DOM Southbank a 10-Seat Cantonese Tasting That Pushes Boundaries

DOM is the creation of Dominic Li and Vito Cheng, good friends turned business partners, who now run the compact Southbank restaurant together. The set-up is intimate in every sense. Guests ring a buzzer at an apartment-style entrance before being led into a minimalist space where the entire focus is on the chef’s counter. With just two in the kitchen, every movement matters.

For Dominic, this project is the culmination of years of restless experimentation. Melbourne first knew him as the founder of Dessert Kitchen on Little Bourke Street. After time spent in Hong Kong, where he worked in a Japanese omakase restaurant, his perspective shifted. Cantonese food, he realised, could evolve without losing its identity. That realisation planted the seed for DOM.

Vito’s path has been different, shaped by kitchens where scale was the norm. Here, he reflects on the challenge of working with such tight parameters; fewer hands, more responsibility, sharper focus. His mantra is to stay the student. No matter how much he masters, there is always more technique, more refinement, another layer to uncover.

That philosophy is visible in the menu, which shifts with the seasons but always holds Hong Kong at its core. A dish like Pipa tofu stuffed with shrimp and sweet pepper shows the precision at play, while coconut soup with fish maw, abalone and chicken speaks directly to traditional Cantonese notions of nourishment. There’s indulgence too with foie gras balanced on golden mantou, or scallop egg custard brightened with XO sauce. The final note lands with perfectly charred rose-tea char siu beside delicately laden e-fu noodles, before dessert doubles down with custard filled taro mochi and seasonal fruit.

Drinks are given equal thought. A curated list of sake and wine is matched to the menu, encouraging guests to slow down and let the evening unfold in layers. The goal isn’t to overwhelm, but to create a rhythm where conversation and food sit side by side.

It’s an approach that makes DOM feel as much like a private dining room as it does a restaurant. Hidden in plain sight at 1/58 Clarke Street, it captures the soul of Hong Kong in a way Melbourne hasn’t seen before: authentic without being bound by tradition, refined without losing warmth.

Seats are scarce, so bookings are essential. For those who make it inside, DOM isn’t just dinner. It’s a glimpse of what happens when Cantonese cooking meets discipline, patience and quiet ambition.