Victor Liong was not into the idea of an open-plan kitchen at Lee Ho Fook when it relocated from Smith Street to the CBD. In fact, anything that felt “too Melbourne” was rejected for the fit-out, such as polished-concrete floors and pine furniture. Instead the owner-chef has gone for a more classic vibe, building a restrained, dimly lit dining room overlooking Duckboard Place.
While the site itself is a far cry from its Collingwood origins, the food inside is much the same. Highlights on the menu include Drunken Chicken with aged Shaoxing rice wine, white turnips, ginger and sesame oil; steamed toothfish prepared Cantonese-style with silken tofu, ginger and enoki mushrooms; and the most elegant pork and chive dumplings you’ll find in the city.
The wine list covers more than 120 bins, and the wine pairing is a must if you’re ordering the set menu. The team has even installed a coravin – a high-tech system that pierces the cork and pressurises the bottle – to allow for high-end vintages to be poured by the glass. For lunch on Fridays and Saturdays, the restaurant offers free-pour Champagne packages for a truly hedonistic experience.
