Kum Tong

Location: 19-21 Andersons Creek Road, Doncaster East
Link: www.drinkeatweb.com/kumtong
Cuisine: Chinese, Yum Cha

One of our worst dining experiences out in the suburbs. This place was not just slow, but also rude and also very very average. So not worth the wait or the money.

Complimentary soup

The night started out quite pleasantly. We ordered a 4 person banquet which included oysters and abalone and our complimentary soup came out quite soon after. The soup was also quite nice, with turnips and pork bone broth.

Then the waiting began...

The remains of our steamed oysters with black bean sauce, and abalone with spring onions and ginger

As one can tell, I did not get a photo of the dish when it first came out. Why? Because we waited for half an hour after the soup before the food came out - and this was after giving numerous prompts to the waiters. And in stead of just apologising and being polite about it, the head waitress (who I believe is married to the head chef and owner) stated that the reason it was so slow was because we had taken so long to order! We just could not believe she even said it, because we ordered well over half an hour ago, and the soup came out almost immediately - soup does not arrive until you have ordered. That aside, the food itself was quite good (albeit somewhat overcooked), but we were too hungry, too angry and too short of time to care so much.

Special baked salted chicken $21.80

The chicken was quite tasty, and very salty indeed. Again there was a considerable wait between the oysters and abalone and the rest of the dishes coming out, but not as long as the first wait. The chicken could have done with more of a smokey baked smell and taste, but the dipping sauce of ginger and spring onions was the perfect accompaniment. However, it tasted just as good as what you might find at a Chinese roast house - nothing spectacular, and ridiculously expensive for what it was.

Stuffed bean curd in special soup claypot $16.80

This was not what I had expected this claypot to turn out. First I expected some sort of thick sauce, and I also expected the beancurd to have more flavour. Much more flavour. The mince meat that was used to stuff the beancurd had been over cooked and was tough and bland. The beancurd itself was also tasteless. I tried to drink the soup, but wasn't a fan of the nearly absent taste.

Stir fried snowpea leaves with garlic $15.80

Normally, I love snowpea leaves done at Chinese Restaurants, however, this one was a complete disappointment. The veggies were stringy, the stalks were tough and had some form of husk covering most of it - indications that these had exceeded their picking/harvesting time. Mind you, the garlic made the dish smell so much nicer than it actually was.

Service: rude, abrupt, slow, especially from the head waitress

Atmosphere: what a pity, because the atmosphere was quite nice, and there were two birthday celebrations on the other side of the room - identified by the happy birthday song being played quite loudly over the PA system

We are never going back again - we can get the same 'average' food from cheaper shops in Box Hill, or pay the same price and get decent food at the other restaurants in the area,

Overall Impression: 2/10