Luckies Kitchen

Growing up in Wellington, Nick Wigley and his family would often go to Chinese restaurants, and his grandfather always ordered the sweet and sour pork. Naturally, it’s on the menu at Wigley’s Cantonese-inspired diner, Luckies Kitchen, which he opened with Tim Hearl in 2022.

Located in a poky spot off Bulimba’s Oxford Street, the restaurant’s iridescent lights and bright red chairs are hard to miss. Inside, the space is decorated with lanterns, wallpaper of vintage Chinese posters and a large, neon-lit, Chinese waving cat.

Alongside sweet and sour pork, chef Alf Mustafa (ex Ma Pa Me, Pawpaw) serves kingfish sashimi with red chilli and lime dressing, 12-hour sticky lamb ribs with chilli caramel sauce and smoked duck yellow curry. There’s also an affordable set menu option, and a humming yum cha service Friday through Sunday.

For drinks, there are longnecks of Tsingtao and local craft beers on tap. Wines come from mainly small Australian producers, with plenty of aromatic whites and juicy reds on offer.

Wigley and Hearl called on Michael Chiem from boundary-pushing Sydney bar PS40 to design the cocktail list. Try the Pandan Colada (pandan-infused white rum, pineapple, cream of coconut and salt) and a riff on a Southside called The 4171 – a loving reference to Bulimba’s postcode.