Flower Drum

Doing the weekend in Melbourne had two really fabulous must-do’s attached to it. One was the Qantas Grand Prix lunch with John Travolta and the other, a late dinner at the Flower Drum in Market Lane.

This is such an establishment, for years lauded by critics as one of the best restaurants in the country. I suspect those critic have forgotten what great food and service is, perhaps there are not enough foams, purees and chemicals in this food for them to recognise quality when it is right in front of them. 

We started with the King Island crab dumplings with red vinegar and ginger dipping sauce; sublime, delicate and the unmistakeable taste of pure crab. Next came the spring onion cakes and a braised lamb spring roll. The cakes delicate and delicious with a little chilli sauce, the lamb succulent and rich in flavour, dipped into a sauce of reduced braising liquid.

Then the amazing drunken squab, this has for many years been my favourite dish and there are no disappointments tonight. The squab perfectly cooked with the delicate flavour and aroma lifting the dish to new heights.  We chew the flesh and yummy skin from the bones, this is a dive-in-hands-and-all dish.  

The Peking duck with it’s delicate transparent pancakes and crisp tender duck. Oh, please tell me where I can get this in Sydney and I shall be there every week!

Anthony Lau is running the kitchen as he did when Gilbert was around and his team are doing amazing things. Jason, his son, is omniscient on the floor - a young man with hospitality flowing through his veins. Couple that with all the brilliant staff that have been there for years like Tommy, Raymond, Bill – there are lots of them that I remember from my early days at the Drum. What restaurant in Australia can boast that? The service here is flawless and the team do a lot of work at the table, old school perhaps, but I wish there was more of it.

This, to me, is the best Cantonese restaurant in Australia by a country mile, it is one of the best in the world.

 I have heard it said this is expensive for Chinese, what a load of rubbish, any restaurant in the world that uses the greatest ingredients that a country has to offer, has a large brigade of gifted and well trained chefs, a floor team without peers, and such lofty standards will of course come at a cost, but it is simply value. Would I go back? Yes, in a heartbeat. My only regret is that this jewel doesn’t belong to Sydney. Melbourne, treasure it well, as if you lost it you would be losing an important part of what makes your city tick.

Sorry about the quality of the photos in my excitement to get there I forgot my camera.

Tags: Cantonese, Chinese, Flower Drum, gilbert lau, Melbourne, melbourne grand prix, reviews

This entry was posted on Monday, March 29th, 2010 at 12:05 pm and is filed under Bar & Grill Melbourne, Neil's Restaurant Stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.