The food can be great, and the wine list filled with great options; you can have a great night out but - as Miss Clavel said in the 1990s cartoon Madeline - something is not right. They can be soulless - or a side dish to the mains (aka the hotel they're attached to).

This is not the case with Chairman and Yip. And I can safely say, every time I have been to Chairman and Yip over the years, it has never been like that, despite being attached to the Burbury Hotel in Barton.

Perhaps because it started life on Bunda Street before moving to the hotel? It could be the interiors which have this way of making it feel private and intimate, despite a full seating area? Or maybe simply because they still have their own entrance? Either way, it still very much has a soul. You don't feel like an intruder to people enjoying a hotel getaway. You're going out for a nice dinner. They are the main event. Or at least, they are for us, as non-hotel guests on this midweek dinner.

With the choice of a tasting menu and a three-course option on offer, tonight we opt for the three-course option ($98 per person), giving us a choice for our three entrees, two mains and dessert.

First out is the kohlrabi and cucumber salad with Western Australian rock lobster, bacon and sesame. I'm not going to lie - part of the reason I chose this is because of the WA rock lobster. As a former Perth girl, it's hard to go past so anything from WA - especially when you know how good WA rock lobster can be. And this doesn't disappoint. It's light and bright, with the cucumber giving it a nice crunch.

Next up are the steamed Hokkaido scallops with jamon XO sauce. Coming out still in their shells, we're told to eat them like an oyster, which is a little awkward (or perhaps I'm just not as graceful as I like to think?) and I opt for some help from my chopsticks. But either way, they're delicious. The scallops are lovely and firm, and combined with the sauce there's a slight sweetness overall.

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The seafood entrees continue with prawn and scallop toast with squid ink. Obviously, we're in the mood for seafood, but it's worth noting that out of the six entrees to choose from, four of them are seafood (and the other two are vegetarian). The prawn and scallop toast may just be my favourite though. When you think of prawn toast, you think of the flat piece of toast topped with a small amount of prawn, that you get from your local Chinese takeaway. It can be hit or miss as to whether it's a letdown or not.

But this - this takes that idea and elevates it to not only where it should be, but to a level that you didn't know it could go. The prawn and scallop mixture is wrapped up in the pastry, and looks-wise it's almost a cross between a spring roll and a sausage roll. But you bite into the crispy coating to get a burst of flavour in the middle. It's simple - there's just a hint of the squid ink while the seafood does the rest - but very moreish.

On to mains and we get the tea-smoked duck breast with yuzu honey sauce, and the spiced lentils and chickpeas with roast vegetables, with a side of broccolini in smoked oyster sauce and steamed garlic rice. We're split on which we prefer over the mains - which is a good thing because it means there's no fighting over who gets what when it comes to what remains on the plate.

My friend is a fan of the lentils and chickpeas, heading back for seconds - and rightly so. I'm usually not the one to get excited about lentils - and if it wasn't for my friend I might have opted for something else. But I like being proved wrong in situations like these. There's just enough spice to it to make it like a warm hug in a dish.

The duck, however, is my favourite of the mains. Perfectly crispy skin and perfectly tender meat, make for a perfectly delightful duck. And the yuzu honey sauce is an elevated take on the old favourite - lemon honey. I'm loving the slow overtaking of yuzu on menus. It's got the sourness of a lemon, but the sweetness of a mandarin, and I am here for it. When used in this instance, it brings a nice, fresh sweetness to the duck, without becoming overbearing.

And as we come to the end of the meal, out comes dessert - mango gelato, yuzu curd, coconut, lemon myrtle infused sago and ruby grapefruit. I have to say, it always feels a bit off having gelato at - in this case - a Pan-Asian restaurant. But in this instance it feels like the thing that delivers the other elements - all of which add a little something-something to each mouthful. The only thing I can suggest is that it needed a crunchy element - maybe a crumb - to just give it that little extra something.

But overall, it's pretty hard to fault Chairman and Yip. Tonight it's been a midweek culinary escape and proof that you don't need a hotel (just a very good restaurant), for the perfect getaway.

Address: 1 Burbury Close, Barton

Phone: 6162 1220

Website: chairmangroup.com.au

Hours: Lunch, Thursday and Friday. Dinner, Tuesday to Saturday

Chef: William Suen

Noise: Not a problem

Dietary: A couple of good options

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