Friday, August 6, 2010

Yummie Dim Sum


Yummie have a retail shop in Leeds St, which sells house-made fresh and frozen yum cha items, as well as a small selection of hot, takeaway dim sum.  They recently opened at the old site of Rajdhani, a short-lived Indian restaurant, which was in turn previously occupied by a Polish deli.  Anthony, a reader, kindly wrote in recommending their dim sum, and as it had been on my to-eat list for a while, we headed there for lunch.


The raised, open-plan kitchen means that if you nab a table at the side of the restaurant, you can watch the ladies stuffing and folding dumplings, ready to be served to you within a few minutes.


It's a strange mix of a la carte and a la cart, you could say.  Despite the menu on the wall, staff do come round with trolleys and trays for you to choose plates off, like in a typical yum cha restaurant.

Deep fried won ton, $3.80

Deep fried prawn roll, $4.80

These were out of the warmer, which was a pity as they were not as good as they would have been if freshly made.  They came with hot-pink sweet sauce.

Bean curd skin pork roll, $3.80

I've only had this once before, at Gold Leaf Docklands, where I was unimpressed, but Yummie's version was very nice, with soft wrapping and pleasantly gloopy sauce.

Siu mai (pork), $4.80

These are the classic yum cha dumpling, in my opinion.  Yummie's were perfectly acceptable, nothing amazing.  Perhaps a little too salty.

Ham sui gok, ("Fried savoury dumplings"), $3.80


These crispy, ovoid bundles of love are my favourite - filled with savoury pork mince and mushroom.  The retail shop in Leeds St sells larger ones for $1.50, and they are a great lunch along with a $2.40 salad roll from Nhu Lan.

Sticky rice ("Stir fry glutinous rice"), $5.80

This was really quite nice, filled with egg, sausage, and mushroom, and it was evident that it had been freshly made.

Spare rib with black bean sauce, $3.80

Yummie lived up to its name with this one - such tender, yummy pork!  Mm-mmh.

Rice paper prawn, $4.80

I did not like these - they had an odd batter around them, and a funny, chunky prawn filling with a big spear of chive or spring onion.  They came with a quivering dollop of mayo.

King prawn on toast, $4.80

These deep-fried bread triangles smooshed with prawn and sesame keep my twelve-month-old quiet for an entire yum cha session.  Please do not report me to DoCS!  These were not that good, though.  The prawn didn't have much flavour and they tasted a bit overbrowned.

Ginger tripe, $4.80

My dad and his partner reported that this was not good.  My opinion?  Oh, it was way around the other side of the table, and I couldn't reach it to try!  Dang!!

Deep fried calamari, $6.80

They use a funny batter here - I wonder if it is just rice flour?  At any rate, this was quite good, tasty and the right balance between tender and chewy.

B.B.Q. pork bun, $3.80

These were not that good.  Although the filling was obviously home-made and made with care, it was too fine, and the dominant flavour was sweetness, instead of being balanced with the necessary meaty pork flavour and five-spice high notes.

Pan-fried pork dumpling, $3.80

I believe these are called jiao zi, and are the original Chinese precursor to Japanese gyoza.  Yummie's were really good.

Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce, $6.80

After stuffing ourselves, everyone remembered we had had no vegetables, so this was our dessert, and very good it was, too.

The verdict?  I think they should decide if they want to be a la carte or not.  It's confusing to order dumplings then have the trolley come out, and you are not sure if those are your order or not.  I think it's too small to do trolley service properly.  I would have thought the dumplings would have been better as they are made on-site and in-house; I still prefer Gold Leaf Sunshine.  Nevertheless, like Master Restaurant, this is another reliable local option for decent yum cha.

Yummie Hong Kong Dim Sum on Urbanspoon

Yummie Hong Kong Dim Sum
189-193 Barkly St, Footscray (map)
Phone: 9078 8878
Hours: 7 days, 8am-8pm

17 comments:

  1. I knew I shouldn't have looked at dim sum piccies this time of the day.. so terribly hungry right now!!

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  2. Love Ham sui gok- when orderinhg this, I'd usually refer to it as "the football please."

    And you know what? They would know what I mean LOL

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  3. I'll have to start exploring the other side of the river I think.... lots of gems to discover!

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  4. Hi Kimberly - yum cha is my favourite thing to read about on food blogs. I don't know why - it's usually 90% like the last yum cha - the pics just always look so good!

    Hi Adrian - yes, they are footballs! My favourite.

    Hi Celeste - I wouldn't cross the river for Yummie, but there are plenty of other places that do warrant a big trip.

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  5. We've been here twice and have yet to see a trolley. Actually, I like the idea of ordering yum cha goodies a la carte; avoids the scramble to get the good and hot stuff from trolleys. The times we went here (for dinner), we were the only customers, so it had a kind of chilly vibe, though the staff and service were fine. I liked Rajdhani - it started out great (yummy vegie bhajis!), then it went bad and then it just ... went.

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  6. I was just there yesterday to experience the yum cha service after reading this review..Great food, reasonable prices, excellent service! Would be back there again..Bean curd roll was definitely a favorite along with a few of the other traditional yum cha usuals..

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  7. Hi Kenny - my head says "yes" to a la carte, for all the reasons you mentioned, but my heart says "no"...

    Matthew, I am so glad you enjoyed it! I will be back, I am sure. It's so convenient and easy compared to trekking out somewhere else.

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  8. Check your bill and your receipts very carefully, they overcharged us by two thousand dollars, and our credit card company did not pick it up. BE VERY CAREFUL!

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  9. Anon, surely an honest mistake? Could happen to anyone!

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  10. Gold Leaf is MUCH more expensive than Yummie.

    I liked the food at Yummie... with a couple of exceptions. I think it's the oil they use in some of the foods... it doesn't suit some foods.

    What I loved was the prices... very modest.

    :-)

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  11. From previous posts:

    Gold Leaf Docklands: Per plate, $4.80, $5.90, $7.00 and up.

    Gold Leaf Sunshine: Yum cha prices: $5, $6, $7, $8.50, $10.50

    I guess you are right Michael, they are more expensive. Still, I just don't know why Yummie don't have divine dim sum if they make everything right there - you would think it would be fantastic but it is just all right. I still go there but I prefer Master for a local option.

    Speaking of expensive though - just went to Plume yesterday. 3 kids and one adult - $60+! OUCH!!

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  12. I really love your writing style and review.
    The last time I went to Yummie Yum Cha I got a whole baby cockroach in my dumpling, legs, antennae an' all. The sweet guy behind the counter didn't charge me for that dish but to be honest I won't return despite his efforts. We tried Master Restaurant as a result and haven't looked back. It's more expensive but never over seasoned like YYC and their chilli oil is superb. The prawn dumplings are delightful.

    We miss the lovely staff at YYC but not the food.

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    Replies
    1. Oh thanks anon! :D Ooer, baby cockroach dumplings don't appeal. I had another bad report from Yummie that has put me right off. Haven't been to Master for ages but I do agree, they're the best local option. Just went to Gold Leaf on Anzac Day which was bedlam and delicious but GOD we always spend too much money there!!!

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  13. love this blog, i am a student in Footscary and love that you are breaking down the stigma. :) great work

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  14. I went and tried the "hot food" from their retail store and wasn't anywhere near "hot". Disappointed as I would have thought 12pm would have been a good time to arrive there. At least my iced coffee from around the corner didn't disappoint :) I won't bother with the retail place except for home cooked stuff again. Haven't tried Master - do they do yum cha during the week? Or do they just have dumplings?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jen - darn! That is a pity. Unfortunately Master has closed down now!

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