Shy John Brewery and Yum Cha - Restaurant Review

Don’t be misled by the name: there’s nothing retiring about this two-storey bar and dining room from rising restaurateur Ian Chin.

Noodle Forum, his best-known venture, is a local chain famous for its bamboo-kneaded noodles - but for his latest opening, Chin has audaciously reimagined the Chinese restaurant and Perth has voted with its feet, wallets and hashtags.

In Cantonese restaurant tradition, Shy John serves housemade dim sum by day and Cantonese classics by night but in Chin’s world,  signature prawn dumplings receive a gold-dusted, squid-ink wrapper upgrade, Sichuan spice lends heft to beef tartare and baked char siu pork buns are a masterclass in sweet-savoury pleasure. Custom beers (brewed offsite) and Asian-themed cocktails make BYO a thing of the past, while the post-3pm bar menu features an edit of the dim sum selection if you need an afternoon dumpling hit. Service, just like the bright, urban space in Perth’s Yagan Square precinct, is à la mode.

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