Lotus The Galleries
Dumplings usually conjure up images of a busy, bustling cheap-eats establishments with busy staff weaving between closely-packed tables - casual dining at its best. Lotus, however, brings traditional dumplings up a notch. Opposite the QVB and overlooking George Street (not that there's much to look at at the moment with the roadworks for the light rail), Lotus allows you to enjoy delicate dumplings in lovely surroundings - and of course, the price reflects the comfort.
The menu, unlike traditional dumpling places, is quite short. Apart from a selection of 10 or so dumplings, you can also order more substantial dishes, including Hong Kong-style seafood extravaganzas. The dishes aren't that fusion, but the decor is decidedly Western-bistro, and there is also quite an impressive modern cocktail list.
These gorgeous little parcels contain roughly chopped pieces of scallop. Unlike some places which only put a tiny bit of scallop into their siu mais, at Lotus, they really mean business. The extremely soft and sticky rice flour casing is packed full of scallop pieces which have a wonderful umami and fresh flavour.
The same can be said of the prawn dumplings. The 'jade' part of the casing is spinach juice, which makes this dish visually appealing. If I were to fault these two dishes, it's that the casings are simply too soft and sticky, to the point that you can't dip them into soy sauce or vinegar (whichever you prefer - I prefer to mix the two!) without dropping the dumplings. Compared to the taste, however, this is a relatively minor impediment. I would still highly recommend both of these dishes.
The skin of these xiao long baos are so thin, they can easily compete with that of Din Tai Fung - and just look at all that juice inside! With xiao long baos, you can't really go too wrong - but the ones served at Lotus are probably as good as it gets. On the flip side, $10 for 4 xiao long baos is very pricey: at New Shanghai, you could get double the amount for the same price; and at Din Tai Fung you would be getting a serving of 6; and both New Shanghai and Din Tai Fund make perfectly good xiao long baos.
I am a huge fan of salty-and-sweet, so of course I couldn't say no to this dish. All the flavours are on the outer casing - the eggplant itself is barely seasoned. It's like eating a honey-soy donut, and while delicious, it can be a bit heavy after a couple of pieces.
Score: 4 / 5
All the dishes are beautiful and delicious, and the environment is quite lovely. Is it so amazing and wonderful that it's worth being twice the cost of a regular dumpling bar? In terms of taste, maybe not - it's certainly not twice as delicious as, say, New Shanghai. However, you would hardly take a first date to New Shanghai I suppose, so Lotus certainly has a place on Sydney's dining map.
Cost: approx $35-50pp for dim sims and dumplings; approx $50-$100pp for a substantial meal.
Address: Lv 1, The Galleries, 500 George St Sydney
Website: lotusrestaurant.com.au
(oh, just a side note - a pet peeve of mine is when a restaurant makes you download a PDF version of their menu instead of listing them on the website - argh! Why? Do you get a kick out of making my life that teeny tiny bit harder? Lotus does that, even though its food menu is only a couple pages long.)
The menu, unlike traditional dumpling places, is quite short. Apart from a selection of 10 or so dumplings, you can also order more substantial dishes, including Hong Kong-style seafood extravaganzas. The dishes aren't that fusion, but the decor is decidedly Western-bistro, and there is also quite an impressive modern cocktail list.
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| Steamed fresh scallop siu mai, $14 |
These gorgeous little parcels contain roughly chopped pieces of scallop. Unlike some places which only put a tiny bit of scallop into their siu mais, at Lotus, they really mean business. The extremely soft and sticky rice flour casing is packed full of scallop pieces which have a wonderful umami and fresh flavour.
 |
| Steamed jade prawn dumplings, $14 |
The same can be said of the prawn dumplings. The 'jade' part of the casing is spinach juice, which makes this dish visually appealing. If I were to fault these two dishes, it's that the casings are simply too soft and sticky, to the point that you can't dip them into soy sauce or vinegar (whichever you prefer - I prefer to mix the two!) without dropping the dumplings. Compared to the taste, however, this is a relatively minor impediment. I would still highly recommend both of these dishes.
 |
| Steamed pork xiao long bao |
The skin of these xiao long baos are so thin, they can easily compete with that of Din Tai Fung - and just look at all that juice inside! With xiao long baos, you can't really go too wrong - but the ones served at Lotus are probably as good as it gets. On the flip side, $10 for 4 xiao long baos is very pricey: at New Shanghai, you could get double the amount for the same price; and at Din Tai Fung you would be getting a serving of 6; and both New Shanghai and Din Tai Fund make perfectly good xiao long baos.
 |
| Pork Buns, $9 |
Pork buns do not appear on the menu - they are a special of the day. These babies are the Lotus version of the ones served at Tim Ho Wan - a sweet 'pineapple' bun (named thusly because traditionally, these buns have a diamond-pattern on them resembling the skin of a pineapple) filled with BBQ pork pieces.
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| Crispy Eggplant with Honey and Sesame Seeds, $21 |
I am a huge fan of salty-and-sweet, so of course I couldn't say no to this dish. All the flavours are on the outer casing - the eggplant itself is barely seasoned. It's like eating a honey-soy donut, and while delicious, it can be a bit heavy after a couple of pieces.
Score: 4 / 5
All the dishes are beautiful and delicious, and the environment is quite lovely. Is it so amazing and wonderful that it's worth being twice the cost of a regular dumpling bar? In terms of taste, maybe not - it's certainly not twice as delicious as, say, New Shanghai. However, you would hardly take a first date to New Shanghai I suppose, so Lotus certainly has a place on Sydney's dining map.
Cost: approx $35-50pp for dim sims and dumplings; approx $50-$100pp for a substantial meal.
Address: Lv 1, The Galleries, 500 George St Sydney
Website: lotusrestaurant.com.au
(oh, just a side note - a pet peeve of mine is when a restaurant makes you download a PDF version of their menu instead of listing them on the website - argh! Why? Do you get a kick out of making my life that teeny tiny bit harder? Lotus does that, even though its food menu is only a couple pages long.)
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