David's Hot Pot — Restaurant in Melbourne

Visited during a 90-minute special buffet promotion. We chose the original broth and the mushroom broth (the pork bone broth was unavailable). Sliced meats were ordered via QR code, while other items could be picked up from the self-serve fridge. The buffet included drinks (excluding alcohol). There were also a few self-serve options like fried rice, noodles, and 3–4 small side dishes. Ice cream was available for dessert, and there was a sauce station for DIY mixing.

Some items ran out from time to time, but staff gradually restocked them—though often too slowly to keep up with demand. The Pork Rolls weren’t listed on the QR code menu but were available upon request. Unfortunately, Lamb Rolls were out of stock that day.

Food replenishment needs improvement. A more efficient system—similar to David’s Master Pot, where customers serve themselves the exact number of pieces they want—could help. Pre-portioned trays (wrapped in plastic with 4–5 pieces each) slow down the process and can lead to unnecessary food waste. Sometimes customers only want 1–2 pieces but are forced to take the whole portion, which often results in leftovers.

Overall, it was a decent experience, but the food restocking system could use better planning and...

Went there on the Xmas day. Staff advised the broth is free if we join their membership. $28 in savings. Great. We ordered 5-6 dishes including thin sliced beef and lamb, wagyu beef, mixed veggies, fish, mushrooms and deep fried pork ribs. Honestly I had better quality authentic Chinese hot pot in Melbourne before. David’s hot pot was pretty ordinary when comes to quality. The thin sliced meat instantly breaks apart after you put it in the broth which makes hard to pick it up by chop sticks. Beef was tough. The veggies were very fresh either. Deep fried pork would not recommend. The only thing that was ok was the fish and the mushrooms. One thing I was pretty disappointed was our bill was $160 after the free broth. When questioned why the bill is so high. They said there’s a public holiday surcharge of $26. What a rip off. Fair enough if they charge 10% public holiday surcharge but $26 from $130 meal was an absolute rip off from David’s hot pot. They also try to promote their coupon system which they ask you to prepaid $300 to get 20% off your next bill. Wondering what other hidden surcharge they will add on top of your next bill. Also I find that restaurant very dirty especially the condiments area where you get your...

Had the special all you can eat buffet on a Tuesday night for $32 per person. Includes 2 soup bases, dipping sauce, drinks, desserts, cooked food as well as uncooked food.

Timing was also important of when to get food. Many times the fridge shelves were empty. Then they were restocked and soon empty again.

Well ventilated and service was prompt but not intrusive. Reservations recommended.

Biggest feedback is it would be great if there were smaller portions for the uncooked food. For two people, each serving was much too large and because you had and should finish what you take, this restricted the number of dishes we could try.

These were our personal preferences:

Good: fish maw chicken soup base, chicken heart, enoki, quail eggs, spicy beef, fish tofu, beef wagyu slices. I've lemon tea, mouth watering chicken with pork ear, mochi taro ball

Ok: lobster ball, beef tendon ball, beef belly slices, spicy basa fillet, chicken giblets, eringi, sports drink

Avoid: Chinese donut (not crispy), tomato soup base (too sweet). Snow pear drink (too sweet), chicken feet (too hard and tasteless).

Try next time: beef garden slices, scallop, beef tripe, sausages, basa fillet, non spicy...