Chinese restaurant located above Noodle Kingdom with access via a lift. Has vegetable dishes, stir frys, rice plates, and mock meats. Simple, pleasant decor. Re-opened following renovation, Dec 2016. Note that not all alcohol is confirmed to be vegan-friendly (wine is not vegan friendly. Open Mon-Sun 11:00am-3:00pm, 5:00pm-10:00pm.
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L3 264 Swanston St (at Chinatown), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3000
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- Wheelchair accessible
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Last update on 06 Dec 2023 by geometric-noise
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Added by KingKong on 27 Jan 2013
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132 Reviews
First Review by KingKong
evoontoast
Points +1516
The Tian Ci of Melbourne - Edit
If I lived in Melbourne…this would be the regular hangout spot FOR SURE….
Read moreGuest
Hawaii
Points +39
Great food - Edit
Delicious Asian restaurant - huge menu. Try getting a booth seat overlooking the city. Recommend the Golden Treasure Cold Platter, I swap the cold tofu with a fried tofu.
Read morePros: Golden Treasure Cold Platter
Cons: Hard to find
Guest
kelseyjaynex
Points +2937
Tasty Chinese - Edit
Was easy to find from the sign on Swanston St, then just took a rickety old lift up. I liked the booth seating next to windows looking down onto the street.
Read moreThe menu is huge and not very descriptive which made it hard to choose. My partner and I ended up with the “hat trick” (tofu mushroom claypot), spicy “pork” with mushroom and cabbage, and vegetable wontons in spicy sauce. Didn’t really like the wontons and they took ages to come out, but the mains were very flavourful if a little salty/oily. Loved the wood ear mushrooms in the pork dish.
Would be good to know what their best dishes are as it seems like the food could be a little hit and miss? Would come back!
Pros: authentic feel, big servings
Cons: restaurant was messy (boxes laying around etc)
Guest
Llobby
Points +207
Good option in the CBD - Edit
There’s not many options in the CBD so this is a great spot if you need a veggie Chinese fix for lunch or dinner 7 days a week.
Read moreThey have an interesting selection of dishes along with the old faves. My go to is Sweet & Sour pork as it is at most Veg Chinese restaurants. Good thing with this S&S Pork is there’s tons of pineapple and no squishy tomato.
Service is friendly and sometimes quirky. Don’t let the lift ride put you off as it’s a relaxing atmosphere and occasionally the local Buddhist monks will eat here for lunch which is nice.
Guest
Joylemes
Points +216
Good vegan food - Edit
Nice to find a good spot with vegan food at cbd. Hard to choose just one meal, ended up with a take away container for dinner.
Read moreGuest
Grace425
Points +490
Whats not to love? - Edit
I feel like I have stumbled upon a gem!
Read moreA tucked away elevator to the left of the boba place then up to level 3 and its like walking into the most comforting atmosphere.
Staff member was very accomodating letting me know that they have vegan icecream 🥺 she was a sweetie.
Portion was large! And came out fast!
$15.80 cant complain! Fair price for such a large portion and it had little fake meat (kind of like a ham?) throughout the dish.
10/10 I want to try more dishes if I am ever in the area again!
(Went back and tried the curry 10/10 new favourite)
Updated from previous review on 2024-07-30
Guest
MotherSoyMilk
Points +18
YUM YUM in my TUM TUM - Edit
The menu was a book, so many choices. I got the faux nuggets, shanghai noodles, and something else that I forgot. BUT BOI WAS IT GOOD. The price was okay and I ordered a lot more than I needed and I got most of it for take home because I was so excited to try everything. I loved the dessert like a sweet treat. Nom nom- would recommend for vegans and non vegans.
Read morePros: Shanghai Noodles, Mango Apple Drink thing, Faux Nuggets
Guest
soyboy100
Points +163
Pretty good - Edit
Very yummy and excellent service. The space is also very cozy to sit in. I quite liked the sweet and sour 'pork'. I will definitely come here again to try other things in the menu.
Read moreI am just a bit confused with the reviews saying that some things are not vegan. When I asked a lady who worked there, she told me that the menu was 100 percent vegan.
Tiggy
I’m not sure what the situation is now but at the end of 2022 they were serving cow’s milk ice cream as an option and their alcoholic beverages were not vegan.
Read moreVix333
Last time I was there about a year ago the ice-cream was dairy. We ordered it thinking it was vegan, but luckily the waitress told us - oh, by the way it's not vegan. Really hope no one has ordered it thinking it's dairy free!
Read moresoyboy100
for the icecream, I asked if it was vegan and she told me it was. I really hope it was 😭
Read moreTiggy
It would’ve been vegan. They just had a cow secretion version available too.
Read moreTiggy
@Vix333 - I didn’t know that was happening 😔 😒 I choose not to give this place my money given they serve animal abuse products 😢
Read moreGuest
FPB
Points +365
Always the best - Edit
We’ve been eating here for years .. travel from interstate, LOVE the food, it’s tasty, consistent, and restaurant is cosy, and staff very friendly, and always accommodating.
Read moreFeels really special to dine in a restaurant that is 100% Vegan 👍
Updated from previous review on 2024-06-15
Pros: Consistently tasty dishes , Friendly staff, So many choices
Guest
blovessummer
Points +362
Love the sweet and sour pork - Edit
Good fully vegan option in the cbd. The sweet and sour pork is my staple but have sampled a few other dishes too.
Read moreGuest
AuntAdaDoom
Points +101
Level 1 service is a nightmare but worth it - Edit
Situated over two levels, good luck if you get relegated to level 1 on a busy night. It’s freezing and the service is hilariously bad. Still, worth it for good cheap fresh food from an extensive menu. We are frequent flyers here.
Read moreGuest
JessMurfin
Points +337
Insane Chinese - Edit
Amazing Chinese, I had fried noodles with veggies and the portion was huge, steaming hot, heaps of flavour. Staff were lovely and really nice place to eat.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-04-08
Tiggy
Unfortunately it’s not vegan 😢
Read moreJessMurfin
Oh whoops my bad I thought it was I’ll change what I wrote. Thank you ☺️
Read moreTiggy
If only I made as much money doing this as the businesses that profit from animal abuse.
Read moreGuest
chatreuse
Points +3135
Some great dishes - Edit
Extensive menu (although vegan and vegetarian is not delineated at all, only realised it's not fully vegan from comments responding to other reviews). Favourites so far are the hot & spicy squid, which wasn't as spicy as the name suggests, rather a slow burn.
Read moreThe deep fried chikn w/red hot chilli was delish and thankfully not very hot.
The Shanghai fried noodles were bland.
We ordered the curry lamb with rice, but was given the more expensive curry lamb as a main, so we had to order the veg pan cake to eat with it. The curry is not as good as it used to be. Had water chestnuts in it, which does not go with curry.
Service is usually very good, although when we went one waitress seemed really annoyed with us for asking for more than one fork between the 3 of us. We weren't given water, and she was very brusque. And then they asked for a tip at the end, yeah fat chance. They don't offer a discount for cash payments, but almost always apply pressure to do so, but who even carries cash these days.
Pros: hot+spicy squid, deep fried chikn w/red hot chilli
Cons: bland Shanghai noodles, pressure customers to pay in cash
Guest
Rothkogirrl
Points +216
The best Chinese sweet and sour ever - Edit
Flavours, out of this world.
Read morePros: Food, Service , Price
Guest
EdYan
Points +2892
Hong Kong style! - Edit
This is so HK style in that from the street you have no idea there's a restaurant, then you take a lift and the lift opens straight into the restaurant. Plus of course the food is basically Cantonese and that's a good thing. We enjoyed everything we ordered from an extensive and varied menu.
Read moreNice, friendly service and the food came quickly.
Guest
Zanse
Points +44
Loads of choices - Edit
Look past the unprepossessing exterior and dodgy lift, and Gong De Lin is a gem. The service is friendly, the prices reasonable and the menu so extensive that it's genuinely difficult to choose from! The food is generally tasty and fresh. One thing I'd like to see changed is the labelling, however. While the menu assures customers that everything is vegetarian, egg and dairy are present in a few dishes, and it can be difficult to work out which ones (particularly the noodles). Otherwise, a great choice for dining out in Melbourne.
Read morePros: Huge variety
Cons: Labelling of non-vegan food could be clearer
Guest
fengmanyi
Points +484
Delicious food lots of options - Edit
Nice environment and extensive men. Food is delicious
Read moreGuest
HappyAussieDylan
Points +471
Great options - Edit
My girlfriend and I visited Melbourne march 2021 and found this little beauty tucked away in a building. Nothing fancy inside (normally a great sign) and the food was great without being mind blowing.
Read moreGot a few things but the vegan duck pancakes and sizzling beef was delicious. From memory pricing was good too. Will be back next time in Melbourne!
Pros: Heaps of options , Noodles were good too
Guest
JoanPrice
Points +46
Scrumptious and varied - Edit
We sampled 6 dishes (appetizers, "snacks," salads, dessert) and all were superb. I can't even tell you what we enjoyed most, because we were exclaiming about all of them. Such a varied menu - we wanted to stay until we got hungry again to try more. We enjoyed Gong De Lin so much that we're returning tomorrow!
Read morePros: Inventive, huge menu , Every dish was distinctive and delicious
Guest
Jopal
Points +15
Large menu - Edit
I stopped in for lunch.
Read moreLarge menu with loads of options. There were many mock meat options, which I don't eat. I prefer beans and lentils but these were few and far between.
Good place to bring someone starting out on a veg eating plan.
Service was friendly and the restaurant was spacious.
The food was OK.
Guest
MarleyTyler
Points +686
Lots of options - Edit
Came for lunch on a Saturday. Quite busy but plenty of space. Sat in a cosy booth. Greeted with friendly service. Ordered jasmine tea, vegetable pancake, noodles with vegetables and my partner had teppanyaki beef. Not quite what he expected but still tasty. Wanted to order the lychee ice cream but it’s not vegan.
Read moreGuest
EmmaZ
Points +875
Amazing Chinese place in Melbourne - Edit
Such a great place for a casual meal, it’s never a let down! The menu is massive and the food is so good. The sweet and sour pork is to die for.
Read moreBrittnyKsenic
Second this - always AMAZING
Read moreGuest
Happysoiboi
Points +1049
Yummo - Edit
Cute little place with lovely customer service. The chilli dumplings were delish!
Read moreGuest
jess!e97
Points +1243
Yummy dumplings - Edit
This place is such a cozy venue - the focus is really on the food which I love.
Read moreService is great and attentive, although food wait times can be a little long for dumplings (~20mins).
Affordable too!
Guest
Kittybiscuit
Points +8656
Tasty food and generous servings - Edit
It’s been a few years since I came here and I was looking for a place to eat with some friends I used to work with in the cbd. The menu has a lot of options and it took some time to decide. In the end we decided to share some snacks and then have a main meal to ourselves. We shared the “goose” and some pan fried dumplings and the cucumber salad. I really enjoyed all of these options. Especially the goose. For my main I ordered a noodle soup with wontons. The wontons were really tasty and I liked the broth. Very generous servings. I had an oolong tea with rose which I wasn’t that impressed with.
Read moreService was great and the staff were nice.
We were so busy talking I forgot to take photos.
Guest
YeyintAung
Points +58
Delicious every time! - Edit
Gong De Lin never disappoints. I’ve been there countless times over the years. I’m so happy it endured during the lockdowns. Delicious food, great atmosphere at an affordable price
Read morePros: Delicious food , Great atmosphere , Completely vegan
Guest
dailyy.ivy
Points +17
In love with this place - Edit
The food was really delicious. It’s hard to find a vegan Asian restaurant like this. Cant way to try again.
Read morePros: Wide range of vegan choice, The place is nice, has personal spaces, The food came out pretty quick, no long wait
Cons: Can be pricey, They do not have many staffs
Guest
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