Looking for more great Chinese food in Sydney? Try my Top 5 Dumplings & Noodles.
Top 5 Chinese
China is a huge country, with as much regional diversity as Europe. But for too long, Chinese food in Sydney meant Cantonese, the food of Hong Kong and Guangdong province, the ancestral homeland of many Aussie-Chinese. More recently, immigrants from lesser-known Chinese regions have arrived, and with them eateries serving a taste of their home cuisines. Whether you want fine dining, a modern twist, or authentic off-the-beaten-path dumplings and noodles, here’s five Chinese restaurants in Sydney you must try.
Spice Temple Sydney
www.spicetemple.com.au
This cool, dimly-lit, subterranean space celebrates the food of China’s lesser known regions, including Yunnan, bordering northern Myanmar and Laos; chilli-loving Jiangxi, Hunan and Sichuan; and largely-Moslem Xingjiang. Sichuan-style leatherjacket is a must.
Mr Wong Sydney
www.merivale.com.au/mrwong
This huge warehouse space spread over two-levels is all wood, exposed brick, splashes of jade colour and other colonial Chinois charm. The food is serious Cantonese, with a separate roast meat counter, live seafood tanks and a dedicated dim sum chef alongside Dan Hong’s main menu … and that signature Merivale wine list.
Blue Eye Dragon Pyrmont
www.blueeyedragon.com.au
Head to Taiwan, or at least this comfortable diner run by mother and daughter team Jade and Muriel Chen. Prawns in Jade’s bloody plum sauce are excellent, as are chicken with dried chilli in gong bao sauce and Chinese turnip omelette. Great banquet menus too.
Xi’an Biang Biang Haymarket
www.facebook.com/biangbiangsyd
This is one of the busiest of Dixon Street’s holes-in-the-wall serving up bowls of comfort to expat Chinese, and with good reason. In Xi’an, wheat is the staple – and the long wide slippery biang biang noodles with chilli sauce, and roujiamo (pork sandwiched inside roti-like bread), are addictive!
Winsure BBQ Chatswood
www.www.winsurebbq.com
Michael & Helen Tso have been selling excellent Chinese-style barbecue from this unassuming Victoria Street shopfront since 2003. Michael honed his craft in Hong Kong before moving to Australia to work for Emperor’s Garden in Chinatown in the late ’90s. His char siu is the best I’ve ever tasted!
Updated 17/2/2022
