There’s an enviable and infectious liveliness to modern Vietnamese restaurant Jimmy Wah’s in Burleigh Heads’ booming dining precinct. Now considered one of the stalwarts of the area among a new wave of operations, the contemporary, casual eatery remains just as fresh as the day it opened six years ago.

Keeping it current is the vibrancy of the menu, which takes traditional Vietnamese dishes but dials up the flavour. Take the banh mi, which sandwiches sweet tempura battered soft-shelled crab between the lightest and crispiest of rolls punched up with bitey well-dressed slaw. Or perhaps the wok-tossed squid in a drinkable sour, spicy broth.

But the absolute must-order is the Vietnamese pancake banh xeo. Snapping like a corn chip, the batter of coconut milk, turmeric and rice flour arrives like an open panini loaded with pork mince, prawns, pickled cucumber and bean sprouts, ready to be filled with fresh herbs and wrapped inside lettuce leaves.

If you can handle intense heat, team it with the tongue tingling, sriracha-laced chilli margarita; or perhaps a glass of riesling from the food-focused global list that covers as many varieties as it does regions. 

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