LOCATION A wok’s toss from Chinatown and the Adelaide Central Market.
PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIA Ming’s Peking duck is an institution. People get into quite a flap over it. He has been observed turning those away who turn up for it on his doorstep when the restaurant is closed. This just serves to build anticipation. Pang Ming Chiu also clucks the praises of his “fortune chicken”. What lucky ducks we must be, to have the best of both birds under the one palace roof. Ming opened his palace two decades ago. This was when, as a newish Aussie, he was hooning around in a Kingswood. These days his vehicle of choice has improved somewhat – “it has air-conditioning”, he smiles (and there is also a Ming’s Steamboat, around the corner). His dining room is not palatial in literal terms. Red lanterns are in residence, not chandeliers, and while the artwork is not “Ming Dynasty”, it is rich in Chinese culture. A man’s home is his palace and Ming’s is ultimately a large, welcoming room ready for feasts. Its well-worn chairs are dressed with regal, throne-like gold and cream sashes for functions. Who cares if plastic flowers mix in with potted palms – it’s part of the charm.
Ming himself is not short on charm and his daughter (who works front of house with mum Mei-Lin) should be known as “the lovely Winnie”. Together they deliver not only the aforementioned famous fouls but also dippings from the kitchen’s live seafood tank. Coral trout, barramundi and oysters end their days on your table steamed with the likes of ginger, spring onion or black bean sauce. Slippery, shredded jellyfish comes slicked in sesame oil while the prawns and squid come salt and peppered. Alternatively, “bon bon chicken” sounds festive and “sizzling three cup chicken” intrigues. “Zing Du” spare ribs are coated in “Imperial sauce”, which seems fitting for a palace.
Roz Taylor