Grand Orient is situated in the Melbourne Hotel on the corner of Milligan Street and Hay Street. Once you work out how to get in (we tried two doors before finding the actual entrance inside the hotel), you are transported to another world. The decor is traditional Chinese elegance, with muted lighting. Staff are very helpful, and on our visit there were plenty of tables celebrating special occasions, seemingly via the set menu with lobster and crab galore.
We chose the Peking duck with san choy bao. The duck is carved at the table, and the waiter makes up the pancakes withe crispy duck skin, cucumber, carrot, onion and hoisin sauce. It’s a real touch of theatre and we felt very spoilt.
San choy bao were beautifully presented, lettuce cups of seasoned duck with vegetables. Both duck courses were delicious. We soon noticed that pretty much every table ordered the duck – it’s obviously a speciality.
For the post-duck course we chose the deep fried prawns Hong Kong Bay style (with crispy chilli, spring onion, garlic). Excellent quality fresh prawns, with a perfect coating of batter and delicious crispy bits.
We also had Young Chow fried rice – very tasty with large prawns, barbecue pork, celery and egg.
We watched in awe as some of the larger tables were served delectable looking lobster with noodles, and a huge crab with Singapore style chilli sauce. The staff really go to a lot of effort to serve the food at the table, impeccably done with a flourish. All in all a very pleasant experience and much fancier than I expected. I will definitely be back to try some of the other dishes.
Last visit – March 2025
Truly Scrumptious 
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