Young's Palace
On the corner of Kellett Street, in one of the city's most animated little strips, a chef-and-partner team have built a knowing love letter to the classic Australian-Chinese restaurant. The room is dressed like a film-set version of the genre, white tablecloths, blue-and-white china, the whole scene lit in a warm red glow, and the menu plays the same game with a straight face and a wink. Prawn toast, spring rolls, sweet-and-sour pork and beef in black bean sit alongside sharper, more personal touches: crab rangoon wontons with crisp skins and a cream-cheese-and-crab centre, salt-and-pepper squid built for a cold drink, a shredded potato salad with enoki, chilli and black vinegar that cuts clean through the richness. Steamed scallops with ginger, shallot and light soy show the kitchen can turn from comfort to finesse without missing a beat, and the wok classics, kung pao chicken, garlicky salt-and-pepper pork ribs and honey king prawns, arrive with real snap. Service, so often perfunctory in this style of room, is unusually warm. It reads as nostalgia, but it eats like a serious kitchen having a very good time.