PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAThe lesson is: don’t judge a restaurant by its exterior. Jade Kew has a shopfront in a series of shops in suburban Kew that also includes a pizza place, an osteopath, a bakery, a pet store, and so on. The frontage is so modest that the restaurant comes as a huge surprise. Behind the takeaway counter is a high-ceilinged two-level restaurant that’s all white and jade green (with some red accents, of course). It looks well cared for and just slightly old-fashioned, which makes sense when you know the place has been humming along since 1991.
Wing Lee is the chef, his wife Linda runs the dining room, and sometimes their adult children help out about the place too. It has all the advantages of a long-running family business – the care for diners, the attention to detail. Most of the regulars are Chinese and at any given meal there will be large family groups. The menu is long, and there are specials to choose from as well, but the strength here is seafood so let that be your guide. Ask what’s in the tank, or select your own. We ate perfectly cooked coral trout with snow peas, and a very sound won ton soup, as well as spicy scallops and prawns. The Chinese family nearby had ordered abalone ahead of time, and Peking duck, which was expertly sliced and folded into pancakes by a pair of waiters. The Peking duck must be ordered 24 hours in advance, so don’t wander in because you fancy it for take-away. The wine list is small, and if you bring your own, the corkage is a modest $1.50 per person.
Rita Erlich