Concubine, Adelaide

Dinner date with N a few weeks back at the ever so stylish Concubine – an Asian fusion Chinese restaurant, neighbour to Sangria and Mesa Lunga on Gouger Street.

Warm shredded snow pea and Barramundi salad with a light coconut, lime and mild chilli dressing; $13.90

I’m a sucker for seafood dishes of salmon and barramundi and this one piqued my interest when I perused through the menu. The salad sounded light, refreshing with a good bite in terms of crunch and flavour. Sadly, I found the entree flat and boring with overcooked fish, soggy batter and a rather heavy dressing of coconut milk with no kick from the lime or chilli to spice things up.

Prawn and pork dumplings with sweet chilli sauce

These dumplings weren’t that much better with an overwhelming taste of coriander in the filling, however N did mention that this was her favourite meal from the night. As for me, nothing beats a steamed prawn dumpling at yum cha.

Kung pao Barossa free-range chicken with Szechuan chilli and cashew nut; $18.90
Jasmine steamed rice; $2.50 per person
Smoked ‘gunpowder green’ tea duck with a chinese herb dipping sauce; $25.90

We weren’t fans of our mains either. The Kung pao chicken was a chicken and vegetable stir fry with a sweet and tangy sauce with no hints of spice from the Szechuan chilli (where’s the heat?) and the smoked tea duck was dry and overcooked.

Flashy decor, decent service but the food didn’t tick the right boxes for me. If you want to give Concubine a shot, I suggest ordering take away at 20% off at menu prices! Has anyone ever dined at Concubine? Did we just have a dud night? Let me know!

Food: 2/5
Service: 3/5
Value: 2.5/5
Ambience: 4/5

-d

Concubine
32 Gouger Street
Adelaide SA 5000
P 08 8212 8288

Opening hours
Mon Closed
Tue-Fri, Sun Lunch 12pm-2pm
Tue-Sun Dinner 6pm-10pm

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Tags: asian fusion, concubine, duck, dumplings