We tried out Li’s Dumpling Inn at the Erindale shops (I remember another iteration of a dumpling place in that same spot several years ago). I absolutely love dumplings so Li’s Dumpling Inn went to the top of my list of eateries to visit. On a Saturday, we drove over to check it out. The black board outside looked promising. $11.80 lunch box specials including a drink available on weekends too?! That’s a good deal. There are various steamed and fried dumplings on the menu. I decide on three – deep fried, pan fried and steamed dumpling dishes.
The deep fried lobster dumplings ($9.80 for 4 pieces) with a side of Kewpie mayo arrives first. Good golden colour and crispy skin. The dumplings are plump and stuffed with minced seafood with large pieces of prawn inside. I can’t taste any lobster though. But we still polished them all off.
The steamed pork soup dumplings (xiao long bao) arrive next ($9.80 for 6 pieces) sprinkled with sesame seeds. They by no means have the perfection of Din Tai Fung dumplings, but I’m surprised by the thinner than anticipated dumpling skin. There’s also less soup inside making it a tad dry but probably because these a smaller dumplings or the soup escaped. The pork mince and soup have a very subtle pork flavour. Not the best or tastiest XLBs I’ve tried.
The pan fried pork dumplings ($12.80 for 12 pieces) are on the small side wrapped in a thick skin. The bottoms are nice and crispy from being pan fried. The mince could have been cooked a little longer, they were slightly pink, but still edible and tasty with dumpling vinegar.
We probably should have just stopped there, but I couldn’t resist ordering one lunch special to share. There are a range of dishes to choose from where you can choose your sauce (satay, curry, szechuan, mongolian etc), choose your protein (chicken or beef), choose fried or steamed rice, and pick a can of drink. We went with Mr FPJ’s favourite, beef and black bean with fried rice (extra $2), and a soft drink all for $13.80. Very generous portion for a lunch special and we took most of it home with us in a take away container.
Li’s Dumpling Inn has a simple and clean set up. To be honest, the dumplings weren’t wow-factor enough for me to travel all the way to Erindale considering I’m closer to other Asian restaurants. There weren’t too many other diners in the restaurant so I found it strange that each dish came out one by one, and we actually finished each dish before the next one arrived. Perhaps there are mostly takeaway orders. The $11.80 lunch deal is available every day including weekends which is good value.
Li’s Dumpling Inn
1/33 Gartside St, Wanniassa, Canberra
Opening hours
Monday to Sunday: 11.30am – 3.00pm; 5.00pm – 9.30pm
Foodgasm 6.5/10
Value for money 8/10
Service 7/10
FPJ score 21.5/30
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