Review Fu Man Lou Dumpling Bar - Ballarat

The taste was just ok. Portion was too small for the stir-fry duck and pork, compared to the price. The portion of the fried rice was ok. I did not find the food worth the price. On top of it my friend found a metal piece in his stir-fry noodles which was later replaced by the fried rice by the staff. Will not come again.

This quirky, bustling little gem ticked all the boxes. Generous serves of tasty, fresh food at a good price, friendly, efficient staff and a great atmosphere. We shared the dumplings and the Mongolian beef with rice and paired our dishes with a crisp NZ white. A really good evening. We’ll be back soon.

Always a pleasure to visit Fu Man Lou! The staff are always friendly, hard-working and respective of your experience. I usually order a range of different items including the BBQ pork buns, pork wontons and the szechuan chicken. I would also argue they make the best dumplings in town (I will stand my ground on this) I always leave with a full and satisfied stomach, highly recommend!

It was absolutely incredible. Even on a busy night we were seated immediately and customer service was prompt and so efficient. Nice pleasant atmosphere and the food was really flavorful, especially recommend the fish dumplings and beef stir fry. Even the rice was light and fluffly. Will definitely be returning.

Dumpling skins too thick and chewy, dominating the filling. Fried rice was paltry on the meat and used frozen veg, the carrots had that soggy wetness distinctive of frozen. Very light fry on the wok dumplings, didn't really add flavour or crunch at all. With dumpling portions this small, at this price point, you expect something special. Pumpkin dumpling was the only one that stood out, it's easy for the pumpkin to be undercooked but this was soft and sweet and melt in your mouth. Everything else was mediocre.

You guys just don't care in 2022 I like how it's put back on me and your food is so hot my face is red and I'm crying. I think it's pretty basic to listen to your customers and get to know them. I'm good with your hot sauce in small doses. I can't believe you've made this about me and not you guys. In 2021 you were happy to have sauce on the side. 2022 smaller containers and everything thrown in Maybe you guys are the problem

Oh I do recommend, food was brilliant!! Kung pao chicken, came with a pow alright. Was amazing, if I could 6 stars, came with the family and had a blast and the service was extraordinary.

This has to be the best Asian food and dumplings in Ballarat food is always fresh and thumbs Up 👍👍👍to the chief keep up the good work and the waitress Kerry is so friendly and lovely keep up the good work you deserve more than 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

As first timers to this restaurant we weren't disappointed. Tables are a bit close together, but the food makes up for that; it's scrumptious! The staff were friendly, helpful and professional. Service was prompt, but dishes came out one by one, so we had our main courses before our rice did which was a bit of a bummer. The sweet and sour pork was to die for as was the seafood dish. Cooked to perfection. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

Save yr money people. Worse meal we have had in ballarat. $134 and most of it is in the bin. Weird flavours to no flavour. Dumplings � ate 4/15 Spring rolls ok bbut over prices for veg rolls Satay chicken skewers ok basic flavour Sang choi bao �� thrown away Mongolian beef � argggg in bin Fried rice � boiled rice and bits Carmel pork belly � The one good flavour was szechuan chilli chicken but huge � its bite size pieces of bones. Thank goodness we didn't give it to our son. Go elsewhere. Inn of kong has this places hands down on food/quality /service/price. Im sorry we tried this place !!!!! Never again

This place is absolutely disgraceful. We waited for our food for an hour and half to be delivered. We called a number of times asking where our meal was and they where no help what so ever. When the food finally arrived we said we were not paying for our food as we where told it would take 30mins but took over an hour and a half and would of been cold by now!!!!! They ended up making us pay for our meal and Hung up on my boyfriend when he was on the phone to him. This is no way to run a business!!!! Would never recommend

The spring rolls there are delicious and well sized ! 😊 The front of house staff are always delight towards me and always make sure I have refreshments. 10/10 would recommend going there.

Surprisingly good veggie options and a great vibe to the whole place!! The staff were very helpful and kind, it made the whole experience even better.. thanks so much, will be back again for sure

Thank you we had a fabulous meal here with friends recently! Easily one of the better Chinese Restaurants in Ballarat and a more modern presentation of food! Will certainly be back soon! :)

Amazing food and attentive service. Would highly recommend a visit. I will be going back.

Been there several times and never disappointed. Will go back again and again. One of our favourite restaurants in Ballarat

Loved the food! Authentic. Great service, friendly and dealt with hungry kids well.

Food is always excellent but the only thing stopping me from giving it 5* is that it is a bit overprice in comparison to other places.

Basic service took too long, sparkling wine served in a normal wine glass, dumplings took forever, main inedible - 😏

Food is good but table service is consistently bad. Lack of care and thought. Less and less sophisticated. Used to like it in their early years.

Abit of an Asian fusion mix, it's Abit westernised but I throughly enjoyed my meal. A great option of vegetarian and presentation was unique and tasted great! Staff are freindly and helpful. Environment was a little quiet but nice, I did go on a Tuesday though! Highly recommend the green vege dumplings! Came in a beautiful flower shape

I was too hurry to take pics but the chili beef tasted really weird, I was even not sure if it was beef or not. The score two was just for the wontons, they were good. If you think you wanna have some delicious Chinese dish, have a second thought about this restaurant.

I really enjoyed our meal here. Yes a little pricier than Melbourne, but the food was delicious. Some of the nicest dumplings I’ve had. The staff were friendly and the service was speedy. I really liked the decor too.

The food here is really tasty, but really let down by the venue. The place is really old, the toilets are not modern, the cutlery can sometimes be dirty.

Okay, the restaurant itself looked not bad and the ambient was pretty good with Jay Chou's music playing continuously in the background. But the food was horrible, it wasn't cheap either. We ordered pork dumplings, which was probably the best from the lot. We also ordered spicy beef and fried rice which were ... well ... edible at least.

Food was poor and very cheapely sourced (Sauced) and made. To rub salt in to the wound for the near tasteless meal the waiter was more interested in talking to her friend then serving.

I went here with a group of friends 2 weeks ago. The food was very average yet rather expensive. There are much better asian restaurants in Ballarat that don’t charge anywhere near as much, and have much better food! The service was pretty ordinary too with our food all coming out at different times over 30minutes. Will not go back!

Probably the best dumplings in Ballarat! A small cafe type feel place, very modern in its theming. Often do here and share a few dishes. The dumplings are always hot and cooked to perfection!

I just don't know what to think of Fu Man Lou. It's pretty bent.<br/><br/>Some things I love. Others, not so much.<br/><br/>First thing I wasn't expecting was the service. I was shown to the table by (most likely) the Chinese owner. Sitting down looking at the menu I nearly fell of my chair when approached by a large Aussie woman with a broad and loud Aussie accent wanting to know if I needed anything. While I tried to compose myself, she proceeded to grab the menu and "help" me with it... Flipping through the pages for me. "Do ya know what a hotpot is luv?" "This is hot... Do ya like hot food?"<br/><br/>Never in my life have I had that happen to me.<br/><br/>I sort of managed to mumble that, um yes I might have had a hotpot before and um yes, perhaps something hot would be good.<br/><br/>I pulled myself together and ordered and she trotted off. Then noticing the decor I took a few pics. If you look at them, try and zoom in. There is a great dumpling theme and a good bit of humour in the place and I really found it enjoyable, quirky and refreshing. I mean how many no name, bare wall dumpling joints in Melbourne could learn a thing or two here!<br/><br/>THEN the food arrived. OK, one dish arrived. Szechuan Shredded Pork in Noodle Soup. The dish is smaller than what you get in Melbourne and almost twice the price. I suppose they just don't get the volume in Ballarat. It was OK. It looked bloody hot but was nowhere near it. Tell tale flavours of broad bean chilli paste and in itself this is a beautiful flavour but despite this and dried chillies on top, the dish was strangely "mild"! The noodles also, VERY ordinary.<br/><br/>The next dish was just a spring onion pancake. I order this everywhere. I don't think they were expecting anyone to order it. I pretty much gave up on it coming out. Certainly, the big Aussie waitress did too because she was playing with her phone.<br/><br/>I'd nearly finished he soup when it came out, and it was huge! Huge and stodgy. Nothing like the light flaky and crunchy example I was expecting. More like a spring onion pizza!<br/><br/>But the thing is, I'm in Ballarat and I'm eating some reasonable Chinese food. I'm enchanted with the theme, but the food here would not survive in Melbourne for 5 minutes... But I'm not in Melbourne, and overall it's pretty darn good, if a bit different... especially the service.<br/><br/>Pricing? Yes, their volumes will be lower than most places in Melbourne, but nearly $15.00 for 6 Xiao Long Bao? Wow, that's more expensive than Din Tai Fung. They gotta look at that. At that price they are too expensive to even try one.

Dumplings were lovely but our first order was messed up and we received the wrong meals. Our second order was ordinary. With a tasteless soup, half a container of dried chilli in the szechwan chicken and over cooked duck in the duck with noodles. Very disappointing.

Tasty, authentic Chinese food, great decor, laid back atmosphere and friendly staff. What's not to like!<br/>I had some vegetarian dumplings which had a really interesting shape - so top marks for presentation too.

Excellent Laziji here, juicy and delicious with a unique flavour. The dumplings were fresh and tasty. Aussie staff need to learn Chinese names of dishes.

We ordered delivery. After calling to see if it would be faster to pick up, I was told it would be 40 mins delivery or 20 mins to pick up, so went with delivery. Two phone calls for directions, a message with a dropped pin and an hour and a half later, our cold, over priced dumplings arrived. There were two lots of dumplings missing and we were left unsatisfied. We won't be going back.

Great friendly service and delicious dumplings. Particularly liked the prawn dumplings and the salt and pepper squid. Very fast too! Oh and bbq pork buns a winner.

After having an enjoyable time at Sovereign Hill's Christmas in July we went to Fu Man Lou for dinner. I really do think out of everything we ordered the dumplings and wontons were the best. I really enjoyed the mushroom and bok choi dumplings. This is a great place for vegetarians since they have a few vegetarian dumpling options. The chilli oil that came with the wontons was not too spicy so they were enjoyable to eat.<br/><br/>My friend ordered the lemon chicken. The sauce was a lot sweeter than other lemon chickens he had eaten at other places. I tried a bit of the sauce and I had to agree!!<br/><br/>I found the Singapore Noodles to be bland. <br/><br/>The prawn crackers were interesting - they were very tasty but a bit sticky/oily. <br/><br/>My friend also enjoyed his spring rolls. They were huge. Never seen such fat looking spring rolls so they were definitely worth the price. <br/><br/>I would probably come back for the dumplings but not the mains.

Checked out this little gem whilst in Ballarat for the long weekend. The decor is fabulous and the service was really good. We started with pork wok tip dumplings which were delicious, mixed seafood dumplings again really tasty and yummy salt & pepper calamari. We then shared Mongolian lamb which had a beautiful flavour and was really tender, caramel pork belly melted in the mouth, seafood birds nest was also tasty, the special Chinese broccoli was amazing and the fried rice good. We shared a bottle of wine and really enjoyed it but for the price the mains were just not big enough and the boys were still hungry, had they made the servings a bit more generous they would have got 4 stars, still recommend you give it a go if visiting Ballarat.

Came here spontaneously on a Sunday night with zero expectations - we were pleasantly surprised! Very cool interior; this restaurant would be right at home on Little Collins Street in Melbourne. Service was very good - attentive, confident but friendly, helpful and professional but not stuffy. Suited the vibe perfectly and some of the best service we have had in Ballarat so far. Food was very tasty and also the best Asian food we have had in Ballarat. Wine list was another pleasant surprise. Overall: Yes. Go.

Dumplings. We expect them cheap and good. This place makes sure the latter is fulfilled. It's good. But just because we live in Ballarat does it mean we can charge a regional fee? Well yes, I guess, because the service, post-modernist feel and new age awesomeness is all part of the deal. You're not necessarily paying for the best dumplings in your life but you are paying for the fact you aren't sitting in a place that looks like it was decorated in the mid 80's or styled around a Chinese forced labour camp.... though it does have a lot of conspicuous propaganda on its walls. This place has atmosphere and awesomness and unlike most Melbourne dumpling places has a style and feel unto its own. So don't expect cheap when going here but expect service, quality and a place that challenges the old presumption that dumpling restraunts are in-and-out austere afairs.

Had dinner there and the prawn's were to die for. Service was a tad slow but that was acknowledged during and after meal. New owners still settling in but happy to go back again. Only mid Jan and it was a full house.

Not bad food but very disappointing service.<br/>Went there for dinner, the food was nice but after a long wait only one main was brought out and completely eaten but the time everyone else's food was brought out. The rice was forgotten all together and when the rice finally came out.. Plain rice, so did the desert only 2 minutes later including ice cream which sat there melting while I ate my plain rice by itself then paid $44 for the experience. Apparently they were new staff and the chef apologised for forgetting the rice but this place is way overpriced good food but not great and quite frankly terrible service.

Food was nice. The dumplings to me were tasty and well cooked. I liked the red bean dessert dumplings.<br/><br/>However, when we ordered our food came out in drips. One person received there main and ate the whole thing before any other mains were served. Rice was forgotten and we didn't receive this until the end of our meal. It would have been nice to be offered a extra meal to have with our rice or something. Instead just a small apology. We did pay for full fare of meal, no compensation given for bad service.<br/>Their only excuse was because of new staff. Which is fair enough but still a discount or extra with our meal for the inconvenience would have been nice.<br/>Also the prices are a little high so you would expect a high level of service.<br/>A little disappointing <br/><br/>Apart from that I liked the food

Very pleasant food and atmosphere & not expensive. Excellent, tasty dumplings, and beautifully crunchy green beans. Other dishes good too. Fast and friendly service. Light and modern décor. Will look no further on next visit to Ballarat. BTW I'm used to good asian cooking in London, Manchester and now Melbourne.

The food was yummy. The dumplings had lots of flavour and the Chinese broccoli was delish. To top it all off the pork belly was scrumptious.The waitress was very attentive and helpful. I will definitely be going back again. Very impressed.

Fu Man Lou Dumplings is almost the sort of establishment you'd want to invite your out-of-town friends to, just to prove Ballarat isn't the culinary and cultural backwater for which it is renowned. It's housed in almost-quirky Camp Street. It's in a sweet brick building. It has the industrial chic slash eclectic fit out, that was cool and fresh a few years ago. It promises dumplings, a rare beast indeed in the Goldfields shire. But it's just not very good. The wait staff's disdain for the kitchen makes for uncomfortable dining. On the first day of trade for the week there was a distinct lack of bbq pork buns, which begs the question - did the chefs run out of prep time to make the buns by hand, or did they merely forget to remove them from the deep freeze? Wines that had been opened on Saturday were still being served on Tuesday. The sound track isn't as upbeat as you'd hope from a place bedecked in so much pink. Look, the dumplings were ok (and if you must, definitely go for the pumpkin or mushroom dumplings - fresh and unique flavours) but you can get much better in Melbourne for half the price, and without overhearing the waiters' gripe with the kitchen. You can be so much better, Fu Man Lou.

For a quiet location off the main streets of Ballarat, this dumpling bar really packs a punch. As soon as we walked in we were in awe of how many people had packed the restaurant, especially from the understated exterior. As we didn't have a booking (and the place was booked out), we we're offered a bar table, which we were more than happy with. Being our first time, the attentive staff showed us through the extensive menu and offered us beverages (the Mitchell Harris Shiraz is heaven). As we sipped on our wine and took in the whole Fu Man Lou experience, our first lot of dumplings arrived, mmmmm, bok choy and mushroom, delicious!! Followed by Xiao Long Bao dumplings, so juicy and delicious. It didn't take long before our main dishes arrived and they were just as delicious. The Caramel Pork Belly the waitress suggested was heaven, I would have never of chosen that dish. Desert and coffee was next, and being full to the brim and wanting to experience it all, we went for the Red Bean Dumplings for desert. Unusual, but so crispy and yum. The lattes we had we're beautifully made and topped the night of perfectly. Thanks to the staff at Fu Man Lou, we'll be back!!

Very 'Aussie' Chinese food. Flavourless. Best thing on the menu was the chilli oil. You will enjoy this restaurant if you are the type of person who orders fried rice and lemon chicken at a Chinese restaurant.

Good first time experience here. Friendly staff and generous food portions. A bit out of the way but if you like their food you'd surely find the time.

Ambient is good but the food is not authentic and does not taste good. Quite expensive as well. Not your typical Chinese restaurant, the place is set up to be like a western cafe.

Being an ex-Melbourne resident and reading the several ex-Melbourne people's rather negative reviews, I was hesitant to try this place out in fear of disappointment. I couldn't disagree more with the negative reviews.<br/><br/>The salt and pepper calamari was a generously sized serve and was really tasty. Not overly greasy either which I find it can be. The dumpling tasting basket special couldn't be faulted either. A good selection of tasty and flavoursome steamed dumplings. The chicken and pork wok tip selection was probably my least favourite of all the dishes, but I still thoroughly enjoyed them. The deep fried ice cream dessert was delicious, not overly sweet and a decent size serving.<br/><br/>The pricing was quite reasonable. The staff very polite and the overall service excellent. I can't wait to come back and try the banquet(s).

Overpriced, bland and slow service. As ex Melbourners living in Ballarat we were very excited to hear of a dumpling place opening here, especially seeing our favorite place for dumplings was in Box Hill. <br/><br/>We have visited this establishment three times, and each time was very disappointing. The first time we visited the service was appalling, very slow. After waiting an hour for lunch, they stuffed up our order where my husband got his meal, but mine never arrived. The food was ok, nothing too exciting, and not very big size for the price. I gave it the benefit of the doubt as they had just opened, so we visited two more times. The food was lacking in flavour, the dumplings were bland, and they were really overpriced for what you got. We actually walked out still feeling hungry. The dumplings were pretty ordinary, the frozen dumplings at Coles supermarkets are much better. <br/><br/>My advice would be to increase the meal portions, make it generous! Especially for the price they charge. We visit our favorite dumpling place in Box hill, who make dumplings with organic flour, where you get 15 steamed dumplings for $7.50 They are amazing and such great value. Bring your prices down and make it worthwhile, otherwise your business will fail!

Great food at Fu Man Lou. My wife and I came here for the first time on New Years Eve.<br/>A set menu of soup, dumplings, one main and fried rice per two people at $45.0@ seemed a bit steep.<br/>However the quality of the food, especially the hone and pepper eye fillet we chose for our main course was excellent.<br/>People kept coming through the door, and the three young waiting staff maintained a good level of service, clearing and serving the tables, with no excessive waiting for anything that I could see.<br/>Great food, good service and good value- we will be back!<br/>Thank you Fu Man Lou!

Not good. The table was very sticky to touch, the food was below average,<br/> the service was excellent,<br/>but wont be back

Don't waste your time or money. We went to the dumpling degustation dinner tonight and were absolutely shocked with the poor quality food they provided for $2.91 per dumpling. They were either cold or had no flavor and the staff are very inexperienced. The idea of the dumpling bar and decor are great but unfortunately they seem to be too caught up in looks and less about service and quality food. We will not be returning as it was a waste of money and very disappointing.

Have had two great experiences so far. They now do take away, which was our first experience with them and it was delicious. The only small issue was our rice container was half full. Other than that, the dumplings were delicious. We also went there for a Friday night. The decor is really nice and modern and there is outdoor seating as well as a big area downstairs. We ordered a variety of dumplings, my favorite are the pumpkin dumplings and deep fried chicken ones. They also have amazing main dishes such as pork belly, Kung po chicken and Mongolian lamb. A really great experience with lovely staff who were very attentive. Will be back.

Long overdue in Ballarat!. Very friendly staff and a nice variety of food - not just dumplings. Modern decor, and a good atmosphere. Reasonably priced and definitely worth a go! If this place was in Melbourne it would be bursting at the seams.

Foo Man Cool. Firstly, these guys get the importance of decor. Its cool, its casual and it works.<br/>We ate dumplings only, and happy to put them up against Melbourne's better Dumpling joints. Food came out quick, condiments complimented the food (black vinegar, chilli oil...) all simple but appropriate accompaniments. <br/><br/>Prices were great for Ballarat. Beats eating a pub steak for $35!<br/><br/>Big thumbs up - food and decor first class

Dumplings are us. Stuffed our faces. My son ate more than he's ever eaten and loved it all! Very yummy. We are from melbourne and it was friendly and very reasonably priced. Totally recommend it.

Best Chinese in Ballarat. A great Chinese restaurant with a variety of dumpling choices. The prawn dumplings are sensational, better than the the dumplings I had in Chinatown last week. I would also suggest you try the seafood birds nest (made of potato), with a rich garlic sauce the birds nest is delicious. Anyone who likes Chinese especially dumplings come and try it out. http://www.fumanlou.com.au

Fu Man Poo!. Not what its cracked out to be AT ALL! Below average standard. Well below!

A tasy surprise!. A great night out with friends at Fu Man Lou - it was a busy night however the staff were friendly and attentive and the various dishes we ordered to share were delicious and tasty. The staff checked on us regularly to top up food and wine orders. It was noisy but the atmosphere fun and easygoing- if you need a quieter space then downstairs would be a good option. Well done guys!

Great service and tasty dumplings to boot!. I stopped in to see what all the fuss was about and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. The scallop and prawn dumplings were amazing. Plenty of vegetarian options as well for those that way inclined.

Chinese person's review. Firstly, my menu was dirty. Food stains on the back page. For god sake, throw it away. <br/>Seafood Basket - flavour - tasteless. Appearance - WHO SERVES ON PLASTIC PLATES (that you would purchase from $2.00 shops) the potato basket was flat, 2 prawns, 6 pieces of squid and 3 scallops. As a former restaurant owner, I suggest you use noodles. <br/>Peking pork - who uses leek???? The worst part was the TORTILLA WRAP. I think the chef should review restaurants in Melbourne. Spring onions is not that difficult to purchase. Then you get chunky pieces of cucumber. Who mixes a stir fry pork with oyster sauce in TORTILLA WRAP. Are they mixing Mexican food with Chinese.<br/>Dumplings - the dumplings were not very appealing. The pumpkin and Chinese veg with mushroom could have been more decorative in the finishing touches. It seemed like they just sealed the top together. The Xiao Long Bao, the staff need to explain what they are. Even being Chinese, I had no idea what was inside such dumpling. Plain English, it tasted like a pork dumpling. Nothing authentic about the dumplings. Try adding coriander. <br/>Cutlery& chopsticks - health concerns. They were in a cup type holder. I could have coughed, sneezed and touched every item. CROSS CONTAMINATION. How does the Ballarat health department allow this???? <br/>I felt sorry for the people sitting beside us. They were eating their spring rolls and their fried rice was on the table going cold. <br/>Finally, after reading the write up in the local newspaper, disappointed. The proprietors need to review their position. <br/>Conclusion - been there, tried it and not worth the a visit. <br/>Oh!!! My Chinese tea came out in a FLASK. I could not believe it. Where am I, in CHINA. I am aware some places in Footscray and Richmond and Springvale serves in a flask but this is a restaurant in Ballarat. $5.00 and you can purchase teapots. The menu price does not fit the PLASTIC PLATE and FLASK. I'm still weighing up should it be a café or a restaurant. <br/>Total of our bill for 2 - $71.50<br/>Good luck as you will need it. It is obvious that you have not taken on board the poor reviews and to turn the business outlook.

Yummy Lunch. Found this place just by accident. Early lunch dumpling were fresh and delicious. Lovely service and nice atmosphere. Recommend to friends out of town!

Visiting Ballarat from Melbourne for the weekend and came across fu man Lou with a friend and it was great! :-) <br/>Walked in and it was a cool atmosphere and wasn't expecting that in ballarat so it was nice. Seated quickly by friendly staff. I'm vego so asked was vego on the menu and he knew the menu well and pointed out a few options. When we ordered the drinks and meals came out quickly, and the place was almost full, the meals were delicious. The menu could include a few more dumpling options but other wise it caters to everyone. Had a great time at fu man Lou. Next time I'm in ballarat I'd go back

Had a lovely lunch here today. Not really sure what all the bad reviews are amount? Friendly welcome specials explained and nice food. Loved how the good is designed to be shared!! Traditional Chinese way to eat! Great wine list!

Xiao Long Bao. It is very jucy steamed dumplings

Great improvement. Since we came on opening day great improvement to food, service the whole lot. Looking foward to t/a when it's avaliable? Specials board is the best part when we came again.

Pretty Good Dumplings. Living in ballarat my whole life and never having a nice dumpling place before i was pretty keen to see the new dumpling restaurant and i was pleasantly surprised by the nice interior and atmosphere as well as delicious dumplings especially the pork buns which i highly recommend. The service was good and i had an overall good time and it wasn't to pricey. They seem to have improved a lot recently and i will definitely be a return customer.

Service is not good at all.. When you have a table of three and you ask for all three entrees to come out together and then all three main meals to come out together thats what you normally get from good restaurants. Our entrees came out 15 minutes apart and then one of our main meals was forgortten. The food was very nice but the service leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Everyone l have spoken with have said the same thing. "good food but bad service". They have all given feedback but obviously the owners don't care. All l can say is it wont last in Ballarat unless they get it right.

Not the dumpling bar I was hoping for. Being a big fan of the dumpling restaurants in Little China Town Melbourne and recently moving to Ballarat, it was something I thought was seriously missing in the area. I was excited to be able to satisfy the craving locally and ventured to the restaurant on a Saturday night. It was busy but we were treated almost as an annoyance rather than welcome customers. I got the distinct impression the staff would rather clean glasses or run food out than take orders and converse with customers. The prices were high for dumplings, we had two dishes and it was the same price as we would usually pay for 3 in Melbourne (not to mention small servings and small sized dumplings). This could be forgiven if the taste and quality were there, sadly both were lacking. I would highly encourage people stay away from the Tasty Chicken dish, it sounds nice but the dish is dry and fairly bland. All in all it was a bit of a disappointment.

Did not meet expectation. The meal was surprisingly bad. The rice was of the poorest quality and tasteless and the main meal could not be tasted past the salt.

Extremely disappointing! We had high hopes when we booked however we were extremely disappointed with the service and the food. The food we received wasn't what we ordered and the dumplings that we did receive were frozen in the middle. The replacements weren't anything special, nowhere near all the published hype. When we told our waitress to cancel the rest of our order because of our disappointment, the manager told us "oh well we can't please everyone". Never again!

Missed the mark. We were excited to see a dumplings place open up in Ballarat having always been big fans in Chinatown. We found Fu Man Lou trying too hard to be trendy without focusing enough on what people like about dumplings- the taste and value. For the same meal we get in Melbourne, Fu Man was about $30 more expensive. For 2 people! I hope the owners are reading these reviews and taking it on board, as it seems there are a lot of dumplings fans here who just want what they appreciate in the City. We and many of our friends still drive to Melbourne for our dumplings on a regular basis.

Does not live up to the hype. Since we moved to Ballarat a few years ago we've been pleased to find lots of fantastic restaurants, pubs and cafes. With all the hype we expected Fu Man Lou to be no exception. Unfortunately this was not the case. After several attempts we finally managed to get a table on a Friday night. On the day of opening our takeaway order never came. 2nd attempt, they said take away orders were not available until further notice. 3rd attempt, the kitchen was already closed for lunch - it was 12:40pm!<br/><br/>So on the fourth attempt we walked in and were quickly seated at a table. We orded all of the dumplings on the menu and they arrived quickly. Unfortunately all except for the steamed pork dumplings were disappointing. I made a mental note to travel to Footcray Market and buy several packets of frozen dumplings for when I needed a dumpling fix in Ballarat.<br/><br/>We stayed for desert. First desert arrived, we finished it and then waited and waited for the second desert (fried ice cream) to arrive. Gave up waiting and asked for the bill - explained to the manager that we didn't get the fired ice cream, then it finally arrived! Things would really have to improve for us to return :-(

Very disappointing.... I know the media especially The Courier newspaper have really pumped this place up. I was so excited to book a table for my family. From the word go, it was a disappointing experience throughout. The waiting staff were socialising and inattentive and took a while to take our order. The dumplings were dry and of poor quality compared to Melbourne dumpling restaurants. Why do we have to pay good money for inferior food in Ballarat? If this was in Richmond or Springvale the locals would stay away in droves! I happened to be in Carnegie recently and felt privileged to eat at the Eastern Dumpling House. That's the way dumplings should be. I hope Fu Man Lou lift their game as I would love to see a dumpling restaurant work in Ballarat. Very disappointed!! ED

The website says open Tues-Sunday 5pm until late. <br/><br/>First time I tried go during normal hours and (6:30) and the restaurant was closed. <br/><br/>Second time I went 8:40pm and we were told sorry we are finished for the night. <br/><br/>Pretty poor effort, not at all what it makes out to be. Won't bother trying a third time, this business obviously has enough money without mine. Luckily two other restaurants are open less than block away at the same time.

Simply unremarkable. Except for the vegetable dumplings which were terrible.

Disappointing. Dumpling are popular in Melbourne because they are quick, good value, and have great variety.<br/><br/>This place misses on each level.<br/>The food is ok, nothing revolutionary and certainly not worth what they charge- and there is no way I should wait 40 minutes for 3 dumplings!<br/>Service is sloppy, awkward and takes forever.<br/>I think they focussed far too much on the marketing and forgot to get a service model that works...<br/>Have tried a few times but I won't be back. It's a pity, but my experience seems to be the same as many others that have tried.

Went for diner on a Saturday night with some friends, we had all been quite keen to try it but after the meal all agreed it was a let down. Food was ok, but overpriced for what it was, and considering its a dumpling bar, the range of dumplings was pretty limited. The chicken sang choi bao was the highlight of my meal. Probably wouldn't go back.

Sorry, it didn't meet my expectations. I'd been once before and wasn't impressed with service but thought I'd give it another go. No better really. Can't ring to make a booking or enquire about opening times-goes to voicemail! It seems kind of cheap with using plastic plates and condiment dishes. Bit miserly with accompanying sauces etc. and I don't appreciate chinese tea served in a thermos like I'm at the footy! Give me a tea pot-I'm at a restaurant for goodness sake! Not too many vegetarian options either. We were made to feel uncomfortable when the kitchen wanted to close while we were still trying to sit and eat. Would need to make heaps of improvements for me to return.

Not that great.... Bad Points: 1. You can't choose the flavour of the pan fried dumplings 2. The dumplings were quite small, and the dumpling skin was far too thick 3. extremely expensive, you don't get much value for money. 4. The other mains were very salty 5. No chopsticks!!! It seems to be a very westernised.<br/>Good Points 1. Food came out fairly quickly 2. Good service and friendly staff

Apart from one spacey waitress, great service, very good dumplings and a really nice atmosphere. Worth a look.

Average at best. I have given Fu Man Lou a few attempts and I am disappointed. From first impressions it was lovely walking into a bright and inviting atmosphere.. But after two lunches and one dinner hoping for the best, I wouldn't go back again. <br/><br/>The service in one word: awkward. You walk in with a smile on your face and the staff sort of look at you funny. When I called to make a dinner reservation they didn't even ask for a contact phone number which was quite strange. The staff aren't overly friendly, don't really look like they want to be there and don't seem like they want to help you. The service really lets the whole dining experience down.<br/><br/>The food is average.. I could probably make it at home for a lot less cost. When I first went for lunch our meals came out and our dumplings never showed up. After waiting about 15 minutes I asked where they were and the young waitress couldn't care less. No apology. She said would put the order for them through now but we didn't want to wait after already finishing our meals. If I was drunk it would be delicious,. like chips and gravy. <br/><br/>Overall, Fu Man Lou is nothing special. Bright, pink & happy atmosphere (similar to Chin Chin in Melbourne) but the staff, service and food make it dull and unpleasant.

Disappointing. A new restaurant in Ballarat, great! A dumpling bar, even better! <br/><br/>Sadly no. Firstly the suggestion that it's a dumpling bar seems to be a little bit of a misnomer. Dumplings are there but not many options and they seem like an afterthought. What it is more than anything is a Chinese restaurant, and it's OK. <br/><br/>We went this lunchtime and there were two immediate issues, too hot and too long. My wife ordered the dumpling soup which arrived within ten minutes but was scalding hot, she also said that the noodles within tasted like packet noodles rather than fresh. I had the black bean chilli beef which took almost twenty five minutes to appear and was nice without being special. <br/><br/>Would we go again? My wife is opposed at the moment as there are far better places for lunch but I'd consider trying it for dinner. Hopefully it would improve with a glass of wine.

Service needs work. The first time I went to this restaurant, I had a great night. My group of 8 all got served in a timely fashion, and the service was excellent. I decided to go again, with another group of family and friends on Sunday night (8th of June), and we were seated below... The service couldn’t have been worse! The meals weren’t time properly, so we never got to properly share our dumplings and the main waitress was really quite rude and dismissive. Mid-way through our meal she turned the music up so load that we couldn’t hear what the person was saying just next to us... Personally, I don’t believe that room is big enough (or with enough furniture to even play music as it bounces off the walls...) I asked her to please turn it down, which she did... Somewhat. Which made our table really quite annoyed. <br/><br/>Such a shame, because the food is delicious... The service staff need more training though. And I won’t be returning until I hear a good review about the service.

Ok, I don't get all these reviews. Had dinner with a group of 6 and ordered 10 different dishes. All came quickly and we all really enjoyed them, especially the prawn and vegetarian dumplings. I'm from Melbourne, I've traveled Asia, and I used to go to Oriental Tea House a fair bit, FML has a similar vibe. Attentive staff who even gave us a meal on the house when there was a minor mix up. If you're expecting cheap and plentiful Chinese, well, there's plenty of that around (of mixed quality), but we found this place to be trendy and tasty and great for a date night or catch up with friends. Fantastic to have a place like this in Ballarat.

Not great. Like most people I was very excited to try ballarats new dumpling restaurant as I am a very big dumpling fan and was eager for a new staple dinner spot. <br/>Unfortunately when arriving and advising of the name my booking was under, the server responded as if they'd hoped I wasnt coming and then placed me and my partner at a table of 6, sitting others at the other end. Annoying? yes. But maybe they were over booked. <br/>The dumplings were rubbery and left to go slightly hard by the time they reached us. The chicken mince in a lettuce leaf was interesting but so incredibly over poweringly salty, neither myself or my guest could eat more than a few bites.<br/>The haphazard order in which the food came out also felt rushed, unnattentive and impersonal, resulting in getting our bowl of steamed rice at the point where the redt of the meal was almost over. <br/>It's hard to say if this was merely a slip in quality due to the fact that the place was so packed and full of commotion, but it was too expencive for what I felt was on par quality with the more expensive brand supermarket dumplings. i will give them another go, maybe when the novelty of them being news wears off and theyve had a chance to find their feet a bit more. Dissapointed overall though.

Really Disappointed. Was very excited to read that a new Dumpling Restaurant had opened in Ballarat only to be disappointed from our first and likely only visit. Booked for 5 people on a Saturday night for a special occasion and was in and out in under an hour. The dumplings were nothing special and once one choice of filling per night, the calamari was way too salty, fried rice weird, main beef dish had no flavour, no gluten free options marked on the menu and overall could have made better at home. Too top it off, seemed very expensive for what we had. <br/>After looking forward to trying somewhere new, was so disappointed when leaving and don't think we will be back.

Service & Prices Needs Improvement.. I would confer previous comments regarding poor service. I was excited to know we had a dumpling house in Ballarat and was keen to try it. I dropped in on a Sunday afternoon for lunch and made a booking for the following Friday night for the rest of the family. I received a call on Wednesday to say they were all booked out and could not accommodate us. Why would they not have advised they were booked out when I initially made the inquiry? And why as late as Wednesday to let us know? Staff are obviously not well versed in hospitality or food service. I also agree dumplings and tea are overpriced compared to Melbourne. Disappointing - as we would love to spend our dining dollars locally. We will keep going to Melbourne for dumplings!

Tried a couple of times now. Food is good but nothing special. Prices are just ok but service is the real problem here. If you can get there right on opening for lunch or dinner the experience is better, but the Manager seems to be the problem. Inexperienced and abrupt. Heard him say to one group "you can sit here" and as they sat down he turned around and said "this is booked at 7:30 so you won't take more than an hour and a half will you?". They left. Enough said.

Terriblie! Never would go back again. They did not answer phones as we tried numerous times, so we emailed them to book for 7:30pm two weeks in advance to our booking date, they replied and said they couldn't fit us in at 7:30 but they could at 7:45 which was fine. The day of our booking they called to change it to 8:00pm as it was already later then we wanted and we had elderly people with us i said no. When we arrived we ordered and they had ran out of all of the seafood baskets, which half our table wanted as well as all dumplings except for beef. I had ordered Lemon chicken and it came out raw in the middle.. by the time they brought me back another plate everyone had finished there dinner.. They didn't bring out our sides with the main as we had to wait another 20 minutes before we received fried rice.. We also asked the waitress for water three times before it was brought out. The prices were ridiculous for Chinese food as you had to order everything separately ... Fried rice was $13.50 for a side as well as over $20 for just lemon chicken on its own. If they want to charge customers that sort of money , you would expect it to be exquisite food. Very disappointed as we were looking so forward to it.

Fantastic Sunday lunch, dumplings amazing to start plus so much more. Flavours to die for! Thank u Fu Team

Same as any Chinese restaurant in town. <br/>Food served on plastic plates that allows your meal to get cold very quickly.<br/>Six front of house staff but none of them seemed focused on the service of the customers.<br/>Zero street lighting. Dark and spooky area.

My partner and I have been trying to get a table at this popular little spot for a while now. This would have been a lot easier if they had answered one of our 14 CALLS on different nights to try and make a booking!!!! We ended up just going and hoping there was a table. We got our seats and the lady took our order. She asked us if we wanted the dumplings to come out first and we said yes. We received the dumplings, rice and my meal. The rice was undercooked and cold and we asked for a new bowl. We received instead the same rice, just microwaved and still undercooked. The dumplings were beautiful but this was one of very few highlights. My meal had a really nice flavor with just the right amount of spice but I felt like every second mouthful was onion. My partner finally got his meal about 15 minutes later and it was nothing special, just chicken cut up with a lemon sauce but was well presented. Was expecting more from all the hype we had heard. Disappointing.

Big thumbs up for Fu Man Lou!. Went for Saturday lunch (May 24) and found everything about Ballarat's new dumpling house to be wonderful. The staff were friendly and attentive, the atmosphere was great and the dumplings were certainly as good (and authentic) as those we've sampled in various places around Melbourne. I thought the prices were very reasonable, as we enjoyed a selection of dumplings/small plates, dessert, a glass of wine and a coffee each for $45 per head- certainly can't complain about that! I look forward to a return visit to try some of the 'mains', as what I could see on other tables looked really good. Kudos!

Awesome dumplings, good friendly service from an employee called Zarrah, and good vibe

Bean There: Fu Man Lou.. Fu Man Lou.<br/>Coffee: Latte.<br/>Price: $3.80<br/>The first thing i noticed about this place was the bar, very modern and nice/tidy. The coffee machine I noticed second it is a strange alien thing with a hose the penetrates into the milk they use (coles long milk) it seems to then suck it up an secrete in into the texturing jug, what is the point of this; to water down? I looked for a grinder, It was not to be seen. When I got my latte I wondered what it was I was drinking. Instant? The milk was not textured well, bubbles and the long life left its usual ultra re heated burt after taste in my mouth.<br/>When I was hit with the price I thought "I've had better at most 7/11's for a dollar" To bad there's not one in Ballarat.<br/><br/>Rating: 1/5

Bad service. Very understaffed for a Friday lunch, with no systems. Had to get up to order because manager was behind bar texting. Very hard to get any waiters attention for any service, needed serviettes water and more drinks but couldn't catch anyone's eye!! The manger needs to be 10 years older, so that he can manage!! Food was ok but tainted by bad service. May have been better with more staff on maybe!!!

Phone service??. Quite hard to get through via the telephone number provided, lets hope its just very busy! hoping to get my call returned soon, excited for our first time. Please call us!!

Amazing food great atmosphere and staff are amazing ur manager went of of his way to make our night a great one so thank you

Awesome place to eat and great vibe. Food was delish. The manager was helpful and polite. Thanks Justin for making mine and my wifes night a pleasure.

Funky new dumpling bar. Wow, After hearing about this funky and fresh new dumpling bar we reserved our table of 4 and went along last Friday night. Its about time Ballarat got another fine dining option. We were greeted by friendly staff and their service during the evening was to be applauded . We all couldn't fault any food and were all pleasantly surprised by how quickly it was coming out to the table, considering how busy the place was. We all commented on how quickly we would all be returning to enjoy their service again. Keep up the great work. You have won me over , Cheers

Terrific! terrific! terrific! Loved the food, service was great and the atmosphere & set up was beautiful. Ill be back for sure!

Very Enjoyable. Thought we would try out the new Dumpling Bar, Fu Man Lou. It was delightful. Food was very good, staff friendly and helpful and an all round great atmosphere. Would recommend to anyone. Very happy.

Not sure about the bad reviews on here, but we certainly loved our fu man experience. First time dumplings and really liked them, will be back again when I can get a booking!<br/><br/><br/>-----21 May, 2014-----<br/><br/>Booked in for lunch Friday last week with my friends, best decision choosing Fu Man Lou, great service! Great staff! Even better food! Love it will definatly be back, good job guys!! Keep it up

5 STAR Dumpling bar YUM!. Really cute place, love the décor and whole theme of the place. Lots of effort and thought gone into it. The food reflects the vibe of the place. Really delicous and overall the place had a good atmosphere. The staff where all really professional and had a smile. Left satisfied and will be telling all my friends to try this Dumpling bar. Defiantly the new place to catch up for some good food and good times.

LOVE LOVE LOVE!. Had a great night at Fu Man Lou - dumplings and other dishes were amazing and completely unlike anything available in Ballarat. Love the refurb too!

Amazing dumplings, great service and all round great night out! I was so excited to hear authentic dumplings were coming to town and we certainly weren't disappointed.

NEW FAVOURITE PLACE IN TOWN. GREAT FOOD, GREAT SERVICE, LOVE IT!! DEFINATLY BE BACK

Disappointing & overpriced!. We were thrilled to hear that an authentic dumpling eatery was opening in Ballarat. We are well versed in dumplings having tried them in Melbourne's chinatown, in the famous Din Tai Fung in Sydney, as well as in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia.<br/><br/>When we saw the menu, we were a bit taken aback at how expensive the dumplings were. They were priced very similarly to what you pay in Din Tai Fung. As such, our expectations were very high! Dumplings are typically the cheap street food you get in Asia, but we didn't mind paying more if they were really really good. When our Xiao Long Bao came out, the most disappointing thing was that there was no/very little soup in each dumpling. That is the best part of this particular dumpling, its unique feature. The rest of the dumplings were quite nice, but not amazing. Our dishes soon followed, and they were all quite ordinary and very salty. <br/><br/>The worst thing was that when we got our bill, we had been charged $4.20 per small flask of chinese tea. That's a real rip off! Tea is typically charged per person, with a bottomless flow - no one had told us we were going to be charged per flask. The Vietnamese Noodle Bar has free unlimited tea in fact. <br/><br/>The only positive was our friendly waitress was very helpful. However, often we would try to signal to a waiter/waitress, only to find the group of them all huddled at the counter chatting away with their backs turned or eyes averted. Service must be top notch, especially for a new restaurant! One of our guests also commented that they had tried to get a table last week at FML but had been rudely turned away by one of the waiters. Its all very well to be busy & inundated which diners, but that's no excuse to be abrupt and dismissive with future customers. Reputation and word of mouth is everything in Ballarat, and things like this spread fast!

Going back for more!!. Have been to Fu Man Lou a few times now, and I absolutely love it! The staff are very friendly, the food delicious and all reasonably priced! Adding it to one of our regular dinner spots!

Superb - Great food and a Great Night................. I have just read the previous reviews - not sure if they were at the same venue !!!!!!!!<br/>The staff were wonderfully attentive and friendly AND the food was divine. <br/>I could not fault the service in any way. Well worth every penny - you get what you pay for.................(the pork dumplings, spring rolls and mongolian lamb are to die for) - we will be back !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Disappointed. An unpleasant experience. Invited family for mothers day, the staff were extremely rude and made us feel uncomfortable, will not being going back.

Sadly Dissapointed. Took my family here for mothers day and disappointed. Food was bland the special fried rice tasted just like plain rice with peas and crunchy carrot pieces, all i could taste. i also got spring rolls the chicken ones and some of the veges in it weren't cooked properly so they were hard. family ordered garlic prawns... average...... also the chicken sang choi boa was awful couldn't eat just full of onion. atmosphere is VERY cramped and noisy. the staff are ok but overall it was embarrassing. :( wasn't worth the money could have gone somewhere nicer and spent it.

Very disappointing. We had reserved a table only to find out that when we got there, a table wasn't actually reserved for us. The place is very cramped. I had to ask when my drink was coming, and the food didn't have a lot of flavour. Not really worth the money

Awful.. Average food, awful service. The vibe and atmosphere of this place is really dull and quite depressing, what's worse is the attitudes of all the rude staff, and I mean all of them.<br/><br/>Will never be back.