If you are ever looking for yum cha with good atmosphere, Fisherman’s Wharf is the place to go.
—–HER{curio}MAJESTY SCORE SHEET—–
Visited: Multiple times, review based on 10 August 2014 (lunch time yum cha).
Food: 8/10 || Ambiance: 8/10 || Service: 8/10
What I loved: The setting. Everything with prawns.
Will I come back: Yes.
The entrance to the restaurant is through a small set of stairs located near the fresh fruit store, right opposite the cheese shop.
It’s a whole different world than the rest of the Fish Market. I especially like the light coming through the big windows on the side, overlooking the wharf. The overall interior design of the place is pretty high end and is suitable for hosting a big Chinese dinner party.
Overall, the food here is more than decent, especially the dishes with seafood, and it has a good variety of dim sums to choose from. These are the things that I like here:
- Prawn dumplings, pork dumplings.
- Chicken feet.
- BBQ pork buns.
- Sweet bean curd.
- Mango pancake.
- Egg tart.
Unfortunately, one of my all-time favourite yum cha dishes “fried taro balls” is not up to standard here, I’ve tried it several times, but it’s always way too greasy and not flavourful enough.
“Har Gao”, Prawn dumplings. Everyone’s favourite and must-order at yum cha.
Being at the Fish Market has its perks. The prawns here are always fresh and the serving is generous.
Shumai, pork dumplings/dim sum. Another must-eat at yum cha. I like the shumai here as they are not too greasy nor over-seasoned with soy sauce.
Didn’t I tell you, they don’t skimp on their prawns here.
Prawn pancake. Very nicely deep fried and seasoned.
“Zha liang”. It’s fried dough rolled in rice noodle sheets. I only tried this dish for the first time a few years ago, when I went yum cha with my ex-boss, a lady from Hong Kong. Since then, I have liked to ask my yum cha companions “What’s your must-order yum cha dim sum?“. Because it’s just fascinating how eating with different people can open up a whole new world by introducing new elements to old habits. I remember when we were little, Dad used to take the whole family to Taipei for yum cha. We would always order the same thing: prawn dumplings, pork dumplings, steamed rice rolls, BBQ pork buns, BBQ pastry (I used to love this), and steamed pork ribs (Dad’s favourite). Mom has always liked chicken feet, but Juju and I didn’t know how to appreciate it, so we rarely ordered it. Also, I only first tried fried dumplings when I first had yum cha with Mike’s family a few years back. I feel like there’s still a lot in yum cha that I haven’t explored. But I always get full so easily at yum cha!
Now, my yum cha list includes: prawn dumplings, fried taro dumplings, sprouts dumplings, chicken feet, BBQ pork pastry, pan fried eggplant.
It’ll probably change again when I look back on this post in a few years’ time.
Mango Pancake. Sweet and creamy, served cold.
Sweet bean curd with ginger. The serving is very generous, and could be easily shared between 2-4 people. The texture of the bean curd is very silky and not jelly-like.
Like all decent yum cha places in Sydney, there’s always a queue on weekends. The line at Fisherman’s Wharf, however, moves fairly quickly. This is probably because most people go to Chinatown when they feel like yum cha, and not the Fish Market. Do not let the parking fees discourage you – it’s free to park if you eat at Fisherman’s Wharf! Just ask the cashier to validate your parking tickets for you when you pay.
{Fisherman's Wharf} Address: Inside the Sydney Fish Market Website: www.fishermanswharf.com.au
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