Sung's Kitchen Restaurant

Introduction: Close to Victoria Market at 118 Franklin St. patrons can enjoy a surprisingly inexpensive meal of very good quality.
Ambience: There is a quiet private room upstairs and a large open space downstairs dining area Generally pleasant
Service: We were well looked after by Eric, the"Major Domo" and a team of attractive young waitresses
Food: The Gatronomic tour of China would need special arrangements as some of the dishes need 24 hrs notice to prepare. This is what we had: Shanghai specialties: Juicy Pork Dumpling succulent somehow retaining chiken soup in a pastry pocket, Beggars chicken stuffed with mushroom and herbs wrapped in a lotus leaf and foil and cooked for 8 hours in a clay pot (at some restaurants you are invited to smash this open with a hammer) de-licious! From Sichuan Hot and sour soup as good as any being at the same time hot sour sweet salty and piquant, Spicy prawns slightly glazed almost as crunchy as an apple and Sichuan string beans prepared with pickled turnip dried prawns and pork and cooked in a very hot wok 'explosive cooking!' From Xian: Shrimp roe tofu - evidently there are hundreds of ways of making tofu, crunchy shredded beef with leek and shallots. From Beijing Lamb roast (pre slow boiled for 6 hrs to reduce the fat before roasting, served with sauteed Tianjin cabbage and from Hong Kong Egg Fu noodles and a sweet dessert soup with sesame paste balls.
Served with Lichee tea and steam rice.
Wine: It did not really go with his meal but we had a bubbly Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier Chardonnay followed by a Pinot Grigio 2004 a Patrice Chardonnay 2002, a Tampranillo 2003 and a Patrice Shiraz 2002 all from Brown Bros. The bubbly and the Tampranillo were most suited to the meal. No I did not drink all of them and drive home
Price: The General menu is extremely inexpensive with most mains about $13 to 18 with some above and below that.
Comments: Sung is a master Chef This is a must go to restaurant for any lover of Chinese food who wants to get something more than well prepared Cantonese style food
REVISIT
This North Chinese Yum Cha is quite different from the Cantonese style served at almost every other restaurant. Choose from some 30 dishes on their menu - they are prepared on the spot.
Accompanied by an aromatic rose tea I particularly enjoyed the Szechuan spicy dried beef, the mustard cress w dried bean curd, the fresh crab meat dumpling, the Peking souffle prawns and the emporer meat dumpling.
Nothing changed my view that this is one of the most underrated Chinese restaurants in Melbourne
Score: 16/20