Bok Choy Tang
Federation Square (Corner Flinders St and Swanston St – opposite ACMI)
Melbourne
P: +61 (0) 3 9663 8665

Bok Choy Tang serves contemporary modern chinese. You get the authenticity of a chinese restaurant with a modern twist.

I really love the ambience of Bok Choy Tang, the  the seats are nicely spaced out unlike other  traditional chinese restaurants. I wasn’t in anytime rushed to finish my meal and the food was presented beautifully on a table. This is what eating out is supposed to be. Our table was located close to the window so we had a great view of Federation square. On the weekends, there’s a live piano performance. The restaurant had a really nice decor.

Lets talk about the food. Chinese food is all about sharing. The size of the dishes in Bok Choy Tang is quite generous which allows sharing a breeze. There were 6 of us, all with a big appetites

Here are some of the dishes we  ordered;

Wok Fried Pumpkin with Spinach $18

Spinach stir fried with garlic topped with Pumpkin and sesame – simply divine. I could easily eat this dish by itself

Crispy Barramundi with Lemon Sauce $24.50

This is my regular dish. The fish looks divine as it arrives on our table. Although it came as a whole fish, it has been filleted. You can just pick the flesh of the crispy barramundi without any bones. The sauce completes the dish, it’s a lemon and honey sauce with sprinkles of red capsicum and green peas pieces.

Steamed Barramundi $24.50

You’re probably wonder why I would order 2 fish dishes. There’re 2 reasons, the first one is to cater my fellow diner who likes steamed fish. The second reason is trying to compare this steam fish with other chinese restaurants. I found Bok Choy Tang steamed fish is as delicate as the one in the tradtional chinese restaurants. The key for a steam fish is the freshness of the fish. The steam fish is delicious as it comes with julliene of ginger, spring onions, the sweetness of chinese rice wine and soy sauce. It also comes with a baby bok choy.

Chairman Mao (Red Guard) Pork and Mussels $23.50

This must be the chinese version of ‘surf and turf’ (Pork and Mussels). I decided to order this dish because of its name . The pork was very delicate because it’s been simmered gently infused with ginger, spring onions, rice wine, red bean paste, star anise, a touch of chilli and soy sauce then combined with mussels. This tastes divine like a good quality braise dish.

Sea cucumber and chinese mushroom $38

This dish is about textures.  Sea cucumber, chinese mushrooms and brocollis. It’s a pity for such a price, there were only a small pieces of sea cucumber. This is where the traditional chinese wins, as usually they will serve generous amounts of sea cucumber. Although very tasty, I would probably never order this dish due to the insufficient amount of sea cucumber for such a price.

Babao Duck $56 (requires 3-4 people to share)

According to the menu, this dish is good for the chi. The dish requires a minimum 20 minutes to prepare before being served so if you are in a hurry don’t order this dish. But I have to say its worth the wait! This has to be the star dish for the night.

Babao duck is stuffed with a force-meat of sticky rice, ginseng, mushrooms, chinese dates, wolfberries, ginger and spring onions which is deep fried until golden brown then gently steamed for four hours. When I took a bite of the duck, the meat fell off the bone and all the goodies gave an explosion of goodness. Simply Divine.

If you enjoy good quality chinese food with great ambiance at reasonable price, Bok Choy Tang is worth a visit as an alternate to your traditional chinese restaurant.

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