Restaurant review: Little Valley

Brisbane is about to get a tsunami of seriously well-intentioned Chinese-style restaurants, says Tony Harper. Little Valley is the first to arrive.

Prawn and XO siu mai, Little Valley, Fortitude Valley.

There’s a glistening, double-bevelled, carbon-steel blade that separates good, traditional Asian cuisine from the best of the contemporary, caucasian-aimed pack.

I love them both dearly, but occasionally there’s something that changes the odds and tips my favour.

At Little Valley, it’s the oyster sauce.

A staple in Chinese restaurants, oyster sauce is usually a salty, sweet, not terribly oysterish, caramel-based affair.

At Little Valley, the kitchen staff make it from scratch — a dozen oysters per litre, I’m told — and it is startling. You can taste the oysters, and the sweetness and saltiness are there, but in check. It fulfils its job as a saucy foil for Chinese greens, but it is so, so much more.

Prawn and XO siu mai, Little Valley

In the end it is the most exquisite piece in what is a very delicious puzzle.

Brisbane is about to get a tsunami of seriously well-intentioned Chinese-style restaurants, perhaps as a kneejerk to the success of Neil Perry’s fabulous Spice Temples.

Little Valley is the first to arrive.

It lives in Fortitude Valley and comes from the same team that has Rick Shores on the Gold Coast; a similarly caucasian-glossed version of Asian but based on Thai.

It is brilliant in so many ways. It looks great — open, airy; luxury cues that don’t compromise its casual, accessible feel. There is a gloriously fun, inspired drinks list — like something Johnny Depp would write under makeup and a big hat (New Zealand sake and baijiu; Zibibbo to Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay; a rather good run of off-kilter rieslings to grand cru burgundy).

Zucchini black pepper pickled jalapeño, Little Valley

The food is beautiful, melding traditional stuff like wonton soup, long bao and char siu with hybrids like wagyu tartare with Sichuan mayonnaise; truffle and potato spring rolls; and pork and truffle congee.

I try a little from both camps. Top of the list is a cured scallop with pepitas and chilli oil ($6 each): absolutely stunning. And two spectacular choices from the dim sum menu — lobster and chive har gow ($15); chilli crab and pork xiao long bao ($13).

Expensive dim sum for sure, but detailed, glorious and worth every cent.

Then there is prawn and pork siu mai with XO sauce ($10, above) and pork-neck char siu ($42) — simple, perfectly cooked, lovely char sui.

It’s excellent food, but what it lacks is the conviction you find at Spice Temple.

There you order a Sichuan dish — like hot and numbing duck — and your head explodes.

Not merely with heat, but also with the blissful numbing of Sichuan pepper, the compelling array of flavours that tie it all together, and emotion.

Here you wait in quiet expectation for magic to happen.

That wonderful scallop comes with chilli oil and it’s delicious, but too tame.

A pot of chilli oil arrives with the dim sum — wonderfully fragrant, but again too tame.

I love Little Valley for everything it does — the detail of its oyster sauce, the wonderment of the drinks list, the precision in its dim sum. If only it wasn’t quite so coy.

SCORES OUT OF 10

Food: 8.5

Drinks: 8.5

Vibe: 8.5

Service: 8.5

LITTLE VALLEY

6 Warner St, Fortitude Valley

Chef: Jake Pregnall.

Lunch, Thu-Sun; dinner, Wed-Sun.

Vegetarian and gluten-free options.

EFTPOS and major credit cards.

Off-street paid parking.