The pork ribs in a sweetish sauce were as they should be: good flavourm, still boney but not as fatty as normal.
I'm always in two minds about spring onion pancake. It's often on the greasy side, but this time around this wasn't the case and if anything it was a litle on the dry side. This one was also unusual in that it had a hollow centre.
I was looking forward to the salt and pepper calamari, especially given this was my choice. One of my pet peeves is over salted food (and not because I don't like salt per se). The salt overshadowed everything else with not enough chilli or pepper. On the upside the calamari was tender, and not the shoe leather it becomes when it's overdone.
The friend pork dumplings, often referred to as ‘pot stickers’, were one of the stand out dishes for the day. Nicely crispy on the outside, moist on the inside. Good fried dumplings.
I'm not a fan of Singapore noodles but I liked this lightly fried noodle dish (vermicelli I think) with roast pork (char sui) and small prawns. But this wasn't a universal view with Big Fil saying alright but I've had much better.
Chilli wanton noodles are my favourite dumpling but these didn't fall into that category. The texture was slippery and what chilli after taste there was wasn't particularly hot. That's not to say, however, that the filling wasn't good ... which it was.
I usually avoid the pork buns (char sui bao) because it always feels strange eating such a sweet filling in what is generally a doughy encasing. Sung's Kitchen might have changed my mind with a delicate bun with the texture and taste of white bread, and a not overly generous but nicely flavoured filling.
Big Fil was most impressed with steamed prawn dumplings (har gow), and felt these were amongst the best of their kind he'd had. They were delicate in presentation and flavour, with The green tint in the dumpling skin apparently came from spinach.
In contrast with Big Fil I thought the scallop dumplings were the better of the shellfish dumplings. The scallops were fresh and succulent, and the dumpling skin was delicate. A good mixture for me.
Big Fil always has room for me, and sweets, and this was the first time we'd tried Shanghai almond pudding. It was an nteresting experience, and not what we were expecting. The pudding itself was almost pumpkin-like in texture and colour, with an almondy after taste. It also came with a generous sugary sprinkling on top.
Overall
The decor was on the basic side for a place pitching at a more upmarket level based on the prices, but at the same time it didn't have the atmosphere of a cheap eatery. Except for the noodles the servie weren't terribly large, with the emphasis on quality over quantity. The dishes also ranges from a little below average (calamari) to very good (steamed pork buns). The service was fine if not outstanding, although the staff seemed to run around a lot given there weren’t that many tables in use. Food came out reasonably quickly given they were cooking from orders. Friendly enough.
Rating
Food – 7.5
Service – 7
Ambience - 6.5
Price – 6.5
Address
118 Franklin St
Melbourne, 3000
Tel: (03) 9329 2636
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