Dai Duong

UPDATE:  Now closed; apartments being built on site.

Oh, for a teleportal to the eastern suburbs, straight to the doors of Tai Pan.  That is one thing we lack here in the west (well, as well as more trees) - a plethora of amazing yum cha options.  In Footscray the options until recently were limited to Master and Yummie's.  Dai Duong used to serve yum cha, stopped but since March has reopened.  Now, I know you can go to Gold Leaf or Plume, but sometimes you just want something local.  Is Dai Duong a good option?

Crispy squid

This was quite good although I do like the less-battered style at other places, Plume for example.  The squid itself was tender and fresh. 

Har gow

These har gow or prawn dumplings were pretty good.  Other prawn combination dumplings were similarly tasty but often with quite thick, somewhat gluey skins.  The scallop dumpling was too fishy for me.

Ham sui gok

These are my favourite - "football dumplings", pork mince inside an elongated shell of thick glutinous rice flour.  Unfortunately these were too oily and the filling was quite meagre.  They were also just warm which meant they had been fried a bit ahead of time.

Siu mai

If you have never eaten yum cha, go for these first.  They are an accessible yet delicious introduction - a prawn and pork dumpling enclosed on all sides except the top with a yellow wonton wrapper.  These were tasty but quite heavy.

Beef tendon

I have never had tendon before - well, not on its own!  It was very strange - very gelatinous, like Vietnamese or Malaysian glutinous rice flour sweets.  I can't say I enjoyed it but I am by no means an expert.

Cheong fun

These are long rice noodle sheets, kind of like lasagna noodles, flopped around a filling.  The most common are BBQ pork or prawns (shown here) but you can do a special order with Chinese broccoli or long Chinese doughnut.  These were pretty good.  I love the thin, sweet soy these are served with.

Eggplant stuffed with prawns

You don't always see this at yum cha so I am always excited when it comes around.  The eggplant is soft and silky (helped by being deep-fried!) and contrasts with the springy prawn mince.  This was an OK version.

Char siu bao

These were cooked to order, the dough very delicate and soft.  The filling was quite sweet and almost bacon-like in flavour - the pork inside was in very thin slices rather than the classic, chunkier filling.

Custard tarts

Great custard tarts, though!  The pastry was very short and flaky, a little greasy but tasty.  The filling was still warm and so comfortingly smooth.  All custard tarts tend to be quite eggy which I am not a huge fan of but these tread a good line.

Dai Duong was all right.  The service was good and they were switched on to the kids, bringing boosters and kids' cutlery without being asked.  The spacious interior makes it a good option for families because you are not too cheek by jowl with other patrons.  I still think Master is the best hyperlocal option though, although Yummie offers good value.  Better still, saddle up and head out to Gold Leaf or Plume where your journey will be amply rewarded.

Check out Billy's recent visit to Dai Duong too.

* Newsflash - the wonderful, kitsch Shanghai Dynasty in the city have stopped doing yum cha!  WAAAH!

Dai Duong
Cnr Hopkins and Moore Streets, Footscray (map)
Phone:  9689 9899
Prices from $4.50 per basket
Yum cha daily except Monday from 11am