Phone: (03) 9662 3655
Fax: (03) 9663 5199
This is by far the BEST Chinese restaurant I've ever been to. Their philosophy is quality, not quantity and I think that it displays Cantonese (usually oily and too filling) cuisine at its finest.
Apparently bookings are hard to come by, so book in advance. I've only had lunch there because I couldn't be bothered with dinner bookings (rumours have it that you can expect to wait for 3 months for a table!), and it is actually quite pricey compared to other Chinese restaurants.
Flower Drum is situated in an Alleyway off Little Bourke St, the heart of Chinatown in Melbourne. A painted red door signals you have reached the right place.
As you enter, someone will greet you and press the lift button for you to enter the restaurant. It is elevated, and feels like you're in a HK triad movie, or Bruce Lee movie, or something.
The interior is spacious and tastefully decorated. Men in suits and communicable English greet you. They even knew my first name - for I had a booking.
Ordered the set menu. Normally $120 per person, special price, $60 per head. 4 Courses.
The set menu had changed since the last time I was there - namely I was there for a particular crab meat dumpling.
So I ordered an extra 4-piece dumpling set consisting of:
Above: Dim Sim (LHS) with pork and prawn filling wrapped in wonton soft pastry. On the RHS, Vegetarian dumpling wrapped in a thin rice pastry.
Below: On the left, a Chicken dumpling and RHS Prawn dumpling - both wrapped in a thin, soft rice pastry.
Pictured Below: So commences the Set Menu. Sang Choi Bow - a lettuce leaf 'cup' filled with a stirfry of meat (possibly pork & duck), shallots, soy sauce and some other condiments. To be eaten all-in-one, this was absolutely divine. Perfect fusion of flavours, sealed with the crisp crunch and lightness of lettuce.
Still I was not satisfied. Where had that crab meat dumpling gone from the set menu before? The waiter informs me that they rotate the items on the set menu regularly. But I can still order the crab meat dumpling. So I did:
Pictured above: Crab Meat Dumpling - ordered individually at $8 a pop. Pure bliss I assure you, as real crab meat is extracted and steamed in this delicacy wrapped in a thin, soft rice pastry. To be eaten with ginger shreds immersed red vinegar - a perfect complimentary and smooth flavour combination.
Below: You can see the slivers of crab meat - not some nasty crabstick BS.
Below: Some battered and fried fish with asparagus. On the RHS, a light lemon sauce or salt & pepper mix can be sprinkled over fish. This was part of the set-menu, but really nothing special at all.
I forgot to mention that each dish has its special presentation and takes about 3 people to bring it to your table. Excessive double-handling but nevertheless denotes the effort and care taken. The service is impeccable here might I mention - staff always attentive to see if your teacup is full (usually its like drawing blood from stone trying to get a waiter at a Chinese restaurant to fill up your teapot which has been empty for half an hour), always willing to answer questions and fulfill requests.
Above: This was the set-up for the Peking Duck. The pastry is a small, circle of thin pastry made with flour, and kept warm in this bamboo steamer you see on the RHS, over a fire. The plates are also pre-warmed so as not to spoil the pastry & duck dish.
Below: Peking Duck wrapped in pastry - with plum sauce, a sprig of shallot and slice of cucumber. This is a traditional lavish dish originating from mainland China, and having being appropriated in Cantonese cuisine. Only the top layer of meat of the duck is used for this dish, as it contains a crispy skin from the roast duck, a thin layer of fat, and the tenderest meat. The rest of the duck is usually carved up and used in the filling of a Sang Choi Bow or some fried rice.
Hence only 2-3 pieces are served to each person.
Below: Another stand-out classic - Szechaun Beef, with special fried rice (pictured on the right).
At this stage I was bursting at the seems and starting to get dellusional from being so full, but this Szechaun beef is magnificent. Made of eye fillet, the steak is char-grilled on both sides, so the outside is charred & crispy, while the inside remains pink & tender. The meat is then sliced into bite sized pieces for your perusal.
What makes the Szechaun beef, Szechaun is the sauce. Traditional Szechaun dishes are fiery, potent chilli dishes. This is a mildly spicy liquid sauce (looks like sweet chilli but not sweet) drizzled over the steak, and served with steamed & tossed green vegetables.
