Low Key Chow House

Leading the way for Perth’s modern Asian dining scene for the past three years, Low Key Chow House sets out to debunk many of the myths surrounding Asian cuisine, located slap bang on Oxford Street in Leederville. Recalling the bustling in-your-face kitchens and hawker stalls of Asian metropoli like Hong Kong and Singapore, the restaurant is a pared-backdrop for a riotous menu of classic and contemporary pan-Asiatic cookery, with a focus on street food cooked on charcoal. Pair your meal with a bespoke cocktail from the lengthy list broken down into sweet, salty, sour and spicy categories, or pursue the selection of local and international wine and beers.

A lot of Leederville locals head to Low Key Chow House simply to lap up the liquid on offer, from the A Mr Miyagi cocktail (Hendricks gin, wasabi-infused cucumber and lime) to Mr. Chow’s continent-hopping margherita, matching Espolon Bianco tequila with Grand Marnier, Pavan, lime, and jalapeno syrup. Watch out for that one. If spontaneous internal combustion is not what you’re after and the Perth weather hasn’t already finished you off anyway, get a little more Zen with a Japanese sake or umeshu tasting tray, or something else from the ‘Sweet’, ‘Sour’, or ‘Salty’ types of cocktail on offer. As for the food, the newly revamped (but not too preciously put together) menu at Low Key Chow House’s Oxford Street restaurant features a range of goodies, referencing family recipes from Malaysia and Vietnam as well as a host of dishes from other Asian countries.

Options range from the signature Chinese char siu dish to the sashimi ceviche-like salad of pearly citrus-cured hiramasa kingfish and grapefruit to Japanese shiitake mushroom skewers and a winter warmer fusion dessert of poached pear with sweetcorn custard and the chizu keki – that’s Japanese Engrish for cheesecake, FYI. For those in Perth who like to keep their food under wraps, Low Key Chow House’s crispy dumplings sport a new filling every week, and we can’t get enough of the vegetarian tofu and wood ear mushroom rolls. For a fun and irreverent take on authentic Asian food, this is the place to go. Just remember to make a reservation well in advance, particularly over the chief chow down hours.