Lau's Family Kitchen

This bustling bolthole is a generation away from the restaurant that made the Lau family name synonymous with fine dining in Melbourne. But brothers Jason and Michael Lau clearly learnt a thing or two about service from their father's Flower Drum. They have built a vibrant St Kilda canteen serving modern Cantonese food with calm yet bristling efficiency. The decor is simple timber and screens (which could do with a bit of sprucing up). In the evenings, the attentive service reflects a need to shift two sittings through the smallish dining room. The menu here is similarly compact, offering traditional Cantonese dishes plus some with flair or a new twist. The specials might include whitebait fritters served with salt-and-pepper chillies or chicken with asparagus and pinenuts. There are hints of the Laus' origins: delicate dim sum, garfish with mushrooms. Little wonder that many of the regulars here savour both the more relaxed atmosphere and the modest prices.