Ruby is one of those Chinese restaurants that reminds you of a classic Chinatown eatery and rightly so. Located in Canberra’s version of Chinatown in Dickson, Ruby is famous for its live seafood, boasting an impressive looking wall of tanks full of lobster, crabs, fresh and saltwater fish, and occasionally abalone and prawn. It is not uncommon to see delegations from a number of Canberra’s embassies using one of the many private rooms at Ruby to entertain, and the newly refurbished main dining room still busy with diners til quite late – Ruby opens its kitchen a lot later than most Canberra restaurants. Its five chefs are trained in Hong Kong, have worked in Sydney and Melbourne’s biggest restaurants, and can whip up some 180 dishes. Whilst the dining room has lifted a gear since its recent makeover – it truly feels like a big city Hong Kong eatery – it has managed to maintain its casual charm and is still a place where the waiters call their regulars by name and happily recommend dishes. Owner manager Amy Chan continues the tradition of running this family business first set up in 1982 by parents Jimmy and Suzie. “Our family has a long history of running restaurants in Canberra” says Amy, “ we’ve been here forever and people love our food because it’s authentic”.
