Chinatown? More like yum town. Check out these must-munch spots in the area
Have you been down to Chinatown recently? Post-pandemic, long-standing institutions are now operating alongside brand-spanking-new eateries, and there’s a real buzz in the air. Which is great news, because the culturally rich and historial area is not only an important part of Sydney for locals and tourists, but for our Australian Chinese population.
From dumpling houses to fiery Thai joints and spice-rich Malaysian spots, there is excellent – and damn affordable – eating and drinking to be had along Haymarket’s Dixon Street and the surrounding alleyways. Time Out Sydney’s critics, including Food and Drink Writer Avril Treasure, have eaten their way around this yum town to bring you this guide to the best places to visit.
Xi An Cuisine doesn't have a website, though you can find the hole-in-the-wall on 90 Hay Street Haymarket – and you absolutely should. This place is as cheap and cheerful as it gets, and most plates cost around $13. Must try: the fatty pork "Chinese burger" (its actual name is rou jia mo) with lashings of chilli oil.
If you’ve been missing legendary restaurant Golden Century (we sure have) then we reckon the Royal Palace Seafood Restaurant may fill that dumpling-shaped hole in your heart. The 600-seat Cantonese restaurant has taken over the space where the former Sydney icon was and is offering traditional yum cha, live seafood and late-night dining. It's not GC, but we'll take it.
Those colourful false windows and doors along the walls at Ho Jiak Haymarket won’t convince you you’re in a Penang night market, but with every deep, appreciative gulp of air fragrant with chilli, garlic and soy sauce you will start to take on a holiday mindset, the kind that instructs you to order twice as much food as you need, which is only about half as much as you want. It doesn't matter, the food here is spectacular.
Chef Narin 'Jack' Kulasai and Tanya Boon opened Porkfat on Ultimo Road in Haymarket in late 2022. Growing up in Central Thailand, Kulasai spent time perfecting his craft at David Thompson’s distinguished Bangkok restaurant Nahm, before stints at Bennelong and Long Chim here in Sydney. Porkfat is his first restaurant, and since opening, it’s had everyone from Joe Blogs to top chefs talking about it – including Nigella Lawson – and for good reason. Kulasai's food is authentic, punchy, bold, and brilliant. And hot (leave the weaklings at home).
A visit to Haymarket's Sichuan-spiked eatery Spicy Joint is a one-way ticket to flavour town, and the best part is that you can travel there on a shoestring and not miss out on any of the fun. That's why they won our Best Cheap Eat category in Time Out's Food & Drink Awards 2023. Must order: the fiery beef hot pot and the cucumber salad with lashing of chilli oil and enough garlic to repel Edward Cullen.
Cult ramen joint Gumshara has new digs, but in good news you can still find them in Chinatown. It takes seven days to make the pork stock for their tonkotsu ramen and three ingredients: water, miso and 120kg of pork bones. This incredibly collagen-enriched noodle soup is so thick, rich and porky that one between two is enough. Come early.
This little Xinjiang-style restaurant has always been popular enough for lines to snake out the door – thankfully now they have a whole lot of on-the-street seating, so you're less likely to have to wait to get a seat inside. Once seated, you're in for some seriously delicious treats, like hand-pulled noodles with lamb, and light-as-a-feather dumplings. Plus, the prices are seriously right. There are a few Xinjiang noodle houses like this in a row and dotted around Chinatown – but we're calling it, this one is The Best.
Plump, juicy dumplings are on the cards here at this Haymarket joint, and they are cards you're going to want to eat up again again. The xiao Long bao are exceptionally good. A more generous size than what you're perhaps used to, the dumplings are filled with a glorious sweet broth and aromatic filling. Bite the top off and allow it to cool down so you don't burn your tongue (we learnt the hard way).
This excellent eatery and Asian grocer by the Chat Thai team doubles as a café offering Thai sandwiches by day and northern Thai cuisine at night. In the evening, order the grilled pork jowl and barbecue chicken to start off. Then, it's time to brave the bracingly spicy chicken curry with eggplant, pumpkin, lemongrass and dill. And if you don't mind getting your hands a little messy? A whole, fried freshwater fish coated in a potent mix of chilli, red onion, ground rice, coriander and green onion will have you reaching for extra serviettes.
Some of the best Asian-style roast meats in Sydney can be found here. Barbecue time!
Come for Hong Kong snacks with a side of nostalgia at Kowloon Cafe, the affordable diner which also has outposts in Burwood and Eastwood. We’ve tried the curry fish balls doused in a spiced, slightly sweet sauce, as well as the chewy flat rice noodles coated in a hoisin and sesame sauce, and we wanted more. Sweet tooths will be stoked with the Hong Kong-style super thick French toast, and we’ll be back to try the noodle soups. And our favourite part? Most plates are under twenty bucks.
Have you tried a fantuan before? Known as a Taiwanese brekkie burrito, it's made up of sticky rice stuffed with vegetables, pork or chicken and egg, and a savoury and slightly sweet sauce is drizzled over the top. Family-owned eatery Mother Chu’s Taiwanese Gourmet sells them, and after trying one, you may never look back.
Is there a better way to start the day than a torrent of fluffy pork buns, sea-sweet prawn har gow, chewy siu mai, slippery cheong fun, silken tofu, hearty beef tendon, braised chicken feet, mango pancakes and custard tarts? Absolutely not. Here's our definitive list of the best spots in Sydney to relish this morning ritual.
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