Me Wah

As you drive along Sandy Bay Road in Hobart past the popular Salamanca and Battery Point restaurant scene you enter a mix of takeaway outlets, supermarkets, butchers & bakeries, restaurants and local cafes. In amongst this suburban shopping strip is 'Magnet Court' which is also home to a previously restaurant I've blogged about, Don Camillo.

Walking into the restaurant you are greeted by two stone chinese lions either side of decorative frosted glass doors. Inside, the restaurant is no different with beautiful authentic Chinese furniture, pottery and wall art that achieves a look that is rarely well-executed. 

Admittedly, prior to me starting this blog - AJ and I have been to Me Wah time and time again and the reason is quite simple, it is some of the best Asian cuisine you will find in Australia. Their wine selection is critically acclaimed and the restaurant has been repeatedly awarded in a number magazines and surveys. 

Me Wah can be enjoyed in either yum cha on the weekends, a la carte, banquet or take away. One of the most refreshing points about the restaurant is that the quality of the dishes regardless of how and when you have them is outstanding. 

Tonight we opted for one of the banquet selections. AJ and I were dining with friends and decided to go for the basic selection of entrees, soup, lamb, pork, chicken, beef, rice, noodles and dessert. This selection is titled the 'Bamboo' ($55/head), although there are plenty of other options for seafood lovers ($75/head) or for those who want to sample some of Tasmania's premier exports prepared in the Chinese style ($120/head). 

On to the meal:

On the first plate; a chicken spring roll, pork dim sim and barbeque duck puff. The next; a serving of chicken and sweet corn soup.

The third plate; baby lamb cutlet cooked in sake, garlic and chilli. The next; thinly sliced char sui pork.

The fifth plate; sautéed chicken breast with macadamia and snow peas - this was served with a fried rice with plenty of fresh vegetables.

The sixth plate; seared eye fillet with a black bean sauce -  this was served with a heap of Singapore noodles.

The seventh plate; fried vanilla ice cream with a caramel sauce and a serve of coffee (or tea).

The banquet service at Me Wah is different in that the dishes are run in a quasi-degustation style. Foods are paired together and not just dumped on the table all at once for diners to fight over. On the subject of service, Me Wah's waitstaff are impeccably trained and you will not go thirsty (even if it's just a top up of tap water) or need for anything under their watchful eye. 

The quality of our meals on this evening was consistent with our past experiences. Each dish was expertly prepared, there was thought and attention that went into every element and the quality of the produce (even where you may expect cheaper cuts) was superb.  

Each visit to Me Wah only affirms my adoration for their menu, service and dedication to delivering the best Chinese cuisine in this island state.