Ally Chow

Ally Chow is a foodie’s gem located on the prominent Nobby Beach corner of Great Hall Drive and Lavarack Road, offering an inspired taste of South-East Asian cuisine.  

In a nod to the 2016 fire that levelled the corner complex, Ally Chow’s exterior was designed using a Japanese wood-preserving technique to give it an aged and charred appearance. 

The restaurant’s entry is marked by a huge Asian-inspired round iron door making you feel like you are stepping into old-world China. Ally Chow offers curb-side tables as well as side-alley seating outside, with more lantern-lit atmospheric settings inside. 

The fully stocked bar offers an international beer list including Sapporo, Hanoi and Bintang, as well as signature cocktails, like the delicious Dragon Colada with white rum, dragon fruit and coconut cream.  

Chef and owner of Ally Chow, Trent Scarr has ensured that the menu is infused with the finest elements of Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisine and he has been awarded one chef’s hat for his unique selection of dishes fusing modern Australian fare with Asian techniques and flavours.

The mouthwatering menu takes inspiration from Asian street food offering small plates, oysters, bao and dumplings (house made daily) as well as offerings from the coals, large plates, sides and sweet stuff.

There are plenty of dairy-free, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options as well as chow out banquet offerings.  Foodie’s favourites include the Tempura Morton Bay Bug with XO Kewpie, pickles and dill, the Har Gow Steamed dumpling with Mooloolaba prawns, pork, black vinegar, soy and chilli, Pad See Ew with eye fillet, cheong fun noodles, free range egg, Chinese broccoli, oyster, soy sauce and ginger, and betel leaf wrapped sticky pork with Fraser island spanner crab, smoked salmon pearls and caramelised coconut sauce. 

Don’t leave without trying the peanut butter parfait with chocolate marquise and white chocolate snow. This place can be summed up in one word – Yum!

By Michaela Lyons