ASPLEY ORIENTAL CHINESE RESTAURANT — Restaurant in Brisbane City

This yum-cha restaurant is really a hit-or-miss affair. If you go on a weekend you will find a line out the door, and inside is bedlam. Loud, noisy, and seat so close together that you will touch the person seated behind you. However on these days, they are constantly wheeling around the trolleys of food, with a good selection, including duck, pork belly, and greens. Go on a week day, like we just did, and it is a totally different restaurant. Quiet, with the SAME two trolleys going around the same four or five tables, with nobody taking anything off the trolley. You can watch them going round and round. Eventually, like today, the girls didn't even bother anymore, and just sat at one end staring blankly. 15 people at 5 tables, with at least 12 staff in evidence, and nobody is eating. I looked across, and I saw 12 other bored and frustrated faces. The staff, and this includes the two senior wait staff, simply stand there. You would think that someone would simply ASK what dish it is that you want.... Unlike an normal restaurant, where you order, and know that your meal IS coming, at the Aspley Oriental, everyone sits there waiting for the first 20 minutes for different items to come out. When they realise that it isn't going to happen, they try to get the attention of the staff. Then try to order off a menu. Another twenty minutes go by, and the items you ordered specially come out on the trolley, and start making their way around, of course, starting on the other side of the room. Finally you get to grab them off the trolley, and a waiter comes with your plates 5 minutes later, and then tries to mark them off on your order list. Confusion all round, as the staff very rarely speak any English. Finally you get bored, and tired of waiting and leave, hungry. Not only that, but with a little stamp on each line of an order sheet, you have no idea what the cost will be, and like today, it was more expensive, by $20, than on other occasions when we at our fill.

Cannot recommend during the week. But on weekend, the food served is no different from that available from restaurants open in the Valley. So if you would rather park for free, and not have to go to the Valley, this place...

I had high hopes for my visit to Aspley Oriental Yum Cha on Sunday, June 9th, but I left the restaurant feeling thoroughly disappointed and frustrated. Our dining experience was marred by a severe lack of food coming past our table and a clear disparity in service that seemed to favor certain customers over others.

From the moment we were seated, it became apparent that the service was going to be problematic. Despite the restaurant being busy, we noticed that the table opposite us, who appeared to be Chinese, was receiving a steady stream of dishes and attentive service. In stark contrast, we were largely ignored. We waited patiently, trying to make eye contact with the staff and even attempting to flag them down, but our efforts were in vain. It was as if we were invisible.

The few times a food cart did come our way, the selection was minimal and not particularly appetizing. We ended up with a scant assortment of dim sim, even asked for pork ribs for our table while others were served these by the time the cart came our way they had run out. none of food which we did eat was exceptional. Meanwhile, the table across from us was enjoying a diverse array of dishes, delivered promptly and with a smile. This glaring difference in treatment was not only disheartening but also infuriating.

What made the experience even more frustrating was the evident bias in service. It felt as though being non-Chinese relegated us to second-class status in the restaurant. This kind of discriminatory service is unacceptable in any dining establishment. Every customer, regardless of their background, deserves equal treatment and attention.

I hope the management takes these concerns seriously and makes the necessary changes to ensure that every diner receives the same level of service. Until then, I won't be returning to Aspley Oriental Yum Cha, and I would advise others to steer...

I took Mum and Dad out for yum cha to Aspley Oriental. We arrived at about 11.30 and there were already diners at tables all in happy animated conversations. We were shown a round table for four and asked if we wanted a square one. I don't know about you, but I like round tables. Trolleys filled with steamed, fried and baked goodies were zipping past us and we soon got in a rhythm of looking at the person pushing the trolley with a suggestive eye. I knew Dad wanted chicken feet and I knew Mum would like some tripe. Other than that it was up to me to pick and choose. Given I can't speak Chinese and I really have no idea of what each of the tiny morsels is called, I resort to politely pointing and asking for some. We ended up with an array of pork, prawn, and scallop dumplings. I didn't see any flat rice noodles dishes that I really like, but the first thing I asked for were turnip cakes which are my favourite. The chicken feet were delicious, but Mum said the tripe was a little tough. She ate the whole dish to herself. Dad and I don't like tripe. Dad and i shared four chicken feet between us. The joong or sticky rice had a nice flavour but I was disappointed to only find a small piece of Chinese sausage (lup chong) and a small mushroom in the middle. There's enough rice to share with someone else, so you end up fighting for the mushroom. The pork ribs were tasty albeit quite oily, but you could always add some of the oil to the sticky rice for some additional flavour. We finished off with custard tarts. All in all Mum and Dad were happy to celebrate their 54th wedding anniversary with a good yum cha feed at Aspley Oriental. I enjoyed it to0 and would happily return regularly for...