Thursday, 14th June 2012 (Visit 1)
Thursday, 28th June 2012 (Visit 2)
Thursday, 28th June 2012 (Visit 2)
China Bar Signature - Chinatown
222 Exhibition Street
Melbourne
Cuisine: Chinese, Malaysian, Japanese, Seafood
Taste Rating: 8/10 Value Rating: 8/10
In the last two weeks, I have been to China Bar Signature Chinatown twice for their lunch time buffet. The first trip with a group of six and two weeks later, with a group of nine. I have also been to China Bar Signature Burwood several times over the years.
Why did I and most of the group come back a second time to the Chinatown branch? We were impressed with what the place had to offer - great ambience, clean environment and good layout of the buffet areas, attentive service that was not intrusive, and of course, the food. On both occasions, we were very happy with the large variety of food on offer. Our cultural backgrounds include Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian, Italian, Indian, Middle Eastern and Anglo Saxon. Every single one of us found food which we were pleased with. We made multiple trips to the buffet stations, before groaning that we were stuffed and would like to eat more but it was not physically possible. Pace yourself or you will struggle by the time you start on desserts!
There is a promotion currently where you can buy a voucher for 'Buy 2 Get 1 Free'. For lunch on Mondays to Thursdays, this works out to $19.30 per person instead of the normal $29. Note that this promotional voucher has to be used at the same lunch by the three persons sharing this deal. I have always paid full price for the Burwood branch buffets so this was the first time I had used their online voucher system. It was very easy to register for the voucher, as well as optionally book a table online. The response for the voucher is real time (instant) to your email account, while the booking confirmation takes about a day to land in your email account. All you have to do then is rock up to the restaurant armed with a printout of the voucher at your booking time (they say they give away your table if you are 15 mins late), or they will accept a view of the email on your mobile phone. Friday Lunch costs more, as does Dinner - check their website or call them.
It would be too much to write about every dish I have sampled or that the others were enthusiastic about, so I will mention just a few. I have taken heaps of photos and will post these here to give you an idea of the variety. It is interesting to note that quite a number of the main dishes on the second visit were different to the first trip (compare the photos if you are interested) - which is good if you are a regular visitor.
So, what were the stand out dishes. The noodle station made me a fantastic Char Koay Teow to order - pick as much or as little of any of the ingredients available. The friendly and polite chef produced a very tasty piping hot char koay teow. The roast meat station has lean roast duck, crispy roast pork belly (which I skipped as I don't like any fatty meats!) and soya sauce chicken. These were hanging on display Chinese-style and with slices in trays which were refilled generously throughout the time we were here. There were 3 types of Chinese-style soups - my favourite was the herbal chicken soup which was light and clear but with a depth of flavour.
The other dish that stood out for me on visit one was the large prawns crumbed with salted egg yolk. The chicken (with bones) curry and the beef curry were not bad. I self-assembled a nasi lemak with these two curries, achar (Malaysian pickles), hard boiled egg which had been fried on the outside, Asian style roasted peanuts with skin on and coconut rice. I wanted to try the Drunken Chicken and Kung Po chicken on visit one but was so busy taking photos I ran out of time and these dishes were missing on the second visit. On the second visit, I liked the black pepper beef and the fish in soya sauce. I tried the mussels with baked cheese (which I normally skip at yum chas). I waited for the tongs while the girl next to me was loading about a dozen of these on her plate. I'm glad I only took a couple as the mussels were dry and I didn't really like the cheese combo.
I don't normally waste time on the yum cha station at a buffet but the variety here is tempting - Lotus Paste Buns, BBQ Pork Buns, Steamed minced Prawn Meat Dumplings (Shaomai), Steamed Prawn Dumplings (Har Gao), Steamed Shark Fin (in name only presumably) Dumplings, Steamed Prawn Dumplings (Har Gao), Japanese Fish Roe Dumplings, Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls, Steamed Chives Dumpling, Steamed Prawn and Vegetable Dumplings, Phoenix Claws (Steamed Chicken Feet) in Gui Lin Spicy Sauce, Preserved Chicken (Lap Mei Chicken), Kueh Koci and translucent Rice Noodle Rolls with Prawns (Har Cheong Fun). Fried yum cha snacks were also available (see photos). I managed to try only the Lotus Paste Buns (nice), BBQ Pork Buns (filling was not as nice as elsewhere), Fried Beancurd skin Prawn Rolls (nice), Peanut Puff Pastry (nice flaky pastry), Sesame Balls (nice) and the Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls (very nice). The last two items sound the same but are completely different (see photos).
Why did I and most of the group come back a second time to the Chinatown branch? We were impressed with what the place had to offer - great ambience, clean environment and good layout of the buffet areas, attentive service that was not intrusive, and of course, the food. On both occasions, we were very happy with the large variety of food on offer. Our cultural backgrounds include Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian, Italian, Indian, Middle Eastern and Anglo Saxon. Every single one of us found food which we were pleased with. We made multiple trips to the buffet stations, before groaning that we were stuffed and would like to eat more but it was not physically possible. Pace yourself or you will struggle by the time you start on desserts!
There is a promotion currently where you can buy a voucher for 'Buy 2 Get 1 Free'. For lunch on Mondays to Thursdays, this works out to $19.30 per person instead of the normal $29. Note that this promotional voucher has to be used at the same lunch by the three persons sharing this deal. I have always paid full price for the Burwood branch buffets so this was the first time I had used their online voucher system. It was very easy to register for the voucher, as well as optionally book a table online. The response for the voucher is real time (instant) to your email account, while the booking confirmation takes about a day to land in your email account. All you have to do then is rock up to the restaurant armed with a printout of the voucher at your booking time (they say they give away your table if you are 15 mins late), or they will accept a view of the email on your mobile phone. Friday Lunch costs more, as does Dinner - check their website or call them.
It would be too much to write about every dish I have sampled or that the others were enthusiastic about, so I will mention just a few. I have taken heaps of photos and will post these here to give you an idea of the variety. It is interesting to note that quite a number of the main dishes on the second visit were different to the first trip (compare the photos if you are interested) - which is good if you are a regular visitor.
So, what were the stand out dishes. The noodle station made me a fantastic Char Koay Teow to order - pick as much or as little of any of the ingredients available. The friendly and polite chef produced a very tasty piping hot char koay teow. The roast meat station has lean roast duck, crispy roast pork belly (which I skipped as I don't like any fatty meats!) and soya sauce chicken. These were hanging on display Chinese-style and with slices in trays which were refilled generously throughout the time we were here. There were 3 types of Chinese-style soups - my favourite was the herbal chicken soup which was light and clear but with a depth of flavour.
The other dish that stood out for me on visit one was the large prawns crumbed with salted egg yolk. The chicken (with bones) curry and the beef curry were not bad. I self-assembled a nasi lemak with these two curries, achar (Malaysian pickles), hard boiled egg which had been fried on the outside, Asian style roasted peanuts with skin on and coconut rice. I wanted to try the Drunken Chicken and Kung Po chicken on visit one but was so busy taking photos I ran out of time and these dishes were missing on the second visit. On the second visit, I liked the black pepper beef and the fish in soya sauce. I tried the mussels with baked cheese (which I normally skip at yum chas). I waited for the tongs while the girl next to me was loading about a dozen of these on her plate. I'm glad I only took a couple as the mussels were dry and I didn't really like the cheese combo.
I don't normally waste time on the yum cha station at a buffet but the variety here is tempting - Lotus Paste Buns, BBQ Pork Buns, Steamed minced Prawn Meat Dumplings (Shaomai), Steamed Prawn Dumplings (Har Gao), Steamed Shark Fin (in name only presumably) Dumplings, Steamed Prawn Dumplings (Har Gao), Japanese Fish Roe Dumplings, Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls, Steamed Chives Dumpling, Steamed Prawn and Vegetable Dumplings, Phoenix Claws (Steamed Chicken Feet) in Gui Lin Spicy Sauce, Preserved Chicken (Lap Mei Chicken), Kueh Koci and translucent Rice Noodle Rolls with Prawns (Har Cheong Fun). Fried yum cha snacks were also available (see photos). I managed to try only the Lotus Paste Buns (nice), BBQ Pork Buns (filling was not as nice as elsewhere), Fried Beancurd skin Prawn Rolls (nice), Peanut Puff Pastry (nice flaky pastry), Sesame Balls (nice) and the Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls (very nice). The last two items sound the same but are completely different (see photos).
The let down was the sushi bar as only sushi rolls were available - the sashimi was available only at dinner. I skipped the sushi rolls to make room for other more interesting dishes. Another person in our group tried these and was quite happy with his selection.
There was also Century Egg Porridge which I found a bit bland. The salad bar was well presented but I skipped the salad to save room. I also skipped the small cheese board. There is a row of fresh fruit in baskets.
The dessert bar was overwhelming with its variety. Overall, the desserts looked great but not all of them tasted great. You will have fun sampling and finding which ones you like. The variety of desserts on both visits was pretty much the same, although there was one dessert we liked called Green Tea Opera (I think) which was missing on the second visit. There is a chocolate fountain but I skipped this as I much prefered sampling as many of the desserts as possible. As with the Burwood branch, there is a freezer of Asian style popsicles with flavours like Durian and Melon - and a sign that says 'No Takeaways' - so don't take one for the road!
If you prefer warm water to sip (it's an Asian thing!), rather than cold water, they are happy to oblige and will provide cute double glass-walled cups which keeps the water warm for longer (see photo).
Overall, we are very happy with the buffet at China Bar Signature Chinatown. Both times, we have found the quality and quantity of food to be very satisfactory. I am being asked to organise a third visit soon!
Visit #1
China Bar Signature
Noodle Station
How to Order
'Cooked to Order' Noodles
Select Your Ingredients
What I selected
- Baby Octopus, Prawns
Fresh Green Vegetables
Turning these ...
... via Stir Frying in the Wok ...
... to This!
Char Koay Teow
Sliced Ham & Salami
Savoury Tarts
Spare Ribs & Rice in Bamboo Container
Sauce for Spare Ribs Bamboo Rice
Yum Cha Counter
Lotus Paste Buns, BBQ Pork Buns,
Steamed minced Prawn Meat Dumplings (Shaomai),
Steamed Prawn Dumplings (Har Gao),
Steamed Shark Fin (in name only) Dumplings
Steamed Prawn Dumplings (Har Gao),
Steamed Shark Fin (in name only) Dumplings,
Japanese Fish Roe Dumplings,
Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls with grated coconut,
Steamed Chives Dumpling,
Steamed Prawn and Vegetable Dumplings
Steamed Prawn and Vegetable Dumplings
Phoenix Claws (Steamed Chicken Feet) in Gui Lin Spicy Sauce,
Preserved Chicken (Lap Mei Chicken), Kueh Koci
Preserved Chicken (Lap Mei Chicken),
Kueh Koci
Translucent Rice Noodle Rolls with Prawns
(Har Cheong Fun)
Fried Shanghai Dumplings, Pan fried Radish Cake,
Beancurd skin Prawn rolls, Almond flake Prawn Rolls
Beancurd skin Prawn rolls, Almond flake Prawn Rolls
Money Bags
(Deep Fried Prawn Dumplings)
Otak Otak Fish Cake
Kung Po Beef
Seafood Fried Rice
Mussels with Basil Leaves
Steamed Fish Fillet with Black Bean Sauce
Prawns crumbed with Salted Egg Yolk
Sesame Honey Chicken
Roti
Peanuts & Crunchy Anchovies
Achar (Asian Pickles)
Deep Fried Egg
Chicken Curry
Beef Curry
Roast Meat Counter
3 types of soup -
Chinese Herbal Soup with Chicken,
Pepper Fish Soup, Double Boiled Peanut and Pork Soup
Chinese Herbal Soup with Chicken
Chinese Herbal Soup with Chicken
Sushi Rolls
Cheeseboard
Desserts
Sushi Counter
Dessert Bar
Desserts
Desserts
Chocolate Fountain
Baskets of Fruits
BBQ Pork Bun (Pau) and Sweet Lotus Paste Bun
Double-walled drinking glasses
Popsicles
Visit #2
Her Majesty's Theatre on one side
Eat Pray Laugh - coincidence that we are having a buffet lunch today?!
Eat Pray Laugh - coincidence that we are having a buffet lunch today?!
China Bar Signature on the other side of the street
China Bar Signature entry
Wall Mural
Fried Sotong Ball
Salted Pepper Squid Rings
Stir Fried Baby Octopus in XO Sauce
Crispy Roast Duck
Crispy Roast Pork
Soy Sauce Chicken
Self Assembled Nasi Lemak with buffet ingredients
- curry chicken, curry beef, fried hard boiled egg,
achar, peanuts, coconut rice!
Baked Mussels with Cheese
Black Pepper Beef
Steamed Fish Fillets with premium soy sauce
Sweet Sour Spare Ribs
Seafood Fried Rice
BBQ Buns, Lotus Buns in the Steaming Basket
Savoury Asian Porridge Counter
Century Egg Porridge
Salad Bar
Sashimi
- available only at dinner
Dessert Bar
Dessert Bar
Strawberry Mousse
Strawberry Romanoff
Fresh Fruit Tarts
Honey Dew Gateau
Rock Melon Gateau
Cherry Pancake
Strawberry Panna Cotta
Caramel Custard
Creme Brulee
Honey Dew Sago Pudding, Rock Melon Sago Pudding
A selection of desserts
Carrot Cake
A selection of desserts
This is the worst. It's making me crave so badly.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy your writing style, and the pictures are nice as well.
Good post :)
Hi Anon,
ReplyDeleteThank you! I enjoy writing and taking photos. And sharing with others. It's nice when someone reads a piece and comments. :)
Cheers,
Arrow
Hi Anon,
ReplyDeleteLOL. Hope you're not still starving!
Cheers,
Arrow