Feel-good Cantonese fare.
Anthony Huckstep visits Stanley, the new addition to Brisbane’s Howard Smith Wharves precinct, and delights in Louis Tikaram’s produce-driven Cantonese dishes that nod to the good old days.
ONE OF MY fondest food memories is celebrating family birthdays at our local Chinese, Ming’s. It dished up what I still believe is the greatest sweet-and-sour pork ever.
New Brisbane Cantonese restaurant Stanley, with chef Louis Tikaram on the pans, has captured and enhanced the joy I’ve held onto since my youth. Granted, Stanley’s heritage building home by the Brisbane River is a tad more lavish.
Named after Stanley Bay in Hong Kong, the eatery joins Arc Dining, Greca and Yoko Dining in the Howard Smith Wharves precinct and features three bars, two dining rooms, a private room, alfresco area and a balcony on the second floor.
The staff are swift, well-informed and friendly. The wine list, by ex-Nel sommelier Thibaud Cregut, focuses mostly on Australia, France and Germany, and although pushing the limits of value, offers great variety to match the food.
Tikaram, who triggered our taste for Thai at Sydney’s Longrain before flying the flag abroad at West Hollywood’s EP & LP has returned to Australia to add to the booming Brisbane food scene.
The food centres around Cantonese technique, but is focused on best-in-class produce that’s putting a case forward for one of the best Cantonese Down Under. Sashimi is a great place to start. Plump sweet raw Abrolhos Island scallop is accentuated by white soy, yuzu and radish. Hiramasa Kingfish gets zing from green chilli salsa, while cubes of yellowfin tuna arrive with fresh wasabi. It’s a beautiful display of stellar seafood.
Duck, which takes four days to prepare and cook, is compulsory ordering with pancakes. It arrives with thin pastry wraps, hoisin sauce, cucumber and julienned leek – it’s more fleshy than I’m used to, but the rendered duck skin is hard to question.
Coral trout is delicately steamed and served with blackbean, chilli and a salty sweet broth that’s intense on its own, but against the scalloping flesh and gelatinous skin, it’s A-grade. Then a moment that rekindles memories. Crisp battered chunks of free-range pork lathered in sweet-andsour sauce and tossed with pineapple, capsicum and onion. It’s a beautifully executed classic that reminds me why Cantonese had such a strong hold on suburban dining for so long.
Tikaram respects the building blocks of Cantonese food and enhances our experience of it. His dishes are fun, thoughtful, produce-driven and emphasise the enjoyment of sharing food with family and friends – and that’s hard to beat.