Overview
Sydney favourite Queen Chow is opening a temporary third venue, gifting New South Wales' south coast residents with a taste of its modern Cantonese flavours. The Merivale venue, which first brought Chinese food to the pub with its Enmore outpost, will pop up in Narooma's The Whale Inn from Saturday, December 11, replacing previous pop-up bistro Chez Dominique.
Narooma locals and those passing through for a beachside holiday can expect all the Queen Chow favourites with a big onus on local seafood served on swirling lazy Susans.
The menu has been crafted by former Mr. Wong chef Tal Buchnik and Queen Chow Manly's Toby Worthington. Highlights of the menu are rock oysters, abalone, XO sauce crayfish and grilled scallops with kombu butter, all sourced from local waterways. Queen Chow's excellent dumplings will also be making an appearance courtesy of Merivale's dumpling master Eric Koh.
The Whale Inn is one of three south coast venues Merivale owns, along with The Inlet and recently reopened Quarterdeck.
"Narooma has become my second home and the backdrop to many of my happiest memories with my family," Merivale CEO Justin Hemmes says. "It has been an absolute privilege to spend so much time here over the past six years, and becoming part of the local business community is enormously exciting."
Queen Chow's take-over of The Whale Inn will run throughout summer and indefinitely into 2022. Merivale has also teased a refresh or transformation of the accomodation options at the inn, however is yet to reveal any concrete plans for this aspect of the building.
Nikki To
Queen Chow Narooma will open on Saturday, December 11 at The Whale Inn, 102 Wagonga Street, Narooma. It will be open for dinner Tuesday–Saturday.