Review D House Cafe

GoRuFu

Average Hong Kong style with good value for the quick bite! The taste still the same as when they were in Mid Arcade alley in Chinatown. My fav would still be lemongrass pork chop or chicken ! Also deep fried spare rib chicken but they should add cut chilli in that! Ice lemon tea was too sweet ! Overall Was satisfying for a quick cheap meal

Shen Eva

Great quality of food and quantity too! My favourite dish is the HongKong style noodle soup where I can customise the food inside the noodle soup. The stuffed vegetables are extraordinary! It is definitely worth to try it out! The other two dishes I recommend are shark fin soup and fish soup! My friend told me it is just the same taste as what he had in his childhood in HongKong. My favourite drink is honey lemon! Both hot and iced honey lemon bring good taste. The atmosphere there is very HongKong style. The service is efficient and friendly. My food was brought to me in between 10 mins. P.S. It is now one of my favourite restaurants in CBD!

Grape Life

We ordered delivery from D house, not a bad choice. We usually go there for quick noodle soup (our go to place). The flavours has a very "wok" esk taste to it, very Hong Kong Style, something that is not that easy to come by in Melbourne. Sweet and sour pork was great, I liked how they kept the items seperate so that the pork doesn't get soggy while it's being delivered. To be honest though, I'll probably just stick with the quick and dirty dine-in experience, delivery did take around 40mins and you don't get that iconic HK street style atmosphere that the location gives you :)

Vanessa

Zero stars if I could. We ordered 2 dishes through an iPad. One came out 20 minutes late. The other didn’t come out until we hailed down the unattentive staff (another 10 mins later) - we ordered before the two tables next to us but they eventually got their food before us. The restaurant didn’t let us cancel the second order and asked us we ordered. They then made us take our second order (after checking with the kitchen)... it’s like they cooked it on the spot... We were running late for an event and they didn’t care. (At least explain why our order was forgotten). Contrary to what it may seem, not fast service at all. The food comes out one at a time. Taste wise, it’s pretty average. But there are heaps of restaurants in the same area with similar cuisines so I recommend to go there instead. I consider customer service just as important as the food at restaurants. Such an unpleasant experience... I won’t ever come back. P.S you have to share tables with other people.

Edwar Kartio

One of the household name for Hong Kong joint in Melbourne. Dishes have changed alot since they were located in Midcity Arcade. Their famous Lemongrass Pork Chop still on the menu and tasted great. Overall the other dishes are pretty good for your quick bites. Food - 7 Service - 6 Vibe - 5 Price - $$

Debi Slinger

Came in for a quick bite but it did take a while. The staff didn’t have great English so it took a while to get my order clear. And even then it came out wrong. So I ended up having the deep fried spicy ribs which were pretty good. Portion size was good. Place was busy during lunch hour so clearly has some regulars. Wheelchair friendly but only just.

Shereen

Love this place. Sells great variety of food with fast service. Highly recommend their Lemongrass Pork Chop Rice. It's well marinated and fried to perfection.

Saravanand Naiker

I had the noodle soup on braised beef broth. Loved it to the last bit. Reasonably priced, good portions and tasty. Have to try the rest of other dishes. Service wise was quick and the waitress are attentive. I'd be coming here more frequently for a quick lunch bite. It'd be busy during lunch hour so get in early. 7/10.

㊙️ The Traveling Foodie

Super fast and great food . So easy to order using iPad and speed of delivery was so efficient and faster than fast food. The noodles soup were great and very tasty with range of selection. Ample quantity and their set menu have everything enough for 2 person .

Sunny Days Melbourne

D House Cafe is a no frills Hong Kong style restaurant with lots of old fashioned items on their menu. I came here on a weeknight with a friend and we ordered a couple of dishes. I'm a fan of the iPad ordering system - less chance for mistakes to occur from miscommunication. I had the wonton noodle soup. The wontons looked like they were on steroids....in a good way. They were full of well seasoned meat. The noodles were al dente and the soup was not overly salty. I managed to steal one of my friend's fried chicken ribs. This was crispy, salty and peppery. A lovely combination with rice. Service is always a bit impersonal and it can get a bit noisy at times but overall, D House Cafe is okay in my books.

Ravello Satria

d house been hanging around in the cbd for quite a while, it is good for student and quick meal for $10-15, order the baked rice the best i think, never try the noodle, the chicken ribs, taiwan chicken are okay, for tourist you do not need to go here, but for those who live in Melbourne i would recommend with such a pricek

Munching All Day Long

Ruined my day! No service at all. They need to pay attention to their existing customer, instead of just collecting dishes and bringing out food. We ordered two iced milk teas via the app but only one was submitted. Asked one of the waiter to fix it and he only fixed the bill but didn’t submit the second drink to the bar. The first milk tea wasn’t even cold (no ice) and the second one didn’t come until I have to chase them 5-6 times. The Portuguese chicken with rice was very salty, they marinated the chicken with too much salt. Very disappointed as we used to go there very often many years ago. I hope they pay more attention to the customer rather than just getting the food out.

Chiliong

Pretty enjoyed the stir fried flat noodles with eggs and deep fried squid.

CHT

A good place for cheap, authentic HK food. The low rating is for the poor hygiene practised by one of the staff. I went there for lunch a few days ago, and I sat in front of the cash register, and the kitchen is right behind it. While I was waiting for my meal, I saw the staff used his hand (no tong, no glove) to transfer an egg to a rice dish. And soon after, he was out at the cash register accepting payments, then back to the kitchen handling food. I hope the management will see this post and improve their staff food handling/hygiene knowledge.

Mustard

Hong Kong cuisine is thinning out across the CBD and D House Cafe (I think it was previously Dessert House Eatery) has been holding its ground for quite awhile. We went upstairs and ordered via their touchpad system which turned out great with the customisation options. I got their coffee and tea drink (yuenyeung) and I quite enjoyed it, a strong tea flavour and sweetness from the condensed milk. I also got their baked chicken on rice which is where you can customise your base (I got fried rice which was just egg fried rice) and what sauce goes on it (I got a combination of Portugeuse style and creamy mushroom). Overall it's a really large and heavy meal attributed to them giving you a lot of rice. Criticisms are that the rice can be a tad dry and the chicken could be more moist. Pricing is reasonable and ideal if you feel like some comfort food.

Shirley Ho

Came here for the first time and not sure what's best here. Just noticed that it's always crowded. So we ordered a milk tea, cheong fun with dim sum and braised beef noodles. Service was fast and we just order using a tablet. Food came really fast. For me, personally the sauce of the cheong fun with dim sim was a big too salty for me. I will prefer if they add more of peanut sauce to balance up the taste. As for braised beef noodles, it was really good as the meat was tender although overall it's still too salty for me.

Wintice

Ordered seafood baked rice, half creamy sauce, half Portugese sauce. Portion was less than I anticipated. Fried rice had barely any peas or carrots, pretty much just rice. Barely had any sauce to coat all the rice. Flavour was good though, but other than that, everything was mediocre.

Bunnies

Terrible service 4 of us were having lunch at D house yesterday. First, I asked for another cup as the one I had was dirty. The waitress asked why and I explained to her. No apology was given. She stared at me before giving me another cup. Then she kept taking away my food without asking if I had finished. I had to take my plate and my cup back from her hand. She threw the bill in front of us after taking my plate of rice that I haven’t finished. When we were about to leave, still holding my cup, she started clearing the table and taking away the water bottle away. We stayed in the restaurant for less than an hour. It wasn’t even busy, there were no queue. This has never happened before. Thank you for chasing out your customers as we will never come again.

M3lissa____

An oldie but definitely a goodie! My favourite go to during uni days. Recently visited @dhouse_cafe as I was craving for the pork chop rice and it did not disappoint. Bringing back those uni days memories for sure!

Annieeats

Great cheap Asian eatery. Had the egg & gravy rice noodles which was delicious, had the right amount of wok hay flavour and beef was juicy! Cost was 12.50 for a big serving. Only downside is that it’s more of an eat and go- serve yourself water from these jars that could do with an upgrade.

Food For Thought

A Hong Kong style restaurant with some South East Asian dishes which you can order with an ipad. The iced "Yuen Yang" coffee and tea drink was nice and I especially enjoyed the dry egg noodles with wantons (prawn and pork dumplings) and XO sauce. However the roast pork (cha-siew) was tough and thickly sliced, which made it difficult to chew. Service was fast but unfriendly... my friend and I were thinking of ordering dessert after our mains but were asked to leave the table by the staff when a group of people came in.

Kris L

D House is one of the original “fast food” Asian restaurants along Swanston Street. This is the perfect place for a quick bite to eat, or to top off a late Friday night out. So if you’re after a classier restaurant with good service, this isn’t it. I enjoy their XO seafood fried rice - it’s a very generous portion, cheap and hits the spot.

Tamiko98

Placed my order which were 2 basic dishes and didn’t receive it for 50 minutes, however 3 other tables who came after us (6-7 people total) and 5 pickup orders were given out before ours. When I went to pay they didn’t have any change so I had to leave short handed with no apologies. Usually I am very easy to please but there was no great communication at this restaurant. Very unfortunate as my sister took me here claiming it was a very good restaurant.

The Wandering Reviewer

Came in for a quick bite but it did take a while. The staff didn’t have great English so it took a while to get my order clear. And even then it came out wrong. So I ended up having the deep fried spicy ribs which were pretty good. Portion size was good. Place was busy during lunch hour so clearly has some regulars. Wheelchair friendly but only just.

Some Bunee Loves Food

Ordered the vegetarian bowl with rice. The sauce was really nice and it was full of vegetables. I loved the mushroom as it soaked up all the sauce and was very flavoursome.

Oy

I like the food and the service is friendly enough but damn. Minimum of $30 to use a card and even then there's 1% surcharge. They also did a mistake with my order by mishearing and won't even fix it as I'll have to add an additional amount less than $30 and I've only ever got card... frustrating.

Key

Multiple choices for different type of food, menu is too complicated, hard to choose the thing you really want. From western to South Asia, the range of food is wide, yet the quality of food is just standard. Nothing appeals to be out of ordinary, and the taste is just like any fast food restaurant. I would consider this place as a fast food restaurant, for hungry people walk pass, rather than a nice dining place.

JT

This place was a favorite through uni days but boy have standards dropped.... if you want to have cold semi cooked calamari and seafood sticks in your fried noodles and leave with a stomach ache, this is the place to go.

Joanne | Melbournecitay

D house cafe is not the healthiest asian food option, but’s it’s certainly one of those favoured by students who want a big and cheap meal. Many of these students who are now much older are still nostalgic over the famous dessert house food. If you do come here, be prepared for sad customer service but satisfying hangover-friendly food. The spicy pork with fried rice and fried eggs is huge but pricey at $16! You could definitely takeaway half to have it for breakfast the next day. I ordered the noodles with lemongrass pork Chop. The noodles was tasteless but the pork chop was well marinated and tasty. Would come back - only if I need asian “fast food”!

Lina's Music House

Came here with a friend visiting from Sydney. He has been here a few times before. The food has been consistent over the years, so he decided to catch up here for dinner. Not many Hong Kong Cafe's use an iPad ordering system, but this cafe does. It's more the modern style Hong Kong Cafe here. The Lemongrass rice dish and Chicken Egg Rice Noodles was a reasonable serving size. The chicken was moist. But the rice noodles was not mixed well with the sauce in the wok. I prefer to have the sauce soaked into the rice noodles. Despite this, the dish was still quite nice. This place is in a great location. A large variety of dishes on the menu that will have something to suit you.

Jenny

Went there around lunch time on a Saturday, so it was busy. There was barely any staff, the 2 or 3 people there were running around trying to get to everyone. Had to ask for water and was confused on how to order because no one came and told us. The food however was so good and it came quite quickly! The portion sizes were amazing and I was feeling full before I could finish it

Lizzie Eats Melbourne

😱Lizzie’s first impression: This restaurant has served its years - it has been around for so long but always has been consistent. 🍩Lizzie enjoyed: one of my favorite dish is the fried flat noodles with beef. It has a very strong "wok hei" which is an asian term for a very well stir fried dish. I also loved the baked rice with cheese on top. It's unhealthy, but really reminds of what you get back in Hong Kong. 🍅Lizzie did not enjoy: don't expect the service to be great here - there is a quick turnover of tables so they will instantly start cleaning your table as soon as your food is done. 🥇Lizzie rates overall: great for a quick feed but nothing special.

Foodie

Came here and ordered chicken ribs with fried rice and lemon grass pork chop with fried rice. The taste was good and the service is good ! Definetely wilm come back when in melbourne

Hon

They are located in the middle of CBD. My favorite is the salted fish fried rice. The staffs are friendly. Down fall the taste not consitent, sometime very very good sometimes just ok. I guess pending on the chefs mood 😅

Joel Coffill

Great food and vibe! Great bar staff and front door security. This place has a great atmosphere. The food is very tasty and cheap. Favorite from the menu is the baked rice. Really enjoyed here!

Angela Eats

D House Cafe is perfect if you’re on a budget. They offer a range of inexpensive Hong Kong style dishes. I ordered the Baked Portuguese styled Chicken Spaghetti. I swapped the rice for spaghetti. The sauce had a nice coconut spiciness to it. The chicken was a tad dry but still good. The spaghetti was cooked perfectly al dente.

Ljin2467

Ordered the HK style noodle soup with beef broth and 3 toppings. Tasted delicious and was filling, however the service could have been improved.

Piggy 小猪

I used to come to this restraunt a lot because of the quick service, cheap and taste good. But now days is a bit of hit and miss days. I highly recommend the deep fried spicy chicken rib on rice, shark fin soup with fish (vegetarian shark fin), macau pork bun and the baked selection rice. All of those are pretty good that i tried through out the years. Food like i said is hit and miss now days, it used to be very good to me. Service is good and fast, very attentive. Decor it reminds me of hk cafes style. The food tonight the pork bun good as usual, the rice roll is really nice with the mix of sauces just need to add chilli sauce will make it perfect and the tofu pudding it wasnt nice at all, i think the sugar syrup was too think and make it like sticky? But overall we still enjoy the other foods we ordered. Food : 2.5/5 Service : 3/5 Decor : 3.5/5

Kevin & Emily

On a break from work and wanting to hit the $10 budget that justifies not bringing anything from home, what better option than an Asian meal at D House cafe? A CASH ONLY operated restaurant, you will realise the tech in this store is pretty cool. From touching the door open, to ordering from a tablet device, it all seems like such a seemless experience- taking away the impractical aspects of ordering. Today I ordered the Lemongrass chicken with rice for $11.80. My verdict? An above average feed for sure. Although I can't comment on rice as it tastes similar to home, the addition of green onions and sauce really added to the overall flavour of the meal, likened to a Hainese chicken dish. The lemongrass chicken was very flavourful, cooked perfectly as it was soft and tender. The egg was also similar in taste to something at home, which made this an otherwise good option to try. Fast service, good food for a reasonable price leaving you full. The definition of most Asian restaurants, only better than your average. Recommend coming here! Food: 3.5/5 Service: 3.5/5 Ambience: 3.5/5 Value: 3.5/5 Overall: 3.5/5

Pierre Pie

Located placed Swanston Street , HongKong delight , the customer service not bad , and also the food is tasty , price is reasonable , will definitely come back . Thumbs up

Win - FSC

Real rating 3.75 ⭐️ We had visited D House for a quick meal and here’s what we had! Char kuay teow - flat rice noodles stir fried with dark soy sauce, bean sprouts and Chinese chives, this was a dish similar to the Malaysian version of it. It was good though I would have preferred a little bit more charring of the noodles. Lemongrass pork chop and fried egg on rice - pork chops was marinated and grilled well making the meat nice and succulent to eat. The addition of the picked vegetable and fried egg was a good complement with the pork chop adding flavor to it! Baked chicken fillet on rice with garlic sauce - served in a metal bowl to keep the dish warm, this was pretty much like a casserole but a drier version with rice and a yummy serving of baked chicken topped with garlic sauce! If I am not mistaken, there is some cheese inside which made this dish stand out hence making it my favorite dish of the day! Overall, D House is a good option for those who are in a rush and want a decent filling meal!

G Peter Robert

Food ok BUT the staff are RUDE arrogant and disrespectful. Happened twice now so I can say do not expect to treated well here. I just walked out after requesting an empty table for two while the cafe was near empty ( 11.30am ) I was told to sit elsewhere....and the way I was told does not come across in text..........damn rude.

Thunder8621

Mildly disappointed at our meals - the fried chicken with rice was heavily under marinated and dry. Very difficult to eat. Pop chicken pieces were 50% batter and meat was coarse. Stir fried rice noodle with beef was great and captured all of the wok flavours. Coconut grass jelly drink did not match the picture and was missing red bean (on photo). It tasted simply like sugar water. Overall a hit and miss place, but I guess if you choose wisely on the menu you could get satisfied!

April

Used to come here all the time. But its safe to say a lot has changed since its changed mngt. they may as well be cash only. wouldn't accept my card unless theres a minimum spend of $20 and even if i spent over n used my card id still be penalised. food has become average :( - wont be coming back.

Melissa Phu

THe food here is very affordable. Some of the dishes are delicious! The food comes out fast and the restaurant is very clean. What also makes it convenient is that you order your food from iPads! I ordered the Taiwanese fried chicken with rice and another friend ordered the steak with black pepper on rice. I think all in all, all the food was tasty with fast service. However, it is a bit salty so I recommend drinking lots of water so your mouth isn’t too dry afterwards. They do accept card here unlike dondons across the road, so that’s a bit convenient:))

Vanessa

Zero stars if I could. Ordered 2 dishes through an iPad. One came out 20 minutes late. The other didn’t come out until we hailed down the unattentive staff (another 10 mins later) - we ordered before the two tables next to us but they eventually got their food before us. The restaurant didn’t let us cancel the second order and made us take our dish after they had checked with the chef and brought out our food. We were already running late and they didn’t care. Their policy is ridiculous. Not fast service at all. The two tables beside us also waited a long time and looked impatient as well. And the dishes came out one at a time so all our food was getting cold whilst waiting for our friend’s dishes to come out. Food wise, it’s as expected. Tastes as it looks (which is a good thing). But there are heaps of restaurants in the same area with similar cuisine. Such an unpleasant experience with bad customer service that makes me not want to ever return.

Tinmans Treats

Cheap but cheerful meal before going out. Hong Kong style dishes. Order off an ipad. I got the kim chi fried rice and my friend got the lemongrass pork chop on rice. Huge servings. Excellent value. It's a 4 star based on like venues. You won't leave hungry.

Brooke

Needed a quick dinner before back to shopping and this place was great. Very prompt service as soon as we walked in. The waiter showed us how to work the new ordering system in the tablet, which, imo, was super cool. Food and drinks were served very quickly. Ordered sizzling beef in blackbean sauce, which wasn’t too bad. I also had a iced milk tea which was way too sweet for me. Overall a nice stop for some Chinese food.

Lulu T. Legrand

Uncomplicated hawker-style food, that tastes good and comes in L size. I entered here because it was the closest eatery and I was starving, so I didn't know what to expect. My baked Portuguese-style chicken was stupendous, simple but flavoursome, home-style sort of cooking. The other dishes around looked as good, especially the dumplings. Service is matter of fact and the premises tiny and not especially comfortable, but you go there to feed yourself and leave with your belly full, warm and happy. Dine in and take-away. Good priced. Sometimes you just need to be in Da house. I'll be back.

Min Khant Aung

It was pleasant. This place was the place I came with my potential girlfriend haha. The food was a bit salty but overall we enjoyed it. It wasn’t a bad experience. Go there if you want to experience some hongkong-ish style foods.

Theculinarytale | IG: @theculinarytale

Love their baked rice, especially the creamy garlic chicken. The portion is big and taste is great! Other than this, I’ve tried steak with mushroom sauce on rice which I love it so much. But apparently they have removed it from the menu.

Stelly

Used to come here very often for a quick, cheap and satisfying lunch. Conveniently located on Swanston St, it’s easy to stop by for a bite or grab some takeaway. I always get their fried rice and it’s delicious every time. The price is good for what you pay for! Would like to try their baked dishes some day, as they look quite interesting too!

Vira

Brings back memories from 18years ago, a typical overseas students diner. We came back for sentimental purposes during our holiday trip to melb and we were so delighted that we had to come back for the 2nd time for their lemongrass porkchop and cart noodle. We didnt try anything else but dishes on other tables looks appetizing. Service was very fast and good, 2 thumbs up!

Yovita Aurora

This restaurant is located very conveniently at Swanston Street and you can easily find this place. I always love this place. My all time favourite is there baked dish. This time I try the spaghetti one with the creamy mushroom. Looovveee ittt. Specially if you added the chilli sauce on it. What needs to be improved from this place is their staff because I think they’re not very friendly though

Kaustav Roy

A sumptuous dinner yet again at this place. We had a chicken with lemongrass, egg and fried rice and a baked chicken and rice. Both were equally filling and good! Most of the times you will have to wait to be seated but this night was an exception. The service is good and swift.

James Wang

Very popular Chinese food place. Every time try here when I finish work. Very good food, and traditional. Definitely will be here quite often.

Grape Life

We ordered delivery from D house, not a bad choice. We usually go there for quick noodle soup (our go to place). The flavours has a very "wok" esk taste to it, very Hong Kong Style, something that is not that easy to come by in Melbourne. Sweet and sour pork was great, I liked how they kept the items seperate so that the pork doesn't get soggy while it's being delivered. To be honest though, I'll probably just stick with the quick and dirty dine-in experience, delivery did take around 40mins and you don't get that iconic HK street style atmosphere that the location gives you :)

Christy

Came here with a friend for lunch after finding out that our trains wouldn’t be here for at least another half hour. We ordered the steak and taiwanese lunch specials seeing as it was cheap and we just wanted something quick and comforting. Quick and comforting it was, something I would call a chinese fast food place. Each of our meals were delicious but quite average, nothing too amazing but it did hit the spot and kept us full for long. We didn’t manage to eat it all because the portions were very generous as well. One thing I would’ve liked is if there were more vegetables to go with our meal such as the carrots and mushrooms because before long, it was just a mouthful of meat and rice. My friend found a hair in her food but dismissed it seeing as it was a very short one, maybe that of the chicken itself. However, when it came to paying, each of us had counted out our share of the payment exactly. Twice. There was no chance that the sum of money in her hands could’ve changed when making the short walk to the cash register. On counting our money, we were told that we were short by a dollar which didn’t make sense. The lady at cash register insisted that she be the one to count the money. While $1 isn’t a whole lot, it does speak volume about the level of the unprofessionalism here as she was adamant about her coin-counting abilities and wouldn’t be persuaded otherwise. This place is a nice and cheap eat and I’d consider going to it again but it won’t be a first pick.

Convivialsins

It’s been years since I last ate at this joint and has recently changed to “D House Cafe”. It used to be Desert House and it had reaaally good hongkie food.. tonight am sad to report that it’s gone!! I ordered what was my favourite years ago the “wat Tan Hor”..., rice noodles with egg chiffon. It’s crap! The flat rice noodles was bit hard and stick together. cook can’t cook. Did not use enough oil and not on high blistering heat to give it the “wok” flavour!! Ingredients??? Hmmm egg chiffon and beef.. that’s it!! For $12.50! hmmm I’ll stick to suburbia!! The tea coffee combo was too sweet! WIR?? That’s a big fat no!!!

Hong Nguyen

Hong Kong’s delicious dishes and one of my favourite place to eat when i’m in town. Great location, just opposite the QV building. The food is very tasty and cheap. Favourite from the menu is the baked rice from picture below and the seafood XO fried rice, oh and you need to add plenty of their chilli oil. Best chilli oil around.

Chance

Really enjoyed their noodle soup. Can be rare to find a place that serves blood tofu in Melbourne and this place offers it, though its freshness can differ from time to time.

ThatFoodie

D-House is one of your inexpensive 'Go-To' asian places to eat. With a large range of dishes for affordable prices, it's pretty much asian comfort style 'fast food'. The ordering system is via pen and paper. The Baked Chicken (Mushroom / Portugese) is a simple and comforting dish. The sauces are flavoursome and mix well with the rice. Being able to choose 2 types of sauces allows for more variety in flavour. Its a basic dish that focuses on quantity which will leave you full at the end of the day.

Kevin Kalip

Best restaurant in the world. Order B02 with fried rice. No ragrets. D House life! Look at this satisfied customer. B02 and baked rice only! The other items are meh

Munching Pandas

Panda 🐼🐼🐼 : Most of the time its busy, so cuttlery, drinks, and writing order is provided at the table so its pretty much a self service which is better to save some time The dish has so many variation. The portion is big and the price is very reasonable. The dish was never dissapointing as well!! They have two level so its quite spacious Pandon’t ❌❌❌ : Might take a while to wait for your order to be ready Some of thw staff barely speaks english

Elonie

This is a popular place for lunch for students and workers. The lunch specials are ok. You put your order on a piece of paper and give to the staff. The cutlery are stored in a drawer under the table so it's pretty self-service. Probably a good thing since the staff is usually too busy to help out. The vegetables included in the rice bowls was quite minimal - few pieces of cabbage coleslaw.

Jennitals

LIT: cheap, fast and easy meal on swanston street. Not to mention that the dish was delicious (but doesn't blow your mind) NOT SO LIT: tables are way too close to each other. It was a struggle to get into the inside you physically have to push the tables.

Hello. Imnikki

The fact that this place remains standing till today says a lot about the food there. It’s definitely not the service, or more specifically the lack of service, that is winning hearts so I’m betting that many gravitate back to D House Cafe due to the Hong Kong cafe style food available. Not many places serve the whole gamut of HK cafe style food in Melbourne, but if you’re ever hankering for some and you’re in the city, do look to D House Cafe. Baked rice, noodle soups, dessert soups, 車仔麵, snacks you see on the roadside in HK such as curry fish balls or imitation shark fin soup, sweet toasts, burgers, sizzling plates - you name it, they most likely have it or a variation of it. While the taste nor the quality are the best, and at times even just passable, you can’t deny that cheap and fast comfort food draws people in.

Ferry Gondo

Hong Kong Style comfort food. Ate here probably more than 25 times. Lemongrass chicken chop is my favorite. The lemongrass flavor was fully accentuated in the chicken chop. Served with spring onion with soy sauce mixture only enhances the flavor of the dish. Another good dish is deep fried chicken ribs, damn tasty fried stuffs with rice and spice. Good for easy quick lunch or dinner or even takeaway. The table may be a bit small for groups.

Vespine

Almost lives up to the greatness that was Pancake Dessert house in mid city arcade. Spicy chicken, crispy noodles, seafood omelette, all the favs are there. Nothing fancy or trendy here, but the value here is extremely high.

Ilovefoodsomuch

Busy place during lunch but the food came out quick had the baked Portuguese chicken rice which was not bad. One bad thing was the tables were right next to each other so the people next to you could hear your whole conversation

Isaac C

I'm not one to write reviews but by far this has been the worst dining experience I've had in Melbourne. Hear me out, I've been here a couple of times and the food was average but because it's cheap I continue to go there. However, this time while I was chewing on my food I found a sharp piece metal in the meat. How can this possibly happen. Nothing was done and the waitresses carried on as if nothing had happened. ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE. THIS PLACE IS A HEALTH & SAFETY HAZARD!

MY NAmE IS Lee

We went to D House last night and had the fried rice noodle with beef and the BBQ meat combo with rice. The fried rice noodle was pretty yummy and a good serving too, but the BBQ meat combo we're not as good as what we were expecting, not much meat on the plate with mostly a big serving of rice. We thought the rice noodle deserved 3.5-4 but the meat combos deserved 2 to 2.5. So we give 3 for total.

Justin

Love the baked chicken rice! There isn't many places that do this dish anymore and these guys do it pretty well. Been coming here since we were high school. Prices have gone up quite a bit though.

Happyley

Consistent, cheap and fast service. You get what you pay for here and it always tastes the same. Good for a quick lunch or dinner but can get busy. Service is fast and efficient. Good for a no frills meal. Eat here regularly.

Sylv

A small Hong Kong diner in the middle of the heart of Swanston St, the food was average but not amazing. Portions were quite large which made it filling and satisfying, the service was meh, staff member didn't really acknowledge anything I said during ordering 😐 but overall it was an alright experience.

Soham Roy Chaudhuri

D House Cafe is a Hongkong street food restaurant. The restaurant is not very large and spacious but service is not bad. I like the Portuguese baked chicken in rice and its so cheap in cost.

Judene Messi

A regular favourite of mine. The prices have gone up a little but the food is still great. They have a lot of classic Cantonese dishes such as chilly stir fried eggplant and omelette on rice. Food is always tasty and service isn't too bad either. A great place to grab a quick bite while at uni, lunch break or even for supper. However, one thing that I really miss is this watermelon tofu dessert they used to serve ages ago (7 - 8 years) and it was the best! Here's hoping that they actually read my review and bring that dessert back! 🍉

Megan King

Used to go to dessert house in Chinatown but it has closed down.. :( They then changed their name to D House cafe and settle their one and only location on Swanston Street. Definitely the place to go if you are looking for good and authentic HK dishes. Growing up in HK, I can say that d house cafe serves typical HK fast food and most importantly, price is cheap and big portion.

Sylvia Liang

I find hair in my dish and I call the staff. They took the hair out in front of me and gave the dish back to me, didn't even say sorry. I am so disappointed with the customer service. I won't recommend it to others.

欣玲刘

Despite the poor customer service, I feel that this is possibly the best hongkong restaurant in Melbourne. Try their spicy fried chicken with rice or lemongrass pork chop with rice! Service is quick although not the friendliest but they get the food out and quite attentive. Definitely a regular visit!

Melbourne Culinary

Hong Kong style cuisine is a mixing pot of different culinary influences from many places in the world. Hong Kong's past as a British colony and history of being an international city of commerce has lent to the variety of influences shown in the modern day style of Hong Kong Cuisine. D House Cafe is one of many Hong Kong restaurants which serve this style of food and although the food seems more suited to either lunch or afternoon tea, I quite enjoy visiting for a quick and cheap dinner.

The Harsh Critic

Summary: Food - 3 Drink - 1 (getting worse and worse) Service- 1 Would I come again - yes I've been coming here for a very long time. Their baked pork chop rice in tomato sauce is quite authentic, true to Hong Kong taste. Lemon tea was ok like every other time. Their let down is the service. Usually for a cafe like this, service doesn't bother me, but this time as I dine outdoor, I had to order inside first. It frustrates me because I had to tell the waiter 3 times, I haven't ordered and I'm sitting outside. Another waitress took my order at the end but she left to take out food for other customers while I waited there to pay and I had to dodge food and her at the same time. Now that I returned again, there are no more discounts on drinks for the rice/noodles dishes you order. I ordered a hot lemon tea and it was so bitter and has no lemon taste. Definitely doesn't worth $3.50. I have to return for their food because my hubby likes the baked pork chop fried rice on tomato sauce.

Must Be Hungry

D House - we often come here for a Beef Brisket Rice Noodle Soup🍜. The pictured is off the “build your own noodle soup” menu😊. I have yet to find a Beef Brisket noodle soup in Melbourne as good as this one😍. The taste and look is very traditional Hong Kong Beef Noodle Soup, something that I always crave for😀. This Massive bowl is also very cheap for what it is (around $11), will 100% satisfy your cravings. I highly suggest people check this place out, especially try this particular item. Don’t expect 100% customer service, this place is about the food, just like the street foods of HK.😅 Thank you for having us 🙏

Mi55Bee

Standard student joint for quick and delicious meal, always opted for the xo friend rice or kimchi fried rice because of its enormous portion and its sooo yum!

Fork4Thought

It has always been a challenge to find a genuine Hong Kong cafe in Melbourne. D House Cafe is my go-to for a quick (and affordable) dinner. I've had the Portuguese baked chicken and the Steak with Spaghetti (weird combo right?) and I was pleased. The serving size is decent given the cost of the dishes, and I definitely recommend checking out this neat little HK cafe.

Kein

The last survivor of traditional HK cafes in the CBD, it seems. The original Dessert House in Midcity Arcade has closed, the same goes for 正斗 (Secret Kitchen). Definitely the place to go if you're in the city and looking for a solid hit at the salt and pepper chicken ribs, along with other HK dishes.

Jarryd Latch

This place does the best fried rice (my opinion). Service is quick, but not rushed. Always busy, but manages to put out quality food every time. Prices are reasonable, and the atmosphere is great.

BeeEater

Had dinner for 2. The setting of the tables were very close together, which many people may find uncomfortable sitting at such closer proximity The concept of buying a rice or noodle dish that resulted in reducing the drink price was interesting however the drinks were very bland, watery and tasted watered down (Iced Red Bean Drink with ice cream $3.20) + Iced Lemon Tea $2.00). The food did not come out at the same time. Food was okay nothing special ( Pork chop on Rice, $10.90 + Baked Pork Chop $12.90 ). Service was okay as customers write down their order on a piece of paper and gets passed to waiter.

MF

Had quick lunch here and it was just okay, price was cheap, but the food are typical hk fast food, my partner told me it was famous, but i guess coz last time not many good resto yet, their famous pork chop taste like no marinade whatsoever, chicken with black pepper sc was covered thoroughly with thick blend sauce, which i knw was instant as a lot of thick brown lump everywhere (disgusting), the chicken wing was okay, but the menu shown served with salad, but the reality theres no salad found anywhere on the plate.

We Nomz

Ordered the lemongrass chicken and fried egg on rice. The chicken is well marinated and the dish is simple but satisfyingly good. Also ordered the Hong Kong style noodle with your choice of noodle, sauce and ingredients, pretty good as well. Good portion and good for a quick meal.

The Whippeteers

WHAT DOES "D" HOUSE STAND FOR? we asked....no one knew. Finally one staff got it "DESSERT HOUSE"! How was? Nicer inside than it looked outside. Quite comfortable really. The Taiwanese Chicken was spot on, lightly deep fried with a traditional salt and pepper seasoning. Comfort food that triggered one Whippeteers childhood memories of Taiwan. This Whip preferred the DEEP FRIED STEAK. Sounds AMERICAN, hey? Lightly battered and deep fried with a gorgeous pepper sauce. Loved it.

Asian Food Ninja

Way over ninja!!! So we had the munchies late at night and we stumbled over this place and love to try HK style food, it was at 1145pm. The black bean stir fried noodle was overly salted, the beef seem like it was soaked in bicarbonate soda for awhile so its chewy. The deep fried spicy pork ribs was tough to chew and heavily peppered .... We didnt finish our meal amd this never happens! Hope its an off day for them .... Until next time ... Keep eating !!!

David Liao

Went to their China town shop and it's no longer open. Had craving for the noodle soup. Very disappointed noodle was over cooked. Service was slow.

Doran

It is surprisingly difficult to find a good Hong Kong Style Cafe in Melbourne, so I was happy to discover D House. They have true Chinese cafe food and at very reasonable prices. I would recommend their dry egg noodle with lemongrass chicken. It comes with some minced ginger and green onions mixed in which is bursting with flavour, and a side of piping hot broth. Delicious!

Littlebear

Really love the food here, it's not only cheap but very tasty. I especially love their creamy baked dishes.

Michael Pratama

Food was okay with decent price. However the service was terrible. The waitress literally yell with unclear voice of which food is it, and throw our food. It's not even in the rush hour

Sylvia's POV

You can get a decent dose of HK style food here. Reasonable prices and portions. Establishment is a bit small, but extra seating is offered upstairs. I had the lemongrass chicken with fried egg on rice, it was a bit on the oily side, but was still enjoyable.

Lois Wo

Used to always go here with my friends after a good dance sesh. Tasty food hailing from HK with many options. Would recommend getting the cheap menu if you're a bit low on cash. Portions are also really big so I normally would'nt be able to finish it which means takeaway ;) Can get quite busy during rush hours so think of doing takeaway if you're really hungry. Haven't got sick of this place yet so clearly they're doing something right :)

Ta.be.tabi

Before Harajuku Crepes came along I used to visit D House Cafe’s old shop, Pancake Dessert House, in China Town for Banana Crepes. It has since closed down and even this current one no longer offers it. I also got hooked on their baked rice dishes at some point! I haven’t been here for years due largely to the fact that I don’t carry cash often, but I decided it was finally time to take a trip down memory lane as I needed a cheap filling eat.

AlbertsMummy

It's a fun place to eat at as you write your own order down on a form which my 11 year old son loves doing. This avoids interacting with the wait staff which can be an advantage in some places ;) HK style food but it is quite overpriced for the serving sizes. I ordered beef with blackbean sauce with crispy egg noodles on a sizzling plate - $12.80 & I would have gotten about 8 small pieces of meat, lots of onions & capsicums & not much noodles. Not what you'd call "great" value. One good thing is you can order $2 drinks with noodle or rice dishes. The staff vary greatly - they can either be ridiculously aloof & rude or reasonably friendly. No in between. It's generally a child free zone so they are either entertained or not by their minor customers. They charge 50c for takeaway containers & are cash only. Worth trying but there has to be better places in the city to eat. Oh & the tables soooooo squashed together. You become one with your next door table mates!

Lily Nguyen

Perfect for a quick cheap lunch feed! Service was quick and the workers were very friendly in taking our orders. The garlic cheesy chicken rice was delicious and filling. I would definitely come back!

Eddie Han

Ahhh, the food of Hong Kong. The only place where you'll see pasta and rice on the same menu. The orange painted walls of Dhouse make it very clear that this is a place that doesn't take itself too seriously. Whether you're after a pasta bake, Asian style chicken burger, or just a bit of traditional Chinese grub, Dhouse has all of that under the one roof.

Jean

Ordered the same food as my friend, his food came a lot later. He accidentally chewed on a metal piece that was found in the pork itself. They weren't especially apologetic about this.

StepiiGM

The place is always busy so we thought to give it a try at least once. Food was quick to arrive and pretty tasty. However, table was very small and too close to each other - barely had space to walk in between and not comfortable for longer stay. We had seafood omellete on rice and salmon baked fried rice with pepper sauce. The omellete was good but my fried rice was dry 😦.

Review D House Cafe - Melbourne