BE warned, Summer Hill. The hot and numbing chicken ribs at the new Lotus Dumpling Bar on Lackey Street are dangerous. Glazed in a rich and sticky house-made chilli sauce, they are crispy fried chicken perfection - and set to be an instant signature dish.
Group Operations Manager for Lotus Dining Group Mark Chinnock is tipping they'll become a popular snack, accompanied by a beer, for commuters heading down Lackey Street from the Summer Hill train station.
The fact Mr Chinnock lives up the road in Dulwich Hill has played no small part in why Summer Hill is home to the group's seventh Chinese restaurant. Lotus began in 2012 with a dumpling bar at Walsh Bay, and has since opened venues at Barangaroo, Darling Harbour, Double Bay and the CBD. With the pandemic keeping people close to home, it became a labour of love for Mr Chinnock to bring a restaurant to his own neighbourhood.
It opens today, May 25, offering a Cantonese-style menu that's designed for sharing. The team is serious about the drinks menu, too, which has been crafted by Beverage Manager Matt Stewart to match the cuisine. Bottles of wine are even part of the décor in the long, moodily lit space of exposed brick walls and cosy banquettes.
At a media preview of the restaurant last week, we were greeted with the Summer Hill Sour cocktail of gin, lemon myrtle, grenache and Riesling foam (sublime!). On the beer menu is an Australian rice lager brewed for Lotus by Rozelle's White Bay Beer Co, and while many wines are available, a Riesling Bar is testament to Stewart's conviction that the varietal "belongs" with Chinese cuisine.
A Canberra drop is paired with our dumplings, which include crispy prawn, pork xiao long bao and a vegan five-spice tofu and black fungus. A scallop comes on its shell and in a XO sauce which is "famous" across the group, and which you can soak up with a Chinese dipping donut. It is all completely delicious and far too more-ish, and that's even before we meet the hot and numbing ribs.
- Lotus Dumpling Bar, 26 Lackey St, Summer Hill
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