There is a new crop of Asian restaurants in Canberra that seem to occupy the space between casual and cheap-and-cheerful. With home style cooking, they're not fancy or innovative, but there's something comforting and reassuring about the food they serve.
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White Chaco is that sort of place. It's a cosy 25-seater restaurant at max, minimalist to say the least, with concrete walls and simple tables spaced just a little too close together. Tucked into a little corner of one of the many new developments in Braddon, it's a rather utilitarian dining space.
Self-described as Asian fusion, the menu is a slightly awkward mix between Taiwanese and Japanese, with dishes like dumplings, popcorn chicken, sushi, Japanese curry and ramen.
The wines are predictable but good quality, and while the wine list is short the pours are not. For $15 per glass, we get almost a double serve of Clonakilla's Shiraz. If you're in the mood for something else, there are a good range of cocktails, beers, sake and umeshu to choose from.
The special tonight, bacon open steamed buns ($13.90) are strangely intriguing. I've never had bacon in a bao before, but it is surprisingly good - long slices of bacon, drizzled in a honey-like sauce with deep fried Chinese bread and shredded spring onions.
It's sweet and meaty, which sounds bizarre but kind of works. I guess it's not dissimilar to maple bacon on pancakes, really. The only downside is the sauce leaves our fingers coated in a sticky residue that no amount of tissue will rub off - and the only bathroom is outside the restaurant and requires a key to enter.
Some things are good here, the pork ramen ($19.90) for instance. I dare say that it is probably one of the better bowls of ramen you can get in Canberra.
The tonkotsu broth is rich and properly emulsified, the cha siu is lightly charred on the outside and the egg is molten and golden in the middle. The broth is not overly meaty or heavy as tonkotsu sometimes can be - no easy feat. A quick look on their website tells me that it's made from a mixed broth.
The xiao long bao are pretty good too. On the menu they're listed as steamed soup dumplings ($11.90 for 6pcs) rather than their traditional name, which seems a little strange at a restaurant that specialises in food from the region, but perhaps I'm being nitpicky.
The dumplings are well made, the thin, pliable shell bursting with broth. They're better than most I've tried at other yum cha places. There's a small downside of them being difficult to share - there's one tiny bowl of vinegar and the large wooden spoons make it hard to dip the delicate dumplings without them breaking.
The smoky popcorn chicken ($11.90) is reminiscent of Taiwanese street food. It's not terrifically crisp, nor noticeably smoky, but it's not bad by any stretch. Over the years, I've come to have very exacting standards for deep-fried foods. They have to be crisp when bitten into - otherwise, why bother deep-frying at all?
The chilli king prawns ($20.90) aren't particularly memorable either. The chilli isn't pronounced, and while the prawns are fresh, the batter is a touch soggy and the sweet sour sauce lacks punch.
Dishes are quick to be served and we're done in under an hour, which is always nice on a weeknight. But when I order dessert, it's a full forty minutes with no dessert in sight; it seems as though it's been forgotten.
It's an easy mistake to make, fixed with a simple apology but when I remind the waitress, she says that she will check on it and after she checks with the kitchen, she returns to setting tables. There's no acknowledgment of a missed order or explanation for the delay.
Made from a frozen honey and white chocolate mousse, the Belco rabbit ($14.90) is served in a garden of fresh fruit and is almost too adorable to eat. It's a little disappointing when we do eat it - the mousse is frozen solid and difficult to cut, presumably from being rushed out to us. It lacks the flavour and texture of a white chocolate mousse and tastes more like frozen cream than a delicate mousse. It's also light on the accompanying chocolate soil and matcha grass - overall a disappointing end to the meal.
There's definitely a place in my heart (and my stomach) for this style of food, cooked to remind you of the comforts of home. It's the service that could do with a bit of a polish here. If you're going to be home style in the kitchen, you have to exude that warmth on the floor too. And while the food has good bones, it could use a little bit more thought, particularly with how food is served and shared.
White Chaco
Address: g10/27 Lonsdale St, Braddon
Phone: 0401 509 435
Owners: Andrew Hsieh and Sammy Xu
Chef: Andrew Hsieh
Hours: Lunch Monday-Sunday, noon-2pm. Dinner: Monday-Sunday, 5.30-9pm. Closed all day Tuesday and Wednesday lunch.
Wheelchair access: No
Vegetarian: Good options
Noise: Not good for conversation
Score: 12.5/20
