PERTH WEEKLY Vol 2, Issue 12, Apr 14-20 1999

 

Concrete has never had much of a reputation for aesthetics. In fact, its use by writers as a metaphor for environmental degradation has become almost a cliche. So its recent emergence as a material of choice among hip and environmentally aware designers has the faint whiff of sacrilege about it - until, that is, you see it used as something other than a purely functional building material.

At the new Chan's Gourmet Delicatessen and Cafe in Northbridge, co-owners Phil Walker and Daniel Chan have fashioned a huge counter and imposing central table out of solid concrete. The three-tonne table seats 14 but Phil says the engineers responsible for making it safe assured him 20 people could dance on it all night without any risk of it (or them) going through the floor.

Daniel was raised in Malaysia where children played on concrete hosed down to a glossy sheen at the end of each day.

"My mother taught me to cook on a concrete bench just like the one we have in the shop," he says. "So I have gone back to my roots really."

In the context of jarrah floors, blocks of strong colour, interesting lighting and a beautiful water-wall feature, the concrete looks anything but sterile and cold. Rather, the eatery radiates a sophisticated cool.

Daniel and Phil put together the interiors, say they did not want to reproduce the "buzz atmosphere" common in so many Mt Lawley and Northbridge eateries.

We want to be a place where people can go to get away from all that and to relax," says Daniel.

Food is simple but delicious, including a wide range of sandwiches, a selection of salads and a plate of chips.

The daily menu and other information about Chan's can be accessed on the cafe's website: www.chans.com.au

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