An Absolute Must Dining Experience in Brisbane - Meet the Da Biuso Bus, Plus Recipe

By Laura Rancie.

Probably the most famous train in the world was the Orient Express with exotic routes such as Paris, Istanbul, Athens and Brussels - synonymous with intrigue and luxury, frequented by Royals, diplomats and spies!

 

Featured in famous literature, films and television, from Bram Stoker’s Dracula to the famous Murder on the Orient Express, Bond’s From Russia with Love through to Mission: Impossible 7 and countless more. 

The good news is you don’t need to be Royal, a diplomat or a covert spy to enjoy the glamour of a bygone era. Meet Da Biuso – a fine dining service inside a fully renovated 12-seater bus, where high-end hospitality endures and every detail is as carefully considered as a first-class ticket on the Orient Express.

 

I sat down with Biagio Biuso of Da Biuso and his wife Sarah recently to talk all things Sicilian and the influence behind their unique idea. The bus’s interior is influenced by the elegance of old-world historic dining carriages, with a modern flair. Inside you’ll find a thoughtfully designed dining area adorned with unique dinnerware, glistening silverware and a charming warmth inviting you to let all your cares slip away as you are treated to a first-class degustation experience, meticulously prepared with passion and creativity every step of the way. 

Before meeting with the charming couple, I made sure to familiarise myself with the menu to try and ask an impressive interview question. I didn’t need to impress; they met me with all the warmth and hospitality that you would expect entering a European home, greeted with open arms and sincerity. 

It’s the Italian equivalent of an amuse bouche in French. It’s something tantalising, exciting, to tease. Before you eat you put something in your mouth to make you more hungry. That’s why we start with it

 

We had owned restaurants in the past, but with the COVID lockdowns, there were so many restrictions with proximity and the number of people allowed. I didn’t want to keep closing and opening an entire restaurant. Our lease at the time was shortly expiring and we saw a tram carriage in Newcastle for sale.

 

The idea was to have something mobile and small. Sarah and I went down to look at it and said you know what, we could do a nice restaurant in the tram. It was almost perfect, but just too small because I couldn’t fit a kitchen. From there, we started to form an idea of a double-decker bus, a moving restaurant. But then we realised we couldn’t do a double-decker because of the stairs.

 

That was the start of deciding on the bus idea, with a maximum of 20 seats, very comfortable and a professional kitchen was a must. In the end, the kitchen as it is now is even better than I expected. My wife thought it might be too small and stressful having my son (who is also a Chef) and I sharing the kitchen, but in the end, it’s so good. We only serve 12 people at a time and so we have everything we need in close proximity, it's perfect. 

BIAGIO:

I am Italian, from Sicily.  I first came to Australia as a 21-year-old and went straight to Sydney on a working holiday visa to visit a friend. I stayed nine months but, due to visa restrictions, had to return back to Sicily. Eight years later, as a 29-year-old, I returned to Sydney to open a restaurant with this friend who became my business partner. After three-four months I met my wife. Most of my recipes have been passed down by my Mother. I try to recreate the things I remembered eating growing up, whether or not I liked them. I try to recreate them here in different ways. 

 

We are lucky in Sicily because we are surrounded by water, like Tasmania. We have three different seas surrounding us (the Tyrrhenian, Ionian and Mediterranean). This makes it easy to cook seafood and I prefer to cook seafood. It has so much more flavour because it's saltier. The seasons are less pronounced, the climate is more temperate. We are not better, we are just lucky.

 

There are lots! I always try to think about what I ate when I was younger and incorporate that into my menus. Things that I make the most now, are actually things I didn’t like growing up. I remember my Mother saying: "EAT! Pasta with potato … EAT! Pasta with broccoli”. 

Those are the recipes I have tried to make as a Chef, to cook them with new perspective.

When you become a Chef, you make food that recreates those past memories. 

Yes. I’ve been in hospitality since I was 14. I'm Sicilian and like food and like cooking! (He says effortlessly, as if it’s a given that being Sicilian and cooking obviously go together). 

But I take inspiration from every country. Obviously, my favourite country is Italy, second to that, France, because I am always trying to understand what they do with their sauces. I also love Japanese cuisine. 

People think that when you go to an Italian restaurant you have to eat spaghetti Bolognese or lasagna. Da Biuso is a fusion of everything. Chefs invent things. If you’re a Chef you have to create what you think is best and that can be from any country. I’m Italian, but my food is international and heavily influenced from the sea. 

 

(He laughs). 

Some days it’s good, most of the time it’s good. I get to see my wife every day. I also see my son every day. In Australia, when you have a son or daughter in their 20s you may not see them as much. Here I’m lucky. I get to work with my son next to me every day. 

A lot of the recipes are passed down from his Mother. His family are incredible cooks too. Even just eating at his sister's or mother's homes - they’re amazing cooks! In that regards, it's an entire family affair. 

Give me any ingredient and I will work with it. I love anything that is new and to be able to create something different. If I go to the market and see something I haven’t cooked with before, I like to try to create something with it.  In Italy, we eat seasonally. That is different in Australia, especially 25 years ago when I came here. I would go to the supermarket in Australia and see mushrooms and tomatoes every week of the year but in Italy we only have broccoli in the season, we only have strawberries in the season. When you eat that way, the taste is completely different.   But the meat is better in Australia. I prefer the meat here than in Europe. It's better quality. 

It took me a few years into our marriage to find out what a true artist Biagio is. That creativity comes through in his food and his passion for what he does. That’s quite special about him. He is creative and passionate about what he does. He’s always been that way. 

He doesn’t like being asked what his favourite dish is because it is always going to be what he creates tomorrow. He is such an innovative thinker, he’s always trying to learn something, to improve something, to make something new. 

He loves to bring the very best of himself to all of his customers and give them the best experience he possibly can. 

We have been operating at Ascot Green, inside Eagle Farm Racecourse, but the first week of August we are moving to Bretts Wharf, down on the waterfront. We have different locations in next two months, including the Botanic Gardens and Kangaroo Point. We work a lot with the council to secure different locations. But we can go anywhere, private property for weddings or events for example. 

 

We all together came up with it. But Biagio is the ideas man. Obviously, being Italian he has lots of class, he is very stylish. We had a vision and a picture of what we wanted to recreate, a beautiful old-world dining car.  Everybody’s reaction has been incredible! 

I think we’ve absolutely nailed it! It just feels beautiful. When people step on board and I’m looking directly at them, they have a smile on their face like they’re so excited and can’t believe where they are. We’re creating a memory and an experience. People just can’t believe the quality of the food and the wine selection and that’s what we’re trying to give. 

 

I feel like I have been in a very special place, transported by passion and creativity to a semi-tangible/semi-made-up world of imagination and aspiration. Transported to Da Biuso! My feelings are that when you dine aboard the degustation bus, you are stepping into a slice of Sicily, into someone’s home that has been patiently and excitedly waiting for you. Slowly preparing the ingredients, the table, the atmosphere, the experience. Wanting to share a part of themselves with you! 

For Chef Biagio Biuso's Minestra di Mare recipe, click here