It’s all about the à la carte here in Melbourne’s colourful Chinatown. Take a group, order widely and always leave room for an egg tart.

This is the gold standard when it comes to suburban yum cha, located in the Canterbury League Club in south-west Sydney. Come for the steamed spare ribs, stay for the mango pancake.

A top yum cha pick of chef and Adelaide food guru Cheong Liew, Star House, in the city centre, dishes up delectable roast meats and chicken feet. Expect a busy, buzzing full house on weekends.

Located in the centre of Melbourne, this beloved Chinese diner from chef Victor Liong now has a set brunch yum cha menu. Enjoy local slipper lobster, char siu laminated beef puffs and char siu bao.

The well-loved Cantonese restaurant in Hobart’s Sandy Bay dishes up pink ling dumplings, eggplant fried with red miso and the all-important Chinese greens.

A classic eatery in the heart of Fortitude Valley, Golden Palace has been feeding Brisbane dumpling fans for generations. Don’t miss the chicken sticky rice wrapped in a lotus leaf or white ox tripe with ginger and shallot.

An old favourite with chefs, office workers and families in the Sydney CBD, this 250-seater is the place for fried pork bean curd rolls and lava custard buns.

Here’s one for the vegetarians. Zenhouse has been serving Radelaide residents vegetarian and vegan yum cha options since 2006. Try steamed mini lotus buns and crisp, puffy salt and pepper tofu.

If you’re not visiting this inner-city Perth institution for the Chinese doughnuts stuffed with prawn and wrapped in soft rice noodle sheets then it must be for the chicken pie with shortcrust pastry or the scallop and prawn siu mai.

Baked barbecue pork buns are the dim sum to bet on at this eastern Perth restaurant, along with stuffed eggplant with black bean sauce. For those of you arriving the morning after a big night out, there’s pork and preserved egg congee.