Mo Charcoal Alley is a much needed restaurant on the Northside, as it provides good quality fresh…read morefood, that is well presented and delicious! It's conveniently located in Carseldine Central where parking is plentiful. I wasn't expecting too much when we went there, and I was pleasantly surprised by the food. The dumplings were excellent, and the mains were awesome. The Sichuan beef stir fry, salt and pepper calamari and satay chicken were particular standouts. The drinks were made from scratch and were refreshing and scrumptious! I loved the Lychee twist and Lemon Lime and Bitters. Service was friendly and attentive, making this restaurant a good alternative to Sunnybank where service is an afterthought (and often feels like taking a trip to Timbuktu). This restaurant is a great addition to the Northside culinary scene and I expect this eatery to become more popular as time goes by.

A great place for Chinese food on Northside! Particularly enjoyed the beef brisket and pork ribs…read more Looking forward to trying their BBQ next time.

The food arrived quickly not as hot as I would've liked being Yum Cha…read moreThe manager yelling at the staff and then to capit all off he removed my excess plates and the sauce which I was still using before I have finished eating . The staff collecting the dirty dishes was a lot quieter than the managers. He was just throwing them in making a hell of a row. I do realise that this is about turnover however it could be done with a lot less crash and bash I believe

According to the menu - John Farnham has been here and recommends the quail! Although I have never…read moreseen John here (damn) I did take his advice and order the quail - which if you are patient enough to pick through the tiny little bones - is pretty tasty. I do not usually go to Aspley Oriental for the dinner menu however - I go for Yum Cha! Yummm cha!! The lovely little dumplings and mango pancakes that come rolling past on cute little trolleys send my tastebuds into a frenzy! I love the prawn gow gees, the pork and peanut dumplings and the vegetarian spring rolls. On the downside, the manager sits Westerners and Chinese in different areas and the Chinese area gets priority, sometimes all the good things are gone or cold which is quite annoying. Aspley Oriental is probably the most expensive Yum Cha restaurant I have been too which is also a bit of a bummer. It is best to go on the weekends as there is much more variety, you do have to wait outside for a while though unfortunately. The food is good though, and worth the wait.

Had 2 steamed buns. Quiet day. Wasn't a Tuesday or Thursday $1 per dumpling day. Slightly warmer…read morepau would have been perfect

Absolutely awesome dumplings! Have been here lots of times with my friends! Please consider your…read morepackaging which may deteriorate during the trip from your shop to the office! Also, maybe allow for people to bring their own containers, and stuff your amazing dumplings into them! Also, provide chilli sauce :) This is fantastic!! Best regards, Lisa Ann.

Best Yum Cha in Brisbane!…read more We turned up to this restaurant at lunch time on Sunday and it was full and there was a seemingly endless queue. Despite the queue we didn't have to wait long for a table and it was well worth the wait. We think that it was the best yum cha we've had in Brisbane. The servers were friendly and the dishes were all lovely - it was also very reasonably priced. I would certainly be happy to bring my Malaysian-Chinese mum here!! We'll be back to check out the dinner options!!

This is my favorite Yum Cha in Brissy. cups and bowls can be dirty sometimes so just ask for a…read moreclean one. No big deal. We come here often enough that they know what we like. lol The service is great. Busy on the weekends so either book in advance or get here early. I wish they opened earlier! The food is 95% of the time just sooo yummy! Always reccomend it to everyone. Used to go to the one in the valley but this is closer and I think better food! Wish they served from morning til night without the break.

Not true yum cha. This restaurant features menu ordering rather than food coming arond on a cart to…read morebe selected. Food was good though.

It's been 4 years since I've been home to Brisbane and Indooroopilly's Westfield Shopping Centre…read morehas changed a lot. This yum cha (dim sum) place is a fancier version of the ones that have usually been in existence in Brisbane and is packed! I met my god-parents for lunch -- there were 6 of us -- on a Saturday around 11.30am. The place was already buzzing. The booth seating is uncomfortable and awkward. We are boxed in and squished. The steamed dim sum was sub-par.... the dumpling wrappers are mushy and thick. They fell apart the minute I picked them up with my chopsticks. The har gow and the seafood dumplings -- in fact, any of the dumplings that have the same wrapper -- all possessed this terrible wrapper. I don't recommend it. Seen juk guen (beancurd rolls) were really dense with a filling that is almost completely meat and nothing else. Flavor-wise it was fine. Chicken's feet were decent, with the claws cooked to a good consistency so it fell off the bone. The fried items were much better. The woo gok filled with taro was good -- nice and crumbly on the outside and the filling a good consistency. My favorite was the fried radish cake which were little nuggets of perfectly tender radish cake fried to a crispy perfection. The crispy pork belly (siu yuk) was awful. The fat is not rendered through well enough making the pork pieces unpleasant to eat. Service is hit and miss as well. One minute someone is efficient coming around to refill water, and then, nothing even when you ask for it. Maybe I'm comparing it to dim sum places in the US, but it's weird to me that they didn't have Chinese mustard (gai lat) when my son asked for it. The one thing I love about Chinese restaurants in Australia is that they give you soy sauce with slices of hot chile peppers in them. Wish restaurants in the US would offer this to you as a regular condiment.

Cute little spot I visited later in the evening. There were not many people in the dinning room and…read morethe service is slower paced. I was encouraged to order via the QR code of the table yet the establishment is underground a bit so the cell server is a challenge. The chicken noodle soup is neutral I'm flavor. Reluctantly, I was allowed to order at the bar counter.

Two stars for the decor. Came in here alone just minding my…read moreown business and waited about 10 minutes when the place was empty. I didn't mind at the moment and just asked for help. The food lacked flavor of any kind. I got the Szechuan pork dumplings and the braised beef noodles. I had to drown both in chili and vinegar for them to taste like anything. Lastly, I couldn't finish everything and asked for a box to go but was shocked (SHOCKED) that they said I had to pay for a to go box. Not sure if that's a local regulation or what. I didn't have money in hand and didn't want to charge my card for $0.50 so I had to take my food to go in a napkin

Fortitude Valley institution This Fortitude Valley…read moreinstitution used to be our go-to place for yum cha. The service is still good & the atmosphere is great with the staff wheeling the dim sum trolleys between the tables. But I thought the dumplings were a little bit too big and tasteless. We'll be going to Sunnybank for yum cha in future.

I've been lazing about for the past few days, which will probably come with consequences pretty…read moresoon since exam week is coming up - but we were craving yum cha, so we tried to "research" the Brisbane area. The choices are really quite meager, as we found a few places scattered around, but none that seemed to be particularly popular. Since we decided yum cha was what we wanted, we decided that we wouldn't set our expectations very high, and just go for the best one we could find [with best being most convenient and decent]. Our search landed us in the center of Chinatown in the Valley, at King of Kings Seafood, a place pretty much the epitome of Chinese restaurants - with the live fish and the big round tables. When we got there at about 1pm, it was actually rather packed. There were groups of families - both Asian and non [I mention this because it may just as well be a gauge to how authentic a restaurant is], and the place remained busy even as we were leaving since the place serves dim sum till late. Also, because there were constantly diners coming in and out, some of the yum cha that was being reeled around was pretty fresh! The food was as expected - decent - but not great. Everything was very standard, and the cha siu pastry was not too bad, but I don't recommend the taro cake (?-), which was way too dry and didn't taste much like taro. The duck that we had was also a bit dry, which disappointed me, since duck is a very forgiving meat. Overall, it was not a bad experience, and the waitresses were very friendly, but it was a bit pricey. We got quite a bit of food and were filled to the brim, but it was a bit over $20 for each of us - and I don't know if I can get used to restaurants here charging for tea per person.

For a quick cheap, value for money meal this place is great! Have been here a few times and have…read morealways enjoyed the food. A basic restaurant that takes cash only but great food. Worth a try!

I eat at this place several tiems a week simply because I cant justfy spending my money anywherte…read moreelse - it's so cheap its insane. How bout chicken and fried rice for $7.50? Or prawn dumpling for $3.50? Prawn wanton noodle soup for $8.50? Madness. And its good stuff - they use Aussie endeavour prwans in their dumplings and the fried rice is flavoursome without being greasy. Chinse tea? Yours for free. Go there.

This place is just off of the attractions of South Beach, and represents a significant change in…read moretone from the artificial play areas to a cool, somewhat upscale environment. It's one of the few places in Australia where I've had what I (as an American) would consider table service. Corresponding to the service and the location, it's a bit more costly than other places I've tried, which was really my only knock against it. They've got a menu with clearly labeled vegetarian options, and if you don't want to go for the entrees, they have an extensive dim sum menu as well. The salt and pepper tofu was tantalizing either alone or dipped in chili oil (conveniently available at the table), and the tofu and vegetable dumplings were delicately made and varied in their fillings. There are quite a few Chinese people eating here, and conversing with the staff (I honestly couldn't catch whether in Mandarin or Shanghaiese). That's usually a good sign.

Having passed this several times already, it seemed like a popular place, so we decided to give it…read morea try. We each chose a dish and got the Braised Pork Belly in Dark Soy Sauce ((18.9) with the Steamed Flour Bun (4), as well as the Leek & Garlic Stir Fried with Lamb (22.9) with rice (3/bowl). Jo was hesitant about the pork belly at first, since it's quite fatty - but I decided I wanted that, and it turned out to be quite good, besides my first piece, which was a bit dry. It tasted pretty authentic - maybe the closest I've had to authentic Chinese food in Brisbane so far, so I was quite impressed. The buns were quite tiny and a bit too chewy for my liking, but they were super cute! I think they are cloud-shaped, but correct me if I'm wrong. The lamb dish was also quite tasty - tender slices of lamb with red capsicum, onions, and leek, and the meat was tender and glazed in a hoisin (?) garlic sauce. It was a bit salty, so we got rice, but the rice was grainy and pretty terrible, and $3 a bowl. Say, what?? Yeah, no rice for me next time - I'd rather go for their other bun/wrap choices. Other than the fact that this place is a bit more pricey than other Chinese restaurant around, it is overall more comfortable (other than the really terrible acoustics) and more authentic than other places around Brisbane. There's a possibility I'd try out their dim sum sometime...

Did somebody say "dumplings"?…read more This is a little 'mom & pop' business in the pretty suburb of Ashgrove where, of an evening, you can peer through the large window and watch mum, dad, or (I assume) their adult son deftly prepare the dumpling delights they sell. And delightful they are indeed. We ordered three rounds of different dumplings and they were all fantastic (my favourites being the ones containing the prawn, chicken and water chestnut). We also ordered two other dishes; garlic pork and san choy bau. Must admit to being disappointed with those two. Unless it's a special district in China from where the recipes hail, the dishes appeared to be extremely 'anglicised'. Whilst bursting with colour from the variety of vegies within, the pork dish had great gobs of bottled minced garlic, not freshly chopped. The pork, although sliced thinly (the way I like it) was a little tough. The san choy bau was unrecognisable with the array of capsicum and broccoli (??) and not one, but three onion products (white, shallot and dried onion) meaning it was off limits for me and my onion intolerance entirely. There didn't appear to be celery or water chestnut at all, no bean sprouts, cooked in vegetable oil, not sesame oil. It was quite a different affair from what I have eaten in the past (and made myself). I would go back to support it because it's a small family-run business and because the dumplings were terrific. Parking available adjacent in the small cul-de-sac and you can eat in, although the dining area is a little shabby. I think it's more catered for the take away option.

Don't let this "hidden in suburbia" take away shop deter you with it's location in the depths of…read moreAshgrove as you drive towards The Gap. And while you're at it, don't let the basic and no-frills decor deter you, either. If you're a nerd like me, you'll probably enjoy watching the team in the kitchen making the dumplings. It's almost meditative as they find their rhythm folding them together so delicately. As Just A mentioned, it's a "Mum and Pop" type business, and they're slinging dumplings and westernised chinese dishes to the 'burbs for prices that'll have you transported back to 1980s when you wore parachute pants and bubble socks. Having craved dumplings for a few days, I was delighted to be in the area and finally at a time these guys would be open (they open from 5pm only). Averaging $3-$4 per dumpling option (about 3 dumplings per serving) on the menu you can easily get away with a solo dumpling feast for $15. Dining in a group? Order a few dishes between everyone and still walk away with change from $20. The food is prepared on-site and available dine-in (limited seating) or take-away. It is a fairly Westernised menu, as mentioned above, so if that Sichuan spice is what you're looking for you may not find it here. But what you will find is affordable, consistent and satisfying dumplings and chinese take-away that's a step up from the standard 'Aussie' chinese takeaway of battered sweet and sour pork.