Search for Sydney's best Yum Cha

Mr Chao - 26/10/2008 - 58%

2008-10-28T03:14:00.000-07:00

127 Forest Rd, Hurstville

Next up on the plate we have Mr Chao, here to challenge Sonny.....

This place occupies a famous spot on the main drag of Hurstville. The site has housed lots of different yum cha joints (most recently Forest Court), which have closed in succession.... perhaps victim to the crippling hold Sonny has on the suburb (see Sonny's BBQ, Yum Cha, Fish Market etc - which all occupy primo locations in Hurstville)*

The tripe was quite nice, very mild ginger flavour.

The chicken feet were good, very nice sauce. A lot of flavour without being too salty or oily.

Prawn rice roll was so-so. The prawns were big and well cooked, but rice was gluggy and overall it lacked flavour... the prawns did not burst with flavour.

The 'dim sim' were topped with baby abalone... a real waste as it was just a slighty salty and chewy accent.... which bumped them into the premium price category. Otherwise the dumpling was moist and reasonably tasty.

We waited about 20 minutes to get some prawn dumplings.... it was our final dish. My opinion of them may have suffered by this wait, they were fresh but unsatisfying. $5.50 for four.

Beef balls, nice texture, slightly pink in the middle - some will love that, others hate it.

BBQ pork buns - nothing to say, did not stand out in any way.

Prawn and vegie dumplings - my favourite of the day. Lots of good vege (or grass as our lunch guest calls it), and nice prawns - again not too flavoursome though.

Tendons - again, nothing out of the ordinary. It was a generous serve, but sauce lacked flavour.

If you just want a quick meal and aren't fussy, Mr Chao will do nicely. I know it sounds wanky, but if you have been to a lot of yum cha, you may not be impressed by it. The lay out is not good - tables two deep from the isle, and the seafood is not outstanding. The value was pretty good overall at about $17.50 per person for a decent feed.

Matt's ratings:

Food: 12 out of 20
Service & Setting : 2.5 out of 5 (service was fine, but layout sucks)
Value: 3 out of 5. (about $52 for 3 people)
TOTAL: 17.5 from 30

* To be fair to Sonny's stores - I think this domination of Hurstville is justified. I have not tried the BBQ to be fair, but the other stores do dominate the competition in terms of price and quality. When I went to the original yum cha (before they move to their new larger premises), I stupidly spilt a messy bowl of liquid all over the table. Sonny himself came over and helped me clean it up, and was friendly, congenial and a great host. Not rude, annoyed or patronising. I have a lot of time for these stores.

Golden Globe Burwood - 12/10/2008 - 60%

2008-10-12T02:42:00.000-07:00

206 Burwood Rd Burwood 2134 NSW

On the main drag of Burwood, Golden Globe is only 5 minutes walk from the Westfield. We arrive at around 1215, and got a table in 2 minutes. Admittedly it was a crap table just inside the door, but a quick seating is always good.

Nice layout of the restaurant, unfortunate that we were are the top of the row right at the door. First up we got the prawn rice roll - these were fresh and hot - average flavour though.
The sui mai was very moist and fresh, but little flavour.
The shark fin was very nice - and reasonably priced. They were moist inside and not greasy - very good.
The chicken feet were great - they were very fresh and tasty.
Scallop dumplings were large and fresh. They were a little patchy though - some were better than others. One was mostly prawn with hardly any scallop inside. It had a lot of prawn though -and these were only $4.90 for 4 pieces.

The prawn dumplings - like a lot of things today, were large and hot, but the flavour was just average. Price was good - $4.90 for four pieces.
This was the view looking from our table INto the cha lau - through the line of people waiting for tables.

Ratings:

Food: 12.5 out of 20
Service & Setting : 2.75 out of 5 (Setting is fine - the service was ok other than the woman refusing to re-seat us at a more central table)
Value: 2.75 out of 5.
TOTAL: 18 from 30

Kam Fook Restaurant Chatswood - 4/10/08 - 66%

2008-10-05T05:28:00.000-07:00

Shop 600, Level 6 Westfield Chatswood

So, Yum Cha in a Westfield? And the sister restaurant of one of the worst places I have visited (the one in Bondi Junction).... Yet surprisingly I really like this place.

We arrived a bit late, didn't get a ticket for a table until 13:40 - and it still took about 35 minutes for a table for 3 people. Once we were seated the place quickly cleared out... and the options started to thin out. That said, the variety of dishes this place offers is usually excellent, and even at the end of the shift the range was pretty good.

Sui Mai, no complaints, other than it was a tiny bit cold - but still good.
Shark fin dumpling was nice, but nowhere near the heights it can reach. This was heavier and greasier than it needed to be. Any shark fin was lost in the mix.

The chicken feet were a little cold too - but the flavour was outstanding, really fantastic. Not overpoweringly strong or salty, it even had a subtle sweetness.
I have always enjoyed the har gow here (prawn dumpling). These were up to their usual good standard. ($6.20 for four)
Steamed red bean buns - very nice too. Not always on offer, but these were plump and steaming.

Vege dumplings were good - but it always amazes me that veges cost more at yum cha than seafood does. This serve of 3 dumplings cost the same as 4 seafood dumplings.

Spring rolls - I didn't try them, but apparently they were fresh, crispy and not too oily.

The rice rolls were oily though. The three cakes were good though, particularly the chestnut one - outstanding!

We got a prawn rice roll special order - it was nice and well cooked, but oily.

Mum was up for the weekend, so she was our guest to lunch - and guest reviewer!

Overall I was happy with it. Seeing we waited so long, it would have been good to catch them at full service. And there were a few dishes like scallop dumpling and congee I was hoping to get that weren't on offer. The price was ok, nothing special - the har gow test puts them towards the higher end of the scale.

Matt's ratings:
Food: 14 out of 20 (shame there was no scallop on offer)
Service & Setting : 3 out of 5
Value: 2.75 out of 5. ($67.50 for 3 people)
TOTAL: 19.75 out of 30

Jane's ratings:
Food: 16 out of 20
Service & Setting : 5 out of 5
Value: 4 out of 5.
TOTAL: 25 out of 30

Dragon Star Seafood Restaurant - 21/09/08 - 55.8%

2008-10-02T00:38:00.000-07:00

Level 3 Market City Haymarket

This place has been renovated since I last went. The entrance has moved and the fish tanks are less prominent now. The line was no shorter though - a good forty minutes for a table for two.

The place is really well laid out, with large open areas that are all well serviced by the trolleys. (Unlike Palace)

Below, the all important prawn dumpling. These were $5.70 for four. They were fine - not outstanding in any manner. Compared to the previous entry, these were a big let down though - not as tasty and $1 more.

The pork sui mai were again ok, but nothing to write home about.

This was a first for me, and I quite enjoyed it. It is a radish cake - like the square ones but in a different style.

I have to admit, writing up this review almost 2 weeks after visiting isn't ideal. I have notes to go off, but its not the same. I can say with certainty though, the scallop dumplings were a HUGE disapointment. There was barely any noticable scallop inside - but there was a big piece of processed crab stick. Apalling. I am going to put a -2 penalty just for that.

Above, the tripe was ok - much better than some recently places. The feet below were also good, but was a little cold when it arrived.

We ordered one steamed oyster between us. It was really quite good - large, plump and fresh.

Rice rolls were pretty good too.

Matt's ratings:
Food: 13 out of 20 (scaled back to 11 because of the rubbish "scallop" dumplings)
Service & Setting : 3 out of 5
Value: 2.75 out of 5.
TOTAL: 16.75 out of 30

Nine Dragons Restaurant 14/09/08 - 79%

2008-09-14T03:32:00.000-07:00

39-45 Dixon Street, HAYMARKET

Lunch Sunday 14 September 2008

Well, today was a first for us. We decided to try Nine Dragon's Restaurant. This is part of a bid to take this blog to new heights, with the aim to review every yum cha in Sydney at least once. I am also going to include the price of a dish of Har Gow (prawn dumpling) at each place - as a easy point of price comparison.

Nine Dragons is on the main strip of Dixon St in Chinatown. It is one of the ones where they shake menu's at you, and the sign says the offer yum cha but I always dread you will get upstairs to find it empty, or really dingy.

Off the street we headed up the stairs to find one comparatively small room - worryingly it was half empty and most of the guests were western. It was 1230 on Sunday afternoon (during moon festival) and half the tables were empty! *Alarm bells*

I was very lucky to have Kate (the true yum cha sage) with me as guest reviewer today.

First up BBQ pork rice rolls. Almost all the plates were carried around on trays - not on steamer trolley's. This is a worry as we thought things may not be fresh. But thanks to the quiet day and our fortunate position near the kitchen door - everything was piping hot and fresh. The rice rolls were excellent.

Above and below are duck meat dumplings. They were a little bit oily (by my standard) but outstanding flavour. Very impressed.
The prawn and spinach dumplings were also very fresh and delicious. Unlike some places, these had complete king prawns inside - and were steamed perfectly. I have to say, every one of the dumplings and rice rolls was hot, fresh, and the rice paper was firm, soft, thin and delicious.

Har gow. This is the true test in my mind... and they passed with flying colours! This was really nice. And there was some different flavouring - I couldn't pick it but Kate thinks it was special cooking wine. These were $4.70 for four - (but they accidentally forgot to charge us). Great value. (Compared to $6.80 at Palace)

Above and below - scallop dumpling. Well prawn and scallop really. Whilst it had a complete small scallop in each dumpling - the flavour was not quite as good. These were $4.70 for 3.

The prawn rice rolls were also excellent. This and the BBQ pork ones were $6.50 per plate - again good value.

A first for us - almond prawn balls. The combination didn't strike me as overtly complimentary, but it was very nice. They were deep fried, but not greasy.
Lotus sweets in sago shells. The lotus centre was very rich - I liked it but a little oily.

How cute are these? Pumpkin dumplings with red bean filling. Sweet, light and great. Although very sticky so quite hard to eat.

The bill came to $50.50 for two people. Now that is not super cheap - but in honesty we had enough food easily for 3 people. We were so impressed we wanted to try as much as possible, and we had both skipped breakfast! And we brought most of the deserts home.

The atmosphere of yum cha at Nine Dragons was very different to your average cha lau. It was not a noisy, frenetic bustle of activity. The waitresses weren't pushy, rude or in a rush. The service wasn't brisk. In fact most of the wait staff were kids under 20, and all very sweet and friendly. No one was in a rush, and when we ordered special things they came very quickly and we never had to ask twice. Our tea was even filled up within 15 seconds of upending the teapot lid - the first staff to notice it signalled the floor manager who filled it immediately.

Kate's ratings:

Food: 16.5 out of 20 - good flavour, fresh and lots to choose from
Service & Setting : 3.5 out of 5 - very friendly
Value: 3.5 out of 5.
TOTAL: 23.5 from 30

Matt's ratings:

Food: 16 out of 20
Service & Setting : 3.75 out of 5 (see comments above)
Value: 4 out of 5.
TOTAL: 23.75 from 30

Based on today's performance - this might just be my new favourite in Sydney.

new percentage index

2008-09-12T06:18:00.000-07:00

A friend suggested putting a quick score on the index to show how the places stack up. So I have gone through and worked out my scores out of 30 as a percentage. Hope that helps.

Palace Yum Cha 07/09/08 - 42%

2008-09-12T05:27:00.000-07:00

Piccadilly Tower, Level 1, 133-145 Castlereagh St

Lunch Sunday 7 September 2008.

This visit confirms my feeling that Palace is just too unreliable to justify. Their price is significantly above other places - which is fine when the food is at its best. When fresh from the steamer, I think the food is the equal of any place in Sydney - but it isn't consistent at all. You could get some dumplings that have been out too long and are gluggy, then a piping hot one, then ones that have been on the steamer too long and are falling to pieces.

Our guest reviewer Christophe

The mixed vege/dumpling dish. As these are boiled to order - they were very fresh... but it was $12.80

The tripe was not good. Sounds funny to write, but I think it was poor quality offal - bad texture. (or I may just still be gun-shy from my stupid attempt to cook tripe)

Pork buns were quite nice - came from a fresh batch.

The prawn dumplings were not fresh or hot when we got them - disapointing.

The prawn and snowpea sprout dumplings were the best of the day - we had two serves and both were fresh. Luck of the draw it seems. (above and below)

The chickens feet were good, no complaints at all.

Over steamed and not fresh - the dumplings above were falling apart and had lost their moisture.

Overall - I think Palace is let down by its design and popularity. Recalling the best Cha Lau's I have visited in Sydney and overseas, they tend to be a large square room with tables organised in rows so trolleys can easily navigated between tables - off-loading their bounty before it cools or over steams. Palace is full of corners and nooks and crannys that mean by the time you get a trolley the food may be no good. Whilst yum cha isn't known for courteous service - the service here really sucks. A lot of places will assume westerners will take what is suggested, but at least they wait for a response! One waitress here just dumped a plate on our table saying it is nice, stamped the ticket and walked away - and the dish looked crap!

Christophe's ratings:
Food: 15 out of 20 (food was good, especially the snowpeas dumplings, the chicken feet, the vegies and the sui mai. However the last dumplings seemed much fresher than the first ones.
Service & Setting: 2.5 out of 5 (first waitress charged us some dumplings we did not want, thanks Kate for the arguing with the manager, and I don’t know if it's because we were in a corner at the end of the restaurant or what, but I felt that half-way through the meal that was nobody going around with food for a while)
Value: 1 out of 5. (nearly $100 for 3 people, that's pretty expensive for yum-cha).
TOTAL: 18.5 from 30

Matt's ratings:
Food: 10 out of 20 - unreliable
Service & Setting : 1.5 out of 5 (see comments above)
Value: 1 out of 5. ($93 for 3 people - the most I have paid in a group ever).
TOTAL: 12.5 from 30 - at this price, palace needs to be consistently better than the competition in terms of variety, freshness and service. And they are not by a long shot.

House of Peking - Jesmond - 18%

2008-06-29T03:09:00.000-07:00

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."

King Chef Chinese Restaurant 14/10/07 - 38%

2007-10-14T03:32:00.000-07:00

74 Railway Parade Kogarah

Lunch Sunday 14 October 2007

Where to start? Well, it is a small place near the train station at Kogarah - that should give you an idea of the place. And it wasn't overly busy at 1.20pm on a Sunday. The food was very disappointing - the prawn dumplings were ok, the scallops so-so, enjoyable - but so far below the competition.

Clockwise from top left, these are Shanghai style pork dumplings - and they were terrible. No soup, the pork was bland and terrible texture.

Honestly, I have microwaved frozen dumplings from Woolworths that tasted better and fresher than these.

The sui mai were also really boring. The prawn dumplings were ok, but had obviously been on the steamer trolley for a long time as the rice wrapper was falling apart.Scallop and vegetarian. The scallop was average - Kate thought it was the best of what we had today. The vege for me was well below standard (compared to Regal for eg), but our vegetarian diner gave her approval.
Chicken feet... crap. The sauce was ok but the feet were poor quality. That may sound crazy if you find the idea of eating chicken feet disgusting anyway, but there is of course varying standards. These were poor in my opinion.
The saam sik goh was fine - but a bit oily.
Guest reviewers Kir and Joe.

It came to $51.10 for 4 people (less that $13pp). But that's because we only took 9 dishes.

And now, the verdict (will the cuisine reign supreme?):

Kir
Food: 11 out of 20
Service & Setting: 1.5 out of 5
Value: 2.5 out of 5.
TOTAL: 15 from 30
"I was liked the vegetarian dumplings and the stir fried rice rolls - but it wasn't very good value."

Joe
Food: 9 out of 20
Service & Setting: 3.5 out of 5
Value: 3 out of 5
TOTAL: 15.5 from 30
"It was ok, but I like it when the trolleys are coming around with loads of choices - not just people carrying one or two dishes on a tray.."

Kate
Food: 8.5 out of 20
Service & Setting: 2.5 out of 5
Value: 2.25 out of 5
TOTAL: 13.25 from 30
"Ng... nothing special laaaa."

Matt
Food: 7.5 out of 20
Service & Setting: 2 out of 5 (service ok, crap ambiance)
Value: 2 out of 5. (it was cheap per person, but only because we didn't eat/want much).
TOTAL: 11.5 from 30
"Maybe we came too late - there wasn't much choice, it wasn't fresh and there was nothing even close to average in any respect."

Palace Chinese Restaurant - 12/10/07 - 77%

2007-10-12T01:48:00.000-07:00

Piccadilly Tower, Level 1, 133-145 Castlereagh St

Lunch Friday 12 October 2007.

Palace was rated as Sydney's top Yum Cha in the 2008 SMH good food guide, knocking Marigold out of their long held position. I had been once a while ago, but actually worried the SMH rating may be a bad sign as I never much cared for Marigold.

Palace is very western friendly, the staff are friendly and helpful (still pushy but not overly) and they even put the dish prices on the stamp card so you can keep track.

I think the food is also quite western friendly - a modern and dynamic style as opposed to traditional. They had all the staples, variations on modern dishes (salt and pepper lobster!) and the presentation and extra touches were all very nice. See below.

Combination seafood - nice and plump.

On the left is snow pea sprout and prawn dumplings (also see pic below) and on the right are scallop dumplings. Both were outstanding.The vegie was so fresh and brightly coloured.

We had BBQ pork as well as beef rice rolls. The vegies for presentation was a nice touch - and they were actually fresh and yummy too. One roll I tried was a little gluggy - more rice than filling, but this was the except overall for the day.

Prawn dumplings. These were, for my taste, as good as I have had in Australia. Fantastically fresh and plump.
Left is sesame prawn rolls - or was it? There was speculation from the crew that the texture was more like crab or lobster than just prawn. On the right is another seafood stick thing - I cannot comment on this one.
We also had stir fried rice rolls, a mixture of dumplings and chicken feet. They were all good - but not too sure what style the feet were - not much flavour. It may not have been black bean...
In the middle is duck and mushroom dumplings. I was really impressed with these.
The girls had two deserts. The mango pancakes came with a mango puree sauce (nice touch) and the egg tarts were very fresh and warm.

Reviewers Angela and Helen

Elizabeth was saying how distinct all the flavours were, whereas the seafood dumplings often taste similar (rice and seafood) - the ones today at Palace were bold and distinct. I couldn't agree more. I was so impressed with how fresh it all was. The variety was good - some outstanding unusual items, but a few things (like Shanghai dumplings and saam sik goh) were not available.

Tania (managed to avoid the photos...)
Food: 14 out of 20
Service & Setting: 3 out of 5
Value: 3 out of 5.
TOTAL: 20 from 30
"Delicious steamed duck and mushroom dumplings. I liked the mango sauce over the mango pancakes although the pancake itself was a teeny bit too chewy. The tea was a little too strong and needed watering down. Nicely attentive staff."

Angela
Food: 15 out of 20
Service & Setting: 3 out of 5
Value: 2 out of 5.
TOTAL: 20 from 30
"Comparatively expensive, but I enjoyed it. A good mix of food and the deserts were great."

Elizabeth
Food: 13 out of 20
Service & Setting: 2.5 out of 5
Value: 2 out of 5.
TOTAL: 20 from 30
"The dumplings had great and distinct flavours, but the chicken feet were tasteless."

Helen
Food: 16 out of 20
Service & Setting: 4 out of 5
Value: 3 out of 5.
TOTAL: 23 from 30
"What I had was nice and tasty, and the great company counts for something."

Matt
Food: 15.5 out of 20
Service & Setting: 4 out of 5 (The ambiance was good and the service was attentive without being pushy. The room is quite nice too.)
Value: 3.5 out of 5. (It wasn't cheap at $21 a head, but there was a lot of desert - about 5 plates in total. And I think the quality justified the price.)
TOTAL: 23 from 30
"Shocking. I'd have to agree with SMH for once. For premium, modern-styled Yum Cha, Palace is really outstanding. I will be back again soon."

I award Palace a one Har Gow award.
I also give it two special awards:

GOLDEN GOW AWARD - for outstanding fresh dumplings
PLATINUM AQUARIUM - fantastically fresh and flavoursome seafood

Sea Treasure - 07/10/07 - 70%

2007-10-07T01:54:00.000-07:00

Sea Treasure Restaurant

46 Willoughby Rd, Crows Nest

Lunch Sunday 7 October

What a pleasant mix of contradictions. This restaurant is in Crows Nest, a suburb that isn't heavily populated by Chinese people. In fact the customers on Sunday were mostly western, some Japanese and some Chinese. The service staff were also a mix of Australian born Chinese, Cantonese and Mandarin.

This place has won a lot of awards, including one hat from SMH several times. Not surprisingly the food was a bit more expensive - they didn't even have the 'small' category on the billing card. Like popcorn at the cinema, it went from medium, large, XL, and crazy big. :-)

The food out on tables reflected this - more sweet and sour pork and prawn chips than you would see at most Yum Cha places. Amazingly, the yum cha staples were actually very traditional Chinese style.

The saam sick goh - three coloured squares were apparently very traditional - different to what I have tried before. The chestnut one was particularly good.

An unusual mix of sauces out on offer - chili soy sauce, chili and sweet sticky soy (like ketchap manis).

The pork dumplings (below left) were also very traditional style. No fancy prawn or mushroom additions, and the meat is a darker colour than other places. The flavour was good, reminded me of a more home-style.

The chicken feet were quite good. Not the best in my opinion, but one of the best I have had.
Guest reviewers are Kevin and my mum Jane.

It came to $90.50 for 5 people including vegies - quite full at the end.

And now, the verdict (will the cuisine reign supreme?):

Kevin
Food: 14 out of 20
Service & Setting: 4 out of 5
Value: 4.5 out of 5.
TOTAL: 22.5 from 30
"The service was friendly, I am stuffed and the price was great!"

Jane
Food: 15 out of 20
Service & Setting: 4 out of 5
Value: 4 out of 5.
TOTAL: 23 from 30
"My first time to try chicken feet and I was pleasantly surprised."

Kate
Food: 14.5 out of 20
Service & Setting: 3.5 out of 5
Value: 3 out of 5.
TOTAL: 21 from 30
"Sui mai is yummy and traditional - I want to come back for dinner."

Matt
Food: 14.5 out of 20
Service & Setting: 3.5 out of 5 (good service, just ok setting - not as much energy as some)
Value: 3 out of 5. (lost some here - $10.80 for vegies, and lots of dumplings were only 3 to a serving).
TOTAL: 21 from 30
"I was amazed to find such great traditional food. Two thumbs up."

Marigold Restaurant 04/10/2007- 48%

2007-10-04T05:15:00.001-07:00

Marigold Restaurant

Levels 4 & 5, 683-689 George Street, Sydney.

Lunch Thursday 4 October

Marigold was the SMH good food guide winner of Best Yum Cha for several years - but lost the title in the latest book to Palace. And I just realised today that Marigold and Regal are owned by the same company. Interesting.

This was my fourth time to Marigold - and I have kept going back as some friends (who have excellent taste) swear by it. But it never impressed me much. Sadly, today was the same.

A couple of the dishes were very very nice - the prawn dumplings were fresh and yummy (despite not coming around for the first half an hour), and the prawn and spinach was good. The scallops were nice, but over-steamed and falling apart.

The prawn rice rolls were disappointing

- light on the prawns and quite gluggy. The tea was very strong comparatively - too strong for my taste.

The stir-fried rice rolls were good. Nice and light, not overly oily. The saam sik go (three stir fried square cakes) were hit and miss. The chestnut and the lighter one (on left) were very nice - the heavier one was not good at all.

Chicken feet - so so.

Not outstanding in any regard.

And they also took a good 30 minutes to come around. It was a total bbq pork bun fiesta today, they came by 5 times before anything interesting made it to the table.

Today I was assisted in reviewing by Maja - a big foodie and keen Yum Cha enthusiast.

Maja recalled the glory days when Marigold was the business - but I think they are foreclosing based on today's performance. It came to $39.20 for two people - and I was still hungry.

And now, the verdict (will the cuisine reign supreme?):

Maja
Food: 11 out of 20
Service & Setting: 3.5 out of 5
Value: 2 out of 5.
TOTAL: 16.5 from 30
"If this was my first time to come here I wouldn't come back based on today's performance. But I will try it again, hopefully it will return to its former glory!"

Matt
Food: 9.5 out of 20
Service & Setting: 3 out of 5
Value: 2 out of 5.
TOTAL: 14.5 from 30
"Still fails to impress - strange that the sister store Regal is so much tastier..."

Is it obvious that I just worked out how to use break out quotes?

East Ocean 30/09/07 - 68%

2007-09-30T01:49:00.000-07:00

East Ocean Restaurant

421-429 Sussex St & 86-88 Dixon St, Haymarket.

Lunch Sunday 30 September

Before getting into this review I have to admit my prejudice - East Ocean has long been my favourite place in Sydney. We were actually planning to go to Golden Century today (my first time), but it turns out they don't offer Yum Cha... oh well, a few doors down is East Ocean.

I actually have 20 photos from today - I will spare you from seeing them all though.

My main challenge today was being objective in my ratings - and trying to judge it on today's performance rather than wanting to give it a good rating based on former visits.

First up we took fried yam and pork dumplings - apparently they were fresh and not overly oily.The must have chicken feet. I have to be honest, they weren't the best. The feet themselves were nice, plump and tender, but I didn't think the sauce was up to scratch.
Prawn dumplings, as always, are a central part of the meal. I thought they were very good. Not the best I've tried, but the best of any reviewed on this blog to date - delicious. To the left you can see the pork dumpling which were also quite good.
The vegies were good - very tasty and fresh, and a good portion. It only took a couple of minutes to arrive at the table also.
Below is shark fin combination dumplings. I liked them - a tiny tad dry, but that is kind of the style. And it was good that they were on offer.

Other dishes we had included shanghai soup dumplings, prawn and snow pea shoots, prawn and spinach, scallop, another sweet fried appetiser, combination seafood (not the best) two types of rice rolls - prawn and bbq pork, and mango pancakes. The prawn and spinach dumpling was fantastic - SO steaming fresh that Kate actually burnt her mouth greedily tucking in!

I love the atmosphere at East Ocean - below is the a shot of the main room. Beyond the doors at the far end is another small room, and there is one more room off to the right that is about half the size of the main room.

I thought the service was good once we got a table, other than one staff person who didn't know what the different dumplings really were... I asked for scallop dumplings (having seen them), and she didn't know what they were. Anyway. The other main gripe was that they would not let us take a table until ALL of our group were present and sighted... so loads of other tables filled up in the 5 minutes whilst our last guests arrived, then we had a long wait as it was full up.

In the end it cost $99.10 for 5 people.

Today we have 3 guest reviewers! Below is the harsh critic Vincent (think Anton Ego from Ratatouille!)

The bright and bubbly Erny
And the insightful Kate!

And now, the verdict (will the cuisine reign supreme?):

Kate
Food: 12 out of 20
Service & Setting: 3 out of 5
Value: 3.5 out of 5.
TOTAL: 18.5 from 30
"Worth the pain of burning my mouth on hot dumplings."

Erny
Food: 11 out of 20
Service & Setting: 4 out of 5
Value: 3 out of 5.
TOTAL: 18 from 30
"The mango pancakes left a nice sweet taste in my mouth, mm."

Vincent
Food: 10 out of 20
Service & Setting: 2.5 out of 5
Value: 2.5 out of 5.
TOTAL: 15 from 30
"Didn't really do it for me."

Matt
Food: 13 out of 20
Service & Setting: 3.5 out of 5
Value: 3.75 out of 5.
TOTAL: 20.25 from 30
"Just nudges past the 20 point mark. This was not the best time I have been, but as an overall package it is still hard to beat."

I am also awarding East Ocean a 1 Ha Gow rating (a la one hat in Good food guide).

Suggestions please

2007-09-28T05:21:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys

I know there are loads of Yum Cha places in Sydney. I probably have more than a dozen to re-visit for rating that I have tried before. That said, I would love to get any suggestions of your favourite places, or ones that aren't as well known. If you know of any out of the way places that are more traditional, or interesting for any reason, I would really love to hear.

Please leave any suggestions as a comment to this post (best), or send to my new email address yumchasydney@gmail.com

Golden Unicorn - 66%

2007-09-28T01:41:00.000-07:00

Golden Unicorn Restaurant

Level 2, 193 Maroubra Rd, Maroubra.

I like this place a lot. It never takes too long to get a table, the food is consistently quite good and it is well priced. Another nice touch is the service - all of the staff make an effort to be friendly, and can speak enough English to describe the dishes. Today I asked for two things that I had not seen and they got them out to me a few minutes later.

The prawn rice roll is not the best one to start the review with, as it was not fantastic. The rice paper was a bit doughy.
Scallop dumplings above and below (special order) were fantastic. Really plump and fresh. It counted as a Special dish, so $6.50 for four, but they were worth it. The egg tarts - I cannot give feedback on these as I brought them home for Kate and she hasn't tried them yet. When I got them they were still warm and did smell good.

Prawn dumplings - not outstanding but good.
Chicken, mushroom and prawn dumplings - Siu Mai style. Very nice.
The chicken feet (unlike 'Iron' Chef) were flavoursome, plump and really tender. Excellent.
Price wise, it came in at $31.10 for two people (not a huge meal but satisfying). I think it was good value.

And now, the verdict (will the cuisine reign supreme?):

Matt
Food: 12.5 out of 20
Service & Setting: 3.5 out of 5 (Service was great, the room is tacky though)
Value: 3.75 out of 5.
TOTAL: 19.75 from 30
"A reliable performer - disarmingly friendly and attentive staff, good food and value. Worth the trip."

Iron Chef Cabramatta 23/09/07 - 42%

2007-09-23T02:12:00.000-07:00

Iron Chef Restaurant

Lunch - Sunday 23 September 2007

84 Broomfield Street Cabramatta

Being a huge fan of the TV show Iron Chef, I was excited to head out to Iron Chef restaurant today for yum cha. A friend went recently for dinner and said it was great, and looking over the website got me very excited! Also, seeing the best meal I ever ate so far was served at the restaurant of Iron Chef Sakai in Tokyo - the name IS important.

Before we get into the food, let me welcome this weeks guest reviewer, Cherie Lau. Cherie is a huge foodie, and is in fact the friend who recommended Iron Chef after visiting for dinner.

The exterior of the place, quite impressive.On another view though - you realise it is within a local hotel... alarm bells ring.
One of the few Yum Cha places were you can see poker machines and TAB betting screens from the waiting area.
First up, Sui Mai - pork dumplings with prawn. These had a slice of shitake mushroom in the bottom too. Not too bad, but considering all the MSG the flavour was not amazing.
Chicken feet - disappointing. The black bean sauce was very weak, with a lot of garlic though. Sadly the garlic was the rubbish granulated kind, not fresh.
Large prawn and spinach dumplings. These were not bad, out of today's offerings I would say second best.

We waited a long time for Di Gee Gow - scallop dumplings, and thankfully they were quite ok. I have to say of all the seafood it was the freshest (but still only average). They were not bursting with flavour, but at least tasted like it came from the ocean, unlike many of the prawn dumplings.
Prawn rice roll - very standard.

A nice surprise, they had freshly prepared Peking duck available one piece at a time - for the price of a small plate each ($3.20). I am not experienced in eating this, but the others said she was cutting it poorly - too much meat and fat. Apparently it should be just skin of the duck.

An egg custard desert dumpling. The only desert taken by the group. Apparently this is quite rare in Australia, so points for variety there.
Beef tripe. We also had beef stomach (below this one), which was the better of the two.

Cherie and Kate struggled with the table design which had a large metal bar in the leg space of two of the four diners... uncomfortable.
You'd notice I did not picture the prawn dumpling - it was very disappointing so I didn't bother. Actually, I will post one picture to demonstrate the runt of a dumpling we got...

I always held the motto that even bad yum cha is good yum cha. I am not sure. This was the least satisfying or tasty I have had as far as I recall. It may have suffered from my high expectations - but we were SO hungry after waiting 50 minutes (!) for a table, that we would have wolfed anything down. That long wait was evened out by attentive and helpful service inside, and I realise they cannot help it if they are so busy. Even still, don't believe the hype.

As I said above, the name IS important. The website hypes up the innovative techniques and flavours of the chef, and they are clearly trading of the camp-cult reputation of the Japanese TV show. So let the be judged against it.

The bill for 4 people (1 desert, lots of dumplings, no vegie) came to $76.80

And now, the verdict (will the cuisine reign supreme?):

Matt
Food: 8 out of 20
Service & Setting: 2 out of 5
Value: 2.5 out of 5.
TOTAL: 12.5 from 30
"Iron Chef? I don't think so. You are hereby downgraded to Zinc Saucier."

Kate
Food: 9 out of 20
Service & Setting: 3 out of 5
Value: 2.5 out of 5.
TOTAL: 14.5 from 30
"No surprises here at all"

Cherie
Food: 10 out of 20
Service & Setting: 3 out of 5
Value: 3 out of 5.
TOTAL: 16 from 30
"Very very standard..."

Regal Chinese Restaurant 16/09/07 - 62%

2007-09-16T05:50:00.000-07:00

Regal Chinese Restaurant
Lunch - Sunday 16 September 2007

Cnr Liverpool and Sussex St.

For the first entry to the blog, I revisited the place I went just two days ago. I was still very impressed with it. Kate is also scoring this one, as she is far more experienced than me. I guess I will ask others I dine with on occasion to score to be included.

It took about 20 minutes to get a table of four at 12.30 on a Sunday, so that is not bad at all. The variety of dishes was very good, and they had a few dishes that I haven’t seen around Sydney. One down side was that some staples, such as prawn dumplings and BBQ pork buns, only passed our table once during our visit.

Price wise, I think it was reasonable, a little above average price, but the quality of the food justified it.

The prawn dumplings were good – fresh and plump, but not a stand out. The scallop dumplings were great overall – very generous size, nice flavours, just the wrapper was either a little too thick, or under cooked, as it was a bit floury tasting. The tea I always order – Po Lay (in case its not clear, all the Cantonese words I write are written roughly as they are spoken) was extremely strong. Seems it was the bottom of the bag as all the tea particles were tiny and went straight into the cups.

Above are prawn and vege dumplings with a nice and unusual presentation.

The Choi Sum veggies were very good, and the accompanying boiled dumplings were quite good – not bursting with flavour, but a nice calm bite between other flavours. Only catch was the combo came as two separate plates, which meant we paid for two serves of vegetable. (I never got why veggies are so costly at Yum Cha – like $9 or more a plate, whilst 4 chunky dumplings are only $4-$6…)

Overall I am still very impressed. And they had a mini dragon dance come through midway!

Price wise - it wasn't the cheapest. In fact probably the highest price per head I recall - but we did eat A LOT. Kate and I were joined by two 6 foot+ gents with huge appetites, and we rose to their standard. We paid $26 per person - you can see the dish prices below if zoom.

And now, the verdict (will the cuisine reign supreme?):

Matt
Food: 12.5 out of 20
Service & Setting: 3 out of 5
Value: 3 out of 5.
TOTAL: 18.5 from 30

Kate

Food: 12 out of 20
Service & Setting: 2.8 out of 5
Value: 3 out of 5.
TOTAL: 17.8 from 30

Welcome

2007-09-14T17:31:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it took me so long to create this blog. I love Yum Cha - to an unnatural degree. I will happily go to Yum Cha 5 times in a week, to the same restaurant if necessary. I sometimes go to Yum Cha alone, I am not ashamed.

Yesterday a group of my former co-workers went to the inaugural lunch meeting of their new Yum Cha Club. I am gutted that I didn't think of it myself. Luckily the YC gods stepped in and I bumped into one of the group on Thursday and scored an invite. Yesterday’s was a real surprise - I had never been there or heard much about it. But it was a revelation - the food was great, maybe a contender to my favourite in Sydney...

I am now making it my mission to seek out and and eat at every Yum Cha restaurant in Sydney. It may take a few years, but I think it is worth it. To ensure continuity, I will have to revisit all of those I have tried already, so I can score them on my new standardised scale!

Food: X out of 20
Service & Setting: X out of 5
Value: X out of 5.

Service and setting are weighted a lot lower, because in my opion that is not what Yum Cha is about. It is about the food....mmmm. That said, if the service, the restaurant, decore etc was outstanding, then that should be recognised - or if we wait half an hour with no food coming, that should be noted too.

The 20 points for food will be broken down into 10 for overall flavour and enjoyment - this will be compared across restaurants using common dishes that we usually order like Ha Gow (prawn dumpling), Sui Mai (pork dim sim), Ha Chun Fun (prawn rice roll), Fung Jaau (chicken feet), egg tarts and the tea. - and we cannot forget the tea!

Another five food points are open for freshness and variety. So if they are all piping hot and lots of choice - top marks. If they are getting cool, gluggy or old - not much.

Finally for food, you always have to save an extra five points for the unexpected. If they have something delicious that is hard to find, or the presentation is outstanding, or things are especially plump and delicious, these extra 5 are up for grabs.

Finally five points for value. If it runs $30 a head and we are still hungry, that's too pricey. $14 and we are stuffed - bargain.

So, at the end we will have a score out of thirty. I will also try to post pictures when possible, and give a run down on how many people shared, how much we ate and the cost per person. If possible I will include in the value section an outline from the bill of the prices of each size of dish ordered.

Let the fun begin! First entry tomorrow!