Review Dragon Boat Restaurant - Melbourne

So many restaurants to choose in Chinatown but so glad we chose Dragon Boat! A very comfortable restaurant with a good wine selection and menu including live seafood choices. Lots of choices made it hard to choose so we tried a few appetisers and mains. The service was very good and staff friendly. The food came quickly and everything was delicious. Definitely recommend the scallops and the crocodile. Standard choice of Asian desserts. Plenty of seating for couples, small or large groups. There are a few steps at the entry and restrooms are upstairs so not suitable for disabled access. All credit cards accepted including American Express. Highly recommended.

Fantastic Yum Cha restaurant in the heart of Chinatown! Well priced and extremely fresh, fast service. The Pork and Chive Dumplings were the standout though the BBQ Pork Buns and Pork Fried Buns were also delicious! I also loved how well priced everything was plus it was available after 3pm

Amazing experience. Pricey (everything over $25) but my god is the meat cooked to perfection. Vegetables are not with every meal either. Will have to come back for yum cha. They handled the very big crowd extremely well

DECENT DESTINATION FOR YUM CHA / DIM SUM Dragon Boat has been around for ages and has consistently offered reasonable Cantonese themed food. It is a good option for a group lunch. The decor and furnishings are getting a bit shabby and as you might expect for a dim sum lunch its very noisy and hectic. Not recommended for people with mobility issues as the tables are fairly close together and there isn't a clear pathway nor enough space for wheelchairs. The dim sum / yum cha is very traditional with carts coming around to your table periodically. Food quality is quite good but you need to be a bit assertive to make sure you get your teapots refilled and the kids get their drinks.

Dragon Boat Restaurant is located in Little Bourke Street, Melbourne. It is in Chinatown, Melbourne. The food served in the restaurant was not bad. However, the waiters were rude. Service is poor. Will not recommend this restaurant.

Food was good. Love the Liu Sha Bao! Service was good except for the grumpy looking auntie at the cashier; SUPER RUDE.

We experienced a fantastic morning in the restaurant. Yumcha is so good. Eating while talking to friend. I highly recommended oolong tea.

came at 9.30am , only steam options available, the taste is so so , the staff asked if we would like to give a tip , the table covered with white paper , not cloth .

We came here after my cousins wedding for dinner, the upstairs area was pretty empty so the food came really fast. We ordered sweet and sour beef- taste the same as the pork, noodles, water spinach and a roast meat platter to name a few. Food was just above average

Few places that open, staff were helpful but the food was just terrible. Over cooked prawn dumpling. Cold food and everything too long even when it’s not busy. <br/><br/>Every dish cost $10 which was very expensive .

* My children (aged 4 and under) could not have a mango because it is outside food but it is alright for them to have home prepared food<br/>* Family of 5 adults and 2 children, all adults had food from the restaurant while the children had a home prepared meal <br/>* The manager was aware the children were having a home prepared meal because I asked her if there were children bowls & cutleries for their dinner, which she replied no but brought us two small white ceramic bowls<br/>* If we took away food from another restaurant and had the take away in her restaurant, it is reasonable for her to stop us but it is absurd to stop children from having a mango after allowing home prepared food and after the entire family is nearly done with dinner <br/>* I asked for her name to provide feedback to management in writing but she refused to provide her name. I asked the captain and he refused to provide as well. Finally I learnt her name is Rowena from a junior staff member. It is unprofessional for a person in charge to not identify herself to customers as a manager should be accountable for her and her staff’s actions <br/>* I said we will not be returning to this restaurant in the future which she replied, fine don’t come again. <br/>* There was no sign on the door which said “no outside food”. <br/>* No changing table for babies. For a double-storey upscale restaurant in the heart of (previously multiple times awarded) the most liveable city in the world, this does not meet expectations. <br/>* A disappointing experience for a restaurant who calls itself a “family favourite” (on its website)

I cant believe the manager asked me for tip！ Because we are Asians n she thought we are visitors. And they always have smile face to Aussies, cold face n slow service to us. I think you should learn the basic thing that everyone is the same you shouldnt treat differently.<br/>The food is ok but what they did just make me feel like ewwwww. I will never be here again as well as my other friends who live in Melbourne.

Yum cha dumplings were average here. No variety and very traditional style stuff. Taste wise it's ok, but the pricing is quite steep for that quality. My favourites are the pork and century egg congee, prawn dumpling and pork siu mai.

One of the very few yum cha places serving at 5pm on a Sunday. Was a relatively quite restaurant at the time and the service staff were lovely and helpful. The food was average I’d say. Not bad..... but nothing to rave about. And were’nt very many choices either. The price was something I was a bit surprised about though. It was quite steep for what it was. I would rate this as a great place for yum cha but the ala carte scenario may be better.

They have an outside store where you can pick up a quick bun or yum cha dish, which is very convenient if you are craving a dish, but don’t want to commit to a full yum cha meal. <br/><br/>Picked up a dozen egg custard tarts to bring to a friend’s house. The employee assisting us was very sweet, although a bit confused, as I suspect she was new. However, her boss came out and was telling her off in Cantonese, which we understood, making the situation very awkward. <br/><br/>The egg tart itself was very light and fluffy. I ate one after another lunch and although I was full, it did not hurt my stomach nor was it too heavy. The custard is on the more watery side and is very sweet, but it complimented the flaky pastry quite well.

Waiting for 15 mins but the second floor was completely empty. The food was terrible and quite expensive. Worst of all, the bowls were dirty and we got stomachache afterwards.

Very expensive yum cha, very limited dishes and average quality. Service was decent but felt like we were ripped off $60 for 5 dishes. Very limited yum cha places open in the morning within the CBD.

I like that this restaurant has a section for people who want to have takeaway yum cha items at a very reasonable price. <br/><br/>It was late afternoon when I got there and they were having a 'buy 2 get 1 free' offer. I really enjoyed their taro bun. It was filled to the brim with delicious creamy taro. Their breads were quite yeasty, which I did not mind. The pork bun was slightly dry and the curry puff had a lovely authentic filling but the puff pastry was too oily. <br/><br/>Not a bad place to pick up some yum cha items with absolutely no frills.

WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER! Not only waited an hour for a table, but the waitress didn’t even bother bringing you tea after seated until we asked. Also the waitresses didn’t even come to ask us what food we wanted instead, asked the table next to us. It was very obvious that they were racist, pretending like we were non-existent.<br/>The food is nothing special too, they were lacking flavour. <br/><br/>Left here with not even half full. NEVER EXPECT TO COME HERE AGAIN!

I went with my partner at 10 am. We were both surprised Dragon Boat was opens and its normally opens at 8 am.<br/><br/>The food was okay. There is not much variety but the dishes was filling. The staff was very friendly and was good at trying to explain each dish to us.<br/><br/>I thought the amount was between reasonable to expensive for yum cha / dim sum. We ordered 5 dishes and the total was approximately $60.

Came here on a Sunday and it was packed. There was a long line of people waiting to get in; but luckily, we had made a reservation. Overall, the food was tasty but the service from the ladies with the carts was poor. They pretty much ignored our table. However, the waiters did notice this, and would come up to our table and ask us what we wanted.<br/>There are other yum cha restaurants with crappy service from cart ladies but at least they're cheaper.

I may be biased, but our CNY banquet was tasty & enjoyable. Lobster & jelly fish (my favourite). Service was not only friendly, but helpful. My only negative was the sourness of the veg accompanying the jelly fish. <br/>

The yum Cha here starts at 10 am which is early as other yum Cha places open at 12pm. The outer layer of the dumpling was very soft and powdery which is a sign that they are not fresh. As they only get this way when they are not fresh. The sauce the accompany with many of the dishes are not the traditional sauce of dipping which changes the taste of the dumpling.

Dragon Boat has a menu of standard yum cha foods however the foods do not meet normal standards. The har gow was an example of this. The skin peeled off easily and had an overcook taste to them. Their rice noodle rolls looked very sloppy and we often had to ask the staff to have cut the larger foods in half which could have been resolved with giving us a pair of scissors.<br/><br/>The food here lacked a fresh and good yum cha feel.

This was my last meal in Mel which almost destroyed all the good impressions I had with this city. The service was not bad but the food was terrible. I had yum cha there and I believe this was the worst one I’ve ever had. The price wasn’t reasonable as well. I haven’t had other yum cha in Mel but comparing to the price in Auckland, it worthed nothing. I honestly suggest staying away from here.

My husband and I had dinner here on our last night in Melbourne. It was Devine... we started with crispy duck pancakes best had in many many many years. We had as mains chicken black bean with a vegetable fried rice, this whole experience was best chinese we have had in years and we live in New Zealand. Staff very quiet but polite, service way amazing. The restaurant was booming so that is always a good sign. Would recommend and return when we come back to Melbourne.

Very bad manner and customer service. The food is plain and awful cold. Took 3 people 15 mins to refill my teapot. Not recommended to people

I found the staff here aren’t too friendly, they are rather rude and don’t like to smile. What happened to customer service? I won’t come here looking for it! Food is ok, there are lots of better places in the Eastern suburbs to dine rather than here.

Recently visited on a busy day for lunch for the first time in awhile. Food was okay but Yum Cha quality appears to have gone downhill though. Service was the worst I've had anywhere in a long time. 20 minutes to get a menu after asking several times, forgot dishes, had to repeatedly ask for drinks to come out, was overcharged, and then asked for a tip when leaving. Used to be a favourite but definitely won't be returning again.

Unlike some of the harsh reviews Dragon Boat has been given, I really enjoyed my time here. My partner and I, once again, were walking around the city wanting somewhere to eat. We decided to go to Dragon boat as it was the first place in China Town that we saw and were intrigued by. <br/><br/>Food: We ordered a couple main meals to share. We got some Dim Sims to start. The flavours were beautiful, but I didn't like the chunky texture of them. It made me more aware of the fact that I didn't really know what was in them, haha. Then the Schezwan Beef. The sauce was really nice. After a few mouth fulls - it was a bit too spicy for my liking. But my partner loved it! We also got the Chilli and Salt Calamari. It didn't come in the traditional ring type calamari as usual, which I really liked. There was SO much on the plate, that I couldn't finish! They did let me take it home though. The flavour was really nice, but I feel like they forgot about the chilli part? I expected there to be some kind of heat, but they were just salted! That was the only let down. <br/><br/>Service: The staff were really lovely. When we walked in, there was a line waiting to be seated, but we only had to wait about 10 minutes. My partner and I have intolerances/allergies, and our waiter answered all of our questions and concerns confidently. <br/><br/>Ambience: I felt very comfortable. I'm not even sure there was music - but I was having a really good time with my partner, so I didn't take notice - which I would say is a good thing. <br/><br/>Price: It's a bit pricey. Maybe too pricey for my liking. I understand it's the city, but I could probably get the same quality food elsewhere and pay for less. <br/><br/>Overall, I'd come here again if I was visiting the city and wanted to go to a trusted restaurant in China Town!

I don't think so this place is that good but I believe they can improve by working out on their service which I found to be one of the biggest flaw. The food is pretty good though.

Very limited food selection (and very average quality), with a long wait time and very unresponsive staff. Very expensive for the quality, much better off having yum cha in suburban restaurants where you pay half the price for a much wider food selection. Placement of food seemed a bit unhygienic, as a lot of dishes were placed in an open area of the restaurant and uncovered. Disappointing experience overall, has regressed a long way from where it was some years ago.

Came here to have dinner with a friend, ordered an entree of wonton soup and a main of pork salt and chilli. Busy place but I won’t describe the food as above average tbh. Food in general were average but not as bad as the ratings here given to this restaurant. The customer service was great, attentive staffs and friendly. Quite pricey, the small bowl of wonton soup with 3 pieces of dumplings cost 8.50!

I had dinner here last night. I didn’t think it is as bad as some of the previous reviews. In saying that, it’s definitely not above average. We ordered prawn toast, beef satay, singapore noodles and shredded beef with plum sauce. The food was okay but not good value for money. There are plenty of better places in Chinatown (ie. The Tea House & Oriental Tea House). The service was lacklustre. I don’t think we will be back in a hurry.

This restaurant is over priced and the food is absolutely horrible. It’s the worst Chinese restaurant I’ve ever eaten in. Neither my husband nor I finished our main meals, our entrees where under whelming and we both walked out of there feeling like we’d just been served plates of food dowsed in MSG. We’d never go back and would never recommend this restaurant to family or friends. Worst $100 I’ve ever spent.

Very average restaurant. The waitstaff were distant, unresponsive and obviously don’t enjoy their work! The food was okay. Good yum cha isn’t hard so pretty disappointing. No highlights for me here, try the surrounding restaurants!

Worst dimsum ever.<br/>So dissappointed about their food and service.<br/>All the staff is nice exept for their lady boss.<br/>If u want to have horrible experience, i recommend this place. Never back again. Wasting<br/>

Disappointed with the food and service..<br/>Food was bland.. asked 3 waiters for chilli oil & they all forgot.. then asked for the bill.. again they forgot..felt like most of the focus was on letting more & more diners in than serving their existing patrons..

Nice place to come for a quick, decent serve of yum cha. Normally if we have the kids with us it's great because the yum cha is all ready to go. Although service isn't the friendliest it is quick and when you've got the kids that's great.<br/><br/>On this occasion it was just a quick pit stop. We had few serves, the prawn and ginger, the bean curd rolls and the rice rolls with prawns. We were overall happy with the dishes and they were all steaming hot.

Update: Came again last weekend (21st Jul) and they no longer put the price on the paper chit. I believed that price has increased (yes in just 2 weeks) as we ordered total 13 plates and I calculated the price using the previous cost of each plate and it shouldn’t come up to more than $100 even with the tea. Paid $110. Forgotten to ask for a receipt to take a closer look. Next time doubt will be here that soon. If I need a quick fix, I might just get from their dim sum counter at the side. Seems alot cheaper- each egg tart is at $2.40. The ones we were served, 2 in a plate was at least $6.80 (that was before any price change). <br/>***<br/>Came here for dim sums with my family on a Saturday morning (10.30am). Crowd came in after 11am. Decent dim sum served. Didn’t manage to take a picture of all the dim sums i ate. It was generally good. Will be back again. Btw I do not know why there isn’t anyone in the review mentioning that they serve dim sums on push carts. It’s a hong kong dim sum traditional way of serving and it’s getting harder to find it in other Asian countries (other than Hk). Rare gem.<br/>Standard dim sum : $5.80<br/>Special dim sum: $6.80<br/>Deluxe dim sum: $7.80

Busy with a great selection of the menu. Relatively fast service. I would expect nothing less from Chinatown. The food was pretty yummy from Dragon Boat. Worth a try

Truly, TRULY Terrible<br/><br/>I booked two tables totalling 22 people for my birthday dinner. I asked several times leading up to the night if they could accommodate a large group of people, and they said yes. <br/><br/>SERVICE<br/><br/>- ATROCIOUS - almost non-existent staff, ridiculously slow to take orders and respond to requests<br/><br/>- At times the staff were very unprofessional, completely ignoring requests and waving us away<br/><br/>- We practically had to BEG for our drinks orders to be taken<br/><br/>- I could see my guests were getting upset they didn't have drinks, glasses for their BYO wine, water or anything on the table, so I had to go up to the bar and repeatedly ask for water, glasses, menus, and for our orders to be taken. It was embarrassing and completely unprofessional <br/><br/>-They didn't take our food orders for more than an HOUR after we sat down<br/><br/>FOOD<br/><br/>- I've had better chinese food at a food court. My prawns were overcooked and everyone commented that the rice was sometimes overcooked and sometimes undercooked. <br/><br/>- All the food came out at different times <br/><br/>- One of the waiters brought food, forgot to bring cutlery, and then left the food on the trolley next to us to go cold, while he went and retrieved cutlery from the kitchen<br/><br/>THE END OF THE EVENING<br/><br/>We were chatting and laughing, trying to make the best of the night, and all the staff started cleaning around us, moving tables and chairs and making us feel very unwelcome. <br/><br/>When it was clear we weren't getting ready to leave, they promptly presented us with the bill, told us they wouldn't split it, and directed us to where the ATMs were located. <br/><br/>THIS IS BY FAR THE WORST BIRTHDAY DINNER I'VE EVER HAD. The manager, who I know was among the staff that served us, should be ashamed of treating paying customers like we were treated. AVOID THIS RESTAURANT LIKE THE PLAGUE.

An okay place for yum cha but it sadly can't match many other places in chinatown. I love that they offer early yum cha and that they have excellent customer service. The most important part of the restaurant (the food) just didn't compare to any other place in chinatown.

Not the best Yum-Cha in Melbourne, certainly had better. Food was decent, however some dishes lacked a punch. The shredded crunchy beef was the pick of the dishes. We wouldn't recommend going for the dumplings here, they were a little flavourless. Service was average and we struggled to get the attention of waiters to get a refill.

Dragon Boat provides decent yum cha in an environment fit for formal meetings or slightly-less-casual dinners. Presentation is precisely what incurs the price here, though; the food is not outstanding but is acceptable, and the staff are well trained and attentive.

Have been going here for yum cha for years. Service was very friendly and attentive. Food was delicious and is consistently good! Love the pork football dumplings!

Good service and everything you expect from a traditional Chinese restaurant. well prepared and quality ingredients. Duck was prepared well table side.

My partner and I loved the food and the service was impeccable, staff was always on hand and ready to serve. Will definitely be back 😁 reasonably priced maybe a bit pricey then others down the road but definitely worth it.

Waiter asked if we'd like to order an entree, when we called him over. Throughout the meal waiters kept noisily stacking some kind of metal stands right behind my chair. sweet and sour pork was fine and King prawns with veges were good but it made me very thirsty. too much salt maybe? Lighting was too bright for any kind of ambience.

I astounded restaurants still sell shark fin soup. I'm no vegan but cutting off a fin and throwing the shark back to die just for a soup is crazy. Dragon boat please take this off the our menu

How do you go yum cha when you are on your own or just a small group? This place answers your cravings with this takeaway area and seating area on the side of this restaurant. You can buy just that item you like.

Called past Dragon Boat while filling in some time before catching up on after work drinks. I love this place because they sell some of my yum cha sweet treat favourites directly to the public without the need to dine in. This has seen me scoff an egg custard tart or two in my infrequent visits to this part of town and today was no different. For less than half the price of a tart at Hokkaido you can get a warm egg custard tart with flakey pastry and a delicious taste. Today I tried the coconut tart also but I think I preferred the egg tart and would stick to that in future visits. I’ve only ever dined in once and that was many years ago with work friends. <br/><br/>

Not the best yum cha in the city but probably the most expensive. The atmosphere of the place however is quite nice and being located in Chinatown it is convenient for tourists .

I like the fact that you can get take away or a quick snack at Dragon Boat outside the main restaurant. Also the fact that they open early and located at the hub of Chinatown is very convenient for those who like to have early start in the city. There's always a queue waiting for a seat in the restaurant but if want a simple snack and eating alone, you can get a table outside and have your order served in a takeaway tray, no wait! I enjoyed the siu mai and egg tart for a mid morning snack just before a meeting in the city.

Located china town , firstly the customer service not bad. Secondly dim sum choice lot selection , take your time to select it and food feel great and tasty not bad , lastly price reasonable. Thumbs up

Dragon Boat is one of my favourite yum cha venues in Melbourne. There is a constant parade of fresh dishes and of great variety. Try and nab one of the vermicelli BBQ pork rolls if you can! And the quail egg dumplings also are a treat 😊

The food was excellent with all the classic Chinese dishes being nailed. We had a birthday and the waiter was very nice and the service was great. I don't no why dragon boat has had such a bad wrap because I think it's great.

Only came here for the duck! Cannot comment on the rest of the food. Pricy enough for what seems like a cheap and cheerful restaurant but have to admit the duck rolls were seriously good! Made in front of you and you get large bite size parcels packed full of flavour. If you are craving duck rolls definitely the place to go!

Good food, but the service isn't that great. Especially one staff, maybe because they have to change shift or they have to clean, maybe it's just the way he talks, but we still are a customer, if we are wrong he should have told us slowly and kindly. But overall the food is great!!!

A perpetually busy place. A good selection of Cantonese style yum Cha treats. Service is abrupt and impersonal, as is with many Chinese restaurants. Food tends to be on the oily side and well seasoned<br/><br/>Verdict: serpentine

Food came sooooo slow and there wasn't much option, the same yum Cha dishes came around and around again. There were ample of staff but it took heaps long to order a glass of coke, they just didn't care or weren't paying enough attention. When the dishes and cart came out, it never got to our table, it was going to the same tables else where. Other people who came after us, left before us cause they had finish, while we were waiting for more food.

Not impressive with their cake. I tried their red bean cake (forgot the name) and it didnt taste like red bean at all. The cake was filled with red bean paste but it was too bland for me.

Yum Cha throws a wonderful array of tasty dishes at the table, favourites included the spicy calamari and barbecue pork dumplings. On the downside the duck was more bone than meat, but just keep throwing spring rolls and dim sims at us to drown out that sorrow

An oldie but a goodie! We love this place...a Melbourne must do for my family...or we pick up a bun from their deli...good food and generous staff. Always a reliable go-to for yum cha in the city.

Every time I'm craving dimsum, I will pay dragon boat a visit, EVERY SINGLE TIME. Service may be crappy (rude) sometimes, but that happens 1/5 times. Anyway, I love the dimsum here so much that it just makes up for that 1/5 times!!! <br/><br/>Also, if you're looking for the right FLOWY, DRIPPING liushapao, this is the place to go! Love their toufufa as well!! <br/><br/>Recommended savoury dishes: charsiupao, sweet and sour pork, prawn dumpling, prawn rice noodle soup

Came here on sat - day prior to mothers day and got a seat for two within a few min surprisingly! Huge venue first time so i must say i was impressed. <br/><br/>Foods on the cart was plentyful. We had so many choices. Obviously they all spoke chinese to us but hey its all part of yumcha! Just point and eat!! <br/><br/>All the dumplings were perfectly steamed. The combination dumpling was crispy and had heaps of meat. The ginger prawn was soft and juicey. Prawn and avacado springroll was tasty and crunchy! My fav! The chicken feet could do we a bit more black bean sauce for me and the ha gow was a tad plain.<br/><br/>Overall great lunch date. Exxy from $6-9 a tray now. Inflation i guess haha!

We stumbled upon Dragon Boat whilst walking thru the street. The food was delicious, we had chicken, beef, and rice dishes to share. It was all nicely spiced, the meat very tender and the vegetables fresh. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Some of the best chinese food we've had in a long while. I will agree that the prices are a bit high, compared to other chinese restaurants, but was definitely worth it. We would definitely come back, if we didn't live interstate.

Getted poliyley as we entered, and served promptly. The fried flounder was superbly cooked however I found the special fried rice to be rather sweet. Drinks were topped up as needed and the table service was not timed poorly or harrasing. 4.5/5 for service 3.5/5 for food 5/5 for cleniness.

Good dim sum choices. Love their egg tarts, siew mai, lo mai kai and desserts. Great location, easy to find. Highly recommended for a Sunday brunch.

Very RUDE service, lousy food, overpriced...can't believe people still go there to eat. The manager should learn how to treat customer politely, no manner at all.  Shocking...

A traditional yum cha place, not kids friendly. They have steps in front of the restaurant, you cannot take your pram easily with you. And it is very crowded place ~ sometimes staff hardly pass by customers. When the restaurant becomes busy, staff becomes disorder .

I am a Chinese and I ask the waiter may I use the toilet because the building's toilet are locked. And that waiter just say "no." I ll remember that thing.

Like the honey glazed beef with black pepper, dragon boat combination in birds nest basket, and garlic king prawns <br/><br/>Very prompt service and very reasonable price

I went through reviews of this restaurant before visit. Overall , those feedbacks are negative. However, I think their service just ok not that bad when visiting there. I won't recommend this restaurant to you if you are looking for non greasy food. But highly recommend their: fried avocado & prawns, rice flour wrapped fritter(you zha guai) and last, definitely you will fall in love the eggs tarts. The crust is crispy , yum! Last, I dont think their steamed dim sum are nice to eat.

A regular haunt on a Friday or Saturday night. The dim sims are great. I always find it hard to go past the deep-fried beef fillet in mandarin sauce and enjoy szechuan chilli beef although I usually ask for extra chilli which the waiters have added in. I also enjoy the barbecued pork with mushrooms and bean curd. Great ambiance and nice decor.

Surprised by the low rating.....! We popped in here at 12am after the Adele concert. The kitchen was still serving, and the place was about 1/3 full. They did not have the Peking Duck or Dumplings we wanted, but the Salt & Chilli Calamari & Szechuan Beef we ordered were both excellent, washed down by a bottle of wine. I'm going to try their Yum Cha next. Great service & atmosphere.

This place is terrible - avoid at all costs. High tourist prices, small dishes and terrible customer service - they do not care whatsoever. The beef and cashew dish was adequate but he pork ribs dish was absolutely appalling - fatty, cheap awful pork. When we complained they just laughed and said 'that's how it comes.<br/>My friend saw a cockroach running around nearby our table.<br/>This place is absolutely one of the worst I have ever been to in my life - AVOID.

Have been going to Knox restaraunt for a long time. The food was good in the past but something has changed. Food is just not worth the price anymore. Overpriced for value.

OVERPRICED yum cha that isn't even that great. The food is pretty average but the decor is nice. Not a large seating area but we ordered quite a lot of things. Probably would say that the variety isn't huge but the siu mai and chicken feet taste quite alright.

You know when you find that great local Chinese place and you keep going back cause the food is great, its cheap and the Chinese lady at the front is always nice and gives you free prawn crackers. Dragon boat is not that place, the food is ok/good, but its way overpriced and the service is terrible. Go elsewhere.

It's quite a bit pricier than other Chinese restaurants in the CBD but the food was very tasty. We had the chicken and mushroom hot pot, roast duck, beef with snow peas and beef with rice noodles. Service was speedy and attentive.

Their food and service are gradually down since their major upgrade of the premise few years ago. Once was my favorite for weekend lunch, now I only go occasionally. The service are average. Food are ok if you avoid fry dishes which are too oily. Their Ha-cao and Sui-mai are always reliable here.

Really didn't think much of dragon boat. <br/>Visited with family and we all shared the yum Cha. Definitely have had better yum Cha and found this restaurant to be quite disappointing. I would not return.

This place is terrible! After booking a large table we were still made to wait 30minutes, clearly they value the business more than customers. We got a long table that had almost everyone crammed into a corner with views of a blank wall. The range of food and quality isn't great. The most of the staff don't speak a word of English and look unhappy. The managers don't seem nice and happy but were rude to the staff. It was just uncomfortable. I used to come here years ago but years of bad management have ruined a once excellent reputation.

Came here for the egg tarts and it was okay, above average. Although the pastry was quite oily, the egg custard was yummy. Price wise, $2.20 each.

Very disappointed! I love Yum Cha. Took dad here for lunch, he also was disappointed. The food was slow, overcooked and the service was really bad. Staff yelling in mandarin and they weren't even busy. In the end we left before all of the dishes had arrived we had waited 30 minutes, 20 minutes longer than we should have. No apology when paying the bill just a ahh! and nodding of the head. <br/>It's not hard to see why they have a 2.2 rating.<br/>And not cheap!

Quick lunch with a friend. Food is tasty as always but for some reason the staff were not as attentive that day. We were seated where the sunshine hit our eyes. It took a while for them to put the blinds down. I might go back there again one day but with so many Yumcha places to choose from in Melbourne, I am not in a hurry.

Ventured into the CBD today to dine at the Dragon Boat and ordered their Scallops with ginger & spring onions for a very reasonable price of $32.80 (one of my personal Chinese favourites). The dish was full of flavour & I always love the contrast of the scallops (and they were generous in the number of scallops served), the numerous pieces of ginger along with snow peas etc. It was served within 15 minutes of ordering & considering how busy it was I thought it would have been much longer, the restaurant was abuzz with happy customers and around ¾ full. Staff were courteous and efficient and in considerable numbers thus the fast service. <br/><br/>The Juror's Verdict: Food 5/5, Service Provision 4/5, Will I return: Yes definitely.<br/><br/>Phill Jury (food critic & writer)

Terrible. Just truly awful. If you want some freshly defrosted dumplings, greasy and cold fried food and poor service, this is the yum cha place for you.

Service as expected. Very seafood heavy selection which doesn't work for me at all. Could have gotten mor for $30 at a lot of places. Probably won't be back

Great choice of food.We went at 1130 and every thing was freshly cooked.Good prompt service.Must remember to start with the congee next time!Will definitely be back!

Ate at lunch, 3 people and didnt eat too much. Came out to be 60bucks, a full rip off <br/>Spare ribs were not filled, seemed like the plate was only half full<br/>Very average dimsum overall<br/>Didnt get our chong fan we ordered <br/>RIP

Worst yumcha place. Food was bland and oily. Service - super slow. Asked for 2 items and never came out.. Pricey for what you get in terms of the food quality and service. Go somewhere else for better yum cha!

My family and myself visit melbourne every year and find ourselves always making our way to dragon boat in china town. The food and service is great and its a awesome restaurant for families. I was quite suprised with the mixed reviews on this place as we have always been pleased when we go there

So the food was average and there were like 6 main dishes to choose from, overall i would not recommend coming here. I am from Perth,WA and we have much greater range of dim sum / yum cha there

I haven’t dined at Dragon Boat for years because my family prefers Plume or Gold Leaf in the West side of Melbourne. Regardless of which Chinese Yum Cha restaurant we go to, my parents will still vocally complain about how bad the food is anyway. However Dragon Boat is my first choice when it comes to egg tarts as they use the flakey pastry, and it’s been a regular on my list before I even started blogging. I don’t like the biscuit pastry some bakeries use as it makes it too sweet and overwhelms the egg custard flavour.

Average yumcha. <br/><br/>There are certainly better spots to have your dimsum fix in this part of Chinatown. Does deserve points for maintaining a traditional approach to dimsum with its trolley carts being pushed around by its service staff, but really, you can get better.

Not much to get excited about. Expensive and average yum cha. Many of the offerings look like they were frozen and service wasn't anything special.

Average at best Yum Cha. All the usuals from the bamboo steamers. Not much effort. Service friendly enough but nothing that stands them out from any other Yum Cha in Chinatown. <br/>As with many other restaurants in the area, outdated decor. <br/>Nothing that will bring us back.

We had a late night meal here a few weeks ago after a late flight into Melbourne and we were left extremely disappointed. The prices were quite expensive for Chinatown. Spring rolls were straight from a frozen packet, microwaved and served to us. I ordered noodles with mushroom which resembles a packet of shelf noodles that were boiled, coated in a generic oyster sauce and dished up on a plate. There were about 5 mushrooms only in the meal and it was over $20. My husband ordered a beef dish and part of the meat weren't even properly cooked! They did take $5 off for the undercooked meat however we were less than impressed. The waiter was very attentive but so they should be for so late at night. We won't be back.

Tried the yum cha express. They lacked variety severely. I got the sticky rice as I had very limited options. It was extremely dry and barely edible. Flavours were ok but not amazingly pleasant.

Disgusting, bland, COLD, tasteless food. Terrible service. Asked for water 3 times, after 4th time waiter bought 2 glasses for 4 people amd never came back.<br/>Don't waste your money, you would be better off eating your own dirty socks

Objectively bad yum cha. If you are coming here to eat food, and you're seated on the raised floor, expect to wait for an hour to piece together a meal out of the least popular dishes. We were seated on the raised floor area where the trolleys couldn't reach. The only food we saw while seated was the congee we ordered and whatever was left over from the trolleys that made it through the main floor. Was sitting next to a family that desperately was waiting for food. Would like to comment on more of the food but difficult to do when they don't serve you any.

Very dissapointed with the service. We did not feel welcome from time of arrival. there were only handful of customers there, did not appear busy. Two wait staff glanced at us We waited for 10 minutes to be even acknowledged by wait staff. When they finally did, they were not happy or welcoming. They did not even get us a menu to look at!! They expected us to order right there and then! I felt very uncomfortable. Worst restaurant experience ever!

Bit average and a little over priced for the quality of food. Service isnt too bad and were attentive (seeming as there were only 2 other tables when we were there).<br/><br/>Oddly they have their bathrooms on the upper floor which was annoying and the steep stair case didn't help either. Wouldn't really think twice about going back however might give their yum cha menu a go to give them another chance. Didn't take any photos as presentation of their food wasn't their strong suit.

Had yum cha for my late lunch, its an ok in average, however may be i went in at about 3pm, the steam dumplings have been in the trolleys for a while and the wrap starting to melt...

Food was soso. Service and atomsphere was horrible. Waiter/waitress looked like they hated life, often crashed into each other and tables via yumcha cart. Only ate 3 dishes in half a hour....not that we didnt wanna explore our options more...there was just no food or carts coming to us... Cannot imagine coming here again.<br/>