Is this Brisbane’s fanciest Chinese restaurant?

There’s no sign of the classics like fried rice or sweet and sour pork at this 20-seat fine dining Brisbane restaurant, that promises to have you thinking of Chinese food in a whole new light.

In a former Lenard’s chicken shop, behind blacked-out windows in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley, a culinary adventure is coming to life. Hao Zhou is the chef behind Magnolia Modern Chinese – an experimental, 20-seat, fine dining restaurant where fried rice and sweet and sour pork make way for consommes, purees and pageantry.

“l hope Magnolia can show people what traditional Chinese food can be,” says Zhou, who is self-taught, learning to cook from stints at restaurants in his former home of Shanghai, as well as noodle bars and takeaway shops in Brisbane, and YouTube and online books. “Not only beautifully presented, but with incredible and unique flavours that are only achieved with hours and days of prep.”

The dining room at Magnolia Modern Chinese Restaurant, Fortitude Valley. Picture: David Clark

While Zhou might call it “traditional”, what he presents in his five, seven or nine-course set menus is really fusion – rooted in classic Chinese dishes but globally influenced to ensure its accessibility to a broader audience.

Take, for instance, a dish called “M6 wagyu eye fillet”. It is inspired by a Western beef stew found in Shanghai that is normally filled with chunks of beef chuck roast, potatoes and carrots in a rich, dark braising liquid. But don’t expect to see something that looks like it came out of your nan’s crockpot here. Instead, a trio of carpaccio-style slivers of beef line a bowl alongside dots of carrot and potato puree, painfully thin ribbons of cabbage, and an edible flower.

Magnolia Modern Chinese Restaurant, Fortitude Valley. Picture: David Clark

Zhou then arrives tableside, pouring a clear consomme over the top. He explains how the scalding liquid cooks the beef like it does in Vietnamese raw beef pho, which was another inspiration for the dish. But take one sip of the steaming soup and you’re again thrown for six. While you might expect deep notes of star anise and cinnamon in keeping with the traditional Chinese or Vietnamese dishes Zhou refers to, instead you’re met with a rich tomato-flavoured broth reminiscent of an Aussie beef casserole.

It’s as wild as it is tasty.

Dumplings from the venue’s nine-course menu. Picture: David Clark

Zhou takes another Aussie favourite – the potato salad – and reinvents it in a dish simply called “salmon caviar”. This is like the love child of a potato salad and pork rillettes, with the cured pig mixed through a blend of finely diced potato, corn and carrot with mayonnaise and formed into an inch-thick disc topped with chives and salmon caviar ready to be scooped up with house-made chive crisps. It’s our third course of the night, but could easily be a winning snack at any party.

Jelly fish with cucumber, plum, sweet soy, coriander and sesame. Picture: David Clark

Another walk on the wild side is the “jelly fish” – a salad of sorts, where the tentacled protein is finely sliced atop spirals of raw cucumber, before a soy, plum, vinegar and sesame dressing is poured over. Chewy, crunchy, soft – it’s classically Chinese in its textures and boldly acidic and sour in flavour.

Meanwhile, a dish called “crisp pork loin” draws inspiration from Japan’s traditional “tonkatsu” – a large, deep-fried chunk of crumbed pork served on bok-choy studded rice. It’s undeniably tasty, though quite difficult to eat with chopsticks.

The Japanese-influenced crumbed pork chop. Picture: David Clark

A special shout-out has to be given though to the scallion bread. The long-loved Chinese dough steamed, then deep fried, creating a bread that is fluffy and almost croissant like in the centre with a firm, golden exterior to lather on unnecessary but delicious salty butter spiked with Chinese pickles.

Alongside Zhou, his mum Candy runs the floor, with the pair a charming, deeply passionate duo.

A special prawn dish at Magnolia. Picture: David Clark

The only criticism is the concise drinks list. A place that is clearly happy to push the boundaries on food, needs a wine list that also isn’t afraid to move outside the box. What’s available is a little generic and not in keeping with the style of dishes.

The food is exceptional value at just $88 for our five courses. Magnolia is an experience full of surprises, charm and delight and may just be Brisbane’s fanciest Chinese restaurant.

Magnolia Chinese Restaurant

398 St Pauls Tce, Fortitude Valley

magnoliarestaurant.com.au

Open

Wed-Sat 7pm-10pm

Must eat dish

Scallion bread

Verdict

Food 4

Service 5

Ambience 3

Value 4.5

Overall 4