Eight minutes after chef Khanh Nguyen confirmed his departure from Sunda and Aru, the Melbourne restaurants that made him a culinary star, he got a call from his old boss Brent Savage, co-owner of the Bentley Group. Savage got his man, and Sydney scored King Clarence, one of the best restaurant openings of 2023.

Nguyen’s menu is broadly East Asian, taking in Korean, Chinese and Japanese influences. And while the place is primed for a casual weeknight dinner, there are plenty of opportunities to amp up the extravagance. For some, that could mean ordering a live lobster from the tank, served with a choice of sauces and optional noodles.

Nguyen has a talent for signature dishes: Sunda had its Vegemite curry, while Aru had the duck sausage sanga and the banh mi pate en croute. At King Clarence, the frontrunner could be the fish finger bao. A cross between a Maccas Filet-o-Fish and a xiaolongbao, it’s topped with American cheese and salmon roe and served in a bao bun filled with mustard greens and pickled chilli.

The rest of the restaurant has received plenty of attention, too. The kitchen is now home to a grill used by Noma during the famous Copenhagen restaurant’s pop-up here a few years ago. Longtime Bentley Group collaborator Pascale Gomes-McNabb has delivered another sleek interior, complete with disco balls and pops of neon.

Combined with a knockout drinks list by Bentley Group co-owner Nick Hildebrandt and Cirrus head sommelier Polly Mackeral, King Clarence's reign is set to be a long one.