China Bar

RATING
3
REVIEWS

Directions

235 Russell St
MELBOURNE, VIC, 3000
local (03) 9639 1... local (03) 9639 1633
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Takeaways
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China Bar is a casual eatery offering authentic Chinese cuisine. Once you walk past the rows of Peking duck hanging in the windows, you'll be welcomed by friendly staff and the appetising aromas of the delicious fare. The restaurant is BYO or grab some take away and a bottle to take home and enjoy.

Reviews of China Bar

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Recent Oldest Positive Negative

ThomasKent Local Star 53 reviews
Something strange happened to me at China Bar. I was stressed, I was annoyed, I'd had a tough day. I squeezed between the jammed-in tables (China Bar is one of those places where being a dragonfly would be handy), sat down at the back, and ordered.

And five minutes later....I was feeling content, expansive and happy. I ordered my default, roast duck and crispy skin pork on rice, with a Hong Kong Tea/Coffee mix. This came immediately, and it was in one of those giant Bubble Cup-type plastic cups, with the plastic stretched across the top and the big pointy straw to jab it with. And it was really good tea/coffee, actually the best I've had. Often the tea gets lost, but in this the flavour of strong tea and strong coffee were separate yet blended. It's also good to see a Chinese place with a really full drinks menu.

The roasts on rice were nice too. Not that many chunks, but bigger chunks than usual, and the duck was plump - often roast duck is all skin. Not so long ago I thought a roast was a roast was a roast. Now I've realised that every one is different. This was a bit above average, not a standout but not bad either. The rice was chewier than I like.

Another thing that does it for me is good soya sauce. Really good soya sauce is as satisfying as beef tea. You can buy really good expensive aged soy sauce like fine wine. Some Chinese places serve the equivalent of the sort of house wine you get at an RSL - I mean they buy it in 20l containers. This was something like Pearl River Bridge - not strong, you need a lot, but very nice.

I sat back trying to work out why I suddenly felt so happy. The food on the tables around me - standards like Hainan Chicken - looked really pretty well done. Suddenly I realised that the place was very quiet. It was packed, and everyone was chatting away merrily, but the acoustics of the place soak up the noise. You can hear your friends clearly but the general noise level is low, even though this is the place people come at 4 in the morning after a night dancing at the club around the corner. The lighting isn't too harsh either. And then, walking away, I realised that the back end of the restaurant is like Bag End. I mean it's got concave walls.

The staff at China Bar aren't brilliantly friendly, and the food doesn't come blazingly fast, but that seems to be because someone is trying to do a good job. There are places around here that have better food, but they also have squeaky doors or they sit you next to an icy draft or they play Cantonese pop music at DEAFENING VOLUME. It would be really easy for a place that served this really late-night crowd to not care. Instead, somebody is trying to make sure that everybody that spends $11.50 on a roast and coffee walks away happy. Well done China Bar.
9 months ago
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robstein Local Star 249 reviews
always a winner, china bar never fails to deliver on fairly quick, very tasty, always filling, never break your budget dining. If a form of chinese food was said to be homely & hearty, china bar would be it. A great & expansive menu & some exciting things on offer, china bar is a great place to eat, anytime of the day or night.
3 years ago
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Neems 13 reviews
At four in the morning, when you have danced/drunk your pants off, the last thing you're thinking about is the "ambiance" of a place. You want a place to stuff your face, you want it to be cheap and you want it to taste GOOD. Welcome to China Bar. One of my favourite places to end a raucous night out. It's not fancy but the prices are as delcious as the dishes, and it takes all of two minutes for the food to be placed neatly in front of your starving self. What more could you want?!

Reccomended Dishes: Roast Chicken on Rice, Curry Chicken on Rice, Curry Laksa.
3 years ago
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