Red Emperor

6.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  5      Service  6      Value  7     

I eat here a fair bit, bringing friends and my child along. Staff happily accommodate children and food is brought to you promptly. I have eaten my way across HK, Singapore and Tokyo and Red Emperor's yum cha is one of the best I have eaten. If you know your yum cha you can ask for lesser-known dishes as part of the 'all you can eat' deal, but if you don't, you will still eat very well.

Service is fast, not rushed, and you can be out in just over an hour and not feel like you've been hussled out. Yum cha is freshly-made and contains some more unusual offerings, like tofu-stuffed mushrooms, white fungus jelly or scallop and tofu dumplings.

Downsides to the restaurant, the dated 1990's interior needs a facelift. The seats are wedding reception pink in colour. And the last time we went, the new staff neglected to notice we'd asked for the yum cha deal and tried to charge us for each dish. Ten minutes of intense argument was settled when the senior staff was summoned, remembered us, and settled the issue in our favour. Red Emperor also does not take eftpos, another big minus.

Location is great and parking easy to get in the carpark underneath. I recommend it for a great yum cha feast without the MSG hangover, but be very clear if you want the 'package'.

Aug 13, 2011 

6.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  6     

Peking Duck here is best in Australia (better than Flower Drum even) and I would return just for plates of this anytime. Yum Cha was disappointing which is why we ended up ordering san choy bao and peking duck. Prices were ok but all downsides were saved by the amazing duck. If you want the best go here!

Nov 12, 2010 

5.5 Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  7      Value  5     

I had my first ever yum cha here for a friends birthday. Because I have not eaten yum cha before, I can't made a statement about the food except that I was pleased and left very full.

Our table of 10 was reduced to six after people cancelled, but the staff did not show any annoyance. The staff seemed very competent and attentive, but not overly so (they did not rush us). Our table agreed to the $42 all you can eat. No one seemed disappointed. Very tidy atmosphere, very "convention centre/reception halll" decor, limp pinks and browns. The view was pleasant.

Overall a pleasant three hours spent in great company with a large amount of food.

Sep 11, 2010 

5 Average

Food  3      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  2     

We went to this restaurant for Yum Cha recently. If ambience and location is important to you, this restaurant is for you. However, I always believe the food must be the most important criteria. This is where it falls down badly. For a restaurant that charges higher than average, the Yum Cha dishes were very unimaginative. The flavours were quite ordinary. It did not help that we were seated upstairs so they have to carry a selection of dishes upstairs.

I had to request for specific dishes to be brought up. If you were not familiar, you would only get half a dozen dishes. We were also dissappointed that we were seated upstairs even though I booked on Wednesday, the restaurant was not full. I won't be eating there again.

Jun 01, 2010 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  8     

Do yourself a favour and go to this truly wonderful place. Fantastic food, service and location.

Apr 17, 2010 

8.5 Highly Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  8     

I was very pleased with my experience at Red Emperor. The ambience is lovely, with attractive artwork, high ceilings, a lovely view of the river, and tables spaced out well. If possible, ask for a table next to the window to best enjoy the view at night.

The prices are higher than a suburban Chinese restaurant, but the service is much better. Our glasses were promptly refilled, the waiters offered to debone the fish and platter out the food, and the service was very efficient and unobtrusive.

The only disappointment of the night were the Singapore noodles, which were dry gritty and too obviously spiced. Everything else was delicious and attractively plated (though expect the portions to be smaller than at your average Chinese restaurant). The fruit platter dessert was spectacular, a must-order!

Mar 17, 2010 

4.8 Average

Food  5      Ambience  4      Service  6      Value  4     

Please note this is your typical chinese suburban restaurant with a location in soutbank, it is very very average, this is a family type restaurant with a south bank price tag. This is not a place to enjoy a romantic evening nor is it a place to impress anyone, those restaurants are Silks or flower drum or david's, this is a yum cha lunch or family restaurant with kids running around.

Feb 14, 2010 

9.5 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  10      Value  9     

Reviews haven't been done for a year so here goes mine!

Went late 2009 with 4 people for a Special Ocassion and the Restaurant had an awesome ambience. We were attended to straight away and the waiters were attentive and pleasant. We expected the food to be of high standard and they didn't let us down. Here are just a few of the dishes that we had, Hot Sour Soup was just that Hot and Sour and Delicious.

The Peking Duck was cooked to Perfection with Extra Crispy Tea Tasting Skin and Succulent Duck meat and the Hoi Sin Sauce makes it taste superb. We had Stuffed Scallops with Prawn Filling and the Scallops had a hint of Sweetness with the Prawns complimenting the Scallops with Garlic and Slight Ginger taste.

One thing that was a tad annoying, The Restaurant was extremely loud and could hardly hear each other speak so in the end we spoke as loud as the others. All in all the restaurant was awesome and we felt happy as we left even though it is pricey, the food was delicious! On our way out there was approx 15 people waiting in a queue without a booking to be seated.

Jan 09, 2010 

8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  6     

My favourite Chinese restaurant in Melbourne! We go there quite often and have never been disappointed. Its not cheap but I think you get what you pay for. The service is very quick attentive. Just don't accidentally make eye contact with one of the army of waiters or they will be at your table in a flash.

Dec 02, 2009 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  8      Service  10      Value  9     

My husband and I had Yum Cha here one day on one of our many visits to Melbourne. We were welcomed in there with wonderful service. We had the all you can eat Yum Cha and I advised the waitress that I don’t eat red meat or pork. She went out of her way to order things for me that I would eat and also lots of things for my husband to eat. Nothing was of trouble for the staff. The waitress explained to me everything that was in the dumplings. The food is of high quality. The place was packed and I can clearly see why. Highly recommend this as the food and quality are incredible. Will definitely go back next time we are in Melbourne.

Dec 01, 2009