Flower Drum – Melbourne

Flower Drum’s dinner banquet is all star line up of culinary hits. It’s a symphony of deliciousness. It’s Jordan Game 6 in your mouth.

Food

Although there is an a la carte menu, I’d recommend sticking to the lunch or dinner banquet options to truly experience Flower Drum at it’s finest. Which is exactly what my friends and I did, opting for the 4 course dinner banquet. There’s also a 6 course banquet for those wanting even more food.

Normally the banquet begins with a starter of oysters, however, as I was celebrating my birthday the kitchen kindly upgraded us to buttery soft abalone.

Guests can pick a total of 4 courses from the menu, so we decided to pick an entree, two mains and a dessert. For entree, we went with the fried South Australian King George whiting, it’s lightly battered and wok tossed with enoki mushrooms.

Next up was the Peking duck pancakes (two pieces), which was carefully wrapped by our waiter at our table, each parcel is filled with juicy duck meat, refreshing cucumber and spring onion.

Perfectly cooked steak is not a dish that is normally associated with a Chinese restaurant but Flower Drum is no ordinary Chinese restaurant. The undisputed star of the banquet was the tender Black Angus eye fillet served on a bed of crisp sugar snap peas and Chinese broccoli. I’ve been fortunate enough to have steak at top restaurants around the world but this piece of meat was mind blowing.

Served alongside the mouth watering steak is the special fried rice. And it’s special alright. Every grain of rice was bursting with flavour and cooked superbly.

Just when I think the banquet has reached it’s peak, the chefs hit us with dessert – a perfect pairing of baked sago pudding and handmade vanilla ice cream.

Even the petit four of almond cookies were extraordinary, each one is delicately hand made topped with a sliced almond.

Drinks

Wine lovers will be overwhelmed with choice at Flower Drum, the wine list stretches around the world and even includes coveted bottles of Domaine De La Romanèe-Conti. A variety of fine Chinese teas are also on offer.

Service

Each table is attended by highly experienced waiters who often finish dishes at the table with precision and skill.

Atmosphere

Exquisite Chinese artworks adorn the walls of the restaurant adding to the refined decor and tranquil ambience.

Verdict

Flower Drum is without a doubt my favourite Chinese restaurant in Australia. The next time you visit Melbourne, I implore you to make a booking at this culinary icon.

This review was based on an independently paid meal. 

Flower  Drum 
17 Market Ln
Melbourne VIC 3000
(03) 9662 3655