Oh Yum

Pork Buns, my favourite

I have a friend, the very lovely M, who I always enjoy meeting up with for lunch, especially when that lunch is yum cha. M and I are like two peas in a pod when it comes to yum cha in that neither of us has the will power to say no when those lovely ladies come by with their trolleys of delicious steamed and fried goodies.

For those who are not familiar with yum cha is a wonderful dining experience where the staff come to your table with trolleys of dumplings, dim sims, roast duck and all sorts of other wonderful treats hidden in bamboo steamers. When you select what you want from the trolley they stamp a little card on your table depending on how much the dish cost. This is then used to calculate your bill or to make you realise what a little piggy you have just made of yourself.

Yesterday we met at the Sky Phoenix restaurant in the city. This is a very plush yum cha restaurant and not like the bright and busy ones in Chinatown (which I also love) . I hadn’t seen M for ages and so we had a lot of news to catch up on. We didn’t even notice how many dishes we said yes to until we realised how completely full we both were. We also drank pots and pots of green tea (to help with the digestion of course). M is about to have a baby next month so I really don’t know where she fitted all that we ate. She is a great woman.

I only discovered yum cha a few years ago and I haven’t looked back since. I love everything about it. It is such a social way to dine. The bigger the group, the better. I think the traditional way to enjoy yum cha is to get together for brunch with a big group of friends and just select away to your hearts content until you can eat no more. Well that’s how I enjoy it anyway. There are some great yum cha restaurants in Sydney and the ones in Chinatown have such a great atmosphere at the weekend. The buzz from everyone eating and chatting is wonderful.

Here is a selection of some of my favourite bites from yesterdays lunch -

Dim Sims and Dumplings

Fried Noodles

Roast Duck

Mince Puffs

Green Tea

Custard Tarts (M's favourite, we had to chase the trolly to get these little babies)

Sky Peoenix,
Lvel 3, Skygarden
77 Castlereagh St,
Sydney
(02) 9223 8822