KEY POINTS:
Restaurateur Jason Chan is quite used to the sight of confused-looking tourists hesitating at the door of his inner-city Melbourne establishment, Seamstress.
Guidebooks clutched tightly, they are expecting to find a place of calm in the city where they can worship while on holiday. Instead, they've happened on one of the most popular restaurant and bar complexes in town and it's little wonder, says Chan, that they seem befuddled.
"This building has had a very interesting past. It was a Buddhist temple for a while and is still listed as one in quite a few of the older Chinese guidebooks. People get a bit of a surprise when they turn up."
Less embarrassing, though, than if the visitors had been expecting carnal, rather than culinary, pleasures. The 112-year-old building was once also the home of a well-known Melbourne brothel.
Fortunately, Chan and his business partner Anthony Herzog chose to be inspired by another chapter in the building's life when selecting a decorating theme: for many years it housed a garment factory. Notoriously, in the 1930s it was raided by police for being a sweatshop.
Located on the fringe of Chinatown and serving modern Cantonese cuisine with a European twist, it made sense to name the enterprise Seamstress. Inside, the four levels contain a late night basement bar, Sweatshop, a ground-level kitchen, a first-floor dining room and a more intimate and elegant cocktail lounge on the top floor. Visitors to the latter two could be forgiven for believing the garment factory was still in operation. Swathes of fabric and racks of jewel-coloured cheongsams hang from the ceiling, cotton reels have been collaged together to create an eye-catching artwork and Singer sewing machines are dotted along the window sills.
While the theme and the food have an obvious Chinese edge, scratch the surface and you'll find the place crawling with New Zealanders.
Chan was born and raised in Dunedin and is a fifth-generation restaurant owner. He recently sold Imbibe in Wellington and was part of the winning 42 Below Cocktail World Cup team in 2005.
Hertzog was born the son of a big game hunter in Kenya and worked as a chef at a two Michelin star restaurant in Switzerland before heading Downunder for his OE. He spent time working in New Zealand, and in Australia studied winemaking and became a sommelier at one of Melbourne's most salubrious restaurants: Pearl. In the kitchen is executive chef Raymond Larkins, a former Wellingtonian who worked as a sous chef at Chow and Logan Brown and in 2003 was nominated for best up-and-coming chef at the Felix Awards.
Working alongside him and out on the floor you'll hear many a New Zealand accent and Chan says the cliche is true: overseas, at least, Kiwis have a good work ethic.
In fact, Seamstress initially came about because Chan, who owns another Melbourne cafe (the New Zealand-themed Batch for which he was named the city's barista of the year), wanted to create a bar and dining space the hospitality crowd would feel comfortable hanging out in.
"We are quite a fussy lot," says Chan of his hospitality buddies. "But what we mainly want is great wine and food, fantastic cocktails and a relaxed, no-frills vibe. We are happy to pay for quality but we don't want to feel intimidated by our surroundings."
The search for the appropriate site took a year and a further year was needed to complete the fit-out and comply with council consents. During that time the pair visited the library and discovered the building's colourful past.
"If only these walls could talk," laughs Chan. "Imagine all the stories."
The pair have certainly got the recipe right. Word has spread quickly from the hospitality trade and out to the general public and media. Seamstress has received rave reviews from The Melbourne Age, Vogue Entertaining and Travel and Gourmet Traveller for its vibrant food - Larkins changes the menu weekly to make the most of fresh produce - and innovative cocktails with names like Love You Long Thyme and Beijing Bling Bling Punch.
Downstairs, Sweatshop is heaving and rather suits its name, while upstairs it can take up to a month to get a reservation for a table for dinner on a Saturday night.
"We realise we are in the honeymoon phase right now so it will be interesting to see where we are at in a year's time. For us it just means we have to always be on top of our game and keep things fresh and interesting," says Chan.
Would-be temple-goers shouldn't hold their breath. If the current numbers are anything to go by it looks like Seamstress will be around for a while.
* Seamstress, 113 Lonsdale St, Melbourne. www.seamstress.com.au
