Review Ding Hao Restaurant - Adelaide

Really love this restaurant, really quality dishes, friendly staff and bosses, our family love to visit this place for dinner. Simple cosy little place. Heard they are moving to a new location nearby. Must visit before they move. Will definitely come again.

- Recommend: lava bun, prawn dumpling, mango pudding - Not recommend: chicken feet, bbp pork bun, golden fried squid, fried wonton, egg tart, scallop dumpling Lots of food we ate here in many times. We used to be regular customer until we found another better yum cha place.

Tried the zhangcha duck and it surprised me. Very tender and great charcoal aroma. If you like light and fresh taste it is good.

Food always great there. The restaurant is moving to new premise soon.

Undoubtedly the worst Chinese food/restaurant experience I've ever had. We had the silver banquet option and almost every dish was lukewarm. Waiters brought soup to our table then took it back and began looking through it with a spoon for some reason. That had us worried. Then when the crispy pork came out stone cold we asked them to heat it up and they must have just nuked the whole plate because the lettuce garnish was completely wilted when it came back. When one waitress brought out one of the sizzling dishes she slopped it in carelessly and spilled a lot of it all over the table, no apologies were made. It was a complete shambles. Honestly appeared to me that all the staff were new and had no experience at all. For the dessert we asked if we could swap the mango pudding to the fried icecream, it came out as a single rectangle on the plate with no sauce and tasted stale and like it hadn't been cooked at all... we were told that's how they serve it there. Prices are cheap but you get what you pay for. Don't waste your time and money going here.

Our go-to place for yumcha / dimsum 點心 on weekends. It gets really busy as soon as it opens. The dishes come out from the kitchen hot and fresh. Service is great and has greatly improved through the years. It's a great, no-fuss, all-about-the-food type of place. Tip: Ask for extra chilli oil to dunk your dumplings in

I was really expecting more with this restaurant. Atmosphere’s good and great hospitality. Was abit disappointed because the crispy chicken we ordered was not fresh, too dry and hard. Second dish is the crispy garlic pork ribs, portion was small and not enough flavour. Disappointed but I would still recommend them because of their hospitality. I’m coming back next time with different dish.

I've heard the yum cha was excellent so we thought the dinner experience would be great too. Unfortunately that's not the case. Service was okay. They have 5/5 service for the white folks, but for us Asian folk, I don't even think they knew we were even there. At one point I asked for assistance and the server replied to me without even looking at me. Her concentration was 100% on ... Yeah. This would all be excusable if the food was good. It wasn't. It was horrible. We ordered the two course Peking duck. Peking duck was dry and they gave us such a small portion. The pancakes were bland and stale, coming from the freezer no doubt. They even used prawn crackers to make the dish look bigger. And guess what, the prawn crackers tasted like they were a few days old. They weren't even arsed enough to cook us a new batch. If you've cooked prawn crackers before you know it takes like a few seconds to cook. The second noodle dish was bland and had few pieces of duck sprinkled over. We ended up taking it away. The next day I tried to eat it but... But I ended up throwing it away anyway. For the price we paid, you are far better off anywhere.

Came for lunch on Xmas day therefore it was super busy and we had to sit outside. Food was ok although I personally found it quite oily. Price is average of the area. Service was alright although to be fair, the waiters and waitresses were probably exhausted from the busy crowd that day. It was pretty hot sitting outside on a sunny day. Perhaps some fans would be helpful in the future.

I've only been here for yum cha so I'll focus on that and it does it well, love the steamed options here including the snow pea and prawn. This is pretty much my only place for yum cha in Adelaide so I might be a biased.

Very average foods (sweet and sour pork, fried rice and salted fish tofu hotpot) and both boyfriend and I ended up in the toilet.. so really not keen on returning 😕

Since living in Australia for the past 7 years I have never had a dim sum place that compared to Vancouver for value and quality until Ding Hao. And Ive had dim sum in Brisbane, Sydney. <br/><br/>We Ordered 7 things including all the staples, prawn dumplings were large and fresh the wrap is thin and translucent, Shui Mai was flavourful along with all the other dishes <br/><br/>Pretty impressed with Adelaide’s China town district. <br/><br/>

First visit to yum cha and what a great experience Ding Hao offered. Plenty of fresh and hot food coming past all the time, from all sorts of dumplings, to little desserts. Overall I was really impressed, and after having so much it was relatively cheap.

This is one of the best places to have yum chai in Adelaide! The staff were super friendly and the food was similar to the one I used to have in Hong Kong! Love that egg tart with the pastry based! Restaurant usually use cookies for the base of the egg tart in Australia. Couldn’t found one with pastry based after a year and a half in Australia until this! Definitely go for it if you wanna try the tradition Hong Kong egg tart!

In the midst of various restaurant choices in Chinatown, Ding Hao is one of the popular ones. Food itself isn't bad but their service is appalling. Extremely rude and we felt rushed during our meal .. with other choices in Chinatown I probably wouldn't be visiting here anytime soon ...

Sunday lunch and the place was buzzing<br/><br/>There was a good range of things being bought round but the service was slow and some things you might expect at Yum Cha (notably egg tarts and custard buns) were either sold out or unavailable. BBQ pork buns were delicious but the salt and pepper squid was a bit tough and quite oily<br/><br/>Look, it wasn't bad and it was better than some. But the standard set by our trip to the Little Canton on Henley Beach Rd wasn't really met.<br/><br/>Good, but not great.

这是一个要为了一张桌子等很久的地方，但我觉得这一点并不会给这家店扣分。等待的时间长只是因为它的popularity很高而且是during peak time，提前book会好很多。但虽然这样讲的确用餐环境有些嘈杂拥挤，而且如果是在周末，又没吃过yumcha的话可能不知道从何下手。但作为一个留学生我就是为了这种很像国内茶楼的氛围去的，所以给五分不怕骄傲。

We came for yum cha and rude waiters kept ignoring us. One even told us to hold on, walked off and then didn’t return. Food was very slow to come out, very poor yum cha selection. I always had a good experience here but today was the last straw. I’ll take my money elsewhere like starhouse or tchow yum cha.

How to start.............. this place just tick all the boxes for me after being away from home (Singapore) for almost 4 year . <br/><br/>Ding Hao has good food, fantastic services and we always feel welcome by their staff. No matter how busy they were, they will make sure your requirements are met. They did not hold back on the number of staffs they hired meaning you will always have someone to take care of your needs. <br/><br/>Expect some waiting time if you did not make any booking especially on Saturday and Sunday but the wait is worth it , good food in a typical dim sum atmosphere plus friendly busy smiles that will make sure you have a great weekend.<br/><br/>Just give it try and this is as close as what you can get from a truely dim sum setting.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>

The amount of times I go to ding hao a WEEK! I go for yum cha at least 2-3 times a week here and each visit has never let me down. The service is great & probably even more better now that I'm technically a "regular" 😅 and the yum cha is always fresh and delicious! They have a list of dishes you can choose from on weekdays which has a great selection and then on weekends, they have lots of different other dishes/yum cha that they serve especially for weekends with a variety coming out to you on trolleys so that you can see exactly what they've got and what you want compared to weekdays dining where they don't serve their yum Cha in trolleys! I highly recommend anyone looking for a good yum Cha eatery here in Adelaide. Ding hao is the place to go for it! Even their standard menu is great also if yum cha isn't what you're after!

My biggest regret is not taking pictures of the amazing food served at this restaurant. This place is awesome!!! Duck, steak, fried rice and mushroom/bok choy- great for a quick tasty cheap, fresh Chinese meal. Top service- staff are so friendly and efficient. Would definitely recommend and return. Thank you 😊

food is nice but how can you serve cups with lip gloss stain and broken tea pot to customers?? Unsatisfactory services. Having called for staff for food for several times and they ignored me. Guess they were too busy chatting and gossiping. The cashier demanded me to pay by cash which I didn't have that much and she said, "don't do this next time!" Well there won't be a next time.

The food is good, tasty.<br/>The menu is variaty with plenty items from steam, fried and buns. I highly recommend the ox tripe and lotus sticky rice.<br/>Service need to be improved.

Service is good.<br/>The meal also taste good but not truly local taste.<br/>I think maybe the restaurant have they own cooking style,but is not really what I want and what I expected.<br/>If you try it really good tasty food before in somewhere else,and you want to find the same food in here , I think they might be disappointed you.

Arrived on not a busy night. Ordered our meal,and were served an entree and green tea. Other people arrived and were served their meal well before us. Some within 10 or so minutes after arrival. We just sat there and watched others get their food. Strangely enough the Chinese customers were served first. Absolutely disgusted with this restaurant. Got up, offered to pay for tea and entree, and left. <br/>

Amazing food and service for both dinner and yum cha. The owner remembered us from dinner 2 nights before and is friendly and accomodating. There are some unusual dinner choices that didn't fail to disappoint including soft shell crab, star anise smoked duck and broad beans with tofu.

What I really like about Ding Hao is that it does not serve just your bog standard Chinese and Yum Cha, they do unique and specialty dishes which are well worth trying. Smoked duck and long beans in garlic and chili were a real treat as were the savory Chinese donuts wrapped in rice noodles! They also had kangaroo in the menu which I'll be trying next time. We had yum cha but found it was good to mix the offerings with a few items from the menu. Service was friendly and cheerful which is unique for many busy yum cha houses! Price was reasonable, about $25 for 5 very hungry adults!!

Went to Dinghao for the umpteenth time today, this time to introduce sis to yumcha. Place was full as per normal for Sunday. Staff attentive, s new choice few minutes if you want it. Quality of dianxin was OK. Tripe is always great. Desserts most reliable. Fried ones a tad too greasy. $126 for six people who are too much. Sis happy to return. Not Hong Kong but isn't this Adelaide?

We came here for dim sum on a Saturday morning. Food didn't taste great. Cutlery and dishes were not properly cleaned, stain and food residuals were left on most of them. We didn't enjoy our lunch, knowing this place wasn't hygienic. Maybe their dinner menu is better but we wouldn't come back again. Health department should inspect this place...

Used to love coming here for yumcha but have been disappointed the last few visits .. what's happened? Quite expensive for what you get - but as expected for a city restaurant - do love the golden lava buns though!

We came there last April with no real expectations but were really pleased by the variety of yum cha. We recommend to book as it gets full pretty quickly. For the 6 of us, we paid a bit over $100 and were fully satisfied. A good little find !

Not sure what to think of this place after being told by friends that the food was decent. I didn't get a picture of the other three dishes but I don't think it was worthy of one anyways! Not only was the food expensive, it came in tiny portions which could barely feed four people! Such a shame the service and manners of the staff also let us down on the night.<br/><br/>Food might taste nice, but paying $20 for dishes that were the size of my hand wasn't worth it.

Ding Hao describe themselves as “traditional Chinese dishes, hot pots and daily yum cha in a bustling venue with a casual ambiance.” Now this may seem like a slightly lazy way of starting a review, and in some sense you are right. But as this is pretty much on the money, its easier than me coming up with a new introduction all of my own.

Thumbs up on the yum cha here. Dishes were fresh, steaming and tasty with little to fault. <br/><br/>Staff was helpful and setting was nice (though the chairs are a bit close together, but to be expected given the interior of the restaurant is small). Definitely recommended if you're looking to go to yum cha - just make sure to make a booking especially on a weekend.

Their food is ok. I had an off-tasting dumpling here and after that everything else tasted sour, so I couldn't really say much about their other dishes.

For better food - go to Hong Kee for an authentic Cantonese food that isn't too oily or salty and much cheaper. This is from the 3 of us who visited Adelaide - 2 from Melbourne and 1 from Singapore so we know what good Cantonese food is supposed to be.<br/>Ding Hao food is just OK.

One of my favourites on Gouger Street, Ding Hao is always a reliably good meal. Im a huge fan of the shallot pancakes and the mince meat with eggplant hotpot. The place is always very busy so booking would be highly recommended.

Ding Hao and I go way back. This is where I used to come for yum cha as a uni student, and thankfully it hasn’t changed a bit. It’s still overcrowded, packed to the brim, and dishing up fast, fresh Chinese food. I actually went to catch up with friends from uni – the six of us got stuck right in, with no shortage of dishes coming around to enjoy. I am a sucker for prawn dumplings, and the seafood ones that Ding Hao serve are huge, tasty and definitely not full of mush. You can feel the disparate textures of the filling – so good. We indulged in a plate of salt and pepper calamari, deep-fried and full of flavour, not rubbery at all. The crispy beef was

This restaurant severs good yam cha. Food is better than I expected. Recommend mango pudding! Staffs are friendly. If you are looking for somewhere to spend your morning time with friends, it will be a good place.

This place is awesome with consistency and taste - absolutely authentic.<br/>You cannot go wrong with the dumplings!!!<br/><br/>Food has always been absolutely amazing - the staff are always polite and helpful.

Came here on a Friday night with partner and her best friend. Good ambience, can get a little noisy. Wide selections on the menu. Stand out was the tea smoked duck - moist and succulent duck infused with subtle flavors of tea leaf, lifts it to another level. The steamed fish wasn't as fresh as I expected. We also had lotus roots which was fine. Overall it was a good dining experience with good flavours.

We came here for a change from our regular East Taste and this was quite nice, though I would like 2come back again 2try a few more dishes. Nice service, cosy ambience and good wine list. Shallot pancakes were deelish and the sizzling pepper beef was yum. Couldn't recommend the Sizzling Garlic Seafood, unfortunately the squid was very rubbery, though the prawns were good. The most delicious dish was the smoked tea duck that was a stand out and will have again for sure!! Very well priced and accompanied with the entertainment book u can't go wrong! 😀👍

Bad service. Rude and disrespectful to customers. My wife asked one of the waiters for an extra tea cup and he looked like he was about to hit her. We didn't even bother to deal with him and just left.

One of the worst restaurants my friend and I have ever experienced.  Staff were rude, décor and toilets are in need of a clean.  The small amount of food we had was tasteless (we left after entrée) and the wine was in the smallest glass you can get.  We left and attended a beautiful Vietnamese restaurant across the road.

One of the premium Chinese restaurants in Adelaide. Serves good yum cha. Also has nice Cantonese dinner fare.,but it's slightly pricy, hence premium to justify.

Pretty disappointing, prices aren't listed and no descriptions.<br/><br/>Came from interstate I took a friend for her first Dim Sum and most of the 'regular' dishes weren't on the menu and weren't available when requested.

I had Yum Cha one late morning at this place to see if it was as good as overseas. The selection was the usual suspects with nothing jumping out as unique. The quality was ok but I left feeling that I have had better elsewhere. It was still busy so the atmosphere was there to enjoy a yum cha with friends and family.

I came to Ding Hao because of the reviews.This was my second Yum Cha experience in Adelaide and there is room for improvement. The venue itself is in need of an uplift, torn carpets, dirty toilets... The food was very yummy just didn't do enough to get me to return.

Pretty good but not the best yum cha place out there. As a yumcha place i thought it was quite strange how it didn't have food taken around so you couldn't see what you were ordering, but overall good :)

Always a great place to go for lunch in between work. You can always rely on this place to deliver a quick, fresh & tasty lunch. Would highly recommend if you are in or around the Adelaide CBD.

Probably one of my favorite Chinese restaurants on Gouger st. Nice quiet atmosphere and great food choices. The dishes are well priced and taste delicious.

Great shallot cakes, salt and pepper tofu, BBC and Chinese broccoli with garlic and chill. Yum. Better service then some of the other restaurants in China Town that throw your food at you. Would recommend, will return.

Disappointing. What a disappointment. Good reviews, in Chinatown.... What could go wrong?<br/>Possibly the worst food I have ever eaten. Yes it is cheap, so I guess you get what you don't pay for. Tasteless steamed dishes and deep fried ones dripping in oil and served with what resembled tomato sauce. After 8 dishes not one that was memorable for the right reasons. <br/>Some will say we just got them on a bad day. But I think not....if you want to see if a restaurant cares....have a look at their toilets! An absolutely filthy disgrace. I hate to think this is what visitors to Adelaide see. And this is supposedly one of our best yum cha restaurants. <br/>I am sure a lot of people will jump to defend this place....but I can only give feedback on my experience. And as I started, probably one of the worst meals I have had. So disappointing that the reality didn't measure up to the promise.

Great late lunch. We had a great lunch at Ding Hao - they were very accomodating and the dim sum was amazing. When we asked for our left over food to be boxed up do we could give it to some of the homeless people we'd seen in the city they gave us extras from the kitchen to go with it...highly recommended

Flea. Went there last year as it was recommended with my partner and two in-laws. Everybody got their main meals except for me, will be going back mid year and I hope to get my main meal this time

Food is always good but consistently disappointing in other ways. Uncomftably cramped, poor service, had to ask for chilli oil 3 times until I received it and was told on the phone that yum Cha was served until 3 but by 1 o'clock many dishes that we came for had sold out so get in early to avoid disappointment.

Dont like it. I will not recommend this place for yum cha over the weekend. Too crowded and manager wants to kick you out once you finish all the foods on the table.

Best in adelaide. Having lived in Adelaide for 5 years we have struggled to find a restaurant that measured up to the ones we dined at in Sydney. We finally have.

Beautiful restaurant and staff, plenty of tasty vegan options and a great wine list! Delicious S&P eggplant and BBC. Will definitely be back.

Very friendly service!!!. Ding Hao was used to be known with poor customer service. However, when I came back there after one year avoiding the beauty of the food there, I was soooo suprised the restaurant has become a cosy (still noisy tho) and friendly place! Among the other staff, there is an amazing girl who have only started working right after my decision not to go back to Ding hai again back then. She was hilarious, cute and claimed herself to be a customer maniac. That girl has brought up the restaurant's atmosphere. Every restaurant must have waiter/waitress who are friendly like that! Very pleased.

Suprisingly nice!. I was unsure about having chinese here but it was yum. Ordered green beans, ribs, duck, satay chicken and soft shell crab. So full and amazing. Good drinks list. Def go back

Amazing food - best peking duck ever!. I came down from Melbourne and have heard that ding hao had good food and I was not let down. I was throughly surprised at at how good the food was! I ordered peking duck and was expecting it to be wraps however it was just slices of divine duck. The duck was juicy and had this delicate smoky flavor that accompanied it. Absolutely brilliant! Staff was friendly and we had a great time there! I Definitely recommend this place!

WORST SERVICE EVER!! Would NOT recommend!!. We've always known Ding Hao has bad service, but the food is good so we do keep going back but today was just the WORST experience ever and the quality of the food wasn't all that good either. We ordered a dish as soon as we sat down but 30mins later it had still not arrived. We asked a waiter if he could check for us and he said rudely, , 'Just wait, it's busy today.' We told him we've been waiting for a long time already so he made a face and said he'll go check. 10 mins later, we called him back and asked what happened and he said, in the same rude manner, 'I checked, you're just going to have to wait, they're busy.' We could not believe that as customers we were being treated this way so we asked why he didn't come back to tell us and how much longer it was going to take. He made a face at us as if we were being unreasonable and said, 'I told you I checked already, they've ordered it, I can't do anything about it.' That wasn't even what we asked. He started an argument with us until another waiter interfered.<br/><br/>We made a booking a week in advance and even called up again to increase the number of people but were told upon arrival that they didn't have a booking under our name. We had to order tea 3 times from 3 different waiters before we got it. We ordered chilli oil 4 times with different waiters and never got it. We ended up going to the bar to get it ourselves and received attitude from the staff behind the bar, telling us rudely that if we wanted something just order from a waiter. We told him we've ordered 4 times already. Honestly, why else would a customer get something themselves if the waiters were doing their jobs?<br/><br/>We have always received bad service at Ding Hao and we are almost used to having to wait for a table even with a booking, used to waiters not smiling and even looking grumpy, orders being forgotten all the time, but we have never had a waiter talk back to us with such attitude before. We had literally waited over 40mins for a dish to arrive and it was not even that busy. We go often, we know what busy looks like. The food arrived so salty that we couldn't even eat it. We ended up leaving still hungry and extremely angry. We made a complaint before we left but it didn't look like anything was going to be done about it. VERY UNHAPPY AND NOT PLANNING ON RETURNING AGAIN!!

Poor service, cold food.. Booked a few days in advance asked for a table near the window, we were sat at the back next to the toilets. usually when we come here we ask for chilli on the side (fresh) and are happily provided. today we asked a girl as she walked past and she replied with a very shocking and rude "NO!" ... Very unpleasant... we asked another waiter and he hesitantly provided chilli in oil... food was average as best with a lot of the food arriving barely warm or even cold. disappointing... won't be coming back even though we have been eating here for the past 6+ years...

We were served quite quickly and food arrived promptly even though it was a busy Saturday night. My husband had the stir fried chilli chicken and I had a seafood hotpot with a spicy satay sauce. Food was good, prices quite reasonable. All in all it was a good experience.

I really liked it. The food came out quickly and it tasted amazing! I highly recommend the squid tentacles and the Shang hai dumplings. Both were so flavoursome and the dumplings were particularly flavoursome! The only downside would be the cramped seating as the place was very busy which shows it popularity. Lunch time yum cha is a must!

I and my friend usually have Yumcha in Ding hao at sunday. As today we had a lunch for Yumcha. We ordered a lot of food include salt and pepper squid but after lunch We felt axhusted for few hours coz the s&p squid which they seasoning a lot of MSG. Never come back again

Yum Cha time!. I have been here yum cha for a few times and food-wise it has been consistent. Customer service always a problem when the restaurant get very busy. However, we did not need to wait long for dim sim, fast service always provided. Compare to other yum cha place, here are not that comfortable to sit in. Many different dim sim to choose from the list, yummy!

Total disappointment. From the moment we entered and had to find our own booked table, we had to ask for everything including cutlery and drinks. After waiting for over an hour and watching people who entered after us receive their food, we once again had to ask repeatedly when we could hope to eat. When we were finally served, the food at best was average. The service was lousy, the food not much better and the waiting time was intolerable. Ruined my wife's birthday.

Ding Hao. Hubby and I went for Sunday morning Yum Cha last weekend. We were seated on the lower part and would agree that the food was slow coming around there wasn't much variety. We ordered direct with the staff and they seemed happy enough to bring what we want around. The mango pudding is a must to try. Is also in the entertainment book at 25% off the total bill.

Horrible customer service. Went here for a work christmas dinner function where we had a third of the restaurant booked well in advanced. Somehow they still messed up and kept all of us waiting outside for a good 45-50 minutes before seating us. Once we were seated, they struggled even to get bowls, wine glasses out etc, we ended up having to ask for it ourselves. Food ended up coming out 30-45 mins after we had been seated, by that time it was 1.5 hrs after our reservation time. I'm sure you can all imagine how disapppointed we were.<br/><br/>Horrible service on their part, and I will personally not be returning to this restaurant anytime soon. Good thing we were with fantastic company which didn't dampen our moods

Just a little piece of warning advice.... DO NOT SIT on the right side ('ground level', not the raised platform part of the restaurant), middle aisle of the restaurant. (looking in from the outside)<br/><br/>If you do not take my advice i can guarantee you that you WILL go hungry waiting for the good food to come. (Unless you like the crap fried foods of course.) The tables around me all experienced the same thing. (one table even just gave up and left because no good food came.)<br/><br/>First off - we had quick service and was seated promptly. Fair 'nuff. And then......it was the waiting game. We waited...and waited...and waited. Now to be fair, food did come round to our table - but it was all the fried, cold foods and other items. Why, we are at yum cha, of COURSE we want the authentic steamed dumplings and buns!! <br/><br/>So then i asked a couple of different waitresses where the 'shiao mai' was, and all replied that "there's none at the moment, but that they're in the making." What? you just opened your doors an hour ago and you're telling me you still don't have the dumplings done? How unprofessional and unorganised of you, Ding Hao.<br/><br/>So finally after some more waiting (mind you i coulda left, but i was willing to give it a chance to redeem itself), some steamed dumplings come through. Hallelujah right? Wrong. Now this is why i ask you to take my advice - any food that comes out of the kitchen is offered first to those on the raised platform, then those sitting outside, AND THEN to those poor, poor remaining customers where i was sitting (ground level). So you can imagine - anything good that comes from the kitchen is all taken by the time the waitresses come back from the outside, if you are lucky there are some remaining, it is cold, when it gets to you. <br/><br/>I ask the waitress if she wouldnt mind letting some of the other waitresses know our predicament and she just appeared unconcerned, and reinforced to me that that's the pattern they follow. <br/><br/>Other things worth noting - they serve the wrong tea to what you ask (if you know your chinese tea leaves); and you have to pay at the counter, which is a first i've seen for yum cha restaurants. <br/><br/>Someone commented that this is the closest you will get to Sydney yum cha. Well, i'm sorry but it doesn't even compare to the worst yum cha in Sydney (which is Sunny's Harbour restaurant in hurstville by the way).

You call this Yum Cha?!. Never have i ever seen or heard of a yum cha place that opens at 11am. <br/><br/>Anyway, the restaurant was already packed within first 15 minutes of opening. We were seated on the right side in the middle. WARNING do not sit here. This is the worst possible table of the entire restaurant as the minimal food on a tiny tray goes around the left, then outside before going to our spot. By the time it gets here (or if it even gets here) there is absolutely nothing left to offer us and the rest of the right side. And the cycle continues with other food.<br/><br/>Also if you want Ha Gao (prawn) , come at like 12 because they wont make it before that. The food was average, and the service was rushed and boring. <br/>Definitely wont recommend.

Love the food here. Closest thing to yum cha in Sydney. Good selection and friendly staff.

Will return. This place is great for a fun after work dinner. Very casual, quick service and not expensive.

Yum Cha during the week- was pretty busy, but service was nice and fast. Food was good- not too greasy and nice fresh flavours.

It is with great regret.... ...that I report that Ding Hao still is amongst the best yum cha you can get in Adelaide. Why regretful? Because the setting is getting more and more dire with each visit. So I am conflicted; on one hand, the food here is awesome, but on the other hand, do I really want to wait for a table even when I've got a booking, then to be crammed into a dingy corner, given greasy crockery and forced to fold my elbows in for the rest of the meal so the service people can shuffle around me? Ding Hao why must you do this to us?!

Best Sunday Yum Cha. We've visited Ding Hao mid week for Yum Cha but this was our first Sunday experience. Luckily we booked as the restaurant was full with more people waiting for tables. Ours was near the bar and perfect for waiters passing regularly with new dishes. We tried the crispy chicken, fried duck, fish cakes, pork buns, dim sum, deep fried eggplant with prawn, spring rolls, combination dumplings with peanuts, and custard tarts. Everything was fresh and tasty and our daughter said the dim sum were the best she'd eaten. The choice of dishes is more extensive than during the week and the atmosphere is vibrant and bustling, just as good Yum Cha should be! Yet the service was friendly and prompt despite the frenetic pace. The bill including a soft drink and Chinese tea came to $59 for three, amazing for more delicious food than we could eat. Fantastic value and experience.

A family favourite. I have always frequented Ding Hao with the family on Sundays for their yumcha and the place is always buzzing with a full house. Love their food here and the quality is good. Only downside is the place is rather small and they've tried to fit as many table as possible which makes the place crowded and loud when filled. Despite this, I would continue coming here and recommend the place for some good yum cha.

Have been more than a dozen times. The main thing is that food is usually good and is always busy.

Can't wait to go back!. Went here yesterday with 9 other friends. constant friendly service and never ending food! one friend was gluten free, and after consulting the menu, finally found food she could eat and a staff member even came up at the end of our meal to make sure everything was alright which was a nice touch! great place, want yum cha here every day now!

Worst place ever!!!!! Terrible service!! Worst I have ever experienced. Management is non existent... Never going there again

Sunday Yum Cha is a bit of a tradition in our household, and having heard rave reviews about Ding Hao, thought we would try it. Big mistake. The roast duck was all neck; lots of bone, but next to no meat. The tripe - a favourite yum cha dish of mine - was seasoned with a large chunk of hard sharp plastic, and was decidedly lacking in flavour. Seeing none available, we ordered a bowl of congee. Close to half an hour later, a bowl of watery, salty overcooked rice with undercooked fish was delivered to our table. Service is spotty, with some food reaching the table cold. Chef's strength seems to be fried food, but he adds far too much salt to his batter.<br/>Having gotten little other than queasy stomachs out of today's lunch, it is safe to say we will not be going back, and are left wondering why on earth this is regarded as an Adelaide "institution."

Horrid!! Had to be seated outside as there was only two of us. Everyone inside were in groups. Did not get any real yum cha food you would expect. Not a single dim sim for the entire hour we there. Met a group of my mates there and they had the same experience. That's will be the last time I'll be going there.

Good yum cha. Great, fast and tasty food. <br/>no frills.

Public Holiday Treat. While not a lot of restaurants choose to open on a Public Holiday, Ding Hao's does so with it's regular hours and line ups! <br/><br/>We visited today just after 12pm and were impressed by the casual yet prompt service and the system of food delivery employed today - they had chosen to forgo the menu and have staff bring selections around and you could take what you liked. They would then update your docket. Our 6 year old son found this exciting and it was a fantastic way of seeing up close food you may not have ordered from the menu. <br/><br/>All up, we ate our fill - 2 serves of dumplings (6), 1 serve of Dim Sum (4), 1 Crispy Chicken (Half), Pot of Tea, 1 serve of Custard Buns (3) and 1 serve of Egg Tarts (2) - $36.70. <br/><br/>We have been to a few Yum Cha places in Adelaide and this was by far and away the best. The food was not oily, the ingredients were fresh. It was also reasonably priced. I have eaten far less, far worse for far more!<br/><br/>My only advice regarding service is - like so many popular Asian restaurants, they are busy. They don't mean to be rude and they aren't - they have things to do, places to be and tables to clear. Learn to be upfront and grab attention! It is part of the experience and once you learn to appreciate it, it becomes one of the reasons why you go there. We will definitely be back!

The best Yam Cha in Adelaide. This is our family favourite, by far the best yam cha in Adelaide, all dishes are delicious, fresh, right spices, etc. Our fav are squid (both fried and steamed) and fried eggplant, never came across something we didn't like. This is why it is always busy and always full!<br/>Always served quickly, the staff is friendly and I appreciate the tablecloth.<br/>Shall I recommend it? No :-) as it is busy enough as is.

Excellent yum cha. Ding Hao is a true classic of Gouger St and the line out the front from 11am is testament to the quality of its yum cha. We enjoyed a large variety of dishes, with the full complement of usual suspects, and a few less common items too, that all went down well. Service is pretty good, with who seem to be the manager and head waitress doing particularly efficient jobs, and great prices too. On our arrival at 11 when they opened we could see that bookings were being honoured (a rarity for Gouger yum cha) but who knows what happens as it gets later. Just get there early and you won't regret it! 9/10

Good great! Service aweful. That was to be expected. Things eventually came, so did our drinks. They would have scored more money from us, if there was a waiter ever around to refresh our drinks. We sooo wanted to spend an extra $100 more on a couple of bottles of wine, but they didn't let us, or should we say, no one was around to let us.

Went on a Friday night. Very busy. Long wait for a table despite booking. Took ages to take our order once seated. Nice food when it eventually arrived.

Impressed. First time visit to Ding Hao for Yum Cha today. Food great and very fresh. Service very efficient. Great value. Easy to see why this place is regularly full. Keen to return soon to try their dinner service.

Takeaway is pretty good. Service is a bit slow - but that's usually because they are so busy. I find their yum cha a little on the expensive side, but if you're there, definitely try the fried squid, it's great!<br/><br/>Ma po tofu - it's the best in town. Takeaway will alleviate your problems with slow service, and they don't stinge on the serving size (usually).

Waited 25 minutes for service and super averarge food banquet rubbish!

Excellent value. First time there. Will definately return. We went on a weekday evening and had the Duck Banquet for 2 (duck pancakes, duck soup, and duck fried rice). Generous servings, very tasty, good value + efficient staff. Recommended.

The worst service I have ever experienced in Adelaide. We made a booking and still had to wait 20 minutes for a table. The waiter that set our table put his fingers in all the clean bowls. He then delivered a lemonade to my friend of which he had his fingers in the drink!! Disgusting. To top it off my friends beer was out of date which they still charged us for and didn't seem to care.

Sloppy. Came here a couple of times. The yum cha was cold and presentation was not appealing. They also do not have much variety. Very poor ambiance and restaurant seemed to be cramped. Will not return unless Star House is closed.

GREAT FOOD, POOR SERVICE. Best ma po tofu in the city, but the service staff speak in Mandarin and I saw them clearly making fun of a white gentleman also eating in the restaurant. They are not that prompt when serving food, but this could be because they are always busy. Go there for the food, don't expect much from the waiters.

Consistently brilliant. This place is just great! My wife and I make a point of going every few weeks...and in all honesty its the consistency that continues to bring us back.<br/>There are two key staff you need to look for if your in need of explaination of any particular dishes or general help. One is "amy" who pretty much runs the floor with another tall man... I dont know his name although hes the tallest staff member there, cant miss him.<br/>Make sure to get the prawn and snowpea dumplings.. Dont forget bbq pork bun. You must get the deep fried squid, prawn rice roll, fun gor and what ever you do dont forget the egg tart! <br/>Those are just some of he basics, you really cant go wrong with any of their dishes.<br/><br/>Food 9/10 consistency is remarkable!<br/><br/>Atmosphere 6/10 decor is typical asian restuarant...its noisy<br/><br/>Service 8.5/10 we have become regulars and recieve special treatment :) however this is not the case for most<br/><br/>Overall 9/10 such a high score but well deserved... We walk away each time every time with a smile on our face..always anticipating our next yum cha :)

We go there fortnightly. Ding Hao Dim Sum is so good that we go there for yum cha fortnightly. The food is consistently good. The dim sum is not some food that you can make it at home. If you watched MasterChef series 1, you would know that only chef of years of experiences could make great "hell" dumplings. We love their steam rice pastry, beef balls, chicken feet, ox tripe, vegetable dumplings, deep-fried tofu. Mango pudding and sesame rolls are great. They don't make sesame rolls that often. Since we go there so regularly, we noticed that the food size is getting smaller and smaller although the price is still the same. I guess it's one smart way to do business. I prefer to pay a bit more to have the same portions of food that I am used.

Mouth Watering. I went here for a quick spur of the moment dinner with my family. First time I had set foot in the place. We ordered the green beans, chilli chicken and lemongrass pork. All three dishes were fresh, brought out quickly and some of the best I have tried. My mouth is actually watering as I sit here writing about it. I will be going back this weekend to try the famous yum cha. This place could easily become a regular for my family. By the way, we took our two young sons and they were a bit bored and noisy. The staff were fine with that and got them some paper and pencils to draw with. Good work Ding Hao.

Great Yum Cha. The place does get busy on the weekend , but they do have great yum cha...absolutely delicious. I would recommend the squid. Well worth a look in on weekends suring lunch time.

I'll be back!. Having moved from Sydney, where the Yum Cha options are endless, I was reasonably impressed with the food here. All pretty fresh and tasty, and came round pretty quickly too. Surprisingly quiet compared to yum cha in Sydney, but that can be a plus, as it's much easier to get a table!

Restaurant or Fast Food?. Went for dinner with the family not all of our entrees had been served or even closes to being finished when our mains were served then rice came last after mains were nearly finished very disappointed and ruined a nice evening on a special day.

Hit or miss. I've been to Ding Hao on several occasions, the first two times was pretty good food and relatively ok service. However, the last time I went I was very disappointed. Waited ages for the food, only to be told an hour later that it was all sold out and the kitchen was closed. Ended up leaving unsatisfied and still hungry. Aside from poor service, food was not very good, mango pudding was very dry. Also they seemed to have overcharged. Next time, I'll be going to Star house opposite or another yum cha restaurant.

Enjoyable. I really like this place and it is one of the top chinese restaurants on Gouger Street that i frequent.<br/><br/>In my opinion it is the BEST Chicken and Eggplant Hot Pot that i have eaten.<br/><br/>I've never been disappointed eating here.

Absolutely fabulous dim sum. dim sum is a huge tradition in our family and it's really disappointing when it's not done well. but this place never disappoints. and the service - not usually a strong point in utilitarian yum cha hustle and bustle land - is also very good. don't miss the eggplant dish. or any other dish come to think of it. couldn't recommend more highly!

Came. Ate. Engorged. Lovely and fresh food. Vego options very good.

Efficient, authentic, popular. Even the tripe was tasty.

Friendly service, good selection of delicacies and tastes great!

Ding Hao is the best place for yum cha in Adelaide. I’ve been here so many times over the years and I have never been disappointed.

One of my most favourite people in the whole world was visiting from Japan for New Years and when she asked to go for dinner somewhere she could get a good stir fry Ding Hao was the first place that came to mind. I have never eaten at this Adelaide Yum Cha institution and was unsure of their night dining menu so I did some enquiring... and everyone I spoke to only had glowing things to report... so I booked table. When we arrived the restaurant was really empty (it was 5.30pm) but by the time we left around 7pm the place was totally packed, so if you want to eat here I would highly recommend a booking. The restaurant is quite large and spacious but the decor is basic and a little dated. We were quickly served and offered water and menus, and our drinks orders were taken.  It didn't take us long to decide, obviously my friend wanted a stir fry, Ding Hao have a decent range of options and she went with the beef and vegetables. I ordered my staple Chinese restaurant items, the Shallot Pancakes and the Xiao Long Bao (Shanghai dumplings/soup dumplings).  Drinks were brought to us not long after and I think we waited around fifteen minutes for our food. I had ordered both dishes as mains (they are usually entree type items) and everything was brought out at the same time as requested.  First up, the beef and vegetables, this was served steaming hot with a thick, flavourful sauce that wasn't overly salty. The vegetables were still crisp and fresh and the beef was juicy and very tender. My friend was really happy with this dish, she hadn't had a good stir fry in months and this ticked all the boxes! My two dishes are my go to choice of food when I want to test out a new Chinese, and Ding Hao did not disappoint. The shallot pancakes were golden, crisp, airy and had plenty of spring onion flavour. The serving size was generous and they weren't oily or soggy. These were my favourite of the two dishes. The Xiao Long Bao... *sigh these are one of my all time favourite foods from

I probably don't recommend this place for Yum Cha. It is always busy for lunch, especially on a weekend, I suppose this is partly due to the restricted numbers of Chinese restaurants in Adelaide which have Yum Cha. The service is not as good as it could be. You pretty much have to get in there, sit down, eat and then leave. There's no sitting and chatting time, even if you want a break. As soon as you stop eating, waitress or waiter will keep asking what you would like. On the other hand, dinner is totally different. In fact, it was a completely different experience for us. The staff were more polite at night time, and there was no rush even though it was busy. The food arrived in a timely manner. Pipa tofu is a must to order, one of the few places who can do it properly. Smoked tea duck was ordinary, a big serve though. All the food were reasonably priced, and enjoyable dinner.   Visit Ding Hao - 28 Gouger Street, Adelaide, SA 5000, (08) 82117036 Discounts: AMBASSADOR CARD - Valid Din

Don’t get me wrong, the food was good and it was a nice lunch, but I had hoped for something a little more ‘challenging’ for my taste buds. The cost of lunch for two people was around $45 which makes for a decent cheap eat overall. Needless to say I probably won’t bother with their yum cha again, there are simply too many other yum cha restaurants in Adelaide offering much more interesting, tasty tidbits.

Don't expect silver service at Yum Cha, in fact, you'd probably experience the worst customer service, as each restaurant is noisy, running at full capacity and staff are trying to get you in and out as quick as they can in order to prepare for the next table.

This was the first Asian restaurant I ever remember going to and it lit a fire in me which has now grown into a raging Gouger Street obsession inferno! The first thing that hits you when you enter Ding Hao is the...

We ordered two serves of fung jow, prawn dumplings and Miss C's husband's (oh, then she should be Mrs C...oh well I am sure she does not mind) favourite dish, pepper squid.

Yum cha sessions are an option in my books whenever I am not very hungry and in need of a treat. Prices for each dish may range from $4 to $8, depending on what you order and most of the times, this can be frustrating as you don't know how much it costs until the waitress puts the dish on the table and circles the correct code. And if you are hungry, this is not good for your wallet. Despite my attempts at avoiding yum cha in any Chinese restaurant, it is almost undeniable that every now and then, I won't mind having this for lunch (not usually served at dinner time). There are not many restaurants in Adelaide that serves good quality dim sum dishes. Perhaps I am a difficult eater?:) So anyways, if you are in town and craving for dim sum, I strongly recommend going to Ding Hao in Gouger Street. Service is prompt, efficient and attentive, a good feature to have in busy establishments. I have a few must have dishes to order but feel free to order anything that tickles your fancy. Siew ma

Next was dinner at Wasai, just off Gouger Street, where we were lucky to grab one of the only spare tables. Our meal at Wasai started with a bang. The deep fried gyoza ($7.50) were a great change from the regular pan fried option, and the crisp crunch of the wrapper was a winner. The agedashi tofu ($7) also had us in belly glee, as it is the best one of its kind that I've eaten. I loved how the tofu batter was c

My first time at Ding Hao for yum cha, an old favourite with friends and family. The place was buzzing with waiters carting around the dishes, and each time a cart came around our way, we enthusiastically point at our favourites amongst the array of dishes on offer. Dig in! Chicken feet in black bean sauce, rice noodles and prawns, siu mai - pork dumplings, turnip cake Har gao, prawn dumplings A pretty decent yum cha meal, a definite redemption from the horror yum cha that I had last month in Melbourne *shudders*. Food: 3/5 Service: 3/5 Value: 3/5 Ambience: 3/5 -d Ding Hao 26 Gouger Street Adelaide SA 5000 T: 08 8211 7036 View Larger Map Adelaide , Chinatown , Chinese , Yum Cha ding hao April 24, 2011 Leave a comment « Rigoni's Bistro, Adelaide Like Be the first to like this post. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not b

...Andy’s chilli beef definitely did have some chilli in it, both beef dishes were rather loaded with capsicum and onion and mine did have a slightly alarming colour to it. The portions were a very generous size and the large special fried rice was also a good size. The three main dishes plus the rice was the perfect amount for the three of us. If you have three very hungry adults, you may want to consider ordering an entrée or two to start though. The salt and pepper squid was actually pretty good – it wasn’t particularly spicy although it was topped with some sliced chilli and onion (and I understand you can request fresh chilli from the waiting staff).

Ding Hao is a bit of a Gouger Street favourite for me. I've been there a few times over the last three or four years and it's yet to let medown. There is nothing stunningly good or fancy about it but I've yet to receive a bad meal here, the service has always been efficient and the prices quite reasonable. It's usually best to book ahead if you intend to go to Ding Hao for yum cha, but when we visited just before 6pm on a Tuesday night only two other tables were in use. While the fit out isn't as flash as some of the newer restaurants in the area, it's still one of the better more established restaurants. Not quite upmarket but not aiming for the more student or office worker quick lunch section of the market either. Given there were just the two of us we went for three main dishes. Salt and pepper tofu is one of my favourite dishes. I like the slight heat and saltiness of the spices used and the contrasting textures between the lightly fried slightly crisp outside and the softer inner