Lau’s Family Kitchen

Where: 4 Acland St

Kilda, (03) 8598 9880

I have been wanting to try this place for a very long time. I had heard great things, and knowing that Mr Lau, former owner of Flower Drum, had set this place up, I had great expectations. On a side note, I have always wondered if it was true that the Lau family lost the Flower Drum in a Poker game to the new owners (the Chinese Mafia). Perhaps that is an urban legend…

So I finally got the chance to try Lau’s a week ago. And it was one of those rare occasions where the hype did meet the reality of the restaurant. First, it is hard to get a booking. You need to do so at least a week in advance. Second, they have the dreaded two sitting system. Either 6.30 pm (too early, unless you have small children or are over 75 years of age) or 8.30 pm (too late, unless you are under 25 or European). I went for the 6.30 pm option, as I am not the nicest of people when I am hungry and didn’t think my husband would enjoy my company if I was made to wait for my dinner past 9 pm.

As expected, upon arriving, the 6.30 pm sitting had its fair share of kids. My heart sinks a little – I don’t enjoy a side of screaming three year old with my spring rolls. But this trepidation is short lived, as we are quickly greeted by a smiling waiter and swept to our table. Another small gripe – our table is smack bang centre of the bustling restaurant (and near previously mentioned whining children). It is not initially very relaxing. But the cloth napkins are laid on laps, water glasses filled and menus are placed in hand and wine list quickly flipped too. I pick a Dominique Portet sparkling rose by the glass (which was cold, full of bubbles and well worth it at $9 a glass) and husband went for a white rabbit beer ($7.50 a bottle, also very cold). In fact wine list is full of quality wines and reasonably priced, with lots of good drops by the glass.

Then to food – we order the famous lamb spring rolls, which come served with perhaps the best plum sauce I have ever tasted. We also have a dim sum selection. The prawn dim sum are excellent with a sweet and juicy centre. The pork dim sum I am not as keen on, they lack the delicate taste of the prawn version. But all round, entrees were delicious. We share three mains (all around the $30-35 mark) – the tofu and mince pork (which has also been highly rated by reviewers), king prawns and Singapore noodles. The tofu and mince pork is exceptional – moist, slightly crispy tofu, with perfectly seasoned minced pork. It is spicy, sticky and delicious over plain rice. The prawns are also done perfectly and are coated in a sweet but not too overpowering sauce. The taste of the good quality prawns is still allowed to shine through. I am hard to impress with prawns (so often overcooked, or obviously frozen, or covered in a thick gluggy sauce) so this is a definite compliment to Lau’s. The Singapore noodles are ok, if not a little bland and dry, and needed more of the good stuff (pork, prawns, spring onion etc) to reduce the noodle ratio.

All in all, the food is good enough to distract from the yelling child nearby (now sitting on mothers lap after large tantrum) and the constant stream of waiters flowing around our table. The service is exceptional – the best I’ve had in a while and food comes out at perfect intervals. Other Melbourne restaurants could learn a lot by how Lau's serves its customers. They embody the true Flower Drum spirit – polite but not overly chatty, quick, pre-emptive and seamless. Drinks are quickly refreshed, meals brought to the table one at a time and perfectly portioned out onto individual plates, and every request quickly fulfilled. To the diner it seems effortless, but after having worked in hospitality for 6 years, I know that this type of service is in fact very difficult to pull off.

Finally, after loosening the belt, I insist on dessert. Husband complains he can’t do it, so I order a banana fritter. He quickly recants and says he will have one as well. It was incredible. It took me back to my childhood at the local chinese with my parents, ticking into a banana fritter and ice cream. But better. Much better. Doesn’t sound like much, but the banana is clearly done is fresh oil that gave it a creamy, crisp yellow batter with a soft banana centre. The vanilla ice cream was good quality and the strawberries on the side completed an old fashioned but still worthy dessert. I was in heaven and ate the whole thing.

Another small issue is that there is only one toilet of the rear of the restaurant. Considering the restaurant is full every night means I had to go and check if someone was in there, then return to my seat to wait until the person in the toilet was done (as there was no space to wait by the toilet door). However, the waitress was so on the ball that amongst juggling drinks, plates etc, she watched the toilet door for me and as soon as the person using it finished, she rushed over to tell me the toilet was free. She did this without being asked, and it was lovely to have such professional service for every aspect of the dining experience.

So all in all, a lovely meal, made better by the service. It isn’t cheap ($70 a head for entrée, main, dessert and two drinks each) but it isn’t expensive either. Well worth it. In fact, we had far too much to eat, and because it was so delicious we over did it and both felt like vomiting for several hours (not because of the quality, but because of the quantity we consumed).

I think Mr Lau was better off losing the Flower Drum to the Chinese Mafia in a Poker match, as I think I enjoyed eating here more than at the Flower Drum back in its glory days. More relaxed and less of the 1970s country Chinese restaurant décor going on. In fact Lau’s has a very schmick and contemporary fit out that works well.

We walk out happy, belly full and in need of a big walk around the block.

Score (out of 10):

8/10

Note: Would have given a 9/10, but I hate sittings and I don't like having to constantly wait for the toilet (I drink a lot of water). Plus pork dim sum and singapore noodles were a let down.