Whenever we go out for Chinese food I always feel compelled to take my parents along. For starters, I know that my dad needs to get out more but he only really likes Chinese food and for my mother who likes all food and likes to go out this is the path of least resistance. Blue Eye Dragon was actually a long ago suggestion from one of my readers Rebecca, so long ago that when I looked up the date of her email to me it was about two years ago exactly. But I never forgot it!
The first thing that strikes us as we walk up to Blue Eye Dragon Taiwanese restaurant in Pyrmont is the wrought iron gates-shaped like a dragon. There is a spacious outdoor area and it is housed in a sandstone building. The other thing that strikes us is that it looks so very different from your usual Chinese restaurant -it’s dark and moodily lit and there are no bright lights beaming the way to the table. We are shown our table, up on the stage above which is a curtained off area that the menu tells us serves as a private dining room. Despite the moody and romantic atmosphere there are plenty of families with babies and large groups dining.
Taiwanese High Mountain Tea (Chinese Tea) $2.5/pp (min. $5)
Mr NQN needs a bit of a pick me up and the Taiwanese High Mountain tea is ordered and comes with a tea light warmer powered stand which promptly goes out a few minutes after the teapot is placed on top of it. The tea…well it tastes like regular Chinese tea even if presented quite nicely and without a dripping tea pot.
Chicken Won-Tons with House Chilli Sauce (very spicy) $12
The won tons, eight to a serve here are slippery and filled with pork mince and are coated in a chilli sauce which is quite spicy and the dumplings are propped up in the bowl by shards of iceberg lettuce leaves. Overall they’re quite good and a nice kick start for our taste buds.
Pan Fried Pork Dumplings with Chives, Ginger & Shallot $12
The pan fried pork dumplings come out next and they have a nice crispy bottom. The skin on these is thinner than the Shanghai counterparts and the filling is a mixture of pork mince, chives, ginger and shallots giving these a good flavour to them along with a sesame chilli sauce.
Prawn Dumplings with Water Chestnuts, Shallots & Chinese Celery $12
NQN reader Rebecca made mention of these dumplings and indeed they sell these house made dumplings in frozen 1 kg bags should you wish to make them at home. Again the same, thin skin on these as the above dumplings but with a prawn filling with quite a bit of water chestnut, shallot and Chinese celery for crunch. The sauce that comes with it is a slightly sweet soy, similar to what you get with chee cheong fun and really adds a lot to the dumpling dish.
Beef Pancakes with Coriander $12
The beef pancakes had four pieces (and we don’t know whether each serve just happens to come with four pieces but we are glad we don’t have to cut up portions to fit numbers). The pancakes are rolled up buttery roti pancakes with a slow cooked beef like a beef shin with coriander leaves and green shallots. I suppose it is like pairing a roti with a soft cooked beef curry or a rendang although this is probably why we were yearning for some spice.
Calamari Rolls with Salted Duck Egg and Seaweed $14
The table’s favourite entree, this was a yuba (bean curd skin) encased ball stuffed with a seaweed wrapped salted duck egg yolk and diced, tender calamari deep fried and then sliced in half. The flavour and richness of salted duck egg yolk is excellent and we all wish we had ordered seconds of this.
Pork Belly slow cooked in Soy, Aniseed, Garlic & Light Chilli $22
Our mains start arriving with the first three arriving together. First is the pork belly which is so soft and gelatinous with a long slow simmer in soy sauce, star anise, garlic and chilli although the chilli isn’t very strong in this dish. The sauce is particularly flavoursome and despite the fact that we had intended to try to eat low carb and order rice for two, another order for rice is place to mop up the sauces.
Prawns with Jade’s Bloody Plum Sauce (Mild) $30
The prawns are large and come eight to a dish. They are crispy and come in a “bloody plum sauce” which is similar to the sweet and sourness of an Imperial beef sauce with the fruity tang from plums. This is my mother’s favourite dish and I ate the whole prawns, tail and all for a satisfying crunch at the end.
Sizzling Chicken or Calamari in Sanbei Sauce, Basil (mild) $26
I have made a version of this dish and it is called three cup chicken which is a very typical Taiwanese dish. The sauce here, like the pork belly sauce, is worth ordering more rice for as it is deeply flavoured while the chicken pieces are tender with the dish redolent in licoricey Thai basil.
Tofu Stuffed with Minced Pork on Hot Plate $26
The last dish was the tofu and it came out about ten minutes after the others. The tofu squares were lightly coated and deep fried stuffed with minced pork. The sauce was a sticky, slightly sweet sour sauce but we felt like it was missing a flavour beat somewhere especially compared to the other main’s sauces which were all so moreish.
Sticky Rice with Chinese Wolfberries & Sultana, finishes with Sweet Peanut Powder and Coriander $8
We gave the Movenpick ice cream selection a miss as we were more interested in the Taiwanese desserts. The sticky rice is a round mound of unsweetened sticky rice topped with Chinese wolfberries (or more commonly known as goji berries) which give it a little tart sweetness like cranberries. It is surrounded by sweet finely ground peanut powder and three coriander leaves. There isn’t quite enough peanut powder for the rice as it is quite plain without it although my boiled rice fanatic father likes this dish.
Sticky Rice Cakes in Ginger Syrup & Sweet Peanut Powder $8
The sticky rice cakes came out as four flattish discs of sticky rice cakes in a ginger syrup with thin ginger slices and a sprinkling of sweet peanut powder. Out of the three desserts, this was everyone’s favourite although I wouldn’t really consider this great value for money.
Sweet Red Bean with Vanilla Ice Cream $8
The vanilla ice cream was very vanillaey and scooping out the sweet red bean paste out of the little containers is a two hand job. I don’t mind sweet red bean but I don’t know if I could fit in a whole scoop of it with ice cream.
Forgetting the desserts and focusing on the savouries is probably the best idea here and we really did enjoy the dumplings and the mains. And although we did end up visiting two years after it was recommended to us, it seems in that time plenty of people have found Blue Eye Dragon as we leave and the restaurant is almost full.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you listen to people’s recommendations for restaurants? Or do you prefer to go out and pick a restaurant on the spur of the moment?
Blue Eye Dragon
37 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont, NSW
Tel: +61 (02) 9518 9955
Hours: Sun-Mon Closed; Tue-Sat 12:00-2:30pm, 6:00-10:00pm
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46 Comments | Add your own
It’s funny how your dad is just like my mum! She only likes and will only eat Chinese food! It’s really frustrating sometimes >_<
I usually listen to recommendations but if that person has recommended a place and it wasn't good I don't usually listen to them the next time hahaha i know i'm bad
what a delightful meal!
Went on a recommendation on Sat…straying from our fave Hukuya in Eastwood to try a new Japanese nearby…ugh, was awful!
What a gorgeous old building the restaurant is housed in.
I like the look of the beef pancakes, anything roti style is definitely ok in my book!
I LOVE dumplings and those look so good!
You had me at Chicken Wontons with House Chilli sauce!
I will listen to people’s recommendations depending on who is doing the recommendation!
I have spent a lot of time in Asia, on the road over and over, and I really miss good Asian food from all over. It’s something I don’t have access to here in San Miguel. This all looks wonderful, but the question is, “How did your parents rate it?” To my eyes it looks just grand!
I like to both explore on my own and listen to people whose taste I trust in food.
Wow the food looks good. How very nice of you to take your Mum and Dad and keep the piece
Oh how I envy you with all the wonderful Asian restaurants near you. The 2 we have here I wouldn’t feed the food to a stray cat. Think fluorescent orange sweet and sour pork.
My late-Dad was the same way. He would say he was an adventurous eater, but truth be told, he was happiest eating Chinese food. Mmm, this place looks good. But yes, that IS quite a mound of red bean paste! OMG! I don’t know anyone who could eat THAT much of it.
Everything looks delicious (but the desserts look less delicious!) Tomorrow I am having lunch at a Chinese dumplings place based on a recommendation. Good to see your pictures as warm up:)
Having just returned from a quick trip to visit family in Taiwan, the meals here are tiny bit of a rip off! But they all look delish!
I would recommend getting some of the tun yuan from a local chinese shop and boiling them up yourself for a cheap and tasty treat
Its has been a while since I have been to any Chinese, Vietnamese, Taiwanese or similar restaurant. Your post looked inviting even at 6.45 in the morning.
Jane
I cant go past some pan fried dumplings. They’re def my favourite! The calamari rolls look amazing though!
Love the look of both the place and food. Quietly elegant: and I am a ‘sucker’ for that
! Am quite ignorant as to how much Taiwanese food may differ from various coastal mainland Chinese, but the ‘appetizing’ factor of this was considerable. Would have liked to try the calamari rolls above all! Yes, if I trust a friend’s knowledge and taste, would certainly try their recommendation.
YUM!! Have the craving now for Chinese food!
Your photos put me in the mood!
While I always enjoy (about restaurants) what people say,
I like to pick and choose where I go in my own unique time and in my own unique way!
Ahh, real Chinese food – gotta love it – it all looks gorgeous.
Haven’t eaten here since it moved, which I think was ages ago! I love the look of those calamari rolls, and even if the desserts don’t hit the mark, I give them points for attempting something fresh.
I thought this place closed!!! I hadn’t been here for years, and went past where it was a few weeks ago and was crushed to see that it had closed – am so glad to see that it’s not and your post will definitely get me back there soon. I love love love the pork dish – I always order that, alongside the tofu.
The desserts don’t sound too tantalizing here
As much as I agree that I like taking my folks out for Chinese, I can’t take them to fancy Chinese because they refuse to pay more than $15 pp for food! LOL
The food (bar the desserts) looked delicious. I love restaurant recommendations but it does depend on who is doing the recommending.
the dumplings look amazing!
i cant wait to make my own prawn and celery dumplings!!!
Everything here looks delicious! I’ve been past a few times and was intrigued by the building which looks like an old church or school.
Your post is making me soo hungry.. A big mistake to start reading your blog before lunch (It’s 11.30am here). The calamari rolls looks and sounds intriguing.
Those calamari rolls look alien-like but so incredible! And you know how I feel about any dessert involving peanuts
What a wonderful symphony of dishes.
I love chinese food.
Those wontons, dumplings everything looks so good.
Now I am craving some chinese goodness….
Yum! This place sounds great! Especially like the look of those dumplings and the calamari roll.
Oh I absolutely adore those gates! The dumplings all look wonderful, specially the pan fried pork ones. I think a visit is needed just to try the calamari rolls, just a little different
I find it very difficult to decide where to eat if I’m going with a group. I usually try to find somewhere with a good recommendation but its hard with everyone having different opinions. I judge by photos lol. And looking at the photos I’d say the Blue Eye Dragon looks like the most impressive chinese restaurant I’ve seen.
I always listen to recommendations. It’s the best way to find new restaurants (in my opinion).
My parents are exactly like yours actually, my dad is very picky and only really likes Chinese food but mum eats just about everything..quite a hassle to choose places to eat!
The place looks good, although I agree that’s way too much red bean for that amount of ice cream…
Dear Lorraine
The food looks great especially the dumplings. The last time we ate here, the lighting was so dark that non of us could take any good photos of the food.
On recommendation, we went to Harris Park for South Indian food but ended up eating North Indian instead. The restaurant had only s small section of South Indian dishes which I was looking forward to. WE had thosai but disappointed they did not have masala thosai (paper thin crepe with potatoes). Overall the food were good but would not travel that far to hv North Indian food.Like to go on reccomendations but quite often disappointed!!Anyone, know of any good South Indian restaurant in Sydney like the Apollo Indian restaurant in Singapore.
Both those sticky rice dishes look so unique and beautiful!
All those dishes look beautiful! I had never heard of this place before and I am glad you finally wrote about it!
Love your restaurant reviews even though I can’t visit them. You bring them alive and make me feel as though I was there!
(and no…this Marion Cunningham is an American award-winning food writer. I think she’s brilliant and have most of her cookbooks.)
I’ve never had won-tons!
Lorraine, I didn’t know you were Chinese! (Sorry, I’m new to your blog). You’re one of those racially ambiguous people! LOL!
Anyway, yum…I would like to taste those calamari rolls with salted duck’s egg and seaweed – it sounds and looks utterly delicious! I have to find that here in Toronto! Haven’t seen that here so far…
Hmmm, you are making me hungry. My work is so close to Chinatown that I feel like walking over for some dumplings and pancake rolls! the power of suggestion is indeed very strong!
I cannot get this food here in Nashville and I’m now missing California where it was at my command. I want dumplings. (not the desserts though).
i wanna try that chilli chicken wonton!!!! looks yummo
The savory dishes do look great indeed! I’m glad you can find some yummy common ground for eating out too
I’ve heard many people say this is really nice…I think a few “business” lunches have been had here
The pork belly and prawns look really good. You take great pictures even in not so bright atmosphere.
Enjoy the review, but love the photography better.
Cheers
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