lucy liu kitchen and bar

hmmm not sure what to think of lucy liu. the food isn’t bad but seems overpriced for the same quality asian dumplings or food that you can get in chinatown for half the price. the staff seemed very rushed to get you in and out also. an awkward moment is when i paid by credit card and one of the severs just stared when the tip section comes up. i didn’t feel the tip was justified to be honest and it was weird being watched. the decor and environment is very nice though.

we ordered tuna tataki, tempura prawn bettel leaves, salt pepper chicken ribs and rendang with roti. chicken ribs is the food of the day....so yummm... the tuna got surprise wasabi taste....

got the “let lucy choose” 7 plates option as we were a group of 8 for $75pp.

loved the starters. only thing that saved me from leaving this place a 1 star.
fish, chicken & corn fritter w/ sweet chili sauce was quite tasty and different.
yellow fin tuna tataki tasted refreshing - highlight of the dinner.

i’d say after this, the food got more disappointing.
beef salad - mine came with a side of hair (ofc we requested my dish to be taken back) i received a complimentary tuna on sesame cracker as an apology. apology accepted as it was tasty too.

siu mai prawn dumplings - very average. probably better off avoiding it.

salt & pepper chicken ribs were average again, missed the flavor mark. just tasted like fried chicken.

we had a chicken curry dish which was boring as well. this time, it came with a crawling bug on its leaves. had to get this one sent back too.

salmon w/ black bean sauce had crispy skin and was cooked soft to the centre - i enjoyed this.

as an apology for the bug, we received complimentary dessert.

banana fritter was average, you can find tastier at your local vietnamese restaurant. the vietnamese coffee ice cream w/ fried chinese donut tasted like stale chinese donut slathered in coconut milk??? if i had paid the full $16.50 for this dish, i would had been very upset.
the chocolate dulce de leche, the flavors did not go well.

the waiter was also very understanding and nice.

i have been hearing raving reviews about this restaurant. the reviews on zomato have also been fantastic. so understandably i can’t wait to try it out. i must say everything that we ordered were absolutely delicious. if you have read my previous reviews you would have known that i don’t like coriander. but i managed to go through dinner without having to eat any (i picked them out, sorry). you booked marked this place then be sure to make a booking as i’ve tried walking in a few months ago and they told me that they are fully booked for the next month.

i went here for my birthday and there isn’t anything bad that i could say about this place.
everything is just so so so good. the king fish was my favourite dish and you should definitely try it if you are a sashimi fan. another favourite of mine is the pancake roll with soft shell crab!
everything is that good!! definitely recommended

4.5 ⭐️. finally made it to lucy liu. went with a few colleagues for dinner and it didn’t disappoint. the ventricular tablemats were interesting way to showcase the menu. we ordered a large array of cocktails and food. if you are coming to a place where it’s shared dishes then you need an army of people so you can sample everything. highlights: the plates (entrees). crispy pork buns! soft shell crab! i think we ordered majority of the menu. another great asian fusion eatery. lowlights: limited seating time.

we loved this place. we sat at the kitchen bar so you get to watch all the dishes being plated up which was fun. the staff were really friendly and helpful about the menu - our waiter suggested we were overordering and recommended other dishes so we could still try all the flavours we wanted. we shared soft shell crab, prawn dumplings, sticky pork belly and drunken chicken. each dish was delicious and the flavours were perfectly balanced. it's pretty well priced too - we had a couple of drinks each and got away for just under 100. we'd come back for sure!

lucy liu offers typically melbournian asian-fusion, with dishes inspired from hong kong, china, korea, thailand and malaysia. 
execution is modern, contemporary and prices reflect this too, as mains are preeeety steep.
my hong kong friends are visiting and can take zero heat, so we try to opt for dishes with no chilli.

* cantonese steamed blue cod fillet - a very common chinese dish, the cod is juicy, firm and the flesh just flakes off in large chunks.
* shortrib with rendang curry - love a slowroasted shortrib, and this is beautifully soft and fatty with a mildly sweet rendang curry sauce.
* korean-style crispy pork hock - i guess the inspiration came from jokbal (braised pork hock), but done in a peking duck fashion with thin pancakes and hoisin.

the atmosphere is dim, with neon lights around and music absolutely thumping. i almost feel embarrased with my friend's mum looking a bit uncomfortable.
i guess the restaurant is targeting a certain crowd - young, hip, loves cocktails, has money to blow, and has travelled to hong kong once but only for a stopover (jk).

i'm a little torn about the restaurant. cultural appropriation comes to mind, but this is melbourne - a very multicultural hotspot. sydney and melbourne have been well known for asian-fusion for decades and there's no sign of it slowing down.

for me though, most of the dishes aren't unique enough to warrant the high prices, because i feel like i can get a similar dish in a more traditional restaurant.

returned to lucy liu for my last business trip, a great ‘go to’ that never disappoints. we were seated at the kitchen-side bench, and the restaurant was full and busy on a cold, wet monday night. the food was incredible as always. my colleague had not been before so left the ordering up to her as i knew everything would be fantastic. our view of the chefs and kitchen made for a great night, being able to see the dishes going out helped us to choose whatever we liked the look of from the pass. a great night out experiencing one of melbourne’s faves.

excellent food— every dish we ordered was full of flavour and packed a punch. unfortunately, service was a bit of a let down. it was a busy friday night so we were happy to wait for a table- ended up with bar stools. one of our party of three had a problem with back pain and even though we requested a proper table and there was a proper table that had remained free for 30-45mins after we requested, we were told this wouldn’t be possible. soon after we noted another party of three who came after us were shown to this table.

still a favourite after many years and still as popular as ever. this place was buzzing on a friday night which sometimes means having to sit really close to the people at the table next to you. great cocktails and service always on point. had the 5 plate share option which was delicious as always . finished off with the vietnamese coffee ice cream with fried chinese donuts which was good but certainly not the best dessert i had... should have gone with the banana fritters

this was my second visit, i really enjoyed it the first time i was here, a couple of months ago. this time i thought it was average. we tried:

rare breed sticky pork belly and betel leaves– bland, requires more flavour

king fish sashimi – amazing flavours
- loved
fried asian greens- loved, very fresh and best i have probably had at any restaurant. more garlic please

ginger crème brulee – loved intensity and ginger flavour

banana fritters with ice cream - : wished the bananas can be fried to more crispy, was chewy, didn’t love

this was my second time visiting for lunch and was impressed again. vietnamese pork salad from the special menu was fresh and zingy. short rib rendang was sweet, rich and super tender. pickles were a nice addition. loses a star for being pretty expensive and a really cramped venue.

had a horrible experience here tonight.

we made a booking for a birthday for 930pm, which was late enough and the only time available, we weren’t shown to a table until 950.

we had lovely service and food through the night with very attentive service.

once we were finished our meals, we asked for our bill. this isn’t our first time to lucy luis and in the past we have been told we couldn’t split bills, however tonight they said they could do this. we told them we would need some time still to sort out what we owe.

we were asked 3 times if we were ready to pay although we said we would call them, and on the third ask the waiter whose name was vince, said he would help us with splitting it even though we said we still needed time.

there was a bit of confusion with splitting the bill and this became too much for vince as he slammed his hand on the table of 7 women and yelled “listen. i’m about to lose my sh*t. you owe me -” and at this point we all just sat there shocked. we just paid the rest all together and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

i am a food blogger, have worked many years as a waiter, in the hospitality industry and currently in an industry that requires patience and understanding with its guests. this sort of behaviour is unacceptable in any occasion and i can’t believe someone with such a short fuse can work in such a highly rated melbourne restuarant.

when we brought up the incident with the manager, he seemed to be aware of this sort of behaviour from the employee. i don’t recall any apology and not sure if i will ever be back.

my colleagues and i went here for lunch and really enjoyed our experience. the food is good and the cocktails are great. the ambience is nice and the restaurant itself is very cool. the only negative for me was the price, i didn't feel like it was worth it for the quantity of food we had.