Ming Dining

Welcome to Ming Dining, Melbourne’s newest fine dining restaurant fusing traditional Cantonese Chinese influences with contemporary Australian cuisine. Taste the boldness and opulence of Hong Kong through the exquisite selection of meticulously crafted dishes and cocktails fit for a high-flying corporate executive dinner or a boozy lunch with friends. Located on Queen Street in the CBD, Ming Dining is a chamber of decadence designed to offer an unforgettable culinary experience.

Opening its doors in July 2023, Ming Dining is the brainchild of owner and director Tony Yan, who envisioned establishing a high-end yet accessible restaurant that embodies the heritage of Cantonese culture with a modern, Australian twist. Combining local and international premium ingredients with impeccable presentation, this vision flows through the expansive menu offering. Eye off a tantalising array of combinations, including Pacific oysters in XO Butter, the classic take of sesame prawn toast with house-made brioche and cured Paroo kangaroo loin mixed with fermented red tofu mayo served with Shichimi sago cracker.

Milk Bar visited Ming one weeknight and was immediately taken with the venue’s sunken terrace with ambient-enhancing double-storey windows. An ideal space for after-work drinks or a quick bite to eat, the secret oasis works well in the coming warmer, balmier nights. The venue is quite large and spacious and has three private dining spaces to accommodate groups of six or ten – and if you’re looking for a Christmas party spot – one room caters for up to 60 people.

Passion, perfection, and presentation are three terms to appropriately describe the Ming culinary journey. To start, we had four oysters in XO butter, the delectable and authentic Sesame prawn toast and the boneless chicken wingette skewer. The prawn toast was fresh and appetising; it is an immediate stand-out and we very much recommend ordering a serving. The boneless chicken wingette skewer is based on the classic salt and pepper chicken ribs and is filled with chicken mousse and adorned with shallots, capsicum and crispy kalian.

For mains, opt for the dry age duck breast, which Tony explains is dried for a fortnight, and dressed with celeriac puree, pickled blackberries, charred spring onion and parsnip. We also ordered a generous serving of crab meat fried rice, a satisfying dish of shrimp, spanner crab meat and spring onion. We paired our meal with a couple of glasses of the Ox Hardy Grenache and the local Indigo Vineyard Pinot Noir.

Desserts were an easy choice: the black sesame panna cotta. Beautifully decorated and ornate, the citrus of the blood orange beamed through and was complemented by the sesame. Absolutely divine and perfect for sharing.

Ming Dining was a delight to visit and works well for an express lunch or after-work dinner option, or for a very special celebratory occasion. We can’t wait to visit again.

Ming Dining
299 Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Images by Jake Roden