Shanghai Master Dumpling

Fast, friendly and no fuss dining. Had the pork dumplings with Chilli sauce. $ 10 can’t complain about that! Very nice, hot sauce could have been hotter!

Cash only! Bring about $ 15 – 20 per person. Low key dining, casual dress code is fine.
Wandering around after some Spencer street shopping I was getting hungry and turned to Unilocal.The dumpling idea sounded just excellent to me so I headed to this spot for their hot & sour soup with dumplings.
Upon entering you’re greeted by a hostess that speaks quite the broken English. You can place your order immediately and find a seat. The crowd is almost 100% Asian — always a good sign.
I got my order within a few minutes. The soup, which is my favorite type, was not good. Its most notable flavour is salt, and a tad too much of it. Hot & sour soup is one of my go-​to dishes in Chinese restaurants, so I know this one was below par.
The DUMPLINGS inside that soup… Now that’s a whole different story. When they said «master dumpling» they meant it. The soup comes with 10 (!) hand made pork dumplings inside ($ 10.50 AUD). Those are pure heaven and very well made.
I saw other dishes come out of the kitchen, they all looked great. I noted that most patrons ordered something to eat and a steaming basket of dumplings to go along — that’s probably the way to go here. Stick with their dumplings and you will leave happy. Come with an eating partner, value for your money is very good as well.

Best veggie dumplings I’ve had. Insides were fresh and green (ish) like they somehow blanched the ingredients during the cooking process. This is a serve yourself place and singles and couples can be squeezed onto a share table, there isn’t much of décor but then how much would you excuse because good hand made dumplings? A lot. Their pan fried and steamed dumplings are my pick, XLBs were acceptable not special.

Visiting from California, this restaurant was around the corner from our hotel — we became return customers. The chicken/​shrimp dumplings are delightful, noodle soup and spicy chicken soup amazing. Very little table service (although quick), you get your own water, tea, chopsticks, etc, it’s the food that counts.

Tremendous value… because the dumplings are deliciously magnificent, the servings ample, and the owner very passionate about what he and his team are doing. I can overeat for less that $ 10. The place is rammed during lunch hour so go early. At night, you’ll have no problems getting a seat. Recommend the fried pork dumplings, the Shanghai Fried Mini Buns (oh, baby!), and the super Pork & Wonton Soup. But go for the dumplings.

This place caters to the market for low-​cost (~$ 8) dumplings at lunch time, not unlike Camy or Shanghai Village in Chinatown. However, lack of similar competition in this part of the CBD means that this place can afford to slightly inflate its prices.
The dumplings here are of high quality. The homemade pork dumplings are slightly smaller than some places in Chinatown, but tastes delicious. The skin is perfectly soft, not too starchy, dry or mushy.
The fried mini buns are also very good. Lightly fried crunchy base lightly garnished with spring onion, with a richly flavoured soupy filling.
The chilli oil dumplings are not quite spicy enough, but still ok.
Service is acceptable, though it’s self-​service to get the free tea & cutlery. Seating is quite spacious, the place is brightly lit & appears to be clean. Overall, a good place to enjoy lots of dumplings with colleagues over lunch, if you happen to work nearby. Otherwise, there are slightly better places in Chinatown.