Enter the belly of the white dragon at Bai Long Store

A symbolic dragon and awesome cup of oolong are just some of the extra layers at this Asian restaurant in the CBD, writes Simon Wilkinson

Beef tataki at Bai Long Store, Adelaide

Finishing a large meal with coffee, I’ve found, risks a complete system overload, with the likelihood of a grumpy tummy and restless night ahead. A digestif has its place but most often all I’m really after is a cleansing cup of tea.

I can’t be alone in this, so why is it that so many restaurants are prepared to invest in gleaming, turbocharged espresso machines and superstar baristas, while leaving tea drinkers with a scungy bag of sawdust soaking in a jug of lukewarm water?

Bai Long Store is different – and not just because its selection of organic oolong leaves is curated by a tea master in Taiwan and dispensed with fastidious care and ceremony. Ask for the Oriental Beauty, and it will be delivered with instructions for imbibing in three different brews, a tall flask for appreciating its aroma and a story of how its distinct honey notes come from the saliva of a bug that feeds on the leaves.

The tea service is only one of many layers that make Bai Long Store one of Adelaide’s more fascinating Asian dining experiences, particularly if you pay attention to detail.

Squid salad at Bai Long Store

Bai Long translates as “White Dragon” and the eyes, belly and scales of the mythical beast are represented in the restaurant design. A yin-and-yang symbol inlaid on the floor flows through to a black-and-white theme reflected everywhere from the lovely ceramic bowls to the startling dunnies. Chinese characters fixed above the wash basins here convey messages about spirit and balance, while others around the dining room have links to what is happening in the vicinity of the kitchen or bar. I only know this after a chat with co-owner Jerrio (Jerry) Chua, whose enthusiasm is as refreshing as his teas.

Most of the punters lined up on the banquettes, of course, will be more concerned with their sushi and noodles than unravelling meanings in the decor. Bai Long fortunately has substance to match its style.

Jae Hyun Park, head chef since the restaurant opened 18 months ago, has developed a menu weaving together Chinese, Korean and Japanese, with more originality and depth than most of the formulaic Asian line-ups trotted out elsewhere. This extends to the weekend brunch, where belly warmers such as chicken congee or spicy ramen were designed for winter mornings far more savage than Adelaide can muster.

At night, the gleaming lacquered ducks suspended in the kitchen window demonstrates they aren’t mucking around.

Mapo chicken

The relative merits of a traditional peking duck wrapper versus the steamed bao used here might be questioned but the thick, rosy slice of breast meat is beyond reproach. It comes with standard cucumber, spring onion and hoisin, as well as lipstick pink pickled onion.

Squid salad is more greenery than seafood, but the morsels of intricately slashed calamari tube are helped along by the crackling-like crunch of puffed rice crumble and a nori-based dressing that gives a boost to everything it touches.

That same dressing is especially good dribbled over a bed of smashed up silken tofu that is the star of a dish of honey roasted cauli florets that are a bit on the soft and watery side rather than crisp and toasty.

Tataki meets tartare in a mound of chopped beef tenderloin that has been briefly seared so it isn’t raw and scary (a questionable concession in my book). Loaded into a black sesame cracker, however, it makes a fine snack, though the slices of compressed apple seem to have turned up to the wrong party.

beef tataki at Bai Long Store

Butterflied king prawns prove to be one of the few things to benefit from cooking in a sous-vide bag, the flesh exquisite and more “prawny” than normal. An XO crumb picks up on this crustacean funk, while the innards of a burnt leek make a good foil.

Chopsticks are put aside for grilled lamb ribs that have just enough sizzled fat to bring back fond barbecue memories. They are doused in a banging chilli caramel and served with a mint salad. “Mapo chicken” is an unusual combination of coarsely ground chook in a szechuan sauce with a small buzz of dried chilli heat and numbing pepper. It sits on a rich and silky savoury soy custard. Spoon out a scoop to eat with rice and I think it’s a winner, though I’m sure not everyone in the room will agree.

We ask about dessert (perhaps the black sesame cube) but our two-hour sitting has expired and the table is needed, which might have been avoided with a little more urgency and discussion earlier on. Worse still, there’s not even time for a cup of tea!

BAI LONG STORE

80 Hutt St, city, 8232 5484; bailong.store

OWNERS Jerrio Chua and partners

CHEF Jae Hyun Park

FOOD Asian

BRUNCH $16-$22 SMALLER $14-22

LARGER $22-$60 DESSERT $14-$18

DRINKS A dozen each of white and red wine, mostly local, plus Japanese beer and sake.

OPEN BRUNCH Sat-Sun LUNCH and DINNER Tue-Sun

SCORE 14/20