PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAChinese restaurants are scattered throughout Melbourne, not just in Little Bourke Street’s Chinatown. The eastern suburbs, for instance, have many to choose from. New Panda was one of the early successes there, although it began under another name – Purple Sands. It’s gone through a name change and a couple of owners since then, and is looking very Chinese these days. It’s a big place with lots of round tables and black chairs, panels of Chinese scenes, and bright sheets of paper listing the day’s specials in Chinese. Ask for a translation if your Chinese is a little rusty, or at a pinch you could always point to whatever they’re eating at the next table that you like the look of.
The strengths here are what you’d expect, and in particular, dumplings of all kinds which come into their own for yum cha. Seafood’s always worth a try, along with the chilli chicken. And the beef dishes are very popular: try the spicy Szechuan beef or the shredded fillet in mandarin sauce. There’s a good range of clay pot dishes, and some delicious stuffed eggplant. Weekend yum cha is busy, particularly on Sunday when there are two sittings, so remember to book.
Rita Erlich, January 2008
