There’s a brutal change in seasons around this time of the year. For us Sydney-siders it happened this past two weeks. Rain poured down relentlessly, laundry went unwashed for some, dryers spun for others, shoes got soaked and umbrellas bore the brunt of most of the pluvious assault. Then it became sunny but cruelly the temperature dipped to the low teens. So what does a good eater do in times of these? Ok your first reaction might be to seek the sunny Summertime shores of the Northern hemisphere (and I’m coming in your bag) or embrace the Wintry cold by indulging in my favourite Winter past time. Stuffing oneself with dumplings.
Wang Wang Silver Star is a newish place on busy Anzac Parade in Kingsford. Serving Shanghai style dumplings it was a closer version than busy Ashfield’s Liverpool Road. The dumplings were said to be good although the general consensus is that they were no Shanghai Night. We were a motley crew that night, my parents wanted to have dinner with Mr NQN and I and my mum asked us to invite along the Assman (Mr NQN’s brother). Ahem…yes the Assman has this effect on many women.
At 7pm, it’s busy and there’s queue outside. My parents seem to know the place so they tell us that there’s an upstairs where we head towards winding past the boxes of tissues, plastic spoons as the stairwell is used for storage. Despite it being fairly new, the double sided laminated picture menu already shows signs of being pored over again and again. Some dumplings are priced per dumpling (these are the larger fluffy white baos) whilst most are grouped together in lots of 4 or 6. Prices are higher than Ashfield but they would never qualify as expensive under anyone’s definition.
Kelp salad $3
Alas this is nothing like the moreishly fabulous Japanese seaweed salad but it’s not bad. Slightly slimy as seaweed is, it’s flavoured with garlic and soy sauce and is served cold.
BBQ Pork buns $1.20
Nicely fluffy and enormous, the filling is filled with the distinct aroma of cinnamon which is odd. I’m not sure if this was a strange batch and whether these are meant to taste like cinnamon.
Shanghai Steamed Mini Pork Buns $4.80
Our favourite dumplings, these mini pork buns are juicy and perhaps the fattest with soup that we’ve come across but the filling is missing that delicious gingery flavour of the Shanghai Night ones.
Pan fried buns filled with pork 6 for $4.80
These crisp bottomed buns are actually quite good and again like the above dumplings are filled with a lot of soup. The bottoms could have a bit more crispiness but overall we like these.
Crystal Prawn Dumplings 6 for $4.80
One of my favourite dumplings at Yum Cha are these Har Gow, especially when they’re filled with large prawns. The filling for these has some prawn but it’s mostly bamboo shoot and other fillers. I suppose given the price they’re not reaching for the heavens.
Shanghai Steamed bag $1.20 each
I love sticky glutinous rice and so I was really looking forward to these. They were quite large and filling but perhaps missing something crucial like chilli sauce as they were quite dry. Still there was a good amount of Lup Cheong (Chinese pork sausage) in it.
Chive and pork dumplings 12 for $7
The staple for Mr NQN are these dumplings. I’m not particularly fond of them, to me there’s good for filling hungry men’s stomachs and lack the delicacy of the other dumplings.
Vegetarian dumplings 6 for $5.80
The Assman’s order was the vegetable steam dumplings which are tasty with lots of chives and other green vegetables.
Shallot pancake $2
The Assman is wowed by the price for this pancake. It’s thick with a couple of layers in it and the whole pancake is deep fried. It’s good stomach filler for the hungry boys.
Crispy radish pastry 4 for $4.80
I always like the crispy radish pastry although I do know some that aren’t as enamoured of it. It has soft radish shreds inside it and a multi layered pastry outer.
Crispy ham and shallot pastry 4 for $5.80
There is one problem with having picture menus and that’s when the item doesn’t look like the photo. These ham and shallot pastries are smaller balls but more plentiful than the 4 advertised. The outside is that familiar dry crispy pastry and inside is minced ham and shallots. It’s not bad but it’s a bit dry and we seemed to have received all the dry crispy items at the same time.
Eggplant hot pot $8.50 with soup and rice
We had ordered this dish for the Assman as we had thought that it was vegetarian but a quick look and we see some minced pork in it. The eggplant sauce is sweet and gingery and great with the accompanying rice and we can imagine that this would be a student favourite although there is also green capsicum in it whereas I prefer the softness of just eggplant. The soup is an aromatic broth and reminds me of the broth my mum makes when she deglazes the pan after grilling chicken.
Red bean buns $1.20 each
There aren’t many sweet offerings, in fact we are told that the sweet offerings have run out for the night and that they don’t make the iced drinks in Winter nor the sweet dessert. There are these sweet red buns which are large and fluffy with a generous amount of red bean filling in them.
Taro Dumplings $4.80
Our waitress had noted our disappointed at not getting dessert so she let us know that they had some taro buns left. Pungently smelling like frying oil, these didn’t seem so appealing at first but taking a bite into these I become a bit of a fan. I’ve always liked sweet taro in desserts and it goes well with the crispy, oily pastry.
So tell me Dear Reader, which cuisine makes your favourite dumplings?
Wangwang Shanghai Silver Star
476 Anzac Pde, Kingsford NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9662 1688
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36 Comments | Add your own
Stuffing yourself with dumplings is good any time of year I think!
I love dumplings, but am getting quite fussy about them in my old age. I’m on the quest for the perfect xiao long bao…there’s nothing like a good hit of carbs to keep us warm in this chilly Sydney weather!
oh my – how wonderful are all those dumplings!!!!!
I love these types of dumplings.Shanghai in Ashfield makes the best dumplings though & at great prices.
Definitely Chinese dumplings for me, although I can eat an entire batch of golden syrup almond dumplings and I don’t know where they come from.
YUM!! I could happily eat all that for breakfast right now.
Is there anything better than steamy hot dumplings in weather like this? Well, maybe but right now I’m also loving my cold weather dumpling-fest. These prices are amazing!
Ooh, I like those desserts with taro paste too
I like har gow and i like pork & chive dumplings too.. I also like the one with vegies and nuts (not sure what it’s called) – actually, i kind of love all kinds of dumplings 
Steamed dumplings are always my favourite. For some reason I always find prok buns and such always taste a bit MSGy for me.
That’s pork buns!
That’s a shame, most of those dishes look fairly standard and not stand-out.
I’m also curious – what’s the Assman’s special effect on women???
I like Shanghai dumplings the best – and your photos just reminded me that I haven’t been to Ashfield in a while!
Love the dumplings at Bodhi on the Park – vegetarian, but even carnivores don’t seem to miss the meat! Lovely relaxed Sydney eatery tucked away in the park for lunchtime Yum Cha. Would be interested in what you, and your vegetarian b-in-law, think of Bodhi…I always enjoy it there.
Definitely the Chinese. Yum yum!
Oh you EVIL WOMAN. Now I want yum-cha on a Sunday AGAIN and I have no time to do so!
Looks fabulous!
Oh the Assman and your mother.. hmmmm
What a great variety of dumplings! I have to give credit to the Chinese for making such great dumplings
The xiao long bao and pan fried pork buns at New Shanghai in Chatswood are the shizz. Nothing beats them, particularly on a cold winter’s day. But I also love the Austrian style dumplings as well. Dumplings are the ultimate winter food!
We go to a Chinese all-you-can-eat yumcha for $16.80. It’s yummy and filling and lots of fun, but it does lack the delicacy of some other places. I guess it really is a matter of quantity over quality.
Can I just act like I’m 11 years old for a second? *ahem*. Wang wang. *giggle*.
Okay, that’s out of my system. Favourite dumplings? Gosh, I have no idea… probably any cuisine that makes a sweet dumpling
It’s definitely dumpling weather. I’m cheering for the cleared skies, but it’s freezing!!!
Seems like an assessment of so-so dumplings. There was a place in Kingsford that I used to eat at with my partner call Chinese Dumpling House (?) but the moved to Newtown. We stopped eating after realizing we were turning into dumplings our selves. But we really enjoyed the taste. ‘Moderation’ is the lesson learned.
The eggplant dish looks good (altho i agree that there shouldn’t be capsicums in there!).
I’ve never seen that deep fried version of shallot pancake before! Looks more like bread
the place looks interesting. i just started loving Chinese food.
I buy pork buns here in Thailand all the time. They sell them hot on the street for about 6 baht (18 cents) so it’s cheap to fill up on them.
That shallot pancake looks delicious, btw.
Mmmmm the vegetarian dumplings look delicious!!!!
Brrrr, Lorraine!
However (and I hate to admit this) I could eat dumplings all the time and I live in Florida! I’m slowly turning into a dumpling.
Thanks Lorraine, I am OBSESSED with dumplings. We live within 10 minutes of Ashfield, and will be trying Shanghai Nights this week thanks to your review on it. (we’ve been meaning to for ages but didn’t know which place to try first) My sister-in-law’s sister-in-law recommended another dumpling restaurant in Ashfield, so once I’ve found it and tried it I’ll let you know.
Shanghai Steamed bag, a new way of eating sticky rice, woohoo! Nothing beats Shanghai dumplings!
how i love buns~~~ i wanna try making them sometime!!
i just made some dumplings =)
yello NQN!
i hav bin readin ur blog even b4 i came 4my studies here…kensington, sydney 2b precise.
i hav even read the entry fr eat my suburb but sumhow i 4got what a gr8 reviewer i had n just walked past all these eateries (well xcept for ayam goreng, kngsfrd chinese, 85 degree n pinangsia).
ty ty 4 all ur hrdwrk
n will def. try out these places as long as my student budget can afford them
I want that pancake!!
i’ll bet they slipped some cinnamon into those bbq pork buns just to test you. haHA–you couldn’t fool nqn, folks, but thanks for trying.
I’m in dumpling heaven!
It’s hard to find a good dumpling place around here so I’m really enjoying your pics, Lorraine. The shallot pancake looks delicious too — and I agree, it’s very reasonably priced!
I’m drooling at the thought of dumplings Lorraine. Craving the yummy goodness of dumplings in the cold weather.
My fav dumplings has got to be the pan fried buns from Shanghai Night. A close second will have to be har gow at yum cha.
Is the Assman as good looking as he sounds? And how on earth did he get that nickname?
Wang Wang was one of the most disappointing meals i’ve ever had with the family
it’s certainly quite cheap but i think it sadly reflects the quality. for dumplings i’d prefer Sea Bay or Shanghai Night. the shallot pancake you had certainly looks thick and cheap but perhaps lacks the sophistication and taste of a good shallot pancake?
But …..
Lorraine, you should develop a Frequent NQN card or something coz the number of times your blog sounds interesting and then I try the place is ridiculous – and you are always *right on the mark*!!!
I go to Wang Wang all the time now!
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