Dumpling King

Oh my goodness! How sad that this place is ranked so highly amongst many restaurant reviews. People, please look beyond the white table cloths and linen-like napkins, the food here is awful. I should have been alerted when I noticed that I was the only Asian sitting at a table and I was in Box Hill, Melbourne's most Chinese suburb!

For dumplings we ordered Steamed Vegetable Dumplings, Pan-Fried Pork and Cabbage Dumplings, and “award winning” Shanghai Dumplings. The Shanghai dumplings, commonly known as Xiao Long Bao or Shanghai juicy dumplings, arrived looking dry and wilted despite the steam coming off their bamboo steamer. They barely had any juice in them, the filling was stiff, and the dumpling skin, well, was really a lump of dough. They were nothing like the juicy, mouth-burning dumplings with thin, bouncy skin you get when this traditional and modest dish is prepared properly. The other dumplings were sadly no better.

We didn’t go to Dumpling King for noodles. However, because their menu proudly stated “All noodles hand-made”, which I took to mean house-made and had confirmed this understanding with the waiters, I ordered the Noodles in Hot and Spicy Soup. Well, it can be said that they were hand-tossed-into-a-pot, but certainly not hand-made. We were sure that the waiter understood what I meant when I asked about the noodles being freshly prepared on premises, and the phrase “award winning” or “a.w.d.” was printed throughout their dumpling page on the menu. It’s a shame that unreliable places such as this thrive. Don’t be misled by some thrown on table clothes and cheap BYO.

Hutong Prahran

My first visit to this Commercial Road location was in its first week of opening. Greatly impressed by the food, I quickly told friends that insisted on tasting asap. Out of convenience, we went to its parent restaurant in CBD, but the food at this CBD location was really disappointing, and we ventured off to Commercial Road once again a few days later. I have now been to Hutong in Prahran several times. As with all new openings, they have adjusted portion sizes, flavours, and recipes. Some flavours actually deteriorated, apparently due to a rival in the kitchen where Chef #2 was producing better food than Chef #1. Yes, sadly Chef #2 is gone, taking his yummy recipes with him.

What keeps me going back are the dumplings. I love good dumplings! You do not want to leave this place without trying their Shanghainese Soup Dumplings (a.k.a. Xiao Long Bao) and Wontons in Spicy Sauce. You can watch them wrap the precious bite-sized Shanghainese dumplings right in front of you. Throughout the world, and especially in China, dumplings are common food, and there are so many variations (even within China), but when done right they are so, so satisfying. These juicy, bouncy-skin Xiao Long Bao dumplings are perfect. I melt just thinking about them.

The atmosphere at Hutong is much like the food: fusion Chinese. Stiff and classical redwood-looking furniture, young and swift staff in black t-shirts, lots of hard surfaces for a high volume experience. If you would like your food paced in a certain way, stagger your order. It's a casual place with a casual attitude.

Silks at Crown Casino

There is something about the sparkling gold Crown Casino experience. As you pass through the revolving doors take note: women in sexy dresses, men in jackets, dark granite floors, sweeping grand staircase, slot machines going ka-ching in the background, there is always an element of excitement. And dining at their Cantonese restaurant, Silks should continue or peak that energy shock, but sadly on our visit it did not.

Having heard about a friend’s friend having not one, not two, but SIX of their San Choi Bao’s we had high expectations for this $22 lettuce wrap. It was the first thing we ordered, and a survey of the room clearly indicated it was their signature dish. Wonderfully presented, the minced filling was served into iceberg lettuce leaves beside our table. The wrap was good but not spectacular, and difficult to justify the price.

Our other dishes including Hot and Sour Soup, Vinegar Braised Fish, Black Peppered Beef, and Roast Duck were reasonable, but not particularly memorable other than that they were saturated with MSG. One other dish, Braised Mushrooms with Seasonal Vegetable contained four pieces of mushroom, a few small leaves of Chinese cabbage, slivers of carrot (probably for the colour), and lots of vermicelli. Since when did this green bean noodle become a vegetable? Flavours were neither here nor there. This $46 dish screamed for a comment to the staff, who promptly removed it from our bill.

A nice décor with booth seating, private rooms, round tables, and even a tented space for drinks, helps to define areas and allow for privacy. High ceilings and staff in suits add to the fine-dining experience, so what’s wrong? The place feels removed of any personal touches or care almost to the extent that it’s for guests to simply come and go, just pass with no need to return. A cookie-cutter restaurant in Crown, or a cold product of a large-scale hotel? Nice location, nice ambience, very unfortunate that the food and experience is not worthy.

Supper Inn

So, this is why many chefs in town choose to eat here after their long day of cooking for others. This is a not fancy, not pricey, just swift and simple dining experience, and often that is just what we need. Tables are cramped, staff talk over you, yet people keep on coming and are willing to wait their turn for a table in a narrow, rickety staircase. The place has been bustling for twenty-plus years, a true institution.

To start we had Steamed oysters in ginger-scallion sauce, a plate of freshly cooked, whole oysters in their shell topped with minced yellow bits and fresh greens. Pea shoots with braised dried scallops arrived on a bed of young greens topped with a light gravy of re-hydrated scallops. Crispy chicken in braised sauce, half a fried chicken dunked in a rich soy and scallion sauce. Pork cake with preserved vegetables, a flat bed of minced pork enhanced with a minced pickled vegetable. Chicken and salty fish fried rice, warm grains with titbits of chicken, egg, scallion, and salty fish which you could not see but taste in the perfect texture. Nothing was disappointing, nothing was spectacular, everything was as we expected, predictable and delivered without any fuss.

Interiors are fairly typical of a family run small eatery. Walls and furniture were what they were when the restaurant started, nothing touched unless absolutely necessary. Even the old air conditioning units, with their cords neatly wound up to the side have become part of the wall décor, as newer split air conditioners chilled the hustling dining room.

If only these walls could speak and tell us more about the three brother owners and its history. Supper Inn is unpretentious with genuine food and ingredients, the kind of place that reassures. We certainly need some of this in life.

Lau's Family Kitchen

There are reasons for why this place is popular. The Lau family, Hong Kong emigrants and long time local residents, former managers of the famed Flower Drum in Melbourne's downtown have created an appealing Chinese bistro for Melburnians.

Based on a glowing recommendation from a true foodie friend (Ed’s note: Melissa chooses wisely) I ventured off to Lau’s with high hopes and curiosity, deliberately arriving earlier. On arrival the restaurant was not yet opened so I helped myself to an outdoor chair, cautious about not disturbing the prepared table. To my surprise, a waiter opened the door and asked if he could help. I told him I had a reservation and was happy to just wait outside until they were ready inside. He brought me a glass of water. Nice! Minutes later a couple arrived asking for a table, choosing one outside. I was invited inside. Staff members naturally and casually continued their conversations with each other in Chinese. An older gentleman smiled at me and I greeted him in Chinese and asked him what he recommended. After providing suggestions, he asked if I was local (referring to the city, probably sensing that I was new around here) and eventually told me that there are many good Chinese food options throughout Melbourne, also that he had been with the owner for more than twenty years, starting as a young boy simply clearing tables. He finally offered me his hand and introduced himself, we shook hands and I thanked him. Shortly after, my Caucasian (Ed’s note: Melissa is non-discriminatory) friend arrived and the whole restaurant shifted from speaking Cantonese to English as it filled with keen diners.

We ordered some of the items the waiter suggested to me earlier. While taking our order he on the spot up-sold us another fish dish. Lau’s Family Kitchen practice is to advise strongly. Dishes were paced accordingly and food was served with finesse, first shown to us, then divided onto individual serving plates at our side, and finally placed nicely in front of us. Though not truly authentic in flavour and food-style (like the way my mother or grandmother would make), I must agree that the flavours are pleasing and that the overall experience is extremely enjoyable. It says a lot when the wait staff are proud to serve and sell their own food, even more when they desire to share their personal life and career with patrons. This spirit is with the whole team, front and back of house. Very well done Lau members!