Ho's Palace Seafood and Chinese Restaurant

The ornate red signage at Ho's Palace Seafood and Chinese Restaurant stands out among the eateries lining Blackheath's highway and hints at the magic inside. Open the glass door and step into a space with elaborately carved wood archways, a dramatic palatial-style caisson ceiling, gold fans, red paper lanterns and dragons. Launched in 1986, this family-run Blue Mountains institution is a textbook example of the retro Chinese restaurants that have championed multiculturalism in regional Australia for decades. Husband-and-wife team Sam and Aline Ho manage the operation, serving a menu that includes sizzling hotplates of Mongolian beef, special fried rice and what Kelly Parsons, prolific chronicler of hundreds of retro Chinese restaurants in Australia calls "The best prawn toast on the planet".