Review: Asian restaurant LongTime in Fortitude Valley

YOU may have to queue for over an hour for a table, but this South East Asian-inspired restaurant tucked away in a laneway in Brisbane’s nightlife district is worth every minute.

Longtime Restaurant, Fortitude Valley.

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“I COULD happily just come here for these and a few drinks,” says my friend.

“These” are the prawn tacos ($7) at South East Asian eatery LongTime, obscured in a laneway off busy Ann St in Fortitude Valley, and they are terrific.

Almost like a playful Mexican-cum-Thai riff on the classic prawn cocktail, they feature a tortilla made from a wafer thin, clam-shaped prawn cracker, loaded with chilled nahm jim-infused prawns snuggled among shredded iceberg lettuce and dots of spiced aioli, delivering equal measures of heat and cooling with each bite.

And, as my friend suggests, they’re great with a drink from the restaurant’s broad and eclectic list, which stretches from Asian-inspired cocktails to out of the ordinary wines — many organic and biodynamic — that easily pair with everything from their Penang curry to the chargrilled beef short ribs.

Coconut and turmeric curry of Moreton Bay bug, Asian celery and Kaffir lime. Picture: Anthony Weate

It’s this simple combo of great food and drinks that has made LongTime such a hit among diners.

While its new Japanese-inspired sister venue, Honto, which has just opened down the road, may be getting all the press at the moment, a Wednesday night visit to LongTime still elicits a 70-minute wait for a table.

And once inside, the large, open space, with its exposed brick, dark timbers and subtle nods to Asia, heaves with excitement as communal tables and bar seating create loud chatter and the open kitchen generates theatre.

Worth the 70-minute wait alone is the beef cheek red curry with meltingly tender Angus in a sauce that expertly layers in the sweet, sour, salty, bitter balance of Thai cooking.

Add the outstanding accompanying pork and sweet potato dumplings into the equation and it’s a rib-sticking dish deserving of the venue’s signature status.

Ben Bertei from Longtime restaurant in Fortitude Valley.

Not quite delivering the same highs as the beef, but still great is the turmeric-dominant coconut yellow snapper curry, met with a zingy cucumber and dill salad which offers contrast and brightness against the thick coconut sauce.

Desserts creatively play with Asian flavours and modern techniques like in a dense chilli chocolate tart balanced by frozen coconut “snow” and passionfruit curd, but it’s the savoury dishes here that need diners’ full attention.

The chilli chocolate tart with coconut “snow”, passionfruit, chocolate soil and caramelised chocolate mousse at LongTime, Fortitude Valley.

With its lively atmosphere, punchy flavours and portion sizes that represent great value for money, it’s not hard to see why LongTime draws the crowds.

LONGTIME

Address 610 Ann St, Fortitude Valley

Phone [phone]

Web longtime.com.au

Open Tues-Sun 5.30pm-late

VERDICT

Food 8.5

Service 7

Ambience 8

Value 8

OVERALL SCORE 8