It's a kooky and theatrical warehouse bar and eating house blinged up with red-and-black colour palette, disco balls, neon signs, parasols and ninjas. Kwan Brothers is the fifth in Damien Griffiths’ line-up of hospitality houses, four of which dominate this one Fortitude Valley block – they're fast becoming a food precinct all their own.
Kwan's menu of Asian street food with a modern twist is no doubt the only place in town that playfully offers guests a Morning Glory (Asian greens, garlic shoot and yellow beans, $12.90) and a Happy Ending, more commonly called dessert (all $14.90).
It’s housed behind an industrial, loading-dock roller door in what was an old noodle factory run by the brothers Kwan. Doof-doof thuds around diners’ heads, whether they’re perched at one of the long share tables or at the bar overlooking the shining, mirror-backed, stainless steel kitchen.
Go hard on those beautiful bao sliders. The soft-shell crab version comes battered and fried with chilli jam, Vietnamese mint and fried garlic on a light fold of steamed bun pastry ($12.90 for two). The pork belly one has red dragon sauce, pickled daikon, coriander and a heavenly crunch of toasty peanuts ($9.90 for two). The ground beef grilled in betel leaf with curry and peanut ain't too shabby either (two skewers for $14.90).
Eat in, take away or if you're lucky enough to live nearby you qualify for home delivery of food and booze seven days a week. But we reckon Kwan Brothers is best experienced in-house because it’s awesome and you just have to be there to dig it.