Chairman and Yip

Ph: 6248 7109; 108 Bunda St, CANBERRA 2600 www.thechairmanandyip.com

Modern Asian, $$, * for Food & Ambience, Good Wine List
Open Lunch Tue-Fri noon-2.30pm Dinner Mon-Sat 6-10.30pm, Closed Major public holidays; Licensed, BYO , Corkage $7.50 bottle; AE DC MC V EFT
Chef William Suen (29-11-08) Owner Josiah Li (29-11-08)

Mietta's Review
After all these years this restaurant is still consistently recommended. It is an important part of the Canberra dining scene and perhaps the most eccentric of the city's established restaurants. With communal tables and open spaces, this is a good place to enjoy interesting Chinese influenced food. The wine list is not large, but is selective and offers good value.

Other published opinions

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 13.5/20 "Canberra's Civic may have morphed into a huge shopping mall, however, 1 5 years after it first opened here, the venerable Chairman and Yip remains unchanged both in decor and cuisine"

Gourmet Traveller 2009 Australian Restaurant Guide "Cultural revolution was what the Chairman was all about when it took the great fusion leap forward for the people of Canberra. While the mere thought of fusion food may be of concern, chef William Suen makes it work even if it may feel slightly retro at times"

Canberra Times Bryan Martin, Eat Out, 17-10-07 Score: 15/20 "A benchmark for consistency in unique and interesting Euro-Chinese cuisine. A test of the senses and served with professional passion."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 13/20 "When it opened in 1994, the Chairman quickly became a byword for groovy dining. There's the funky interior (Mao kitsch meets Asian elegance), the menus pasted into gallery catalogues, and of course the panAsian, fusion-style food epitomised by dishes such as slowcooked beef shanks a kind of Asian osso buco that dares to mix hints of star anise with a tomato and lentil sauce"

Gourmet Traveller 2008 Australian Restaurant Guide "East-West fusion is deemed problematic by many in the restaurant game, but the Chairman, with its mostly Chinese, sometimes European, occasionally Thai menu, is still packing them in after 14 years."

Sydney Eats 2008 "Chairman & Yip offers good-value meals as well as a wonderful seven-course degustation for $37.50; add dessert of the day and it's $46.50"

Canberra Times Catriona Jackson, 15-02-06 "Chairman and Yip has long been the funky chicken of the Canberra dining scene. While young turk status is hard to maintain as the years pass by, The Chairman has retained its place among Canberra's best because the food is the most intelligent modem Asian around. No ridiculous east meets west excesses here -just traditional and non-traditional ingredients, all working together to make harmonious and sometimes surprising dishes. If anything the food has improved in recent years."

Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2007 Score: 14/20 "The Chairman has been the funkiest joint in town for a long time. While a strong fashion sense has helped, the sheer quality of the food keeps everyone coming back, even if it feels like some of the sheen has faded recently."

Gourmet Traveller 2007 Restaurant Guide "A long-serving local here, the Chairman is buzzy with large groups and smaller tables ensconced comfortably within the warm service of friendly, efficient staff weaving among tables and guiding diners through the menu."

SMH Good Food Guide 2006 Score 14/20 "After all these years, all the palm sugar and chilli oil, table talk and king prawns, hot dates and hotpots, the Chairman remains as lustrous as ever. And the aesthetic - candlelit tables glowing red, soft lighting, a silvery metallic wall and drapery that gives a sense of theatrical occasion - stays ageless and not without whimsy"

Gourmet Traveller Australian Restaurant Guide 2006 "A trim and taut Chairman oversees Canberra's icon of modern Asian cuisine these days: the menu has been stripped back to a selection of old classics peppered with new ideas. The moreish Shanghai duck pancakes remain central to the East-meets-West repertoire"

Sydney Eats 2006 "Special deals get better and better at this Canberra institution. For lunch there's two courses for $15, cash only"

SMH GFG 2005 Score 14/20 One Hat Good Wine List "The rooms are as busy as ever, but it might be time for the Chairman to delve into the party coffers and buy some new plates - the vivid East-meets-West designs are starting to lose their lustre. Happily, the same cannot be said of the menu."

Sydney Cheap Eats 2005 "There are still special deals at this always-quirky, always good Canberra fixture: early-bird dinner starts at $23.50 for two courses"

Gourmet Restaurant Guide 2005 One Star "It wouldn't be Canberra without The Chairman, nor The Chairman without his iconic Shanghai duck pancakes. While the dining experience has been of variable quality in recent years, the imaginative East-meets-West institution is back to its best."

SMH GFG 2004,Score 14/20,Good wine list,Consistently very good,'Now,the modern takes on Asian food are as good as they've ever been-if not actually better...And our special thanks to the front of house-you're served by one of the friendlier professional teams in this city,and their knowledge of the exceptionally interesting wine list is a huge plus.'

Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide Australia 2004, 1 Black Star, Excellent wine list, Good Vegetarian options,'It's one of the finest places in Canberra to enjoy wine, yet the cuisine is predominantly Asian in spicing...service of a standard unparalleled in the capital.'