Specialising in live seafood and classic Cantonese cuisine, Ruby Chinese Restaurant thumbs its nose at what has traditionally passed for Chinese food in Australia and finds itself hitting all the right notes with the cosmopolitan set, despite barely changing its menu for a quarter of a century.

A recent refurbishment, however, has given the interior a needed update in chinois chic, and has helped the restaurant attract the deserved though belated attentions of foodies' bible The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. One of only a handful of Canberra establishments to make the grade this year, Ruby debuted with a respectable score of 13 out of 20 — equalling the SMHGFG favourite Chairman & Yip.

Though the safe and familiar options such as Mongolian lamb or satay chicken appear on the menu, and are presented to a very high standard, you'll miss the point if you only order in that vein. Ruby's strength lies in the simple and fresh presentation of traditional dishes, where the quality of the produce and the expertise of the chefs are given centre-stage. Nowhere is this more evident than in the live seafood, trucked in regularly from the Sydney Markets. It is here that you should enlist the help of the waitstaff and trust in their advice, they do know best.

Patronage of an 'ethnic' eatery by the diaspora en masse is the conventional formula used to judge a place for quality and authenticity, and that does happen here. But in Ruby's case, a further cementing of their standing is the fact that other local Chinese restaurateurs — experts in the field — eat here. Quite often. And in numbers.

Ruby Chinese Restaurant is located at 18 Woolley Street, Dickson.