Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Red Emporer (Southbank) 09



This restaurant on two floors on the upper level of Southbank, with a view over the yarra, has been an institution of fine Chinese cuisine for over a decade and features regularly in the AGF. Two hats five years ago and one for the last few years. It was highly regarded both for the a la carte menu and the daily yum cha was among the best.








We have not been for just over four years now after a disappointing yum cha. This time we went in the evening for a meal. We started with some mixed dim sum


and a serve of pork dumplings



($9 for three) I was surprised at how very ordinary they were. Quite small, firm, hard really, and lacking in taste. There was no moisture at all in the pork dumplings. Delicate and quite tasty prawn stuffed scallops, eight of them,

served in a to heavy sauce with green peas was a fair start to the meal. Pleasant but not very special. A serve of sweet and sour prawns, another eight!,
would have not been out of place at any suburban Chinese take away. They were soggy and the sauce was sweet but not at all sour.This we followed with a plate of mixed Chinese vegetables,










almost totally lacking in taste. It did look good though! My disappointment was palpable.The restaurant is looking tired











and the Cantonese style cuisine has slipped badly. Prices are a little above the average but wines are exceptionally cheap. There is a modest range by the glass from as little as $4.50 for a house red but averaging around $9. Cocktails are $11 We ended up paying $67 per person for entree and main, rice and wine but no dessert.
Comments: Now only of historical interest for me

Score:12.5 /20

1 comment:

GCFoodGuide said...

I love Red Emperor! the smoked tea duck is divine. Amazing views too. I miss going there...