I came to Melbourne from Hong Kong in 2015 for a hospitality course at William Angliss, stayed because the city’s restaurant scene felt alive in a way Hong Kong’s had stopped feeling, and I’ve worked the floor in Melbourne CBD restaurants for nine years — Cumulus Inc. for three, Tonka for two, currently floor-managing at a fine-dining room in the CBD. I live in a Docklands apartment because I chose it. I write about high-density Melbourne with the conviction of someone who is in defense of it without estate-agency PR behind me.
What I write about. Living in Docklands honestly — who it works for, who it really doesn’t, and why the criticism is half-right and half-decade-old. CBD apartment buildings ranked by actual liveability — five we’ve visited, with the lift count, the natural light, the body-corp red flags, and the shopping you’d actually walk to. Where hospitality workers eat after midnight (a CBD insider list — Chinatown, North Melbourne, the late-night Korean) — the actual industry network’s picks, not the Time Out top ten.
How I work. I visit. For apartment-building reviews, I see units (with the resident’s permission, not the agent’s). For after-midnight food, I’ve eaten there in the small hours myself. I cite hospitality-worker quotes with permission and pseudonyms unless they’re already publicly attached to a venue. I do not accept comped meals, building tours from agents, or developer hospitality. I disclose my employer in the byline of any piece that touches restaurants in adjacent CBD blocks.
Where you’ll find me. Docklands since 2021. Harbour Town Walk on a Sunday morning. The Yarra promenade most nights. Chinatown — Bourke Street and Little Bourke — for the post-shift 1am meal. The 70 tram, the 86 tram, and the City Loop, all of which I have opinions about.
Conflicts of interest. I am currently employed as floor manager at a CBD restaurant. I disclose my employer (named in the byline footer of any food piece) and recuse from reviewing it or any of its sister venues. I have no commercial relationship with any building developer, real-estate agency, or hospitality group beyond my employer.
Sample headlines I’d write:
- “Living in Docklands in 2026: who it actually works for (and who it really doesn’t)”
- “CBD apartment buildings ranked by actual liveability — five we visited”
- “Where Melbourne hospitality workers eat after midnight (a CBD insider list)”
Articles by Olivia Wong are based on first-hand visits paid in full. Her employer (a CBD fine-dining restaurant) is disclosed in the byline footer of any food piece, with recusal from reviews of the restaurant or its sister venues.