Sydney garage-punk-pop band Bloods released their debut EP Golden Fang today and tonight they’ll kick off a national tour. Victoria ‘Sweetie’ Zamora, one third of the trio, talks us through the cuisine that makes her salivate.
I was born in Hong Kong, but when I was a couple of weeks old we moved across to Beijing. I was born a little chubby dumpling baby in the land of dumplings destined to eat lots of delicious dumplings.
Quick dumplings 101: Jiaozi is your traditional Chinese dumpling. You’ve then got the three variations. Your steamed dumpling called zhengiao, your boiled dumpling called shuijio, and finally (my favourite) your pan-fried dumpling called guotie.
If you’ve got patience and time they’re absolutely brilliant to make! Take a shortcut too and just buy dumplings wrappers if you’re afraid to make the dough. There are a whole heap of different recipes online for the fillings, but you can almost make it up if you’re a bit daring. Get to your local Asian supermarket (New Yen Yen in Sydney’s Haymarket is one of the greats) to get the essential ingredients.
However… if you’re in a rush, lazy, hungover or just don’t vibe on cooking at home then there are about a million places you can go get dumplings. Here are a few Sydney favourites (in no particular order):
Chinese Noodle Restaurant in Chinatown – A classic Sydney institution. The menu will be shoved into your hand as soon as you reach the door and you’ll be asked what you want to order at least three times before you’re actually ready. Fried pork and cabbage dumplings are A+ here but be careful, they will squirt hot juices and you’ll get your t-shirt or your date dirty. Special mention goes to the chilli eggplant and also the vegetarian stir-fry noodles.
Dumpling and Noodle House in Darlinghurst – The restaurant is the size of a shoebox and the kitchen is below the floor. Their fried dumplings come straight out of the pan with a crispy wafer top and are the best. A shout out goes to the vegetarian dumplings too because there’s actual vegetables and not just egg & chives.
Special mentions also go to Northern Chinese Cuisine in Waterloo, Din Tai Fung and also the Chinese restaurant at the Kent Street entrance to the Skyview Plaza.
Hot tip: Don’t be a muppet and forget the Chinese vinegar (chinkiang vinegar). Dumplings gain a level up when they’re covered with a chilli, vinegar & soy combo! I’d go 70:30 vinegar to soy ratio.
- Sweetie
