Contemporary Chinese restaurant Shi Hui Shi opens inside Hotel Sorrento

Hotel Sorrento might be the last place you would expect to eat Chinese food, but 40 years ago that's exactly what was on the bill of fare. It's a quirk that planted the seed for newly opened Shi Hui Shi, nestled deep within the limestone walls of the 150-year-old pub.

Meaning "good food" and "limestone" and pronounced she hoo shee, the restaurant is led by former Red Spice Road chef Jerry Li, a native of Qingdao in Shandong province.

It has come together under the watchful eye of culinary director George Calombaris, who was inspired by the story of co-owner Rob Pitt cooking beef black bean, lemon chicken and other Aussie-Chinese staples back in the 1980s.

"I love that we've got a new addition to the hotel that has some meaning," says Calombaris, who joined the team a year ago.

The menu embraces that history, serving sweet-and-sour pork with large chunks of pineapple, sang choy bao, and fried ice-cream that went through seven iterations to achieve the right level of crispness.

"I was thinking about the Chinese restaurants in Mulgrave, where I grew up," says Calombaris. "I wanted to play off the prawn crackers out of the freezer bag; that nostalgia."

"I wanted to play off the prawn crackers out of the freezer bag; that nostalgia."

Balancing out the tongue-in-cheek retro dishes are hand-made har gao and other dumplings, steamed barramundi with spring onion and ginger, hand-pulled noodles with lobster, and kung pao cauliflower.

Situated in the former ballroom on the hotel's lower levels, the space is softly lit, its dark timber walls hung with contemporary art, matched by panelled timber ceilings and dark timber furniture. The design inspiration is Hong Kong's streetscapes of the 1960s and Chinese cinema.

Since joining, Calombaris has tweaked the pub's menu. He ran a souvlaki bar pop-up last summer and has plans for future pop-ups, as well as more dining options when Hotel Sorrento's redevelopment is complete in 12 months.

That project will add a day spa, 30-metre lap pool, signature restaurant, luxury suites and conference facilities.

It represents a serious investment in the popular peninsula town, which is also home to The Continental Sorrento.

Open Fri 5pm-late, Sat noon-2.30pm and 5pm-late, Sun noon-4.30pm

5-15 Hotham Road, Sorrento, hotelsorrento.com.au