Sue McDonald, Truly Scrumptious
+4
The Dainty Dowager is on the main Beaufort Street strip just past Clarence Street, and the first thing that you notice is the warm welcome. There are obviously many regulars here judging by the number of hugs and warm greetings that the head waitress dishes out. We were seated at a regular table (there are also high bar tables that you can perch at), and considering that it was only 6:30pm the place was buzzing, noisy and vibrant.
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Yummo!!! We were looking for somewhere that served great food, and in a casual environment, as I was still dressed in shorts and jandals (thongs) after a bit of Christmas shopping around town on a lovely hot afternoon. Part of that expedition took us to Mt Lawley, which we hadn’t been to for ages, so decided to head back there to soak up the casual, yet vibrant feels of the street. While waiting for Dainty’s to open at 5:30pm, we stopped for a refreshing thirst quencher at The Queens (but that’s another review), then it was just a very short walk up the road to the Dainty Dowager.
Upon entering, my wife asked, “Are you sure we haven’t been here before?” After chatting with our friendly host, and commenting on the cool ceiling decorations, we learned that the restaurant is owned by the same people who own The Low Key Chow House, which we have dined at and thoroughly enjoyed before. Our host was very friendly, obliging and helpful in terms of menu choices. He also scored top marks when he brought out a complimentary glass of delightful chardonnay to celebrate my wife’s recent birthday (in addition to the complimentary spicy roasted peanuts), which was the reason for our night out. A great gesture and well appreciated!
The food choices all sound so delish, that it’s a challenge to limit yourself to what you can comfortably manage! Fear not however, as they will happily arrange for any uneaten meals to be packaged as takeaways.
The pork, ginger and water chestnut dumplings of the day were amazing, as were the soft shell crab baos. The salt and pepper squid was really terrific, with a divine peanut ginger sauce, and the grilled pork belly lettuce cups were fresh and tasty. While Mrs B opted for another single crab bao (she’s just discovered how delicious these soft-shelled crabs are), I had to go for the in-house roasted char siu BBQ pork, which I chose a small rice and Chinese greens, in oyster sauce to accompany. The pork was juicy, tender and flavoursome, the rice was fluffy and generous, and the greens were perfectly crisp and tender, with the fried shallots on top making the perfect tasty garnish.
The limited dessert selection actually sounded very tempting, and sadly neither of us had the capacity to try them out, so we will certainly have to come again and try better a second time around.
The decor is rustic Chinese, with woven round trays on the ceiling, and replica vintage lamps in abundance, lighting up a dark and warmly inviting interior. While we were there just after opening at 5:30pm, the place was filling up steadily by the time we left, I can believe it would get packed later on in the evening.
Overall, highly recommended and we look forward to returning again in the near future.
The food and ambience are nice no doubt, but the wait staff were stand out. They were all young people, who were refreshingly polite, professional, and went out of their way to make our time there enjoyable. We will be back here in the near future.
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