Owner and chef at Flui Restaurant Lina Shou says her food philosophy is based on simplicity and pairing. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
Who are you?
I’m Lina Shou, chef and owner of Flui. I just love to cook and want to see people enjoy my food.
Tell me about Flui
When we first opened, we named the restaurant Flow: meaning where the food and experience flow together. But it turned out someone else had the same name so we needed to change it and Flui has the same meaning in Esperanto.
We serve fusion food, mixing where we come from with Mediterranean food. I come from China and think Australia has a lot of immigrant foods so the food culture of Australia is really a mix.
How did you get involved in the hospitality industry?
It’s a bit of a joke I tell my friends. I say my parents weren’t good cooks so I learned to do it myself! I always wanted to be a chef since I was a kid. I studied in Sydney and worked there for a few years. In Canberra I worked at Mu Omakase and Corella Bar where I met my business partner Leon Pan. We’re both chefs. A lot of chefs have a dream to have their own restaurant and serve their own food.
What is your food philosophy?
When I was young, like most children I didn’t really like green vegetables. But I remember when I was 10 or 11 I had some stir-fried bok choy. The chef cooked it so well, really simply with mushrooms and after I loved green vegetables.
So I think my philosophy is to cook simply, but pairing the right ingredients together. If you do that, it doesn’t have to be fancy.
What dish on your menu exemplifies what you do at Flui?
The quail with the puffed grain and fennel. I really love the textures of this dish: it’s very juicy inside, and crispy outside with the extra crunch of the pickled fennel.
What is your favourite ingredient to use when cooking?
It has to be chilli! I put chilli in everything, even in dessert! We serve an orange flan and I added some chilli to it: people love it!
Canteen makes its ramen broth from scratch, and you can taste the difference. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
What’s an underrated Canberra venue you love?
I really love Ramen Daddy [Canteen at Fyshwick]. You can really taste the fresh broth. Some places use a powder but they do it really well there.
Who do you admire in the Canberra food scene?
I don’t have a specific person but just all the other chefs who work really hard.
Where do you go for a coffee in Canberra?
Highroad in Dickson. I can literally smell the beans from where I live.
Who is your dream dinner party guest, and what would you make them?
I would like to invite all my family and friends. I would bring them from everywhere: China, Sydney, Canberra, everywhere.
And then I would cover the whole table with a feast! Maybe I would cook a whole lamb and have that in the middle, and then make different famous dishes from each country.
That would be the best thing.
What is your current food obsession?
I love the seafood in Australia, especially the shellfish. I really like working with those ingredients. And I like to see the customers’ faces when they eat it: I love the ‘wow’ face.
Black mussels on the menu at Flui’s opening last year. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
What’s the best thing you ate this week?
The family meal in the restaurant. We always have one person who makes a staff meal for us.
This week she made a really nice, simple Chinese dish. It makes you feel like you’ve gone back home. Stir-fry chicken wings with Coke – it’s very famous in China. You can Google it! It’s actually very balanced with sweet and sour. Ginger, garlic, shallot and a bit of soy sauce, add the Coke and let the chicken wings absorb the flavour. It’s not very healthy but it’s yummy!
What’s a food that reminds you of your childhood?
My favourite ingredient from my childhood is Chinese cabbage. You should eat it in winter because it tastes sweet. We would simply stir fry it with garlic, ginger and a hint of dark vinegar. It’s still something I have.
What’s a normal breakfast for you?
Nowadays it’s very simple: just oats with banana.
When you can’t be bothered to cook for yourself, where do you go and what do you eat?
When I get takeaway I like to have Korean food. It really warms your heart especially in winter. I don’t have one in particular, I go to different places.
Tell me something you love about living in Canberra
I lived in Sydney for three years and it was so crowded with so many people and traffic. I like that Canberra has fewer people, less traffic, and all the nature. Sometimes I go to Mount Majura and walk: I like living in nature.
What have you been reading recently?
I like to read about philosophy and psychology: I think it helps me to read the customers. We need to have some intuition about how to serve them, you have to read what they need and be ready before they ask.
An easy one to finish – what’s your go-to coffee order?
Large flat white with full-cream milk.
Flui at 39/41 Northbourne Ave, Canberra opens Tuesday to Saturday for lunch from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm and for dinner from 5:30 to 10 pm.
Find out more and follow Flui on Instagram.
