12 February 2015

Best of Canberra - Dumplings

| Bec Cuzzillo
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stock-dumplings

What do China, Poland, Italy and Brazil have in common? Apart from being on my bucket list, these countries all claim ownership of some sort of variation on the food that we in Australia know as ‘dumplings’.

While Poland’s pierogi, Italy’s ravioli and Brazil’s pastels are not to be taken for granted, the Chinese have Canberra’s dumpling market sorted. And rightly so – dumplings are always my go-to meal when eating out.

They’re always delicious, always quick to come out of the kitchen and never a burden on my stylish hip pocket. Be it steamed, boiled or fried, I am yet to meet someone who doesn’t like these little parcels of heaven that hail from China.

So hit me Canberra, who makes the best dumplings in town?

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CBD dumpling house <3
great taste, chinese is one of the best here

pajs said :

Tried the Shanghai Dumpling Cafe near ANU yesterday after the mentions on here. Not so good. The fried spring onion pancake & pot of tea were the dumpling highlights. Prawn dumplings were slightly under-steamed and bland, but did have a decent amount of prawn to them. Downhill slide continued with the pan-fried pork dumplings. Skins way too thick, pan too hot so the bottoms burnt before the too-thick tops could steam through. Over and undercooked at the same time, as well as only being partially filled with pork mix. Things hit bottom with the chaotic service. I was asked to move tables twice during a quick meal so that they could give my table to other people. Not going back, on the strength of that.

They have probably started cooking with unreliable renewable energy.

Tried the Shanghai Dumpling Cafe near ANU yesterday after the mentions on here. Not so good. The fried spring onion pancake & pot of tea were the dumpling highlights. Prawn dumplings were slightly under-steamed and bland, but did have a decent amount of prawn to them. Downhill slide continued with the pan-fried pork dumplings. Skins way too thick, pan too hot so the bottoms burnt before the too-thick tops could steam through. Over and undercooked at the same time, as well as only being partially filled with pork mix. Things hit bottom with the chaotic service. I was asked to move tables twice during a quick meal so that they could give my table to other people. Not going back, on the strength of that.

Another vote for Top Taste (used to be Noble Palace). The decor is nothing fancy but the food is top notch.

DrIQ said :

Being a son of a Chinese chef, I think I must’ve eaten about a million dumpling in my life (so far!). Dumpling Inn in Jamieson is the family favourite, along with Beijing House in Hawker.

And yeah, Shanghai Dumpling Cafe is so very authentic (first time I had it, I think I actually thought about being back in China… either that or the Chinese-style service!)

Some of these other ones mentioned above serve supplier dumplings (very cheap, around two-cent each frozen from China), sometimes hard to tell especially when fried.

Shush! Not supposed to mention Beijing House. Been going there for years. Don’t need it any harder to get a table.

DrIQ said :

Being a son of a Chinese chef, I think I must’ve eaten about a million dumpling in my life (so far!). Dumpling Inn in Jamieson is the family favourite, along with Beijing House in Hawker.

And yeah, Shanghai Dumpling Cafe is so very authentic (first time I had it, I think I actually thought about being back in China… either that or the Chinese-style service!)

Some of these other ones mentioned above serve supplier dumplings (very cheap, around two-cent each frozen from China), sometimes hard to tell especially when fried.

Right, the expert input. Thanks for that, Jamison on the weekend

Being a son of a Chinese chef, I think I must’ve eaten about a million dumpling in my life (so far!). Dumpling Inn in Jamieson is the family favourite, along with Beijing House in Hawker.

And yeah, Shanghai Dumpling Cafe is so very authentic (first time I had it, I think I actually thought about being back in China… either that or the Chinese-style service!)

Some of these other ones mentioned above serve supplier dumplings (very cheap, around two-cent each frozen from China), sometimes hard to tell especially when fried.

Akiba and CBD dumpling house get my votes. Both excellent.

Dickson Dumpling Inn and CBD Dumplings are the way to go (same owners apparently)

Jade Dumpling House in Gunners have delicious mains, but I’m not a fan of their dumplings.

Aaahhhhh dumplings, my fave. Jasmine Dumpling House in Gungahlin take the cake for me right now, xiao long bao FTW, hoping the Erindale guys open soon so I can have a south side option.

chinese scholar, dumplings of many sort at their lunch time yum cha or on their a la carte menu – easily eclipse the dumpling house pretenders in dickson and childers st.

Alexandra Craig4:25 pm 10 Feb 15

Just remembered – I was so unimpressed with Shanghai Dumpling recently! I’d forgotten about it. Turned up about 45 minutes before closing time to order some takeaway dumplings and the staff basically shooed us saying they were closed, despite there being about 4 tables of people still in there. We checked the times on the door on our way out and they definitely weren’t closed – I think they just wanted to go home early.

neanderthalsis4:08 pm 10 Feb 15

Alexandra Craig said :

Milly Withers said :

Good topic. For cheap and cheerful I can’t go past Shanghai Dumpling near ANU. Always delicious. Dickson Dumpling House is good too.

I’ve been to Shanghai Dumpling a few times but they never seem to have soy sauce, only vinegar. There was one time we asked them specifically for soy and they gave us vinegar anyway.

I was there last week and they had soy sauce on the tables. The great Soy Sauce shortage of 2014 caught many unawares and led to lengthy queues waiting for their daily soy sauce rations. Those who missed out and whose unlubricated dumplings stuck in their gullets rioted in the streets…

Amy Birchall3:02 pm 10 Feb 15

James McMahon said :

Newcomer Akiba the shiitake & water chestnut dumplings with red vinegar and chilli oil is easily the best i have tasted outside of China Town.

I forgot about Akiba. Their dumplings are great too.

Shanghai dumpling house for sure. The only thing I can complain about, is having to decide which ones to get… I love them all!

I second Akiba they have all types, I just had a good night out last week met for beers and sampled a few dumplings from the Yum cha cart.

James McMahon2:48 pm 10 Feb 15

Newcomer Akiba the shiitake & water chestnut dumplings with red vinegar and chilli oil is easily the best i have tasted outside of China Town. Also Dickson Dumpling house has delicious dumplings but the soy is a bit odd.

Amy Birchall12:47 pm 10 Feb 15

Alexandra Craig said :

Milly Withers said :

Good topic. For cheap and cheerful I can’t go past Shanghai Dumpling near ANU. Always delicious. Dickson Dumpling House is good too.

I’ve been to Shanghai Dumpling a few times but they never seem to have soy sauce, only vinegar. There was one time we asked them specifically for soy and they gave us vinegar anyway.

That’s odd. Usually they have the soy sauce in bottle alongside the vinegar, though it can be difficult to tell which is which!

My vote is for Shanghai Dumpling too. Their dumplings in soup are particularly good (if not messy to eat).

Alexandra Craig10:06 am 10 Feb 15

Milly Withers said :

Good topic. For cheap and cheerful I can’t go past Shanghai Dumpling near ANU. Always delicious. Dickson Dumpling House is good too.

I’ve been to Shanghai Dumpling a few times but they never seem to have soy sauce, only vinegar. There was one time we asked them specifically for soy and they gave us vinegar anyway.

Gungahlin Noodle house is a regular favourite, their Xiao Long Bao, the standard by which dumplings are rated, is pretty damn good. If only they would supply a spoon with them.

There is a new dumpling house opening in Erindale. Sign says mid January…. but its still not opened!

I quite like the CBD dumpling house.

neanderthalsis9:48 am 10 Feb 15

Milly Withers said :

Good topic. For cheap and cheerful I can’t go past Shanghai Dumpling near ANU. Always delicious. Dickson Dumpling House is good too.

Hear hear. I second the motion.

Shanghai Dumpling house has a fine array of dumplings and other dishes that are even well rated by Chinese friends. It is also fairly cheap. It can at times be difficult to get a table due to an influx of uni students after a cheap and filling meal.

Milly Withers9:40 am 10 Feb 15

Good topic. For cheap and cheerful I can’t go past Shanghai Dumpling near ANU. Always delicious. Dickson Dumpling House is good too.

Alexandra Craig9:36 am 10 Feb 15

My favourite dumplings are from the Yum Cha place at Woden, it’s called Top Taste or something like that. They’re not as floury as the ones from Dickson/CBD Dumpling House. They tend to be a bit rubbery too in my experience.

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