In the outer Northern suburb of Preston you will find a great range of multicultural treats in the streets surrounding Preston Markets. Authentic thai, lebanese, turkish, indian, chinese, vietnamese - a great range of cuisines.
Gold Leaf is one Chinese restaurant bordering Preston Market. And during a recent trip to Melbourne I decided to dine in during their busy Saturday Yum Cha lunch session.
The Gold Leaf chain has expanded around Melbourne and I cannot say which locations opened first but the Preston location is definitely an institution amongst locals.
An extensive wine list with top quality varietals, top shelf liquor and a range of other beverages will keep even the most discerning diner content.
And there is a reason why Gold Leaf must keep their shelves stocked with fine drinks - they offer fresh crayfish, barramundi and other live seafood - it only makes sense that you will want a nice Grange or Dom Perignon to celebrate with.
Back to reality, we begin our meal with some stock standards in the yum cha arsenal; dim sum, spring rolls - a westerners delight.
Things then become a little more adventurous; roast duck with crispy skin, crab claws, ginger dumplings, tempura prawns - all perfectly executed and singing with flavour.
After several rounds of flagging down the yum cha cart I am spent and unable to consume another morsel. It has been a great meal - a extremely busy session but there is no better sign of a quality Chinese establishment when its standing room only during yum cha.
