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Dumpling King

As well as dumplings, try dishes such as the chicken ribs.
As well as dumplings, try dishes such as the chicken ribs.Eddie Jim

Chinese$$

Where and what

Let's call it dumpling creep - the spread of dumpling mania across the Melbourne 'burbs. Case in point: Dumpling King. The original was opened in Box Hill in the mid-1990s. Now the place that Cheap Eats dubbed its hottest spot in 1998 has opened a sibling in Hawthorn. It's an inexpensive dumpling house, so don't expect to be knocked out in the decor and service department (although one waitress was a model of sweet, smiling efficiency) - it's unpretentious, but there's good eating to be had.

Where to sit

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Dumpling King's utilitarian interior.
Dumpling King's utilitarian interior.Eddie Jim

Smart utilitarian is the design brief for this Glenferrie Road eatery just south of the railway overpass. Expect Chinese artwork, a mirrored wall, grey-tiled floor, bare tables and paper napkins.

When to go

Daily 11am-10pm. Don't forget to take cash to pay at the counter - they don't accept any cards.

Drink

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There's a short Australian and New Zealand wine list, and a greatest-hits beer list that runs from Tsingtao to Heineken and James Boag. You can BYO wine only - corkage is $2.50 a person.

Eat

The menu is predominantly Shanghainese, so you can expect the soup dumplings known as xiao long bao to take a starring role on the list of 17 types of dumplings. They're good. Also worth trying: the fish and chive dumplings (like ShanDong MaMa's cult versions, you can get them boiled or pan-fried) and classic steamed prawn dumplings in their tightly packed gummy wrappers. Value-add with the Sichuan-style dumplings in hot and spicy soup - a meal in itself, it'll set you back $9.

You'll also find Beijing and Sichuan cuisine on the typically lengthy numbered menu. Sichuan eggplant is intermittently silky and fiery - soy and chilli sauce and a splash of black vinegar makes it addictive.

Mop up the juices with the doughy fried spring onion pancakes, the Chinese answer to Malaysia's roti. Peking duck is worth a look. Plated by the waiters, if you choose, the duck has that desirable crackable toffee quality to the skin and the meat is juicy and fragrant (although as a reminder this is Hawthorn and not Box Hill, there's no duck head split in half for eating the brain).

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Who's there

Chinese students, gweilo families and plenty of people waiting for takeaway.

Why bother?

The dumpling legend continues.

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