Chow House

James Street Bistro's rebirth as Chow House late last year was timely - it was starting to look a little shabby among all the shiny new offerings on the street. Now its conservatory-like frontage with cool living 'green wall' can mix it with the best of them. Another canny move by the owners was to bring in chef Timmy Kemp to lend her considerable experience to the venture. As well as her trademark ability to fuse Eastern flavour with classic European technique, there's an obvious use of quality ingredients that lift pan-Asian street food dishes, such as chargrilled pork balls with sambal olek, satay and sugar cane prawns, above their humble origins. Continue past the metaphoric street food stalls to mains, and reap culinary rewards, such as juicy grilled Sichuan boned quail with quail egg, Asian slaw and rice cake, gently tea-smoked duck or pork belly with sticky star anise-scented jus, crisp curls of pig's ear and a refreshing lychee and orange salad.