Portia’s Place on Kennedy St Kingston is one of those select few comfortably unpretentious restaurants which reminds you why you decided to go out seeking an orient inspired meal in the first place. The interior space is wrapped tastefully but boldly in contrasting tones of bamboo forest wallpaper and colour blocks of cool teals, deep greys and warm organic greens. The chopsticks are actually sturdy and infused with a deep, jet black and every table has a small complimentary bowl of freshly made honey-soy peanuts for starving diners to nibble as they ponder the extensive menu with wide-eyed wonder.
The menu is a star in its own right, offering pieces of knowledge regarding Chinese customs and traditions in the footer of each page. I now know, for example, where all my bad luck is stemming from – I’ve been flipping my fish for years, apparently that’s a no-no. The back page of the beautiful, lustrous gold menu takes the entertainment and conversation starters even further, with the entire page dedicated to Chinese astrology – a very interesting read. Trivia and matchmaking aside, we finally decided on the prawn dumplings, Wasabi King Island steak and Sizzling Peach and wine seafood from the specials menu.
For the entree, we were served prawn dumplings which arrive gently cradled in a woven bamboo steamer. The pale, translucent pastry blushed with a demure tint of the brilliant coral pink resting inside as filling and was supple enough to allow easy spearing – one handed chopstick style. Even though my motor skills with anything but a teaspoon may be appalling – these prawn dumplings are anything but. Lightly spiced so as to enhance the flavours rather than overpower and, served up with a chilli soy dipping sauce, they provide the perfect introductory flavour profile as the precursor to the highly anticipated mains. I do however, feel obliged to give a small word of caution regarding the dipping sauce – A little goes a long way as it carries a very sharp bite, but it is unquestionably necessary as the fiery sensation somehow heightens all 5 senses, enhancing the flavour of the prawn dumpling from every angle.
Next arrived our two mains, the first of which was the Wasabi King Island Steak. Stir-fried tender King Island steak with special soy sauce and finished with a touch of wasabi sounded fantastic, but the menu-given-description doesn’t come close to doing this dish justice. Glistening a deep, caramelised brown and folded through with soft, squidgy mushroom halves – the chunks of carnivore-heaven steak were so unbelievably tender I almost mistook a piece for a bloated, stem-less mushroom. With the centre of each piece tinted by an attractive shade of medium rare baby pink and the fresh, emerald forest side of texture balancing broccoli, the generous plate depleted itself far too quickly.
I didn’t mourn the disappearance of my King island steak for too long however, as the second main of sizzling seafood with peach sauce arrived at our table almost simultaneously. The description of “fresh seafood served with snow peas and a white wine peach sauce” threw me initially and I had to read the menu twice. If I wore reading glasses I would have also fished them from the depths of my handbag to double-check the description. For a dish which doesn’t sound characteristically Chinese, it certainly looked the part and the golden, liquid amber glaze tasted of sweet, ripe fruits. The seafood itself is a medley of boneless fish pieces, scallops and prawns, tempura-ed in a pale but super crisp batter, anointed generously with the sweetly sticky peach and wine sauce and, finally, rested on a comfortable bed of Kermit coloured snow peas. Located on the specials menu, it’s definitely a flavour combination I’d return for in an instant.
A refreshing change to stock standard, Western-ised Chinese cuisine, Portia’s Place provided us with a great night out. From my fish flipping revelations to embracing the creative, sensitive sheep persona I am supposed to emanate, we were simultaneously entertained and educated through-out the entire delicious meal as, thankfully, even the chopsticks come with much needed instruction.
I didn’t read it of course, I was only glancing out of polite curiosity. Repeatedly.
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