Sunday, June 29, 2008

House of Peking - Jesmond - 18%

What could I have reasonably expected? A yum cha on the outskirts of Newcastle, housed in a local pub. One of two places I could find that serve yum cha in Newcastle. "I can't stay here 6 months and not try the local yum cha at least once!..." Bad idea.


Sticky rice - fatty, but little flavour.
An interesting menu system - combination of trolleys and an order sheet.

Prawn rice rolls - with loads of oil! They looked like carpet pythons that swallowed some small rodent - with just two little prawns per roll... They were small and flavourless - white and (maybe) freezer burnt.


Har gow - prawn dumplings. Don't want to be such a whinger, but they were terrible. They really could be frozen packet dumplings.
Scallop dumplings - the rice paper was like rubbery glue.
Sui Mai - about the same...

Over all it maybe the most westernised yum cha in existence. Beyond being in outer suburbs of a city with a only very small Chinese community, and in a pub - this yum cha (which translates as 'drink tea') restaurant doesn't really serve tea! When we ordered some it was marked in the special dishes section of the order ticket... and no one else around us had any.

At least it was cheap - $21.40 for 2 people. Neither of us were full though, and I felt sick afterwards.

This is by far the worst yum cha I have ever had.

Matt
Food: 2.5 out of 20
Service & Setting: 1.5 out of 5 (service ok, cleanliness and setting no good)
Value: 1.5 out of 5. (it was cheap per person, but only because we didn't eat/want much).
TOTAL: 5.5 from 30

"Don't go. Save your money, or go to the Hungry Jacks across the road."