New Shanghai - Night Noodle Market Preview

Get ready Melburnians, New Shanghai is making their debut at the highly anticipated debut at this year’s Night Noodle Market !

Across 17 summer nights, the banks of the Yarra will liven up with colours, sounds and aromas of an authentic Asian hawker market merged with the buzz, excitement and vibes of an outdoor festival.

New Shanghai will be representing the flavours of Shanghai, bringing their ancient recipes created, perfected and passed down generations to generations of the Chen family to your bellies. Think truffle infused Xiao Long Bao, Crispy Salted and Spiced Duck Steamed Buns, juicy traditional Xiao Long Bao, mouth-watering Sheng Jian Bao, plump Vegetarian Dumplings and golden Spring Onion Pancakes. I can’t wait !

 

confessions of a little piggy was invited to dine as a guest of ID Collective and New Shanghai

What: New Shanghai @ Night Noodle Markets
Where: Birrarung Marr (near Federation Square), Melbourne
Cost: Free entry; dishes from $5-$15
When: Friday 14th to Sunday 30th November (From 5pm daily)

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New Shanghai

Finding a home at Emporium’s Cafe Court, New Shanghai has got Melbourne in a state of infatuation. Decorated with ornate oriental furniture, New Shanghai offers an extensive range of mouth-watering Shanghainese dishes and dumplings. With so much to choose from, it’s not hard to see why there is a permanent line outside.

New Shanghai Xiao Long Bao

We started off with the humble staple dish, Xiao Long Bao - plump parcels of goodness filled with flavoursome soup and pork mince. Though I cannot say these were the best XLB I’ve ever had, each mouthful was still enjoyed.

New Shanghai Sheng Jian Bao (Pan Fried Pork Bun)

The Sheng Jian Bao on the other hand were astounding, and were just as satisfying as the ones I inhaled on the cold winter days in Shanghai. Whilst the top of the bun remained a soft spring-like texture, the bottom contrasted well with a crispy golden base which nestled the hot and juicy filling.

Shepherd’s Purse & Pork Wonton Tossed with Peanut Butter, Red Chilli Oil & Spice

Did someone say peanut butter? Of course I had to have these. The velvety skin encased an appetizing filling of pork and shepherds purse, dressed oh so sexy in luscious peanut butter, fragrant chilli oil served with refreshing strips of cucumber – working wonderfully to offset the heat. Hands down, these babies were my favourite of all the dishes.

Deep Fried Tofu with Salted Egg Yolk

I love salted egg yolk anything so it was inevitable that this dish impressed me. The tofu was smooth and silken on the inside, yet crisp on the outside and liberally coated in a golden hue of creamy salted egg yolk. A very rich and sinful dish but definitely worth it.

Rainbow Beef

We were also encouraged to try the Manager’s favourite dish, the Rainbow Beef. Thin strips of deep fried beef enveloped in a sweet and sour sauce. To my friend’s surprise, as someone who does not usually enjoy beef, she found herself magnetised to this dish.

Crispy Salted and Spiced Duck served with Steamed Plain Bread

This last dish was probably one of the most anticipated. The split open buns, much like a fluffy clam were moist and slightly sweet. These acted as a beautiful canvas for the crispy pieces of duck coated in moreish spices, cucumber, spring onion and a trickle of plum sauce.

New Shanghai, what can I say ? I left feeling like a happy dumpling– plump, warm and extremely satisfied.

confessions of a little piggy was invited to dine as a guest of Spice & Soul and New Shanghai

New Shanghai

Emporium Melbourne

287 Lonsdale St

Melbourne, VIC 3000

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Shandong Mama

No stranger to the Melbourne dumpling scene, Shandong Mama is currently one of the most talked about dumpling houses in Melbourne. They take their dumplings very seriously here, with Mama and daughter, Meiyan Wang and Ying Hou serving up traditional recipes from the coastal city of Yantai in the Shandong Province.

Every dumpling is unique and crafted with creative fillings by Mama herself. Choose from dumplings tailored just for Melbourne or dumplings inspired by family and happiness - ‘Little Rachel’ Dumplings, named after her newborn granddaughter.

Melbourne Fried Dumplings

A contemporary recipe inspired by Australia's multicultural scene, the Melbourne Fried Dumplings are a combination of dried seafood (prawn, calamari, mussel, fish) and chicken mince, zesty lemon rind, olive oil, garlic and parsley. Certainly, very interesting flavours to find in a dumpling. These weren't my fave, but were easily fixed up with lashings of vinegar and chilli oil.

Boiled Fish Dumplings

The Boiled Fish Dumplings housed a mousse like mince of fresh mackerel fillet, coriander, ginger and chives, all encased in a thin dumpling skin. What I really enjoyed about these massively juicy parcels was how light and bouncy-like they were.

DILL-licious Pork Fried Dumplings

Lastly, we had the DILL-licious Pork Fried Dumplings which was a blend of pork, dried shrimps, spring onions, dill, garlic and sesame oil. Just like the Melbourne Fried Dumplings, each dumpling was crispy and chewy.

Looking inside, Shandong Mama looks just like your typical Chinese dumpling house. But take a peek at their menu and you'll be able to see that it offers dumplings you cannot find anywhere else in Melbourne. Personally, I prefer the traditional Beijing pork dumplings, but I would still recommend checking out Shandong Mama's dumplings with a twist and let your own tastebuds decide if they're worth the hype.

Shandong Mama

Shop 7, 200 Bourke Street  

Melbourne, VIC

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Shark Fin Chinese Restaurant

Loud and busy, with kids running around playing dodgem cars with steam trolleys. Cluttering and clashing of plates, tea pots filled every minute and what seemed like a never-ending flow of dim sum. Yes, I am talking about Yum Cha - and the above was exactly what Shark Fin Restaurant in Keysborough was.

Football dumplings / Deep Fried Prawn Beancurd Roll

Curry Taro Puffs / Deep Fried Prawn Rice Paper Roll

The Football Dumplings were good, a thick mix of pork and mushroom buried within a satisfying chewy and slightly sweet skin. The Deep Fried Prawn Beancurd Roll's delicate skin encased planty of lovely bouncy prawns. Whilst the feathery Curry Taro Puffs were okay, the aunty in charge had neglected to inform us that these were curry flavoured - if I had known, I would have probably given it a pass. Very similar to the Deep Fried Prawn Beancurd Roll, the rice paper roll version was served with mayo, but was not as well received as the former.

Chinese New Year Special / Chicken Feet / Black Bean Pork Spare Ribs

In celebration of Chinese New Year, - there was a special of chicken feet, prawn mince, mushrooms and black moss, which was quite popular among my grandparents. The ubiquitous Chicken Feet also made an appearance, though was not quite as loose or melty as it could have been. Black Bean Pork Spare Ribs were also ordered to nibble and gnaw on.

Sui Mai, Prawn Dumplings & Shanghai Dumplings

The typical dumplings were up next - Sui Mai, Prawn Dumplings and Shanghai Dumplings. There is no doubt that Prawn Dumplings were to be ordered - plump prawns encased in a beautiful translucent skin. We did find that they were noticeably on the smaller side. The Shanghai Dumplings were incomparable to Din Tai Fung, however were still liked by all.

Spinach Dumplings / Tripe / Ginger Prawn Dumplings

These bright green Spinach Dumplings were gobbled up with heapings of chilli oil, whilst my grandpa enjoyed his Tripe. The Ginger Prawn Dumplings were generously sized and covered in a thick fragrant ginger sauce, garnished with ribbons of ginger and spring onion.

Steamed Prawn Rice Paper Roll / Steamed Chinese Donut Rice Paper Roll

These are a must have at Yum Cha, either one or both. Luscious prawns wrapped in a warm, slippery yet smooth rice noodle, with sweet soy. The same noodles also hugged slightly chewy, slightly crispy chinese donuts and studded with sesame seeds. These were ordered to ensure that they were fresh and piping hot out of the kitchen.

On this particular occasion, a number of our dim sums were absolute delights, but a handful were a touch disappointing at the same time. In the end, the most important thing was that my grandparents enjoyed the food and had left with smiles whilst simultaneously rubbing their bellies.

Shark Fin Chinese Restaurant

328 Cheltenham Road 

Keysborough, VIC

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Gold Leaf

After years and years at uni involving countless tutorials, snoozing away in seminars, lectures,  assignments and dreadful exams, the day had finally come. The very end of B.Com - I was graduating ! 

Despite how excited I was, it was nothing compared to my mum. She was ecstatic, and some would even think that she was the one graduating. And to kick start the day, she organised a Yum Cha lunch for all 18 of us to dine at Gold Leaf in Springvale.

Prawn and Garlic Chives Dumpling

Three little bite sized morsels of luscious prawns peeked through a thin translucent skin. I love how much attention and detail are put into these delicate dumplings. The prawn was fresh and bouncy, whilst the garlic chive factor bought the whole dish together. Delicious !

Crispy Squid

Another dish that is very popular at Yum Cha is the Crispy Squid. Juicy squid tentacles deep fried till golden and crispy finished off with a dusting of seasoning. The squid tentacles had a nice chew to it, and wasn't too greasy. Unfortunately, we did receive these luke warm at the most. I guess this is just one of the down sides of having the traditional trolley style Yum Cha.

Fried White Bait

As the plate swooped in onto the lazy susan, the smell was absolutely enticing. The white bait was deep fried and tossed in salt and pepper. These were a hit with my toddler cousins, both continuously asking for more 'baby fish' between licking their fingers clean. And they were not the only ones, these too were a childhood favourite of mine.

 Roasted Pork Belly with Jelly Fish Salad 

Roast Duck

For roast meats, we selected the Cold Roasted Pork Belly with Jelly Fish Salad and Roast Duck. Crispy crackling paired with slippery crunchy jelly fish and pickled cabbage salad was easily Dad's favourite dish of the day. The other plate served up fatty roast duck which oozed various spices and a rich sweetness that is just so sinfully satisfying. It would have been even better if there was more sauce to go around.

Unfortunately I did not have time to stay for long with the clock ticking away- I was due to head off to uni to collect my gown. Though a short lunch, the dishes and service we received were exactly what I had anticipated. There is a bit of wait for trolleys at times but that is also expected. Gold Leaf consistently delivers tasty baskets of dim sum and fried goodies that we can always depend on for a Yum Cha session. Whilst my family continued to eat, drink and be merry at Gold Leaf, I rushed off with A for what was only the start of the day. Definitely a lovely start to my afternoon which fueled me up for a full day of smiling and posing for photos. 

Gold Leaf

46 - 58 Buckingham Ave 
Springvale

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Dainty Sichuan

Whenever I get the cravings for dangerously deep fried, hot and spicy food,  Dainty Sichuan is my one stop destination. Their Chongqing Chicken alone pulls me in every time and always delivers. Currently happily suffering a food coma, I'm just going to let the photos do all the talking.  

Spicy Bean Jelly 

Cumin Lamb Slices 

Ants Climbing Trees

Spicy Pig Ears

Chongqing Spicy Chicken

Jade Soy Beans

I dare you, tell me you aren't drolling by the end of this post.

Dainty Sichuan

176 Toorak Road 
South Yarra

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Nam Loong Seafood Restaurant

Happy Family Day! With my cousin in town, and with my knowledge of herlove for  crab, it was obvious we had to get our crab on. Although All People is our favourite go to for crab, we decided to dine somewhere in the CBD for convenience sake. Enter Nam Loong Seafood Restaurant.

 Mud Crab with Ginger And Spring Onion on a bed of Egg Noodles

Mud Crab with Salted Duck Egg Yolk

Slow-cooked Pork Hock

Although it does not look appetising at all, this is a dish my dad absolutely adores. Meltingly soft pork that was so tender, it cut like butter . Drench said pork hock with accompanying sauce in a bowl of hot steaming rice and dad was all smiles.

Sautéed Snow Pea Shoots with Galric

An uncomplicated yet flavoursome dish of sautéed tender and crisp snow pea shoots with garlic. This has to be my all-time favorite green vegetable stir-fry dish and which I could have easily polished off by myself. But of course we shared - sharing is caring.

Black Pepper Beef

A simple dish of succulent pieces of beef coated in an amazingly thick black pepper glaze that rested  peacefully on a fresh lettuce cup. Pair this with bites of crunch, sweet snow peas and we're good to go.

Five Star Spice Chicken Spare Ribs

Five star spice chiken spare ribs - also known as the oriental edition of KFC.  Deliciously greasy deep fried chicken spare ribs tossed in moreish spice combination of five star salt, onion, garlic, chilli and spring onion. A fail-safe dish.

By the end of the night, everyone was stuffed. But, somehow we still managed to havt room for complementary red bean soup dessert. Nam Loong is the epitome of a Chinese restaurant - simple yet tasty dishes that are predicatbale and reliable. We stick to what we know and what we love here to the point that the menu becomes obsolete.

Nam Loong Seafood Restaurant

171 Russell Street
Melbourne

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