Review Malvern Palace - Malvern

Tonight we went to Malvern Palace and unfortunately it was a negative experience. We ordered spring rolls ($8.00), small combination fried rice ($9.50), deep fried squid with spicy salt and pepper ($19.90) and chicken and king prawns on sizzling platter ($19.90). We ordered at the same time as the couple next to us. Our spring rolls arrived first, which were good but a little overcooked. We then had to wait almost an hour for the rest of our food, whereas the table next to us had already gotten all their food. The rest of our food only arrived after my partner went to ask where our dishes were. We then waited another 10 minutes - it would have been nice if the waitress came back to give us an update but she didn't and we were close to walking out during that time. The fried rice and deep fried squid came first. The squid was actually quite sweet, not "spicy salt and pepper", and it wasn't deep fried very well - the batter wasn't great so it ended up being a bit soggy and just oily, leaving us feeling gross after. When the chicken and king prawns arrived, we were very disappointed to see that it was NOT king prawns. There were only about four small little shrimps in there and the chicken pieces were quite sparce too. We understand the restaurant was quite busy tonight and it felt like they were understaffed. Even though the waitresses were friendly, they didn't have great customer service nor were they very professional. When they brought the dishes to our table, they were distracted, always looking away and holding the serving cutlery until we had to ask them to put it down. In the end, we didn't even finish half the dishes because they were really oily and drowned in the sauce (for the sizzling plate dish) and definitely not authentic Vietnamese food. Another couple came and sat down on the table next to us shortly after we had arrived and they were complaining about how long they had to wait as well. It was even more disappointing that when we went to pay, one of the waitresses asked us how our food was and we said "it was ok" - she didn't even acknowledge or listen, she just went straight to ask us what table we were at and to tell us how much the bill was. The food is definitely NOT worth the price and we won't be coming back here again.

On Melbourne cup Eve we dined at the Malvern Palace and were hugely satisfied with the tasty banquet we all enjoyed. Five of us shared an amazing array of food. The staff were very flexible in mixing and matching the banquet from the menu to suit our tastes. The staff were extremely friendly and very helpful. It was very affordable for the area in which we dined. Ross

Always friendly - very authentic Vietnamese cuisine and the dishes always take us back to what’s it like when we were in Vietnam. Can’t go past the stuffed chicken wings everytime we go there! Thank you!

Enjoyed a very nice dinner the other night, great food. Also Cindy made me some delicious rice paper rolls for a function and went out of her way to get them done for me. Such nice people to deal with.

Great Vietnamese with a couple other Asian dishes in there as well. BYO wine which is great for the wallet. This place is great value for a feed, a real local delight. No frills, they're there to feed you and make you happy. Family run.

One star, because I can't put no stars and submit. $9.50 got me a small fried rise. $7.50 got me 10 pieces of thinly cut, over cooked pork. Judging from the 'best dining experience ever', review, I must be an isolated case. So, I'll give them another chance. Sincerely, Still Hungry.

Great menu options and very reasonable delivery cost. The food is tasty, too. Often have to go elsewhere though due to the limited vegetarian options.

Just went for dinner with the kids. Service was prompt, food came out quickly and was really tasty. Lovely family meal at a local place. We'll be back

There was one table with a white cloth right in the window. The table next to us remained filthy throughout our meal. Both waitress clothing was also dirty. The whole experience as bad including the food. It was like going back to the 60's at it worst.

Nice and friendly owner but the food is opposite . Small size and expensive. Plus the food isnt tasty ... very plain. The soup wonton soup is very boring ... wouldnt come back . Thanks .

Our family have been going to this location for about 10 years on a regular basis.  Food is always bought promptly and is of excellent quality.  Cater for all types of food needs (eg. vegans) and no shortage of options on the menu!

lovely restaurant run by a friendly vietnamese family - good, authentic food with reasonable prices for the area! recommendations include their specialty vietnamese rice paper rolls that are have a twist of being wrapped in MINT LEAVES! delicious, especially when paired with their special fried rice.

I love Malvern Palace!!! Me and my family have been going for years and I only just thought to write a review. The sweet and sour pork and the honey chicken are my personal favourites and my favourite entrees are the vegetarian spring rolls and the satay chicken skewers. The lady who owns the place is so kind and even came to my grandmas funeral because we came there so often. I hope this review helps for other people and you go to Malvern Palace.

The menu offers Vietnamese meals as well as the usual Chinese dishes. I opted for the ‘Vietnamese Curry with vegetables and tofu ($17.90)’. This was extremely hot, which made it difficult to taste any traditional flavours.

The food is nice but it isn't Vietnamese food. It's more Chinese. It's not light and refreshing like Vietnamese. First time I've ever had bunh/rice vermicelli come with Bok choy, capsicum, snow peas, large chunks of carrot, baby corn and mushroom. Very disappointing ordering Vietnamese food and getting basically Chinese.

The atmosphere at the restaurant was quite unpersonal and cold. Don't mind that too much though. But the food was barely okay and too expensive for the quality you got. I had some fried pork, my girlfriend had squit. Both of us could not taste what we were eating. Everything, including rice or vegetable mix was a tasteless as well. Disappointing and not worth the $47 we spent on the mains...

This is a local favourite of mine. Try the shredded pork rice paper rolls here, they're delicious and freshly made. I'd recommend ordering one of the sizzling options for a main. Probably give the pho and noodle dishes a miss here though. <br/><br/>The dishes they do well here have kept me coming back for years. Prices are very reasonable, the foods great and the owner, Cindy, is always happy to have a chat with customers.

We have been ordering take away, or coming in to Malvern Palace for over 10 years now.  The food is always great and the service by Cindy is warm and welcoming - actually I don't think she ever forgets a face.  You will never be disappointed by the food which is always good and is excellent value for money

Food: The food here is fine, not sure how authentic Vietnamese but does taste good. The chilli oil is specially tasty. The 12$ lunch deals are quite good and cheap. Quantity is decent, not too less and not overly filling. No complaints.<br/><br/>Service: The lady at the counter is always smiling and food arrives within a few minutes. However,  we had a not so nice an experience with their service.  We arrived and were allocated a table which was towards the back of the restaurant. Given that the restaurant was almost empty with almost all tables empty, we asked to change the table to another one with more light. The lady just said no citing reasons that if more patrons arrive then it will be difficult or something on similar lines( we could not gather all her words). We were quite taken aback. Anyways we went back to our table and even when we finished our meal and walked out, almost all tables were still empty. Wonder what all the fuss was about.<br/>One of my friends asked for chilli oil the lady got him some in a tiny bowl. I asked for some chilli oil myself and she just said.... you guys share! Only after I flatly refused did she go and get me some chilli oil in that tiny bowl. There are little things but go a long way in customer satisfaction or in this case dissatisfaction.<br/><br/>Ambiance: This is where I would give no stars at all. The heater is never on during winter and the whole place is just freezing cold. You have to sit and eat with heavy jackets on which is not so comfy. The exact opposite in summer when its boiling hot and no cooling. The tables at the back of the restaurant smell of dampness and there is very little natural light reaching tables which are not right next to the glass wall. They do not switch lights on during the day so if you go there for lunch on a cold winters day and end up getting seat at the back (which you WILL NOT be allowed to change) then you have to have your meal in a damp smelly dimly lit frozen atmosphere.

Went there not expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. Good quality food and desserts. Nice staff. Nothing outstanding overall but they're not trying to be Flower Drum. A good solid VFL player, in footy parlance 👍🏻

Our cheerful, never miss local. We are regulars at Malvern palace,and the rice noodles with vegies, chicken and sauce has been a firm favourite with our girls since they were tiny. Cindy and her staff always make us feel like family.

This is a real review the good ones are fake. These people are not vietnamese for starters, the pho we got was the worst vietnamese soup I have ever had in 37 years of eating vietnamese food. The spring rolls where tiny. I mean who puts lumps of cauliflower and broccoli in a sliced beef soup , tasteless bullshit. What a joke. Only a matter of time before we see a for lease sign on that window. 😝😝😝 <br/>

Just picked up takeaway from tis restaurant. Probably the worst takeaway we have ever eaten. Absolutely no flavour in any of the dishes- sugar cane prawns  are definitey processed fish cakes, Pork spring rolls had abcolutley no meat in them and Chicken and seasonable vegetables and Beef with Chilli and Lemongrass bland, bland, bland. A total rip off. I would rate it as minus 5 stars - doesn't deserve even one star.

Surprised that this place has received such good ratings. Generally not too critical of my food but this place was very average. Went here with a group of friends when we were all pretty hungry and walked out still pretty hungry. Needless to say the serving sizes were very poor, and the food itself was pretty stock standard and not overly rich in flavour. Glad I got the noodle dish because the rice dishes looked worse and seemed to be a few pieces of meat chucked on a plain bed of rice. Perhaps I've just been treated to good Vietnamese/Asian cuisine over the years that I've been so critical, but it seems the lack of competition in the area may have altered locals' expectations of quality Vietnamese food.

Loved it, food was great, good size dishes to share, good service, my only complaint was it was quite cold in the restaurant. Apart from that, I really enjoyed it!

What a disaster and deceitful restaurant. The food is atrocious and does not resemble any Vietnamese food I have had. Certainly not authentic as they claim on the window. Service was OK, but the food tasteless. Enough said...

A Pleasant Lunch. Had a pleasant lunch in this restaurant that I hadn't been in for quite a while and previously used mostly for home delivered take away meals. The food is not exclusively Vietnamese but includes a range of Chinese and other Asian food as well. We had a mixture consisting of entrees of spring rolls and cole slaw with pork and prawns and mains of Mongolian beef, Chicken with a crab sauce and chilli prawns all accompanied by rice. The prices were a bit higher than in Victoria Street etc but not outrageous. The servings were quite generous except for the spring rolls with a serve consisting of only four of these. The service was friendly and efficient, the food was quite delicious and the restaurant had a lovely ambience with table cloths and attractive decor.

Discusting food court food. Ordered a chicken and pork takeaway vermacilli noodle salad "bun" - had 3 peices of what I could only describe as fat balls without pork and full of raw onion. Had to wait 45 minutes for it also.. Would not recommend this restaurant.

Pleasant surprise. We had been for a meal here a couple of years ago and were not impressed. However last nights meal was excellent - the honey prawns were the best I've had anywhere!. Friendly, attentive staff helprd to make this a very pleasant night out and we will definitely return

It is quick with its food and at a reasonable price. And the staff are very nice and the lady even remembers what I order ever time. Once even Matt Preston came there to celebrate <br/>his birthday.

Great Family Run Restaurant. Been coming to this place for the last 2 years. Fantastic food and service everytime. Love the salt and pepper squid.

Worst dinner we have ever had. Ordered take away and had beef with seasonal veggies and chicken with lemongrass and ginger. Both dishes tasted worse than food court food which has been sitting there for 4 hours. Both dishes tasted the same and was flavourless, bland and awful.<br/>Will never return and would not recommend to anyone. Better off going hungry

Delivery from here was very speedy. Delicious, fresh food- especially the prawns which are often a bit touch and go at Vietnamese restaurants. Rice paper rolls are excellent. Had food from here twice and both time have been very impressed.

Disappointing. Not even close to some of the better places on Victoria st. No zing.

We go here regularly & have never been disappointed, great food & service. Try the beef pho & bo la lop - yum!

Great family meal. The food was excellent and the service was keen.<br/><br/>We took our two young children and the staff were very accommodating. We had the rice paper roles followed by the beef Pho (excellent) and and the fish with ginger. <br/><br/>I'm really glad we stumbled across this find

Went mid week to try this place out and was really looking forward to it as there is very limite vietnamese in the area. We ordered prawn rice paper rolls which were fresh and tasty. We then shared fish in shallots and ginger and prawns in chilli. The prawns were soggy and limp and the fish was ok, not hugely tasty or satisfying and at $20 a dish, they did not measure up. The tablecloth was very badly stained and all in all it was a shame really.

How refreshing!. We wanted a cheap-and-cheerful Monday night dining experience tonight... and we got it! What a fabulous little spot. Mid-winter yet the place was warm, inviting and cheerful. Alright, the decor wasn't that inspiring, but the service was friendly and attentive without being overdone, BYO was most welcome, the food was quickly delivered and, all importantly, flavoursome! So what more could you want for a cheap and cheerful...oh yeah.. just 'round the corner from home!! So super! We highly recommend Malvern Palace!

THE YARRA DMZ. Vietnamese restaurants in the inner city south of the river are few and far between. The Yarra seems to form a DMZ until you get out to Springvale. Good news then that Malvern Palace provides some nice Vietnamese food in a resto with no TVs, neon lights, or formica tables in sight. Add to this a warm welcome, polite and friendly staff, tablecloths (yes really) and nice lighting you know you are not in Victoria St! We will definitely be back - & it's BYO (& licensed).

Beautiful Authentic Vietnamese. The menu was fantastic, plenty of vegetarian options. Entree spring rolls were beautiful. Mains were fresh and plenty of seafood in the seafood dishes. The staff were very friendly and the price was good value overall. BYO was an added plus. Will definitely come here again.

Yum!. ..and the lady remembers my order!!