Mietta's Review
China Max in Essendon offers a wide variety of Chinese dishes. The crispy flounder and sizzling beef fillet hot plates are always popular. Special attention is paid to the service which, along with the food, makes China Max a very popular local eatery. But there is more - owner William Lee (ex Mietta's) is passionate about wine. He has a list many Western restaurants would envy, at prices they cannot match.

Other published opinions

Age Good Food Guide 2010 Score: 13.5/20 "Ample rewards await those who head along the tollway to this long-standing northern eatery, a well-scrubbed suburban restaurant with a few Oriental accoutrements and abundant regulars at a mix of tables and booths"

Age Good Food Guide 2009 Score: 13/20 "Like many of Melbourne's more venerable Chinese restaurants, China Max sails a steady, even conservative course that's oriented more towards the gratitude of regulars than the fickle approbations of fashion"

Age Good Food Guide 2008 Score: 12/20 "China Max has the look and feel of a Little Bourke Street restaurant but unlike some of its CBD cousins, you won't find a smiling hostess on the doorstep propositioning Keilor Road pedestrians to come inside for salt-and-pepper squid"

The Age Good Food Guide 2006 score 12/20 "Ever fancied pairing an '82 Grange with blackbean beef? China Max offers you this rare (some wags might suggest not rare enough) opportunity. Located on a drag better known for its car dealerships, this popular Chinese palais has a wine list that leaves most in Melbourne for dead, but conversely presents a no-surprises menu."

The Age Good Food Guide 2005 "China Max continues to attract a steady stream of diners. And it's easy to see why: service is swift and helpful, there's a very good wine list and the dining room is inviting"

The Foodies' Guide 2004,Allan Campion & Michele Curtis,'A smart restaurant that works hard to impress,and it succeeds.It also has an outstanding wine list that won't break the bank.'

AGFG 2004, score 13/20, excellent wine list

The Age Good Food Guide 2003. Score 14/20.

The Herald Sun, 11/09.01, Stephen Downes Score: 14 out of 20"

The Age, 08.08.00, Matt Preston