Emilia reviews a Chinese restaurant full of comfort food classics

Click PLAY to hear Emilia’s full review on 3AW Breakfast

Ascend the intrinsically 80s brown brick and tile stairs into the well lit entryway of Eastern Bell, inside you’ll find lobsters in tanks, round tables, bow tied waiters and traditional, silver service. A true iconic staple in the Eastern suburbs, on the second floor of the Belmore Plaza with a wrap-around balcony, and outside tables with ashtrays in the middle for those who haven’t left their smoking habit in the 80s. 

The Maître d’ Nicholas Wynn has owned Eastern Bell for 30 years with only one little hiatus where he sold, went home to China, became a Christian missionary before coming back five years later and buying it back. 

This is the restaurant for people who want Aussie-Chinese food like they used to have as a kid – honey chicken, salt and pepper calamari, sweet and sour pork. You know your order before you look at the menu. They know their clientele in Balwyn well though, Wynn has said in the past that “[he] has chefs who can cook for the different Chinese who live in the area. The people from Hong Kong like clean flavours, the people from Singapore like it spicy, the people from mainland China like the food salty and served all at once and the Aussies still love honey chicken.” It’s food for the people.

Balwyn is a dry zone so no alcohol licence allowed but there’s a bottle shop below and you can BYO. Their focus on service is unparalleled, they don’t add MSG and make sure there’s gluten-free, vegetarian and kid’s menus are all available for diners as needed.

The menu is huge and I tried to shake it up but honestly, just stick to the classics. That’s what they do best, it’s why people continue to go back and what makes it so popular. I love their juxtaposition between attentive, silver, “napkin put in your lap”, “warm towelettes after sticky dishes”, “rice served into your bowl for you” service and nostalgic, simple, as-you-remember-it dishes topped with a sprig of coriander and purple Singapore orchids.

There were prawn crackers ready on the table, water poured ready for us. We started with prawn toast, which was essentially a prawn jaffle with toasted sesame on top. I loved the unpretentiousness. Crab Claw was a ball of seafood with a crisp outer layer, one is definitely shareable. Chicken Satay Skewers is one of those dishes that, even if you try and resist adding it to your order, somehow makes its way out of your mouth and onto the table. We used the wonton soup as a palette cleanser, a comforting bowl of broth soup filled with prawn and pork dumplings, perfect for forthcoming winter nights.

Now comes the showstoppers: Honey Chicken topped with Cashews, the chicken is coated in just the right amount of honey, while the cashews added a delightful texture. I had to try their Peking Duck, with tender slices of specially selected duckling wrapped in crepes. The duck is perfectly marinated and roasted to perfection, and the addition of spring onion, cucumber, and plum sauce enhances its flavours further. A must-try for any duck lover. The half serve has 8 pancakes in it and the waitress did try to warn me that the pancakes are filling – that was no exaggeration.  Upon the recommendation of our bowtied waitress, we also got the Sizzling Mongolian Beef, which came to the table still bubbling on a hot plate with vegetables.

Mains are big servings and all are around $25-$30 each whilst starters sit around $8-10 each. Corkage is only $3 a head. 

Eastern Bell is for those listeners that tell me they don’t want trendy, experimental restaurants, it’s for those listeners who want the ultimate comfort meal that they can share with their loved ones. It’s the epitome of your suburban Chinese joint with a lot of heart, it cares deeply about the locals and continues to be the gathering place for so many community groups, families and friends. If you want reliable, fresh food and the best service in the East, I’m confident Eastern Bell will transport you back to take away Fridays as a kid.

Eastern Bell

399 Belmore Rd

Balwyn