Imperial Kingdom Chinese Restaurant, Glen Waverley, Melbourne

I visited the Imperial Kingdom at Glen Waverly, not once but twice, within an auspicious weekend, once for yum cha one day and then for a wedding dinner another evening. I can remember how the restaurant was beautifully transformed for Maggie and Eu-Gene Yeap's dinner reception at this venue. The dishes were carefully chosen for good omen and brought out the best in what the Imperial could offer. Lobster, prawns, crispy chicken, delicious noodles and extensively decorated banquet tables (each with the piece de resistance being the variety of floral bouquets) remain delightfully in my heart and mind's eye.


You walk up a staircase under a cover and reach the foyer of the restaurant. The dining area sits on this upper level, so I could easily see the goings on around the nearby junction, highway and neighbouring activities. Having this so-called bird's eye view delightfully reassures one of securely seated in a strategic lookout, especially during the change of colours from twilight to night. Then vaguely familiar individuals and more reassuringly known friends from the Melbourne area turn up, all dressed up happily and smartly for the occasion. The tables are placed close to each other but then everyone expects that in a Cantonese themed restaurant.


Maggie and Eu-Gene had a lunch reception earlier that special day with a modern Australian feel, complete with the bridal dance, walking under a canopy and letting off some party shoot off cannons. Tonight it was more Canton, although many dressed in Western styles. In contrast, the atmosphere at yum cha time, back at the Imperial, reflected more of the everyday bustle of such meals across the Chinatowns and suburbs of the world. The service, as required and expected, is fast and the tasty servings make me wonder why at times do we need to go downtown for such fare (again). There is ample ground level open air parking for the restaurant, though I am not sure if there is a lift up to the first floor. The yum cha tables had more variety to fit various numbers of people, unlike the ten per table practice for wedding dinners.


Is yum cha better in Melbourne than in Sydney, or Hong Kong and Vancouver? I reckon it depends on what you order from the moving passer-by trolleys - I would identify with fresh ingredients, skill in texture and cooking and how they are kept ready for serving. The skins must not be starchy, the vegetables must be appetising, the deep-frieds not soggy. The choice of teas must be liberal. The decor is not critical, but the taste in your mouth and on your palate as you place that delicate creation for your experience. The variety of sauces available and the quality of cutlery, chopsticks and China often vary between an elegant place and an ordinary one.


At the Imperial Kingdom, I had occasion to try the mango pudding, char siew pau (steamed pork buns), rice noodle rolls (with prawns in soy sauce)- and loved them all. My impressions of the Imperial Kingdom in Glen Waverly, greater Melbourne, are:

Atmosphere: Noisy and crowded.
Location: Suburban.
Taste: No need to go down to Little Bourke Street in Melbourne CBD.
People Engagement: As in any medium to large sized Chinese restaurant.
Service: Satisfactory.
Best Time to Visit: Dinnertime.
Fav Dish Experienced: Char siew so (baked pork filling pastry)and claypot vermecilli with lobster. Would I Return?: Yes.

Lees Malaysian - Sydney CBD

In the heart of bustling Sydney's city centre lies the HSBC Centre, off George Street, and the street entry food court has a range of office lunch time food providers. The one special to my heart is nearest the main entry, a branch of Lees Malaysian, offering an equal mix of Chinese Australian dishes and Malaysian staples like curry laksa, satay skewers and the classic har mee (prawn sufficed stock soup accompanied by vermicelli or Hokkien noodles). In all these years, my penchant for their version of the har mee has not abated.  I recall with fondness even now, how I would ensure having this dish for dinner before going home to the Sydney suburbs. The bus stop I used was only a stone's throw away along Druitt Street and I would gingerly time myself for enough indulging in this dish before catching the public transport home. This outlet of Lees Malaysian also opens late to almost 7pm each weekday evening, so it was great to visit after work or gym.  Above image - the Mongolian lamb, a staple of Chinese food in almost every Australian town and city.

Satay, oh satay as it should be.   Juicy, tender and moist, exuding of the best parts of chicken or beef cuts (above), flavoured just right with a combination of spices and whiff of  lemon grass in the south-east Asian style.   The peanut and chili based sauce is most critical, adding to the sensation of well prepared and marinaded meat cubes melting in our mouths.  Below, an illustrative representation of what is referred to as dim sims Down Under, always deep fried, wrapped in batter or skins - picture below depicts the spring rolls and snack bites, always good with beer or tea.

Above , the dish that I clamour for, a sort of soul or comfort food from my childhood - the har mee.
Garnished with a variety of equatorial spinach (kangkong), graced by thin juicy slices of prawn and pork cuts and topped up by a sprinkling of crunchy deep fried shallots, the dish's ultimate taste and outcome is also influenced by the amount of chili paste condiment you prefer and adopt (on spoon in picture above). The soup is first served clear before you add your choice of how much of such a chili paste condiment you then stir in.  There is always a half boiled egg as well for this street food special is traditionally consumed at breakfast time.  Yummy yum, I am salivating as I write this piece.

There is a method to making the noodle soup, as evident by the display above at Lees Malaysian.

The ingredients are prepared in various ways - chopped, sliced  or julienned - before any cooking is done.  They may involve carrots, corn, green veg, cabbage, lettuce, mushrooms, cooked meats and more, and the image above reminds me of a Subway fast food outlet as well.

My overall impressions of the Lees Malaysian outlet, located at the HSBC Centre in downtown Sydney, are:

Atmosphere:  Office and student crowd.

Location:  City centre.

Taste: Good value.

People Engagement:  Food court.

Service: Quick and responsive

Best Time to Visit: 2pm to 7pm on weekdays

Fav Dish Experienced: Har Mee

Would I Return?: Always

Crown Palace, Forest Hill/ South Vermont, Melbourne

The Yeaps brought me to this suburban yumcha place when  I stayed with them. Crown
may look like the typical Chinese restaurant which could be anywhere in the middle of USA or in Australia. There is adequate vehicle parking outside and the Burwood Highway has passing traffic. 
Once you step inside, the staff are generally friendly, the service is mostly quick and the food
comes with a purposeful pace.  You can then be in Chinatown of a capital city, and the tasty
servings do suggest that.  There is however much less noise and chatter when compared to downtown precincts.  Apart from yumcha, they also serve other aspects of Cantonese cuisine.

Business starts early and the place gets going by 11am.  You have the choice of round tables for ten persons to be seated, or smaller tables for two. The restaurant may have decor that may hark back to an earlier, but the trolleys and trays bearing bites of food do testify to the authenticity and experience of the cooks. There is no new fangled fusion food, but true-to-the heart steamed and deepfried variations that would be original to Guangdong and Hong Kong. I particularly like the braised chicken legs, whether marinaded with light vinegar or soy sauce, and the classic siew mai, those dainty dumplings with fillings of meshed prawn, pork and carrot.  Another staple I look forward to are steamed kai lan vegetable leaves and stalks, tender, light and juicy, dressed with oyster sauce.

Chinese food in Australia has moved significantly away from the dimsims, Mongolian lamb and fried rice to the diversity that we see today in capital cities and their suburbs - for example,  hand made cold noodles, dumplings with hot soup inside and the elegance of quality Beijing duck cuts today.  We also get more choices than southern Chinese offerings to encompass various styles from north-east China, Central Asia and Taiwan.  The Crown was previously named the Han and has survived various industry trends, changing demographics and competition from other cuisines from around the world.

My impressions of the Crown Palace, located at where Forest Hill meets Vermont South in the greater Melbourne region, are:

Atmosphere:  Not too noisy

Location:  Suburban

Taste: Authentic

People Engagement:  Friendly with a smile

Service:  Quick and responsive

Best Time to Visit:  Weekday lunch

Fav Dish Experienced:  Braised Chicken Legs, with crunchy skin and cartilege!

Would I Return?:  Always