Eugene Lee’s cooking has always had a creative bent. It’s shown up on the plate before. Before COVID, Eugene worked at Restaurant Indriya in Spring Hill, where he executed a highly conceptual multi-sensory tasting menu that drew inspiration from fashion and art as much as it did culinary trends. More recently, Eugene worked at Emporium Hotels, where he punched up the Asian-inspired menu at The Terrace. Now, the gifted chef is dipping into his own childhood and heritage, applying his unique culinary vision to Malaysian cuisine at newly open South Bank restaurant, La De Lah. Teaming up with the crew behind Ma Pa Me and Harajuku Gyoza, Eugene has been given free rein to build the concept according to his own vision. Nestled in the Little Stanley Street site previously home to Baba Ganouj (which has relocated to a larger space a few doors down), La De Lah sees Eugene digging into his bag of tricks to deliver an offering bursting with colourful vivacity, but still rooted in Malaysia’s vibrant street-food culture. “Cooking Asian street-style food and elevating it has always been something that I’m passionate about,” reveals Eugene. “I really want to bring the authenticity of flavours and the way of life – the Malaysian eating lifestyle – to Brisbane, distilling it then just translating it through my lens.”

An undercurrent of playfulness and opulence courses through La De Lah’s menu – lavish and colourful touches that stem from Eugene’s own Peranakan and Straits Malaysian heritage. “Straits Malaysian is basically an amalgam of Chinese, Malay and European influences, because Malaysia is a very colonised country, explains Eugene. “Peranakan culture is all about the opulence – it’s all about great artwork, great fabrics, great textiles.” Eugene meshes this sense of richness with an easygoing, eat-with-your-hands approachability, evident in dishes such as the spanner crab tartlet topped with fried enoki, paper pouch chicken wings, coconut-turmeric cauliflower satay and make-your-own baos, which come served artfully decorated tiffin canisters. Riffs on traditional Malaysian eats – including the blue-hued nasi goreng kerabu and the Urban Valley chilli mushroom (a play on chilli crab) – showcase Eugene’s creative eye. Perhaps all of Eugene’s ideas can be summarised with one dish – a seasonally flavoured ice-cream sandwich (which is accompanied by a gold almond rocher) that encapsulates a love of colour, a dash of luxury and humble informality. “It’s almost like putting Malaysian cuisine on steroids,” says Eugene with a laugh, referring to La De Lah’s menu. “It’s almost like giving it a facelift. Most of the time when people talk about Malaysian cuisine, it’s almost very traditional. I want to translate it in a way that is progressive. When I say progressive people think that I’m cooking food of tomorrow, but I’m actually cooking the food of today. I wan’t to tell a story of me today.”

Over at the bar, group general manager Matthew Fosker has overseen a cocktail list that matches the flavours of Eugene’s cooking, working similar ingredients into La De Lah’s concoctions (the chilli margarita, for example, incorporates the restaurant’s house-made green sriracha for a spicy kick). These sips are backed by a selection of organic, biodynamic and minimal-intervention vino, small-batch spirits and beers (including the group’s own Yoyogi beer on tap). Eugene’s eye for aesthetics has also been used to helped dictate La De Lah’s decor down to the little details, from the dented cutlery canisters and the oval-shaped metal plates to the lamps and the afore-mentioned colourful tiffin canisters. Aside from the burnt-orange banquettes and booths, the space is muted and dark – a conscious choice that serves to keep attention fixed on the food. “Everything around you is sort of like secondary – there is still detail to it, but it’s not the main focus,” says Eugene. “The main focus is the vibe that exudes from the kitchen team to the floor staff to the food, and then the rest of it is just a contributing factor.”

La De Lah is now open to the public. Head to the Stumble Guide for operating hours, menu info and booking details.