Who is Lucky Chan? And does he like wine?

If you’re living in Perth you may have heard, seen or got a whiff of the ‘Who is Lucky Chan’ promotions around the city.

To be honest, it’s exciting to hear about another foodie spot opening up in Perth but what I really want to know is if there’ll be wine at the new Lucky Chan’s Laundry + Noodlebar in Northbridge and if it’ll be good enough to lure me in? One track mind I know, but that’s why you guys like me right?

I was recently invited on a ‘behind-the-scenes’ tour and taste of the new Northbridge venue and as soon as I got a hold of the Head Chef, I definitely gave him a good old wine grilling. So here is what I found out about the venue and the all important wine list..

So what exactly is Lucky Chan’s Laundry + Noodlebar in Northbridge?

It’s going to be the newest Asian cuisine hotspot in Perth. The brains behind the business are Cocktail Gastronomy & The Classroom. So I’m pretty sure the cocktails are going to be pretty great. On the behind-the-scenes tour we sipped on a Choya Umeshu Cocktail out of a Chinese Lucky Beer bottle with a nip of dry-ice in the bottle for a misty effect coming out of the bottle. Pretty cool! I washed this down with a Asahi Dry Black which was simply delicious, I’ll definitely be hunting out more of this!

And the Lucky Chan’s food?

I could feel the passion and thought that they’re putting into the menu and the food. On the behind-the-scenes tour we were treated to ramen noodles (my first ever experience with this Asian delicacy!) which the chefs have literally spent months and months perfecting. I thought they were pretty darn tasty ramen noodles topped with extra chilli, melt in your mouth sliced pork, slurpin’ great broth and an ABSOLUTELY AWESOME 62 degree poached egg.
Whilst talking to Mr. Head Chef (Dan Sterpini) he also mentioned dumplings were going to be on the menu. Now you’ve got this girls attention (lock me in a room with wine and dumplings and I’m one happy lady!). I can’t wait to try them as I am still on the hunt for my favourite dumplings in Perth (so far the best dumplings I have ever had were in Chinatown in Singapore).

But what about the wine list at Lucky Chan’s?

Now this is where it gets interesting folks, sit back and enjoy. Rumour has it that the wine list is going to be small, but will have a carefully selected bunch of tasty tipples. So far I like the sound of that, but will they deliver? Well all I can say, is so far they’re on track to get some super awesome advice 😉

@TravelCorkscrew we’ll keep you in the loop with ideas for the wine list if you have any must haves?!

— Lucky Chans Laundry (@LuckyChansbar) October 10, 2014

When is Lucky Chan’s going to open?

It is going to be a bit of wait I am afraid to say. When I visited they had just began construction. There was literally a tiny campsite appropriate makeshift kitchen and bar with a few bar tables and chairs, but that’s about it. Opening date is looking to be in early January 2015. Bring it on I say!

But what’s the hook?

The hook is that the project could go under very quickly if they don’t get funding. Lucky Chan’s is a ‘crowd funded restaurant’ which is a relatively new concept here in Australia, and correct me if I’m wrong but if it’s a success they’ll be the first in Aussie to do it. If you have supported any new ideas through Pozible Crowdfunding Creativity this is the same sort of thing (it’s a Pozible project). Basically you pledge an amount of money to help Lucky Chan’s get its roof on and in return you get gifts!

Yes I said gifts! You pay now, and once Lucky Chan’s open its doors you get to reap the benefits. There are various levels of ‘pledges’ from a $5 pledge to have your name on the Great Wall of Chan to having your name on a seat to a fabulous dinner date for 2 for $85. Pledges go right up to $20,000! You can check out all the awesome ways to be a part of Lucky Chan’s crowdfunding project here.

Lucky Chan’s crowdfounding is an ‘all-or-nothing crowdfunding’ which means pledges are only billed when funding target is reached. If the target isn’t reach then you are never charged. So really, it’s a lot better than the casino as you’ll either walk away with an awesome win or you’ll get to take your money home. That’s some pretty good odd if you ask me!

It’s a pretty cool idea really, all of us, the community getting together to make it all a reality and also very smart marketing tactic, as I know after I pledged (I couldn’t resist the ‘Get Lucky) I now feel like I am totally part of the project and will be able to visit it next year and I say that I helped make it possible.

Keep up to date with the Who is Lucky Chan campaign on their website, Facebook page, Twitter page and Instagram page.

While writing this post, I couldn’t get this song out of my head.. so enjoy!