History

Cantonese yum cha arrived in Sydney with the 1850s gold rush Chinese community and the post-1970s Hong Kong diaspora. Marigold Restaurant on Sussex Street and East Ocean on Dixon Street ran the canonical large-room trolley yum cha through the 1980s and 1990s. The format remains the weekend ritual for Sydney families across Cantonese, Hong Kong and Vietnamese-Chinese communities; modern rooms (Mr Wong, Spice Temple, Yellow's vegan yum cha) extend the canon.

Common allergens: Gluten, Shellfish, Soy, Egg, Sesame

Make it at home

Yield Makes 24 prawn har gow dumplingsHands-on 1 hrTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Advanced

Ingredients

  • Wrapper: 1 cup wheat starch (do not substitute), 0.25 cup tapioca starch, 0.5 tsp salt, 0.75 cup boiling water, 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • Filling: 300g raw peeled prawns roughly chopped, 100g bamboo shoots finely diced, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil, 1 tsp Shaoxing wine, 1 tsp cornflour, 0.5 tsp salt, 0.25 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp sugar
  • For steaming: bamboo steamer lined with baking paper
  • To serve: chilli oil, soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar

Method

  1. Combine the wheat starch, tapioca starch and salt in a bowl.
  2. Pour in the boiling water all at once, stirring with chopsticks until a shaggy dough forms.
  3. Add the oil, knead in the bowl for 2 minutes, then turn out and knead for 5 minutes until smooth. Wrap and rest for 20 minutes.
  4. Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl and mix in one direction for 1 minute until slightly sticky.
  5. Divide the dough into 24 equal balls. Press each between two pieces of baking paper with a flat-bottomed plate to a 7cm circle.
  6. Place a teaspoon of filling on each wrapper, pleat the front edge 7 times while pressing against the smooth back edge to form a crescent.
  7. Set the dumplings on baking paper in a bamboo steamer 2cm apart.
  8. Steam over rapidly boiling water for 8 minutes until the wrapper is translucent and the filling pink.
  9. Serve immediately with chilli oil, soy and black vinegar on the side.

Tip from the editors. Wheat starch (not wheat flour) is essential for the translucent har gow wrapper. Asian groceries sell it as 'wheat starch' or 'tang mian fen'.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat sydney yum cha

Sydney Yum Cha in Sydney

Mr Wong ★ 4.6

Cantonese$$$cbd

Merivale's 240-seat Cantonese basement on Bridge Lane in the Sydney CBD. Peking duck carved tableside, yum cha at lunch, dim sum on tea trolleys.

Signature: Peking duck, Sang choi bow, Yum cha

3 Bridge Lane, Sydney NSW 2000 Book →

Spice Temple ★ 4.5

Chinese regional$$$cbd

Neil Perry's Spice Temple sits below the Art Deco City Mutual Building at 10 Bligh Street in the Sydney CBD. Regional Chinese, dark room, sichuan-heavy.

Signature: Stir-fried lamb with cumin, Mapo tofu, Salt-and-pepper squid

10 Bligh Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Book →

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