Having visited this place multiple times and ordered home, this place constantly delivers. Pretty…read moremuch every single thing they make tastes awesome and their cocktails are great. It gets a bad rep for not being "authentic" Yum Cha/Chinese because it doesn't have trolleys, white linen and rude staff shouting everywhere but honestly guys, these days that scene has crashed, and I prefer the freshly made trays they bring out here and cocktail options over any of the city's tired 90s Yum Cha trolley hangovers. It does come with a bit of a price tag though, but not one that feels unjustified. Will keep returning.

My favourite restaurant that we keep coming back to again and again. Excellent food, service and…read moreambience. We celebrated my birthday and I was so happy with the complimentary bubbly & desserts with a little candle. Thank you so much for another great experience!!

This place is has a really nice feel to it! First time eating here and I had a pleasant experience…read more The waiter that served us and continuously took our plates was hilarious and kind. There was so much food! Since it's a buffet you definitely want to start off eating crabs or something so you don't get full too fast. There was a wide selection of seafood from oysters to crabs to mussels. There was also a large selection of rice dishes, Peking duck, chicken and pork. The sushi area didn't have a very large variety but you could pick the fish that you want and they will cut it up for you. They also served seaweed salad and squid slices in that area as well! Overall there's was so much food from sweet to savory. The place is a bit pricey but you'll definitely get your money's worth!

They've improved a lot!! Was grimacing when I was told I had to come here again for an uncles…read morebirthday! Not the best experience over the yrs. Alas I think they have heard the cries! Food is now of quality. The yum cha dim sums are now wheeled around and also avail. at the back. The duck is crispy and flavoursome. Same with the roast pork. Food is not cold and plentiful. Not like the old days. The custard egg tarts and especially the durian puffs!! worth a return visit. 3 stars as I'm still skeptical.. if it's the same management don't expect this to continue!

The earth moves sometimes when I eat here. Literally and metaphorically…read more Trains run underneath the building and the you feel the rumble. And yes, some of their dishes make me tremble with nostalgia. Grain Asian is a crazy name. It's drab looking with tables inside and out like a school canteen in the mall just beyond the food court. But what is it that makes it my Box Hill beacon? It's a Hong Kong style street cafe or 'Dai Pai Dong' - where Chinese style dishes are served as individual portions, as per the western manner. Not as share plates where you order rice separately. It's rare to see Caucasian diners here but there's no need to feel intimidated, the food is very approachable the menu is in English. There are even photo posters of some dishes. In HK style they have lunch and afternoon tea set menu's under $10 which basically are a meal deal including a beverage. There is a glass counter loaded with items that may seem novel to passers by. Inside are snowy mounds of steamed roast pork buns (cha sui bao), steamed sausage rolls (lup cheong goon), foil trays of savoury daikon cake and lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice parcels containing savory treats. What do I eat here? The thing that brings me back is the fat, pork and prawn wonton, that I tend to order in beef brisket soup noodles. What else? A mild chicken curry; fried rice with chicken and dried salted fish; crisp egg noodles with shredded pork and shitake; Hainan chicken rice; salt and pepper chicken ribs. Simple, honest fare. It hardly seems earth shattering but it's actually hard to get these dishes right. And my purse is barely bothered, when we spend on average $22 for two of us. So when you're done, walk by their cake shop diagonally opposite and get a couple of flaky pastry custard tarts to eat as you move on. It's the simple things, ya know?

This place is a bit unassuming and many a person would've walked right by and headed right on by to…read morethe main part of the food court and walked towards the exit onto Main St. But lies there is a restaurant called Grain Asian Cafe. Caucasian diners are thin on the ground here, but you shouldn't have a problem with ordering at all, the staff should understand what you want. There is a front glass counter which contains food that can be taken away. Foods for sale include are big white mounds of steamed roast pork buns (Char Siu Bao), steamed sausage rolls (Lap Cheong Goon), big foil trays of savoury daikon cake and lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice parcels with savoury contents which actually are sticky! The noise level is high but that's due more to the fact that it's in a shopping centre more than the restaurant itself. There's a lunch menu and a afternoon tea menu, as expected in a HK-style restaurant. But I came to have the Afternoon Tea menu, so let's focus on that. There is of course, free water and tea (which is basically expected in this type of restaurant), but you must pour it yourself from a tray in the restaurant. The meal itself, which has small portions, but it costs $7 and you get a free drink with it! I can't complain about that. It's quite affordable. I had Char Kway Teow, which is the HK version instead of the original version. The The HK-version has stir-fried Chinese-style flat rice noodles with prawns, char siu, onions, and bean sprouts and tastes very different to the original. This was very good. It tasted like exactly what I was expecting. The other person I went with had the Prawn and Pork Wonton Noodle Soup. The Wontons were very nice, and seasoned well. The noodles were just the right texture but probably needed a bit of sesame oil. But this is very minor and isn't the reason why a star was deducted to have 3 stars instead of 4. It was very cheap though, two people cost just $14. The reason for the deduction is two things. One, the servers were a touch rude when they refilled chopsticks at our table despite the fact that the tables next to us was empty, they should refill it there and then put it back on the table instead of repeatedly refilling chopsticks and cutlery on our shoulders. A minor complaint but I feel it shouldn't be done that way. The second and more serious complaint comes from this! They shouldn't be using plastic spoons in their drinks. In the cold drinks, this is acceptable (although annoying), but in a hot drink isn't so acceptable and more the reason why a star was deducted (along with the above complaint). I may come back here but there's a few things that they need to change. As for parking, try the underground carpark in the shopping centre where it's located in.

If I could I would give this 0 out of 5 stars. First of all, the customer service was horrible,…read moreinstead of helping the waiter was extremely rude and it seemed like he did not care. On top of that, the chicken fried rice we ordered had undercooked chicken which lead to my family feeling unwell later in the evening. Even after we told them about the undercooked chicken, they only gave us $1.00 off and sent us on our way. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anyone, not even my worst enemy.

Zhen Hong was pleasant in that way; there were customers but not crowded enough to make the…read moreatmosphere noisy. I liked the setting; calm, peaceful with a distinct feel of the Orient. Sorry there aren't any pictures; I wasn't thinking with my 'food blogger' cap on! All that we had time for was a quick meal and so this is a quick review too! The menu was quite elaborate and there's plenty to choose from. There are also quite a few combos and discount offers especially at lunch time. From the dumpling list, we picked up chicken and prawn steamed dumplings. It was a rather average dumpling; enjoyable but lacking the flavour punch. There was a lemon chicken on the menu which caught our attention. While taking down the order, the waitress asked us if we wanted lemon chicken or and I promptly said lemon fish. So, I am not sure if this is on the menu but if it is, do try it out by all means. In a word, delicious! The best lemon fish I have ever had. The lemony tang was so obvious but without overtaking the fish which was just cooked to perfection. We then ordered chicken fried rice with pineapple but asked them to ditch the pineapple. So it was a regular chicken fried rice; again an average dish. And the last main we ordered was the Schezuan spicy fish which was served with steamed rice. It was a good dish but far from spicy (at least for me!). Really couldn't pick up any heat from the peppercorns but it was a flavourful dish though not true to the name. So that ends our meal at Zhen Hong. It was a mixed experience and I might need to try out more dishes to reach a final conclusion. I don't think I am going to actively seek out the place but if I am in the vicinity, I am definitely hopping in...at least for the lemon fish.

This is a great little local gem. It's nothing fancy, but there's a great extensive menu and the…read morestaff are friendly and the food is good. It's not necessarily the best Chinese food I've ever eaten in my life, but it was tasty and it scratched the itch I had for Chinese. There must be an additional/alternate menu if you're celiac or have a gluten intolerance, which you don't see in a heap of places. We didn't look at that, because we're fortunately ok, but the regular menu is long and full of things you know. The food was really nice. I thought the Chicken Fried Rice was a teeny bit underdone, but everything else was good. The batter on their Sweet And Sour Chicken was light and flavourful. Everyone loved what they got. Overall, I'd recommend this if you're in the area. It's not overly expensive and it's nice to support small, local businesses that do their best to provide friendly service and great meals.

Great GF menu, with excellent dumplings. Lunch specials were very filling. It got really busy,…read morewhich is always a good sign.

Another great dumpling restaurant in Melbourne!…read more Great decor and vibe. Delicious dumplings and mains.

Absolutely loved this place! Affordable and so tasty!! Only problem they couldn't swap out steamed…read morerice for fried rice but I'm just being picky, will definitely come back!

I dont eat Vietnamese food very often (no idea why) but I really liked this place and I will…read moreprobably start eating here more often. The spring rolls were delicious and cheap and the seafood soup was very very nice. All up the whole meal, including drinks cost about $32 for 2 people. Its nothing particularly fancy - just good quality, fresh food in a nice enough environment. - but then thats just how I like it!

Whenever I get a craving for dumplings I usually drag myself into the city. Not anymore Ping's does…read moreamazing dumplings and I only have to travel to Clayton. If you are yet to discover the delicious food to be had in the multicultural area of Clayton then you are missing out. I used to teach in the area and would love to duck out at lunch time and grab some delicious authentic cuisines. I am sad that I have only just found Ping's! We came on a recommendation and were not disappointed, the dumpling were just as good as the ones found in your fave places in China town. I enjoyed the duck dumplings, fried rice and the amazing pumpkin cakes. The service was quick and efficient and the decor was cheap and cheerful! A very inexpensive night out!

Forget about the service...let's just focus on the food at this venue - BEST Xiau Long Bao in…read moreMelbourne!!! There...I've put it out there...BIG call I know...but the delicious soup inside the Baos on offer at Ping's is just divine and the best thing is that the soup never seems to be wasted because the parcel / skin is just the right thickness! Let's face it...we've all experienced the devastation of carefully trying to pick these Baos up from the bamboo steamers only to watch the soup drain away because we've punctured the parcel! Well....NO MORE! Other must haves at Ping's include the Pan Fried Dumplings (both pork and beef)....Shanghai Fried Noodles....and Mapo Tofu!! Ping's....Woh-Ai-Ni!!