Favourite Kitchen — Restaurant in Melbourne

Favourite Kitchen, Wantirna Date Visited: 8 October 2025

Tucked beneath the Golden Pebble Hotel, Favourite Kitchen occupies the ground floor of a standalone building — a convenient haven for guests seeking seamless access to Chinese fine dining and yum cha indulgence. The hotel’s grand entrance sets a dignified tone, though restaurant patrons must navigate a short, dim passage lit by digital billboards — a curious juxtaposition of modern signage and subdued anticipation.

The dining space is generously proportioned, with a restrained interior that avoids the overuse of stereotypical Chinese ornamentation. Tables are spaced with care, allowing dim sum trolleys to glide unimpeded — a subtle nod to thoughtful design. At 1:30 pm, the restaurant was comfortably quiet, offering a tranquil midday reprieve.

Dining with just my wife limited our sampling range, but we came prepared: takeaway containers in hand, we tasted one piece from each dish and reserved the third for a late afternoon snack — a pragmatic ritual that turned restraint into anticipation. • Steamed Dim Sum Dumplings: Generously sized and satisfying, offering a hearty bite without excess. • Egg Tarts: Richly filled and well-balanced, their custard centre a warm embrace of tradition. • Prawn Dumplings: A disappointment. The filling, overly minced, lacked the expected texture and integrity of whole prawn — an unfortunate trend that compresses flavour into density. • Fried Yam Dumplings: Modest in size and likely reheated in a microwave — the exterior lacked the crisp heat and flakiness that defines freshness.

A heavy-handed use of flavour enhancers left me reaching repeatedly for Chinese tea to quench a persistent thirst. While bold seasoning can elevate a dish, here it veered into excess, masking the natural character of the ingredients.

Service was prompt and efficient, though the waitstaff could benefit from greater warmth and engagement. A touch of conversation or guidance would have enriched the experience, especially for diners navigating the trolleys with curiosity.

Favourite Kitchen offers a dining experience that rises above many competitors in ambience, portion generosity, and overall quality. While certain textures and seasoning choices warrant refinement, the venue remains a worthy destination — especially for those who value quiet indulgence and pragmatic...

We were staying at the Golden Pebble hotel which is connected to this restaurant. We have stayed a number of times at the hotel and have gone to this restaurant in the past for both yum cha and dinner and enjoyed both the hotel facilities and restaurant food and service. We decided to go to the restaurant last Wednesday night for a family dinner of 4 people. The waiter that served us was young and in a suit and appeared to be in charge. He was loud, very abrupt and abrasive in taking our orders and we found him very impolite. During the meal, we had to ask for water twice and glasses were not refilled. We ordered tea which was served towards the end of the meal and only after we asked for it again. We ordered two sweet and sour pork dinners, one singapore noodle and a fish fillet. Only one sweet and sour pork arrived with my singapore noodles. The waiter forgot to order the other sweet and sour pork, which we had to wait for. My husband's fish fillet was not served with the other dinners. When I asked where it was, the same waiter said it was still being cooked in the kitchen. I told him this was not acceptable as all dinners should be served together. There was no apology and the waiter completely ignored us after I commented to him on the inappropriateness of the lateness of the service. We ordered two serves of spring rolls. One of them was still cold in the middle and we had to send them back. Dirty dishes were not collected and I had to place them on a nearby table to clear the table. Second dinner of sweet and sour pork was finally served in a rush and was gristly and fish was rubbery. I had Singapore noodles which you really can't ruin. Even though the waiter rushed our order taking, he had plenty of time to laugh and joke with other patrons. This was not the food or service of a 4 l/2 star restaurant and it does not deserve this rating. We spent over 250 for dinner for 4 people and it was not worth it. We will not patronage this restaurant again and advised the hotel manager of this experience. The best part of the meal was the beer and...

Checked the menu online before booking a dinner for a special night. The menu included whole flounder, which is spouse’s favourite. At the restaurant, we were given laminated menus, which seemed odd as the venue is fancier than others. Flounder was not on the menu. Asked the waiter about it when he presented a bounded menu, which is more comprehensive and written in Chinese AND English. We ordered the flounder and asked why we were given the “western” Chinese menu instead of the main menu. The waiter couldn’t give an answer other than a lot of Chinese restaurants have separate menus, something we’ve never experienced until now. Noticed that Asian diners had the bounded menus and western diners, were given the laminated menus. Why the difference? Many dishes were the same on both, yet more dishes were excluded on the “western” Chinese menu. I felt very angry to be discriminated against. The food was fine yet I couldn’t enjoy it. Had to find serving spoon and fork for the fish myself after asking the server if she could cut up the fried fish, which she seemed to not understand. The special night was now just an...