We were excited to order prawn toast before we had even arrived. Anticipation is a wonderful lure. When I was young, prawn toast, Mongolian lamb and beef in black bean sauce were the stars on a special night out. Australia’s culinary landscape means marvellous myriad cuisines, and Cantonese has always had a huge role to play.

But the extensive menu at Cantonese-inspired Jade Temple, the latest of Rockpool Dining Group’s restaurants, demands a feast beyond prawn toast.

Housed in the former Eleven Bridge site, Jade Temple has a South-East Asian, colonial feel – think cane chairs, plantation shutters, bamboo chandeliers, Chinese cloths, a bar and mezzanine – which suits the cavernous character of the historic building.

Neil Perry and head chef Peter Robertson deliver a spin on Aussie- Cantonese classics. There’s the beautifully soft chicken breast wading in Chinese rice wine, aka drunken chicken, plus an impressive line-up of roasted and barbecued meats as well as top quality seafood.

Then there’s the twang and chew of marinated cucumbers, black fungi and garlic. Honey king prawns give an audible crunch as you eat them. Glassy duck skin stars on duck pancakes and shiitake shimmies up to slices of beef in a deep, almost Vegemite-like, umami black bean sauce.

It’s pleasing to see Perry on the pans. Chefs of his ilk are often orchestrators, not sweating through service. After Rockpool, Wokpool, XO and Spice Temple, Perry knows how to rock the woks. Attention to detail results in bang-on flavours and service that’s hard to fault. Jade Temple is the grown-up memory of fond childhood nights out, but it has the future of our food scene firmly in mind, too. Bring friends, bring family and prepare to feast.