Shanghai Night, Ashfield
31 December 2008
9 Comments
Who needs Din Tai Fung ?
Seriously, I refuse to pay a premium price for my beloved dumplings. While Din Tai Fung has grace, class and attentive customer service, Ashfield’s small and dodgy looking establishments make it close enough to being the dumpling capital of Sydney, if not Australia. Keep in mind, it’s the great tasting dumplings at a fraction of the price of Din Tai Fung which makes me coming back for more at either Shanghai Night, or New Shanghai.
This evening, we duck in for a quick dinner. It was 6.30pm on a Saturday evening and I was already moaning about the potential lining up we had to do. When we arrived, I was amazed that there were only two tables occupied throughout the entire restaurant. Credit crunch anyone ?
There is always a man in the corner sitting down hand making the dumplings. His routine is robotic, his dumplings are consistent. I’d be surprised if he couldn’t roll me a dumpling with his eyes closed.
Not long after we order, our first batch of dumplings arrive. The service at Shanghai Night is quick, even when it is packed to the rafters.
Steamed Shanghai style mini pork bun $6.50 (Xiu Long Bao)
These tiny packets of goodness retain the contents of their soup 99% of the time. The other 1% requires some delicate handling to ensure the dumpling isn’t seared by the carelessness of one’s chopstick handling. Our dumplings arrive looking incredibly fresh, still steaming out of it’s bamboo steamer.The soup is hot, so be careful. Think of it as trying a meat pie once it’s come out of then oven, the first bite always has to be delicate otherwise you’d burn your tongue.
Fried pork dumplings
Very similiar to the xiu long bao’s above, but fried. We actually ordered the wrong one, I wanted the one with chives in it but beggars can’t be choosers right ? The skin on these dumplings is slightly crispy, and I actually quite like the burntness on the bottom of each dumpling. Once again, be careful with these dumplings as they are full of hot soup which is seriously addictive.
BBQ Lamb skewers (6 for $7.80)
These skewers are a common sight in Shanghai and Beijing. Many street vendors line the streets and grill their meat freshly on the spot for the fraction of the price we pay here. I lived on these religiously in China, so I was curious to see how Shanghai Night compared. First of all, they had the right idea by cooking them over a charcoal bbq out the back of the restaurant. From where I was sitting, I snuck a quick photo of the waitress grilling my skewers. At the same time, she had a hand fan in her left hand fanning the charcoals. I felt like I was back in Beijing at that moment.
The lamb skewers are tender and cooked perfectly. Copious amounts of spices are covered on each skewer, ensuring an ‘earthy’ type taste. I’m not exactly sure what the spices are, but I could definately taste some cumin and chilli powder.
Crispy skin duck ($16 ish)
The duck was fantastic, despite tasting like it went for a bath in a tub of salt before it made it’s way onto our table. The skin is slightly crispy and the duck is moist and not overly dry. I did notice myself constantly reaching for our teapot because of the saltyness of this dish though.
Perhaps there was a sale of tea pots in Yagoona ?
This will be our last post for 2008. Thanks for reading our blog, we hope to see you all again in 2009!!!
Shanghai Night
275 Liverpool Road, Ashfield, Sydney
Tel: (02) 9798 8437
Open : 7 days 10am -10pm
Cash only
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We ate a lot of lamb kebabs in Western China, I love the spices. I don’t like it when they thread pieces of fat as well as meat though. Good to see you supporting the local dumpling makers!
Arwen from Hoglet K’s last blog post..Billu’s Indian Eatery