Dino Ng is a busy chef. Between his role as executive chef at Rydges South Bank and teaching commercial cookery at the Mastery Institute Australia, he’s also the chef and co-founder of Eon, a modern Asian restaurant in the city. Turns out, he’s something of a perfectionist, too.
“We planned to open [Eon] before Christmas, but I pushed it back because a lot of small things weren’t ready – the plates weren’t the size I wanted, the tables weren’t the size I wanted,” Ng says. “And in the first month, I told them not to do any promotion. We wanted to do a soft opening so we could get it right.”
Eon opened earlier this year in the former Spice Den space. The fit-out is dark and moody, with wood panelling, lanterns and splashes of red. But it’s Ng’s approach to cooking that warrants a visit.
The Hong Kong-born chef draws influences from across China, applying modern Western technique. “Respect the roots, but don’t be afraid to upgrade,” he says. Take his roast chicken with wild mushrooms and chicken oil truffle rice. Inspired by Hainanese chicken rice, Ng brines, salt-bakes and roasts the chicken to achieve crisp skin, then serves it with mushrooms and a risotto made with chicken oil, chicken fat and truffle paste.
Another dish draws from his time competing on Chef of China, the Chinese counterpart to Korea’s Culinary Class Wars. It’s a version of the dish he cooked in the first episode: sous-vide beef tongue brushed with shrimp paste, then finished on the grill and served with a chimichurri and black pepper sauces.
“They selected around 30,000 people around the world for the show, and I was the only one from Australia,” Ng says. “From 100 chefs, only 32 made it through the first round. I [went through] the first round, [then the] second, and my final result was top 20.
“After the [first episode] was released, I put the beef tongue on the menu. It’s been popular – I didn’t expect it.”
The wine list is mostly Australian, with a couple French drops and wines from Chinese producer Xige. There’s also an extensive baijiu selection, alongside a cocktail list incorporating Asian ingredients like yuzu, shiso and tea.
Eon
451 Ann Street, Brisbane City
No phone
Hours:
Tue to Sat 5pm–9pm
@eon.brisbane
Dining and Cooking