7pm, but Mamasan’s service is generally snappy.

Must-eat dish: Spanner crab ravioli dumplings with scallops, water chestnut and coconut sambal bisque