ShanDong Mama: Mid City Arcade - 200 Bourke Street Melbourne

This place is damn hard to find. I didn’t know where the Mid City Arcade was and my GPS kept sending me to other places. It was worth the trip though.

Sadly I could not eat the pork dumplings as they put egg in the mixture (why???) but I did have the tasty tasty vegan zucchini and black fungus dumplings. They were good, real good and thank you for making a vegan option with something other than boring cabbage and bean sprouts.

Since I’ve discovered the superior pan fried pork dumplings at Shanghai Street I haven’t been back but one day when I get a hankering for veggie dumplings this place will be friend I’m sure. The only way they could get better is to either make the dumpling wrapper from scratch – it has that store bought texture to it, or improve it if they do make it themselves. I'm also going to try their hand made potato noodles, which I've heard good things about. The other mains are hit and miss.

Shanghai Street Dumpling: 342 Little Bourke Street Melbourne

These are the best dumplings I’ve had in Melbourne. OMG yum.

The pan fried pork dumplings are small and manageable. When you bite into them you get that satisfying crunch at the same time as that soft, moist burst of flavour. I’ve now been here a few times and one day I assure you I’m going to try something else on the menu.

The place is always packed and the staff a little overwhelmed so I am sure other things will be just as good. Especially given the fact that the dumplings are so evidently home made from scratch. Good work folks, you get three ticks.

Hutong Dumpling Bar: 14-16 Market Lane Melbourne

One Friday I went to Hutong Dumpling Bar to fill the void left by my salad. Salad, I love you, you know I do but sometimes you leave me feeling unsatisfied. Today was one of those days.

I love dumplings. Pan fried pork are my favourite. So naturally, at a dumpling bar, that’s exactly what I ordered. Senor Gringo also ordered salt and pepper squid.

The dumplings that arrived did not look pan fried, although some frying had gone on as they came out attached to this weird pan shaped batter. The dumplings were much larger than normal, didn’t have that lovely crispy base and due to their size each and every one fell apart as soon as I picked it up. Disappointing. It wasn’t a total write off though as they did have a homemade casing – a big tick - and nicely balanced flavours but I don’t need to go back and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Senor Gringo advised his salt and pepper squid was not cooked enough and had too much batter making the batter, not the squid, the dominant flavour.

Overall, there were other things on the menu that I would have liked to have tried, if I had a bigger appetite, but they were the standard items you see at most Chinese restaurants and if I dumpling bar can’t excel at dumplings I’m happy to try those things elsewhere.

One tick - done, dusted, not going back.

1+1 Mandarin Dumpling Restaurant: 84 Hopkins Street Footscray

Not fussy eater friendly. 

The pork dumplings have egg in them (why?!), so do the vegetable dumplings though they made me some specially without egg. They were a greasy bland let down. So were the other two dishes we ordered, so much so that it was not even worth remembering what they were. 

The restaurant also had a grubby feel, which as I've mentioned I'll ignore if the food is good. 

One tick/thumbs down. Don't waste your time or calories. 

Rose Garden BBQ: 435 Elizabeth Street Melbourne

The Good Food Guide describes this place as a no frills Chinese fast food shop that has been around for over 20 years and that is exactly what it is.

I love this place. It has a massive menu, everything is tasty, served quickly and is well prepared. It is not fancy, you wouldn't take a date here, it does not serve nouveau cuisine, it just classic Chinese food that you and I have been eating since the 80s. You know what to expect and most of your favourites are here, including bbq duck (though sadly no dry fried chilli beef).

The service is a bit quirky and I noticed that quite a few people have complained about it online but honestly I found it amusing. Take my first Rose Garden BBQ experience for example, it was a really hot day, every table inside was taken and the only one outside was in the sun. I asked the waitress if I could sit there, she said yes but as I walked over she looked around and saw that I wouldn't be undercover and came rushing over and said 'no, no, no, you no sit there, you sit with these people.' Then she proceeded to tell a large group of people to shuffle down and make room for me under the umbrella. I thought this was sweet - I'm strawberry blonde and I would have burned to a crisp in ten minutes.

Then, after I had ordered, the group departed and a man and his friend came and sat next to us. The same waitress came over to take their order. The gentleman to the left of Senor Gringo's asked for a wonton soup. She said, 'no, too hot, you order something else.' He said, 'that's okay, I'll order the soup.' She replied, 'no, you big man, too hot.' Slightly affronted, he ordered the fried chicken. Once it arrived I asked him if he was glad she told him not to order the soup, he said 'yeah, the chicken was fantastic.

In conclusion, if you are a sensitive type, maybe this place isn't for you but I feel they have your best interests at heart and want you to enjoy your experience. I'll be going back to this place whenever I'm on this side of town. At lunch it is really busy and there are long lines but people move in and out so quickly you won't be waiting long.

Pics of our food are below, all very tasty and slightly salty (exactly how I want my fast food, don't kid yourself that you're going here for health reasons)

:

 tofu stir fry, didn't realise it had chicken to avoid but well worth it, even with the conspicuous lack of vegetables

shredded duck and pickled veg fried rice. Mmm mm good

 

Spicy Fish: 209 Little Bourke St Melbourne

Two words: delicious and yum! This place is going to the top of my Chinese food list (which is actually a really short list, hey I'm fussy!).

The menu contained all the Chinese food essentials. Each of the dishes we ordered had complex flavours with layered spices, which gave me confidence that I could order anything and it would be good.

We ordered the shao long bao (steamed pork buns that contain soup), which were really lovely (think about a dish that you would call lovely, you know it is better than average). Plus, the dry fried chilli beef, which was fabulous.

I was overjoyed to see dry fried chilli beef on the menu. I have not found it anywhere else in Melbourne so far and frankly I was beginning to think something was wrong with the city for its absence (joking, Melbourne is awesome)! Dry fried chilli beef is one of my favourite Chinese food dishes and I don't think I have had it better anywhere else, thank you Spicy Fish. The dish was salty and spicy and a little bit sour. My lips were pleasantly burning at the end and as it was rated as 1 chilli, I would say this place deserves a spice warning in general. I usually go for the spiciest dishes on the menu and often ask for more. If this dish gave me burning lips, I'm curious to see what they rate as three chillis(?!) For the record, Senor Gringo was bright red and had to drink copious amounts of water and he probably represents the general public when it comes to his tolerance level.

   

Three ticks.

 Mm, fried beef goodness

The menu has pretty pictures for everything, so you know what you're getting. 

My Taiwanese friend ordered this. It was basically cold cooked bacon. I couldn't bring myself to eat it but it got a big thumbs up. 

Shanghai Street Dumpling - take three

You know what I love about this place, apart from the delicious pan fried pork dumplings that is? I love that you can turn up drunk at 9pm for some late night nibbles or at 4pm on a Sunday for an early dinner/late lunch and no-one bats an eye lid. I also love the sleepy teenagers sitting in the back and the army of older women at the front making my dumplings from scratch. It all gives it that homely feel. 

Tonight I ordered pork in tofu skins with vermicelli in a hot pot. It came out in a steamy broth with mushrooms and Asian greens. The broth was lovely and it all had that fresh, crisp, clean home made taste to it. You could pick out each of the individual components and it was so very well done. 

It reminded me of an early episode of the Naked Chef where Jamie Oliver went off to Italy to cook at a restaurant that had been round for centuries. The place had no menu and the chefs just cooked two dishes every night, with the locals trusting the family to cook something good. When Jamie had his chance he made the diners pesto pasta with locally caught fish and while many gave him positive reviews quite a few told him his food was too complicated and had too many flavours going on. Those diners were on to something and they would not have been disappointed with Shanghai Street Dumpling. 

My only disappointment is that there aren't more options on the menu but I guess that is what happens when you specialise.

Before you go, check out my dumplings. This is how I do it, poke holes in the bottom, dip them in a mix of soy sauce, vinegar and chilli oil and try not to burn my tongue devouring them while they are still hot. Mmm yum. Good stuff.  

Proof that even the views of a fussy eater can be shared by the majority