The oldies but goodies at New Shanghai Chinese Restaurant

The main road through Ashfield is one of Sydney's suburban Chinatowns, with more of a Northern Chinese slant than the traditionally Cantonese Haymarket Chinatown. And as to be expected from a Chinatown, the street is lined with food outlets and restaurants, grocers, butcheries, fishmongers and fruit shops.

With so much on offer, it's a wonder that I keep returning for just one or two things; namely, xiao long bao pork soup dumplings and their cousins, the Shanghai pan fried pork buns.

Xiao long bap from New Shanghai Chinese Restaurant, Liverpool Road, Ashfield

They don't mess around here, and food hits the table fairly fast and in no particular order. The xiao long bao excite the table as a quasi-appetiser, though still not everyone knows how to eat them without soup squirts or leaks.

These are great, with full-flavoured soup inside the slightly-thicker-than-DTF dumpling skins. I always think I could eat a few baskets full of these, though I'm yet to have the pleasure of that challenge.

Zha jiang noodles

Another favourite dish is the zha jiang noodles; slippery, thick, white noodles beneath an appetising topping of minced pork and spicy bean paste, among potentially hundreds of other ingredients. Alongside, a handful of julienned cucumber combats the slight but increasing heat of the sauce.

Zha jiang noodles, mixed through

The noodles aren't as pretty when mixed through, but it's the only way to eat them properly. While I normally prefer egg noodles over rice noodles in most instances, this is one exception to the case.

Spicy combination wonton noodle hot pot

We hadn't expected the hot pot to be quite such a giant bowl full of chilli red broth, topped with wonton dumplings, beef strips, Chinese greens and black fungus.

Definitely a serving to be shared, this was a meal within a meal that never seemed to end - meat, vegies, dumplings, noodles - we were fishing for food right to the very bottom of the bowl.

Pan fried pork buns

Often the last to arrive are the pan fried pork buns, presumably as they're cooked to order a need a good 10 minutes' cooking, at least, in oil and water in the pan.

Fluffy dough encases a similar pork filling as the xiao long bao although without the soupy delight. These are seriously filling, especially at the end of the meal, so also ideal for sharing.

So, three of the same dishes I usually order when I'm round Ashfield way; four completely satiated bodies and some takeaway; and another satisfying visit to New Shanghai Chinese Restaurant.

Rain, clouds and Ash(field)

Last weekend’s Ashfield’s Big Yum Cha, as part of the Crave Sydney International Food Festival, had the unfortunate luck of an almost non-stop rainy day. But there was still cover under shopfront awnings where tabletop stalls were set up similar to Haberfield’s Primavera for the still festive, albeit smaller than expected, crowds.

Stalls set up along Liverpool Raod for Ashfield's Big Yum Cha

We got straight into the eating, and the chilli for that matter, at the first (last?) stall on Liverpool Road, set up rather inconveniently right in front of the restaurant’s own entrance. Here we huddled under the shelter and lapped up what Sky Mountain Hand Made Noodle Restaurant had to offer.

Cold noodles with spicy pork from Sky Mountain Hand Made
Noodle Restaurant, Liverpool Road, Ashfield

Cold noodles on a cold day aren’t the best pairing but add a tasty pork mince mixture, a ladle of a sweet, goopy red chilli sauce and chilli soy sauce and you’ll be warmed soon enough. At first, the slippery, cold noodles were refreshing and sweet in the thick chilli sauce, with subtle flavours of seafood incorporated within, while the pork mixture was beautifully and highly seasoned with spice and more sweetness.

After a couple of mouthfuls, the chilli soy started its burning path across the tongue and down the back of the throat, with the cucumber slivers the only relief among the sauce drenched noodles. It was quite the heart and palate starter, warming and rendering us thirsty for water and more.

Deep fried chicken with dry fried chilli from Sky Mountain
Hand Made Noodle Restaurant

Spotting the dark hued deep fried chicken from afar, the tumble of red chillies was surprisingly not a turn-off. In fact, the large dry fried chillies were part of the appealing aesthetic although I can’t say whether or not they were as spicy as the noodle sauces.

The small pieces of chicken were mostly awkward wing bits, making for some nimble nibbling and finger licking. There was definitely lots of the latter as the darkened (reddish even), crisp outer had a fantastic flavour: salty, mildly spiced and ever so moreish, it’s no wonder the dish is a restaurant specialty. If only it used some slightly meatier bits of chicken – more flesh, less cartilage and bones, please.

More stalls, more dumplings

We made the undercover stroll down Liverpool Road, tasting noodles and Turkish bread with dips, all the while noticing the heavily northern Chinese slant to the cuisine. There’s an abundance of steamed and pan fried dumplings at most the shop stalls, along with noodles and shallot pancakes – making for a slightly different ‘yum cha’ experience to normal.

A seafood shop on Liverpool Road - check out the inky cuttlefish

We decided to get a more substantial feed indoors rather than face the elements for the entire day, and headed past the cumin spiced lamb skewers and dumplings of the Shanghai Night stall and into the crammed restaurant itself, ready for some dumpling feasting.

Beef and scallion steamed dumplings (small) from
Shanghai Night, Liverpool Road, Ashfield

Our initial order of the chicken and shitake mushroom steamed dumplings was out, so changed to the beef and scallion variety, of which 12 dumplings comprise a ‘Small’ serve. Through the smooth pastry, the main flavour was that of scallions, or spring onions, with the minced meat filling much less beefy than I expected.

While the dumplings were nice with a blend of soy sauce and the black vinegar sauce, they were even better with Shanghai Night’s chilli sauce; a thick red paste packed with chilli seeds and skin, subtle in heat and packing a great, enhancing punch of flavour.

[Rant warning]  We’d actually expected our soup to turn up first before any dumplings, so more than 10 minutes after finishing our first dumplings, the warnings bells started to ring. When more minutes elapse and other later-arriving, larger tables got their full orders before we got anything further, we enquired about the whereabouts of the rest of our order and receive no follow-up whatsoever.

The nearby table of six that came after us managed to get in and out before our table of two got our second dish (and I’m not saying that they were quick eaters). I don’t expect friendly service as I understand that they’re working in tough conditions with the packed shop and preparations for the stall outside. But the inefficiency here was nearly beyond belief; leaving me wishing that I’d gone to the cleaner, slightly more spacious New Shanghai next door.

Spicy and sour tofu soup

The soup arrived next without comment. A happy melange of submerged ingredients, it was rich in colour and flavour. While the sour aspect was immediately detectable, the hot didn’t hit me until it reached the back of my throat.

Wheezing a little, I really enjoyed the silky cubes of tofu, textures contrasting with the softened bamboo shoots and black fungus (or seaweed), and the firm strips of pork. With egg white mixed into the thick soup, it was really quite a pretty soup.

Sheng jian bao - pan fried pork buns

Our order of pan fried pork buns eventually emerge, greasy and piled up. Biting into the bun cautiously, I was shocked to find the bun of medium heat and without any soupy inners. The next and next buns prove that the first wasn’t a one-off: none of the buns had soup in them, making the extended wait for them completely un-worthwhile.

Not enough to save the letdown of the absent soup, but the dough was nice and fluffy with golden brown bottoms and the pork filling was acceptably tasty, making for safer and neater eating without the soup, but just not as good.

Xiao long bao - Steamed pork dumplings

I had higher hopes for the xiao long bao, which were again unexpectedly dashed. At least four of the dumplings were deflated and completely bereft of soup before even a pair of our chopsticks went near them. Some were also adorned with a pink-brown foam oozing from the dumplings which was probably discharged from the pork filling during cooking – presumably normal but nonetheless, really not appetising.

The dumpling skins were probably double the thickness of the delicate ones of Din Tai Fung’s – the thicker ones great for holding in the soup in if there was any. The pork filling was again nice, but unspectacular without the soup. The ones that had soup were better, although I felt that the flavours were still diluted by the thick pastry skins.

More food stalls on Liverpool Road, Ashfield

Probably over an hour later, we emerge from the stuffy interior of Shanghai Night into the now rather welcome rain outside although some stalls were starting to pack up, especially all those on Hercules Street which we missed visiting.

We pick up a few final takeaway boxes of cold noodles and cold sliced beef for dinner, in addition to our leftover soup-less pan fried pork buns, and a quick visit to BreadTop and made the dash in the rain back to where we started. Rain, clouds, wet feet, bad service, great noodles – it was a day in Ashfield that had it all.

Fragile delicacies and tongues

I find it ironic that when there's the realisation that life is fragile and delicate, the natural instinct is to go and do all the crazy, wild things that really stretch life to the limit. Like being told a fine cashmere sweater has its limits and then taking it into a contact sports game. Is it testing the theory of the realisation? Or succumbing to and accepting its inevitability and just making the most of the situation regardless?

Passing through Ashfield was the perfect excuse to indulge in fragile and delicate dumplings as the abundance of northern Chinese eating establishments proffered more than enough to satisfy any dumpling diner. The problem is that there are so many places it's difficult to know where to go. Judging a restaurant by its facade is one way to go but like its literary relation, can be a shallow and partial approach.

At some point on the main road two decidedly Shanghainese eateries sit side by side. Both have the word 'Shanghai' in their names, both are filled with diners at a late lunch hour, and strangely enough they both seem to have used the same sign maker as well. Well, the typeface and style is similar anyway.

Our decision is strongly swayed by the ability to get seating for our entire group at New Shanghai Chinese Restaurant, although the closely positioned tables make me feel a little like I'm sitting with a different group. But never fear, I'm all that much closer to the viewing window where a lady effortlessly creates balls of pleated, thin pastry-wrapped mince, delicately placing them into bamboo steamers. For me! And a large majority of the other diners too.

Window into the kichen at New Shanghai Chinese Restaurant,
Liverpool Road, Ashfield

Her finger movements are mesmerising and she's almost robotic if not for the laughing and interacting with other staff. I know I want a basket of these steamed beauties but the menu presents me with page after page of other mouthwatering options, from hot snacks, fried noodles, soup noodles and other Shanghainese delicacies.

Our decision making and the service takes a little while, but our orders slowly make their way out of the kitchen in no particular order, dumped somewhat unceremoniously at the edge of the table. All of a sudden we decide it's going to be a communal shared meal and help ourselves to cutlery and napkins.

Prawn and pork wonton soup

First to arrive in a steaming bowl was the prawn and pork wonton soup. Small packages filled with tasty minced pork ethereally float the way only wonton pastry does in a light soup. Topped with shallots and strips of dried seaweed, the wonton were delicate on the palate; its filling springy with a whisper of ginger flavour and seemingly missing prawns. Perhaps I just picked an unlucky dumpling?

Fried hand-made noodles with pork and vegetables

The first noodle dish arrives next to a now hungry audience. It's very difficult to snap a picture when there are four other hungry people snapping their chopsticks at you and the dish - and especially so when you're sort of sitting on the next table.

The hand-made noodles are thick and covered in a soy based sauce - sprightly but closer to soft than chewy, which is my preference but not everyone else's. The dish overall is a bit on the greasy side but the pork strips and baby bok choy are tender and feel sustaining.

Vegetable noodles in soup

The requisite vegetarian dish is another noodle option - this time thinner white noodles in a flavoursome soup with a fantastic array of vegetarian toppings. The choy, carrot, mushrooms, black fungus, broccoli, baby corn and lightly fried tofu have been cooked in a separate sauce then scattered atop the large bowl of slippery noodles. It's a relatively healthy dish and tastes accordingly.

Pork and shallot pancake?

And then the bizarre and unexpected dish of the day - five golden fried, sesame seed covered balls rattling about on a large white plate. I look confused and ask the waitress what these are and if they belong to our table. She checks and yes, apparently I have ordered these. What I misunderstood to be a pork and chive flat pancake turns out to be these, or maybe I just pointed to the wrong menu item. Rather than sending things back and waiting for the new order, we just shrug and grab a crunchy spherical parcel each and chow down.

The outer casing is shatteringly crisp, concealing a thick inner layer of starchiness - potato or taro-like. Inside this is a minute portion of savoury pork mince filling with shallots. So perhaps this is what I ordered, I thought as I crunched and munched through it. Not too bad for an accident.

Xiao long bao (steamed little pork buns)

I sight a bamboo steamer basket emerge from the kitchen and it's heading for us! It's our xiao long bao and as you can see I wasn't as quick as others on the table to reach the basket. They're not quite as uniformly perfectly-shaped as other versions but it's more than a little anticipation as I pick up my first dumpling and wait patiently for it to cool a little to avoid burning my tongue.

Not quite patient enough it seems, although my tastebuds have resiliently recovered less than 24 hours post injury. The pastry is slightly thicker than the above mentioned other and I think there's about a one second pause from piercing the skin to boiling hot soup rushing out and encompassing my mouth. The soup flavour is intensely good and I savour it all despite the burning. The filling is a fine mince packed with fantastic flavours that leaves you wanting more.

Last but not least, a good 10 minutes or so after we've finished all our other dishes, the long-awaited pan fried Shanghai pork buns turn up. They look like joyous little bundles and seemingly worth the wait.

Pan fried Shanghai pork buns

In what could be likened to a xiao long bao on steroids with a burnt bottom, these little puffballs are fluffy and chewy at the top part where the pleats come together and thin and crunchy on the bottom. There's a similar tongue-burning experience to be had with the hot soup contents and filling is not too dissimilar to their skinnier, steamed counterparts. Comparatively, there's a much higher dough to filling ratio in these, hence my preference for the xiao long bao but for a filling snack high in taste value, these pan fried versions are the go.

Who would have thought such fragile and delicate foods could make you so crazily and wildly full for less than $10 per head? The value for money is mind-boggling and justification enough for the west-ward trek. On the bloated bellied-stumble back to the car we pass by more mind-boggling value and 'delicacies' in a butchery. Such is the fragility of life.

Pig's tongue next to chicken feet

Pig's ear (left) and pig's stomach (right)

I hear ya - pig's what?!
I think it's intestines