Lucy Liu Kitchen & Bar @ Oliver Lane [Melbourne] - Skip The Long Queue At Chin Chin And Make A Detour For Some Pan Asian Flavours Sharing Plates

I frequent Melbourne at least 4 times a year but I seldom blog about the restaurants in Melbourne. As my trips were usually work related and I just want to grab something simple and go back to my hotel room to rest. During my latest visit to the city, since Maureen aka Miss Tam Chiak is in town, I decided to bring her to Lucy Liu Kitchen & Bar at Oliver Lane. I have enjoyed the food there when my colleague brought me there for dinner once.

Kingfish Sashimi 4.5/5

The cuisine at Lucy Liu Kitchen & Bar is inspired from Pan Asian flavours in the form of sharing plates. We started with the Kingfish Sashimi. The sashimi are topped with thai basil and toasted coconut. What makes the fish jump out of live is the green chilli sauce that is packed with depth and robust flavours. It hits the spot with the characteristic sweet, sour and spicy flavours in Thai cuisine.

Pan Fried Spinach & Water Chestnut Dumpling 3.8/5

Maureen and I have mixed opinion on the Pan Fried Spinach & Water Chestnut Dumpling. She likes the modern take with the Sichuan chilli oil which gives you a slight numbing mala kick. I like the interpretation bu I thought the dough was a bit too thick. A worthy note is that the dumplings are made freshly on order. We were seated at the bar counter and we can see the chef making batches after batches of dumplings right in our eyes.

Korean Fried Chicken Bun 4/5

Using the Chinese steamed bun, we tried both the Korean Fried Chicken Bun and Crispy Pork Bun. The korean fried chicken bun is sandwiched with tender chicken dressed in a spicy gochujang sauce while the crispy pork bun is paired with spicy kimchi & kewpie mayo. The bun is really soft and fluffy and it goes really well with the different fillings, elevated by the delicious sauces.

Crispy Pork Bun 3.5/5

If I am to pick a favourite I would probably go for the Korean Fried Chicken Bun over the Crispy Pork Bun. I find the crispy pork is too dry. It lacked that fatty texture underneath the crackling skin I was looking for.

Roasted Short Rib with Rendang Curry 4/5

For the big plate, we had the Roasted Short Rib with Rendang Curry. It comes with rice, achar and chilli sauce. The short rib is huge. It is cooked to a beautiful fork tender, which falls off the bone with ease.The rendang curry was creamy with a coconuty base. It is a well executed dish. However, I felt that the rempah lacks the fragrant that we get in Malaysia and Singapore. Maybe that is the acceptable standard in Melbourne.

Lucy Liu may ring a bell but the restaurant is not opened by the famous American actress that acted in Charle's Angle. If you are interested to know how the restaurant gets its name, you can find it on their website. If you are new to the restaurant, it offers set course menu as well as a la carte. Recommendation would be to go for about 3 to 4 small plates and a big plates to share.


Lucy Liu Kitchen & Bar
23 Oliver Lane
Melbourne VIC 3000
Australia
Tel: +613 96395777
Facebook
Website
[Map]

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 11pm

A Joyous Christmas At Goodwood Park Hotel Singapore

Ho Ho Ho! Christmas is just around the corner and to celebrate this joyous occasion, Goodwood Park Hotel Singapore has once again created a delectable savoury and sweet takeaways that is perfect to any gathering at home. For those that prefers to dine outside, you can also consider the festive menus as well as tempting buffet spreads at the hotel's dining establishments - Coffee Lounge, Gordon Grill and L' Espresso.

Soy-braised Turkey

Last year, the hotel created the 12 treasure turkey. Sticking to its tradition of creating Christmas feasts with Asian flair, this year the hotel presents the Soy-braised Turkey ($238, good for 8-10 pax) served with toasted spiced almonds and homemade chilli sauce. This is inspired by the Hong Kong style soy sauce chicken. What surprised me is how tender and juicy the chef manage to execute the dish, slow cooked for no less than 2 hours with aromatics. I probably would have mistaken it as soy sauce chicken if it was a blind folded tasting.

Slow Roasted Iberico Pork Belly

If you are not into turkey, you can try the Slow Roasted Iberico Pork Belly ($338, good for 6 to 8 pax). The slow roasted pork belly comes with pickled cabbage, apple sauce and pork jus. The skin is really crackling and crispy while the meat is cooked until so soft and tender. This is limited to 25 orders per day.

Mini Turkey Char Siew Po Lo Buns 

Another new treats this year which we all enjoyed is the Mini Turkey Char Siew Po Lo Buns ($15 for 6 pieces). It is basically like your po lo bun but mini version. However the texture is even softer stuffed with sweet savoury turkey meat.

Yuletide Blossom Log Cake

For the sweet treats, we have the Yuletide Blossom Log Cake ($82 for 1 kg). The hand-piped butter cream flowers are set against a snowy canvas of white chocolate mousse that coats strawberry chiffon sponge, yuzu infused pear bits and a crunchy hazelnut Breton sable middle.

Jolly Chocolate, Blackcurrant and Cherry Savarin Cake

The Jolly Chocolate, Blackcurrant and Cherry Savarin Cake ($68 for 1 kg) is a sponge cake-bread hybrid creation that uses meringu as a rising agent. Inside the cake, there are blackcurrant and cherry curd, with dark chocolate encasing the whole cake.

 Goodwood Mao Shan Wang Durian Christmas Log Cake

For the durian fans, you may not want to miss the Goodwood Mao Shan Wang Durian Christmas Log Cake ($75 for 500g). It comes with lashings of creamy Mao Shan Wang durian goodness within the layers of vanilla sponge. There is also the D24 Durian Christmas Log Cake ($80 for 1 kg).

Whiskey Profiteroles Chocolate Tart 

Making a come back is the Whiskey Profiteroles Chocolate Tart ($52 for 600g). The choux pastry profiteroles are piped generously with whiskey custard and prettily stacked up in a cone. It is then decorated with caramelised pistachios and icing snowflakes, followed by chocolate hazelnut cream piped near the base which is made of chocolate sponge surrounded by an Oreo crust. The whisky comes a bit quite strong for me but it is an ideal drink for party isn't it? Oh I mean dessert for party.

Takeaway gourmet treats will be available at The Deli from 1 to 26 December 2018. Advance orders of five days are required and guests may visit The Deli from 9am to 9 pm to place their takeaway orders. Alternatively, guests may contact the Christmas Call Centre at +65 67301867/1868 from 10am to 6pm daily, email festive@goodwoodparkhotel.com or visit festivepromotions.goodwoodparkhotel.com from 1 December 2018 to place their online orders. Last order date is 19 December 2018, 12pm