Review: Critic endures long wait at new Queen’s Wharf restaurant Hua

The bill came to $200, while parking cost $50, so as far as lunches go, this one was a wallet whacker. But it wasn’t the price tag that set off our reviewer.

Anooska Tucker-Evans

3 min read

May 28, 2025 - 12:33PM

QWeekend

It was a long wait for a meal at new Queen's Wharf restaurant Hua.

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It’s the age-old restaurant debate: how long is too long to wait for your food?

A visit to the recently opened Chinese restaurant Hua in Brisbane CBD’s Queen’s Wharf complex had us pondering this exact question. After being taken to our table in the elegantly appointed but barely occupied restaurant, our entrees didn’t hit the table for 70 minutes, while our mains began to arrive at the 90-minute mark.

After 45 minutes with no more than a pot of green tea, our waitress asked if we had received any food.

Some of Hua’s offerings.

When we said “No”, she scurried off to investigate, before another staff member arrived at our table blaming two private dining rooms for the hold up.

At this stage, we were one of only eight tables in the sprawling space, two of which were occupied by solo diners, while the private dining rooms were elsewhere.

To apologise for the delay, my guest and I were offered a cocktail – a nice gesture that would normally go some way to making up for the delay. However, as we weren’t drinking, we asked for the non-alcoholic margarita and the watermelon juice from the menu.

Both were unavailable, and we were told they only had ingredients for one of the five mocktails on the list.

With the drinks offering, which includes a tight collection of local and imported beers, inexpensive wines from around the world and spirits aplenty, housed in a cheap plastic binder, it’s disappointing the unavailable options were not scratched from the list.

In the midst of this, our entrees: the signature prawn toast ($23) and the eponymous bao buns ($22) arrived. The latter come filled with your choice of fried chicken, crispy tofu or stewed beef, with our chook versions also featuring julienned carrot and sprigs of coriander; while the prawn toast consisted of a thin layer of white bread topped with a spread of diced prawn, and a crowning of sesame seeds.

Hua’s roast duck with plum sauce is a must-eat.

Both were decent enough versions of the ubiquitous favourites, but not worth the 70-minute wait. However, the roast duck with plum sauce ($55) – one of multiple duck options available, including the signature whole Peking duck – was more impressive.

The bird arrived in a pool of its own juices, with the meat almost falling off the bone, ready for a dipping in the small pot of viscous, perfectly balanced plum sauce that turned a good dish into a great one.

A gluten-free version of sweet and sour pork ($38) using a rice flour batter was next to hit the table at the 95-minute mark. It was well executed, but would I have been just as happy with a version from my local Chinese delivered in 20 minutes? Undoubtedly.

Meanwhile, richly caramelised strips of tender wagyu helped elevate a rudimentary beef ho fun ($38), although I would have liked the noodles a little thicker and softer.

We chose some of the cheapest dishes on the menu, which runs from fried quail and grilled octopus to steamed coral trout, whole Moreton Bay bug with egg noodles, and black truffle fried rice.

Yet our bill still came to more than $200 for two with no alcohol or dessert, thanks to a 10 per cent weekend service charge. Add on $50 for parking at The Star and our painfully long lunch was quite the wallet whacker.

We were offered a complimentary dessert to apologise for the delays, but the offer came after we had twice asked for the bill and were keen to leave. We then had to ask for the bill a third time.