Longtime Yum Cha brings dim sum, live seafood and cocktails to Queens Plaza
Are there any meals that boast the same level of belt-loosening extravagance as yum cha? Just picture it – wave upon wave of small plates arriving at your table while a lazy Susan spins sluggishly under the weight of the bounty. If this experience sounds like your kind of indulgence, then allow us to introduce you to Longtime Yum Cha. This gorgeous eatery is officially opening tomorrow, Friday December 17, at Queens Plaza, debuting with a menu of Cantonese-inspired eats and crafted cocktails to match. Wear something stretchy and gather some mates – there’s a lot on the menu to explore.
Yum cha isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. When we sit down for a yum cha lunch, we know we’re there for a good time and a long time, which makes Queens Plaza‘s new restaurant Longtime Yum Cha an auspiciously named dining destination. The venue is the flagship eatery from Andrew Yu of New Asia Group (Yum Cha Cuisine, Kamikaze Kitchen), a crew that knows a thing or two about delivering dynamic Asian-inspired concepts. This latest venture is, perhaps, the group’s most sizeable and adventurous enterprise to date – a 200-seat restaurant perched atop Queen Street’s hub of high-end retail specialising in sumptuous Cantonese cuisine. Longtime, which can be found up the escalators on level one next to Alice McCall, boasts a no-expense-spared interior that is as easy on the eyes as a fully loaded dim sum platter. The space, envisioned by the team at Clui Design, boasts a raw and bold maximalist aesthetic comprised of curved accents, neutral concrete textures, handmade wall and floor tiles (imported from Japan) and luxurious marble finishes. Guests are greeted by a wow-inducing entry space, where a waiting area, Longtime’s 15-seater bar and a scattering of low-set casual seats (perfect for drinks and snacks) await. From there the room flows towards the main dining space, where diners can sink into Raffles Singapore-inspired rattan chairs or cushy banquettes and peer curiously into the windowed dumpling kitchen or gawk at the live-seafood tanks. An outdoor balcony area overlooks the Adelaide Street below, fitted with a string of curved booths (which can sit seven guests apiece) and tables that are shielded by planter beds and hanging star jasmine. Longtime also boasts two private-dining rooms, each equipped with audio-visual equipment for presentations, training sessions and celebrations.
Longtime’s chefs are seriously flexing their culinary talent with the restaurant’s food offering, which boasts a jaw-dropping array of options, across its main menu and yum cha list. Either option caters well to group feasting, but there’s nothing like gathering the crew for a yum cha outing. Longtime is plating up a veritable smorgasbord of traditionally crafted morsels (underpinned by health-oriented approach emphasising less oil, less salt and no MSG) encouraging diners to go as hard as their stomach linings will allow. Steaming baskets of shu mai, pork xao long bao, glutinous chicken rice wrapped in lotus leaf and phoenix claws in black-bean sauce segue into molten salted egg-custard buns, baked barbecue pork buns and golden sponge cake with taro filling. From there folks can dive into Longtime’s kitchen snacks range, which includes stir-fried turnip cake in XO sauce, Cantonese soy sauce noodles, crispy fried soft-shell crab, crispy duck pancakes and deep-fried glutinous rice dumplings. The main menu features many of the above dishes, but is further bolstered by the addition of large-format delicacies like live seafood (including lobster served in two courses and coral trout), jumbo tiger prawns served on a bed of squid-ink noodles, typhoon shelter-inspired dishes (think Moreton Bay bugs, calamari and soft-shell crab served Hong Kong style) truffle fried rice, Mongolian lamb racks and 18-hour slow-cooked pork belly. Here’s little a mind-boggling factoid – Longtime’s menu is set to expand further once the restaurant and its kitchen team has found its footing, so expect even more dishes to appear ahead of your next visit. The same can be said about the beverage list, which is starting off with a reasonable cross-section of drinks that boast a discernible East-meets-West vibe. Longtime has linked up with ecoSPIRITS to serve its premium pours via waste-minimising totes. These spirits are filtered into an array of signature and classic cocktails, with the Chin Fizz (rum, lemon, Luxardo, Wonderfoam and bitters) and the Zen Chi (gin, cucumber, citrus, elderflower and mint syrup) touted as early stand-outs. A sharp mix of local craft and mainstream beers join a curated wine list featuring mostly Australian drops.
Longtime Yum Cha is opening tomorrow, Friday December17. You can find opening hours and other important info in the Stumble Guide.
The Stumble Guide is our comprehensive Brisbane dining guide with more than 2400 places to eat, drink, shop and play.