Chinaman Dumpling, Cremorne

Step through the red doors of Chinaman Dumpling in Cremorne and you’re a world away from the bustling traffic of Military Road. The new Chinese restaurant opened its doors late in 2014 and brings classic Chinese fare to the lower north shore.

Chinaman Dumpling, Cremorne

A modern and laid back decor with wooden interior, red accents and hanging birdcage lighting give the 60 seater venue a cosy feel while a private room at the back caters for group dining.

Open Kitchen

Owner Kenny Lee and Head Chef Alex Lee (ex Mr Wong) are at the helm and bring a variety of popular dishes. The menu at Chinaman Dumpling has one page dedicated to dumplings and the tasty parcels come either steamed, boiled or pan-fried with a side of soy and spicy sauce.

Seafood Dumplings

The Seafood Dumplings ($10) arrive steaming hot with four dough pockets generously filled with prawn, squid and lingfish. The dumplings are soft and pack a lot of flavour.

Pork and Chive Dumplings

The Pork and Chive Dumplings ($13) are not to be missed. Eight tight bundles generously filled with pork and chives are steamed and burst with flavour. These are some of the best dumplings tasted in some time and well worth ordering another serve.

Duck Pancake

Get interactive with the Duck Pancake ($16 for 4 pieces), building a delicious bundle of moist duck with crispy skin, shallots, cucumber topped with hoisin plum sauce. You could easily order the larger size but the rest of the menu is well worth exploring.

Black Pepper Wagyu

From the mains, the Black Pepper Wagyu ($26) is a taste sensation with tender pieces of beef, a lingering smoky flavour and a cracked pepper and charsiu sauce that begs a serve of seamed rice. The sauce is light and flavoursome with gentle heat from the pepper. The beef is stir0fried with cabbage, onions, shallots, snow pea shoots and topped with fried chilli peppers that add extra heat.

Chilli Prawns

The Chilli Prawns ($23) are big and juicy stir-fried tiger prawns with a spicy sweet and chilli sauce. The dish packs a good measure of heat and leaves you with that delightful lip-tingling sensation.

Duck Fried Noodle

Listed under “sides”, the Duck Fried Noodles ($14) are a standout and worthy of main course status. The noodles are stir-fried with leek, bean sprout and chives and come with delicious cubes of tender duck. This is one dish worth crossing the bridge for if you don’t live on the north side.

Fried Ice Cream

A timeless classic dessert, the Fried Ice Cream ($9) comes as one large ball of crispy coconut battered fried vanilla ice cream in a pool of caramel and chocolate syrup that is large enough to share.

Private Room

Chinaman Dumpling is a casual, laid back and friendly venue in which to relax and enjoy delicious Chinese fare that doesn’t leave you with a heavy feeling in the stomach. The dishes are well priced, the flavours are bold and tempt you to come back for more. The restaurant is licensed with BYO – a bottle shop conveniently located across the road. It ticks all the right boxes and makes you wish it was in your neighbourhood.

Local residents, namely in Cremorne/Neutral Bay have adopted it as their own as evidenced by the steady influx of diners on a weeknight. If you’re coming from further afield, it’s well worth crossing the bridge for.

Photography © by Gourmantic – Copyright: All rights reserved.

Chinaman Dumpling
Shop 3, 4 Rangers Rd, Cremorne
Open Tues-Thurs Dinner and Fri-Sun Lunch and dinner
+61 2 9953 7072
chinaman.com.au