The 8 best Chinese restaurants in Hobart

Situated smack-bang in the Salamanca Square precinct, Suzie Luck’s is a fan favourite with Hobart locals and visitors alike. Not your everyday Chinese restaurant, this buzzy joint serves up dishes inspired by both China and other Southeast Asian cuisines. At Suzie Luck’s, you’re as likely to devour a plate of local mushroom, water chestnut and Szechuan dumplings as you are a steaming bowl of pork and prawn pad thai. Whatever you and your mates (or date) order, make sure you share a side of the restaurant’s famous egg fried rice – as well as several cocktails, of course.

With restaurants in the northern city of Launceston as well as Hobart, Me Wah has got Tassie on lock when it comes to Chinese restaurants. While it’s not fine dining, Me Wah isn’t your local greasy spoon either – in fact, ‘me wah’ literally translates to ‘exquisite setting’.  With crisp linens on the tables and faultless service, this is a more elevated option when it comes to Chinese restaurants in Hobart. Me Wah ceased serving yum cha at the end of 2024, but this Sandy Bay staple still has plenty going for it. Gather up your family or friends and order a banquet so you can try a bit of everything: think crispy wild-caught king prawn, Cape Grim beef black pepper, sauteed Tasmanian crayfish, and a sweet and salty peanut parfait to top it all off. 

If you’ve got a group of pals all craving good food and better chats, round them up for yum cha at Hometown Secret. This popular restaurant isn’t particularly secret, but it’s certainly a hometown favourite with Hobart locals. Warm, welcoming and no-fuss, you’ll find plenty to choose from on the yum cha menu – almost too much, so a second visit may be in order. With a strong Chinese and Malaysian influence, you’ll find everything from simple and tasty Hainanese chicken rice to chilli-laden laksa on the menu, with little Tassie nods like barbecue buns made with locally produced Scottsdale pork.

If your specific Chinese food craving is the deliciously flavour-packed parcel that is the dumpling, Pot Sticker is the place for you. With locations in Hobart’s CBD as well as on the main drag of northern suburb Moonah, your chopsticks will get a workout with all the small bites on offer: pan-fried chicken and pork dumplings (made with fresh produce from Tassie farmers), spring onion pancakes, fried dim sims, prawn wontons, barbecue pork buns and even tiny Chinese doughnuts for dessert. There are larger plates on the menu too, if your eyes happen to be bigger than your belly.

Being one of the country’s smaller capital cities, Hobart can get pretty quiet after dark. That’s why locals love the anomaly that is Jungle Restaurant in the CBD, which serves up flavour-packed Chinese cuisine until 11.30pm every night. Even more impressively, it’s usually just one chef and one server on duty (and they’re surprisingly efficient, even on busy nights). Boasting a huge vegan menu – hope you like tofu – and plenty of carnivorous dishes, even the fussiest of eaters will find something on the menu. Locals rave about the red curry duck, pineapple fried rice, deep-fried mushrooms and black pepper beef.

Situated on the busy North Hobart food strip, MuLan is the Chinese restaurant of choice for NoHo’s discerning diners. This elevated eatery offers yum cha if you want smaller, shareable plates or an à la carte menu full of traditional Shanghai and Sichuan flavours and Tassie produce. Try the pan-fried dumplings with local lamb and aged black vinegar, the Chairman Mao pork belly or test your tastebuds’ stamina with a serving of tangy kung pow chicken. If you’ve got a group heading out for the night, pick the banquet option and get a bit of everything.

Hejo’s owners Tony He and wife Xiaoli Zou originally hail from the South China province of Fujian, but after moving to Hobart to study at the University of Tasmania, they fell in love with the local culture – and produce. The couple made a home in Tassie, and now heroes the island state’s abundant oceanic ingredients at Hejo’s, which specialises in seafood and traditional Chinese dishes. Located in the CBD, locals love the theatre of ordering the flaming duck with onion and cumin seed or the classic sour and sweet whole Tassie fish. 

Ask a true local what Hobart’s best Chinese restaurant is and you may just get a left-field answer: the delightfully retro Peking Restaurant in the northern suburb of Claremont. Known for the Cadbury Chocolate factory and not a whole lot else, Claremont might have the real hometown secret in Peking, which you’ll find in a deco-style building on the main street. Step inside and the restaurant’s vinyl chairs, round tables and kitsch wall art take you back decades. The restaurant’s menu, stacked full of classic dishes – think honey chicken, Mongolian beef, sweet and sour pork, and wonton soup – only adds to the nostalgic ‘succulent Chinese meal’ vibes.