Sydney’s Lotus Dining Group, will open Pearl, a Cantonese restaurant and bar in September. Located in Quay Quarter, on the newly revived Bridge and Young Streets, the 84-seat venue will offer a modern dining experience with expansive views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, whilst celebrating the traditional style of Cantonese cuisine.
A first for the Sydney restaurant group, the Pearl concept differs from the much-loved Lotus offering, with the restaurant focusing on elevated dishes from the Canton province of China with inspiration being sought from Hong Kong in dishes including roast duck, char siu pork and live seafood.
Lotus Dining Group founder and chairman Michael Jiang says: “This is an exciting and new venture for our group, we have been looking to open a venue with a premium offering and are hoping to reimagine the perception of Cantonese dining. We noticed a gap in the market and have been working to create what we feel is a perfect harmony between Canton traditions and the modern Sydney dining scene.”
Jiang, a shareholder and director of global restaurant group Mott 32 continues: “Upon viewing the space in Quay Quarter Tower and seeing the expansive views of the bridge, we knew we’d found Pearl a home. We’re excited to become cemented in Sydney’s dining culture and look forward to opening in September.”
The menu is a joint partnership between Hong Kong-native chef and director of culinary Cheung Shui Yip alongside executive chef Steve Wu. The pair have blended the Canton food Yip grew up enjoying, with the modern style Wu has mastered here in Australia. The menu focuses on steamed, stir-fried and roasted dishes, and is broken into sections including: dim sum, soups, seafood, meat, BBQ and rice & noodle.
Dishes from the opening menu include: scallop tart with dried ginger, salt and lemon served with crispy rice cracker; crab and pork Xiao long bao; wok fried pearl meat, snow pea and oyster mushroom; wagyu tri tip with tangerine peel sauce; and a pork belly roast with crispy crackling served with native riberry.
The beverage program, curated by head sommelier Karen Dollimore includes over 200 wines, featuring classic varieties and well renowned producers from the new and old world. Cocktails include: Juana Spritz (Grey Goose, lychee liqueur, pink grapefruit, lemon juice), Kino Negroni (Lotus mandarin gin, campari, vermouth and chocolate bitters) and the Old Cuban (Brix spiced rum, lime juice, mint leaves, sugar syrup, Champagne, peychaud’s bitters).
Designed by Darren Kong Architects, the indoor-outdoor space has a unique view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge that is magnified when dining on the 30 seat balcony or along the retractable glass wall. Shades of blue accentuate the design of the venue and banquette seating lines the space. A rectangle bar is anchored in the middle of the venue with a mix of high and low seating available to book and for walk-ins. For a more intimate experience Pearl offers both a semi private dining and a private dining room.
Opening in September, Pearl will open Tuesday to Friday for lunch from 12:00pm – 2:30pm and dinner Tuesday – Saturday from 5:30pm. Bookings are now open at www.pearldining.com.au
Pearl is located at Shop R1013, Retail Level 1, 50 Bridge Street Sydney, Quay Quarter Building
access via escalators on Young Street
Visit www.pearldining.com.au
@pearl.dining