KKing's Palace Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in Victoria

(3.5 stars) The Mildura sun has eaten away at the signage for KKings Palace Chinese Restaurant, turning it mosaic. On the roof, the plastic signage is cracked and no longer illuminated, though faded coloured bulbs along the eaves still make it feel festive. The earliest reference I can find for this oddly named restaurant is a collection of guest signatures after its grand re-opening in March 1990. Boasting a triple frontage, you enter into the business end of things, where a busy kitchen sits behind the front counter. The counter is framed with upturned green roof tiles for longevity and red accents for good fortune. The next two spaces are dining rooms separated by a water feature and little bridge.

It’s apparent from the current crop of guests that Kkings Palace is part of the fabric of people’s lives. Birthdays, family gatherings, and couples debating which of their favourite dishes will make up their Sunday night tea reverberate around us. Unchecked kids create a screaming chorus and widespread piles of rice around their high chairs, suggesting parents feel relaxed and comfortable in this space. The short wine list favours local producer Trentham, but you can also BYO ($5/person).

All of our dish sections were plucked from the full page of king’s favourites. Rainbow fillet steak ($25.80) comes dusted in sesame seeds. The pile of tenderised beef fillet is tangled with crisp cabbage, green capsicum and soft carrots to earn its ‘rainbow’ moniker. While firm in texture, the Szechuan prawns ($29.80) have only a trifling heat, balanced by a good collection of vegetables. The highlight is the roast BBQ duck ($29.90) where you drag a meaty half bird edged in glistening golden skin through sticky-sweet plum sauce. While I enjoyed eating the tasty bird over special fried rice ($16.80/large), dotted with the expected peas, tiny prawns, shredded omelette and cubes of ham, the rice itself lacked anything I’d...

Nobody seems sure what the extra 'K' is for or exactly how long Kking's Palace has reigned, but it's at least as long as many have lived! A popular mainstay, Kking's is affordably priced comfort food with a unique atmosphere. "More is more" with the kitschy decor being a remnant of a simpler time; featuring an abundance of lanterns, lions, dragons, cherry blossoms, bamboo, ferns, fans, tassles, art, scrolls, and even a pagoda roof reception and bridged wall-to-wall koi pond through the dining room. Most Chinese restaurants around the country progressively removed this type of decor decades ago and it's become somewhat of a fascinating and nostalgic relic. Providing meal deals is likely the biggest drawcard, making it one of the busiest and best value restaurants for takeaway dinner gatherings in the region. This popularity does mean that wait times can sometimes blow out and mistakes can happen, but staff are always doing their best to keep up with the high demand; and a little patience can...

Booked a table for my family to celebrate fathers day. It took over an hour and a half to receive our meals and all tables around us sat waiting for an equal amount of time. We could see alot of take away meals being sent out which seemed like they took preference over sit in diners which mad me a little mad. Diners eating in the restaurant should always be served in a reasonable amount of time definitely no longer than 30 mins. Food was fine but we chose 6 different plates to share between the 6 of us and it just wasn't enough food so meal sizes were on the smaller size, so then ordered the fried icecream balls as everyone was still hungry. They are supposed to be cooked and served hot but all were cold so they must pre cook and just serve cold which is not a traditional fried icrecream. So in a nut shell on the waiting time alone and size of meals for price I would not...