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Iron Chef, Cabramatta (again)

Sunday mornings I usually wake up and wonder where I will have have my usual Sunday brunch. The last thing I wanted was Yum Cha again. Is this my version of groundhog day?

I must admit, there really is no other alternative for Yum Cha if you happen to live in the Fairfield / Liverpool area.

Complimentary / Mandatory chilli sauce

Pan fried dumpling with chives and prawn

This is the first time I have seen this one. It’s a nice contrast of a crispy outside with the moistness of a chive dumpling inside. A prawn is neatly tucked into the dumpling to make it resemble an open won ton of some sort.

Prawn dumpling (har gow)

Yum Cha isn’t complete without a mandatory serving of Prawn Dumplings. It’s like tomato sauce and mustard on a hot dog, it must be there. Prawn Dumplings all taste the same to me as long as the dumpling isn’t overcooked, which it isn’t.

Salt and Pepper Squid

Pork Dumplings (Siu Mai)

Fish and Eggplant Tofu

You can usually spot these on a metal tin bubbling away on a gas powered stove. Tender pieces of eggplant, fish and tofu are sandwiched together to make this dish. The eggplant is very tender and goes well with the lightly fried tofu.

Satay beef ball dumplings

I wasn’t a big fan of these. The flavour was just wrong, a bit like seeing a dodgy looking ice cream van in a playground. I found the beef balls too soft and flavourless. The satay was not spicy at all, this dish actually made me confused as my taste buds went on a journey of indecision while trying to identify exactly what this dish was trying to achieve.

Garlic and Chive dumplings (Gow choi gao)

You either love these or don’t. Bits of chives and prawn are tucked into these dumplings, a delicious combination. I think the closest ‘western’ equivalent of this in terms of smell and taste is perhaps an onion tart. You’ll walk out not making much conversation with your breath but atleast your stomach is satisfied.

Pork ribs with garlic, blackbean and chilli

These ribs are steamed with a special sauce consisting of chilli, blackbean and garlic. The pork is tender and juicy with a strong hint of garlic.

Seafood dumplings

A combination of prawns and scallops make up this dumpling. Both were quite sweet which was encouraging.

Chicken Feet (Fung Jao)

I’m not a big fan of these but I wouldn’t shy away if someone put a plate in front of me. The chicken feet is steamed in a mystery sauce with chillis. Alot of people shy away from this dish, and rightly so. But it’s good to challenge to status quo once a while and try something new in my opinion.

Fried rice noodle with soy sauce , egg and shallots

This is such a hearty dish which hits the spot. Cubes of rice noodles are pan fried in a sweet soy sauce covered in copious amounts of egg and shallots. Simple, yet effective.

Chinese donut (close enough?)

It’s dessert time and we decide to go for this donut looking experiment. Two pieces of sweet bread are deep fried. It was actually quite nice, a bit like eating a donut.

Mango Pancake

This definitely hit the spot. Soft pancake is filled with a tantalising concoction of cream and chunky mango. It’s heaven in a pancake.

I think I have had enough of Yum Cha for a while.

Iron Chef Chinese Seafood Restaurant
84 Broomfield St
Cabramatta NSW 2166

Phone (02) 9723 6228