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Mask of China
Ph: (03) 9662 2116; 115 Little Bourke St, MELBOURNE 3000 www.maskofchina.com.au
Chinese, $$, ** for Food & Ambience
Open Sun-Fri noon-3pm; 7 days 6-1.1pm, Closed Good Friday & Christmas Day; Licensed; AE DC MC V, Seats inside 90, Private rooms 60, 30
Mietta's Review
Melbourne's only, and one of few in Australia, Chiu Chow restaurant is presided over by Albert Chan, a very professional restaurateur. Good service, good food and a good experience. Matching wine with these slightly unusual Chinese dishes has long been a house speciality.
Other published opinions
Age Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 13/20 "Mask of China specialises in the little-known (in Melbourne anyway) Chiu Chow cuisine. It's been a popular Little Bourke Street dining destination for the past 20 years, with the rather sterilelooking decor not changing much in that time"
The Age Epicure John Lethlean November 29, 2005 Score: 12/20 "Mask of China is no longer the energising experience it is once reputed to have been; enervating, more like it. What should be - at such prices - a fascinating, impressive dining experience is a perplexing, expensive waste of time. The food is pricey ($11.50 for a charcoal-grilled lamb cutlet, for example; $120 or so for a lobster) and so is the wine (pinot noir - surely the great vinous friend of Chinese food - starts about $55 and continues north rapidly; most mark-ups are in line with the city's premier dining rooms)."
The Age Good Food Guide 2006 score 15/20, 1 Hat "After almost two decades in competitive Chinatown, Mask of China remains a favourite for good reason: the long-standing wizardry of Yeung Pui Ming in the kitchen, impeccable service, and attention to detail beginning with the first shot of strong tea. Its bland grey carpet, neutral walls and the occasional red feature tile harken back to the days of Hawke and Keating and the tax-deductible lunch."
The Age Good Food Guide 2005 score 16/20 Ywo Hats "A RATHER forbidding giant Chinese opera mask guards the entrance to this Little Bourke Street institution. But while the mask's black and white colour scheme symbolises roughness and fierceness, the welcome inside is anything but"
Gourmet Traveller 2005 Restaurant Guide "Chiu Chow food is an unknown quantity to most Australians. The food ofthe province is represented at very few restaurants around the country. Melburnians are fortunate to not only find a Chiu Chow specialist slap-bang in the middle ofthe city, but one that marries such fine examples of the cuisine with attractive rooms run in an impressively professional manner."
The Age Good Food Guide 2004 2 hats, score 16/20,wide selection of vegetarain dishes, excellent wine list
The Age, A2, 17/4/04, Matt Preston,'One of Melbourne's best Chinese restaurants,Mask of China offers familiar Cantonese offerings and an extensive list of Chiu Chow dishes...Great service and an impressive wine list that isn't cheap.'
Gourmet Traveller Restaurant Guide Australia 2004, 1 Red Star, Excellent wine list, Good vegetarian options,'among Chinatown's elite...specialisation in Chiu Chow cuisine.This regional variation of Cantonese cooking is distinguished by its bolder flavours, more pungent spices and finely diced vegetables.Mask of China is also notable for its celler of fine wines and collection of rare teas'
The Herald Sun, Dining out, Stephen Downes 18/6/02, Score 17/20.
The Herald Sun, Weekend, Eat, Bob Hart
The Age, Sundaylife, eatstreets 19/11/2000
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