Cuisines will collide when Southside hosts Baja for a scorcher of a Sunday lunch
What do you get when the head chef of one of Brisbane’s best East Asian restaurants shares the kitchen with his counterpart from a top Mexican eatery? Good things, if the buzz surrounding this forthcoming lunch event is to be believed. On Sunday March 23, Benny Lam from Southside and Julius Villamor from Baja will link up to serve a boldly unique three-course menu combining their respective cooking styles and cuisines. Here’s what’s on offer …
It’s not often that East Asian and Mexican flavours get an opportunity to mingle, which is why we were positively jazzed to hear that two of Brisbane’s finest dining establishments were teaming up to bring together both cuisines for an afternoon of culinary harmony. Baja x Southside Collab is a lunchtime event that will see Benny Lam (the esteemed executive chef behind Southside and Central) and Julius Villamor (the maestro at the helm of Baja’s kitchen) pool their talents for a one-off three-course menu that lends Southside’s bold Asian flavours with Baja’s punchy take on modern Mexican.
The afternoon affair will see guests enjoy a sensational spread, starting with oyster aguachile with mandarin gel and ginger and pina tepache, Rocky Point cobia ceviche with pickled jalapeno, avocado and blood lime, and crab and potato tostadita with jalapeno cream and salmon caviar. This opening salvo will be followed closely by another round of snacks, including barbacoa lamb puffs, crab and pork enchipotlados xiao long bao, and chicken fajitas tacos with Sichuan guacamole.
You might like
After snacks come the mains – we’re talking a shared duck feast featuring Southside’s Peking duck and Baja’s famed duck carnitas, accompanied by tortillas, assorted condiments and salsa, plus grilled corn coated in XO creme, cotija cheese and smoked paprika. A sweet finish will take the form of a Cafeto-laced tres leches tiramisu.
To mark the occasion, Southside’s bar will be slinging an extended menu of agave-based drinks sure to get you in the fiesta mood. Tickets to the collab lunch are limited, so act quick and get yours here before they are all gone.