Xiao Long Bao
I don’t wish to use my website as a classifieds section but should anyone be looking for a professional Xiao Long Bao taster, I’d like to offer my services. I offer no formal qualifications save that of having tried many Xiao Long Baos. My only assets are hunger and the insatiable craving to try these little morsels of soupy heaven.
Love the wallpaper…
Which is one of the reasons we’re trying Mr Chows Peking Restaurant in The Rocks. Up the staircase, past the gorgeous gold print wallpaper (I want some for our place) we see Queen Viv and Miss America already waiting for us. They point out the other section, the one with the spectacular view but unfortunately since it’s full we can’t move there.
The menu is a mix of typical Chinese restaurant fare and some more adventurous offerings. Of course Queen Viv and I hone in on the Duck’s Web dishes whilst Miss America shakes his head defiantly. Service is odd, it’s like the opening night of a restaurant and no-one really knows where anything is. We ask for the market price of the pork knuckle and the waiter says that he doesn’t know but he’ll ask, only never to appear again at our table. Our waitress stops midway through taking our order diverted to another crisis nearby. She comes back in 5 minutes and we order quickly in case she is called away again. But wait, our waitress is back, apparently the Wine menu was an old one and the wine that we’ve ordered is no longer stocked.
Tea Smoked duck-boneless half serve $32*
Even if the waiting staff are tardy the kitchen is not and our entrees arrive quickly. We’ve ordered a half serve of their tea smoked duck which is boneless and served with 6 pancakes (not buns as it says on the menu), cucumber, spring onions and Hoi Sin sauce Peking Duck style.
Crispy Duck Meat
The duck is crispy deep fried but not dry, in fact it is gorgeously fatty. The smokey flavour is deep although I really detect a tea flavour to it. It’s so good we order 2 more pancakes so that we get 2 pancakes each. I wish we had ordered the whole.
Oysters with Port Wine sauce $5 each
Our waitresses recommendation of Oysters with Port Wine arrives and they’re just as she promised, the plump juicy oysters huge, almost like two oysters in one with the gloriously briney sea taste bursting out when bitten into. I’m glad that we heeded her advice although again I wish I had ordered more of these.
Duck web with chili sauce $19.80
The item that horrified Miss America is next: the Duck web with chili sauce. It looks like a skinned chicken’s foot minus the bones and is crunchy is a similar way to jellyfish (although less crunchy).
The sauce is delicious with chili, sesame and garlic but Miss A barely manages to keep his down.
Xiao Long Bao $18.90
The item I had been dying to try was of course the Xiao Long Bao, the soup dumplings that we had all tried at Shanghai Night (and numerous other places) and loved. The price for these was $18.90 for 10, about double that of the Ashfield restaurants so we wanted to see if these were better. One was already burst open and the others we tried that we intact were decent but very mild in flavour and lacking in the gorgeous ginger flavour of Shanghai Night, so the Xiao Long Bao at Shanghai Night remains our heartfelt favourite, especially given the price of these which are comparable in price to Din Tai Fung. If we had to pay that price we’d choose the Din Tai Fung ones.
Pork baked in foil oven $28
There’s a large break between these entree dishes and the main dishes and after about 30 minutes we get our main, the Peking pork ribs housed in a foil oven.
It’s brought to the table on fire (albeit a small fire) and the scent is similar to the Pork Knuckle that we had at Kensington Peking. The rib meat is so soft, stringy and fatty and falls off the rib bones easily.
Vegetables with egghat $19.80 Tell me you can’t see the Mummy face and two evil eyes!
Our last dish, the vegetables with egg hat turns out to be a mix of vegetables like Wood Ear Fungus mushrooms, bean spouts, pork strips and vermicelli with a thin round omelette on top. It’s not bad although it reminds me of a dish my mum makes. Maybe it’s because Halloween is so near but it reminds me of a mummy and I can see two eyes looking out!
The desserts don’t look that unusual so as we’re off to a Sugar Hit afterwards we pass on those. We’re full with food (Tea Smoked Duck, Oysters with Port Wine), some great some we only have ourselves to blame (Duck Web) and the bill is a little larger than we’re used to at a Chinese restaurant. However there’s no arguing with that Tea Smoked Duck or Oysters, they were worth every penny…
*All prices are approximate from what we can recall, we asked for an itemised bill to take with us but we only got a total amount
Mr Chow’s Peking Restaurant
33-35 Kent St, Millers Point, The Rocks, Sydney 2000
Tel: +61 (02) 9252 3010
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28 Comments | Add your own
Don’t you think that restaurant is located in the strangest place?
Anyway I really like the tea smoked duck – the pancakes beat the buns hands down! If you go again and don’t have sugar hit I recommend the red bean pastry dessert. Yum!
PS Can I join you in your xiao long bao tasting career? This international specimen from chocolatesuze’s Malaysia trip looks a treat: http://www.chocolatesuze.com/2008/10/16/malaysia-part-5
hmmm yummy nice restaurants.
i especially love the duck with pancakes yummy
I like the pink curtains!!!!
I’m with you on this one, that ommlette definitely looks like a mummy’s face.
I feel like that crispy duck in a sandwich with soft white bread… I really need to go and eat breakfast!
Sorry you didn’t have a better night there; we usually love our meals at Mr Chows …ps I left an award for kreativ blog and a meme for you on my blog.
Mummy hat – hahaha, nice one!
Love the wallpaper too, so luxurious.
Hmm.. I think the service would put me off this place!
The tea smoked duck is awesome, good to see you tried a few different things as well but price for the Xio Long Bao’s look painful :/
That tea smoked duck looks amazing! And good on you for being courageous and trying something as bizarre as duck web!
And I can definitely see the mummy face!
hehe, I didn’t say anything on the night, though I thought there was someone looking out at me from the mummy dish!
I have never tasted those but I’ll take 32 by your description. Wow.
I love that you reviewed this restaurant in the Rocks! The tea smoked duck and the pork ribs look wonderful! We leave in 8 days!
Hi Lorraine
Hope I ve been of help.if you need a picture of the nozzle e mail me please.
You asked me regarding the grass on my football cake. Well its not hard to do you just have to have the right icing nozzle. It ’s the one with alot of small holes in it . that will do the job
So Shanghai Night is the best xiao long bao? I’m tempted to go there for my food excursions with my friends. If only all of us could find the spare time.
Been there a few times. You definitely need to order the right things. And service is a bit sketchy.
The tea smoked duck is incredible though. Honestly one of my favourite dishes ever. I return there just for that dish.
Hi flapflap-Hehe I suppose it is, although I love the step back in time-ness of The Rocks! I promised my sister that we have to go back for the Tea Smoked Duck so I’ll try the desserts then
Haha a XLB tasting team? Sounds like a great job!
Hi snooky doodle-It was quite yummy indeed
The duck with pancakes was definitely the star!
Hi Blond Duck-Haha it’s unusual decor for a Chinese restaurant!
Hi Maria-So glad that I’m not seeing things!
I’d like a never ending supply of that duck. It would be so good on anything!
Hi Suzie-We did really enjoy the duck and the oysters and it was a nice restaurant. Thankyou so much for the award!
Hi Christie-I wondered if I was just seeing Halloween everywhere
Yes I have to have some of that wallpaper!
Hi Y-It was a bit Fawlty Towers!
Hi Howard-Yes that tea smoked duck is making my hungry now
I agree the XLB is expensive here-at least at DTF the pastry is fantastic.
Hi Annie-I wish more places did the Tea smoked duck! Thanks, sometimes we just have to get the more unusual (i.e. weird) stuff
haha cool!
Hi Mr NQN-LOL you didn’t mention it
Was it a creepy feeling?
Hi noble pig-If you ever see any, I’d definitely recommend availing yourself of some (or 32 of them
)
Hi Barbara-Yes I thought that you might find this story interesting. How exciting, only 8 days! You’re going to have such a great time
Hi snooky doodle-Ahhh ok, I thought it was one blade of grass at a time but that makes sense. Thanks so much!
Hi Lilia-definitely, of the ones I’ve tried thus far but Din Tai Fung has got excellent dumpling skin.
Hi Jobe-I’d say we got 2 hits and we’ve only got ourselves to blame for the Duck web. Looks like the haphazard service wasn’t just that night!
Definitely some good and not so good points about this restaurant, but the food looks fabulous in your photos – worth a look when I am next in Sydney.
Oohh the food all looks goodddd but the service is an important part of the dining experience hmmmm. Should still try it out thhxxx
I am really eager to try soup dumplings! I love yum cha but unfortunately my bf doesn’t so we don’t ever go
ha–i totally see the mummy in your egghat, and to be honest, that makes me want to eat it even more.
Hi Cakelaw-Yep you’re right, I think if you get the good stuff you’re in heaven!
Hi Ffichiban-Haha yes I don’t think I’ve had service like that ever!
Hi Bria-Oh no! Well if you have a Shanghai restaurant nearby you don’t have to go as Yum Cha, you can have them for dinner so perhaps that might convince your bf to give it a go?
Hi grace-LOL you are too funny!
Oh Lorraine..
All of this food looks so *delicious*.
The egg hat is marvellous and yes it looks like a Mummy, exactly as you described it.
Hi Maria-hehe I’m so glad I wasn’t seeing mummys where no-one else was!
The service sounds… interesting, but that tea-smoked duck looks like it would totally make up for it!
Hi Angela-It’s a bit Fawlty Towers
Yes oh yes I could go for some more!
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