Stanley, a new Cantonese restaurant at Manly Wharf, has brought Moreton Bay bug spring rolls, live seafood and laboriously prepared Peking duck to the waterside precinct. The restaurant is the latest Sydney venture from the team behind Felons Brewery and Felons Seafood, with chef Louis Tikaram leading the kitchen.
The 210-seat venue is the third Sydney offering from Brisbane real estate and hospitality company Artemus. Tikaram previously spent seven years running the original Stanley in Brisbane before relocating his family to Sydney in early September.
Stanley has been designed in a grand Hong Kong style, combining late-1970s influences and chinoiserie with a relaxed Manly setting. Diners can sit on the deck overlooking the ferries, while the busy interior is filled with the sound of conversation and dishes being served.
The menu offers an easy form of luxury, from lychee martinis and Felons lager to a dim sum platter featuring scallop siu mai. Moreton Bay bug spring rolls are another highlight, while fried cumin lamb ribs provide a strongly spiced option for those seeking something more substantial.
Tikaram’s Peking duck requires at least five days of preparation. The bird is brined for 24 hours, massaged, then dried in a coolroom while hanging from custom racks and being fanned before it is roasted.
The resulting duck is served with crisp, deeply coloured skin and juicy meat, alongside pancakes, cucumber, spring onion and hoisin sauce. It can be ordered as a whole duck in two styles, with pancakes and sang choy bao, or as pancakes alone.
Live seafood can be wok-tossed, deep-fried or steamed, with sauces and dressings including XO, garlic butter, black pepper, Singapore chilli and ginger, soy and shallot. A steamed West Australian snow crab with ginger and soy is described as particularly delicate, although the menu also includes the more assertive sweet-and-sour pork with pineapple and egg fried rice.
Among the desserts are star anise sugar-dusted doughnut puffs with Sichuan pepper ganache, and a lime sago pudding with diced pineapple and coconut gelato.
Sommelier Christian Blair oversees a wine list that includes a blend of chardonnay, marsanne and roussanne from central Victorian producer Changing Winds. The restaurant also serves cocktails, Felons beers and a broad selection of wines.
A bottle of Kikkoman soy sauce on each table pays tribute to Tikaram’s Fijian-Chinese grandmother. “She taught me how to cook from an early age, so I guess that one’s for her,” he said.
Recommended dishes include the dim sum platter at $44, sweet-and-sour pork at $42, Peking duck pancakes at $66, snow crab with ginger and shallot at $280, and lime sago pudding at $40. A meal for two costs about $240, excluding drinks and live seafood.
Stanley received a 16 out of 20 rating and was named a Critics’ Pick. The review was conducted anonymously and paid for independently.
