A quick dinner at Dumpling Delight

Dumpling Delight

Cuisine: Dumplings, Nothwestern Chinese

Address: 20 Wharf St, Tauranga

Phone: 07 5712166

Website

Drinks: Beer, soft drinks - some unusual 

Reservations: Probably unnecessary

 

 

Dumpling Delight has been a regular stop for us since it opened about a year ago. As a no-frills place for cheap eats it is top-notch. You'll need to help yourself to cutlery, glasses and anything else, but the service is always cheerful and the food excellent. And they do very good, very well-priced dumplings.

Dumplings (some already eaten)

In terms of Chinese food Dumpling Delight leans towards Northwestern cuisine but they do a bit of everything. It's an interesting place because some dishes are extremely authentic and others are not even vaguely so. It is also the sort of place where there are more than a few misprints on the menu and descriptions that seem strange or vague. Witness one of the dishes we ate: "Fried Chicken with Sauce". But that's part of the charm I've always thought. Bottom line - everything tastes pretty damn good!

The menu has handy options for all situations. As well as the main meals - well priced at between $18 and $24 - they also do noodle soups (a solid meal for one) and some tasty snacks. The section marked "pasta" is worth checking out too, where both the onion and leek pancakes are unusual and delicious (if nothing to do with pasta). There are also some excellent vegetarian dishes.

Sweet Sour Pork with Rice

But the thing we regularly go for is the section called Rice Bowls. These are essentially smaller versions of the main meals and are served with rice. They are all $14.80. If I was there with half a dozen people I'd go for sharing some main meals but for two, a couple of rice bowls and a plate of dumplings is perfect.

Jan and I were there during the huge power cut last week. It was off here from 2pm until 11pm so we wanted sustanance. Unusually, we went for plain Cantonese choices. Normally we head straight for the Lamb with Cumin or Sichuan Pork but with the stress of no power for the day both of us were in need of comfort food.

Here's what we had:

Dumplings: Pork Delicacies (Pork, leek, shrimp) - $12.80 for 16  (add $1 for fried)

 

Sweet Sour Pork with Rice (pineapple, pork, vegetables) - $14.80

 

Fried Chicken with Sauce

Fried Chicken with Sauce - $14.80

That was exactly the right amount of food and exactly what we were after. Rich and comforting. The pork was in crisp batter, the "sauce" on the chicken is what some people would call a "brown sauce" typical of Chinese restaurants the world over. And the dumplings, as always, were juicy and had a great texture from the frying.

Some suggestions for your dining pleasure... The dishes with heat are marked with a chilli on the menu: I'd suggest ordering them "medium" which is a good heat level, though of course some of the Sichuan dishes - which are the ones with a chilli - would originally be much hotter. And always get the dumplings fried - the extra $1 is well worth it.

The two dishes we tend to avoid are the Ma Po Tofu and Kung Pao Chicken, both of which are very loose "Chinese takeaway" versions of those noble dishes. In comparison, the Soy Sauce Pork, the Beef Fillets in Hot Chilli Oil, the Cumin Lamb, and Sichuan Pork and much else is absolutely authentic. Go figure.

But it's easy to take the odd rough edges and occasional strangeness here when the service is so friendly and the food is so very reasonably priced. It may not be as polished as other eateries but for my money this and Chidori Ramen are the best cheap Asian eats in town.