REVIEWS
Grand Orient, Perth, WAW Brisbane, Qld Faro, Hobart, Tas
IF THE HALLMARKS of a good holiday are memories that sustain you until your next escape, then proof of a solid restaurant has to be the dish that takes your mind hostage, compelling you to order it every single time you return. The culinary kidnapper at new Perth Cantonese restaurant Grand Orient is the Peking duck. Now, I know slivers of roasted skin and tender meat wrapped in hoisin-drizzled pancakes are reliable winners, but this rendition – sliced and served elegantly at the table – sees the eyebrows shoot skyward. The wow factor comes care of the crisp, dark brown shell; it bears a layer of bubbled fat that feels like honeycomb on the tongue. A strip of fried tofu skin – chef ’s secret weapon, perhaps – enhances the sensory sensation. Paper-thin crêpes don’t get in the way of the ducky flavours, while the usual cucumber and spring onions add cooling and freshening elements. See? I’m getting carried away at the mere thought of it. Grand Orient is the flagship fine diner found inside the heritage-listed Melbourne Hotel, up the western end of Perth’s city centre. One of the city’s most iconic buildings, it was renovated and reinvented to the tune of $40 million over three years and reopened in April. Using the hotel’s original 1897 structure as both a defining frame and an aesthetic guide, the place has a grit-meets-design feel with a friendly, boutique vibe – likely the result of being independently owned by a very involved Singaporean family (its patriarch chose the furnishings and styled them himself). On show are raw concrete, coarse brick and pared-back-paint walls that contrast with chic, statement furniture gleaming with gold accents and bright colours. The restaurant blends blood red chairs and icicle lighting with a sage-green feature wall painted like a romantic Chinese fabric print. Butterflies, branches and flowers create a tranquil scene. Black chopsticks dress the tables, sans tablecloths, with Western cutlery an optional extra. Service is serious and restrained, with food brought quickly and served silently onto each diner’s plate. Steaming tempura oysters are crunchy and gooey in one, while house-made Shanghai dumplings (dim sum is lunch-only) are a masterpiece of smooth pork and molten broth. The bean curd and seafood soup is delicate, gelatinous and nurturing, while a splurge on scallops wok fried with asparagus spears and XO sauce is justifiable. Whatever you do, get the fried rice; the smoky melange of shrimps, pork and egg is among the best I’ve tried. In a meal of perfectly balanced highs, the almond-encased Cointreau chicken isn’t a low, it’s just less memorable. Chalk me up for more Peking duck next time, and the time after that.