It’s been a while since I’ve been to Greenwood Chinese. My husband I used to frequent the restaurant when it was under previous management and they used to have a Yum Cha special on the weekends when dishes were $2.50 each. Yes really, dishes were that cheap. So cheap that my husband would order plates and plates of Har Gow and scoff them down while patting his distended stomach blissful in the savings that he’d made. Now that it has changed hands, the specials are gone along with my husband’s patronage.
Today, M and I are at Greenwood Plaza and having a quick lunch. We need something quick and Yum Cha, with it’s at-the-ready trolleys circulating seems the perfect choice. We pass the enormous fish tank at the front and make our way to a table. Within seconds, we have our first steamed goodies on the table.
Chee Cheong Fan with prawns
The slippery and ready to fall apart rice flour rolls are filled with prawns and coated in a semi sweet soy sauce. They’re not as good as I usually like them, tasting quite floury rather than delicate.
Spinach dumplings
What is more promising is the spinach dumplings, always a favourite of mine. These ones are a bit more fall apart and getting a whole one into your bowl proves an impossible task, with most of my dumpling falling apart before it has even left the steamer. It is crunchy with water chestnuts, in fact the pieces are larger pieces than you’d expect. Usually the filling is diced but the water chestnuts are sliced into little batons. Still they are very good, as long as you can transport said dumpling into waiting mouth.
Prawn Har Gow
Onto the dish that would make my husband envious and drooling, the prawn Har Gows. They’re delicious and with the right amount of ginger to give it that extra pep. The large prawns are delicious and the wrapping remains perfectly intact.
Pan fried pork dumplings
Something that we don’t often see at Yum Cha is the northern chinese pork dumplings. M wants to try these babies with crispy burnished upturned bottoms and they’re doused with a sweet sour vinegar. They’re absolutely delicious and I savour every bite.
Eggplant with minced prawn
At first I think these are sesame prawn toasts so I say yes but when I look closer (yes I’m blind apparently), they’re squares of thick eggplant topped with minced prawns. They sit in a thick sauce, much like the sauce that comes with chicken’s feet or an XO type of rich, mildly spicy sauce. It’s delicious and we keep the sauce at the table to dip other items in.
Pumpkin shaped dumplings with mashed taro (yam) filling
Pumpkin dumplings appear to be popping up at Yum Chas everywhere. And of course none of them appear to have any pumpkin inside them despite their obvious pumpkin-y appearance. I had hoped for some pumpkin custard as the woman who was bringing them around said that they were pumpkin dumplings. One bite into the chewy, starchy, vividly hued dumpling and we see that it is filled with a taro mash. It’s unusual and despite the fact that I love yam, I think I prefer the texture and taste of Sky Phoenix’s custard filling.
Full to the brim, we leave, with plenty of time to spare and well fed. The total damage? $38 for 6 dishes and tea for 2.
Greenwood Chinese Restaurant
Greenwood Level
101 Miller Street North Sydney NSW 2060
Tel: +61 (02) 9956 8368
Opem 7 days
Website for Greenwood Plaza
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10 Comments | Add your own
mmmm yum cha!
Those pumpkins ones are cute, i’ve never seen them before… although you have me seriously craving fried dumplings!!
My goodness, you are prolific!! And no sacrifice in quality - your posts are so great! Goes to show what talent and experience can achieve… all this talk of yumcha is making me HUNGRY!!
thanks for the heads-up on another place to find fine fast food.
how you manage to take such perfect pictures even in a restaurant environment is beyond me. teach me your ways!
while you’re at it, i’d love a pumpkin-shaped dumpling, please.
I go to Greenwood Yum Cha quite a bit with friends from work and whilst we don’t love it, there is no other YC in North Sydney.
Dishes that I do love there are their thin egg nodles and bbq pork bund - absolutely delightful!
I agree with grace…you take beautiful pictures even in restaurants…I find it so hard to take a good picture at a restaurant!
Hi Iron Chef Shellie-I think I feel compelled to order them as they are just so cute!
Hi Kyle-Thanks! So might say verbose (haha my husband) but I prefer prolific so thankyou
Hi grace-A photographer friend once told me that it was all about light and it doesn’t matter what the subject looks like. I didn’t believe her until I started taking pics myself. It’s true, as long as you have good light, anything can look good. Haha and I didn’t take it personally as she was photographing me at the time she told me that
Hi melissah-Yes it seems to have been the only Chinese restaurant in N Syd for ages! We go when we can’t be bothered going to Chatswood as it’s closer
Hi Alexandra-It is hard, I usually get my husband to take them but since he wasn’t here today I took these. So thanks, I feel chuffed that my photography is improving!
I’ve been wanting to try mashed taro upon your recommendations! I love the idea of the crispy/chewy dumpling also. I love that kind of exterior!
I’ve eaten a sweet-treat like that at a ‘Bread Top’ franchise that has a sweet bean interior.. not sure from memory what..but the balls are are crispy, chewy with a sesame seed coating. Just so delicious.
Looks like it was a nice lunch, thanks so much for sharing
Hi Maria-It’s really good, I’d love to hear what you think of it! You can’t go wrong with Bread Top
‘Twas a lovely lunch indeed!
GC used to be a family favourite for Sunday yum-cha lunch. Perhaps it was around the time it changed owners, but things suddenly went downhill very quickly. The food was ok, not fantastic, but more often than not the trolley would go sailing past in favour of an Asian patroned table. Most frustrating! Have not been back for a while now, and although it’s getting harder and harder to find a nice yum-cha place in Sydney, sadly I still wouldn’t go back to GC.
Hi kaydee-Yes my husband loved it when it was managed by the previous owners but this was more for the cost! That’s rather frustrating about the trolleys going past, it’s one of my personal dislikes
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