HuTong in Melbourne

Service from start to finish was bloody fantastic. The kids liked the wontons and me and the mrs really enjoyed fish in a chilli broil. If it’s as good next time I will be giving it 5 stars

This used to be my favourite place for dumplings and was looking forward to returning post lockdown.Sadly, I was disappointed as half of the menu was N/A due to staff shortages and the meal we had was not up to the standard it used to be. I hope that they get back to full staff and are able to improve as time goes on.

The food was delicious. However, the down part is the supervisor on Level 3 was super rude. We booked the table for 8.30 Pm because it was the only time available. We just asked the supervisor can we have the dumplings as an Entre and then another food later; otherwise, it’s going to be too much at once on the table. He was rolling his eyes and sad ‘’ I will order the food all together because the kitchen close at 9.30, but I can’t control when it comes together or not; otherwise, you should book it early! “ we were like, we didn’t ask for free foods we understand if he cannot do it. Still, the way he said it was just unprofessional. The staff name Lex was super lovely. We wish he were the one who took our order; otherwise, our dining experience will be better

I came here with two tables of 10 people. We ordered so much food I think I ate most of the menu! And everything, especially the dumplings, was delicious! The service was nothing to write home about; however, they were run off their feet, and all the food still arrived hot, and we could get a drink when needed.

Juicy dumplings like you wouldnt believe. Dont get on the wrong side of wait staff unless you want some serious side eye.Still some of most consistent Xiao long bao in town

Service was good.Must make sure you make a booking ahead of time as they are quite busy.The dumplings were average and a bit overpriced.We were sad they ran out of fried dumplings so early in the evening.

No booking- came early - superb.Arrived pretty early as we were starving. Place booked out (3 floorsbut we said we’d be quick so got a table for four for lunch. Ordered famous shao long bao, chilli wantons, vegetable dumplings and duck dumplings. All were awesome. Best dumplings ever. Excellent service.

Delicious dumplings. Quick and friendly service. It was a pleasure to watch Patrick do his thing and seamlessly organise the entire restaurant.

Sept 2022: I have great memories of this place. I think it is nowhere near as good as it used to be or I was much easier to please 10+ years ago! Siao long bao ($16nowhere near as good as din Tai Fung. The bao wrapping much too thick. Eggplant & Scallop claypoy ($35was ok but too sweet and only 5 (or 6?scallops. Special fried rice was average ($10). Overall ok food but not worth it for the price. Friendly efficient service though.

A bit pricey but the ambience is great. Staffs are quite friendly. The food is good, but its not 100% authentic shanghai. Theres a hint of Cantonese style in the dishes. Over its a great place for an small gathering/occasion. I enjoy this HuTong more than the Commercial Rd location.

While it may not per se be the best Chinese restaurant around, the food is amazingly flavorful and has really unique flavors. Service is also superb and unexpectedly friendly. Highly recommend the crispy duck and the chili wontons, though I’d say give the “shark’s fin soup” a miss (don’t think it’s actual shark’s fin).

This place is very overpriced for the quality and portion size of the food. The honey prawns were tasty and fresh, but not worth $35. The dumplings were ok but you can get better ones for triple the quantity and half the price down the road at Shanghai Street dumpling. The glass water bottle on our table had an extremely dirty lid and when we asked for a replacement, the waiter took it away and gave us a cleaner one, but didnt apologise or show concern, which is what I would expect in a fancy expensive place like this. The toilet facility on the third floor was disgusting and looked like nothing in it had been cleaned for a very long time. This made us wonder about the cleanliness of the place overall. Unfortunately we would not go back.

One of my favourite restaurants in Melbourne. Excellent dumplings, fast friendly service. The Xiao Long Bau are juicy, I love the crispy spring onion pancake and green beans with pork mince, but my favourite dish is definitely the chilli wontons.

Definitely one of the best Chinese restaurants I have been to! The string beans with chili minced pork and special fried rice were soo good!

Ordered fried rice and salt and pepper squid. Took 30 minutes for rice and the squid never arrived. This horrible service was already demonstrated as soon as I walked through the door. Stood at the counter for a solid 5 minutes even after a bunch of waitors walked past and looked at me and said nothing. Never going back again and definetely will not recommend this to individuals who expect even satisfactory service.Edit: You will also get charged for tea here. If you want a true & proper Chinese restaurant experience, youre better off eating somewhere in Chinatown where the tea is complementary (like it always is at proper Chinese restaurants).

Came here for a quick bite before a show. We were lucky to get a seat and happy to find this hidden gem in the alley. Service was great and dumplings delicious. Will be going there again for the fish soup!

Hutong has a really good menu and range of food choices for all. They had a lot of different dishes for vegetarians. We ordered the spinach dumplings and the silky bean curd spring rolls. The Chinese tea choices are great too! We enjoyed all the different flavours and the staff are very friendly and helpful. I would recommend giving their food a go if youre craving dumplings and happen to be in the city.

Food and fitout are good, but service needs improvement.For those who have issues with stairs, please be aware that much of the seating is upstairs and you need to walk up a lot of stairs. There is very limited seating on the ground floor, which is mainly used as the kitchen.

Wont be back.Great food but if you want it hot DONT sit upstairs. We sat on the first floor our first time and everything was fine. This time, on the second floor and our food was cold.Nothing was do WEN brought to the attention of the restaurant.Thanks for spoiling a birthday celebration that was already a hard day when its also a memorial day.Very disappointing.

Honestly, the best dumplings I’ve ever had. The food service, obviously if you get here before the peak periods (I.e. Friday and Saturday nightsis fast!Honestly, can not recommend this place more! The food has been and remains exceptional, I’ve been coming here since 2018. I have never had a bad dish.Note: it is BYO with the option of buying Alcohol. The BYO is $5 per person.The comments about feeling pushed out, is valid. But, I feel like that doesn’t require a star being taken off. The food is great! A cornerstone of Melbourne.

HuTong never disappoints. But the manager is very snappy n snarky.He needs to calm down n talk softly to ppl.The waiter we had was amazing. A big smile on his face, ready to try his best and accommodate any request we had if possible, pleasant and friendly to deal with. Liked to crack a joke with us once in a while too which was great.

Consistent quality of xiao long bao. Their spring rolls, chilli dumplings are also good. Their shanghai noodles are worth trying

Great experience expect for the waiter asking for tips at the end. Made us feel tricked.

The food was okay BUT we didnt have the greatest experience.When we ordered, everyones meals all came out very sporadically and at differing times. Some of us got our entire order before others which made for a very disjointed meal. We had to on two separate occasions when certain dishes were coming out.The food itself was good. Nothing to write home about. Disappointingly they "sold out" of the pan fried pork dumplings, yet the steamed ones were available (?).The unfortunate service also was extended to the drinks menu. I had ordered another beer but never received it, but when the final bill came out, i had been charged for it. Not the greatest, but there was no problem with the servers to remove it from the bill. Also, no apology.I get that there are going to be nights when the service lacks, sure. We cant always be on our A game. But the part that really tipped me over the edge and made me write this review, was when the waitress attitude took a complete and sudden dive after I declined leaving a tip when paying the bill. All of a sudden her demeanor completely changed and she practically ignored us thereafter, even when we said thank you and goodbye. It was almost insulting given that we had just spent over $300 and had had pretty average service, as well as a disjointed meal. No thank you.It was a really unfortunate way to end our time at HuTong, and I dont think I would return.

Vegetable dish is salty, the chilli sauce wonton is not authentic taste at all, dumpling skin is thick

The OG dumpling house, a trip to Melbourne isn’t complete without stopping in here for a xiao long bao, chilli dumplings and chilli fried chicken. Great staff, the gentleman on the door has been working there for years and is always friendly and hospitable. Make sure you book so you’re not disappointed! They have some walk in spots for singles and couples but don’t count on it.

Mar 2022. Visited HuTong at the recommendation of friends. Bookings are always required as this venue is extremely popular. The manager was quite stressed downstairs, not helped by rude clients pushing for a table even though theyd been told twice already that the restaurant was fully booked.We were on the second floor and served by the wonderful Dee. Dee was super friendly and talked us through the Menu items suggesting complimentary dishes. The meal was one of the best dumpling experiences in Melbourne of all time. The beans and pork mince were THE best. Such a simple dish, done superbly! If youre in town, definitely give HuTong a try.

Everyone has their favourite dumpling place in Melbourne, so its contentious to say a place is the best. While maybe not the best, this is one of my favourites and I love the chili wontons - a must try dish!The atmosphere is cozy, the staff are really lovely, nice and service is very fast. Enjoy the aromas from multiple dishes while you dine, and be sure to have a peek in the kitchen window in the ground floor to watch the master dumpling makers at work.Price is great given the food portions. Add this one to your list when you want something a step up from your "dirty dumpling" joint.

[3.5] We came to this place as it was highly recommended for its authentic dumplings. We booked a table as we werent sure how crowded the place would be on a weekend. To our surprise, it wasnt.We were taken by very friendly staff to our table and assisted us with the menu.We ordered the following:Shao-long Bao (8 Pieces- $12.80Wantons with Hot Chilli Sauce (8 Pieces- $10.80Szechuan Bean Curd with Minced Pork - $15.80Fish Fillet in Hot Chilli Oil - $28.80The dumplings were amazing and were served at the right temperature, so you can tuck into them without worrying that you will burn your tongue. The tofu was amazing and was probably the star of the dishes we ordered.The disappointment was when we got the fish filet. Not only did it take a long time to get, but the portion was HUGE, and it was honestly tasteless! They could see that we were only two people, and could have advised us about the size of the dish since the picture gave us the impression that it was a decent size portion good for two. The fish had zero taste and seemed like it was swimming in a chilli sauce without picking up any of the flavours.Despite our experience with this dish (which I will never recommend to anyone unless you are used to this kind of food), we loved the rest of the food and the friendly service. They were very attentive and made sure that our Jasmine teacups were never empty.We will come back again for more dumplings, and the Jasmine Tea.

Fantastic customer service. Food that we have ordered were presented nicely and they were so delicious. I didnt take much photos because we got busy eating. 😂

My new go to place for classic or traditional Chinese food.Went with a group of 10 which meant I was able to try a variety of dishes.We ordered the following:- Shao-Long Bao- Wantons with Hot Chilli Sauce- Boiled Pork Dumplings- Dry Chicken in Hot Chilli- Special Fried Rice- Deep Fried Squid in Salt and Pepper- Spring Onion PancakeI do have to apologise as I was in a group setting and we ate all the food before I could take more photos.Every dish was tasty without being too oily or salty. The only dish that wasnt as good as the rest was the spring onion pancake. The Shao-Long Bao had a good amount of juice in the dumpling (I hate it when they are dryand had good flavour with the filling.The other stand out dish for me was the Dry Chicken in Hot Chilli. This packs a real punch (Szechuan spiceand wasnt easy for me to handle the spice but it was so tasty it was well worth it.Staff are super friendly and attentive and made my experience in a group more enjoyable.Im not an expert but I felt like they cook the classic dishes very well. The salty and spicy flavours you would expect from a Chinese restaurant.I will be coming back as a go to place when Im in the mood for traditional Chinese food.

Great atmosphere & decor but the food was pretty ordinary and it’s a bit more expensive than the other options in Chinatown.The pan fried Dumpling were decent but tasted quite stodgy. The fried rice lacked seasoning but was a good portion, as was the pork noodles. The wontons in spicy soup was definitely one to order though.

It was good at the beginning .....Everyone was raving about it, so we went and again, took guest from overseas there too.Got to commend their set-up, I mean not easy popularizing dumplings to an Asian origin like us, but it works.Sadly, the personalised approach and quality has gone down a bit.Trust that they can fix it and be the place where people would go back again and again.

Huge range of dumplings, in a more secluded venue, away from the byo restaurants on the main strip.The crab meat and prawn dumplings were good but the Har Gow from The Empress of China are still the best.The skin/wrapping is more gelatinous here, still some of the best dumplings in the city.

Fairly expensive food thats mediocre in taste. To be very honest, nothing special at all. And in fact quite disappointing given the hype online and the pricing is definitely on the high side. I may sound critical but this is just my honest opinion as a Chinese, critiquing Chinese food. Try Rose Garden bbq instead and youll know why I find this so lacklustre.

One of the best dumplings I have had in Melbourne, its fresh, juicy and full of flavour, the way dumplings are supposed to be. A must go place for the dumpling fans. Quality 5 Quantity 5 Ambience 5 Value for money 5

Best restaurant we went to in Melbourne. They have the best xaio long bao Ive tasted since I left New York. We liked it more than Din Tai Fung. You can watch the cooks making the bao in front of you while you eat. Other dishes were also very good - pan fried dumplings, chili oil wonton, and salt and pepper squid. The boiled dumpings were fine but not something I would recommend especially with those other really good dishes. The service was fast and good. I really couldnt ask for anything more.

This restaurant is the best in Melbourne. I eat in a lot of restaurants but here I constantly return again and again. I like Chinese food and they make the best dumplings in Melbourne. Fried chicken wings and Mongolian Beef are also very yummy:))))

Most delicious dumplings around!! I stopped in HuTong for lunch and was thrilled with their food. I ordered the spinach dumplings and pan fried pork dumplings. They both came out quickly from a friendly waitstaff. The spinach dumplings were delicious but the pan fried pork were my favorite!! The best flavor! So perfect!! I would definitely recommend!

Very busy but good and well priced Xiao Long Bao and dumplings. Both those items were extremely juicy (somewhat a rarity for pot stickers to be juicy in my experienceand well made. Would definitely dine here again, but either come early or make a booking as the place always seems packed!

I visited this restaurant on a Thursday night and was pleasantly surprised to hear they could fit me in at 6 PM. We sat upstairs and the room, itself, was rather noisy. Not necessarily HuTongs fault, but it did take away from the experience. My honey chicken was a GREAT proportion but didnt seem to have much taste. Also, the prices seemed a bit steep for me. Good spot but know that the dishes are primarily to be shared with the table.

Perfect place to stop for some outstanding dumplings. Friendly service, great atmosphere, clean and amazing taste! The best I’ve been to. Make sure you check this out.

5 stars for the great service! Walked in without a reservation at 6.45 in the evening and there weren’t any seats available. But the manager (at least I think he isdid all that he could to get us seated as soon as possible. Dumplings were very flavourful and highly recommend the Dan Dan noodles!

So good!! Pretty much ordered one of every dumpling and they were all so tasty. The staff are friendly and the food came out really fast. Highly recommend and would definitely come back!

Very very poor customer service and upstairs waitresses were very rude and not friendly at all. It is too expensive. The dumplings were good but not worth $15. The soup is very badly.

Great experience, friendly staff, nice atmosphere. The dishes we selected were simple - prawn dumplings, vegetable spring rolls, special fried rice and honey chicken! Oh the crispy golden morsels of honey chicken were a delight. Would definitely visit again. Images are copyright.

What surprised me the most from this place is that it consists of three level of seating area (although each level is not that big admittedly). The food however is disappointing compared to the interior design of this place. The dumplings lacking flavour and have thick skins. The Peking noodle is overcooked resulting in a soggy soft noodles. The service is a saving grace.Food - 4Service - 8Vibe - 9Price - $$$$

We ordered the1. Pork Xiao long bao (soup dumplings- this was alright, the skin was on the thicker side2. Wontons with hot chili sauce - sauce was amazing, highly recommended3. Spicy Szechuan noodles in soup - skip this one, soup was very bland4. Special fried rice - was surprisingly great for a fried rice dishOverall, I highly recommend the Wontons and special fried rice. Would come back for those again. If youre wanting good soup dumplings, go somewhere else instead.

I was honestly extremely disappointed with this place. After reading through all the reviews and how amazing it was, I was so excited to have some good and decently priced Chinese food. They gave us a table all the way upstairs somewhere uncomfortable even though the place had plenty of empty seats. I felt very rushed with everything: ordering, eating, leaving. The dumplings werent that great; Id say they were average. The beef dish was a bit dry and was served at room temperature. Extremely disappointing. Especially because this place isnt that cheap either; the prices dont align with the quality of the food. Lastly, they served the entrees and the main dish all together.

A mass of dumplings arrived mere moments after we ordered. The beer came quickly and the wine was fairly priced.Clean, nice decor, quick service.Melbourne has some very good Chinese cuisine. This is a one of the better places to try it.