Review Plume Chinese Restaurant - Doncaster

A traditional Cantonese Chinese restaurant serving all the usual classics for yum cha. It is not overly too crowded or busy for a Sunday, there are two levels so tables are a bit spread out. Most the my favourite dishes were available, the service was fairly efficient and friendly.

Wonderful yum cha, very nice for menu dinner. A lovely setting, friendly service. Definitely 5 star, highly recommend. Keep returning here as a long time favourite.

Average Chinese dim sum restaurant. Best to book on weekends. Food is on the slightly pricier side compared to others. Service average.

Very slow service, only one steam cart & one fried cart making the rounds in the downstairs area. The selection was very poor & I did not see any of my favourite dishes, not even a basic prawn dumpling. Waiters were bringing dishes out to tables, so it seems that you need to order. If this is the case then we would require a menu or to be helped by the wait staff, neither was offered. We tried a duck dish that was truely horrible, it was cooked to the same colour & texture as over done steak. When paying the bill we were presented with two prices for cash or card, the card price was 10% higher! Photo is of the duck dish.

Had two great sizzling plates tonight- highly recommend! Sauteed Shredded Beef with Chilli, Sizzling Mongolian beef.

Nephew had wedding tea ceremony here. Great service and delicious food.

Apparently it was supposed to be a famous Chinese restaurant. The wagyu beef is amazing. The waiter Alex is very rude and ruined the experience in my opinion. Worth a try to experience Chinese restaurant but not superb.

I you are a genuine foodie..Don't bother with this place. The food is incredibly over priced and so is the alcohol. Most of our meals were served cold. There was an overwhelming amount of staff just standing around like security guards awkwardly watching us eat our meal, however none of them bothered to clear our table once we had eaten. Getting table service was near impossible. Unfortunately this place has never seen any type of renovation. The carpets were sticky and the restaurant had a bad musky odor. The toilets were filthy. And to top it all off, after spending nearly $300 for 2 couples, I was slugged a hefty surcharge to use my credit card for payment......really.....greedy...Very disappointed as I remember having yum cha here a few years ago and quite enjoyed it. I will not come back and ensure to tell others don't bother. Poor form.

😱Lizzie’s first impression: it’s almost an institution, great seating area and good vibes during yumcha <br/><br/>🍩Lizzie enjoyed: I only ever come here for yumcha especially on the weekends, so I do see that it gets a little busier. It’s no where as busy as it used to be, but the food is not bad at all. Prices are moderately priced, nothing too extravagant and the yum cha dishes are consistent. Love the egg tarts that are fresh out of the oven. <br/><br/>🍅Lizzie did not enjoy: In recent times, they have become more quiet and weekdays are definitely a reflection of this. <br/><br/>🥇Lizzie rates overall: great place for yum cha in Doncaster area.<br/>

I love the yum cha here, have eaten here when I was younger and till today. They have every original yum cha dish available and managers are very welcoming.

One of the many places around Doncaster for yumcha. Service is quick and food variety is great and taste quite nice. Can get very busy at times so best to book in advance to secure your spot!

This restaurant is quite a very old establishment. Had yum Cha 3 times here before and the food are considered good standard and nice ambience. Ample car parking. However a-bit pricy. Will definitely pop in once in awhile.

Went for lunch, good Chinese tea, food was outstanding . A lot of variety for dim sims, yum cha is served from trolley instead of made to order.

Food excellent standard. Service is so so. The manager with least hair is rude. Others are ok. Gave them whole sum (to the nearest $100s) for credit card payment they then add surcharge on top to defeat the purpose for a neat bill.<br/>

My first time to Plume was more than 13yrs ago not long after I come to Melbourne as a student. The only one yumcha place I can gives 2 big thumbs-up to the dim sums especially the egg tarts. 13yrs later, they still have the best puff pastry egg tart comparing to what I have had. Still one of my favorite yumcha in Melbourne and my only go-to on the Eastside.

The customer service was instantly very friendly and prompt. We were offered an array of dishes in the Yum Cha menu. The food was of great quality and lovely. I would recommend this restaurant to family and friends.

Came for yum cha and dinner. There was a wide range of food for dinner and you can always order food that hasn't been brought out on the trolleys for lunch. Service was attentative but not intrusive. The environment is spacious and prices are within range of the area with plenty of parking space.

A traditional Cantonese Chinese restaurant serving all the usual classics for yum cha. It is not overly too crowded or busy for a Sunday, there are two levels so tables are a bit spread out. Most the my favourite dishes were available, the service was fairly efficient and friendly.

I have been to Plume many times over many years. The food is always excellent, service fantastic. We ate with a group of 10. They accommodated our choices with grace and confidence. No garlic, no mushroom and gf please! The prawns must have been caught that day. Fillet steak melted in your mouth. Beautiful good quality food. You must go! Bill was $60 each with san boi chow and spring rolls included.

Ordered late night snack/ dinner delivery from Plume the food was delicious, the canto steak and the black truffle scallops were delicious (and it was cooked to perfection) 😋😋

No apologies from waiting errors.<br/>I asked manager for rice as my main dishes have come. "Please give me 2minutes"<br/>5minutes later; luke warm rice arrives.<br/>Surcharge with credit card payments.<br/>(Id give less than 1 if possible)<br/>

Food was very disappointing. Most of our dishes were bland, over cooked and lacked character. It’s a white man’s Chinese restaurant. Dishes lacked flavour and punch. <br/><br/>Overall, poor experience and would mot return here.

Crazy restaurant! The service is very poor! The manager is very rude! Never go again! Dim sum was bad taste than last month! Very dry and not very hot! Was not fresh! Especially egg tart! The dumplings had a little bit smelly!

Very friendly. Always give good service. Favourite place. Can always add to booking numbers if needed. Very yummy food. Very big portion size

Plums is not to bad but has its days where the food may be dry or out to long on the tray. This is where the food tastes average but they have got good ribs and overall dishes there.

We've been coming here for 21 years ... the food here is consistently good... yes you pay a little more ... but it's well worth the extra $$$ for freshness and quality ..<br/>The service here can be a bit hit or miss ...which is disappointing for a 'fine dining restaurant'<br/>But unless the quality of the food goes down then we'll still eat here ...<br/>

A friend did a favour on a short notice on a Saturday and we invited his family to dinner that night. <br/>Tried at 5.00pm to book a Cantonese restaurant on Anderson Creek Road, Doncaster East and a Sichuan restaurant in Glen Waverley. None had a table until 7.30pm. Plume had a table at 6.00pm. <br/>The good: seemed clean, modern settings, polite and attentive waitresses. <br/>The bad: more Aussie dinners than Chinese; tastes and presentations lost authenticity; mud crab (charged for 1 kg) and barramundi (charged for 1.1kg) were both clearly under-weighted for the charges – my wife is a seafood fanatic and she cooks these at home; otherwise small serving sizes, corkage was charged at $6 per person; more than half-empty on a Saturday night probably spoke for itself; small tables and close proximities; just under $400 for 4 adults sharing 5 dishes.<br/>Should have trusted my hesitation when I heard it had a table at 6.00pm on a Saturday.

Went there on Good Friday to have yumcha with friends. Nice place, good vibe, friendly service.<br/><br/>Quality of food - very good!<br/>Tastes and flavours - excellent! Might switch to the Plume as our permanent yumcha spot!<br/><br/>Overall - highly recommended!

As two average eaters, we spent $124 for yumcha here... more expensive than other yum cha places, but the food is superb. <br/>Recommend: chicken feet, steamed rice pancake, mango pancake

A great place to eat a Chinese dinner ! The restaurant interior is gorgeous and I love the piano in the center. The food is a bit more pricer than other chinese restaurants but I think it is better quality and more well cooked

We went for a weekday dinner and the service was exemplary, one of the better services at a Chinese restaurant, with very attentive staff. You do pay slightly more for the food and service but the ambience is pleasant enough and the overall price was reasonable for the amount of food we ate. Hot and sour soup, peking duck and abalone were ok, BBQ roast pork and vegetable dumplings were nice, crispy skin chicken was very good and the law hon jai was my favourite! The baked pudding was a pleasant surprise to end the meal, although the egg and milk pudding was less to my taste (similar texture to the tofu dessert in ginger syrup although I prefer the latter). Overall, a really nice dining experience.

Pretty standard service here and probably the standard variety in terms of food offerings. I remember it used to be better maybe even 5-10 years ago (opinions from family members too). I think something has changed within management as the quality has slipped slightly in terms of service, food itself and just overall ambience of the place.

Rude and condescending service from the manager and waiter. They messed up the order and did not attempt to apologise; instead it was only after we asked questions about it that they offered a very inadequate replacement. Food was mostly average and overpriced, but it was the disappointing lack of hospitality that prompts me to discourage others from dining here.

Below average Chinese restaurant that doesn't match the price we paid. We ordered fried dim sims, they brought steamed dim sims - with no apology. Very difficult to get attention of waiters, even though there were plenty of them standing around doing nothing as it was dead quiet while we were there. Singapore noodles had no taste, soy sauce appeared to be watered down and couldn't get anyone's attention to bring chili to the table. Won't be going back!

Went here for yum cha and was not disappointed. All food items were tasty and at correct temperatures. Special mention for the mango pancakes when they are available. So good.

Father's Day dinner here was horrible. Service was below standard - from missing dish from our order (with no apology), serving our main dishes BEFORE our Entree Peking duck was even served, plates and dishes not cleared when dessert was served (we asked them to clear the dishes but was given the biggest b***ch face ever). <br/><br/>Food was terrible - don't order the braised tofu and vegetable. A "veggie delight" NOT! Tasted like a bottled sweet and sour sauce poured over some veggies. Dessert of red bean pancake was tiny. 4 tiny square pieces for $8?!? Not worth it!<br/><br/>Plume Doncaster is back on the blacklist and we are NEVER coming back again.

The food here isn't too bad, especially the Peking duck. Steam barramundi was also moist and tender, not overcooked. I can't bring myself to rate it higher than a 3.5 because I still feel the price/ service/ quality ratio isn't there. It's quite a bit more expensive than other Chinese restaurants but not worth the price difference. Still try it out though.

We went for Yum cha. It was very disappointing The head waiter was condescending, the food was average and overpriced. Golden Dragon Palace is A much better choice as far as quality of food, service, and flavour of food is concerned

Plume feels really fancy because it's deathly quiet inside, in stark contrast to the usual experience of bustling Chinese restaurants serving yum cha with tables of loud people battling it out for the last prawn dumpling. The service feels quite fancy too reminiscent of old school fine dining Chinese restaurants. The interiors are pleasant but while it's billed as more of a casual eat the pricing is definitely reflective of something quite up market. I love me some dumplings and the food here is certainly authentic and enjoyable but I can't help but think the popularity is more of a legacy from a time where there weren't as many other options. These days you can get good food good service and not break the bank, but if you are hankering for something more traditional this is still a good choice for a nice Sunday lunch

The layout of the tables at the restaurant are great. Quite often there isn't room to swing a cat and everyone are squashed like sardines. Not here, it's just perfect. The service is great too. As we came for a nice yum cha lunch, quite often we have had to wait some time before the trolleys would roll past. But here they keep coming with good, fresh and hot food. Strong recommendation!<br/>

Although the food was nice and the sevice was quick we left feeling a bit duped. I do feel the meal was overpriced at $83 - yum cha for the two of us and 2 cokes. I guess it was more that we had to ask how much the dishes were as there was no display. We were offered and accepted the standard chinese tea when we arrived. I assumed the tea was complimentary as it often is at other restaurants. The tea was listed as $6 on the bill which i found a bit deceptive. There were also other items on the bill written in short hand that I'm still unsure of. Again the food is ok but there was a feeling of being bled dry that let down the overall experience.

Terrible service and a bad Manager attitude just spoil this very expensive place. Food is warm at best. Wanted to charge a surcharge for using a debit card and $11 for water! Don't go unless you're Chinese as that seems to be the only way you get some service.

Yum cha has been a family past time for as long as I can remember. After all these years, we are still searching for one that absolutely knocks our socks off consistently.  Came for a birthday session and it was a little eerily quiet compared to all my other experiences with yum cha. Food was nice; dumplings were generally seasoned well and sizes were decent. Quite nice but not the best I've had, and a little far to travel to for me.

Terrible food, soggy and old. expensive food and the staff are rude and un helpful. The bill is also all in Chinese, so you don't know if things have been added to it.

Beautifully appointed interior and plenty of waiters so the service is really good. The menu is extensive and the food is delicious. On the downside, it's always packed to capacity upstairs and down so it makes for a noisy and hurried dining experience. Quite expensive for the size of the serves.

We had our worst yum cha experience here. Very little food came out and the service was slow. A lot of the food was stale, cold, flavourless and not very fresh. Only a few dishes were of decent quality. When we complained to the management, they were rude and dismissive, saying 'take it or leave it'. 11 dishes cost $100 - very overpriced. We would not com back here again.

Overpriced fancy dining experience.<br/><br/>Went there on a quiet Thursday afternoon and although it being 1pm, the food wasn't particularly fresh with only around 5 other diners present.<br/><br/>The skins and fillings of their dumplings weren't particularly fresh with the skins essentially falling apart and breaking apart before being chewed. The prawn in their har gow lacked a crunchy texture + prawn flavour indicating that it wasn't fresh and probably had been frozen for a while. <br/><br/>Pan fried chinese pork dumplings and pan fried pork buns also weren't fresh and barely warm when served. Pork had a paste-like texture which was disappointing.<br/><br/>Crispy egg pockets ignoring the prawn were alright.<br/><br/>Ultimately the food was extremely overpriced coming down to around $28 per person despite us being barely full.

There are two seatings on a Sunday for yum cha, one at 11:30am and other at 1:00pm. A large parking and even a smaller undercover parking is available under the restaurant. The restaurant has two storeys with the restrooms being located upstairs which can be an issue with the elderly.<br/><br/>The food here is delicious however as mentioned by other reviewers here, price point is a little more expensive than other yum cha places I've been to. The dumplings are also smaller in size and very delicate (perhaps a little overcooked); the filling and dumpling skin falls apart when attempting to pick up the dumpling.<br/><br/>Some of my favourites at yum cha:<br/>- Chive dumplings<br/>- Prawn dumplings<br/>- Scallop dumpling<br/>- Mango pudding<br/>- Egg tart<br/><br/>Tip: if not everyone wants tea at the table, make sure to advise the waiter immediately or you will be charged tea for each person ($3 or $3.50 pp - can't remember exactly)<br/> <br/><br/>Follow me on Instagram for more photos: @fo0die

Don't go past the fried pork dumplings, which are more like a bun. These little bad boys have a fantastic crisp texture. Also worthy of your time, and dime, are the custard buns. They also have a soft but crisp texture, and are a stand out amongst Melbourne's custard delights. On the less good side, the prawn salad looked promising but was meet with disdain and refusal by my fellow diners, and by the end of the meal remained largely uneaten. And as for one of my dim sim favourites, the prawn toast was a little lacking in the texture department.

Lunch time Yum Cha - you would only enjoy it here if you love Prawns. Too many prawn dishes and not much else. It was also hard understanding the staff as they didnt slow down their English explaining the dishes.  Overpriced.

Dim sum or commonly known as yum cha, is one of my favourite Chinese lunch time options that I crave for every now and then. A little tip I learnt in Melbourne is, where possible, make table reservations or be prepared to wait. So true especially at lunch time. Chinese eateries are notorious for the lack of customer service but this was not the case at Plume - we were warmly greeted upon arrival and waiters/waitresses were prompt with our orders as well as at refilling our pot of tea. Oh the joys of not having to hunt down a waiting staff.

Visited this place for Yum Cha. First time here and the decor was outdated but still nice. Service was good overall although it was a bit annoying that even though our group are Asian, all the waiters kept announcing the dishes in Cantonese and not show casing the steam baskets. It was unconventional yum cha in that half the dishes were carried out on a tray and offered at the table, as opposed to the usual steam cart. The food itself I would rate as above average but there were not many special dishes on offer compared to other places.<br/>Hours after visiting this place, I'm still thinking "wow, that was an expensive lunch!" The bill came out to $10 more per person compared to any other Yum Cha place. We did not order anything out of the ordinary and left feeling not overly full as we have other times when our eyes are bigger than our stomachs. Overall, I will not come back as the food is not deserving of the price tag.

I cannot remember us ever spending that much at Yum Cha but no buyers remorse here - just happy stomachs! Quality, variety and service were all first rate. Pippies, baked scallop, pork buns, fried rice noodle roll, har gao and ginger prawn were standouts

We went to Plume for yum cha. The ambience was nice and the service was great (a lot better than most Asian restaurants). Found the dishes slightly on the salty side, felt thirsty for hours after the meal. While the food is average compared to yum cha places in the Doncaster area, the price is definitely the highest. $60 for 2 people (7 dishes - of which 4 were standard). While service was good, it shouldn't come at such a premium.

Great service and delicious Yum Cha offerings, will be back to dine again and try the full menu... Some of the YumCha offerings I have never seen before and our table was so impressed..!

This place was just bad... We went there had a booking for 3 people on a Sunday at 1:30pm. You would think that's the start of second session and food would be coming out regularly. But we sat there for one hour and only one cart came and we ordered a few other special dishes. In the end we left without waiting because the carts were just a no show. The worst part is when we complained to the managers they didn't apologise or understand our concern and just said they are making it in the kitchen we need to be more patient and that we did get to eat a few things anyway. Shocking! We eat yum Cha regularly at different restaurants and know what a normal yum Cha session should be like.. This was definitely not it. Looking around he other tables were all in the same boat, some crumbled and just ordered proper stir fried dishes and ate rice rather than waiting for the yum Cha dim sums to come. Never going back again...

Beautiful yum cha and the best in the area. We have been coming here for years as regulars. Staff have always been good and greatly improved in the last few years. Restaurant is well looked after and has a great ambience. I have seen complaints about price but this is the reality of getting good dim sum in a nice restaurant.<br/><br/>Plume delivers all the classics as well as more fusion style dishes. I'd recommend sticking to the classic Chinese dishes, after all they are authentic. Prawn dumplings are always stellar, prawns taste great and the wrapping is delicate. Prawn and chive dumplings are a nice variation.<br/><br/>The buns here are excellent - bbq pork and custard are amazing. Order them from a waiter if you want them, they don't always come around on a tray. The egg tarts are gorgeous if you're lucky enough to get them hot - the filling is sweet and soft and the pastry is delicious and flaky.<br/><br/>If you have any problems with the food, do notify a manager (the men in suits). Our sticky rice tasted burnt and they were very apologetic and took it off our bill.

Food is very average, they don't make their own pastry, dumpling skins are not homemade, other traditional dishes lack of seasoning, and protion size for a special dish was served on a saucer dish... much smaller compare to other yumcha places. Customer service is worse than before, lack of heart and consideration, if you don't care for your cusotmers, it really shows...place is clean, dishes are clean, and parking was ok.

We experienced Yum Cha here today and wish to add my review. Service was impeccable, food was beautiful and plentiful. Staff were incredibly attentive. Will spread the word that this is the go to place for Yum Cha. Thank you team, see you very soon.

THE BEST YUM CHA!My family and I have been coming here for the past 20 years. The yum cha is always spot on! Our favourites include the pork spare ribs, and I recommend the ginger prawn dumplings, the prawn & chive dumplings, the stuffed eggplant and the bean curd & tofu is great too. Service is always friendly and efficient. Plume is more pricier then other yum cha places but I'm happy to pay more to get the best! Must book for weekends and they have two sittings so you can always get in. Parking easy and a local neighbourhood gem!

Average yum cha experience to be honest. Went to Plumes for lunch with 2 friends. For starters they have two sittings- 11.30 am or 1.300m. One time is too early, the other two late. We picked duck, fried lamb dumplings, eel, tripe. All quite tasty. Very long wait between carts coming to our table. No steamed pork dumplings, fried rice or spring rolls were offered to us. What is yum cha without without duck pancakes?? If you make a reservation, make sure you sit downstairs as the carts don't seem to do regular trips upstairs. The food was overall quite tasty. Slow service, rude waiters and expensive prices let this place down.

Worst experience I have ever had. Took family and relatives there and were made to wait over an hour and a half for the food to arrive. By the time the food arrived, all my family members were already leaving. Staff didn't care and seemed to didn't want to deal with you at all. There were not enough waiters (only one at the top level) and they all lacked any sort of interest whatsoever in your experience. Funny enough, when were we leaving the front door, another two groups were yelling profanity at the restaurant and vowing to never return again.

Comfy ambience , average service. Food was delicious but incredibly small portions for the price charged- no recommendation given for the ratio of food portion to the number of people dining.

Possibly the worst Chinese food I've been served. Waited well over an hour for 2 main dishes - one of which was inedible. Asked if we could please get a pot of tea - like the tea that was been given to other tables when they came in - never reviewed it. Service was offhand at best. Expect to pay top dollar as well. Couldn't get out of there fast enough!

Well presented dishes with lovely Cantonese flavours. The ingredients used were very fresh and plentiful. Service was better than expected.

It was ok but I've been to better. Was hoping to be wowed but was dissapointed. What do you mean-no peking duck pancakes!? Isn't this yum cha???

Delicious. Four of us had then first banquet option for dinner on a week night. The food was plentiful, fresh and delicious. We were very full and couldn't finish it. They generously allowed us to take the left overs home. Service was excellent. <br/>Recommended.

Very average yum cha and not a very big selection of modern yum cha dishes. Feels like Plume has been caught in a time capsule from the 90's. The dumplings were a bit lacking in the flavour department and were generally smaller compared to other restaurants. It is the worst place for yum cha in doncaster at the moment which is probably why its so easy to get a table on the weekend when all the others are booked out.

We had a table for seven for dinner at Plume. The table allocated was squashy and didn't allow much room for our dishes. The food standards have dropped over the years - it's quite average these days. Don't dine here on a hot summers day, the environment was quite muggy.

UPDATE - 7/10<br/>Always happy to re-visit Plume, one of the best Cantonese restaurant set-up and ususally always full of smiles from Cliff and the team there.<br/><br/>Food is slightly down from our previous visits ... price has gone up too :-) JT-16/06/2018.<br/>PREVIOUS<br/>The ULTIMATE in the area comes with a PRICE.<br/><br/>We always enjoy coming here.<br/><br/>Great location, easy parking and very pleasant interior, great ambiance the former Barbarino's if I'm not mistaken.<br/><br/>Cliff and the team always welcomes you with a smile and the best service in the area by miles, not your typical rough Hong Kong style. <br/><br/>Cantonese Fine Dining, White Linen, proper crockeries and definitely not one of those great food with chip plates and bowls<br/><br/>Their food whether be Yumcha or Dinner you will enjoy.<br/><br/>Another plus BYO your own wines always welcome.<br/><br/>Expect to pay more, but that's fair enough.<br/><br/>ENJOY!

Service is always attentive and yumcha delicious. One can never go wrong , whatever dish you order.In this particular visit,of many, i especially liked the braised chicken feet and pork ribs. Both had meat that slipped easily off the bones. I did not feel thirsty after the meal -it means that they didnt overdose on msg. Ambience is nice,not as noisy as most yumcha places - think the noise generated at the now defunct Taipan. Great place for business meals.

This restaurant is located a short distance away from Doncaster Westfield. There is a reasonable amount of car parking nearby and the atmosphere of the restaurant is supple. We had arranged a booking for the afternoon session (1.00pm - 3.00pm) to avoid the morning rush. A waiter greeted us and directed us to our seats. The cutlery was gracefully laid out and there was already a small plate of chili sauce on the table. So far, so good.<br/><br/>Given that it was an afternoon session, there were a fair number of tables that were empty. In parallel, the number of yumcha carts were also scarce, which was reasonable to an extent. Unfortunately, there was an instance when we were waiting for a cart to come by for a good seven minutes after we had consumed all our food on our table at that point in time. It is normal to wait for a food cart, but NOT THAT LONG. The food was average at best. The siumai (pork dumplings) were nothing special. The prawn dumplings were standard. Nothing really differentiated in taste from the frozen stuff that I could buy at an Asian grocer and steam myself at home. Not even the yumcha specials (deep fried tentacles, ha chong (虾长)[steamed prawn rolls] were great enough to warrant the words "special" in my dictionary - the quantity on the plate of squid tentacles was below average. Their quality lacked. The ha chong was more bland than tasty. Its one saving grace is the number of prawns in each piece (four). Even then, the prawns were remotely tiny. The deep fried silverfish did not even come with the standard dipping sauce (the waitress said there wasn't any when we asked her). All the other standard yumcha food (dumplings, spring rolls etc) did not gauge enough interest to warrant a second thought.<br/><br/>My first WOW arrived when we received the bill. We had ordered about twenty-ish plates of food altogether - and the bill was almost a whopping two hundred dollars! At approximately nine dollars for a plate of items that only tasted ordinary (mind, one plate usually only has three dumplings) and service that was only so-so, I was definitely not feeling too pleased about this restaurant. We did not even order dessert within those plates. If I had known that I was going to be shelling out this amount of money, I would have definitely gone to Secret Kitchen in Doncaster instead. Their prawns are bigger and fuller - for a similar, if not lower, price range. Yes, the staff at Plume cleared our empty plates promptly, but that hardly justifies the insanely premium price tag.<br/><br/>Average food. Ordinary taste. Standard service. Fat price tag. After going to Plume Chinese at Doncaster, one sure thing will vanish: a big chunk of your money. For food of that average quality, I would be better off steaming my own frozen yumcha food from the Asian grocers. I cannot warrant the price tag in any way.<br/><br/>P.S. I must give kudos to the waiting staff, though. They were very attentive at clearing our finished plates.

We went there for my dad's 60th birthday recommended by our friend. The price range is slightly above Chinese restaurant however, when we asking for recommendation the waiter was rude and reply with a sentence "because you didn't ask". First of all, in a Chinese premium restaurant you expect to present a good smile and attitude but we did not. I will not be back in the future and will not recommend to my mature friends.

We went for dinner, had the scallops for entree, they were fantastic. We followed it by peaking duck, that was really good too. and the banana fritter was nice. <br/>The place needs a bit of attention, it looked a bit dirty and uncared for, maybe caught them on a bad day. <br/>Like the food, but was disappointed in the place.

With so many options for yum cha, this is the one to go to! The selection of dishes is more varied then other restaurants, service is quick and attentive and there's plenty of car park. Bonuses are they give chili sauce on each table (it's the little things). Only downside was waiting for the carts to come around so we could eat more but I guess that gives you time to talk and digest.

Went here for yum Cha on a Sunday and it was delicious!! Plates were brought out constantly and the service was very attentive. Definitely going back.

I was here for dinner at 630pm and we ordered a total of 5 dishes. Cold platter came out after 20 minutes followed not long by the crab with noodles. 2 hours later I am still waiting for the remaining three dishes, two of which are veggies. Dinner service here is horrendous. Best to stick to yum Cha.

My Husband wanted to go for Father's day, arrived at 6.00 pm, ordered the banquet thinking that it would be reasonably easy for them. Served the entrees fairly quickly but then waited ages, waiter told us our mains would be to us shortly only to wait another 35 mins before my son went to ask if our food would be to us soon as tables that arrived after us were being served.  When we finally finished and went to pay my daughter complained only to be told quite rudely that a banquet takes a long time to be served. Wouldn't recommend Plume to anyone after this experience & certainly won't hurry back.

Yum Cha here is always yum! Authentic Hong Kong yum cha with the push carts! Good service and good food. Staff are friendly and they try really hard.

If having dinner here, what ever you do leave room for the crepes at the end as this is my favourite dish. The service is good, the food too. But I found it to be bit too expensive for what it is. It's is a nice restaurant built in the 80's which hasn't has a revamp since. <br/><br/>It's Chinese dressed up a little but I just not totally sold the price you pay for it.

Went for a midweek yum cha. Service was ok but food was disappointing. Not a large variety and quite stodgy. Maybe I just don't like yum cha as much as other people.

Very good service compared to other chinese yum cha I had been around the area. Food was good and the wait staff were very helpful (mind you that some yum cha places tends to ignore us when we try to get their attention). A bit pricey but will definitely return again.

Surprised by the negative reviews as this place has to be the best yumcha in Melbourne! We've been going here for over 10 years and the service and food has been nothing but great! Sure the staff aren't going to stop for a chat as Yumcha times are super busy, but even if they aren't serving something you're after you can ask and they get it straight to you! The restaurant itself if really nice and the chicken pies and custard tarts are highlights!!

Had yumcha here recently. Was very disappointed as previously yumcha has been good with a wide variety of dishes. This time though, the variety was lacking somewhat and mainly standard fare (siu mai, har gao, etc) .Pricewise was very disappointing as we were charged a deluxe (3rd or 4th down the bill) for a standard siu mai (just a pork one not a chicken/prawn variety) and the yuchi gao (also basically pork) ? This was confirmed by another waiter.  Everywhere else the siu mai is a standard price for better quality..  Good things:   - able to get a seat without needing to book.  - reasonable ambienceImprovement needed: -service was a bit slow though with very little trolleys coming out -lacking variety (would have like a baked liu sha bao but that's just personal preference)

I have been to this place for yum cha a few times. Many years ago the food was acceptable. <br/><br/>This afternoon I visited this place again for yum cha. The food was absolutely disgusting. They used left over fried dumpling, steam it up, add some MSG sauce and sell it as fresh. The worst yum cha in Melbourne.

Food is good but nothing special.<br/>Portions are average but the price is slightly expensive.<br/>Service is average.<br/>Nice decor and ambience.<br/><br/>Not a bad place but not worth the trip.

Poor late service. Poor service<br/>Only half meal served at a time. Waited 30 min for steamed rice after the rest of meal was almost finished<br/>Don't recommend at all

NO NO NO NO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. If your going to charge top prices !!!!!!!! back it up with great service & food !!!!!!!!!! Manager needs to pull all the staff up for a meeting & teach them how to understand english !!!!!!! Asked a waiter what would he suggest to eat ?? he did'nt understand us, so he went & called another waiter. We asked him the same question ?? his answer ( UP TO YOU, YOU CAN EAT ANYTHING ) ....................WHAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!...... Won't be coming back.

Quality of food and price does not weigh up. No yum cha dish was up to standard, yet they still charge such a high amount. Do not waste your money!

P and I were craving some good yumcha again - I wanted to go to Plume this time since I had such fond memories of it last time. We got there just after 11am - it was about half filled already, but mainly of Westerners with flowers and wine and all. We felt a bit out of place haha =P We sat down and ordered our tea - I always order 壽眉   "sau mei", I guess 'cause my mum likes it so I grew up drinking it. As opposed to 普洱 "pu er" which is so strong and bitter - my brother likes it =/ The first dim sim cart came along - P ordered his few typical favourites - 蝦餃 (har gao), 燒賣 (siu mai), 排骨 (pai gu) Ever since I've been with P I've really loved 排骨 (pai gu - spare ribs) as much as he does - steamed with black bean sauce ahhh delicious! We've tried making it at home ourselves but it never tastes as good and always so watery - most likely 'cause we don't have a proper steamer so the condensation falls back onto the dish =( I'

MoMo & Coco's Yum Cha Desserts Guide - one of the "Doncaster Triad." Go here for reliable yum cha.

I found the dishes above average. The egg tart was especially good.

I had lunch in Plume Restaurant, a place where you eat dimsum in Doncaster. People here refer it as "yum cha" which I think it is a term learned from the Hongkie. *Correct me if I am wrong yeah*

Great food, nice atmosphere. We've been going here for years when we feel like really good Chinese food. It's always fresh, good quality food, service is good even if the prices are a little high. Our favourites are the Dim Sum which are the best we've ever had, the Peking Duck and the Cantonese fillet steak. Very reliable, never disappointed.

Disappointing and rude. I have never felt more unwelcome in a restaurant. We dined for yum cha with our three children on a sunday lunch. We were ignored, waited 45 mins for food, had my chair repeatedly smashed into with the trolleys ( without apology) and were told trolleys would come after we tried to order after half an hour. The food when it arrived was pretty average and I have certainly had much better at other yum cha. The price was very high for the quality and the general standard of the interior ( dated and the toilets were very grubby)I certainly wont be trying it again. Ever.

Great. I have been here for work functions a few times and yesterday took my young family. Staff were great with my young kids and service fantastic. Prices aren't ultra cheap but the food is of a very high quality. I am looking forward to coming back.

Plume restaurant. Do not go to Plume Restaurant in Doncaster. The food was very bad and it cost too much. It was the worst Chinese food I have ever had and Iv'e eaten in many Chinese restaurants. We were not offered Chinese tea. We had a banquet and not one dish lived up to what it should have been and it was overpriced.

I have been to Plume Doncaster a few times for yumcha and dinner. I am not sure about the bad reviews written here about their services were bad. I found their services is very much better than the other Chinese Yumcha restaurants like Dynasty and Imperial Kingdom as The wait staff does not literally rude chasing the patrons out of the restaurant. The restaurant is spacious and it is not overly noisy and cram like other typical yumcha restaurants in town. Wait staff are always attentive. The food is much delicious compare to others although their price is a little more than the others but It is worth to pay. I enjoy going there.

One of the waiters Jakey Cheung has poor customer service. Asked him for recommendations and he asked us to look at the specials board.

Very surprised with Sunday Yum Cha!. Haven't been here for a while, but decided to book a Sunday yum cha here after not being able to book elsewhere... First time doing yum cha at this restaurant, and i have to say my overall rating would be excellent, although pricey. All the usual dishes, plus a few more... lots of carts going around. Lots of seafood type dishes if that is your sort of thing. Everything hot and fresh. Great table service and manners from the staff. Only let down would be the fact they had no idea about condensed milk to go with the mango pudding for desert... they were using some type of watery cream instead.

Just ok. Only highlight is its over price. Food is very normal, no presentation at all.

Had yum cha. Not good or bad - there are better places to go to

It was simply bad. We wait for an hour for the food and everytime we ask the manager how long, he just simply says 'soon' without communicate with kitchen staff. for last dish we ordered, we got told it is not avaliable after 40 mins waiting. the food is extremly over priced and the service is poor. DO NOT GO

As we sit here dining in a absolute barn , surrounded by kids running , pouring soy sauce at a empty table and dipping the napkins in orange juice the waiters do not care and the service is a disgrace!!! Do not think that paying big money for Chinese food means quality and a enjoyable evening. Don't bother!

Oily tasty indulgence. Pros: My folks have been enjoying the take away from Plume for some years now, and they always seem to gravitate towards the special sweet and sour fish, traditional pork belly with Chinese mushrooms, golden sand prawns, and the steamed or West Lake duck. Cons: some of these dishes are quite oily or high in fat - but I suppose there isn't really any other way to have them. Wir: it seems to be a regular for get togethers. Be prepared for that oily feeling though...

Yum cha. Don't ever have yum cha at this place.. Limited choices , food taste bad and unfresh. Go to golden dragon palace or Taipan instead.

Customer service is definitely bad and they dont even know how to manage bookings properly, especially on busy days. Save yourself from being angry and go somewhere else.