Le Charme De Saigon

We had the pleasure of being invited to Le Charme De Saigon, a Vietnamese restaurant which recently opened on Little Bourke St in Chinatown, Melbourne CBD. We dined in the lovely company of Bearabbit, Tim.E and Simmy.

I instantly loved the decor of the place upon entering. Recently renovated, the walls and trimmings were painted a dark modern teal, with lovely lotus lamps, and tree like lights hanging from the ceiling. It certainly had a nice charm to it!

We started the night off with some cocktails, Davin ordering the Salted Caramel Expresso Martini, and I ordering the Ultimate Lychee Martini. My lychee martini was really nice and refreshing. Davin’s cocktail was on the sweet side and didn’t have that strong coffee flavour we generally look out for. It may have been that the salted caramel and kahlua was overpowering the coffee itself.

For food, we started off with a tasting plate called ‘A Little of Everything’. It had spring roll, viet sausage, shrimp cake, chicken skewer and prawn crackers. This was a lovely appetising starter dish and everything was fried to perfection. The batter on everything was light and crispy.

We then had the lamb san choy bow and DIY crispy duck with bao (steam bun). Both the lamb and duck was fried with crispy skin. The sauces that went with both dishes were probably more on the sweet side for us. The duck in particular was quite dry, however we understand this dish cooked authentically is supposed to be this way, therefore knowing that, it made more sense to us.

The Saigon curry beef brisket stew with baguette came up next. This was a delicious dish! It brought back memories of my grandma making Vietnamese curry for me when I was little. The sauce was flavoured to perfection and it had a lovely consistency with the perfect amount of heat to it! I loved dipping the bread and scooping up all the curry sauce. The beef itself was a bit tough however overall it was a great dish.

The North Viet supreme soup with fish fillet was also really nice and flavoured. It was an appetising dish. Davin’s favourite dish of the night however was the stir fried clam with X.O sauce. I have to say it was a really tasty dish! We haven’t had this in a while and it was full of flavour. It even had the lovely crunchy chinese donuts mixed in and soaked with the X.O sauce.

We also really liked the Saigon seafood rice broth, the seafood was really fresh and we loved the crispy rice in the broth which gave it a different texture with each bite. This is a dish we would definitely order again!

Overall we had a great experience, and the food was good. Being Vietnamese however, I do note that a lot of the dishes are more Chinese or Malaysian than authentic Vietnamese. Perhaps it should be labelled more as an Asian restaurant than Vietnamese. Anyway, if you’re ever around this area, check it out and let us know your thoughts!

Le Charme De Saigon
Approx $35 AUD per person
Address: Shop 3, 178 Little Bourke Street, CBD, Melbourne
Phone: +61 3 9663 3321
Website: le-charme-de-saigon.business.site

 

Le Charme De Saigon Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Secret Kitchen (Doncaster)

There is an abundance of places to choose from in Melbourne when it comes to yum cha. We absolutely love yum cha and have grown up with it, often making it a family affair. Anyway not long ago we were advised to try out Secret Kitchen. There are a number of franchises scattered across Melbourne but we ended up going to the one recommended, located in the Doncaster Westfield shopping centre.

As with traditional yum cha, trolleys of glorious food is pushed around the restaurant right to your table for your choosing. We picked our usual favourites which included varied dumplings, chicken feet, tripe, and a noodle dish.

All the dishes were of very high quality and fresh! We particularly liked the noodle dish, which is something we don’t normally order or even see at other yum cha restaurants, but it was delicious! So flavoured but it didn’t taste overly oily. It was so easy to scoff.

The dumplings were all good with generous delicious filling and the perfect, bouncy outer skin. Sometimes you get dumplings where the outer layer is so thick that’s all you can taste, but that’s not the case here!

We also ordered the silken tofu with ginger syrup dessert, one of my favourites! The tofu was certainly silky smooth, with a nice subtle ginger flavour. The syrup was also not too sickly sweet.

The egg tarts were freshly baked with the perfect eggy flavour, and again not too sweet.

Overall it was a great yum cha experience. Service was also really good and staff were super efficient. We will definitely be thinking of Secret Kitchen when we’re craving some yum cha in the future!

Secret Kitchen
Approx $40 AUD per person
Address: ShopL2-2003/619 Doncaster Rd, Doncaster VIC 3108
Phone: +61 3 9840 2248
Website: secret-kitchen.com.au

Secret Kitchen Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Kowloon Cafe

There’s just something about Hong Kong cafes which brings a smile to my face! I think it’s the fact that their dishes are so quirky, which takes me out of my comfort zone. Sometimes I’ll go in with a rough idea of what I feel like, but I always end up ordering something totally different! Food authenticity had never meant much to me, but if it’s important to you, then you’d probably appreciate Kowloon Cafe. These guys are located amongst a strip of shops on Canterbury Road in Box Hill. Parking is available on the side streets, but I find it easier to just park in the ALDI car park and enter the cafe from the back entrance.

Word of warning – this place gets BUSY! The whole Chinese community unites at this cafe, and it’s quite common to queue for a table. If you’re unlucky, you may find yourself seated at the table right near the door. This is where a sea of people will be looking over your shoulder, and drool over your food. Not the best seat in the house, but in a dog eat dog world, you take what you can get!

For only $12, I have ordered Set Menu A several times. It comes with an egg and ham omelette, satay beef instant noodles and a drink of your choice. I generally pick the HK style milk tea because you’d be a fool to get any other drink. The best I’ve had in Melbourne, no joke. It’s a lot cheaper to get it in a set menu than to order it separately. The omelette comes out looking fairly oily, and the egg part can be a bit plain. However once you hit the ham pieces it gets pretty damn good! The ham is not too salty and goes well with the egg.

The satay beef instant noodles is very tasty indeed. Useless fact – when I was young I had dreams of opening up my own instant noodles restaurant! I literally lived off this stuff growing up, and became quite skilled with the culinary art of cooking instant noodles. The noodles here were not overcooked and the beef was tender, not bad for Chinese takeaway style beef. If I had it my way, I wouldn’t mind a nice runny yolk egg and some Chinese cabbage to go with it, but I guess they gotta work within their budget. Speaking of which, this set menu for $12 is exceptional value, and makes for a feel good lunch. It’s a shame they don’t open for dinner!

This is not a place you’d wanna catch up with a long lost friend and talk about the meaning of life. It’s purely a ‘get in, get out’ type of place, no time to be holding up tables here! To ease your anxiety, they do play some nice Chinese songs here as you’re eating. There’s nothing more relaxing than listening to the king of Cantopop – Eason Chan in the background, while enjoying a cold HK style milk tea… bliss. If I haven’t lost you by now, then it’s probably time you come and pay Kowloon Cafe a visit!

Kowloon Cafe
Approx $12.50 AUD per person
Address: 866 Canterbury Road, Box Hill South VIC 3128

Kowloon Cafe Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Tina’s Noodle Kitchen (Box Hill)

One cool night we were wandering around Box Hill looking for a place to eat when we came across Tina’s Noodle Kitchen. It was bustling with people so we knew something good was brewing inside! Like most Asian restaurants in Box Hill, it is purposely built for you to get in, eat your meal, and get out. We were fine with that!

We scanned the menu and saw quite a few items we wanted to order but finally settled on a few to share. We started off with the pickled vegetable threads and the beef skewers which included beef, tripe, stomach, ox tongue and mixed veggies in a spicy chilli oil sauce. The pickled vegetable threads were SO good! The vegetables were pickled to perfection and were so appetising, I couldn’t stop eating them! The beef skewers were also really nice however be warned, they are spicy!

We also ordered the wonton in spicy soup. Did I say the beef skewers were spicy? Because the wontons were even spicier! So deliciously flavoured though if you can handle the heat!

For mains Davin ordered the spicy stewed lamb ribs with rice set which came with soup and a side tofu salad. The lamb ribs were of course also spicy! I guess you can see a theme here. The spiciness numbed our tongues but we kept wanting more because the meat was so succulent and fell of the bone.

Given it was called Tina’s Noodle Kitchen, I had to order a bowl of soup noodles. There were so many different bowls of noodles to choose from. I was so overwhelmed! Of course a lot of them (okay probably most of them) were in red hot spicy soup. With all the other spicy dishes we had already ordered, I decided to order a less spicy dish to balance it out. I picked the soup noodles with braised pork belly and pickles. I was relieved to see the soup broth was not coloured red and that I could sip on the broth without my tongue going numb! It was a delicious broth, and the pork belly and pickles complemented it well. But what most impressed me were the actual noodles. They were soft, but not overcooked soft because they held their kind of bouncy texture at the same time. They were the most interesting noodles I’ve ever had. I loved it and couldn’t stop slurping up these noodles. Oh and did I mention the serving size? The bowl that came out for the soup noodles was HUGE!

Overall we had a great experience and the food was good. Just be prepared for a very spicy, tongue numbing night! But if you love eating spicy then this is the place for you!

Tina’s Noodle Kitchen House
Approx $25 AUD per person
Address: Box Hill Central, 1 Main St, Box Hill VIC 3128
Phone: +61 3 9041 7548

Dainty Sichuan - Tina's Noodle Kitchen Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Nong Tang Noodle House

Nong Tang Noodle House is located on Bourke Street inside the Midcity arcade. I have to admit that I have not been inside this arcade much ever since Dessert House closed down, so it was a nice trip down memory lane. We were invited to attend their 1 year anniversary event and it certainly didn’t disappoint! They had rolled out the red carpet, and the entry felt like we were entering a club on a guest list. We sat down to a menu, and a red envelope. Nope… no money in there, but there was a rabbit lolly inside. We used to eat these all the time as kids so the nostalgia was strong!

After a quick intro by the organisers, we were on our way. We really appreciated David Yang (owner) explaining all the dishes to us along, with their Shanghai origins. The menus heading is a 10 course sampling menu, but let me tell you, there was no sampling. These dishes were full blown, and we ended up being more full than a wedding reception banquet! I won’t go through all the dishes one by one, but my favourites were the Xiao Long Bao, Shanghai braised pork meatballs in soy sauce, and the stir fried beef with Chinese broccoli.

I just laughed as I looked around, and seeing everyone squirting soup everywhere as they bit into the Xiao Long Bao. It was a tasty soup and the pork inside was flavoured really well. The skin also had great elasticity and bouncy texture, a must try dish. The Shanghai pork meatball was a dish I had never tried before. It had all the characteristics of quality Italian meatballs, and in a way I was expecting a tomato based sauce. However I was very impressed by the amount of soy sauce flavour they were able to infuse into the meatball.

I’m personally a huge fan of Chinese broccoli, and I always get told off by friends and family for ordering it! Their reasoning is that it’s a lot cheaper to make at home, so there should be no reason why I should ordering it when I’m out. DON’T CARE. I love it too much… and the Chinese broccoli at Nong Tang was the best I’ve ever had! Perfect crunch, extremely fresh, and only the best bits of the broccoli was used in this stir fried beef dish. I made a mention of the Chinese broccoli to David as I left, and he said he paid top dollar for it, I had no reason to doubt him.

The only dish which wasn’t as good as the rest, was the pork and prawn wonton in chilli oil. I felt as though they they may have toned down the spiciness for this event, and the wontons were overcooked. The wonton skin disintegrated as I picked up the wonton and all the filling came out. It was only one dish from the 10 course menu, so overall it was a highly successful event!

We’re fully aware that for an event like this, we would be eating the highest quality versions of each dish. I truly hope that the quality of these dishes carries through to other customers when it’s business as usual. They do have a relatively high score on Zomato prior to us coming, so we’re confident they’ll provide a great dining experience to everyone. We wish Nong Tang Noodle House all the best for years to come!

Nong Tang Noodle House
Approx $30 AUD per person
Address: Midcity Arcade, Shop 16/200 Bourke Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 9639 9258

Nong Tang Noodle House Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Red Panda

It’s been a family tradition of ours that the birthday person shouts a meal for the rest of the family. I had already agreed to host dinner at my place for mum’s birthday, but rules are rules, and mum took us to Red Panda on her actual birthday. Mum was pretty excited about taking us here, she said that they’ve got a few special dishes which other Chinese restaurants don’t have. I personally don’t get too excited about trying new Chinese restaurants, but her energy rubbed off on me, and therefore I was eager to try these guys out.

Red Panda is located in a fairly quiet area in Wheelers Hill. I must have driven past this restaurant a million times and have not noticed them. I remembered the Salvation Army on this strip of shops, but that was it. A quick search on Google maps and I knew exactly where I needed to be. Red Panda felt and looked like a typical Chinese restaurant, they had a little takeaway counter which led into the main dining room. I sat down and my bum cheeks sunk into the chair! I found this a bit hilarious… these chairs have probably had their fair share of bottoms through the years! There’s also the fact that they’ve got carpet, I’ve never been a fan of carpets in restaurants. Apart from these 2 niggly things, the restaurant looked really clean and there was adequate spacing between the tables.

Mum had quietly whispered to me that their vegetables were a bit old and tough last time. I asked her which ones she ordered and suggested to order a Chinese broccoli this time. I also thought it was best we told them about her previous experience and confirm that their Chinese broccoli was fresh this time. There’s nothing worse than eating old Chinese broccoli as it gets stringy and tough. After being deprived of vegetables from our Japan trip, I was looking forward to some quality veggies back home!

We started off with 2 pigeons as entree, I was shocked to find out they were $28 each! I can’t remember the last time I had pigeon, so I cannot comment whether or not that was a reasonable price, but it felt expensive. It felt like an eternity before the other five dishes arrived, it was probably our fault because we asked for all the dishes to arrive together. I do not know the exact names of each dish because it was all in Chinese, but I can certainly tell you which ones were the best! My favourite dishes of the night were the fish balls with vermicelli, deep fried chicken spare ribs and the egg yolk coated eggplant. The fish balls had a bouncy texture and came with an awesome tasting soup. The chicken spare ribs were deep fried beautifully, crunchy texture and had a sweetness to it too. I enjoyed the egg yolk coated eggplant because it was just special and I had never had a dish like this before.

So remember the Chinese broccoli I was so looking forward to? Well they were old and tough! You know when you’re so deprived of something, then you think you’re gonna get it, and it turns out to be absolute sh*t? Well that’s the emotions I went through! My mood meter was sitting between annoyed and angry. To give you an idea how bad they were, we couldn’t even chew through a lot of the stems because they were so stringy. To put it bluntly, they need to fire their green vegetables supplier because they shouldn’t be serving this quality to their customers. The other dish that was disappointing was the enoki mushroom and tofu dish. It tasted quite ‘fishy’… I questioned mum what it could be, and she suspects that the dried scallops they used were probably not fresh. I’ve never had this experience before, but I’ll take her word for it.

Overall, the dishes here were a bit hit and miss. I noticed they really excel in a lot of the fried dishes, but I would never come here for greens. It’s not a place I would personally come back to, but if mum wanted to come here again then I would join her. Sometimes it’s not just the quality of the food, but also who you eat it with.

Red Panda
Approx $35 AUD per person
Address: 4/192 Brandon Park Dr, Wheelers Hills VIC 3150
Phone: +61 3 9561 3256

Red Panda Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Chopstick Delight

Oh what a name… I chuckled when my work colleague recommended this place to me. I love it when Chinese restaurants put two random words together, and voilà! I couldn’t picture the location when my work colleague was describing it to me, and when I got there I soon realised why. It was nestled within a small strip of shops amongst residential housing. If no one tells you about this restaurant, then chances are you’ll never drive past it. Well I guess that’s what I’m here for, so let’s proceed shall we?

We rocked up and this place was PACKED! I was amazed how busy Chopstick Delight was considering the location. One thing about the Chinese community is that word gets around fast when the food is good, and it looks as though this place got some good ol’ word of mouth. In hindsight, this was how I discovered the restaurant! I walked in and just thought to myself – WOW! This place is the OG of Chinese restaurants, Cantonese to be precise. Pink walls – check, old school Chinese framed prints – check, fish tank – check. The décor doesn’t look like it’s been changed since the 1980s, but for some reason I felt right at home! We didn’t see a special fried rice ordered during our stay, the people that come were after some specialised Chinese dishes.

The waitress recommended Wintermelon soup to start off with. Her English was really good, and she understood everything we asked her. I believe she may be the owner of the restaurant. I’ve had plenty of Wintermelon soups in my lifetime, and they were all on the bland side. The one I had here was very tasty and full of seafood goodies! Since there was only two of us, we didn’t get the soup served from the actual melon, but we were able to see it served like that from another table and it made us equally happy.

We also ordered the free range chicken, spicy quail and Chinese broccoli with garlic. The free range chicken is a pretty sought after dish, and I’d recommend calling ahead to reserve some because it does sell out quickly. The texture of the chicken was spot on, it was chewier due to the chicken actually having room to move! The spring onion sauce was just to die for, it went so well together with the chicken. The quail had a really crispy skin with a thin layer of spicy salt. I’d recommend eating the quail dine in only, as we did take away once and it didn’t do the quail justice. Perfect crunch with the Chinese broccoli, it was fresh and not the old and tired broccoli you get at some other Chinese restaurants.

All the dishes we had were absolutely perfect. They were not heavy handed with the seasoning at all. Some of the other reviewers have mentioned that their crab is really good, so we cannot wait to try that in the near future. This is a hidden gem of a restaurant, I highly recommend it, and I’m sure you guys will love the food here too!


Chopstick Delight
Approx $35 AUD per person
Address: 79 Mackie Rd, Mulgrave VIC 3170
Phone: +61 3 9560 3688
Website: chopstickdelight.com.au

Chopstick Delight Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Roast Duck Inn

We may have come across the best roast duck and crispy skin roast pork we’ve ever had so far! On a night where we didn’t want to travel too far into the CBD, we came across the recommendation of Roast Duck Inn.

Situated along a strip of other restaurants and shops in central Box Hill, Roast Duck Inn is a small and no nonsense shop with one purpose. To produce top quality roast meats and food of course! So if you’re looking for great service or a place where you can spend hours with your friends catching up, this is probably not the place for you. It is obvious that people literally come for the food, they eat, and they are out of there.

Upon entering you’ll see a front counter for customers to come in and collect their takeaway which seemed very busy. Given the shop was small, tables are limited so it makes sense people might choose to duck in to get takeaway to bring home. Between Davin and I we knew we had to try some of the roast duck and the roast pork given this was what they were famous for. So we ordered half of a roast duck and a plate of the crispy skinned roast pork with rice to share. We also ordered a plate of the garlic bean sprouts and a couple of homemade ice lemon teas.

They served us with complimentary soup and hot tea which we loved. The soup was not one of those MSG soups that comes with a lot of meals in other Asian restaurants. It had bits of duck and vegetables in it and tasted healthy.

Then out came the main dishes very efficiently and promptly. The roast duck was just as good as people claimed it to be! It was served with this lovely sweet sauce you can dip the duck in. It was AMAZING. The skin was so crispy and flavoured, combined with the sweet sauce it was a match made in heaven!

The roast pork was also fantastic. The meat was melt in your mouth tender, and the skin was super crispy you could probably hear us from far away eating it as we crunched away. It was flavoured perfectly and not too salty. We were pretty shocked when we took our first bite because we were so surprised at how good it was.

The garlic bean sprouts was also really nice. It was flavoured really well and the serving so generous! Davin and I felt like we were eating and eating and the plate was just not clearing. One serving was probably enough to feed about 4 people.

The homemade iced lemon teas were also really nice. I always get worried about them being too sweet but this was also done perfectly and you could taste the actual tea more than sugar.

Overall we really couldn’t fault the food at all here. We were awed at how good it was and will definitely be back when we’re in the mood for some good roast duck or pork!

Roast Duck Inn
Approx $30 AUD per person
Address: 31 Carrington Rd, Box Hill VIC 3128
Phone: +61 3 9897 3788

Roast Duck Inn Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Old Kingdom

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We went out with my family to try Old Kingdom at Surrey Hills. They have been a couple of times and had assured me that the Peking duck was better than our usual go to place.  Now here’s the thing.. I’ve noticed that my taste buds and my family’s have had some disagreements as of late, so I was a little skeptical to say the least. A food lover approaches food with an open mind, and if these guys are as good as my family says, I will admit so.

So we drove there and the first thing I noticed was that they didn’t seem to have designated parking. After much parking sign reading, we settled on a spot on the side street. A little bit of a walk doesn’t hurt when you’re full from Peking duck. We walked in and they were a lot bigger than I had thought, they were also PACKED! Not a bad effort for a weekday. It was hustling and bustling as the sound of loud Chinese chatter fills the air. It’s an environment I’m used to and caused no discomfort for me whatsoever, however I can understand if some people can get overwhelmed.

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We wasted no time to order but ran into a speed bump straight away! We wanted 4 ducks and the waitress insisted it was too much for 7 people! What is it with waiting staff doubting my eating abilities lately?!? I looked at her as if to say ‘C’mon… we got this”. I totally understand that they have our best interests at heart, but sometimes it’s just really annoying that I cannot get the food I’m asking for. We decided that we’ll just start off with 3 ducks and would have to prove her wrong later. FYI, we did have to get another duck afterwards, and we could have done 5 ducks easily!

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The pancakes, onions and cucumber were pretty standard quality. Not much to elaborate on here. The duck was pretty good… it was meaty and the skin was crispy. The meat around the leg area was succulent however the meat on the other sections are a tad dry. I also didn’t feel it had as good duck flavour as my regular place. The highlight of Old Kingdom was the plum sauce! Man oh man… it was the best plum sauce I’ve ever had! You know how in team sports, there’s individuals who carry the whole team… well this plum sauce did exactly that. I was blown away, and I think my family was getting annoyed with how much I was carrying on about the sauce. The soup was full of flavour and didn’t taste like those soups which keep getting topped up with water. The noodles was also good, but the egg noodles could have been crispier.

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It’s a vicious game in the Peking duck world, every component in the banquet gets assessed and scrutinised. Only the strongest make it through, and Old Kingdom are certainly one of the stronger ones in the game. I would recommend this place just for the plum sauce alone! We’ll be coming back for sure, just hope the staff recognises our faces and remembers that we eat like mini dinosaurs!

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Old Kingdom
Approx $35 AUD per person
Address: 683 Canterbury Rd, Surrey Hills VIC 3127
Phone: +61 3 9898 3343

Old Kingdom Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

New Shanghai

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My aunty had raved on about New Shanghai for a while, saying that they make the best dumplings in Melbourne. Huge call, and I’ve been really wanting to try them out to see what the fuss was all about. Problem is that we hardly ever go to Emporium in the CBD, so on this rare occasion we were there, we wasted no time in checking them out.

We got to New Shanghai with an hour till closing time, therefore only waited around 10 minutes for a table. I have heard from other people that it’s not uncommon to wait over 30-45 minutes for a table, so keep this in mind if you’re hungry! A person put our names on their list and allocated a number to us. I kinda feel sorry for the take away place next to New Shanghai, because everyone seemed to be using their chairs to sit down and wait without buying anything (we’re guilty also). The restaurant itself looks very Chinese, sending a strong message that they do not do fusion foods. Message received loud and clear, time to bring on the dumplings!

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It’s criminal to not start off with the classic Xiao Long Bao (steamed pork dumplings). This is the signature dumpling where all the dumpling places are rated on, a make or break dish. The Xiao Long Bao here was fabulous. The skin was thin and soft, but fully capable of holding the beautiful soup inside. With the correct chopstick technique, you shouldn’t spill a drop. I would recommend grabbing the dumpling more towards the top, where there’s more rigidity as the middle part can be quite delicate. The soup had great natural sweetness and hits you with a burst of flavour! The pork mix inside was soft and bouncy, maintaining good texture. Could not fault the Xiao Long Bao, it’s as good as any I’ve had in the past!

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My personal favourite was the prawn wontons with peanut-sesame sauce and chilli oil. The prawn filling was fresh, and the peanut-sesame sauce was outstanding. It was as though they mixed smooth peanut butter through the sauce, and the peanut taste hits the back of the palette after every bite! I loved it, and will certainly be getting this dish every time. We ordered some other dishes such as the drunken chicken, pan fried crab meat & pork dumplings, and the crab meat Xiao Long Bao. They were all high quality dishes and I guarantee that you won’t leave disappointed.

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All the waiting staff were quick and highly alert. They were always looking around to see if any customers needed anything, it never takes long to get their attention. The service is efficient but not personable, as they will not go out of their way to ask you how your day’s been. We also experienced the vintage Asian style of stacking the chairs around us before closing time. We’re not too fussed about this, but if this is something that bothers you, then you may have to come earlier and not so close to closing time.

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All in all, we enjoyed our experience at New Shanghai and would highly recommend them to anyone after some top quality dumplings! Are they the best in Melbourne? Well I’d have to say they are right up there! We’ll need to make a visit to our other dumpling favourite again in order to come to a true conclusion. It’s been a while since we’ve been to the other place, therefore we need to refresh our taste buds. We will write a review after the visit. As it stands right now, New Shanghai is certainly right up there in our top 2 in Melbourne!

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New Shanghai
Approx $50 AUD per person
Address: Emporium Melbourne, Level 3, 287 Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 9994 9386

New Shanghai Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Yum Cha at Tao Tao House

Since it’s Sunday today, I thought it was only fitting that I post a yum cha review! Last weekend, Helen and I were really craving for some yum cha when we woke up. I was kind of sick of the bad quality yum cha we’ve been getting around our area, so I quickly jumped online to see if there were any other alternatives. I came across Tao Tao House through my research and quickly learned that the chef had worked at Flower Drum for nearly 20 years. He also worked at Golden Dragon Palace afterwards, another very reputable yum cha place. Quite an impressive resume there, I quickly called up Tao Tao House to make a booking.

Tao Tao House - Inside

When we arrived I noticed that Tao Tao House was a lot smaller than other yum cha places we go to. Normally yum cha establishments are huge with a sea of people, but this had a more smaller and intimate feel. The interior had a bit of a purple colour scheme happening with purple chairs and purple table clothes. A little different from other yum cha places, but it was quite nice and I quickly got used to it. The waiter seated us down straight away with some jasmine tea. One thing I hate about a lot of other yum cha places was the wait to get the first dishes on the table. No such problem here, a lady walked by with a tray of food and we were well on our way!

Tao Tao House - Yum Cha

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We quickly filled our table with food. The dishes we ordered were Har Gau (prawn dumping), scallop siu mai, chive prawn dumpling, Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, chicken feet in black bean sauce, BBQ pork puffs, Xiao Long Bao (pork soup dumplings), prawn rice noodle roll and Chinese egg tarts. All the dishes were extremely high quality, and I was very impressed with both the taste and texture of each dish. Some of my highlights include the Har Gau, the prawns were very fresh inside and you could taste the prawn pieces in the dumpling. At some of the other yum cha places, the prawn in the dumpling can taste mushy. The Chinese broccoli was really crunchy and blanched perfectly. The oyster sauce was light, and flavoured the broccoli nicely without being salty. The chicken feet was so good! As soon as I tried one, there was a burst of flavour in my mouth. The prawn rice noodle roll had a very thin outing which just dropped over my chopstick when I picked it up. A lot of places make the rice noodle roll way too thick, which can taste very doughy and non appetizing. The prawns inside were once again very fresh. As much as we wanted to finish with a mango pudding, we were just too full. We enjoyed some fresh Chinese egg tarts for dessert. The pastry was very light and flaky. The egg filling inside was silky smooth and actually tasted like egg, and not just a sweet filling. Simply delicious…

Tao Tao House - Egg Tarts

It felt like there were a lot of staff there for a smallish place. We never had any trouble getting anyone’s attention, which can sometimes be a problem at really busy yum cha places. The customer service here was actually really good. They were not only switched on and very efficient, but also spoke nicely and were very friendly. A very pleasant surprise in the yum cha scene. The food kept coming out with next to no waiting time, and we got full pretty quickly. The price at Tao Tao House is a little more expensive, we found ourselves paying about $20 more between the two of us compared to other places. No complaints though, as the quality of the food justifies the price. This is the best yum cha I’ve had outside of Hong Kong. The search for great yum cha certainly doesn’t end here, I will continue to try other yum cha places in Melbourne and will definitely keep you guys up to date. I highly recommend Tao Tao House and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it too!

Tao Tao House
Approx $50 AUD per person
815 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn VIC 3122
Phone: +61 3 9818 0968
Website: www.taotaohouse.com.au

Tao Tao House Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato