From kitchen hand to restaurant owner: success is all about going with the Flow

Flow restaurant has opened its doors for a soft launch, giving friends, family and local foodies a chance to try out the menu and staff the opportunity to practise their skills before opening to the public.

Chef and co-owner Lean Pan has been in Canberra for eight years, starting first as a kitchen hand at Courgette Restaurant before graduating to the kitchen. He also worked at Corella Bar in Braddon and has now opened Flow with business partner – and fellow chef – Lina Shou, who has come down from Sydney where she specialised in Asian fusion cuisine.

They describe Flow’s food as Modern Australian: a broad term that allows chefs to explore a wide range of influences. Venue manager Rin Lee told Region that the restaurant shouldn’t feel too formal, eschewing the fine dining label for a more approachable style of service.

For the soft launch, the restaurant offered a set menu to give guests a taste of everything they do. Their regular menu will offer an a la carte selection of snacks, small and large plates, side dishes and desserts.

“People might come just for a drink after work and have some snacks at the bar, or they can have the full menu,” Rin said.

“We want it to be casual.”

The space on Northbourne Avenue in the Melbourne building has an industrial-chic appeal with (a realistic imitation of) exposed brick, high ceilings, quirky cutlery and metal-jointed light fittings.

We start with Sydney Rock Oysters served with a yuzu granita and finger lime: a zesty, citrusy burst nicely contrasting the creamy and saline oysters. The next small plate is charcoal-grilled king prawns with fermented chilli sauce. The prawns have a nice smokiness from the grill, and the sauce has a perfect balance of heat and acidity.

Twice-cooked quail is coated with a sticky glaze and crispy quinoa and served with pickled fennel. I find the pickle a little sweet; I was hoping for a tart contrast to the sweet glaze.

We enjoy the green flavours of a spring herb soup with smoked eggplant before a large dish of Tasmanian mussels is presented. This was my dish of the night. The mussels are cooked in a tomato sugo spiked with spicy nduja salami, which brings out a beautiful smokey heat. It’s a dish that has us musing, “We should really eat mussels more often!” and the only drawback was I wished I’d saved more of the homemade ciabatta served with the soup to mop up the tasty sauce from this dish.

We had the option of choosing our main dish and decided on a pork scotch fillet instead of poached snapper. There’s a deeply flavoured puddle of jus, and the tender meat is also topped with fermented jalapeño mayonnaise. It’s a really nice dish and feels slightly retro served on a 70’s style brown plate. It’s paired with a salad of mixed lettuce, papaya, kumquat glaze and a fresh curd cheese.

For dessert, we are lucky to have a taste of both options: orange chilli flan and a torched pav with mascarpone and berries.

The flan has a beautiful texture, and we enjoy the orange flavour. We’re also served a small dish of matcha ice cream to cool the chilli heat, although we actually found it very mild. Rin tells us that at the staff tasting the day before, the chilli heat had been overwhelming, so the Chef had toned it down. Next time, they’ll look for the sweet spot in the middle.

Throughout the meal, Rin picks out a few wines to complement the dishes. I am surprised at how much I enjoy the sauvignon blanc and how perfectly a young pinot pairs with the pork.

In addition to the a la carte menu and set menu offerings, Flow also has a vegetarian set menu and a vegan set menu option.

While it’s difficult to judge a restaurant on a soft opening, Flow is shaping up to be a lovely little restaurant run by a group of passionate people.

Flow is located on the ground floor, 39-41 Northbourne Avenue. Follow Flow on Instagram. Find out more and book online. They are open for dinner from Tuesday to Sunday, and for lunch on weekends.