The recent trip to Empress was for dinner. We had 2 large tables to celebrate a birthday dinner. Michele, the owner has helped me to ensure that the menu I had ordered was sufficient for each table. We ordered the Peking Duck, Crispy Beef, Peking Pork, BBC, Chinese Broccoli, Long Beans with XO sauce, Sticky Pork Cubes and the Empress Steamed Chicken and the Singapore Chilli Prawns as well as the second dish for the Peking Duck where I opted for noodles.
Firstly, the service was excellent. The restaurant was extremely crowded on top of our guests but they managed very well. We did not have to wait very long and they checked with me, as the host of the dinner frequently.
All of my guests enjoyed the dinner tremendously. It was the first time for all of them except me. Many of them left with Takeaway menus. The Sticky Pork Cubes was a hit with everyone. In fact all the dishes were finished except for the steamed chicken. For me, the steamed chicken was my favourite because of how tender it was. It may have not been a favourite for my guests because it was served at room temperature and therefore cold.
Whilst you can order the traditional Aussie-Chinese dishes like sweet and sour pork or honey chicken, Eric the chef (who is the brother of Michele) has a good and light hand when he cooks his food. It's always on the lighter side and not overly salty. I certainly didn't have the usual signs of 'bloating' the next day as I do when I encounter food with MSG.
A great experience all round. read more