The malatang is the standout, a spicy fragrant broth adjusted to your spice level. For those looking for a milder base, the tomato broth offers a sweeter option, perfect with both meat and seafood. Ordering is made straightforward and efficient thanks to an iPad along the side of each table. Enthusiastic diners can eat without fear, with aprons available at each table to catch any unexpected spills. If you like your noodles with a serious chew, then boy do we have the dish for you.
Otherwise known as Conservatory’s arch nemesis, Melba at the Langham offers one of the only few traditional hotel buffet lunches in Melbourne. Start with a few freshly shucked Tasmanian oysters with mignonette, or blue swimmer crab with a squeeze of lemon. There’s fresh sushi and sashimi if you prefer, and Italian antipasti and charcuterie platters galore. A salad bar offers plenty of pretty pairings for the chargrilled and roast hot pot near Melbourne meats on offer, which include minute beef steaks with peppercorn jus, tiger prawns with tropical salsa, and harissa-roasted chicken. Don’t go past the butter-poached lobster bathing in a piquant lemony sauce if you want to milk the most out of your dollars spent. With curries, pasta, Asian-style street foods, cheese and desserts also on the menu, the buffet lunch at Melba is one you won’t walk away from feeling hungry.
Bookings are recommended, especially if you’re after one of those coveted balcony tables. At Dragon Hot Pot, our soup bases are based on century old hot pot recipes. A combination of marrow bones cooked for over 12 hours, with more than 20 traditional Chinese herbs and a unique golden thick fragrant broth is what makes our hot pot stand out from the rest. Made to cook-to-order with over 100 ingredients to choose from, spiciness-your-way, our customers can create endless combinations of hot pot that’s guaranteed to be delicious, every time. There are also more than a dozen varieties of som tum, or papaya salad, on the menu – from plain and simple to versions with fermented fish paste , raw prawn and raw blue crab.
Be sure to order the 'dancing noodles' at some point in the meal, where staff will hand-stretch them in front of you before dropping them into your hotpot. The dimly lit and dark-featured restaurant has shadowy marble benchtops with a mixture of table and booth dining centred around the bar. Nomad made its bones impressing Sydney diners with their quirky reinterpretations of classic Euro-style cuisine—including their insanely popular duck mortadella. The menu is based around seasonal produce and focuses heavily on local suppliers and regional producers, which means the dishes change regularly keeping things fresh and giving you a reason for repeat visits.
Lunch hours are from 11.30am–3pm for $39.90 per person and dinner 5.30–10pm for $49.90 per person. Lunch is the time to go for hot pot where a slew of different soups from spicy chicken to the famed Tom Yum encircle the restaurant. Housed in a very sizable bowl the slow-cooked broth rice noodles dance seamlessly with sliced pork as well as pork liver, heart and stomach—a nutritional serving of everything needed for the day of work ahead.
The helpful staff and user-friendly menu make it a good choice for newbies. Gather around the charcoal grill and choose beef or pork, and your level of spice. With multiple levels to choose from, contemporary-chic Guhng is great for group dining. Taste all the top picks in sets for two to six, with Angus rib fillet and sweet soy pork belly included. If BBQ’s not your thing, go for tapas, dumplings and fried chicken. Load up your plate with over 25 BBQ staples like marinated beef brisket, belly pork, chicken, prawns and more and then choose from nine different soup bases.
You’ll never leave unsatisfied, only pleased to know and experience food of the highest quality. Check out our list of thebest Korean restaurants in Melbourne.Or for our ultimate guide to Melbourne's dining scene, take a look at our top 50 restaurants. This southern-Chinese family restaurant – by Lau’s Family Kitchen alumni – serves crowd favourites like lamb spring rolls, fluffy crab omelette and Peking duck. Plus, there are plenty of vegetarian and gluten-free dishes.
Melburnians seeking the indulgence of Sichuan hot pot cooking head to Tan Hot Pot on Bourke Street in the heart of the city. Experience Melbourne’s only duck blood tofu hot pot restaurant, where softly glowing red and yellow lanterns set a moody vibe as you settle in to choose your soup base, ingredients and flavours to appease any appetite. Watch as robot waiters bring your ingredients to the table from Wagyu to fish, seafood, fresh vegetables and noodles; ready for poaching in the aromatic broth, if you are unsure of cooking times check the menu for guidance. Shape your own culinary adventure based on century-old Chinese recipes at Dragon Hot Pot Swanston on Swanston Street. Perhaps Sichuan hot and sour broth tempts with beef, pork or tofu; while the more adventurous may opt for chicken feet, or offal to add to silky collagen bone broth. There are four levels of heat to choose from, and a vast array of add-ins to pimp your hot pot — including beef slices, house-made lobster balls, enoki, pork belly, braised short rib and sweet potato noodles.
And because the Crown team know we’re suckers for a good deal, unlimited coffee, tea and soft drink are always available when you visit. CBD Japanese hot spot Takumi does an all-you-can-eat menu from $50pp ($55 on weekends). Specifically karubi beef and tender squid (there’s also finely sliced ox tongue for the brave). You could pretty much close your eyes and hope for the best when it comes to the menu (it's all good), but our tip is the BKK fried chicken with red curry spice, Nam Jaew and roasted rice. Wear loose pants for this one because you’ll want one of everything. Perched on Ferguson Street in Abbotsford, Jinda Thai has been famous for its incredible service, venue and cuisine since it opened its doors in 2013.
A champion of communal dining, Korean barbecue is all about gathering around a flaming hot grill and passing smoky cuts of barbecued beef between friends. As with most Korean cuisines, the sides are part of the main event, and the best barbecue restaurants are the ones dishing out the best banchan dishes. Daily yum cha, live seafood from the tank and crispy fried noodles are all designed to share at this Cantonese restaurant. Take a seat in the courtyard for a view of the Yarra through bamboo stalks, while sipping jasmine tea or a Singapore Sling. Choose your own hotpot adventure at this all-you-can-eat Sichuan joint.
That said, it’s more inventive dishes like the venison tartare with fermented beetroot and pickled kohlrabi—and their signature charred carrots—that make this moody spot one of the city’s most exciting recent openings. It’s all about Mama’s delicious dumplings at ShanDong MaMa on Bourke Street in the heart of Melbourne’s CBD. Expect unique northern Chinese-inspired fare at this authentic eatery, where everything ... Bordered by a broad cycling path and abutting a playground, Park Street delivers on its commitment to community-friendly practice.
The soju cocktail is a must-try, perfectly complementing the hotpot or BBQ food. The establishment also offers desserts such as ice cream, sago pudding, and freshly made pancakes. If you struggle to pick toppings from the delicious selection, may we suggest the DoDee Variety? It comes with spongey fishballs, pork ribs, pepper meatballs and crunchy peanuts and wonton skins.
Where to Find The Best Hot Pots in Melbourne for 2023
·
5 min read
