Robina goes Mad for new Asian fusion eatery at The Kitchens

Mad Dining at new Robina Restaurant

Before owning a restaurant dynasty, Stanley Lee – the brains behind the recently opened Mad Asian Kitchen and Bar at Robina Town Centre – started out washing dishes and working as a kitchen hand at an unassuming little Chinese restaurant in Varsity Lakes.

While that old restaurant is still in exactly the same place it was back then, Stanley has gone on to become a successful restaurateur – opening his first eatery, Saiko Teppanyaki, three years ago at the iconic and super-trendy Emporium in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.

Years later, Stanley – who still calls Robina home – brought some of the big city to Robina. He opened the doors to his second stylish Saiko Teppanyaki on Level 2 of ‘The Kitchens’, adjacent to his latest uber-funky venture, Mad Asian.

Over the years, Stanley has sliced and diced his way through many teppanyaki hotspots – appearing regularly at Gold Coast mainstays Shogun, Benihana, Kamikaze and Arigatou.

Moving away from teppanyaki this time around, Mad Asian’s menu fuses Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian and Vietnamese influences, with a very obvious focus on immaculate, stylised presentation.

Stanley says he dreamed up the entire lunch and share-style dinner menu at Mad Asian himself, based on “foods that I want to eat”.

Mad Asian spices things up with an array of Asian-themed dishes – from gyoza and kushiage to rice and noodle favourites, stir-fries, curries and sizzling specialties.

“I created the menu for me,” he laughs. It’s all food that I wanted to eat and really wanted to share with the Gold Coast.

“I already had two restaurants with Saiko, but they were both teppanyaki-style eateries and I have always dreamed of opening an Asian fusion restaurant.

“My family is originally from Hong Kong – I moved to Australia when I was seventeen years old, but have travelled and eaten throughout Asia, and I’ve always been around a lot of Chinese and Japanese food in particular.

“Mad Asian is all about me bringing all those different styles of foods and personal influences together in one place for everyone to enjoy.”

But it’s not only about the food. When fitting out Mad Asian, Stanley opted for an eclectic, funky, Japanese izakaya-style setting that provides distinctly different experiences for day and night time diners.

The modern and trendy 200-seat restaurant also includes an intimate, traditional tatami dining room and an impressive 10m-long bar boasting a jaw-dropping selection of tap beer, whiskies, sake, small-batch gins and Asian-inspired cocktails.

“During the day, we offer a brighter, casual and modern dining atmosphere, but at night – that’s when Mad Asian has a much darker, moodier and more intimate feeling…much like a traditional Japanese izakaya,” Stanley says.

“I’ve gone for a really eclectic design at Mad Asian, with everything from traditional Asian cherry blossoms and lanterns through to samurai swords and empty Japanese whisky bottles hanging in mid-air.

“The fit-out is perfect for everyone really – we offer indoor or alfresco dining for shoppers during the day who want something a little more casual.

“At night time, it’s perfect for a romantic and intimate dinner for a couple or small and large groups.

“We are a very family-friendly restaurant as well, and offer a free kids meal with every adult meal from 5-6pm every day of the week.”

Dine at Mad Asian Robina

Book your Mad Asian Kitchen and Bar dining experience today:

(07) 5575 9498
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Stanley’s top eats and drinks to enjoy at Mad Asian

Entrees

Yakitori skewers: traditional grilled Japanese-style chicken skewers with a slightly sweet barbecue sauce. Oishii desu!
Spicy tuna: Stanley’s unique and experimental dish – a delicious combination of raw tuna, cucumber and chilli mayo ‘dip’ scooped with fried lotus root chips.
Beef tataki: Cooked in a ‘tataki’ style, this melt-in-your mouth dish tastes even better than it looks, with beautifully presented tender beef strips dressed in pineapple, coriander, chilli and house soy dressing.

Mains

Chicken curry: Chicken in a full-flavoured spicy curry sauce, not dissimilar to a Japanese katsu curry – overflowing with flavour from onions, capsicums, garlic and chilli.
Wok-fried chicken: A traditional stir-fried dish with chicken, greens and noodles that exemplifies the simple perfection of street-style Asian food.