Brisbane restaurants: Enjoy Inn, Hamilton, review
RESTAURANTS built in new apartment towers tend to be glassy and anodyne but this neighbourhood restaurant has plenty of heart, with children playing and servers smiling warmly.
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CONFUCIUS say: “It’s bad feng shui to build your restaurant overlooking the carpark.”
Confucius didn’t say anything of the sort, of course. I just made that up. However, I’m sure he would have said so had he been alive today.
Restaurants built in new apartment towers tend to be glassy and anodyne with much attention paid to the interior design and not enough to the food. Or so I thought on entering Enjoy Inn at Brisbane’s inner-north Hamilton Harbour, an offshoot of the longstanding Fortitude Valley restaurant of the same name.
Once safely inside, however, my initial prejudices were laid to rest. From my table I didn’t even notice the carpark. I did notice small Chinese children running for hugs from elderly grandparents. And I did notice much goodwill among the staff, with the young men and women enjoying one another’s company while delivering exemplary service with a smile.
It’s good to stumble on the genuine article occasionally. At Enjoy Inn Hamilton there is decorative tiling and attractive red box lights resembling Chinese lanterns, and the tables are far enough apart to facilitate a private conversation.
The Chinese understand hospitality, and Enjoy Inn Hamilton is an amenable neighbourhood restaurant with a warm heart. The chefs may not be shooting for the stars but they conjure up familiar dishes with colour, vibrancy and a range of striking flavours.
A sizzling Sichuan chicken ($18.90) came with chunks of green capsicum and had real attitude. So did our Mongolian lamb ($21.90) and king prawns Enjoy-Inn style ($25.90). The steamed Shanghai dumplings ($8.80 for four) hit the spot but my combination shredded duck soup ($8.80) was a lamentable failure that seemed to contain everything on the menu except duck.
There were 166 dishes to choose from and more on a blackboard menu. Spicy mud crab was offered at $108 a kilo, and this triggered a burst of nostalgia with memories of my own crab wrestling days at Violet Oon’s cooking school in Singapore nearly three decades ago.
I visited Enjoy Inn Hamilton three times and came to the conclusion it was better than its big brother in the Valley. The Hamilton restaurant also serves yum cha, a weekend staple. It’s this kind of Asian comfort food that has enthralled the world, and the “Asianisation” of restaurants is celebrated in Janne Apelgren and Joanna Savill’s excellent new guide, Around the World in 80 Dinners (MPU, paperback $45, e-book $23).
The spice is always right in skilled hands. As Confucius might have said if he were alive today: “The lazy susan is the greatest invention since the telephone.”
Enjoy Inn, Shop 2, 8 Harbour Rd, Hamilton PH: 3252 7878
Open daily 11-3, 5-late, Licensed
Food - 7
Ambience - 7
Service - 8
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