My foodie work colleague calls me the dumpling queen. I absolutely love eating them!!
The Dickson Dumpling House was chosen as a venue for one my work dinners. I’d been here a few years back and didn’t think it was that impressive. However, two of my work colleagues have been raving about it, so I was happy to try it again.
We decided to go with Banquet B at $25 a head. The food came out very quickly after we’d placed our order and the waitstaff are busily bringing dishes in and out of the kitchen.
First up were the spring rolls – these were huge but not the best tasting. Just simple vegetarian spring rolls.
 |
| Spring rolls |
Comparing the xiao long bao to Din Tai Fung’s version, these just didn’t taste anywhere near as good. The amount of soup inside was right and the dough was nicely wrapped to make the dumpling. But there’s nothing special about these.
The shredded dry chilli beef was the first of the mains to come out. This was an AMAZING dish and my favourite of the night. Shredded bits of beef, lightly fried and smothered in a beautiful sweet/sour and slightly spicy sauce. YUM. Definitely will be ordering this again.
 |
| Shredded dry chilli beef |
The soft shell crab was very salty and there was hardly any crab meat. Most of the time I was biting into oily batter.
 |
| Soft shell crab |
The shantung lamb was slightly fatty on top, but a really good dish otherwise. Decent serving of lamb sitting on a bed of grated lettuce.
 |
| Shantung lamb |
Usually a crowd pleaser, the honey prawns were a disappointment. The batter was a bit too thick and gluggy (perhaps too much flour?) and just did not taste good, even with the honey. To be slightly healthier, I thought I’d just peel away the batter and enjoy the prawn. Alas, although the prawns were huge, they had no flavour and were very bland. The most untouched plate of food for the night.
 |
| Honey prawns |
The banquet also included satay chicken which wasn’t too bad, and mixed green vegetables. I thought for $25, this was pretty good value. There was plenty of food left over. I noticed how loud it got inside the restaurant, and when I looked around, I realised the place was jam packed with people. There was a queue of people by the door waiting to get a table. This was a Thursday night (and not a public servant pay week either). A really popular place with the locals!
Undecided about this place – it seems a bit hit and miss. Considering it is a dumpling house, I’ve decided to go back this weekend and try out more dumplings on the menu 😛
