Camy Shanghai Dumpling Restaurant in Melbourne

OK readers of The Lonely Plate, I've done a bit of traveling and a lot of eating so I've got a lot of posts saved up to share with you. To start off this little travel series, I'd like to tell you about one of our favorite places to chow down for cheap in Melbourne: Camy Shanghai Dumpling Restaurant. It's located on the edge of Chinatown on Tattersalls Lane (a bit of an alleyway) between Little Bourke and Lonsdale. This place pretty much rules because they're fast, really cheap, healthy and they have free self-serve tea! They're always busy and staff can be quite rude at times, but you'll never wait long and you can always count on leaving full and satisfied for a good price.

I'm a huge fan of their Chinese Broccoli. They put this awesome brown sauce over the greens that's a little bit sweet and makes them extra delicious.



Free tea also pictured above - don't forget it's self serve along with the plates, cups, cutlery, etc located in a little cubby area around to the right of the main entrance as you come in.



Being a dumpling restaurant, they have quite a few dumpling choices. I'm definitely a fan of the steamed dumplings over the fried, but this is just personal preference. If you like prawns and don't mind fairly strong spinach flavour, I recommend the spinach and prawn:



Or of course you can't go wrong (unless you're a vegetarian of course) with the classic pork:



If you can eat a lot of dumplings, you can get like 15 or 20 for $6 so don't be shy.

Their noodle dishes are pretty tasty also. This trip we stopped here for a quick, cheap feed with some free hot tea on a cold winter's day before catching our flight to the USA. Next time you're hungry in Melbourne and on a budget, check this place out for yourself and let me know what you think.

Seng Kee Yum Cha - Adelaide Central Market, South Australia

You've probably heard of yum cha which means "drink tea" in Cantonese and refers to the experience of drinking Chinese tea and eating dim sum dishes. (Note: Yum cha is often referred to as dim sum in the US.) The yum cha experience involves trays covered in steamers containing three or four small items each being rolled around the restaurant and offered to patrons. When items are accepted by the table, numbers are stamped or crossed off on a card which becomes the bill when it's time to pay. Because the portions are small and groups usually share food, you can try lots of different dishes. In Chinese culture, yum cha has become a common weekend family experience and many restaurants only serve yum cha on weekends and only until about 3pm. We're quite spoiled in Adelaide because we have some awesome (as good as any restaurant I've tried) and cheap yum cha available at the Adelaide Central Market food court 6 days a week (only closed Mondays). Plus, Chinese tea is free. If you're in Adelaide and you haven't tried Seng Kee Yum Cha, you are missing out!

Dishes pictured (clockwise from top left): siu mai, prawn ha kao, bean curd, and pork spare ribs. *mouth waters*



more Seng Kee Yum Cha photos here

Vietnamese Three Colour Bean Drink

Most of you have probably heard of pho (pronounced fə̃), which is Vietnamese noodle soup. But one of the other joys of Vietnamese restaurants is the assortment of drinks you are unlikely to find at other restaurants. For example, Longan Drink, Soda Egg with Milk, Ginseng Mixed Nuts Drink, Jackfruit Smoothie, Young Coconut Drink, Guyabano Smoothie, and more. Yes, you could order a Coke with your pho but you would miss out on the opportunity to experience some unique flavours that you may never have tasted before. And you never know which one you might fall in love with. I particularly enjoy the Three Colour Bean Drink, which is quite filling in its own right. The three colours are made up of red kidney beans, yellow mung beans and green jelly strips. The drink also contains crushed ice, sugar and coconut milk. Here's a recipe. You are supposed to mix it up and then eat/drink it. If you haven't tried this concoction before, definitely ask for it next time you're ordering Vietnamese food. Best Vietnamese drinks (and food) we've found so far here in Adelaide are near Hanson Road. Here's the Three Colour Bean Drink before & after mixing at Hoang Gia Quan, on Hanson Road near the Arndale Shopping Centre.



Edit: Forgot to say that if you are going to visit the Hanson Road area, it's a good idea to stick to daylight hours only.