Flower Drum

Cuisine: Chinese
17 Market Lane, CBD, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Ph: 03 9662 3655
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Enter off charming Market Lane in Chinatown by stairs or life into an elegant restaurant; an ambience of finery with flowers and artwork, white tablecloths, and partitions that provide subtlety for this spacious restaurant. Impeccable waiters greet you and service are ultra professional and engaging throughout. Flower Drum has basically had the same team over the decades. Many a business deal has been done here; many a social occasion has been enjoyed here. Almost timeless.

In terms of Chinese cooking, this is Cantonese cuisine at its finest. Original Chef Anthony Lui still leads the kitchen maintaining high standards year after year. The Cantonese classics are here; Duck wontons, Steamed dim sum, Pork ribs, Peking duck and Quail Sang Choi Bao. Or try spectacular Grain fed eye fillet with Sichuan sauce or the luxurious Abalone. Each course comes as an individual serve, to save you from divvying it up at the table. While some arrive already plated, others, such as the Peking duck course and the main course of eye fillet, are prepared theatrically in front of the table. One of their crowd-pleasers is their famous Pearls of Jade Tiger Abalone. They are succulent and meaty, sliced to a delicate shell-shape alongside crystal noodles made from mung bean starch. It’s beautifully presented, with a salty, soy-based sauce quivering in an abalone shell for dipping, although it doesn’t need it as the toasted sesame sauce which coats the noodles is more than enough to provide an almost buttery, umami kick to the dish. And once you’re done devouring the delicious meal, save your stomach for these fritters. Two small bananas are deep-fried in a light, airy batter with a luxuriously rich maple toffee sauce and a scoop of that same creamy vanilla ice cream. Hear the crunch as you cut through the crispy batter. This is well worth the value, with the richness of the banana offset by the crunchy outer and fresh strawberries.

Flower Drum brings Cantonese food back to its roots with refined, understated elegance. It’s wonderful to see the classics done beautifully in an atmosphere that is a touch more upmarket than the norm.  Don’t miss to read the highlights of one of the Best Luxury Dining Restaurants Melbourne, Flower Drum below: