Your spread might include spicy pork ribs, squid tentacles and, for dessert, matcha tiramisu. Enjoy an authentic Cantonese banquet with a view, set above Melbourne’s iconic Esplanade Hotel. Pair duck pancakes, spicy pork chilli wontons and sesame prawn toast with a fusion cocktail. This 160-seater used to be a hotpot spot, but now it's a grill-yourself Sichuan restaurant. Come for sizzling skewers, whole grilled cod and dozens of side dishes. Red plastic stools and steel tables imported from Thailand are scattered around the space to emulate the country’s street-food scene.
Premium pan-Chinese dishes with a great and innovative cocktail list. A bar and nightclub that honours the childhood fables and fairytales we all know and love. In Midcity Arcade, serving a range of teppanyaki, sushi, sashimi, bento boxes, 墨尔本 火锅 店 tempura and noodles. A three-level dim sum restaurant recreating the moody ambience of a Chinese dumpling house. The bad news is the closing of Anchovy, otherwise known as chef Thi Le’s personal exploration of Vietnamese cuisine.

Delicious Korean barbecue with loads of banquet options. A lobster and champagne bar with pescatarian and vegan-friendly menus. Colourful and buzzing,Chinatownis a sparkling jewel in Melbourne’s cultural crown. With Lunar New Year officially starting on 10 February, here's the lowdown on where to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. Find top places to eat, quirky arcades to explore and hidden bars to discover.
First time trying out this place after hearing how good it was for a few months from the misses. The selection was decent the broth was not bad but it’s prob not worth the money for what I got. But for spicy hotpot lovers this would be the best place to enjoy hot soup. All of them more less have same ingredients on offer, unless you have your favourite that you just have to have. What I liked about here was that they offer 3 different soup bases and I didn’t mind the collagen bone base. Expect to always be squished in and seated next to randoms but overall I love this place!!
Super loaded martabak, traditional pandan kueh, salted egg fried chicken and more. Pretty much every item on the menu is halal-friendly, too (a handful of dishes use cooking wine - ask the staff for more info). The kitchen uses halal certified suppliers to source meat for dishes like chicken katsu curry, nasi goreng and chilli crab noodles. Benyue Kitchen is a family-owned restaurant specializing in homestyle Cantonese cuisine, using only the freshest ingredients.

Cooked over a five-metre-long charcoal grill and oven, steaming dishes of barbecued pork skewers, Chang Mai sausage and a flame-grilled T-Bone steak with a Nam Jim Jaew swing around the sleek restaurant. Just off the Crown Riverwalk, there's a lot to like aboutGing Thai. The menu is a harmonious fusion of Thai classics and innovative dishes that artfully intertwine with traditional flavours. From kingfish ceviche and gai yang salad to half-roast duck, yellow vegetable curry, pad see ew, and pork eggplant, the offerings are diverse. It may look unassuming but Nana Thai is one of the most authentic Thai restaurants Melbourne has to offer. Their menu is filled with street food-style goodness, and we’d be remiss to not mention the spice factor.
Soups range from $15-20 each then there is an additional $4 for sauce not advertised. We ordered soft drinks without being shown a drinks menu and ended up paying $7.50 for Coca cola. For a more intense, in-your-face, flavour, pick the hot and sour broth, flavoured with Chinese vinegar, chilli oil and Sichuan hot and sour sauce. Some of Melbourne’s restaurants and bars are best visited well after dark. Whether you’re in need of sustenance after a show or a night owl just getting started, here are a few of our finest late-night venues. Vegetables Como & Seafood ComboHaving seen many YouTube videos of Sichuan styled hot pot dinners, we popped into David’s Hot Pot Restaurant one evening to satisfy our curiosity.

There was a time when Brunswick East threatened to throw itself into a positive feedback loop of mince and suds. Alas, it’s now more likely to be a loop of polished neighbourhood wine bars – probably the better outcome –skippered by Hannah Green’s pick-of-the-litter Etta. Two hours of omakase power later, the chef show is over. The temptation is to clap, but even this dining spectacle demands some deference.
Other stand-out additions include their thinly sliced M6+ Wagyu beef slices ($68.80), fresh tofu, pieces of purple corn and cucumber filled with prawn meat. Even dessert is soup-ified, with a sweet Chinese-style soup made of brown sugar jelly, red bean, sultanas and goji berries ($4.90). Orders are served banquet-style, and tables are topped with hotplates, so you can experiment with your culinary skills to your heart's content.
Simon’s Peiking Duck is home to some of the most ultra-affordable Peking duck in Melbourne. Sadly, the man himself, Simon Lay, the godfather of Melbourne Chinese food, passed away in early 2017. There’s also an extensive wine and drink list, so grab the team’s recommendation of what booze will work best with your meal. A little different from your local Chinese restaurant, the South Yarra location boasts a huge and luxurious interior.

Jacinta Moore is a photographer and stylist based in Melbourne. At Dainty Sichuan’s sister city restaurant, located inside one of Bourke Street’s many arcades, the bizarre is considered ordinary and chilli is truly king. Isan Soul transports you to the streets of Thailand with its authentic Thai food. If you can’t handle the heat, go for the rich and creamy collagen bone broth. When it comes to eating Greek in Melbourne, it doesn’t get more old school than Stalactites Restaurant, which opened in 1978.