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Inside the new Chairman and Yip in Barton

Natasha Rudra

Amy Tran in the revamped Chairman and Yip.
Amy Tran in the revamped Chairman and Yip.Elesa Kurtz

Fine dining Asian institution Chairman and Yip reopens this week in the old Malamay site at the Burbury Hotel after more than 20 years in Civic.

The longtime hangout of pollies and businessmen closed down in Bunda Street and relocated to Barton over the Christmas period.

Inside, not too much has changed. The predominantly black decor remains, with curtains of hanging poles, black gauze drapes and lipstick red accents.

Dumplings at Chairman & Yip 2.0.
Dumplings at Chairman & Yip 2.0.Elesa Kurtz
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The middle section of the restaurant will be transformed into a whisky bar filled with lounges and serving a range of drops from around the world.

It's the outdoor terrace which has had a big makeover, with bright red glass panels that can be slid open for summer and closed tight to become a winter garden.

Chairman and Yip, which had a previous incarnation as China Tea Club, was one of the leading lights of the fine dining scene in Canberra with many a business deal cut over the duck pancakes and cinnamon-scented salmon in the white-linen-filled dining room.

New revamped Chairman and Yip is now at the Burbury Hotel after it closed down in Civic.
New revamped Chairman and Yip is now at the Burbury Hotel after it closed down in Civic.Elesa Kurtz

The modern Sichuan Malamay had previously held a chef's hat in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. It's now gone, though the move is billed as a collaboration between the Malamay and Chairman kitchens with the teams from both restaurants working together. Chairman's Amy Tran says many of the old favourites from both the Chairman and Yip and Malamay menus will still be found in Barton, such as the duck pancakes.

The Chairman Group, headed by Josiah Li, still owns and runs the Malaysian village-style eatery Lanterne Rooms in Campbell and the modern Japanese Lilotang, also at the Burbury Hotel. There are moves afoot at Lilotang as well with a new sake bar coming to the front of the restaurant. Tran says the plan is to unveil the sake bar in time for Good Food Month which runs in March.

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Default avatarNatasha Rudra is an online editor at The Australian Financial Review based in London. She was the life and entertainment editor at The Canberra Times.

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