Prawns and chives dumpling
The carts came around with the usual selection of dumplings, of which we tried the prawn, prawn and chives, vegetarian and shanghai (pork). The prawn and the chives were my two favourites, with a thin almost translucent skin and flavoursome filling. The Shanghai and vegetarian were fine but not quite the same high standard, not having the same delicate skin or flavours.
Shanghai dumpling
Prawn dumpling
Vegetarian dumpling
Also on the menu for the day were a series of rolls, prawn and duck wrapped in bean curd, prawn cheong fun and rice paper prawn rolls. I hadn't noticed it when we were ordering but there is a pattern here, I guess we are all big fans of prawns!
The pick of these was the rice paper prawn rolls. Slightly crispy on the outside, served with mayonnaise, very tasty.
Shanghai dumpling
Prawn dumpling
Vegetarian dumpling
Also on the menu for the day were a series of rolls, prawn and duck wrapped in bean curd, prawn cheong fun and rice paper prawn rolls. I hadn't noticed it when we were ordering but there is a pattern here, I guess we are all big fans of prawns!
The pick of these was the rice paper prawn rolls. Slightly crispy on the outside, served with mayonnaise, very tasty.
While normally a big fan of duck I am not so much a fan of the duck rolls, finding the sauce and vegetables/noodles included in the roll take away from the flavour of the duck and rendering it slightly messy to eat.
Prawn in bean curd roll
Prawn cheong fun
A few more unusual selections were also made. I'd never had jelly fish before, and nobody at the table has seen it served in combination with beef. Served cold, the jelly fish had little flavour but the focus seemed to be more on its soft and slightly slithery texture.
The fried white bait was good but not the best I have had as it could have been crisper.
The fried calamari was a little disappointing, not crisp as I like it and a little leathery.
Ruby Grapefruit thought the eel was a little fatty but I liked the taste. It does have a number of small very sharp bones that you need to be careful of.
Finally and my favourite, the spicy mussels were delicious, with a generous serve and the mussels tender and not over cooked.
By this time we were ready for dessert. The mango pudding was served with condensed milk, which is good, and was less sweet with a stronger mango flavour than many I have tried which was also good.
The sago pudding was also tasty, almost savoury rather than sweet. It has been baked to give it a slight crust and included something to thicken it up (we suspected taro). Very different to the Malaysian sago puddings I have tried but a nice change.
Overall
Good, upmarket option for yum cha in the eastern suburbs. While not all the dim sum were spot on the mark, they were all good and I'd happily order them all again except the duck rolls, which I generally don't particularly like generally. The décor is nice if a little old fashioned. The one quibble I would have is that we had booked for the earlier sitting and the staff did seem very keen for us to finish so that they could prepare for the next sitting, even when this wasn't due for another 40 minutes. While pushing people through is par for the course in a cheap Chinese restaurant that relies on a high turnover, its not something I really expected here. It is also a bit pricier than most yum cha options in the city, compensated for somewhat by the higher standards in food and setting.
Verdict
Food - 7.5
Service - 6.5
Ambience - 8
Price - 7
Address
363 Manningham Road
Lower Templestowe VIC 3108
Tel: (03) 9852 4086
Prawn in bean curd roll
Prawn cheong fun
A few more unusual selections were also made. I'd never had jelly fish before, and nobody at the table has seen it served in combination with beef. Served cold, the jelly fish had little flavour but the focus seemed to be more on its soft and slightly slithery texture.
The fried white bait was good but not the best I have had as it could have been crisper.
The fried calamari was a little disappointing, not crisp as I like it and a little leathery.
Ruby Grapefruit thought the eel was a little fatty but I liked the taste. It does have a number of small very sharp bones that you need to be careful of.
Finally and my favourite, the spicy mussels were delicious, with a generous serve and the mussels tender and not over cooked.
By this time we were ready for dessert. The mango pudding was served with condensed milk, which is good, and was less sweet with a stronger mango flavour than many I have tried which was also good.
The sago pudding was also tasty, almost savoury rather than sweet. It has been baked to give it a slight crust and included something to thicken it up (we suspected taro). Very different to the Malaysian sago puddings I have tried but a nice change.
Overall
Good, upmarket option for yum cha in the eastern suburbs. While not all the dim sum were spot on the mark, they were all good and I'd happily order them all again except the duck rolls, which I generally don't particularly like generally. The décor is nice if a little old fashioned. The one quibble I would have is that we had booked for the earlier sitting and the staff did seem very keen for us to finish so that they could prepare for the next sitting, even when this wasn't due for another 40 minutes. While pushing people through is par for the course in a cheap Chinese restaurant that relies on a high turnover, its not something I really expected here. It is also a bit pricier than most yum cha options in the city, compensated for somewhat by the higher standards in food and setting.
Verdict
Food - 7.5
Service - 6.5
Ambience - 8
Price - 7
Address
363 Manningham Road
Lower Templestowe VIC 3108
Tel: (03) 9852 4086
3 comments:
have a try in taotao house. :)
Nice place and ambiance however being charged $18 for a pot of Chinese tea seems a bit rich when we spent over $224 on dinner! Most Chinese restaurants would provide a pot complementary.
I cannot recommend the calamari unless you like eating rubbery calamari not to mention some of the dishes were cold except for the lamb tenderloin in the claypot which was scolding hot!
An hour after ordering and hardly a half an hour into our unfinished meal the waiters were already talking our plates away right from under us .... even if some of us were still eating and with still 2 hours to closing time. They obviously had some place better to be at!
Ouch - I agree, if you're spending that much on the dinner the least they can do is to give you complementary tea!
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