Shiraz Authentic Persian Restaurant

Visited 27/12/2018, Gold Coast

**Dairy Free Approved/ Vegan Options** 3106 Surfers Paradise Boulevard, Surfers Paradise, QLD, Australia

After a long day of exhausting myself, there was nothing I was looking forward to more than a fulfilling dinner. I took to my trusty ‘Zomato’ app and began looking, not long before happening upon Shiraz, listed with a formidable 4.4/5. I’ve had no previous experience with Persian cuisine or Middle Eastern cuisine in general so I thought I’d take this chance to try something new.

I found Shiraz from across the street with ease, even though I had only dim street lights to use to find it. Outside of Shiraz was a row of family-occupied wooden tables and simple plastic chairs that spilled out onto the side walk. As I got nearer, I caught the eye of a man in a colorful suit who was standing at threshold of the restaurant. He beckoned me inside the tall wooden doors furiously, grinning from ear to ear; I could just feel the words ‘owner’ radiating from him.

The inside of Shiraz is barely decorated and utilitarian, the only point of interest being the massive mirrors placed at both ends and the brick accent wall that separates the kitchen from the main floor. Shiraz is what a food court might look like if you separated food vendors by walls. Although there is nothing notable about its interior, that did not curb my excitement, if anything, its places like this that does great food. The large crowd of already feasting families affirmed to me that I’d made a good choice coming to Shiraz.

After being served water, I scanned the very enticing and yet informative menu. Each food had its own picture, description, as well as its allergen information. All meats were also promised to be Halal. I appreciated the keen attention Shiraz paid towards catering to people with dietary restrictions. There is even a whole 2 page spread dedicated to Vegetarian and Vegan appropriate meals, adaptations from their meat based dishes, without the meat.

Ordering was a simple affair as the waitress was accommodating and understanding, even though we took a long time to order. She knew the inside-outs of the menu and where there might be sources of dairy. She did however, have to confirm with the kitchens about the rice several times but that wasn’t an issue.

Sources Of Dairy/ Changes I Made

• The salad that comes on the side of most mains includes homemade mayonnaise which isn’t Dairy Free, ask for the Dairy Free (DF) option which is an olive oil and lemon dressing
• White Rice is made with butter, ask for the Dairy Free (DF) option of plain white rice
• Yellow Rice is made with butter, ask for the Dairy Free (DF) option of plain yellow rice
• Green Rice is made with butter, can’t be made Dairy Free
• Most proteins are Dairy Free (DF), but ask just to be sure

What I Ate Safely After Making Changes/ Dairy Free (DF)

• Lamb Shank With Baghali Polo – Persian Dill Rice ($25)
• Gheymeh – Braised Lamb Chunks In A Tomato Base With Split Yellow Peas ($20)
• Soltan Platter- Minced Lamb, Minced Chicken and Fish Skewers ($49)

The rice with the absence of butter is a tad drier compared to buttered rice but I found it made no difference otherwise. The rice was fragrant due to the saffron and had a great chew, its grains separated and not sticky.

The lamb across all the dishes weren’t gamey whatsoever, the lamb shank in particular was extremely tender, falling apart from the bone, tearing so finely that you could see the individual meat grains. The taste was nondescript throughout the lamb except for the outer layer, which tasted slightly of dill and some turmeric-like spice. It had the largest portion of rice of all the mains, which I think is because the shank was quite a generous size. I definitely think it was the most cost-worthy meal of the night.

I was quite surprised to see slivers of what looked like crackers atop the stew, as no other stew with a textural component comes to mind. Taste wise, its didn’t add much, but it might have been a way to absorb the stew. The stew itself tasted like any other spiced tomato based stew would; savory and tomato-y, it was the least surprising meal of the night to me. It had a little back-of-the-throat spice kick that you wouldn’t have pin-pointed just looking at it. I did quite enjoy how the hearty it was because of the yellow peas, I imagine it would be something one grows up eating.

Onto my favorite dish of the night, the meat assortment platter. All the meats were springy(?) for a lack of a better word and tender, with clean flavors and had a wonderful charred quality. There was hardly any spice to the meats, so the true flavors of the lamb and chicken really shone from the grilling process. They tasted distinctly different from each other, the chicken in particular tasted lemony and the most spiced up, although the well salted and subtly turmeric spiced fish was my personal favorite. It would be this dish I’d go back for if I were to ever visit the Gold Coast again.

It wasn’t a cheap meal but I think it was a reasonable price to pay for some traditional food I wouldn’t have many chances to experience elsewhere. We also left very satisfied and well served, I can’t recommend Shiraz’s hospitality enough.