Gong De Lin

264 Swanston Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000

I met up with Brendan below the sign for Gong De Lin on bustling Swanston Street, before taking the lift up three floors and stepping into the smart and tranquil environment of the restaurant. Most of the tables are in booths and we were seated at one of these. There weren't too many other diners on the Tuesday which complimented the peaceful vibe. The menu is large and features a range of vegetarian dishes, we both picked ended up picking from the noodle and rice dish section which worked well for lunch.

Brendan doesn't normally pick out veggie meals when we head out for lunch, but was happy to give it a whirl on this occasion. He went for the vegetable dumpling noodle soup which looked the part and he enjoyed.

I had the vegetarian shredded pork in Szechuan style on rice. I've enjoyed a few mock meat dishes in the past and was ken to find out how this version measured up. The mock pork was closer to shredded ham in my opinion, but pretty close to the mark. The sauce was spicy without being overpowering and the ingredients worked well together.

The service was friendly and efficient. Each of the dishes came in at $12.80, although there are dishes on the menu that go for quite a bit more. If you do decide to take the elevator up to check out the vegetarian choices on offer, there should be something to take your fancy.