New Chinese restaurant Duk opened in Byron Bay’s eat street, Bay Lane, on 25 October.
Owners Sarah Swan and Jeremy Burn, who also run café and catering business 100 Mile Table as well as the bistro at the Byron Bay Gold Club, are behind the 40-seater, which offers a modern and simple Chinese canteen dining experience.
Chef Ryan Bussey leads the kitchen. Previously head chef at Three Blue Ducks at The Farm at Byron Bay, Bussey has also worked alongside Matt Stone at Greenhouse, Silo and Brothl.
Duk features a deliberately concise menu of only five main dishes: roast duck, soy chicken, roast pork, char siu and fried tofu.
Steamed greens and jasmine rice are on offer as sides, with Asian greens sourced from the local Boon Luck Farm. Organic poultry is sourced from Bendele, while the free range pork comes from Borrowdale.
The drinks list showcases local Byron Bay favourites including Stone & Wood Pacific Ale, four wines from Jilly Wines and Mayde teas.
Designed by local architect Dominic Finlay-Jones, the interiors draw on a range of influences, with hand-painted Chinese characters on the wall, deep blue velvet curtains, elegant tables custom-made by Bernie & Co complete the look, and stools from local steel and wood craftsmen Foreign Order. Craig Rochfort of Jane Fender Design created the branding and graphics.
“My deep-seated love of Asian cuisine goes way back and Jeremy and I have always wanted to run a Chinese restaurant of our own,” says Swan, who worked in the kitchen at Neil Perry’s XO restaurant in the early 2000s.
“While there’s no shortage of good restaurants and healthy cafes in Byron Bay, there is very little in the way of great Chinese.”