The Fifty Six restaurant set to open in Brisbane
An up and coming chef who honed his craft under one of the best in the world has just arrived in Brisbane and is ready to take the reins of the city’s newest restaurant.
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Brisbane’s answer to the famous Raffles hotel in Singapore is set to be capped with a nod to the city’s Chinese influence when it opens its doors in the new year, led by an up-and-coming chef.
Naldham House on the River City’s waterfront will welcome another addition to its impressive stable of eateries with a Cantonese restaurant, The Fifty Six, to accompany the popular Club Felix and The Brasserie.
Singaporean chef Gerald Ong honed his craft in Cantonese cuisine as executive chef at renowned restaurants Mrs Wang, Lucky Duck and Golden Panda in Canberra.
Mr Ong said he fostered his love for Cantonese cooking while studying under the tutelage of Hong Kong’s acclaimed Chairman restaurant team, a restaurant recognised as one of the 50 best restaurants in the world.
“It started at Chairman & Yip in Canberra in 2017, and interestingly they have a sister restaurant in Hong Kong which is on the 50 Best Restaurants list, and the chef who hired me, Andy Ho, is now the head chef in Hong Kong,” Mr Ong said.
“During my first year there, I realised that this is part of my heritage, and this is something that opened my eyes to the world of Cantonese food.
“It’s so delicate and intricate, and there’s so much freedom in its rigidity.
“There are three big principles of Cantonese food which are always chase freshness, always chase balance and always chase harmony and elegance, something I want to champion with my team.”
The Fifty Six chef said Queensland’s access to incredible seafood was the real kicker in him heading north for the role.
“Cantonese food has so much seafood involved, but in Canberra the seafood you get isn’t as fresh,” he said.
“I’m really excited to develop the menu with Moreton Bay bugs, Mooloolaba prawns and possible barramundi from North Queensland or local mud crab.
“One of the pillars of Cantonese food is freshness, and the easiest way to tell freshness is with seafood.”
The esteemed chef describes oyster sauce as the Asian Vegemite, an element he wants to incorporate in his menu.
“I learned to make oyster sauce from scratch while doing a collaboration at Chairman & Yip with a Michelin starred chef from Singapore,” he said.
“You start with freshly shucked oysters and cook them low and slow for three days with a whole bunch of aromatics, pork fat and gula melaka – a type of brown sugar.”
Co-owner of hospitality group DAP & Co., who are behind The Fifty Six, Andrew Baturo, said Chef Ong stood out from the pack of applicants with his exceptional credentials and passion for Cantonese food.
“After seeing the top floor of Naldham House where the restaurant will be, we felt it would be well suited to a Cantonese restaurant, as it reminded us of our many trips to Hong Kong,” Mr Baturo said.
“Gerald’s food was the closest to what I came to love and really enjoy about Hong Kong cuisine, so it was really exciting when he agreed to join our team.”
Baturo said the inspiration for the name come as a homage to the original 56 Chinese immigrants to moved to Brisbane and formed the first Chinese community in our city.
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