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We were craving quick cheap dumplings so we made our way into Chinatown. We ended up going to Empress of China to use 30% off Eat Club deal.
We grabbed Steamed Xiao Long Bao ($9.8), Pan Fried Pork and Vegetable Dumpling ($8.5), Steam Prawn Dumplings ($8.9), DanDan Noodle ($7.9), Shanghai Style Fried Noodle ($8.9). They all tasted great - maybe a bit too oily but not complaining considering their price range and portion sizes. Hard to choose my favourite dish because they were all adequately decent.
Delicious very cheap dumplings with no fuss and BYO anything. Great for groups. Other food on the menu is delish too.
Was looking for a nice dumpling lunch, where they have tasty filling and crunchy bottoms. This hit the spot and for an amazing price! Will definitely return.
8 of us paid 86 dollars altogether inc. corkage. I dont know how these people get money. Thanks guys
Yummy and cheap food, fun atmosphere, great location in relation to the CBD! The downside is how busy it can get and the wait time, but this can be avoided by booking a table ahead of time! Consequently, you can't stay here for too long after you finish eating as they'll deliver the bill and rush you out, which may seem rude but is understandable considering the number of customers this place gets. Definitely recommend!
Loving their pan fried dumplings and wonton soup!! Dumpling skin is thinner than other places, which means they won't fill you up too quickly. The vegetarian fillings were YUM. Will come back for more of those. Fast service. Comfortable seating. Overall it was a good dining experience.
Best BYO dumplings in town!
So delicious, always buzzing with customers. Empress is my go to dumpling place. Such good value for the price as well as an excellent location in little Bourke st.
For the price point, this is an amazing little dumpling place. The food was really great. Perfect for a relaxed with dinner with a good friend 😊
Amazing value, cheap eats in MElbourne CBD. Where else can you get 15 dumplings for $8. It's insane! To top it all off its BYO with cheap corkage per person. Always a favourite hang out spot
A very enjoyable place for friends and family, particularly on weekends as the ambience is great. Definitely be sure to book when going in large groups as they can get really busy. Service is quick and food is good. The cucumber and garlic is simple but a favourite!
Always busy, always able to fit you in, though you will need to que up on a Saturday night. Accomodating for vegan, the Chinese broccoli with garlic sauce was so full of flavour and the salt and pepper tofu was so crispy on the outside, but soft and fluffy inside. But you must try the dumplings. Delicious, fresh, cheap and always amazing!!!
Do yourself a favour!
Note: it can be a little squishy and noisy at times.
Food was very good. Pan fried dumplings were to die for, could have 100 of them! However, they forgot one of our items we ordered. Otherwise very very good value for money ($34 for 3 people (byo charge included!!!!) and very yummy. The average review of 3.8 is a good reflection of the restaurant.
Jessica Sargeant (Unbeleafablefood)
+5
Empress of China is great for a friends or family get together! You can eat and BYO wine for a very affordable cost.
I love to get the veggie dumplings, sautéed Asian greens and the garlic cucumber (sounds weird but it is amazing - trust me).
Empress of China is always busy on the weekends and nights, so if you have a larger group be sure to book! Otherwise just turn up and they will always find a little table for you.
Service is super quick and straight to the point.
A great option for a cheap, simple and FUN eat in Chinatown!
Very good pricing and fair portions. Only constructive criticism is the lack of vegetables on many of the dishes that said they would include, we had to pay $2 extra for veggies on some dishes for what we would consider to be a normal amount. Dumplings were all fantastic and ended up being about $11pp for a solid meal between 7 people. Strongly recommend for cheap food
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A small, tidy eatery that serves up flavourful dumplings at one of the cheapest prices I’ve come across in Melbourne! Empress of China was a great find in Chinatown.
My partner and I came for lunch one weekday after a friend’s recommendation, and we managed to get a table immediately. Service was attentive and fast.
We ordered the Mongolian chicken with peanut sauce, the pan fried pork and vegetable dumplings, and the traditional Shanghai style pan fried pork buns. All the food came out quite quickly.
The chicken was juicy and moist, and had a lovely sweet yet savoury peanut flavour. The dumplings were stuffed full of filling, and had a slightly chewy and crispy pastry that of course went perfectly with the vinegar soy sauce on the table. We could tell they were handmade by the staff as they were slightly different sizes. The Shanghai pork buns were the last dish to arrive. They were pan fried nicely with a crispy bottom, and like the dumplings, were crammed full of filling. We were pleasantly surprised to find shrimp inside too!
All in all, a great lunch at a great price! Would definitely come back again to try more.
Empress is my go-to restaurant whenever I'm craving for dumplings. I love going here with friends and family. Especially love the Chinese brocolli with garlic/oyster sauce and the spicy wonton dumplings 😊
very friendly atmosphere! highly recommend the pan fried vegetarian dumplings and shanghai fried noodles. Miam miam! 很好吃😋
不。 斑斑驳驳v。
Great food and prompt staff. Cheap dumplings and I feel like I’m back in the 90s. Great hustle and bustle environment. Def coming back A+++++++++++++
Do yourself a favour and get the chilli oil dumplings and get a side of the eggplant chips! Super delicious! It’s only one star away from the perfect score only because service could be a bit better but food is always fast and tasty.
Just loved the food and service.I have been to many chinese restaurants but this place has his own class and the food tastes heavenly..Everyone must try this place! !!
Food was great, the Peking duck was delish. Highly recommend! The food was delivered quickly and the staff were very friendly. Very energetic atmosphere.
First time to try here and pretty satisfied.
Reasonable price big portions lovely staff !!
Garlic cucumber and wonton was wonderful but I don't like xialong bao here .. ( sorry..😭)
If you want cheap, fast and amazing dumplings look no further than Empress of China.
The food here is excellent and no sooner than making our order 5 dishes appeared as if by magic before us, a dream all Melbournians have had given the usually long wait time for good food. At a dinner with seven people the cost came down to a staggering $15 per person I cannot stress my love for great food for an absolute steal.
I must admit that the service leaves a great deal to be desired, but if you approach the service as a means to an ends of getting your meal to you as quickly and efficiently as possible then the lack of a smile when taking your order is forgivable.
You should also expect a wait due to the restaurants overwhelming and well deserved popularity.
Would give 3.5 stars. Busy, unassuming, cheap place (ambience and price-wise). BYOW at $2.50pp. Food came quite quickly. Pork & veg dumplings good, staff gave us chilli oil when asked, Dan dan noodles good, broccoli in garlic good. No complaints on the food, but atmosphere leaves something to be desired if not just wanting to smash some dumplings and drink a bottle of wine.
Simple, fast and inexpensive. Don’t expect great service but you will be looked after. Corkage is next to nothing and the bottle shop is next door. Perfect way to start a night out:
the best and cheapest dumplings in Chinatown! The atmosphere is fantastic and if you book it is easy to get a table for any size. Service is fast
The best Chinese in the CBD. Had some great dumplings, service was good and food was delicious. Would recommend to anyone looking for some authentic chinese in the city.
Really good value this place. Not the finest food but good enough and very cheap, especially the dumplings. Torn between a 3.5 & a 4, but I'm gonna let the BYO option nudge it into 4 territory.
Really cheap and decent dumplings for Melbourne but quality doesn’t compare to the ones you can get for $1-$2 per plate in China. Takes around 10-15 minutes for food to arrive at your table which isn’t great if you’re in a rush.
Our favourite little Chinese restaurant in Melbourne, and we always go back, whenever we holiday there.
Chilli Fish Hotpot is our favourite, but we loved all of the other dishes, too (just perfect comfort food, for those rainy Melbourne days)
Tasty meals, affordable prices and great service - what more could you want, really ???
Food was fast and delicious. Tried this place for pre theatre dinner, with limited time I appreciated the fast service. The gung pao chicken was good and the beans with pork. The food arrived hot n quick. I will definitely recommend it and I will be sure to go back
Came here for a quick bite before a show and I was very impressed with the food especially the wantons in hot chili sauce. Coming back just for them!
I can only rate on my quick experience with one dish- shanghai fried noodle with vegetables. Fast service - little english so made it harder when you want to ask about the menu. Very casual, menu need a bit of a clean. Noodles was good. Polished it. Slightly less sauce would be sufficient and more vegetables please! Cheap lunch meal - $7.5. Heaps of seats.
Came here tonight with a friend and we're very impressed! The restaurant was packed and very noisy, which made it harder to talk to each other br was manageable. The food is so cheap!! We ordered lots and the total bill was $32, including corkage for BYO- which was only $2.50 pp! The food was actually decent as well! The Spring Onion Pancake was nice enough we ordered a second serve! I can't wait to come back again!
Great food, well priced and fast service. You may want to try the full menu. Will definitely go back again. Close to theatre.
The dumplings are great!
Service wasn't amazing but wasn't as terrible as some of the other reviews said. Super cheap, plenty of quantity and good enough for the money I paid. Great for uni students on a budget!
This place makes you wonder whether it's licensed, and whether they have any hygiene standards. Absolutely nails the Chinese eatery feel. No need for good service, the food speaks for itself. $3.50 for the cucumber dish is probably my favourite thing about the place, apart from the cheap BYO corksge.. everything is so cheap, it's a pity that the majority of people come here and just drink. TRY THE FOOD
Fast service, can BYO, cheap, service was OK. But the food was delicious. I loved the tea smoked duck the best and wontons in chilli sauce. Delicious cheap feed in Chinatown
I have been to Empress of China a myriad of times when I've been in the mood for dumplings. The service is terrible, without fault, however the food and prices more than make up for it in my opinion.
The dumplings have very thin pastry, and great fillings. There are many different options, all for incredibly affordable prices. The food comes out very quickly, hot and delicious. I recommend this place for good quality, cheap dumplings if you are okay with being brought your food & otherwise left alone.
Good Food, Good Mood
+3.5
I've been here on multiple occasions and although they don't necessarily have the best service and attentiveness, you get what you pay for 👍🏼 Order the basics - XLB, pan fried pork dumplings, sweet and sour chicken (pork is better), Chinese broccoli, wonton in chilli sauce, deep fried squid, with steamed rice. The vegetarian fried rice was a bit salty / greasy. Good spot for big groups and you can BYO too. They also take eftpos.
ordered take away for lunch with work mates, by far the best Chinese food I've had in Melb, especially the wonton in chilli oil, options available for vegetarians which were also nice!highly recommended!
This place is great for if you are looking for a cheap feed that does decent food. The xiao long Bao is probably better at Shanghai street or new Shanghai but you can't go wrong with the 15 fried pork dumplings for $7.50, or the pan fried Shanghai style pork buns (Shen Jian Bao) which were $8.50.
Not the best service and not fine dining, but one of the most affordable dumpling places in the CBD with pretty delicious dumplings! The pork and vegetable fried dumplings were juicy, delicious mouthfuls 15 for $7.50! The xiao long bao was good too, but not the best - very minimal soup in them. But hey, the price makes up for it. So if you're looking for a good, cheap and quick eat, and nothing too fancy, here's the place
Let's be real, we wanted dumplings and we were short on cash. We came, we conquered and we didn't feel any shame afterwards. It was loud, crowded and a little bit crazy, but the dumplings were decent and we all left happy. Definitely recommended the chilli oil dumplings (it won't make you sweat, don't worry)! Neat place!
Busy little dumpling restaurant that is worth the line up. I've been to most of the dumpling places along little Bourke and I'd say this one is definitely the stand out. The xiao long bao were definitely the best ones I've had from the cheap places (hu tong are definitely my favourites and closest to the ones I've eaten in shanghai). Steamed pork dumplings were delicious and dirt cheap. Among other things we ordered, everything tasted really good. In terms of service, it obviously wasn't fantastic and they forgot a few of our dishes, but it's a big step up from the service at surrounding restaurants. Our feast for 2 left me feeling extremely full and only cost $35 all up. I will definitely be making this my go to cheap dumpling spot in the city.
This is my second time eating here, both times on a Monday night which was great because it’s not as busy. I can highly recommend this place for a delicious affordable meal. The pork and prawn dumplings were the best and the fried eggplant but every dish was fantastic. Keep your order straight forward as English is not the first language so it could confuse things. It is china town so thats not unexpected and the service was very good.
One of our ultimate favourite dumpling places in CBD. Quick, cheap, and delicious.
We just keep coming back for their endless options of dumplings and buns.
You can BYO drink.
It gets really packed over the weekend, but it's quick to get a table.
A group of us came to Empress of China on a Friday night for dinner. We ordered a wide range of food such as honey chicken, sweet and sour chicken, dumplings, greens, fried rice, noodles, as well as drinks. The overall atmosphere in the restaurant was vibrant and bustling. Because they were very busy, they asked us to leave after 1 and a half hours of sitting. However we weren’t notified of this when booking so it was a bit disappointing to have to leave. Nevertheless, we thoroughly enjoyed our time here and were very happy with the food! Thank you Empress of China!
What can I say, this place is different. Come early and you will line up for a table. Get inside and the service is non-existent. Get your own glasses and cutlery. Write your order on a piece of paper and hand it to the waitress. Don't expect a smile. If you get one your going well.
The food is cheap and for what you get it's good.
You go for the experience. You don't always need to be waited on hand and foot.
It's part of the reason I like this place.
Unbeatable dumplings. Fast and courteous service overall. Set menu deal is great too. It has a bit of a backpacker feel and greasy spoon but it is what we were after on that day.
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