PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAThe Chairman and Yip has remained a Canberra institution despite losing the coveted SMH Good Food Guide Hat recently. As a whole, the restaurant has the package – a delightful ambience, fantastic waitstaff and great food to boot. With unparalleled interiors featuring soft furnishings, earthy tones and muted lights, the service blends magnificently with the intimate atmosphere, offering informed suggestions on the wine and elaborating knowledgably on the dishes. The restaurant offers a flexible menu that can be adjusted according to dietary requirements and taste, as well as an organised function program and several private dining areas.
Unlike so many other restaurants, the menu is woefully uninformative and fails to capture the true essence of the dishes. For example, the signature entree is simply called Chairman’s Pancakes, and doesn’t do justice to the heavenly infusion of roast duck with shitake mushrooms, water chestnuts, pine nuts and sesame in a tangy dressing, wrapped lovingly in small soft pancakes that resemble a cross between rice paper and Indian dosai. Try the sweet and smoky char-grilled field mushrooms with coriander and chilli pesto, and follow through with the stir-fried king prawns with chilli and plum jam, or the famous beef and scallop ground pepper hot pot, a fusion of flavours across cultures. With the early-bird special just $28.50 for two set courses, fine dining has never been more accessible, not to mention lick-your-fingers delicious.
Russell Buzby, July 2008