Chinatown’s newest pan-Asian restaurant, Niübi aims to present authentic South-East Asian flavours in heartwarming dishes, within a relaxed atmosphere. It’s spread over three levels. The ground floor contains mainly counter seats by the kitchen window, whilst the first and second floors have the main seating areas.

From the drinks list, Watermelon Yakult was a popular choice for the table. There’s a bit of tang and creaminess from the Yakult, which came in handy for the spicy dishes (of which there were plenty).

At the moment the menu leans a little more towards Malaysian/Singaporean dishes. As well as an a la carte menu there are also some set meals, which are recommended for 2-3 people. We were presented with one such meal featuring Asian Buttermilk Lobster. These sets also includes a choice of three other dishes from a short list – an entree, a meat and a vegetable dish, plus rice. Other choices of mains for the set meals are Curry Fish Head, and Mud Crab Soup.

The delicious Shredded Chicken Spicy Mala Sauce really gets the saliva flowing. Succulent House Special Signature Black Roast Pork really packs a punch with flavour – it was one of my favourite dishes from today. The creamy sauce of lobster dish is reminiscent of curry laksa, and is perfect soaked into some rice. On top of the set, we also tried the Kung Fu Roast Duck, which was also very good. We found the meat was very juicy and well-seasoned, and one of the better examples of roast duck we’ve had recently.

We ended with some Brown Sugar Chrysanthemum Jelly, which brought cup jelly to mind. A light and refreshing way to freshen and cool down the palate after a very satisfying meal.

Disclaimer: I was invited to Niubi as a guest, however, opinions expressed here are purely my own, and are based on my experience at the time

Niubi
11 Heffernan Lane
Melbourne CBD, VIC, 3000
(03) 8590 3003
https://www.niubi.com.au