Central

From the team behind Rick Shores and Southside comes Central, named after the frenetic heart of Hong Kong. Much of the venue is informed by chef Benny Lam’s experiences of living and working in city as a chef and a designer.

It’s located right in the guts of the CBD beneath 340 Queen Street – once home to the historic Piccadilly Arcade and Primitif Cafe, a favoured ’50s hangout for Brisbane beatniks.

Central bills itself as a dumpling bar first and foremost, so dim sum is at the heart of the menu, which features scallop and prawn dumplings with smoked salmon roe, king crab spring rolls, wild mushroom and water chestnut dumplings, and classic prawn har gow. But there’s also cold starters, a selection of share plates, and items cooked on the barbecue.

Accompanying the food is a 250(ish)-bottle wine list that mixes Old and New World drops and includes four wines from China. About 30 are available by the glass, half glass and half bottle via Coravin.

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