Southside’s inner-city sibling Central is serving Hong Kong-inspired eats in a striking subterranean setting
Benny Lam cut his teeth in the high-octane dining scene of central Hong Kong in the 90s. To Benny, it was the city’s culinary golden age, where restaurants really began taking Western influences and shaping them in interesting ways, pushing the city’s cuisine to develop its own distinct flavour.
“It was the most colourful period – it was all happening,” Benny tells us. “With Chinese cuisine, we always used secondary cuts – but in the 90s, Hong Kong started welcoming upper-market stuff and more fine-dining restaurants. There was still a bit of a Western influence, but Hong Kong had its own style.”
Throughout his tenure as executive chef of Southside, the Fish Lane hot spot famed for its East Asian-inspired cuisine, Benny often pitched ’90s Hong Kong’ as the theme for one of the restaurant’s popular event dinners.
“It was on our to-do list,” says Southside’s director and co-owner David Flynn. “We thought about hosting a 90s Canto night or 90s Hong Kong-themed night. And eventually we were like, ‘let’s just do a restaurant instead.’”
That restaurant is Central, a striking dining destination that officially opened last week in a one-of-a-kind subterranean space off Queen Street. Roughly three years in the making, Central is a carefully planned and executed venue that harmonises concept, offering, location and design into one awe-inspiring package. David, Frank Li, Andrew Hohns and Nick Woodward – all co-owners of Southside and Burleigh Heads icon Rick Shores – are joined in the new venture by Benny and Southside restaurant manager Maui Manu. Together, the crew has instigated a spectacular transformation of the underground hideaway, a space once home to Peter Hackworth’s famed coffee lounge and jazz bar Primitif Cafe.
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Much like at Southside and Rick Shores, the team has endeavoured to instil Central with a site-responsive design scheme. Jared Webb of J.AR OFFICE (the architect responsible for the award-winning interior revitalisation of Gerard’s) and top-tier construction crew Lowry Group were tasked with implementing an aesthetic that highlighted the venue’s existing character, while also creating a visual identity that was undoubtedly singular.
“We try to incorporate the unique elements, or the character, of the environment,” says David. “The beach at Rick Shores is an obvious one, while Southside’s location – that beautifully landscaped jungle with the train bridges running overhead – is quite unique and special in its own way. In this space you have brutalist concrete structural pillars and walls made from Brisbane river stone, which are 150 years old. They have history and character – you can’t create that with a fit-out, or it’s really hard to do authentically.”
David tells us that the brief also encouraged Jared to embrace the setting’s cave-like nature and create a venue that feels removed from space and time.
“Something that we collectively have fond memories of from our visits to Hong Kong are its subterranean venues,” says David. “There is a heightened sense of atmosphere when you go down a flight of stairs and then you enter a really immersive space. We wanted it to feel like a basement.”
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Central’s entrance is nondescript, with only a minimal red-coloured sign indicating its position at the base of the Piccadilly Arcade building. Inside the lobby you’ll spy a dry-ageing cabinet filled with hanging ducks. More than an ornament, this fully functional apparatus tells guests they’ve arrived. Head down a short flight of steps to the left and you’ll arrive at Central proper. The buzzing restaurant pivots around a central rectangular-shaped kitchen and bar encased by granite-topped counters. Seats are arrayed along three of its sides, while a lengthy banquette lines the wall on the fourth flank. A moodily lit raised tier near the stairs is furnished with intimate booths that all boast sight lines into the kitchen.
The restaurant’s austere bones are softened by curtains (which encase Central’s ultra-private private-dining room) and vivid red napkins and serving ware. But the most striking aspect of Central’s design is its lighting. The grid lights that illuminate the kitchen and bar are reminiscent of the ceiling fixtures common in high-rise offices, a good-natured reference to the heaving inner-city Hong Kong suburb the restaurant draws its name from and its own position in the heart of Brisbane City.
“With Central, we’re in The City,” says David. “It’s not Hong Kong – it’s not the same level of density – but we are in the business district of Brisbane. It’s bustling, it’s suits and it’s Queen Street.”
Central’s menu sees Benny delving deep into his own experiences cooking in Hong Kong, delivering a traditional Cantonese-inspired offering that is flavoured with some personal tweaks. The team frames Central as part dumpling bar and part restaurant, so dim sum is a major focus of the menu. Classic prawn har gow can be enjoyed alongside Peking duck potstickers, crispy golden wu gok (deep-fried puffs filled with mashed taro, diced baby abalone, chicken and dried shrimp), and a savoury take on the traditionally sweet pineapple bun, which at Central is filled with smoked butter and crispy prosciutto.
A suite of raw plates and snacks include the likes of Cantonese chu hou-style wagyu tartare, drunken chicken with aged Shaoxing and golden sesame, and youtiao (deep-fried dough strips) topped with smoked foie gras and Davidson’s plum. From here, portions grow with share-style plates of steamed Queensland grouper, rock lobster with e-fu noodles, triple-cooked Stockyard wagyu short ribs with red kampot pepper, and classic roast duck with lychee wood smoke and lilly pilly plum sauce. Benny describes the menu as both playful and sincere – a nod to the vivacity and maturation of Hong Kong’s dining scene in the 90s.
“That is a good analogy for Central’s style of the menu and the style of the food of that period in general,” says David. “It was serious dining, but it was fun.”
On the beverage front, group wine director Peter Marchant has assembled a wine list nudging close to 250 bottles, mixing classic expressions from big-name regions with exciting new-school gear from Australia and abroad. Guests will also spy a small selection of Chinese wines – hard-to-source drops that can be sampled as part of a wine flight. Central’s bar manager Anthony Burke has crafted a fun, fruity and boozy cocktail list that nods to Brisbane’s own subtropical environment and Hong Kong’s classic hotel bars of the 80s and 90s. Guests will spy a Harvey Wallbanger riff alongside martinis and nitrogen-compressed pina coladas.
As for the vibe, a playlist of tunes created by Alex Farquhar blends a mix of 80s and 90s Cantopop hits (including some Jackie Chan ballads), disco bangers and contemporary tunes.
During Central’s first nights of service, Benny says he felt as if he was overseeing a dai pai dong – one of Hong Kong’s famous open-air food stalls. Surrounded by guests, mesmerised both by the space and the fare being placed in front of them, Benny said he could feel a similar energy to that of his hometown.
“When I’m cooking – and when I start talking to all of the people sitting and looking at me – I feel like I’m cooking on the street,” says Benny. “Of course, this is a lot more elevated, but it made me feel like I’m in Hong Kong again.”
Central is now open to the public.