Kilpa 8 Canteen 初戀食堂 — Restaurant in Melbourne

My husband, some friends and I tried Kilpa 8 Canteen for the first time last night. Firstly, the complimentary iced tea on arrival was delicious, as was the Fried Chicken Ribs and Pork Dumplings for entree. At the beginning, I asked if any of the food we've ordered contains nuts or seafood (as I have allergies) and was told that the kitchen doesn't use any nuts in their cooking.

All main dishes arrived except for mine. I had to follow up a couple of times to see if my Beef and Chinese Broccoli was on the way and was about to cancel the order when it finally arrived (everyone else had finished their meals by this point). Further to the long wait time, I was sad to see the Chinese broccoli had been substituted with normal broccoli.

Whilst I was waiting, I tried a piece of my husband's Mongolian Beef and had an allergic reaction straight away. My tongue and throat started to swell up, which happens if I've eaten something containing nuts. I took my tablets that I carry with me to manage the reaction and raised this with the lady working at the time. It took some time to get any attention as the large table next to us seemed to take priority. She said there are no nuts or any seafood in the Mongolian Beef, not even peanut oil or satay in the sauce. I'm disappointed at how this was handled and sad to say I won't be returning, which is a shame seeing as the food in...

A hidden gem in the industrial heartlands of Moorrabbin. The chef holds the wok fast and furious (on both times I was there, he's never stopped working the wok - you could hear it!).

Top dishes are the fried rice with prawns and Chinese sausage - prawns that are just cooked through and maintaining their juiciness, and the grains of rice are fluffy. The kangkong with preserved bean curd is both savoury and beautifully cooked - it's easy to overcook this vegetable, so I was pleased it came out crunchy. Roast duck was served warm, with a moreish plum sauce.

Will return as portions are reasonably priced and sized. A good crowd of people patronise this place - they are definitely in the know of where good food...

Great food. Fresh hot and exactly like HKG 'canteen food'. Omelet on rice, salt fish and chicken fried rice, baked pork and tomato on rice, etc. Hearty and very filling, the serves are jai_normous. Huge mugs of hot tea arrive as you sit down.

Service is friendly and efficient enough, decor is shabby, heating is non-existent, but it's still fun and yum.

When we were there for weekday lunch there was a constant babble of Cantonese and Mandarin and a roaring trade in pre-ordered food to eat there and also to take-away.

Worth a visit if you're in the south-east shopping or visiting one of the many outlets, distributors, sports shops and so on...