Probably more of a 3.5 star rating, but I'll round up since we only got a few items. When we first passed by this place right around noon, the dining room was packed and there must have been 25 people waiting outside. Fortunately, we had had a late breakfast and weren't looking for a table just yet. A couple hours later we started to feel a little peckish so we ambled back over here, and the crowd outside was gone. The restaurant was still humming but at least we got seated right away. We came here specifically for the xiao long bao. Melbourne is actually flush with XLB places, so if this place hadn't worked out then we probably could have found another equally enticing restaurant about a block away. We got an order of hot and sour soup, combination fried rice, and their basic XLB. The soup was meh - definitely have had much better - but unlike a lot of American restaurants they didn't use an excessive amount of cornstarch to thicken it, which I appreciated. The fried rice was pretty good and wasn't oversalted. The XLB were huge, at least as compared to what we get in the US. There was so much broth inside each dumpling that it overflowed the spoon that we used. The pork filling was delicious. I had hoped to get a second order of a different XLB, but we were already quite satisfied by the time we finished off the tray. Service was just okay, as they seemed to be a little understaffed when we were there. We were given water but not tea, though I'm not sure whether it's customary in Australia to be automatically served tea at Chinese restaurants. The price of our meal was reasonable for the amount and type of food we ordered. read more

Juicy Bao - XLB of course - Chinese Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

I love this place!!! Great dumplings, especially the soup dumplings, outstanding chili wontons, excellent wood ear salad, and amazing fish with picked vegetable soup. There is often a long line, but its worth the wait. read more

After walking past restaurants with lines down the sidewalks we make our way to Juicy Bao. The lines have more to do with guide books from other countries. When going with a local you can find some gems and this one of them. The pork soup dumplings were some of the best I've had but the real hit was the kung pao prawns which had a thick sauce and perfectly cooked prawns. Delicious! Got to branch out to more less traveled restaurants. read more

Juicy Bao - Hot and sour soup, peanut sauce pork and Kung Pao pawns. - Chinese Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

Good quality, generous portions, Tasty Chinese food It's one of those places where it is worth going once and experiencing the hype There are a lot of people that pass through this joint and not without good reason. Service was extremely average but my expectations re a service standpoint for restaurants like this are very low anyway read more

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Average food and unfriendly service. We got them for takeaway and they didn't give us soy sauce which was a bit of a bummer :/

Came here on a busy Sunday night. Overall experience was ok, nothing mind blowing. The place- Single level. Good amount of seating. The dumpling chef is located at the front of the restaurant. Generally noisy. My biggest complaint is that people tend to hang at the front entrance to smoke while checking out the menu. The food- famous for their juicy baos. The skin was a little on the thicker side. Good amount of soup in it. There was a very generous amount of filling. I thought the taste was ok but not mind blowing. The signature Shanghai stewed pork belly well done, but a little on the sweet side. The price- some of the main dishes are a little pricy. Maybe its just Melbourne price. The service- friendly, fast. I guess this is a good alternative when other dumping places are full. read more

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Almost as good as Shanghai Street up the road. A little pricier. By a little I mean less than a dollar. Went the fried pork with chives and wombok. $13.50 ish for a can of Sprite and I think it was around 15 dumplings? Fun Fact - also do takeaway, I waited out in the sun wander around Chinatown and they brought my dumplings out to me! read more

Juicy Bao - Fried pork goodness - Chinese Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

0 stars for sanitation and food quality. Melbourne has tons of dumpling houses, and I've spent the last six months exploring quite a few of them. This one, I definitely do not recommend. I grabbed a table near the ladies that were preparing the dumplings because I enjoy watching them. It also gave me a front row seat to watch one of them drop one of the doughballs on the floor and then pick it up and throw it in with the rest of them. When I then saw another lady sneeze multiple times into a batch of already prepared dumplings without even covering herself, I got up and walked out. Fortunately, I didn't miss much as their number one food item, the pork dumplings, were some of the worst I've ever had. You're better off going to Shanghai Street ir Dim Tai Fung. read more

Juicy Bao - Chinese Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

Dont be fooled by the 3.5 star rating on yelp...this is a 5 star restaurant. They just dont have many yelp reviews. You are going to have to wait to get in but its worth the wait. Came with a friend and we ordered 3 orders of dumplings, the stir fry broccoli and wine. Best meal I have had thus far while being in Australia. read more

Juicy Bao - These are there signature pork dumplings. - Chinese Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

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While the name is silly, the dumplings are not. This casual eatery has many of the hallmarks of a good dumpling place - 1. every table is eating dumplings 2. there is not much talking but there is much stuffing of the face 3. the staff are not interested in giving you a classy experience, but will get your dumplings out hot and fast. Xiao long bao is a no-brainer. The broth was very gingery and just the right amount. Needless to say, juicy. The pan fried pork were a stand out as well. We did order a couple non-dumpling dishes, just to diversify. We tried the chile chicken (which we were advised heavily against by the server because... bones. We may be white people, but we can handle bones. It was very tasty but not a huge serving. The green beans though were some of the best I've had with lip-tingling Szechuan flavour. Highly recommended! With beer and wine and more dumplings than three people should rightly consume, the bill was less than $100. Don't be deterred by the line. It moves fast. read more

For me dumplings are a bit like pizza - I haven't met one I didn't want to eat. But a great dumpling is something I want to write a review for. There's some awkward truth in advice to take comfort when you see mostly Asian customers in an Asian restaurant. And that's what's going on down here at Juicy Bao my friends. It's busy and crowded but we were seated quickly, with prompt and polite service. Moments later and our table was laden with glorious parcels of porky delights. You must order the Xiao Long Bao (pork soup dumplings) it's very good here.The skin is not as thin as I like but the soup well balanced. The peanut chilli oil wontons are also a must, star of the night and an burst of flavour. read more

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Solid dumpling spot. The XLBs are juicy and soft but have a but have a bit more dough than I prefer. The pan fried baos were excellent!

What is this, a serving for ants? I don't have a lot to say about this place; the dumplings aren't too bad and they do have a reasonably good selection of menu items. *Please be aware* - the service isn't top notch and it can get insanely crowded at peak times. Also don't order anything but dumplings; the other food that's available is good, but the serving sizes are absolutely pathetic, especially given the average $25 price tag. read more

It was a bit of a hit and miss....We ordered 4 dishes, 2 were nice, the other two a bit salty and not that good. Its cheap enough that we didn't care so much, but I probably won't return though. read more

This place is the best dumpling joint I visited in Melbourne. They've got all the standards, reasonable prices, and the soup dumplings come out so quick they're still red hot and WILL burn your mouth like crazy. I'm only docking a star because the wait staff were totally unable to explain anything on the menu, like, I feel like you shouldn't be a waiter somewhere if you're answering simple questions with "I don't know." Maybe I just got a newbie, but, seemed real weird. Also, spend some time out front creeping on the people making the dumplings in the window. It's real cool and makes the whole place feel hyper authentic. read more

Juicy Bao is what you'd expect a dumpling restaurant to be: packed with a 20 and 30 something asian crowd, full of vibe, and NOISY. This was a pit stop for comfort food after Friday night shopping. The verdict? Cheap, cheerful, very friendly service, and most importantly, great dumplings and wontons. read more

Juicy Bao - Wonton soup and dumplings - Chinese Near Me - Melbourne, VIC

So rude! I went there with a very old friend for dinner and he ordered the sweet and sour prawns were foul! Everything else that we ordered was really good (3 other dishes) and I kept telling them that the sauce for the prawns was so thick and sugary that they were not edible. I am Asian, I know how sweet and sour can be sweet, but it was thick like honey. I told them I would pay for everything else but he only had one prawn and couldn't stomach eating more. They fought with me and insisted everything was good. I work in the food service industry and am not a crazy customer. I asked for it to be remade or substituted but they would not stop saying it tastes good and it could not be fixed. I would never skip out on a check so I paid for the meal, but I will never go back. read more

This is by far the beat dumpling in the city. Theres usually a large line if you get there after 7. But in no time youll be at a table

The service was nice. As soon as we ordered the food I barely had time to look around the restaurant because before I knew it the food was sitting in front of my eyes. The dumplings were very good. I recommend the pork bun dumplings. Also the wonton soup and the Bok Choy. All very nice. read more

It was busy and crowded when I went (Saturday night around 1845 or so) but we were seated very quickly (almost immediately), with prompt and polite service. All servers speak fluent Mandarin and English, so if you want to try out your Mandarin skills, you most definitely can). A few minutes later and our table was laden with glorious parcels of porky delights. You must order the Xiao Long Bao (pork soup dumplings) it's very good here.The skin is not as thin as I like but the soup well balanced. The peanut chilli oil wontons are also a must, star of the night and an burst of flavour. The cold dishes are good as well, try the Wheat Gluten. Will most definitely came back again! Parking can be difficult to find, try the Midtown Underground Carpark or Golden Square Carpark. For free parking, well there's none nearby. Free parking only exists after 7:30pm Monday-Saturday and all day Sunday. read more

Came for the xiao long bao soup dumplings, and did not leave disappointed. While not the best in town, for the price the pork bao are still pretty amazing. The vegetarian ones don't fare so well - the soup gets absorbed by the spinach and greens inside - but still tasty. Didn't have a dud dish, ate our faces off, BYO multiple bottles, and left with change from $20 each. Love me some Chinatown eats. read more

Really quick, cheap and tasty food. The service is hit and miss, but love the line up process at night to gain entry.

avoid this place it is not clean and the un hygienic the food is dry and bad when u tell the manager, they ignore very bad attitude read more

In the heart of Melbourne's china town, great authentic joint with impressive selection of classic dishes that are Chinese enough for Chinese and modified enough for tourists and Australians alike. Wonderful chaos during diner that makes the whole experience even better. Go. read more

Ok we wanted a nice lunch and came across this place.It looked clean and was full. We were seated once someone left - so a short wait but that was expected. We ordered and our food came in a reasonable time frame BUT upon eating we found black hairs in our spring rolls and sweet and sour chicken dish - We called the waitress over who was shocked and very apologetic -and promptly took our dishes away. We were asked if we wanted to have the dishes remade, which we said no it was ok. On checkout the offending dishes were still on our bill just at a lower price then on menu. Of the food we did eat - a meat dish, seafood dish and rice it was ok but nothing extraordinary. Waiting staff were over worked and the place is very crowded - you are nearly touching the table next to you. read more

We are regulars of this restaurant before they became famous. However, it seems that their service worsten. We were in line for half an hour and their waiter refused to seat us. Terrible service. We willl not eat at this restaurant again. read more