The Wintergarden Taste Edit: Matt Shea Spotlight on Central

In the first instalment of The Wintergarden Taste Edit, food writer Matt Shea takes us behind the curtain at Central.

Here, Matt sits down with co-owners Benny Lam and David Flynn to discuss the history, the energy, and the disco ball that has made this basement destination a new favourite for those in the know.

You’ll find central right in the middle of the CBD, but its name has nothing to do with Brisbane city and everything to do with Hong Kong.

This is restaurant group Friends of Friends’ (Rick Shores, Southside) celebration of the neon-soaked, skyscraper studded East Asian city, and in particular co-owner Benny Lam’s time there working as a chef and designer in Central, the tightly packed hillside district that’s Hong Kong’s historic and economic heart.

Spot the darkened doorway and red sandwich board on Queen Street and you’ve found the place. Follow the stairs down to the basement level, step through the curtain and you’ve arrived in what’s perhaps the city’s slickest dining room.

In-demand design firm J.AR Office has arranged the restaurant around an island kitchen, the prime seats on the left of the venue, which look down on the chefs as they work their woks and grills. If you like a bit of theatre in your dining, this is the place to be.

Lam’s menu captures the diversity of Hong Kong cuisine with its Cantonese cooking struck through with international influences, with a particular nod to cha chaan teng (tea cafe) eating culture. You might order corn-fed chicken siu mai, lobster and prawn har gow served with a seafood bisque, lychee wood-smoked roast duck, or wagyu chow fun noodles.

For drinks, there’s a 250-bottle wine list that includes a bunch of hard-to-find Chinese drops, and a cocktail menu that remixes the classics alongside a bunch of fun signatures that channel the power lunching and corporate deal making of 1990s Hong Kong.

We sat down with Benny Lam and co-owner David Flynn to find out a little more about the restaurant.

What were you trying to capture with this restaurant?

David Flynn: We wanted the spirit and the energy that we love about Hong Kong, translated to a Brisbane setting. And being downstairs, hidden away, it has this sense of discovery about it, which is such a huge part of Hong Kong.

Benny Lam: For me it was important to have this open kitchen, because it captures the energy of the open-air cooking in the city. You hear the sounds, you smell the cooking, you see all the action.

Central is inspired by Hong Kong, but this venue also has a link to Brisbane history. Tell us about that.

DF: This basement was once an ironmongers in the mid-1800s, servicing the port, which at the time was where Eagle Street is now. But it has this colourful modern history as the Primitif Cafe, this groundbreaking live music venue and restaurant back in the 1950s and 60s. Peter Allen and the Bee Gees played here, and it was the first venue in Brisbane to have a proper group head espresso machine.

How does the menu reflect Hong Kong?

BL: Ninety percent of the menu, people who are from Hong Kong will be familiar with. But we also wanted that fun factor with some of the dishes, and to elevate everything with great local produce.

When people dine at Central, what experience do you want them to step away with?

DF: For me the highlight is Benny’s delicious cooking, but it’s meant to be this snapshot into some of the best parts of Hong Kong cuisine. But they should also expect fun. There’s a disco ball recessed into the ceiling – that should say everything.

Experience Central for Yourself

The Wintergarden Taste Edit is all about celebrating the very best of our city’s culinary and style landscape. We invite you to experience the theatre of Benny Lam’s kitchen and the latest new-season collections at Wintergarden for yourself.

We are giving away a $1,000 Wintergarden Taste Edit experience, featuring a $500 dining voucher at Central, paired with a $500 Wintergarden voucher to refresh your wardrobe. Because the best days in the city are the ones spent lingering a little longer.

Simply click here and fill out the entry form to be in the running.