The wraps are freshly hand-made daily by the owner's mother and the meat is premium wagyu slow roasted for 12 to 15 hours - that's what they call a kebab at Gerard's Bistro in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley.
Sunshine Coast Tourism chose one of Brisbane's favourite bistros to share their exciting plans for 2016, a year which promises much for the region including increased visitation from around the world.
Gerard's chef Ben Williamson explained the robust Middle Eastern flavours on the mod Oz share food that have become the four-year-old bistro's signature.
Ben spent five years living and travelling in the Middle East and although the menu strongly reflects that with harissa, preserved lime and spices such as ras el hanout, there's also a strong bond with local produce.
"We have relationships with organic farms on the Sunshine Coast that just grow for a few restaurants and use David Blackmore's highly regarded, full blood wagyu brisket for the slow roast," says Ben.
Our lunch menu is peppered with Gerard's classics. These are the dishes that survived many menu changes and will never be taken off.
The meal starts with organic house made bread accompanied by smoked cultured butter. It's almost too hard to resist a second piece.
The bekaa wings, a middle eastern influenced buffalo wing with harissa made from red chillies sourced from the Sunshine Coast, arrive next. They are spicy and my lips feel like they belong to a Hollywood starlet.
It's a deliciously messy dish to consume (do not order this on a first date if appearances matter to you) but it's accompanied by slim round disks that magically transform into scented napkins when you place them in water. It also provides much amusement for the table guests.
Slow cooked for 12-14 hours roasted with a spice crust on the outside, the brisket is broken up on the table so we can add it to our kebabs if desired.
The restaurant owner's mother, Selma, makes the flatbread for the diners everyday. It's around 1000 pieces a week on a big, heavy upside plate that looks like an upside down wok with a fire underneath it.
There's a selection of extras, laham nayyeh, harissa, preserved lime, shallot, picked cucumber and egg yolk to add to the kebab.
Fried cauliflower with tahini and as el hanout, smoked almond and sprinkled with pomegrante adds a whole new dimension to this versatile vegetable.
The prettiest dish is mars polow - a concoction of aged rice, saffron, sour berries, hazelnuts, almonds and pistachio.
Ed+bK rating: 4.5/5 stars
If you delight in robust flavours, share plates and something out of the ordinary, this is the place for you.
Disclaimer: Ed+bK was a guest of Sunshine Coast Tourism