The Chinahouse Restaurant - Brisbane

Generally when going to yum cha I go with my friends or family to Sunnybank which can be extremely inconvenient. Chinahouse is a restaurant I go to often and I enjoy it every time. The food is delicious and the staff are friendly. It provides a chance to have the Chinese dishes that we cannot make at home. It is not too pricey but it depends on how much you eat. There are so many dishes so there is something for everyone. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who wanted to try yum cha.

I came here for the Yum Cha which we just managed as it ends at 1.30 when the trolleys get emptied. The restaurant was full, the yum chas delicious and the service friendly and attentive. We selected 7 yum chas, all delicious and costing under $30 for the two of us...excellent... We were told their chef was a yum cha specialist and the best, and I will agree that the food was outstanding...

Usually, outside of San Francisco, I am weary of having Chinese food because we have such good authentic Chinese food at home. The continuing dishes arriving at our table not only looked good but was delightfully delicious, I almost forgot to take pictures for my review! You must try if you are craving dim sum in Brisbane.

The Thai wife and I made a spur of the moment decision to have a yum cha lunch while in Fortitude Valley. We climbed the stairs of this restaurant at 11:30am and were surprised to see a large airy, but empty room. Just as I was about to suggest we find somewhere else a staff member saw us and ushered us to a table. We were presented with menu cards, soon ordered and were sipping jasmine tea while we waited for the food. Since there are menu cards I suspect a trolley service would only operate on busy days if at all. After about ten minutes the food began to arrive together with the soy sauce and chilli sauce/paste. The food was okay without disappointing or excelling. The staff were attentive however by the time we left at 12:30pm there were only us and two other tables. We felt we would try this place again on a busier day. Bill for two of us was just short or $50 so would place it mid-range in regards to price. Room and staff looked clean.

We went here for yum cha brunch this morning (10am Tuesday) and we had the whole place to ourselves. That said everything in the valley was still closed or only just opening so I don't think the lack of people was anything to worry about. Our waitress Kelly was super polite and friendly and could not do enough for us. Always smiling and she knew the menu very well. It's quite a large place which probably seats over 100 but plenty of soft furnishings to absorb the noise. The yum cha menu had plenty of choices (there would be at least 50 or 60 different dishes, including steamed, fried, etc). I'm not sure if they have the carts that come around as we ordered from a menu with pictures. It was early though so maybe they have them later. For our 5 dishes with 2 coke zeros it came to $39, another winner! Everything was very tasty especially the fried calamari tentacles yum!! Food came quickly and was super fresh. The only downside I would have to say (and I took off a star because of it) was the little dish of fresh chopped chilli in soy sauce was an additional $3. First world problem I know, but seriously! I have never been charged anywhere for a 1.5 inch wide bowl with chopped chillies in soy sauce ever. Our waitress Kelly did tell us in advance though which was good. I say go ahead and give this place a try.