Ramen & Dumpling House, Mount Waverley by Bureaucrat

Ramen & Dumpling House opened up in 2016 and it has been a very welcome addition to the Pinewood dining scene.  It does a roaring dine-in and takeaway trade and is popular among the local office workers and residents.  Unlike the plethora of Chinese 'cheap eats' eateries in nearby Glen Waverley, Ramen & Dumpling House is clean, relatively spacious (though you'd still be rubbing elbows with nearby diners) and bright.

With Boy Chick ensconced in his pram and the tight seating, it wasn't going to be practicable to have lunch at the restaurant, so we opted for takeaway.  And since our first visit, we've had many a takeaway meal from here!


There are two items on the menu that we get on a (very) regular basis.  First up is the pan fried pork dumplings.  Amazing plump dumplings at a very, very good price of $9.50 for 15 pieces.  Honestly, where are you going to get that many elsewhere? They are still good even when you buy it as a takeaway - they're not soggy at all (though there is a bit of steam that builds up in the plastic container).  I can only imagine how yummy they are when you get it served to you if you're dining in.

The next most ordered item for us is the salt and pepper deep fried chicken ribs.  Despite having ordered them upteen times, I've never gotten round to taking a photo - I just start chowing... they're just that good.  Meaty chicken ribs with a crispy golden batter and also very good value.  I've also had the salt and pepper pork, which are also very good but I prefer the chicken ribs.  The pork is nicely tender and I've yet to come across any gristly bits.


You can kinda get a sense of how lovely and golden the salt and pepper pork are by this photo of the fried pork chop and egg on rice.  There's a good-sized pork chop that's meaty and tender.

We've also ordered the dan dan mian.  The menu says the noodles are handmade but I don't reckon they are.


They're too even in length and width and they don't have that pleasantly chewy texture that comes from hand-pulled noodles.  It came with a rather salty soup. This dish was a disappointment.


Also not impressive was the stir fried beef flat noodles.  While this was an epic serve it just didn't have wok hei and seemed rather ho hum and was rather salty for our liking.


The boiled pork dumplings with chilli oil were all right - good but nothing exceptional.  I much prefer the fried dumplings (who wouldn't, am I right?).

Verdict

We loved it.

Overall

Okay, so it's a bit of a mixed bag here.  But they certainly excel with the pan fried dumplings and all things deep fried.  Noodle dishes are a bit average but you certainly get value in terms of quantity.

There's still lots of things I'd like to try from there including the deep fried puff with chives, dried shrimp, egg and vermicelli and the rather intriguing crispy chicken in strawberry sauce.

Find it at

Ramen & Dumpling House
Pinewood Shopping Centre
33 Centreway
Mount Waverley 3149 Vic
Phone: 8838 8133