Interior designers turned restaurateurs now making THE BEST CHINESE CUISINE in Toowoomba

By KATHERINE SAMPSON

Recently the Australian Good Food Guide awarded the restaurant with the Readers Choice award for Chinese food in South East Queensland Country 2020. This was the latest in Qi’lin’s long list of industry awards, from being the Best Chinese Restaurant in Queensland by the RCA for six years consecutively to being

a recommendation on the 17th edition of The Lonely Planet’s Guide to Australia. The Chinese restaurant is run and owned by Annette Cheung and her husband and head chef Stanley Poon. The couple came to Australia in 2004 from Hong Kong where they were both full time interior design consultants. While completing her MBA at the

University of Southern Queensland, Annette met her business partner, who has since retired, Darryl Scott, and in 2008, after a year of preparation, Qi’lin was born. It was a massive leap for Annette and Stanley, having come from a vastly different career, but they used this to their advantage.

“We did all the décor ourselves,” Annette says. “We went to China to get all the products. “Building material, kitchen utensils, everything. “And then we brought it all back in a big shipping container.” Not only is the restaurant uniquely

designed by Annette, but Stanley also uses his skills when it comes to creating mouthwatering dishes. “We pay a lot of attention to the garnish. making the dishes more attractive and beautiful,” Annette says. The pair do still miss their old lives but know that this path was the best for everyone.

“When your life changes, you need to take that change and do a good job with that change and make it a success,” Annette says. Food at Qi’lin isn’t just amazing by chance: Stanley attended a famous culinary institute in Hong Kong where he first wore the toque, well before he knew he would be the chef behind one of Australia’s most prestigious Chinese restaurants. Specialising in barbecue, Chinese pastry and Cantonese cuisine, the couple were unaware this would be the key to their diverse menu of 139 delectable dishes.

The meals Qi’lin Oriental Cuisine offer a range from traditional Chinese meals, to innovative specialty dishes that are unique to Annette and Stanley’s menu. “We have a crispy walnut beef, that you can only find here,” Annette says, which are crumbed beef fillets, from local producers, with a walnut crumb, served in sweet chili, lime and garlic sauce, all produce also coming locally from the Lockyer Valley. When COVID-19 struck earlier this year, Qi’lin was faced with its own hardship, and tough decisions were needed to keep the kitchen open. Normally the restaurant employs eight staff to keep diners happy, but with the restrictions that were put in place the team had to make heartbreaking choices.

“We had to let a few staff go,” Annette told Style sadly. “We are waiting for the day we can call them back and for COVID-19 to go away; for everyone’s lives to go back to normal and be happy again,” she says. With these changes, Annette has found herself in the kitchen for the first time to help in cost-cutting but is keen in things returning to normal. In the meantime, Qi’lin are still pushing to keep their doors open. With delivery options available and dine-in customers welcomed once again, it’s hopeful Qi’lin will return to its former glory at the end of it all.

Qi’lin Oriental Cuisine is currently open for dinner from Tuesday to Sunday and lunch from 12pm to 2:30pm on Friday to Sunday. There is limited dine-in seating available, but plenty take-away options and delivery to enjoy the best in your own home. Last but not least, Annette and Stanley would like to sincerely thank all their loyal customer’s support during this hard time, and wish everyone all the best.