The South Melbourne dim sim has been sold at this market stall since 1949: a steamed or deep-fried version of Cantonese dim sum with pork and cabbage filling in a thick wrapper, now a statewide staple.
Where to eat it: 1 restaurant across 1 city.
The dim sim was invented in Melbourne by William Chen Wing Young in the late 1940s, an Australianised reinterpretation of dim sum sized as a fist-filling steamed or fried snack rather than a delicate teahouse plate. South Melbourne Market Dim Sim opened the original stall in 1949 in the South Melbourne Market arcade and has continued the same recipe across three generations of the family. The format spread statewide through the 1950s and 1960s, becoming standard at fish-and-chip shops and milk bars across Victoria, and the South Melbourne original became a pilgrimage stop for visiting cooks and food writers.
Common allergens: Gluten, Soy, Egg
Tip from the editors. True dim sim wrappers are sold frozen at Asian groceries (look for House brand or yellow eggy 'dim sim wrapper'); they are noticeably thicker than dumpling skins, which is what holds the deep-fry shape.
The South Melbourne dim sim is a Melbourne birthright: invented at this stall in 1949, deep-fried in a paper bag and eaten standing on the market footpath.
Order: Original South Melbourne deep-fried dim sim in a paper bag
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