The new contemporary Cantonese eatery on the Gold Coast Hwy at Burleigh Heads offers the “Emperor’s feast” for just $50 a person.

Waitstaff choose the dishes and provide enough food to satisfy the New Zealand rugby team.

Diners are fed an incredible 10 courses (we stop after nine, but are pant-splittingly full after six) from their broad and lengthy menu which moves from dim sum small bites such as wontons to noodle and rice dishes such as fried rice or chow fun, then into yum cha options including kung pao chicken, half-roasted duck and Mongolian clay pot beef.

Our affable, learned waitress, from the personable but at times absent team, begins with lotus root chips to be dunked into an aioli fired up with Szechuan pepper.

At first we regret wasting calories on such a basic fried dish, but three chips in and we can’t get enough – some crisp, others with just a slight chew – daubed with that addictive spiced mayo.

Dumplings in various guises arrive with multiple flavours including kale with pea and sweet potato, pork, wagyu, and the unexpected szechuan lamb, which is like a tagine inside a wonton wrapper.

Pork belly is served as crisp, char siu-style, bite-sized cubes, sweet and sticky but fresh with diced apple; while bang bang chicken takes things to the lighter side with the generous portion of sliced poached chicken served over glassy jade noodles and cos leaves splashed with a slightly saccharine sesame dressing.

Salt and Szechuan pepper squid is a little too saline, but the tempura batter coating the tendrils is textbook light and bubbly.

None of the dishes will have you shouting from the rooftops with excitement, but it is certainly solid and of a standard that will easily please the masses. Plus, with 10 courses for $50, it would be rude to complain.

There is also a decent drinks list that’s well matched to the food, featuring old world-style wines, Chinese and Aussie beers and Asian-inspired cocktails including the grapefruit dominant Quat You Talking About, featuring white rum and cumquat liqueur.

But know doubt what makes this casual lunch and dinner venue such an easy choice for diners is the fit-out.

With colourful lanterns hanging from the vine-clad ceiling, an open kitchen, concrete floors and classic bentwood chairs it’s fun and approachable, and has a real buzz.

Sure it can be a little loud, and if you want something quieter there’s footpath dining, but the hum of it all adds to the experience.

If you’re hungry – make that ravenous – but on a budget, Mr Hizola’s is worth a look.