It is not often that I write a mainly negative review (please refer to my previous reviews for…read moreclarification on that if needed, especially in today's climate where supporting local/small business is important), but I always want to be honest, and I don't think I can review this honestly if I make it glowing. I've always wanted to come here, but up until last night, have never been. Walking in, I was impressed by the lovely decor and spaciousness of the place. We had to come at an early time, as they were in for a busy night. So initially the even was relatively quite, but as they filled up, it's obvious that the acoustics there aren't great as it got ultra noisy. The first problem I had, was the descriptions - or lack thereof - in the menu. I had to ask a waiter what the "smoked salmon" was. Was it a soup (it was in the Soup and Appetizer section, and could have been anything). He said to me that it was an appetizer but couldn't describe the dish (this is something that will crop up again at the end of the meal; stay tuned). Due to lack of description, and wanting to be sure there was no other seafood involved, I decided to try the Duck Spring Rolls. I thought they were beautiful. Really delicious and good portion size. When I finished those, and others in my group were still eating their appetizers, they cleared my plate away. I don't like that, but I guess that's just personal opinion (though not considered polite by many). I ordered the Chicken Fried Rice for the main, and when it came out it was dark and bits in it were quite chewy. The flavour was average, but it was edible. This time around, they took forever to clear off the dishes and would continuously walk past the table without any attempt to clear away. When we eventually asked someone to clear the dishes off and to show us a dessert menu, the guy actually literally waved us off as if to say "I can't be bothered with this. I'll be back later." I have never seen that before in my life, and we sat there stunned. When we DID get the menu, the plates were still on the table, and he gave us one menu amongst four of us, to pass around with nowhere to balance it as the table was full. Onto dessert ... eventually. I ordered the Deep Fried Chocolate Ball (singluar) which again in the menu had no description, but I honestly thought it seemed to speak for itself and how could I possibly go wrong with something called that? I swear, when it came out, it totally threw me off. It was actually THREE little hard balls coated in sesame seeds (and this is something that MUST be mentioned on the menu as that is a valid allergy these days) and inside was this horrific goey/pasty flavourless thing that had a little Nutella in with it. It was shocking. Awful. I took that small bite, and pushed the plate away, because it was just terrible. I wasn't going to say anything, but one of my friends did, and they took it away and removed it from the bill (for which I was grateful to them for), yet there was no "Would you like to order something else?". Again, I don't write negative reviews unless they are truly warranted. There were other tables around us complaining to each other that things they'd ordered hadn't come and this and that. When you take bookings, you know how busy you'll be, and you organise staff accordingly. It was a right old mess. MAYBE if I were ever to try it there again, I'd go during the week where they might be less busy. They obviously have good things going for them as they're extremely popular, but I'm sorry, I just couldn't work out what the hype is all about this time.

Amazing food, amazing service, good ambiance. If you haven't eaten here and enjoy dumplings and…read moregreat Chinese food. What are you waiting for. Get here now!

So much to unpack here ... There were four of us for dinner and they seated us at a strange table…read morefor six, and so we were kind of spaced out too much. They gave us only two menus for the four of us which was annoying. The soup came out first and the other three of us had to wait so much longer for our entrees to come out. They too came out staggered, and since the chicken ribs came out SO late, they were still eating them as their main meal came out. I hate that. Cutlery was practically thrown at us. No class or care. Didn't find any of the staff warm or friendly at all, sadly. The one redeeming feature is that the food is nice. Is it the best Chinese food I've ever eaten? No. But it would scratch an itch if you're craving it. Also, just pray that if you order the Sweet and Sour Chicken like I did, that it's not drowning in sauce, as the batter then goes soggy and the cutlery gets sticky and sauce ends up on the table. Sadly, I wouldn't return here. There was no warmth, atmosphere or anything inviting, and some dishes were dirty. Yes, the food is ok, and reasonably priced, but there are so many other places one could go to. Sorry, but just being honest.

In support of a friend who is currently researching for a business concept involving dumplings, my…read morehusband and I have visited a LOT of dumpling / dim sum / yum cha venues. To put this into perspective, next week we're travelling to asia to do just that. Anyhow, I digress. The point is we get through a lot of steamed (and fried) parcels of deliciousness. Ripples in Bentleigh (not the other Ripples which I'm lead to believe is less than fabulous) is rather tremendous. Take a look at the pictures I've uploaded and you'll see how fresh everything is. This is now amongst our new favourites in Melbourne. So why only four stars? Well... the debate at our table came to the conclusion that you can't give a place 5 stars when you've only been once. Surely at least a star should be reserved for consistency. Anyone can have a great experience once. It's really not my thing, but I'll also say this - Ripples is extremely child friendly.

I have been frequenting Pings since it opened. My favorites…read moreare the pork, chicken & prawn and the beef dumplings. They are great fried or boiled. I got take away this time but as always the dumplings were delicious and fresh. The skins are quite thin with generous fillings. This is my go to place for dumplings and I have recommended to friends who have all enjoyed them too. Very reasonably priced but don't expect any customer service you pretty much get what you pay for...nice food.

Pings dumplings are reasonable and they have heaps of options to choose from. You can get them…read morefrozen to take home and cook later (I haven't done this). They also have most of your your standard Chinese dishes available. From what we've tried I like the beef and carrot dumplings best. We also get some garlic or stir fried greens. They can use a little too much oil at times on this, but it still tastes OK.

Ideal for dining in ! great service Walk ins was a bonus…read moreseated right away Great Japanese cuisine

Great Japanese in Station street! I am so glad my friend took me here last Friday. I was pleasantly…read moresurprised. Matsuya's is not pretentious it just serves tasty Japanese. We shared nearly all the dishes on the entree menu and were more than satisfied. The service here was excellent too. Matsuya's may not have all of the fancy decor but it certainly makes up for it with their food and value. I highly recommend this restaurant.

This has been a long time favorite of mine. Cheap food, good service and atmosphere. Although the…read moresizes are smaller, they've kept the price. Still worth going. Now under new management and I think they have the balance right. Tom Yum Seafood soup is my new fav. The beef brisket is also worthy of a try. Big, sizeable and delicious.

This place is alright…read more Decor is simple but functional. Wooden tables and chairs, although some have vinyl seats. Service is reasonably quick and dishes aren't too slow. I had the Singapore Fried Noodles which was pretty nice for what it is, it was nicely cooked, and too wet or oily at all. The Iced Lemon Tea was pretty nice. I would come back here.

Walking by this restaurant almost everyday I wanted to try it out. From the outside it looks very…read moretraditional/authentic. Nothing to flashy with the decor so technically food should be authentic. Service was great. They're very attentive and courteous. The decor was a bit outdated but sufficient. We decided to have yumcha and ordered a variety of my typical yumcha dishes. We had prawn, chives, pork (xiu mai) dumplings, chicken feet and prawn rice noodle rolls. I found the dumplings a bit doughy but the fillings was nice. The chicken feet was a bit dry and the rice noodle rolls lacked flavours. Overall, it was ok but it did lack flavour. It was good for yumcha locally but if I wanted yumcha next time I'll venture out to the city.

Unable to get into David's down the road we set-off on foot to find yum cha. This place popped up…read moreand the menu seemed good so we got in. It was quite a busy Sunday, we arrived at 1:30 and the place was full. Only 2 tables free. From the time we got there until we left all the tables remained full. You can either order from the full menu or the dim sum menu. Craving lots of things we went for the dim sum. The staff were friendly and attentive the entire time and we're happy for us to call them over 3 or 4 times every time we ordered more food. Our favourite dishes were the Shanghai dumplings - so juicy and flavoursome. The crispy prawn rolls were absolutely amazing also. Other dishes we ordered were: salt and pepper squid, BBQ pork bun, spring rolls and egg custard bun. Delicious! While the food here was not extraordinary it was perfect for what we were craving. The prices ranged between 6.80 to $11.50 for yum cha dishes which were a little on the pricier side given portions of some.

Very disappointing as went based on some other reviews. No…read morewords spoken by the waitress and waiter other than the bill price of '$45'! Everything was a let down and all food lacked any taste at all. We tried the special fried rice, cumin lamb, shao-long Bao, chicken and prawn dumplings in chilli oil . Special fried rice meat was spam...very not special Cumin lamb was really onion with lamb and some oil Shao-long Bao was boringly boring Chicken and prawn dumplings in chilli oil did not have any hint of chilli taste or kick So the only good thing was the tea. Upon paying, the kitchen and glassware was atrociously dirty. Glad I didn't ask for a drink. Really a must not try restaurant!

My first time eating here and I was fully content with my belly full of veggie dumplings and chive…read morepancake. The cucumber salad was also to die for! Not the most glamorous looking place but def worth the visit for the food alone.

my expectations were high due to the number of patrons here on a nightly basis... It's mainly a…read morestudent hang out.. Anyway had the spicy soft tofu soup and the short rib soup. Both come with a bowl of rice and side condiments. Quite liked the spicy soup.. could've been better with more seafood. the short ribs ... meh!! I can do better!! I had to add soya sauce and pepper. Just water with ribs and some berrys. I should've taken the clue left behind by another patron. She walked away without finishing half of her short rib soup!!! I thought she went to get something but never came back. Hmm It's a cheap eat and the student community seem to love it. Scanning around after paying the bill it appears their cooked / hotplate dishes are more popular.

Let's Bab is a small restaurant integrated into a strip mall on Warrigal road. They server both…read moreKorean and Japanese dishes and are the best bang for your buck when it comes to quick meals and food in general. It is always busy in there, I haven't been there and not had to wait for a table. All their dishes are prepared fresh and have a great authentic flavour to it. If you can't get a table they have take out as an option. The only downside to this place is that it is cash only.