Benyue Kitchen

Benyue Kitchen is a homey, family-friendly diner serving a raft of Cantonese classics. It was started by Yip Wu, Tang Au-Yueng, Xing You He and Qiang Wu – who used to work in the kitchen at now-closed St Kilda institution Lau’s Family Kitchen.

70 per cent of the menu channels that of Lau’s, which was launched by lauded restaurateur Gilbert Lau. But the focus at Benyue Kitchen is on family-friendly dining, with plenty of vegetarian and gluten-free options available.

Lau’s Family Kitchen favourites such as lamb spring rolls and fluffy crab omelette are mainstays here. You’ll also find Peking duck with crisp skin, phenomenal house-made siu mai, Szechuan-style braised eggplant, sticky honey chicken and textural char kway teow.

Behind the brown brick facade – with its ’80s-suburbia vibe and Spanish mission-style archways – was once a local Chinese restaurant Imperial Garden, which existed for years before the current owner-operators moved in. The decor was updated when Benyue Kitchen opened to give the place more atmosphere, with colourful artwork by Yip’s son also adding to the family feel of the place.