Due to the reviews, I had low expectations when visiting for the lunch buffet. However, I walked away SUPER satisfied :) As soon as we arrived, we were greeted with a warm welcome and tea was offered. The food and service were quick, which highly exceeded my expectations. There were many food options, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. The interior decor is just amazingly stunning!!! The staff were very polite and provided excellent customer service too! Always refilling our cups with tea :) Just ignore the poor reviews and try it out for yourselves! Highly recommended!
Been here a few times since it’s opening years ago but never had yum cha here. Was contemplating if I should come here for yum Cha after I read the reviews however due to time constraint I decided to give it a try.
The dim sum is definitely not as bad as describe but definitely not the best. Every food was warm / hot except for the tau fu fa (sweet soy beancurd). The service was good (weekdays). I was able to order dim sum from the menu so it’s freshly steamed. I really like the fried noodle.
We requested for high chair but the handle and seat was oily and not sure if the safety belt was functioning properly (looks like some parts was missing) so we decided to not used it. They didn’t turn on the air con or ventilation.. it’s not too warm inside but definitely stuffy. Feel like they have lost the ‘glory’ they had back in the days.
My family and I came here for lunch. We did the buffet option which was good. Food came out quickly and we also had the option to order out the dishes. It was a good dumpling fix!
I quite like the yumcha buffet here. For $30 dollars you can eat from 11am till 3pm. You also get a complimentary 1.25L of coke or a 1L of soy bean milk. The yumcha here is quite fresh and tasty.
For a time I was starting to lose hope of finding another all you can eat yumcha. it was a few years ago and my favourite place had shut down and for a long while I couldn't find another good one; only to stumble across shanghai dynasty.
Now, I come here frequently for all you can eat yumcha, the food is high quality and the service is also very high quality; the decor is very luxurious and really feels nice to experience a meal in. I haven't tried this place for a la carte menu but I am highly satisfied with the yumcha they offer here, everything they offer is always fresh and delicious. Highly recommended over several other all you can eat yumchas I have been to.
The decor is amaze-balls! 😂 😂 now, I don't understand why this place got so many extremely bad reviews. Yeah, it's not a Michelin star restaurant, but I have definitely been to much worse places than Shanghai Dynasty and somehow those places score higher ratings than SD. Give this place a go peeps!
Minor suggestion for SD: you may want to put some food coloring in the shiraz bottles at the front. Shiraz bottles filled with water look fake.
This is another favourite Chinese restaurant of mine I go to for big family events it's a great place with a wide range of dishes, I have not yet been able to fault any dish, i often order the lobster and noodles or crab and steam fish with a lot of other sides as well I highly recommend it another great thing about this place is the private dining rooms they have being able to have your own room away from the rest of the people really does allow you to have the full dining experience away from noise
The decoration in this place is so over the top. Highly recommend it for eat all you can yum cha. It's a good value for money. Quality is above average and you can order duck as part of the all you can eat yum cha. I would suggest to order it quick cause god they take a while to bring it out. Yet to try hot pot with them.
Actually the Yamaha here is not that bad. There a various choices, high portions and beautiful environment. But if you go there at buy time, the speed and service maybe not that good as too many people to serve and the dishes on the small trolley is not enough. I'd like to went there early. Th flavour is good enough to have but still under the level in China.
Melbourne Epicurean Juror
+3.5
I lunched today at the Shanghai Dynasty (which seats around 300, this restaurant is huge) and I was blown away by the absolutely ornate traditional décor in all it's magnificent splendour. I don't normally embellish my reviews with so many photos, but to do the restaurant justice I felt it necessary. I ordered their Sweet & Sour Chicken (without batter) at $26.80 (a tad expensive but being fair one is paying for a 5 star eatery), the meal was great and served steaming hot and within 15 minutes of ordering. Wait staff were good but not great, lacked a friendly approach in my opinion. I did however find it rather amusing that there weren't any serviettes on their tables and that a box of tissues is supplied instead, but upon asking I was quickly given a silk textured red serviette without further a do.
The Juror's Verdict: Food 4/5, Service Provision 2.5/5, Will I return: Yes, I'll return in due course for a different menu selection.
Phill Jury (food critic & writer)
Totally awesome, real food spot on.
Many choices, lovely atmosphere.
Great service.
And it can be all you can eat if you choose.
A real great special treat for your taste buds.
I thought the AYCE yum cha is not bad at all. Service so quick and friendly. For $29.80, it's a total bargain. I have to say the steamed dim sims were mostly fresh and tasty. Unfortunately their steamed glutinous rice dumplings (the one wrapped in bamboo leaves) are not fresh and probably re-steamed many times. I will definitely go back again. My group did arrived early at 11.30am Saturday so it was not busy yet and food was abundant.
Shanghai Dynasty is in the city, in the same building where the old Village cinemas was. But its expensive. As students however we did not go for the expensive option. We went for the $29.80 all you can eat which has 80 varieties of dim sum and noodles. We couldn't have the fried or sweet things because of Febfast. We are taking part in this years Febfast, which is giving up sugar and fried food for a month. With fried food I feel really lethargic sometimes because of the oiliness.
Opulent, and audacious, Shanghai Dynasty is certainly a memorable venue. If you enjoy the lustre of gold, and worship the sparkle of shiny objects, then you will really like the décor. In fact, if you’re anything like me, you will want to take home bits of their furniture, and offer to buy the ornaments.
Went there for a friend's celebration party. The server was hilarious!! We ordered the king crab, after showing the live crab, he gave us ample time to take pics and was even trying to find the best angle for a good shot for us. Thank you sir! You sure know how Asians are like with their food and cameras! The food was pretty standard for places in its category. Ambience was nice. Heard once that the service was bad but I dont think so, I guess it depends on the customers as well. Will go back on a pay day if you know what I mean😁😁
Better second time around. Avoid seating along the long hall at all costs, by the time food gets to you its all cold. Main room is where it's at.
All in all, Shanghai Dynasty is simply a well-balanced place. My white friends love it because for once Yum Cha can be clean and elegant.
Hard to comprehend you have stepped off bustling Bourke Street into this ornate & grandiose setting. Our yum cha dishes were fine and the service professional. We shall definitely return to experience their à la carte menu.
“Wow!” was what I thought when I first entered this restaurant. They have covered every centimetre of this place with opulence. There were chandeliers dripping with crystals, objets d’art, gilded ornaments, ornate furniture, wall to wall and floor to ceiling marble, and richly patterned carpets which matched the chairs and the plates. The main colour scheme was a rich gold which was set off by darker timber and navy colours. The style was Chinese infused with European influences. It was hard to believe that we were actually above a shopping arcade in the Melbourne CBD. Raymond the Maitre D’ had previously worked in Shanghai, China. Polite and friendly, he showed us around the restaurant which was larger than it appeared from the outside. We kept on walking as room after room of beautifully laid out dining areas was revealed, rather like Alice in Wonderland!
Satisfication customer service
I celebrated my husband 's birthday at Shanghai dynasty restaurant tonight. I was very happy with the food . The manager and the service staff help me to have the table decoration done. I read the reviews and I was a little bit worried if the food and the service might be worse. However , all is excellent.
Well done with your improved service . I will recommend your restaurant to my friends.
Amazing value for money. Four of us had yum cha there last Sunday. The choices were varied and delicious. The staff we dealt with were very friendly. We did notice an obnoxious waiter serving other tables and he's perhaps giving the staff a bad face. We ate a lot of food that day and it was $25 per head including a drink each. Will be back.
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Amazing Seafood dinner. I'm really surprised by the unanimous reviews of horrid service at Shanghai Dynasty. We had dinner at Shanghai Dynasty on the 14th of March 2014 and the service was immaculate: friendly, professional, attentive and helpful. I'd hate to think it's a matter of race ( we are cantonese and so are the help and owner, we spoke in cantonese) or a difference between daytime (yum cha) and night time staff.
We chose Shanghai Dynasty for it's opulence and seafood menu, it was a special graduation dinner. The food, was AHMAZING.
If you want something different at a good chinese restaurant, this is what we ordered:
We had entrees of cold jellyfish in sesame oil and a plate of the most wonderfully seasoned wood ear fungus served cold.
For the mains, we had one snow crab cooked with foie gras and noodles. STAR OF THE SHOW. This was amazing. I can't recommend this more. It's not ON the menu but its something the chefs can do if you know how to ask for it.
We also had a steamed murray cod that was stellar, the flesh was silky soft and just slid down your throat. Fish are best done steamed at a good Chinese restaurant, this allows for the freshness and sweetness of the fish to make it's statement. The waiter did a very good job of "raising the bone" of the fish that left the entire fish intact.
We also had a plate of stir fry garlic and snow pea shoots. It's so delicious and a different turn on the normal Chinese broccoli.
Lastly, we had a plate of seafood fried rice not on the menu.
Had a very nice and enjoyable Yum Cha lunch, the customer service was very good and the food was delicious, will come back again next time!!
Good for its namesake, but yum cha is not from Shanghai. Pros: the traditional shanghai food is just that- traditional. It did not cater to my westernized (and "Canton-ized") tastes .. But for what it is, it was authentic. Decor was amazing, marble, gold and stone, flawless. Cons: their attempt to cater for tastes like mine fell short. As foodiephil (a self proclaimed native shanghaian) wrote: yum cha does not originate from shanghai, so like him I cannot understand why people are eating yum cha there.. its like going to a cantonese restaurant and ordering their peking duck.. Or going to KFC and ordering a whopper. Lack of awareness of geographical differences, probably. Wir: I respect the restaurant although I would only return if someone wanted the real old shanghai (shanghai was once a royal city in ancient times) at a steep premium.
Yum yum! Albeit a little pricey but the quality and deliciousness really do stands out from other yumcha places :)
Good one, worth to try.. I like the way the restaurant is set up, service and food is good and the price is very reasonable compare with its interior decor. Definitely worth to try.
New owner and they are sorting themselves out. So Tried the food from the new chef, both of which comes directly from China. Great food, but don't order your normal Chinese take away food..
Must try the spicy beef.
Sorry food was taken half way during the meal...
Plenty of choices, good place to have Yum Cha with friends. The price is cheap, but the washroom needs to be fixed. Some damages are there for long time(over 6 months), better replace it.
Fancy place, slightly more pricier however the atmosphere and food is worth it
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