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Lotus Dumpling Bar

Joanna Savill

Captivated audience: Walsh Bay's rising star; xiao long bao; chefs dishing the dumplings.
Captivated audience: Walsh Bay's rising star; xiao long bao; chefs dishing the dumplings.Edwina Pickles

Whether it's siu mai, gow gee, har gow or xiao long bao, we speak pretty good dumpling these days. From old-fashioned yum cha to new-fashioned bar fodder, these little steamed, fried or crisp-bottom parcels have become the approved face of fast food - and even fine dining (see Merivale's Mr. Wong).

And so to the dumpling bar. There's one upstairs at Kinselas in Taylor Square that's the size of a take-away noodle box, with a funny little make-believe bar, lots of menu deals (even an Instagram special - how social) and a couple of semi-hidden backroom guys dispensing dumplings on cardboard trays through a secret-dumpling-business window. Its name is Johnny Wong's (a street-wise cousin, perhaps?).

When a ''dumpling bar'' opens in Walsh Bay, a hole-in-the-wall, grungy-funky-casual place naturally springs to mind. Instead, Lotus Dumpling Bar turns out to be a good-looking, high-ceilinged room with artfully distressed brickwork and calligraphied wall motifs (no Wongs here, although the shabby-chic Chinoiserie strikes a familiar note).

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Chef's dishing the dumplings.
Chef's dishing the dumplings.Edwina Pickles

Apart from a few counter stools and a high bench or two, Lotus is mostly normal restaurant tables occupied by a decidedly pre-Sydney Theatre Company crowd. Getting seated takes some waiting, but the call of dumplings is powerful. Plus, the Lotus Dumpling Bar website features Lucy Luo, dubbed the ''Chinese queen of dumplings'', with the promise that she will be ''stuffing and pinching fresh dumplings on site every day''. And yes, she's definitely in residence, stretching, rolling, crimping and steaming up behind the counter.

Her dumplings are worth hanging around for. Xiao long bao - squirty-soup dumplings - have a gently rustic edge and a fine brothy middle. The usual condiments are here - black vinegar, soy sauce and a lovely gloopy, sesamey hot sauce with a good slick of brick-red chilli oil - each in a pretty ceramic dish, jug or even teapot.

Scallop shumai [sic] are fat cotton-wool balls of slivered scallop and a weensy bit of pork. The flavours are good. Northern-style pan-fried pork and chive crescents have a slightly thicker dough but are heartily meaty.

Xiao long bao: Shanghai soup dumplings.
Xiao long bao: Shanghai soup dumplings.Edwina Pickles
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We also manage to try glossy, moreish Sichuan-style dry-fried green beans with minced pork and fresh chilli; and some truly superb, juicy roast duck slices alongside a slightly fusionist salad of baby spinach leaves. There are wontons, duck pancakes and shallot pancakes for next time. Note to self: more people = more orders = more things to try. Dumplings with just one dining companion is just plain wrong.

The service has a way to go (slow, often absent) but good intentions abound in an interesting modern wine list with a few modern ''natural'' notes. Prices are fair. It hasn't got the slickness or speed of the Wong iterations, but it sure has the dumplings.

Lotus Dumpling Bar

Do … book. There's not much in the way of walk-in seating.

Don't … despair if the service goes missing. It's early days.

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Dish … Xiao long bao - Shanghai soup dumplings.

Vibe … Theatre-goers in pre-performance mode. Walsh Bay apartment dwellers.

Bottom line … Dumplings, $9-$13; salads, $16; mains, $16-$28.

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