Review Annam - Melbourne

We have our first experience here and definitely wont be our last. Fantastic and tasty food, large selection of dishes, large size portions, freshly cooked. The service was great and all staff seemed happy to be there and service the patrons. Prices of food is also great whether you want just snacks or large portions...Great place..

Great atmosphere although the food was much to be desired... Stand out dishes were there the chicken dumplings and beef neck. The oysters where super small and at $5 a pop, not worth it. The barramundi fillet was dry and the pork belly hotpot was tough, near inedible. The later was recommended as well. Sadly will not return. --Update... The didn't charge us for the pork belly hotpot. Thanks

Asian fusion. Have been here so many times and always thoroughly enjoyed it. Relaxed and casual atmosphere serving high quality food. Polished drink list, extra points for the cocktails. Service is efficient and friendly.

Went with a group of friends. It's ok, I have a view on these fusion asian places. Great place to catch up with friends, have a meal and hang. But you wouldn't go here for the food. Food is just slightly above average. The pork belly best of the bunch of 5 mains we ordered.

Awesome Vietnamese restaurant in the CBD! We sat at the counter by the kitchen and so got to see the dishes being made and sent out. Everything looked amazing! We had the Bo la lot, chicken ribs, snapper dumplings, and tea smoked duck salad and all were delicious! Definitely want to got back to try more of the dishes!

Went to have a early dinner. Great customer service, the waiter realised we are in a hurry and and made sure the food came out faster. Easy menue, LOVED the food. Fresh salads, herbs. Shared ANNAM'S BEEF PHO, it was really nice.

Don't be fooled by their advertising saying it's Asian hawker style food as their price is somewhat within the semi-fine dining. Most of the food we ordered are great such as the pipis and the jungle curry but others like the grilled corn and grilled fish are average. Be careful when ordering chilli because they will charge $5 for it which dampens our overall expectations of the establishment. Food - 7 Service - 7 Vibe - 8 Price - $$$

Had a quick try of the menu at Annam and loved what we had. The ox tail sasparilla dumplings are beautiful, rich and perfect with the sauce. We loved he Crab banh cuon, it was delicate and delicious and the coconut roasted chicken was beautiful- tender salty & lemony just yum. Gorgeous fit out, great wine list and switched on floor staff mean we will return again soon to sample more from the menu.

Let me start by saying I want half points. Tonight was a two and a half point experience, the food, the service and the ambience. The space needs work sonically, there are some areas you actually DON’T want to sit in, some areas where you have no idea what is being delivered, you simply can’t hear the wait staff explanation. The service was really messy, wines dispensed as massive over pours and under pours to our table as probably the biggest issue but not the only issue, strangely the staff seemed more focused on clearing empty wine glasses than ‘selling’ wine, and the food on the banquet menu (that you’d think would be a carefully chosen showcase) was unfortunately lacklustre. There’s a lot of buzz about this room at the moment but unfortunately none of it coming from me.

Love it. We were lucky enough to dine at Annam twice over the Christmas/New year period, so we tried almost all their dishes. The menu is varied and caters to a variety of tastes, the staff are fun and knowledgeable and the wine list is amazing. I dream about those oxtail dumplings and the chicken jungle curry....oh and the eggplant hot pot... Thanks guys! Can’t wait to come back!

Opened 6 months ago and have watched this restaurant getting busier. Went Friday night without a booking and was pleasantly accommodated. Very welcoming and service spot on! 5 of us weren’t disappointed. The lamb ribs and pork belly were standouts, in fact everything ordered was delicious. Would recommend without a doubt. Give it a try.

The restaurant was really nice and the staff extra friendly. We were 15 minutes late but it was not an issue. For the area we were in it was reasonabley priced but the servings a tad small. The flavours were amazing and they made up for the small serves . Kingfish carpaccio yum yum yum . Beef with betel leaf tongue numbingly superb.

A great place for a catch up with friends... be casual and be patient... the servers try their best!! The food is amazing and inventive without being pretentious... Vietnamese Street food with a twist...

We really enjoyed our night at Annam. We had the banquet for 4 and the food was interesting, full of flavor, nice textures and beautifully presented. I felt the banquet dessert was delicious (slivers of some kind of fruit in coconut milk maybe?) but extremely light on and for the banquet price an additional dish should be included. The acoustics were bad for 3 on our table and all 4 couldn’t understand the menu explanations so we didn’t actually know what we were eating! The wait staff while friendly read way too fast and were not clear. Maybe a daily-printed banquet menu could be offered. Staff were extremely prompt and attentive to clearing dishes and pouring wine etc. An overall lovely experience and hope to come back again soon.

Love this place! Unlike any other Vietnamese food I've had - light, fresh and really sophisticated. You can tell they really care about what they do. The Oxtail dumplings are to die for! Also, don't leave without trying the waffle-coated fried ice cream and young coconut desserts. Yummmm

Absolutely love this place! The restaurant has a great vibe and amazing serivce to match. The food... incredible, loved everything that hit our table. Highly recommend!

Wow! What a delight, so much thought, love and care has gone into the dishes. Surprised and delighted by the dishes, a real treat was the charcoal cuttle fish, so different. The sausages were such a symphony of flavours. Many thanks for your amazing hospitality Jerry Mai. Such a special memory to take away from Melbourne

We popped into a place we hadn’t been as we walked past and discovered a true delight. Terrific staff, beautifully presented explosions of flavour that delighted our palettes. A lovely experience and we will be back very soon.

Excellent service and hotpot for special Mondays! Staff was so attentive, friendly and helpful. We got a complimentary dessert as we came in right after it opens (5pm) and there was a filming going on at that time so there was no background music and the atmosphere was a little bit awkward. Anyways, definitely come back at another time to try their other signature dishes as well �

Had a great night taking clients to dinner. They were all really impressed. The set menu was so well put together. Great flavours and plenty to eat. Michael did a fantastic job looking after us. Will get back here as soon as possible.

Had a quick try of the menu at Annam and loved what we had. The ox tail sasparilla dumplings are beautiful, rich and perfect with the sauce. We loved he Crab banh cuon, it was delicate and delicious and the coconut roasted chicken was beautiful- tender salty & lemony just yum. Gorgeous fit out, great wine list and switched on floor staff mean we will return again soon to sample more from the menu.

A great experience - food/service/wine were all top shelf. Good spot to meet after a show.

Our waiter was very knowledgeable and his suggestions were spot on. Loved the skate with lychees and the sarsaparilla oxtail dumplings. The young coconut jelly dessert was divine.

Fabulous, cutting edge decor. Love the industrial vibe softened with polished wooden tabletops. And the food was great too! Super fresh ingredients transformed.

Amazing food, staff is incredible, food is divine, had the best time, plus my vegan friend said best vegan dumplings they have ever tried!

This place is everything. Great range of vegetarian options and the food was absolutely delicious! The mock beef dumplings were mind-blowing. Staff were wonderful & very friendly. Loved the decor & vibe of the whole place. Fried ice cream is unmissable! Definitely recommend.

Asian fushion in a convenient location. Atmosphere was fantastic, service was quick and food was delicious. Highly recommended and would def go back.

The Sarsaparilla dumplings were delicious but our favorite dish was one we didn’t order and received mistakenly: duck fried rice, a spicy flavour bomb. Heat cocktails and wine list too.

Make no mistake: the food is very good. The oxtail dumplings were a highlight and the beef curry was as succulent and tender as any I’ve had - though its flavour was a little subtle. The biggest problems here are two. First, it’s noisy. This problem is insoluble. The second is the service. It’s as poor as I’ve seen in years. Staff were polite but slow and sloppy. Who takes away unfinished food without asking first? Annam does. It took 15 minutes for our first drinks to arrive and another 10 minutes after that to be given a men. Tl;dr - the food is very good but the service and ambience are bad.

Firstly, love the cocktails and ambience. It hit the right mood. Despite being a Friday evening, we didn’t have to wait too long for service and our orders were fairly prompt. On top of that the staff were amazing and friendly. <br/><br/>Our food experience was built around the Big Trouble banquet. With so much on offer, we were excited to try as many items as possible. In leading up to this, we have heard and read about Jerry Mai's CV, especially working with David Thompson. That was instrumental in our decision to choose Annam.<br/><br/>Oxtail dumplings - Very bold, beefy flavour. Interesting concept. Delicious but for a dumpling, we felt it was a bit too dense per bite.<br/><br/>Chicken ribs - You can’t fault deep fried chicken and it went well with the sriracha mayo.<br/>Tea smoked duck salad - Good work. It was very refreshing. Loved the crispy bits in between.<br/><br/>Squid ink cuttlefish - Looks interesting on the menu but wasn’t too sure what flavours to expect. Other than aesthetics, is there meant to be a ‘fishier’ taste with squid ink?<br/><br/>Fried rice and salmon curry - Both dishes had very strong individual flavours. Would have preferred plain steamed rice to complement the curry. Being an oily fish, it competed with the taste of the curry which by itself was quite rich. A white fish would have been more harmonious. Pretty much there were three strong characters fighting to be the champion.<br/><br/>Wagyu bo kho, stir-fried greens and steamed rice - Nice beef stew and this time complemented with the plain rice. However wouldn’t be able to tell if ordinary gravy beef was used. The term wagyu conjugates tender, succulent meat inter-layered with fat that just melts in your mouth. Was it necessary to mention ‘wagyu’? We were sold on beef.<br/><br/>All in all, for a flagship restaurant of a chef with such an illustrious career and boasting about being Melbourne's go-to for Vietnamese cuisine, we felt disappointed. What was offered didn't do justice. In the context of a premium-class restaurant in a city with a strong Vietnamese culinary presence, we struggled to find Annam’s gastronomical value proposition. Fried chicken ribs, fried rice, fish curry, beef stew and stir-fried greens - standard fare at any student-friendly Chinese / Vietnamese restaurant along Swanston or Exhibition Street. <br/><br/>Would have really loved to say we had a memorable evening at Annam and kept on raving about a particular dish, e.g. Red Spice Road’s pork belly or Supernormal’s lobster roll, etc. Alas that wasn’t the case for us. Anyway hope the above is constructive.

Unfortunately a really disappointing experience food-wise.<br/><br/>My dad and step-mum were visiting from Vietnam so I brought them here hoping for a taste of Australian-fusion, something they couldn't get back home.<br/><br/>We ordered:<br/>-squid-ink cuttlefish: batter was extremely thick and salty and the cuttlefish itself was chewy and overcooked.<br/>-bone marrow (which I had high hopes for since dad loves marrow): again overwhelmingly salty so no other favors could come through and the donut was stale<br/>-salmon curry: the fish was well-cooked, but again, everything was too salty.<br/><br/>Service was slow, even though the restaurant wasn't very busy, maybe only 4 tables, I felt sorry for the 2 ladies at the front of house, they seemed a bit rushed off their feet. Our waitress was very nice when she did come around to check on us, and even gave us a free dessert when I explained our disappointment, which was appreciated, but honestly, at this point, we just wanted to pay and get out :(

Such a delicious meal, each dish had its own unique and tasty flavour! Make sure to come during the week and start with drinks and snacks at the bar until 7, $1 ribs and dumplings YUM!! Such a great and inviting atmosphere and really lovely staff! Great experience:)!

Annam is modern, with an open kitchen and space that tends towards noisy however the great food was a distraction. A Vietnamese sparkler at the top of the city certainly knows how to deliver on flavour when it comes to their offerings. It seems as though this should be a fun place however initially, service seemed a tad detached though warmed up as the day progressed.

A great place for a Friday night out with friends. Staff very friendly but sadly half of our dishes were disappointing. Oxtail dumplings were alright but the smoked duck was the highlight. Very well balanced and enjoyable. Highly recommend if you love your duck and fresh salads. The salmon curry was really poor. There was no seasoning whatsoever so it was basically some nicely cooked salmon in a sea of coconut milk- none of the aromatics in the curry came through. The tofu and mushroom dish is not worth almost $30. This also lacked seasoning and unfortunately most of it was left behind because nobody enjoyed it. The pork hock is another star attraction. The apple accompaniment to the pork balances out the dish perfectly. If all the dishes were as good as the best 2 I would have gladly awarded 5 stars but unfortunately too many dishes missed the mark for us.

asian fusion just beyond chinatown<br/>🍗 chicken ribs & siracha mayo<br/>🐟 kingfish ceviche<br/>🥟 ox tail dumplings<br/>🐮 grilled wagyu betel leaf<br/>🏚: Annam<br/>📍: Little Bourke St, Melbourne<br/>.<br/>————————————————————<br/>.<br/>📝: Bringing together elements of her cultural history and her professional career in a tasty package just outside of Melbourne’s Chinatown, Jerry Mai created Annam, serving fusion Southeast Asian hawker-style food in a space that fits somewhere between casual and fine diner.<br/><br/>The vibe changes from a more casual luncheon during the day to a more fine dine slash high table bar with dimly lit lighting by night. The atmosphere’s perfect for most occasions, and not the mention the food, it’s just perfect for any meal of any day.<br/>.<br/>❤️: Taking flavors from her experience with Vietnamese, Thai and Cambodian cuisines, Jerry has created a selection of tasty menus of interesting and tasty dishes designed to share.<br/><br/>Our favorites that heroed the night go to the small and dumpling dishes. The signature Chicken Ribs with Siracha Mayo. I can’t even explain. The perfectly fried wings with perfectly crispy skin on the outside is so juicy as you bite into it. What can be more satisfying? Well, it’s that ultimate mayo siracha dip. I’m not even going to try to explain how good it was. It’s you job to try it.<br/><br/>On the lunch menu, the Wagyu Betel Leaf was just as fragrant. Definitely a must try. You wouldn’t believe how well the spice was incorporated into the sausage while retaining the smell and quality of beef so well.<br/><br/>From the three options of dumplings, the Oxtail Dumplings won.<br/>————————————————————<br/>.<br/>.<br/>.<br/>#instafood #restaurant #foodstagram #foodporn #food #eat #hungry #starving #foodie #yum #yummy #delicious #vacation #cafe #travel #holiday #vietnam #night #finedine #chinesefood #vietnamesefood #thailand #melbourne #australia #dinner #wine #fusion #thaifood #saturday #weekend

Every time a patron comes or goes, the great wooden sliding door is dragged open and a gust of cold air rushes in up Little Bourke Street to chill you in your seat. Service is friendly yet indifferent: good luck getting anyone to clear your plates and offer you a second drink. Leaving these criticisms aside, the food is really, really, *really* good. Piping hot, fragrant, spicy, flavoursome. So, come for the food. And keep your jacket on.

Last night I went to Annam as part of a group of 3. We just made it in time for a round of happy hour drinks then we moved to our table. We chose to not do the $70 a head banquet but make our own banquet. <br/><br/>Summer salad - so good! Highly recommend it <br/>Ox Tail dumplings - must have!<br/>Duck in lettuce cups - would definitely order this again <br/>Pork hock - yes yes yes <br/>Beef neck - really great flavour with lots of Asian salad <br/><br/>We then shared 1 serve of the baked peaches and sorbet. <br/><br/>$70 a head inc a few drinks each. <br/><br/>Everything was brilliant! I will definitely be back.

My first time going to a vietnamese restaurant. It was very busy at lunchtime. They did well with the service, though. The waiters were fast and informative, they gave details about the menu. The first one that I ordered was the squid ink cuttlefish. It was basically a battered cuttlefish. It was really salty, too salty for my liking, and there wasn’t any distinct squid ink taste. The next one was the oxtail dumplings. It had a lot of fillings inside. The meat was tender and flavourful. The size of the dumplings were quite big. The main that I ordered was the specials. It was a whole fish with rice paper rolls and sides. It was very interesting, I got to make my own rice paper rolls. However, it took too long, and I ended up eating them separately. The fish itself was quite ok, wasn’t anything special. The sauce was pretty tasty, though. Overall, Annam was just ok, it wasn’t bad, but I certainly don’t look forward on going back there anytime soon.

Went for Lunch on a quiet Saturday.<br/>Ordered squid ink cutter fish for a starter. <br/>Very crispy and tasty. Served with a lemon wedge. Might have needed a dipping sauce?<br/>Chicken salad was delicious with great balance of flavours.<br/>I personally thought the fish sauce was a touch heavy but it was a fresh crispy and satisfying.<br/>Our main was the caramelised pork hock served with banh tieu. This was well thought out. The banh tieu was a great carrier of the herbs and meat that came off the bone nicely.<br/>Would have like more variety of herbs then the usual common mint and rau ram.<br/>Overall I really like this restaurant. <br/>PS the bill came out in a very nice and stylish luck red packet envelope. Well thought out!

A great find dinning place on little Bourke Street, it has modern Vietnamese food and the service was really great with very knowledgeable wait staff who help you in deciding the food and drinks, the food was fantastic and presented really well, a must visit place.

I think my expectations was too high.<br/><br/>Food was average. Service was poor in the sense that finished dishes was left on the table for awhile. After our main course was finished no wait staff approach us to clean the table or offer of desert menu. At the end we had to ask for the bill after waiting for over 25 minutes.<br/><br/>So overall not a good food experience.

Amazing!<br/>Date night with the hubby and we were both blown away by this place. First time here so we got the set menu and we loved everything that came out. Ox tail dumplings were my favourite but the barramundi dish was also amazing. The food was unique without being intimidating but overall just really tasty!<br/>Dessert was also outstanding.<br/>Atmosphere was great, spacious and interesting (loved the projected film on the wall). Buzzing but not so loud that i couldn’t enjoy conversation with my partner. <br/>Service was faultless and overall very friendly. <br/>Really great value too for the amount and quality that you get- can’t recommend high enough.

Walked in on a Saturday night without a booking and were lucky to grab a spot on the communal table in front of the busy kitchen. Very good friendly service staff. Fresh and tasty modern Vietnamese food , perfect for sharing. Loved the sautéed pea shoots. Nice concise wine list. Recommend

Wait staff lovely, food was just ok. The menu didn't really explain the dishes well. "Hot and sour" broth was sweet and not spicy. The chicken dumplings tasted like pork. The chicken ribs are battered and deep fried (not mentioned in menu) however they were delicious!!

Had work lunch here today. Great ambiance and delicious food. The twice cooked chicken was juicy and one of my colleague was very impressed with the jungle curry. The other colleagues were very pleased with their jackfruit smoothies. Very glad I decided to try this place having seen it featured on SBS Chef Line, it certainly didn’t disappoint and looking forward to return for dinner soon.

My dad was actually the one who wanted to come here, as he saw the chef on a SBS tv show. I must say he made a good suggestion, as we all loved the food. We had the ox tail dumplings, the mushroom salad, the barramundi, the pork hock, prawn spring rolls and ba la lot. My fave was the pork hock, as it was paired with my fave asian bread bun (ham jin beng - sorry if that’s not how you spell it) i used to eat as a kid. Would definitely make another trip here 👌🏼

3.5 star ⭐️ <br/><br/>I am in two minds about this place. On one hand some of the food were really really amazing and the service from the manager is great, on the other hand some of the food was so-so and overall the food was a bit exxy.<br/><br/>Let me clarify. So we decided against the feed me menu and went for a la carte. The school prawn fritters was delicious but it had so much sweet potato shreds in it it should have been called sweet potato fritter with a small scattering of school prawns. <br/><br/>The chicken dumplings came in a beautiful broth w chilli oil, but the dumplings are a bit meaty (was kinda expecting some mushroom or fungus or something to break the monotony of meat) and the chilli oil was quite mild it didn’t really serve much purpose. I might as well just have it with the amazing broth.<br/><br/>Barramundi with hot and sour broth, elephant ears and cherry tomatoes was amazing. It wasn’t as sour as I expected but it was still super delish... and it has fresh chilli in it! The barramundi was so perfectly cooked, I would definitely order this again.<br/><br/>The chicken lunch special was nice, but wasn’t completely out of this world for this price point. I love that we got given chicken drumsticks but the chicken was slightly tough.<br/><br/>We also got some greens to share and the snow pea sprouts were delish!<br/><br/>All in all, I am still intrigued about this place and will probably go visit again and try their banquet.

{Rated 4.5] Annam is sophisticated Vietnamese with first class service. <br/><br/>Our favourite dishes were the ox tail dumplings in a sarsaparilla sauce, the wagyu beef betel leaf and the pho spiced sirloin. <br/><br/>The oxtail dumplings were great combination of less conventional flavours and the beef betel leaf was the best take on this dish I have had. The squid ink cuttlefish is a great dish as well which looks spectacular absorbing all the light from the middle of the plate on the table like a black hole. <br/><br/>We were luckily able to book a spot for three at a communal table for Annam on a Saturday evening the morning before and the restaurant did not seem too busy. <br/><br/>The waitress suggested the Blind Corner Shiraz with the sirloin, which was an excellent match (very light bodied with fruity flavours). We were all really impressed by the warm and professional service we received. <br/><br/>Given our ordering left us full I’d say ordering a la carte rather than the banquet would be better value for groups. <br/><br/>A great dining experience, I’d come back for sure.

With the winter cold still clearly upon us, we’ve found a delicious way to warm up and cure your Monday blues - Hot Pot Mondays at Annam.<br/><br/>These hot pots are unlike others you may have come across - each bubbling broth on the menu is unique to a specific region of Vietnam. <br/><br/>From the North, a Hanoi style broth made of pork hock and artichoke; from central Vietnam and the Imperial City of Hue a lemongrass and chilli broth; and the South is represented with a hot and sour broth similar to that found on the streets of Saigon. There is also a shiitake broth for vegetarian guests. As is expected from chef Jerry Mai, the flavours are punchy and the ingredients of the ultimate best quality, local and seasonal.

Absolutely fabulous, 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Ambience - great. Comfortable seating at the bar with enough room to eat. Service - perfect. Even going to the trouble of spacing out the dishes and recommending the order. Drinks - very good happy hour (5-7pm) prices, interesting Asian-inspired cocktails. Food - just wonderful. Went all vegetarian due to the requirements of my companion. If they can jam that much flavour into vego food, can't wait to try the meat dishes. Must order - the pickles! Texture and flavour on point 👌. Thank you for a great night and look forward to many future visits.

Loved the casual but sophisticated atmosphere of Annam, and they cater for larger groups really well. The service was impeccable! They were constantly filling up our water glasses and every staff member was so friendly to us!! The food was nice overall, but there were a few standouts...the wagyu betel leaf entree, the famous oxtail dumpling and the fried ice cream was sweet and delicious! The only fish we weren’t overly taken with was the prawn noodle dish, because it was quite sweet and also a bit fishy. But the exceptional staff would bring me back here again!

Place is lovely, staff friendly. We had a lot of dishes from the menu, it was simple. Too simple in fact. Was expecting a little more. Drinks took way too long to arrive and we weren't suggested any dishes, would have been nice to know what was popular etc.<br/>Not sure about going back again.

Had a great night taking clients to dinner. They were all really impressed. The set menu was so well put together. Great flavours and plenty to eat. Michael did a fantastic job looking after us. Will get back here as soon as possible.

The $15 lunch special is absolutely amazing. You get high quality tasty food & good service for a similar price as cheap, low quality take away venues. I love it & tell everyone about it. <br/>The food is unique - an Asian play on western dishes. So good I can’t describe it.

Ideal option for a slightly more sophisticated Vietnamese restaurant in China town. Staff were lovely and menu is extensive. Between 4 we had the cuttlefish, the wagyu betel leaves, the prawn fritters, the tuna tataki and the ox tail dumplings. Everything was tasty but the betel leaves and the dumplings were exceptional. Great cocktail menu too!

Went here because one of my girl friends want d to try this out as it was quite popular on instagram. So 6 of us went there, we were sitting right next to the door, it was a sliding door, people always come in forgetting to close the door properly, so it was very windy, one of us had to keep get up and shut the door because none of the waitress cared. We ordered pretty much all the food on the menu as there weren’t many opinions, the waitress who took our order forgot to serve three of them,,,,, I don’t know how she could become a waitress, and also forgot my juice. Then the food was served, taste was really average, with that price,, really not worth it, not mention the chicken want cooked and one of the girl was pregnant, so she was very upset. The waitress came apologising but insist to say that the chicken was meant to be cooked like rare....... r u serious??? You would have got food poison if eating uncooked chicken... we were speechless.... on top of that, when we got the bill, there were a drink worth $59 on it, none of us had that drink, turns out it was someone else’s drink that was wrongly put on our receipt.... luckily we checked it.... anyway,,,,very unpleasant experience, won’t go back again.....

Jerry Mai’s newest project is Annam – a place that showcases dishes inspired by the authentic Vietnamese flavours she grew up with, as well as ones that highlight her flair as a chef. Flavour-packed Sarsparilla Braised Ox Tail Dumplings are a must order. Other small plates include

Good, but not wow - but I'm keen to try the dinner menu. Me and some friends shared some small starters (the dumplings are uninspiring, the wings are decent, but the lamb ribs were the star - flavourful and tender). We each had an office rice dish, mine was the fried chicken ($18). The chicken was well cooked, but no 'wow', which was how everyone felt about their respective dishes. I've had better lunches in the city for $18. In saying that, the service was friendly, the space is fantastic, and I hear dinner is better, so I'll definitely be back to see how that compares.

This is a review with a difference.  I had the squeal with excitement opportunity to dine at Tasting Australia's Glasshouse Kitchen: Rivers and Seas.  Chef Jerry Mai prepared the dessert so my review will be parked here.  <br/>Dessert was wood roasted pineapple, blood plum kampot pepper sorbet with a chilli peanut praline.  To read the rest of the review click on the link below.

This Vietnamese venue was our choice for a large table (10 people) for a work lunch.<br/><br/>The music was great, there was kung fu movies being projected onto the wall, so a good vibe has been set.<br/><br/>We ordered some dumplings to share, first round chicken, second round oxtail and some crispy chicken wings and we each ordered a main for our meal.<br/><br/>Unfortunately all the food arrived at once, which meant that you felt rushed and a bit muddled whilst they were trying to find space on the table.<br/><br/>The dumplings were delicious a great texture with fresh herbs inside.<br/><br/>The crispy chicken wings were divine, really sticky and succulent and not too sweet, you could eat them all day.<br/><br/>The mains were a substantial size which meant we all left with full bellies after having them with the dumplings and wings.<br/><br/>I ordered the crispy chicken and rice for the main, it had a lovely crunchy skin, the serves of the chicken where cut very large, which made it almost impossible to eat with chop sticks. I think in hindsight we should have all asked for knives and forks. Whilst I enjoyed my main, the rest of the table felt that the meals should have come with more of a sauce, as there was not much flavour with the rice once the plain chicken had been consumed. <br/><br/>About half way through eating the main, a dish of chicken soup arrived, it felt like a bit of an afterthought and a tad disjointed.<br/><br/>The waiting staff where very efficient and there was not a very long wait for the food, I really enjoyed my dishes, but other members of the group where not as impressed.<br/><br/>KD

Loved my dinner at Annam. I especially love that they have a separate vegetarian menu (make sure to ask) and fancy mocktails. I ordered the smoked eggplant hotpot (delicious) and the tofu dumplings (also good, and very pretty).

Another great Asian restaurant to check in China Town. The braised Ox Tail dumpling are AMAZING! Also the waffle coconut jelly is a winner! Although everything was enjoyed and price point was great, with some many Asian restaurants it was hard to pin point a difference. None the less we still left happy and full. Staff are very friendly and the restaurant offers a causal refined dining experience. Great celebrations or dates. The restaurant also has a booth for small groups which looks super fun.

I recently dinned at Annam restaurant24/02/2018 located at 56 little bourke street Melbourne cbd most of the food was ok but the octopus was bloody awful it was like trying to eat old rubber boots I mentioned it to a female waits person and it went in one ear out the other and over the top of her head I also mentioned it to the head waits person and the same thing happened also the waits staff need to stop just using tunnel vision and use their eyes to roam around the restaurant to see when patrons need their attention

Love this place and love the food. Brilliant layout and the drinks list also very well tailored to the food. I received attentive service and really walked out a happy eater. Loved the black squid ink cuttlefish

We liked this place but it didn't wow us. The entrees and starters had plenty of punch but the dinner was let down by the mains (Goat Curry and Grilled chicken) which really did not have much flavour at all.<br/><br/>The service is a bit amateur, the staff did not seem to know much about the menu or the drinks that were available.

Really enjoyed dinner here on a Saturday. Fairly quiet which was a surprise, the fit out of the restaurant is very Melbourne with wait staff in all black. Pleasant and polite without being overbearing. Food was delicious, the beef main with cumin my favourite. Coconut chicken also quite good, the aroma of it once it arrives at our table was beautiful. Give this place a go.

For a place that charges as much as Rice Paper Scissors, it’s definitely lacking in flavour and was utterly disappointing. Unfortunately you actually have to provide food at that standard to charge those prices. I won’t be back and if you can’t get a spot at rice paper scissors, I don’t recommend you come here.

Was there a few weeks ago.. Place looks average not very inviting place to entertain.. Worst part of this place is the portion size of the dishes! Spent $300 for 3 people and had to stop by  Maccas on the way home! Absolutely not worth coming to this place if you want to get full! Besides that service and food quality standard.

Sensational. Went here for an early Saturday night dinner. Great fitout, service was consistently welcoming and knowledgeable. Food was full of flavour, bursting with passion and surprises! Water glasses were never left empty, staff talked through the dishes as they delivered them. I will be back.

Popped in for work lunch:<br/>Pros: <br/>-Great room<br/>-Friendly and informative service<br/>-Tasty, delicate food<br/><br/>Cons:<br/>-A touch pricey<br/><br/>Doesn't quite hit heights of longrain and supernormal but a great option for Asian food in the city. Try the sashimi!

Popped in for a quick lunch yesterday. All dishes were beautiful with major standout of grilled pork belly, coconut, lychee, chilli jam salad. Great ambience and wonderful, friendly, attentive staff. Can't wait to go back!

Quick work lunch but I really liked what I tasted (ox tail dumplings and ocean trout salad). Though portion sizes were tiny and I feel it’s slightly overpriced, the food packed a flavourful punch. There’s plenty of delicious sounding items on the menu to tempt my return.

For somewhere opened only a month Annam is sure going about the customer service thing all wrong. Our waiter was really friendly but the front of house had serious attitude and actually told us we were being too loud which was really out of order, believe me we are not a raucous bunch. <br/>As we were a group of five we asked her if we could get some cutlery to cut the rice paper rolls which were served as four pieces (and at $14 each were mostly filled with noodles). We had ordered a couple of these and given it had been explained to us that the menu is designed around sharing it was very strange that we were told it was impossible to cut them into five (only four) as they would fall apart. Oh they don’t have knives either so you can’t even do it yourself (hope your good with chopsticks)<br/>One of my friends asked if they do cocktail sharing jugs which was met with a bit of disdain but they were able to accomodate with a jug of pimms. When the bill came we realised we had just drunk the worlds most expensive jug of pimms at $52. <br/>Atmosphere wise we had a secluded little both at the front which was really cool and the venue itself was very stylish. In terms of food we loved the chicken dumplings, the kingfish sashimi was a bit lacklustre and the rice papers were nothing special (and quite exorbitantly priced).<br/>The coconut chicken was my favourite and was quite flavoursome as was the fried rice although had it been explained the chicken comes with jasmine rice we wouldn’t have ordered more rice. It’s not mentioned on the menu. Note the menu on zomato and on their website is not current. The eggplant hot pot was recommended and was enjoyed but there wasn’t as much love for the prawn dish served with Chinese donut. Overall I think the entire experience was soured by the rude staff member and with the plethora of delicious modern Asian food available in Melbourne I wouldn’t be returning anytime soon

<br/>Fantastic experience. Flavoursome food, good wine list, excellent service, modern and comfortable environment. Will be back as to try the rest of the menu.

Annam was such a delight! Worlds apart from the rest of the cheap eateries of Little Bourke Street, Annam is warm, welcoming and stylish. The waitstaff were incredibly helpful and had great suggestions about the menu. We shared a bottle of the French rose, and enjoyed the dumplings, the pork belly salad, the goat curry, the chicken and a side of morning glory. The dishes were well paced and everything was delicious. I'd go back, and I highly recommend.

Hands down the best beef tartare I've ever had. Flavourful, delicious and served with deep fried Chinese-style doughnuts, absolutely amazing. Also highly recommend the oxtail dumplings and coconut condensed milk coffee cocktail. <br/>Definitely a place I'll be taking out of towners to.

Brilliant. Fabulous food with delightful attentive and informative staff served in surroundings both stylish and comfortable.<br/>We tried a range of dishes and would order every one of them again. In particular the oxtail dumplings,the prawn and pork siu mai, the miso cobia and Chiang mai pork sausages were divine. We have already booked our next meal there to enjoy these again and there are so many other dishes we want to try. A great night out

Had a quick try of the menu at Annam and loved what we had. The ox tail sasparilla dumplings are beautiful, rich and perfect with the sauce. We loved he Crab banh cuon, it was delicate and delicious and the coconut roasted chicken was beautiful- tender salty & lemony just yum. Gorgeous fit out, great wine list and switched on floor staff mean we will return again soon to sample more from the menu.