Meet Yan, Wolli Creek's New Chinese Smokehouse Restaurant

Moving from sandwiches, dessert and flowers to smoked meats, the team behind Woolloomooloo sandwich joint John Montagu and Sydney chocolatier, patissier and florist Petal Met Sugar have rolled the dice on a completely new venture — Chinese cuisine. Yan, their new Chinese smokehouse restaurant, opened up in the often gastronomically neglected suburb of Wolli Creek a couple of weeks ago, and has been quietly dishing up incredible smoked Chinese food (yan is a Chinese word for smoke).

Although Chinese food usually champions barbecued meats more ferociously than smoked, the trend that's swept meat vendors Australia-wide has sunk its delicious claws into Yan. Although the owners are more familiar with the sweet side of the palate, they've taken a deft hand to Chinese food, creating a simplistic menu that's designed for sharing and maintains strong elements of traditional cooking, despite the intriguing addition of house-smoked meats. Think smoked lamb rib with a cumin dry rub and Asian chimichurri, or smoked mussels with house-made chilli sauce and bao. And olive rice.

Wolli Creek isn't often considered a culinary cornerstone, but the southern suburb is picking up some of that gentrified urban sprawl — the recently launched Discovery Markets are testament to the area's growing foodie focus. To be sure, there's nosh here that's worth changing trains for.

Yan is situated at 19 Arncliffe Street, Wolli Creek, and is open 5.30pm to 9.30pm, Wednesday to Sunday.