Last Friday we attended a decadent, long-table feast featuring picture-perfect vegan cheesecake, authentic Indian curries, oozy baked cheese tarts, and handmade Indonesian noodles. Surprisingly, this indulgent banquet lunch transpired the in Rundle Place Food Court.
The venue has undergone renovations recently, and now has a variety of new vendors to choose from. We were lucky enough to be invited to get a taste of the refreshed food court, enjoying over twenty different dishes from vendors such as Bing Boy, Burger Addiction, Soonta, and Hokkaido. It was not your traditional food court fare.
‘We pride ourselves on providing healthier options; you won’t find any KFC or Maccas here!’ Says Rundle Place Marketing Manager, Koula Di Biase.
Rundle Place certainly has an emphasis on fresh, healthy, and quality food. Even the food court’s resident burger joint, Burger Addiction, is much healthier than its competitors. New kids on the block include Adelaide institution Beyond India and the flavourful Bakmi Lim Noodle Project.
We were able to meet some of the heroes behind the dishes, from both the new and old food court residencies. We then dove right in to a fun, filling, and fresh lunchtime feast. While we tried a lot of tantalising dishes from a variety of cultures, we would have to say that the Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tarts were our favourites. However, the impressive platter of vegan desserts from T-Bar was a tasty challenger.
Aside from the sweet stuff, highlights included slurping back super-fresh, spinach-infused noodles from Bakmi Lim, and absolutely devouring the 14-hour beef nachos from Salsa’s. We also enjoyed the traditional Turkish Pida from Yiros Plus. The food was so good that we took lunchboxes home with us! Needless to say, we will be back for more soon.
Meet the Food Creators:
Soonta: Michael
Koula dubs Michael one of Rundle Place’s ‘most loved retailers’. Since Soonta’s inception over 8 years ago, 7 venues have opened across SA. The Rundle Place installation is definitely a favourite with both the students and the office workers who visit the food court. Michael shyly admits that he, ‘Didn’t think it would be this big!’ He says that the most popular option on the menu is the roast pork belly, which takes 12 hours to cook!
Beyond India: Surindea
Beyond India is an Adelaide institution. The restaurant opened in 1999, but the new Rundle Place installation is the first food court spot that the brand has had. Surindea tells us that he’s looking forward to the new location, which will bring Beyond India’s authentic Indian cuisine to Adelaidians looking for a quick lunch. Beyond India features dishes (and chefs!) from all across India’s different regions, but don’t use an excessive amount of oils.
Bakmi Lim: David
David Lim started Bakmi Lim after working at Subway, and became inspired to ‘Westernise Indonesian food’ by bringing elements of his culture to Adelaide. Bakmi Lim is all about great noodles. Bakmi means noodles in Indonesian, and Lim is David’s family name. They make their noodles by hand every day, and you can tell how passionate David is about his craft. He says that their menu focuses on dishes that are, ‘Simple, straightforward, and fresh every day.’ Rundle Place is the first food court venue for Bakmi Lim.
Salsa’s: Alicia
Salsa’s fresh mex grill has always provided us with zesty guacamole and hearty burritos. The Rundle Place store is a favourite for lunchtime patrons. Alicia takes us through how the staff make their guacamole fresh daily, telling us that they usually plough through about a 1kg batch every day. She also says that this venue will use anywhere from 10kg to 20kg of tomatoes every single day. Salsa’s even make their own corn chips fresh each morning. After rattling off everything that they make fresh in store every day, Alicia jokes, ‘It keeps us very busy!’
Images: Geena Ho