Chow House

CHOW HOUSE HAS PERMANENTLY CLOSED IN 2020.

Chow House, a slick Pan Asian eatery in the heart of James St with esteemed chef Timmy Kemp at the helm, makes the perfect dining companion pre or post the cinema next door.

The scene is casual summery with a large patio garden style room with wicker light fittings and ceiling fans opening onto the streets and a quirky narrow dining area inside presided over by a cow painting.

On the menu are a selection of street food such as prawn sugarcane skewers, duck and shallot pancake and lemongrass chicken satay, and for something more substantial (designed to stand alone or to share) are the standout twice cooked duck salad, Nasi Goreng, pork, water chestnut and mushroom dumpling. Otherwise main dishes from the grill include seafood for two, BBQ beef ribs or eye fillet.

Chef's special dessert is the delectable pandan sago with coconut sorbet and well worth leaving room for. Otherwise inside is a counter of sweet stuff such as passionfruit meringue tart, salted caramel chocolate tart or white chocolate and lime cheesecake.

Children are welcomed here too with a tiny menu that includes a breakfast of bacon, egg and fried rice and lunch or dinner of tow chicken skewers.

And for grown-ups breakfast has a foot in Eastern and Western camps, ranging from mashed avo on sour dough toast to coconut crumpets with lemon curd.

And unlike many Asian eateries the wine list is spot on and the in-house citrus based cocktails worth a visit alone.