Dumplings

Carnegie Korean BBQ

What’s better than Korean BBQ? The answer is all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ!

Pork Belly, Mushroom, Onion, Sweet Potato

Pasta Salad, Bean Sprouts, Kimchi, Fish Cake

Mandu

Beef Bibimbap

Soy Bean Soup

Green Tea and Black Sesame Ice Cream

Overall:

There are 2 all-you-can-eat options: the Standard Buffet ($31.90) and the Gourmet Buffet ($35.50). For a few dollars more the Gourmet Buffet offered a greater selection of meats, soups and dessert, so we ended up opting for this. We initially wanted to try all the different meats however this turned out to be impossible as there was simply too much food! The meats that we did manage to try included the LA Beef Ribs, Beef Brisket, Marinated Beef, Diced Beef, Non Spicy Chicken, Pork Belly, and Spicy Pork. The only meat that did not take our fancy was the Diced Beef as it was super tough and extremely difficult to chew. The staff were friendly however unlike some other Korean BBQ places, they don’t help out with any of the barbequing (which was fine with us). In any case, the all-you-can-eat options here are perfect for all you carnivores out there.

Carnegie Korean BBQ

Shop 2, 23 Koornang Rd, Carnegie, VIC

(03) 9563 6608

Kuku Mama

Cheeseburger Dumplings – beef, pickle, cheese, Bobby John sauce

Although these are not your typical dumplings, this is certainly fusion done right. Within each dumpling was perfectly cooked beef and plenty of melted cheese, which was delicious when eaten with the pickle and the sauce. The dumpling skin was a bit chewy though and needed to be steamed a tiny bit longer.

★★★★☆

Vegetarian Dumplings – sweet potato, shiitake, enoki

Unsurprisingly sweet and mushroomy.

★★★☆☆

Bao – Peking roasted duck, pickled cucumber, hoisin

Soft pillowy steamed buns with a decent amount of tasty duck.

★★★★☆

Tacos – blackened salmon, herb crema, chicharron

★★☆☆☆

Mac & Cheese squared with Bobby John sauce

★★★☆☆

Crinkle cut chips, honey, soy, sesame, chilli, spring onion

A great mix of sweet and savoury.

★★★☆☆

Bao – soft shell crab, kewpie mayo, Kuku kimchi

The soft shell crab had good crunch but lacked any actual crab taste.

★★☆☆☆

Balinese coconut seafood curry with herb rice

The curry was a little on the bland side, while the herb rice (ie. the coriander rice) was a little salt heavy. So I suppose the flavours balanced out when you ate them together.

★★☆☆☆

Bao – southern fried chicken, slaw, BBQ sauce

The crispy tender chicken combined with the slaw and BBQ sauce made for terrific baos!

★★★★☆

Overall:

This was such a cool place. From the vibrant decor to the comfortable booths and couches, Kuku Mama is a fantastic place to eat, drink and simply hang out at. Service was quick while the food was creative and reasonably priced. Make sure you come with a few people because there will be lots of things on the menu that you’ll want to try.

Kuku Mama

105 Chapel St, Windsor, VIC

(03) 9529 6900

http://kukumama.com.au/

ShanDong MaMa

Chicken Fried Dumplings

(chicken mince, ginger, black fungus, shepherd’s purse herb, dry shrimps, sesame oil)

★★★☆☆

DARYL noodles with prawn, potato, mushroom, pork, black fungus and egg

★★★☆☆

Shandong Mama

Noodles with prawns, pork, shredded cucumber and coriander in bean paste

★★☆☆☆

Beef Fried Dumplings

(beef mince, onions, dry shrimps, black pepper sauce)

★★☆☆☆

DILL-icious Pork Boiled Dumplings

(pork mince, fresh dill, spring onion, ginger, dried shrimps, sesame oil)

★★★☆☆

Overall:

A decent place for noodles and dumplings. The fried dumplings had incredibly crispy skins but were too salty for my liking, whereas the boiled dumplings had thick chewy skins but had tasty fillings. Not the first place I would go to if I had a dumpling craving, but also not the last.

ShanDong MaMa

Midcity Arcade, 208-210 Little Bourke St, Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9650 3818

Happy 4 10

Tempura Udon

★★☆☆☆

Kyoza

(deep fried vegetable dumplings with seasonal salad)

★★☆☆☆

Stir Fried Spicy Pork Set

(stir fried spicy pork, rice, miso soup, kyoza)

★★☆☆☆

Grilled Salmon Set

(grilled salmon with chef special teriyaki sauce dressing, rice, miso soup, kyoza)

★★★☆☆

Bibimbap Set

(mixed fresh salmon and cooked prawn, flying fish roe with special chilli sauce, rice, miso soup, kyoza)

★★★☆☆

Overall:

A good variety of Japanese and Korean fare at a place that has fast service and a playful atmosphere. A gorgeous mural and K-pop playing on a big screen can be found in the front courtyard, while many hanging baubles can be found all over the place within the inside dining area (a bit of an odd decorating choice). The food was decent and each table had a handy buzzer that could be pressed whenever you required a waiter’s attention.

Happy 4 10

82 Sheridan St, Cairns, QLD

4041 2502

Man Mo @ WTC

River side of World Trade Centre, 38 Siddeley St, Docklands 9077 9598

Prawn Dumplings

Tasty filling, soft thin dumpling skin

★★

Cantonese Roast Duck

Deliciously crispy skin with tender juicy meat. If only the portions were bigger.

★★★

Curry Laksa

★★

Overall:

As soon as we entered Man Mo we couldn’t help but be impressed by the refined decor. This place was without a doubt one of the more fancier Chinese/Malaysian restaurants that I’ve dined at. There was initially a bit of confusion with our booking but the staff here were very helpful, and sorted everything out in no time. A wide selection of dishes are available here however the dishes are somewhat pricier than your typical Chinese/Malaysian restaurants. Note that parking rates at the World Trade Centre during weekdays is outrageous. If only diners at Man Mo could get their parking validated.

manmo 2

*Disclaimer: I dined as a guest of Harvey Publicity. All food ratings & review are purely based on my own experiences and how I felt about the service, food and quality at the time of visit

David & Camy Noodle Restaurant

605 Station St, Box Hill 9898 8398

Taiwan Beef Noodle Soup

A tasty combination of soft noodles, tender beef and tart pickled mustard greens

= Not bad

Peking Pork Dumpling in Spicy Sauce

Sizeable dumplings filled with a juicy pork filling, covered in a very spicy sauce (which I wasn’t a fan of as it had some sour bits in it)

= Not bad

Fried Chicken and Prawn Dumpling

= Not bad

Overall:

If you are in the mood for dumplings, steer clear of this place. Yes the dumplings were admittedly big however the fillings were so-so and the dumpling skins were lumpy, thick and chewy (we ended up just eating the fillings and discarded the dumpling skins). Service was stony and unfriendly, and our dishes were plonked on our table without the staff members even looking at us. I’m not sure what the rest of the menu is like but I doubt I’ll return to find out.

Shams Restaurant

202 Thomas St, Dandenong 9793 1115

Chicken kebabs

Charcoal chicken

Mantu

Thoughts:

Chicken kebabs – succulent tender pieces of deliciously marinated chicken that was full of flavour = Excellent

Charcoal chicken – somewhat dry and overcooked = Not bad

Mantu – mince dumplings served with lentils and yogurt. Slightly undercooked wonton wrappers were used for this dish making parts of the dumplings quite chewy = Not bad

Overall:

Menu options were limited, service was average and the table that we sat on was rather dirty and stayed dirty the entire time we were there. Regardless of that, I would still come back here for the chicken kebabs. Only next time I’d get it as a takeaway.