Around the corner near Dickson’s Share Tea, is small family-owned restaurant Flavours of Jiangnan. The owners speak Mandarin plus another dialect that I don’t understand (I should ask what it is). What I love about this place is the handmade thick flat white hand-pulled noodles.
There’s actually so much to choose from the menu – handmade dumplings, noodle soup, dry noodles, rice dishes. Then there are the more traditional dishes with pig ear and tripe.
We’ve tried the pan fried sticky rice pumpkin pie ($5 for 2 pieces) which is nowhere near the sweetness of an American style pumpkin pie. It’s much more of a savoury flavour – sticky rice with the colouring of pumpkin, a lovely crispy top and then mochi-like gooeyness in the middle. I couldn’t really taste the pumpkin in it to be honest, but it was still a nice fried sticky rice starter. It would make a great snack!
The slow-cooked beef brisket and noodle soup ($13.80) comes with plenty of stewed beef, chunks of potato and baby bok choy. The soup is flavoursome without being overly salty or rich. The noodles are the best – long and thick with the perfect texture and elasticity. I love that there are more noodles than soup too.
The pork dumpling in sour and spicy soup ($12.80 for 12 pieces) is great in the colder months. The dumplings are a generous size, meaty and plump, and the soup again isn’t too salty.
The Jiangnan speciality cooked Dongpou pork and noodle soup ($15.80) comes with three thick slices of soft marinated pork belly on top of a massive bowl of hand pulled noodles. It kind of reminds me of the noodle version of the Taiwanese braised pork rice.
The stir fry pork mince with special sauce noodles ($13.80) is topped with a large serving of mince. I’m not sure what the ‘special sauce’ is but it tastes like a wonderful braised pork marinade. There’s no soup but there’s enough sauce in the bowl to coat all the noodles. I did find this dish saltier than the rest but it’s such good comfort food.
The pan fried vegetable dumplings are filled with a mixed vegetable puree. I couldn’t quite make out what is inside but I’m guessing a pumpkin/sweet potato mix. Mr FPJ was not a fan of these vegetable dumplings but I didn’t mind them though the dumplings could be crispier and more golden on the bottom. The side of chilli oil provided is mild.
We do prefer the meat dumplings like the boiled pork dumplings ($12.80) which are stuffed full and have smooth dumpling skin that isn’t too thick.
The owners are lovely and I always get a wave and genuine smile for coming back. There’s some seating indoors but I’ve never seen it fully packed. Well worth a visit.
Flavours of Jiangnan
8 Cape St, Dickson ACT
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