Dainty Dumpling House

As much as I don't want to reveal it,  I think I found a gem of a restaurant tucked away in Rhodes. 

Dainty Dumpling House has three locations, Rhodes, Miranda and Haymarket. I've actually never even heard of them until I stumbled onto it on Zomato. 

We started off with a classic and my wife's favourite... their Fried Rice with Chinese Mushroom and Diced Chicken. The fried rice was slightly oily (which I don't mind) but it was the heavenly fragrant, delicious, creamy and smooth aftertaste that blew me away. Best of all the chicken bits were actually juicy as well... unlike most places that tend to overcook the chicken leaving it dry and unloved. I topped it with a spoon full of chilli oil and it was perfection on a plate for me. It's hard to find fried rice done so well.

Our next dish was their Spicy Pork Wonton. The dumplings looked amazing as it arrived on the table.   The initial taste was a shock as the soup had a sweet taste to it. The dumplings themselves were robust and full bodied... topped with sesame seeds and shallots. It was definitely different.. but in a good way.

Another typical classic was their Xiao Long Bao Steamed Pork Dumpling. Wow the dumplings came out large and plump. Eat bite was full of delicious soup and the dumpling wrap was so delicate. I would say they rate just as well as Din Tai Fung.... or is that too big of a call?

To top it all off we tried their Taro Scrolls. The pastry was crispy and the taro was not overly sweet but very smooth. The only issue I had with the dish was that even though it was a dessert, they brought it out along with all my food... which left us sampling it mid meal because we were worried it'd get cold by the time we finish.

I don't know why I expected the worse when I chose to eat here. The venue is cosy, it doesn't have long lines out the door, the servings are generous, the food is delicious, the prices are very fair, they accept credit card, there's plenty of street parking and the service was top notch... need I say more?

I think this has now become my new favourite local dumpling joint...