Decor fairly dated - reminisce of classic 80’s Chinese restaurant but don’t let that fool you. The food is good. Pay particular attention to the lamb ribs and items on the Chinese menu. Better value as a takeaway rather than dine in. Crispy chicken was a tad dry. Hot pot dishes were done well. Service was excellent.
After all the reviews, we still decided to go and try. The staff were friendly, and dim sum is delicious. With vouchers, we go the deal of $39 for all 8 courses of dim sum. We will surely come back for weekend family meal.
A friend and I came to this restaurant after watching a movie. We ordered a prawn with vegetable dish, and a combination noodle dish. Both were very tasty and loaded with lots of prawns. Will be back for sure!
Had a delectable Chinese meal at Purple Sands recently. Ordered the special tofu, free range steamed chicken, wasabi mayo prawns and pork neck with Chinese broccoli. All the 4 dishes were delicious. The head waitress was friendly and service was good.
Come here regularly and will continue to do so
The service had been excellent lately. Food great, especially the fried rice, shumai and chilli beef!
Busy vibe tonight and lots of Chinese there, a good sign imo :)
I noticed that there has been some serious variation in the range of reviews over recent times. We went there with our dear friends with some trepidation because of this, but they reassured us that they have been there many times and enjoyed the food. They did say that they were aware of the dragon lady.
The service was excellent and very friendly. Recommendations from our friends and from the staff were also great. Crispy chicken and duck with tarot and the prawn and ginger dumplings were a standout. Recommended. May and Amy were lovely.
Great food and great service! The homemade tofu and the special pork ribs are so tasty. If you have a bigger group then you can try the smashed ginger free range chicken. Will totally go back.
One of the best and most economical Asian restaurants in Camberwell. Uses non frozen prawns is always a good start for any restaurant! Great duck of all varieties, and really friendly staff. Only draw back is they are a tad slow, but probably because they have so much business. No brainer as our regular Chinese takeaway. Never close!!!
I have never had a problem with my order being taken so not sure about the other comments and the lady at front of house is always welcoming and the staff efficient.
Tried one of their new dishes on the menu which was chicken with fried breadcrumbs...very tasty dish maybe a tad less salt for my taste but was very good. Their ginger and meat prawns are always good, always reliable and friendly service.
Ate there tonight with the family. Good food and we found the staff to be very friendly, even got the recipe for the pork belly. My youngest said it's one of the best dinners she's ever had. Not cheap but quality food, everything we ordered was delicious.
We loved the food and service! We used to dine here but hadn't been in the last 4 years. Last Saturday we came back for a casual family dinner. We didn't make a reservation but manage to get a table. Although we haven't been back for a few years the food and service are still as good as ever. Highly recommended.
Delectable dim sum. The decor looks a little dated but the service was fantastic and the prices reasonable. Bonus for being right next to the Rivoli cinema so a great choice for movie night.
Nice dumplings and good service. The prawn and choice ones are especially delicious as is the mandarin beef and the fried rice. Very rice Chinese restaurant and nice and close to the cinema
food was above average and arrived quickly ... only gripe was when we arrived it was busy but we were told it's going to be a 5-minute wait ... we waited out in the cold for almost 20 minutes until we went in and were told our table was ready ... they either forgot to come out to get us or they couldn't be bothered ... no apologies were made ... typical Chinese restaurant without the friendly service unless you dine there every other night or every week
Ive been coming here for a year or two the dishes never disappoint! The quality of food is very good compared to other neighborhood Chinese restaurants. Saying so, I'm not sure if they changed the chefs but when I went there on Thursday night I felt that the taste was not how it usually tastes. Some dishes were more salty than usual too which was the downside.
I will come back here again and hopefully it can taste the same as before. Overall a great place to eat.
Good quality suburban Chinese restaurant. Friendly and efficient service so it's perfect for a quick bite before or after the movies next door. The menu has all the expected favourites and a good selection of Dim sum.
After spending a month away from Melbourne I was looking forward to diving back into our rich food scene. (Forgetting how spoilt for choice we are) went back to a local favourite that my family has been visiting since I was 4 years old (all the way back when they were in Templestowe). This place is still run by the same owners and still serving delicious authentic food. Whether you are dropping by for a quick meal before you go to the movies at rhe Rovoli next door; a romantic dinner for two or even a group this place never fails to deliver. I particularly enjoy the bean in XO sauce dish aswell as the whole fried flounder topped with chilli and garlic. If you haven't been before make sure you go and definitely book as this place will fill up!
Definitely one of my go to dim sum places, heck I even drive out to the country to go here (it's almost in Far Kew!). A lot of ordering of dishes is done with a pencil and a tick-box menu, which in my opinion beats sitting at the table just before the re-entry to the kitchen and having your choice of cold tentacles or jellyfish with ducktongue as everything you want is long gone to the preceding tables!
Service is not particularly friendly, and the price isn't cheap. That being said the dumplings are very good, and there is a wide selection. Other dim sum staples are also done very well.
Both the exterior and interior are looking increasingly tired. On the upside its located right next to a dry cleaners, so you can get those fresh stains freshly pressed out of your nice new shirt while you catch a flick at the Rivoli next door. Parking on the side streets is not too bad.
A great dim sum experience, but points off for unfriendliness/tired decor/price.
Very typical Melbourne Chinese restaurant. All the usual dishes on the menu, friendly service and reasonably priced. Interior is getting quite tired - as with most traditional Chinese restaurants in the area. Okay for a quick meal, but I think these 'typical' Chinese restaurants are on the way out, in favour of more modern, fresh and innovative takes on other Asian cuisines. Nevertheless, a nice meal.
Many Asian-east-side-Melbournians will remember the first Purple Sands in its original location in Doncaster. Though it has come and gone at a number of locations in various interpretations, its reputation for Cantonese cuisine remains an institution in itself. At its current location in close proximity to the Rivoli Cinemas, the décor of this small cosy restaurant is one of muted purple and simple oriental elegance. Manned personally by the owner (also seasoned c
My number one go to :). Having eaten at many Chinese restaurants over the years, Purple Sands is my number one go to. Beautifully fresh cooked food every time - my number one favourite: BBQ Pork w/seasonal vegetables and cashew. Second favourite: diced eye fillet (love the sauce too) w/vegetables and cashew. Love their sweet chicken and corn soup, fried rice, and spring rolls. Ahhh!!! Love this place so much!!!
The lunch box of Dry chilli chicken and fried rice is mind blowing. I actually carried a lunch box to India for my dad cos it's his favorite. The food and service is world class
Tasty takeaway. Having been warned by another reviewer that their lunch/dinner boxes were more rice than meat/vegetables/sauce, I wasn't surprised at the rice/meal ratio when I opened my box. However, the amount of rice for the main dish was double the amount I'd ever eat and the main component was more than sufficient a serving so I looked at is them being overly generous with rice rather than stingy on the main ingredients.
The quality was top notch, gorgeous meat, beautiful flavours, the only uneaten thing left on my plate (apart from a stack of rice) was the celery because I can't stand eating it cooked. The dinner box option where you get a smaller serving of main dish plus rice is a welcome one for a single take away diner, if I ever buy Chinese takeaway I take home enough for two and begrudgingly eat it reheated the following day tasting somewhat mediocre.
I can't wait to return and try more dishes.
Fantastic yum cha!!!. Incredibly delicious yum cha, high quality dumplings, friendly and prompt service. best dishes were ginger dumplings and fried eggplant! clean non greasy Chinese food! highly recommend
Yum cha lovers, look no further!. The best in Melbourne, for sure and when compared to the big names who serve very mediocre food at extremely high prices and ridiculous corkages, Purple Sands is a real winner. Food, service, ambience are all excellent for a Chinese restaurant.
Definitely good. I seldom find a Chinese restaurant that can be one of my favorites, but Purple Sands certainly is: excellent food, very good service, elegant enough without being imposing. The yum cha is possibly the best in Melbourne. The added bonus of BYO wine, together with full license, makes it very popular with discerning people.
I finally found a really good yum cha restaurant!. YES, IT IS! Purple Sands is offering a really good yum cha at a reasonable price, with nice variety and excellent service. Licensed and BYOB as well.The ambience is elegant enough and the place is very relaxing. Having travelled al over the world for a considerable part of my life, I have tried many oriental restaurants and having lived in Melbourne (on and off) for 35 years, I often used to go to Chinatown for yum cha. What that area has become now is appalling: the food is ugly and the service worse. The various suburban yum cha restaurants (see Eastern suburbs and Docklands) are not up to scratch either, even if some of them charge $10 for corkage (!!!!) and unreal prices for dozinal food.
I can definitely recommend Purple Sands. I will certainly go back there. Those that wrote negative reviews about it may not have taste buds.
Food was great. Perhaps a little pricey for Chinese for the portion size.
Delicious and clean Chinese food. And it's pretty cheap for the location as well.
I've been going to Purple Sands for a few years now, I'm in love with this place. The staff are so friendly and attentive, the food is delicious fresh and quick plus reasonably priced which is a bonus. I normally go here before or after seeing a movie next door it's the perfect night or afternoon out! Definitely recommend purple sands!!!
My favourite Chinese in Eastern Melbourne. Dim Sum superb, terrific service, I held my father's post wake celebration here we loved it so much!
Really good authentic cantonese food! Great bbq pork buns and if you are there, ask for the salted egg chicken ribs!
Very good solid performer. Before we booked for dinner I read some on line reviews. As usual there was a wide range of opinions, mostly good. We were a party of seven and as such were able to get a good selection to try. as always the food was quite good but not brilliant. what I really like about this place is a sense of old world service. I would now regard purple sands as a very nice place to eat where you will be assured of good service.
Love it!. Have been coming here regularly for about 6 years for their excellent selection of dumplings. Admittedly, I haven't tried that much of their other offerings, but what I have tried has been pretty darn tasty. But those steamed seafood dumplings, they just keep us coming back for more! Staff are attentive and friendly. Highly recommend.
Great food!. Despite what has been previously suggested, Purple Sands is not under new management. However, last night the staff were excellent, the hot and sour soup brilliant and the duck sensational. What more can I say!!
Purple sands. My favorite Yum Cha
Not a great atmosphere but the food makes up for it
Good chinese. At the last minute decided to go here for dinner last night, we both ordered the $40 banquet and added san choy bow as an additional starter. The waiter said that they had run out of the curry puffs (included in the banquet as one of the starters) and said they would be happy to include the san choy bow in the banquet as a replacement. The staff were lovely and the food delicious, more expensive than your standard chinese, but this is to be expected in Camberwell! Would recommend for others and will be back again soon!
Drycleaning and Duck. Who would have thought. A reasonable and often forgotten Chinese hidden between the Rivoli Cinema and a Dry Cleaner can be found decent chinese where first generation chinese generally out number the typical camberwell (blond, black dress and BMW) set 3 to 1, which is usually a good metric. Duck pancakes will not disappoint.
A bit pricey but Yum. Been here for quite a few times and always love the food! a bit pricey but we still go back because of the food, not to forget the complimentary dessert, love the pudding!
like the ambience too, it does not portray the usual chinese reatuarant, bright and loud - it is dimmed and comfortable.
Yum. Food was great. I highly recommend the pig trotter and mustard steak. Will definately go again! Price is not bad
The best in the area!. From the deliciously juicy san choi bao to our cripsy Peking duck and extravagant abalone dish. The dinner at purple sands was to die for. We opted for ala carte over the banquet, and with the recommendations from the helpful owner we were treated with quality dish after dish. Service was prompt and efficient. The dining area is quieter then other Chinese restaurants we've been too, that can either be a good or bad thing depending on what you are use to.
Have yet to try the Yum Cha lunch but will def make the trip back to try it one day.
I think is alright for me. Well, been there more than ten times. The renovations were classy, but service was a bit slow. Food quality was slightly above average but I think the price was reasonable.
The $10 lunch sweet and sour pork was good - just like I expected the dish to be - 4 stars. The $15 BBQ pork/duck was so so - 3 stars? Quiet during late lunch hour.
I have ordered from purple sands many times via Menu Log. ( thusly I'm unable to speak to face-to-face customer service)
Each time the food has been well presented; great care was taken in the packaging. It arrived quickly (still piping hot)
The food was excellent, fresh well prepared , I would highly recommend anything with prawns.
The reviews on here talking about the food, are so far removed from my experience I suspect some kind of shenanigans.
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