I love the Xiao Long Baos here, they are fresh and juicy. Everything is really fresh and tasty especially the chilli wonton, dan dan noodles and XLB! Not too pricy and service is fast!

Approximate cost: $15

Whilst I do love the shao long bao dumlings here, the service is a bit hit and miss. One day service will be attentive and friendly, the next, you are wondering if the waiters/managers want you dining there. The food always comes out quickly and is of good quality. I have found, however, changes to the menu are not easily catered for and will often get you a blank stare or two.

Approximate cost: $20

This places makes exceptional Xiao Long Bao, dumplings and fish head white soup. I guess it has made a name for itself alrealdy, hence the new restaurant in Prahan was no exception, if not better.
The only disappointment was that staff always seemed very busy and was not very attentive.

Approximate cost: $20

This place is so popular that you have to book a couple of days in advance. My favourite dish is the Xiao Long Bao. It is really good even though it is a bit more expensive than other China restaurants. The decor is Chinese oriented and I like it.

Approximate cost: $12

Went there today as it was a very popular place which is famous for their dumplings. The service was good as we were there earlier though the price was a little pricey but it serves very good food.

Approximate cost: $10

Ok, so Melbourne lacks a Din Tai Fung Xiao Loong Bao Taiwanese Restaurant, however here's the next best thing. Hu Tong's chef originally hails from the master Xiao Loong Bao temple of Din Tai Fung in Sydney and he's put his own twist on dishes. They're not quite the same standard but still very very good. The Xiao Loong Bao is made fresh upon placing an order and is very close to Din Tai Fung in Sydney, and the Pot sticker dumplings are also very good too. Chinese noodles (Jia Jiang Mian) - a Chinese Version of Spaghetti Bolognese is also very well done and very tasty. Service is a bit abrupt and many waiters don't speak Cantonese (mostly Mandarin) and some have a bit of trouble understanding English, but we overlooked these because the food is of a good standard. Unfortunately they don't have the crab meat Xiao Loong Bao - maybe that will come if enough people ask! Decor is a blend of old and new Chinese on the top floor and on the ground floor it's like a small cafe with stools and simple tables. Be aware that when they say that the dishes contain chillies and are hot they actually are! Hotness ranges from just above mild to scorching. (A very chilli happy chef and they don't temper the dishes just because you can't take the heat!)

Approximate cost: $15

My husband and I absolutely love this place. They serve a superb range of noodles and dumplings. The flavors are delicate, the noodles cooked perfectly and the variety is quite different to what other Chinese dumpling houses offer. Ambience nice too.

I adore dumplings but have been really disappointed with most of the student-oriented dumpling joints around the city, so decided to try hop in to Hu Tong for lunch on a recommendation from a friend. Can I just say - the signature soup filled dumplings are EXCELLENT, definitely a cut above any other place I've tried so far.

My one quibble would be service - we ordered the soup dumplings and a plate of fried ones, the soup ones arrived really quickly. We were then kept waiting 30 minutes for the fried ones. I asked the waitress to check on the order, and she told me they were on their way. 15 minutes later, they arrived, obviously hastily cooked as they weren't brown and crispy on the bottom as they should've been.

I would've really much preferred if she had admitted that the kitchen had forgotten the order and apologised, then checked to see if we still wanted them. By then, we were sick of waiting and my partner had to run out to top up the parking meter.

Additionally, we were served our soup dumplings without ginger (not a hanging offence, but silly when they suggest that you try your soup dumplings with ginger on the placards on every table). When I asked for some, we were delivered two of the most miserly portions of ginger I've ever seen. Each portion was literally 6 tiny shreds of ginger, I'm lucky that my partner doesn't like ginger with his.

The staff are what you'd expect of a middle of the road Chinese restaurant, but I didn't like that they all conversed with each other loudly in Cantonese throughout the upper level dining room where we were seated. I think that it's unprofessional, and that private conversations should be kept to the staff areas. I also suspect that they felt so comfortable in doing so as they thought that no one would understand what they were saying. Don't get me wrong, the conversations were perfectly harmless and I'm not expecting silver service, but what I do expect is a certain level of professionalism that was lacking here.

All in all, it's a nice place to eat, and I know I'll be going back and trying more from the menu. I just wish that the floor staff would remember that the dining room is NOT their social club.

Edited to add: I went back a week after this experience and was seated in the downstairs dining room this time. We were taken care of by a nice young man, and the service was much better this time around. Definitely my new dumpling joint of choice!

Approximate cost: $10-15

Booked a group of 10 for our regular family dinner out, but ended up we have 11 people, they are happy to accommodate us. We got a table up at Level 2, it was a great deco! The whole dinner experience was great, food is lovely! It was my best experience with a dumpling restaurant EVER!!! Well done Eric! (I hope next time you will serve us again!)

Great decor - looks like something straight out of mainland China with lots of dark wood and pictures of Chinese streetscape. Central location too with about 3 floors so lots of tables available (but you do need to book!). Lastly, fantastic dumplings. However, the two lunchtimes I've been, pan friend dumplings weren't available..go figure. Great value too.

Approximate cost: $15