Restaurant review: From Orient
From Orient has certainly been the flavour of the month with Adelaide’s dining scene, picking up numerous awards over the course of its inaugural year.
Located out-of-the-way at the Hindmarsh Square end of Pirie Street, the modern Chinese restaurant has benefited from a tidy refurbishment.
The downstairs area is broken up into small, private sections, separated by what appear to be giant birdcages. Tables are well set and dim lighting provides a relaxed, hushed atmosphere. Upstairs is wide open and well suited to functions of varying sizes.
On the night we visit, we are greeted at the door by a cheery and entertaining host, who guides us to a table.
Things start well: the well-priced wine list is, for a Chinese restaurant, exceptional. It is extensive and heavily Australian, with a smattering of French and Kiwi.
Selecting The Lane’s “Beginning” Chardonnay, for a decent $60, we move to the food menu.
At first glance, From Orient offers modern Chinese with an emphasis on the Sichuan region.
Starters are served promptly in the reasonably busy restaurant, which on this night is top-heavy with a large upstairs function.
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Pork wontons served two ways, one fried and one steamed in a light consommé, are freshly made and quite delicious. Offering both steamed and fried also takes away that difficult decision of which one to choose.
The crispy quail comes with a finger bowl, tempting diners to eat with their hands. It is delightfully cooked, maintaining moistness almost as if it was confit, yet with a skin that must have been fried at high temperature for the perfect length of time.
Pancake rolls of vegetable and fresh herbs are a nice closer; dipped in a sticky sweet sauce, the doughy pancake and crispy vegetables work well as a cleanser.
The service is prompt and efficient, the host popping by on occasions to ensure food and drink is to everyone’s liking. His easy-going manner has the table asking for his advice about main course.
The suggestion was the “Shui zhu” fish, which is described as being a dish that came to prominence originally in Beijing during the ’90s before spreading to the rest of the nation.
Also ordered is the tantalising beef with “tingling sauce” and the master-stock duck.
The Shui zhu fish comes to the table in large bowl, steaming and bubbling like a hot spring. Lumps of chilli and peppercorns toss tumultuously before the waitress spoons out some of the chilli, leaving a deep and seemingly oily broth and the glaringly-white fish.
It is quite a sensation: tender fish that melts in the mouth, the combination of three chillis adding a pleasant heat and the broth being quite viscous but clear.
The tingling beef is exactly that – crushed Sichuan peppers in a rich broth add an anaesthetic-like effect on finely shaven strips of meat. Three or four mouthfuls and one can lose sense of how hot the dish actually is. It is quite a strange effect, almost like the feeling of eating popping candy as a child, but with heat added. The flavours of the broth are deep and intense, and one cannot help but go back for more.
The master-stock duck is amazing. Carved and sliced in chop-stick manageable chunks, the crispy skin is salty and the oily flesh is rich – pickled vegetables add contrast.
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The food is a class above what was expected. And there is an awful lot of it.
It is served with a smile and questions about produce and wine are answered easily with confidence.
While Chinatown is wonderful and the many restaurants that line Moonta and Gouger Street offer quick, cheap Chinese meals, there is definitely a market in Adelaide for more upmarket Asian cuisine of the sort produced by From Orient. It is classy, offers new visual and flavour experiences, and adds a fine-dining element.
From Orient’s mains may be slightly pricy but the servings are large and designed for sharing, as is the Chinese way. It is obvious that only the best ingredients are used for the dishes and there is no fluorescent or other-worldly sauces one may encounter at a typical Chinese restaurant.
From Orient is a success story built on a solid, simple foundation: a great wine list, a willingness not to conform to Western versions of Chinese food and extremely good service.
The restaurant deserves its plaudits and piqued my interest to go back a few more times yet.
Three and a half out of five.
From Orient
125-127-Pirie Street
08 8232 4020
Lunch: Monday – Friday, 11:30 – 2:30
Dinner: Monday to Sunday, 5:30 – late
Cuisine: Chinese
