If I could bring dumplings to that deserted, palm-fringed island everyone talks about, I would. Soft, juicy and savoury – and amped up with a dash of soy, black vinegar and chilli oil – they are pretty much the perfect meal. Raining outside? Dumplings. Sunday morning brunch with the fam? Dumplings. Got a near-death hangover? Dumplings. And I reckon you’re a fan of these little delights, too – our guide to Sydney’s best yum cha is consistently one of our highest-performing features.
It’s good news, then, that Sydney is home to many incredible Chinese restaurants serving these hot and plump little parcels. I’m keen on the dumps at The Eight in Haymarket, and have a crush on the ones at Star Capital Seafood Restaurant in Chatswood (and so too does Nagi from RecipeTin Eats). Dan Hong and the team at the forever-pumping Mr Wong serve excellent, art-like dumplings, and you can always count on Shanghai Night, Palace Chinese Restaurant and Emperor's Garden to deliver. I’m not gonna say which one takes the top position (I’d rather not get eaten alive in the comments), but I will say this: if you haven’t been to Enmore Road’s Chinese Dumpling Master, I really recommend you do.
If the vines on the roof and dangling grapes don’t give it away, this brightly lit, no-frills shop has a sibling in Haymarket: Chinese Noodle House (and not, confusingly, Chinese Noodle Restaurant – though some say they were the first to put up grapes on the ceiling). Similar to the OG, they specialise in food from Xinjiang in northwest China, where chef-owner John Sun originates (Sun owns Chinese Dumpling Master with wife Susanna Chen). On the menu, there's hand-pulled noodles, as well as rice and vegetable dishes, but the focus here is on glorious handmade dumplings, which have a slightly thicker casing and succulent fillings. You can opt to get them pan-fried, boiled or steamed, in flavours such as pork and chives, or chicken, onion and coriander, with a half-serving setting you back around $8.80.
I go for a half-serve of both, pan-fried, and they arrive fresh-tasting, with a crisp, caramelised bottom and burn-your-tongue hot. The pork and chives taste as familiar and comforting as a hug from your best mate, and the chicken ones are fragrant with coriander. Slippery, wrinkled pork and prawn siu mai come doused in vivid chilli oil. There are little hunks of sweet prawn meat inside, and they’re some of the juiciest ones I’ve enjoyed in recent memory. (Dim)sim-ply delicious.
A few other things I love about this joint. One, they serve $5 Tsingtaos and $7 glasses of a not-bad cab shiraz, making an excellent case for a pre- or post–Enmore Theatre session. Service is swift. It’s BYO. And it’s a banging cheap eat – you can get away with spending around $25 per person here and leave full, happy and a little bit boozed. What more does one want?
(Happy to share if I see you on the deserted island, too.)
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