Quail sang choy bao at Lau's Family Kitchen.

Quail sang choy bao at Lau’s Family Kitchen.Credit:Peter Tarasiuk

Lau’s Family Kitchen, 4 Acland Street, St Kilda, (03) 8598 9880. Sun-Fri lunch, daily dinner
The Lau family are Melbourne hospitality royalty, with Gilbert Lau fronting Flower Drum for decades. Now his sons Jason and Michael are steady presences at this St Kilda Cantonese restaurant with their father popping in for winning cameos.

Kulipaniyaram at Madras Bros. southern Indian restaurant.

Kulipaniyaram at Madras Bros. southern Indian restaurant. Credit:Simon Schluter

Madras Bros., 129 Smith Street, Fitzroy, (03) 9416 2767. Tues-Sun dinner
Rishi and Magesh Venkatachalam opened this fun restaurant to share the food of their home city, now called Chennai. You have to try the Bombay sandwich (despite the name, it’s a Madras must) with potato, tomato, chutney and mint.

Seafood at Grossi Florentino's restaurant.

Seafood at Grossi Florentino’s restaurant. Credit:Eddie Jim

Grossi Florentino, 80 Bourke Street, Melbourne, (03) 9662 1811. Mon-Fri lunch, Mon-Sat dinner
Guy Grossi is the face of his family’s group of restaurants but his son Carlo, sister Elizabeth and brother-in-law Chris Rodriguez are instrumental to the success of this grand Melbourne icon.

Nhi Nuong 2 Sisters, 255 Hampshire Road, Sunshine, (03) 9311 6522. Daily lunch & dinner
Sisters Yen Phuong and Elizabeth Nguyen dish up authentic Vietnamese food and perform traditional ballads together Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Enjoy the music with a Vietnamese pancake!

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