David’s

4 Cecil Place
Prahran, VIC 3181
https://www.davidsrestaurant.com.au/

David’s has been around for donkey’s years. It’s such an institution it even has its own street sign, right under the one for Pole Divas. But although David’s has cred for being one of the first ‘proper’ Chinese restaurants in Melbourne, it is far from traditional. In fact, the cozy heritage building could very well be a fancy pub, or a popular brunch spot. The food also takes lots of liberties on its Shanghainese roots; no one would accuse it of being authentic, and the fact that I was the only Asian person in the restaurant probably proves that point. But despite that, the grub here is surprisingly good, especially the dumplings, which are a standout. As long as you don’t come here expecting a traditional Chinese fare, then it’ll be easy to have a grand old time.

Rating 12.5/20 – chinese for beginners.
To-order: dumplings. especially the mapo tofu one.
Tip: the weekend all-you-can-eat yum cha is a good choice for those who find traditional yum cha too overwhelming; it is a much more genteel experience, with no clanging trolleys or chicken feet in sight.

I will always order Peking Duck ($36, 6pcs), especially when they’re an absolute steal like they are here. Whilst this is hardly the succulent bird with crispy skin you get at the best places, I really enjoyed how generous the chunks of meat were, and the translucent, pliant pancakes were textbook, as was the sweet-savoury sauce.

For the indecisive, the Mixed Dumpling Basket ($16, 4pcs) is a great sampling of the classics. Both the prawn dumpling and pork siu mai were top-notch, the prawn dumpling exemplary with its textural combination of finely minced prawn and chunkier pieces. The vegetarian dumpling was also surprisingly good, its plump belly filled with sweet, fresh vegetables. The only subpar one of the lot was the xiao long bao, which erred on the gluggy side.

I had ordered the Mapo Tofu Dumplings ($14, 3pcs) with the expectation that they would be weird and mediocre, because hey, I’ve never seen them anywhere else. And turns out these were awesome. Filled with a chunky mix of firm tofu and crunchy black fungus, these were drizzled with a proper spicy and numbing sauce, and the overall effect is both convincing and delicious.

The Crackling Pork San Choi Bao ($15) were a miss. Though generous in portion, this was less of a classic SCB (or even a uptake take on it), and more of some weird stir fry served with lettuce leaves. And crackling pork? Not a pop or crunch to be seen.

But they brought it back with a classic Stir-Fried Pipis with Chinese Donuts in XO sauce ($30). I love the way the donuts themselves were part of the stir-fry, which mean all the crispy golden edges had soaked up the sauce by the time we got to them, making them slurpy and delicious. I was less impressed with the sauce; though we paid extra for XO, it tasted more like the standard ginger shallot sauce that was the default.

Stir Fried Water Spinach ($18) represent! One of my favourite Asian greens, I will always order this when I see it on the menu, especially when it is completely loaded down with garlic like this one.

The highlight of the drinks menu here is the quality selection of Chinese teas, but I just wasn’t feeling it that day. Instead I went with the Aloe Spritz ($9), a classic Asian drink gussied up with lime, mint, and soda water.