Lotus at The Galeries: a dumpling disciple’s delight
Lotus at The Galeries, Sydney, serves next-gen Cantonese food with euro style and hospitality. No wonder it is expanding.
Lotus at the Galeries, Level 1, 500 George St, Sydney.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
The yin and yang of stainless steel and bamboo — trolleys and steamer baskets — gets under your skin after 30 years of dedicated yum cha. Once you’re hooked on great har gau, chicken’s feet and cheung fun, the seemingly endless combinations of prawn and pork meat in a steamed wrapper … there is no going back.
So walking into Lotus is a comforting thing to a certain kind of dumpling disciple. Beyond a fresh, contemporary and frankly exciting interior design by Sydney architect Paul Papadopoulos, who did the work on this fairly substantial space, is a similarly large stainless steel kitchen with those vessels of such promise, bamboo steamer baskets.
Woo hoo. It’s not a Chinese restaurant as such; most of the staff seem to be European and the overall aesthetic of the place is very smart … Those taupe canvas light fittings, that elegant crockery, the stylish upholstery.
The pitch: Classic and contemporary Asian food, much of it Cantonese or Cantonese-inspired, in an elegant, relaxed shopping centre environment. Nothing wrong with that … Most of the great “traditional” Cantonese places with yum cha are in shopping centres these days.
The reality: How do I say this? Being a restaurant run by European Australians, there’s a greater emphasis on service and affability than is usually the case in the kind of places that specialise in Cantonese classics. It’s a well-run, friendly place with a lovely lunchtime ambience as workers, professionals, couples and shoppers stroll in.
The cuisine: Lotus works hard at elevating standards. Spring rolls with king brown mushrooms; slow cooked beef short ribs with ponzu and soy; native crystal ice plant salad with cucumber, enoki (mushrooms) and black vinegar.
Highlights: Silken, slippery Sichuan-style prawn and pork wontons with chilli and peanuts are gems, sitting in a little peppery oil/sauce, scattered with nuts and chilli, and a little spring onion. The texture is firm and springy, there’s plenty of flavour, and the presentation in modern, earthy crockery is a real step up from Chinatown.
The jellyfish salad is a break from tradition too: irregular, crunchy pieces of the animal at the base of the plate in a smoky/sweet dressing topped with pickled daikon and spring onion, with lots of fresh coriander.
Okay, jellyfish isn’t everyone’s cup of jasmine. And, although a little overdressed, and therefore a bit wet, the rush-smoked salmon salad with apple, Vietnamese mint and a ginger/lemon dressing is another dish that shows effort and is undoubtedly hugely popular with the weight-conscious. If only we’d stopped there.
Lowlights: Our opening salvo, fresh (as opposed to dried) scallop sui mai — four for $14 — demonstrates comprehensively the importance of not leaving dumplings in the steamer too bloody long. The delicate bivalve and shiitake fillings are still — surprisingly — tasty and largely intact but the pastry has turned to an unfortunate consistency akin to firm Clag (does anyone else remember Clag?)
Will I need a food dictionary? No, the menu is delightfully concise and well expressed
The damage: Starters around $16, mains around $39
In summary: Next-gen Cantonese food with euro style. Unsurprisingly, they’re opening another at Barangaroo later this year.
More here.