Ling Nan Chinese Restaurant

Tried this Cantonese restaurant for the first time and enjoyed the meal overall. The stir-fried flat noodles, salt and pepper cuttlefish, and pork dishes were particularly delicious. The stir-fried kai lan and stewed beef were decent but didn’t stand out as much. Looking forward to trying more dishes next time.

Have dinner here with friends. Their house signature dish, the pippies with XO sauce is a must order here,we observed every table had this. Food and portions are great for the prices,great for big groups!

GOOD QUALITY CANTONESE FOOD Ling Nan has been around for yeasr and a while back reloacted from Chinatown to Lonsdale St. Service is prompt and polite. Menu fairly extensive. Beware of the "market price" of live seafood. We ordered a coral trout which set us back $200! Fairly exhorbitant for a causal restaurant. Make sure you ask for the pricing before ordering! Other dishes far more reasonably priced and decent serving sizes. Despite being quite busy it's not that noisy. They dont accept bookings (at least not for a group of 4) so go early (~ 6 pm) or expect to queue up as its quite popular. People with mobilty issues will be OK here is it is all on one even floor. Parking in the CBD is pretty horredous on weekends so expect to use paid parking lots or go by public transport. Both Parliament and Melbourne Central train stations are within an easy walk and there are various tram routes that will get you to within a block of the restaurant. 10% surcharge on public holidays. BYO wine (with $5 per person corkage) or a very ordinary glass of house red or white wine for $9.

We went to Ling Nan for dinner and even though they were super busy on a Saturday night we managed to only wait for about half an hour for a table. We ordered their special fried rice, scallop congee w Chinese donuts, roast duck, prawn vege stir fry, Chinese broccoli, pipis & fried chicken ribs. The roast duck with its delicately crispy skin was the most flavourful one, followed by the special fried rice. The congee was pretty good too as it wasn’t too watery, but the rest of the dishes were pretty average. The fried ribs could have been tastier with (more) msg, some pipi shells were closed, both vege dishes were very bland. Service was quick, however, and staff were friendly.

Whenever we need a seafood fix we go here, honestly great food cooked well. We love the steamed fish with ginger and scallions (have had coral trout and barramundi on different occasions) both excellent and steamed to actual perfection. The pippies in XO and Chinese doughnut stand out so always get ordered, fried rice is always bang on, our fave is the seafood followed closely by the salted fish and chicken. Also a mention to the (not seafood) but roasted pigeon, cooked beautifully, we hadn’t had for a while and just hit the spot. We love the staff, friendly and attentive, will have a laugh and nothing is ever a problem.

One of my favourite place for supper, an institution in Melbourne that's definitely not to be missed. Now located on Lonsdale Street, not far from their old spot, the food is just as good as before. Can't go wrong with the XO pipis with Chinese Donuts, Water Spinach with Fermented Bean Curd, and the Salt & Pepper Squid and Chicken. Great flavours and excellent execution. So glad that they have reopened!

Service is pretty poor as they squeeze us in a table. But I have to say the food is pretty good. Serving is big and ended up to be about $30/head. Great place for a late snack but just don’t expect good service. Will I return? Probably not unless I come with someone who knows what to order :p

One of the oldest Chinese restaurants in the CBD that used to open late for supper. You can expect the traditional Chinese dishes at a pretty reasonable price. What I find is that some dishes can be a hit and miss here. The XO pipis never disappoints me as well as the tofu stuffed with Prawn. The pork belly with preserved vegeteables on a good day is excellent with soft melts in your mouth pieces. On the other hand, sometimes they can come up a little dry. Service is quick and efficient. Food - 7 Service - 7 Vibe - 6 Price - $$