Tag: dumplings

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Chinese

JKG Shancheng Hotpot King 山城火锅王 – Haymarket NSW Hot Pot Restaurant Review

Tucked away at the back of a shopping centre in Sydney’s Chinatown is JKG Shangcheng Hotpot King. It is a relatively budget hotpot restaurant, with a wide selection of meats and seafoods but a lower emphasis on cleanliness and service.

Ordering is via a tablet-based system. Make sure to scroll down the page to view all offerings, as we were initially very confused as to why our options were so extremely limited.

Sauce attracts an extra charge, however as I’m not a big fan of sauce we were able to convince them to let us only pay for one serving. The sauce station was very dodgy and had a bug-zapper lamp next to it. I don’t know if this was the best decision, as while it would be good at killing bugs it was probably also part of why there were so many flying bugs near the sauce station.

The wontons in chili soup were yum. The filling was evidently housemade, which is preferable to store-bought.

For our soup bases we got mushroom and chicken broths. The mushroom broth was very shroomy with many assorted shrooms – perhaps superfluous as we also ordered a number of shrooms to cook ourselves. The chicken broth we felt was flavourless apart from being salty.

The serving sizes for fresh vegetables, mixed mushrooms, and mixed tofu were quite large, and good value for the price. Having full sized servings of all three was a bit too much for us as a couple however , and we wish that they would do half sized servings for half the price. Nonetheless, it would be good for a party of three or four.

A metre of beef was too much for us. The beef was a bit too fatty.

No complaints about the chicken.

Overall my partner and I spent around $120 on our meal including a beer. This is around the same price that we paid at YX Mini Hot Pot, however we got much more food (of somewhat lesser quality) for the money. I would recommend JKG Shangcheng Hotpot King to a more price-conscious market, for example students, who at the same time do not expect much service (it took a very long time and multiple visits for our hot pot soup to be topped up).

JKG Shancheng Hotpot King (山城火锅王)
Shop 8A/363 Sussex St, Haymarket NSW 2000
(02) 9267 6366

Categories
Chinese

Po Po 面婆婆 – Hurstville NSW Chinese Restaurant Review

Po Po is a small and authentic Northern Chinese diner in Hurstville. It’s been on my hitlist for some time now, and we finally were in the area and able to hit it up for some dumplings and noodles.

I really enjoyed the friendly, homely service, as well as the delicious dumplings and beef brisket noodle soup. We got all of our dumplings boiled as that is my favourite way to have them, and I feel that boiled dumplings are really the best test of the chef’s skill and expertise.

Pork and Chive Dumplings

The pork and chive dumplings were good!

Pork and chive and prawn dumplings

Pork and chive and prawn dumplings – also good

Xiao long bao

Unfortunately the xiao long bao were not very good. I wouldn’t recommend them.

The beef brisket noodle soup we found to be quite flavourful and delicious. There were big chunks of beef, and the flavour of the soup was neither too strong or too weak. I can recommend this dish.

I wish you could see how happy my girlfriend is in this photo, guys. This is why I do it.

Eating at Po Po really felt like eating in an authentic Chinese diner. There were plenty of other groups, mostly older Chinese couples, eating at the same time as us, and this is a group which seems an excellent barometer for cheap and filling food. One funny thing we saw was a Caucasian gentleman come into this obviously Chinese store and ask for pork rolls (which they did not have), and then ask for pho (which they also did not have). He ultimately, after much patience from the owner, settled on some pork buns. I hope he enjoyed them, although I guess he may be disappointed if he was looking forward to some Vietnamese food.

I can recommend this place.

PO PO Hurstville 面婆婆
238 Forest Rd, Hurstville NSW 2220
(02) 9580 6218

Categories
Chinese

Shanghai Dumpling Bar – Spice Alley, Chippendale NSW Restaurant Review

Shanghai Dumpling Bar is one of many small street-food vendors tucked away in Spice Alley in Chippendale. We visited after Monkey’s Corner so that I could bring some food home for my partner who made the wise decision not to come out.

Green pork and chive boiled dumplings – 6 for $8.80

I ordered only one serving of green pork and chive boiled dumplings (6 for $8.80), although they snuck in an extra one for free. Service was quick, with a sub 5 minute wait for freshly cooked dumplings.

I thought that the filling was very tasty and genuine. I loved that they had the option of boiled or pan-fried dumplings, as most place will only offer the option of steamed or pan-fried. I’ve always felt that boiled dumplings are the most wholesome, and they’re also the kind that I grew up with. While the filling was good I did feel like the green coloured dough was a bit gimmicky, however respect that perhaps that’s what it takes to draw in a largely Caucasian customer base in the Sydney CBD. I also thought that the dough was a bit thick, however the delicious juicy filling made up for it. Of the eight dumplings I had, around half were broken, however despite this their flavour was not watered down too much.

I can recommend the green dumplings at Shanghai Dumpling Bar to a friend or colleague, however cannot speak for the other foods on offer.

Shanghai Dumpling Bar
18-20 Kensington St, Sydney NSW

Categories
Asian Fusion Vietnamese

Bang Tang – Potts Point NSW Restaurant Review

Bang Tang is a small South-East Asian fusion eatery in Potts Point, located unfortunately close to Ms G, a somewhat more famous and upscale competitor.

While it’s my understanding that there is usually lots of outdoor dining space, we ate lunch on a very rainy day in Potts Point, and internal seating was limited to only a few small tables. The small interior room really gave the place the vibe of a small diner. The service was good, and the food was served quickly. We finished our meal within 50 minutes, which was good as the nearby street parking is limited to 1 and 2 hour spots.

Cigar roll (2 for $6)

The cigar roll (2 for $6) is one of Bang Tang’s specialties. It is a thick, crispy chicken spring roll with a characteristic dry internal filling structure. It was quite large, fresh, a nd delicious, although I couldn’t help but feel that the skewer on which it was served was superfluous. It was much easier to eat with fingers, and chopsticks would have been fine as well.

Prawn and scallop dumpling (2 for $12)

The prawn and scallop dumpling (2 for $12) were a daily special, and quite delicious. We were disappointed when they were served, as they looked flat and unappealing, however this all changed when we tasted them. The filling had a great scallop taste, and the pastry wrapping was also delicious. Unfortunately we weren’t told the price of the dish, and in fact I did not realise they were $12 until writing this review and I took a look at the receipt. $6 for a single dumpling is far too much. But yum.

The Bang Broth Noodle ($17) was basically a chicken pho but with rice noodle rolls instead of rice noodle strips. I liked it. I enjoyed the clear broth and the voluminous serving of fresh bean sprouts and herbs. My partner, who does not like chicken, did not like it as she thought that the roast chicken could’ve been any chicken that was roasted and split up. She is a chicken hater.

The Duck It Up bowl ($24) was a mixture of strongly marinated duck breast, rice, hoisin sauce and maple syrup, tofu, nuts, bean sprouts, herbs. My feelings about this dish were quite mixed. I thought that the fresh bites of vegetables, herbs, and bean sprouts were deliciously fresh, and that the nuts and other crunchy bits provided a great variation in texture. On the other hand, I thought that the duck and the rice and sauce components on the bottom of the bowl were too tasty and oversauced. It was basically two meals in one – one that I very much enjoyed the freshness of, and one that I thought was too bogged down in sauce. Even when mixing the bowl together I found that the entire bowl was too sauced. I particularly didn’t care for t he duck, which was too sauced, however my girlfriend enjoyed it.

Overall I quite enjoyed the food at Bang Tang. Everything ranged from good to great. I did think that the expensive prawn and scallop dumplings were a bit of a price shock, however their good taste almost made up for it. I would definitely recommend Bang Tang for a quick dinner, however I don’t know how the logistics would work for a long date or dinner with a group of friends as parking is quite limited.

4/5

Bang Tang
2/145 Victoria St, Potts Point NSW 2011
(02) 8542 0133

Categories
Chinese

Chu’s Dumpling House – Kensington NSW Restaurant Review

“The Best Dumplings in Kensington” is a big claim to make for this small, pan-fried-only dumpling restaurant. While I can’t directly refute this claim given I’ve never had dumplings at any other Kensington restaurant, I can tell you with certainty that their dumplings are not the best in the Randwick-Kensington-Kingsford Anzac Parade area (that crown is currently worn by the Northeast Restaurant in Kingsford).

I had a selection of dumplings and Chu’s fried chicken wings.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT – Egg, Chive, and Prawn; Chicken and Mushroom; Crayfish and Pork; Pork, Chive, and Prawn

Each type of dumpling is offered in 6 or 12 piece portions, and only come pan-fried. They were on average not bad – very juicy and with fresh ingredients, but a bit underflavoured for me (which is unusual).

The Egg, Chive, and Prawn dumplings (6 for $9) and the Pork, Chive, and Prawn dumplings (6 for $9) both had large and generous pieces of prawn inside which provided a good mouthfeel and taste. Both could’ve used a bit more flavouring, however there was ample soy sauce and vinegar for adjustment to personal taste.

The Chicken and Mushroom dumplings (6 for $8) were also mildly flavoured – I had this meal two days ago and it is not memorable at all.

The Crayfish and Pork dumplings (6 for $13) were a bit more expensive given the addition of seafood. These tasted vastly different to the other three, with a strong spicy flavour.

The chicken wings (6 for $9) were moist on the inside and crispy on the outside. They were deep fried in a thin but very eggy batter and dusted with a seasoning similar to that used in Taiwanese Fried Chicken. These wings were different to any other wings I’ve had before, and definitely a highlight. The guy who came in after me also asked for wings, and after a brief conversation in Mandarin between the guy at front of house and the lady in the kitchen it was revealed that they only had 5 wings in stock. He was told that they had sold out of chicken wings and opted for some diced fried chicken instead, although I wonder if he would’ve been happy to have just five wings (he was alone, after all) at a discount. We’ll never know.

VERDICT
Does Chu’s Dumpling House really have the best dumplings in Kensington? I don’t know – I guess they’re the best I’ve ever had in Kensington, a low bar as they’re also the only I’ve had in Kensington. I think that despite what I suspect is a bit of hyperbole Chu’s Dumpling House is still worth a visit. Their dumplings are fresh and juicy, and their chicken wings are different and special. I only wish they did their dumplings boiled.

4/5

Chu’s Dumpling House
9-15 Ascot St, Kensington NSW 2033
0450 518 099